And Liam's haircut was really disturbing.
I'd pay to see it again--scary.
― Ian in Brooklyn, Saturday, 11 June 2005 05:07 (eighteen years ago) link
xpost- whoa, Bullit? Fuckin A!!
― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 11 June 2005 05:13 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 14 June 2005 15:55 (eighteen years ago) link
― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 14 June 2005 15:59 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 14 June 2005 16:00 (eighteen years ago) link
― Bryan (Bryan), Tuesday, 14 June 2005 16:04 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 14 June 2005 16:06 (eighteen years ago) link
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40625000/jpg/_40625560_batman_kilmer203.jpg
Ten years is a long time for expiation.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 13:12 (eighteen years ago) link
― Huk-L, Wednesday, 15 June 2005 13:47 (eighteen years ago) link
That's what I want to do too, see it again at the IMAX.
I don't know if it is time yet to suggest my alternate casting choice for the scarecrow.
― Leon C. (Ex Leon), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 13:49 (eighteen years ago) link
I thought it was a pretty decent time at the movies, but the humorlessness is really a little much. The lead actor, Christian Bale, spends two hours scowling, pouting, punching and suffering. Co-writer/director Christopher Nolan is so determined to make him a tragic hero that he forgets many tragic heroes (like, say, Hamlet, to whom this Batman is a cousin) get to throw off a few one liners here and there. When the movie's two elder statesmen, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, actually get to crack a few smiles and throw off a few quips, it's like a sip of fresh water after a thousand miles crawling in the desert. On the up side: A terrific and spooky villain played by Cillian Murphy, a dynamic and mysterious mentor performance by Liam Neeson, and real visual grandeur.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 13:55 (eighteen years ago) link
― Leon C. (Ex Leon), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 13:58 (eighteen years ago) link
Actually what's going to be interesting to me is how Burton's execution of action scenes matches against Nolan's, in that I don't think Burton could do much with those (or maybe more accurately his editors couldn't, I'm not sure) and it sounds like Nolan falls down a bit on that front. Oh well, roll on tonight!
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 14:10 (eighteen years ago) link
― Allyzay knows a little German (allyzay), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 14:30 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 14:32 (eighteen years ago) link
― Chris 'Crusty' V (Chris V), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 14:35 (eighteen years ago) link
― Leon C. (Ex Leon), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 14:36 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 14:38 (eighteen years ago) link
i'm still a defender of burton batman, though. visually it kicks so much ass that i will always luv it! and i like keaton!
― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 16:36 (eighteen years ago) link
― Huk-L, Wednesday, 15 June 2005 16:47 (eighteen years ago) link
― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 16:48 (eighteen years ago) link
― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:14 (eighteen years ago) link
― Remy (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:16 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:19 (eighteen years ago) link
Oh, I thought he was good too. The only thing is, he was cute enough that part of me kept kept rooting for him to get away with it. They needed someone slightly creepier looking.
― Leon C. (Ex Leon), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:20 (eighteen years ago) link
― C0L1N B... (C0L1N B...), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:21 (eighteen years ago) link
― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:23 (eighteen years ago) link
― Leon C. (Ex Leon), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:23 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:24 (eighteen years ago) link
― Remy (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:25 (eighteen years ago) link
partly wanting the him to get away with it is what makes a good villain. that was why Gladiator sucked, the dude was just a whiny little bitch
i've been folllowing c. murphy since he was nothing. i really hope he doesn't suck in this
― fcuss3n, Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:26 (eighteen years ago) link
― Leon C. (Ex Leon), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:27 (eighteen years ago) link
― C0L1N B... (C0L1N B...), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:27 (eighteen years ago) link
Oops, sorry Nicole!
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:28 (eighteen years ago) link
that must be an homage to Kim Basinger's nipple pokies in Burton's Batman, which were quite loudly pointed out to me (though I was quite aware of them, having just turned 12 in June, 1989) by my uncle.
― Huk-L, Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:28 (eighteen years ago) link
i like burton's batman movies ok, though burton has made a bunch of better movies, to be sure.
― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:29 (eighteen years ago) link
― Huk-L, Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:30 (eighteen years ago) link
bale shirtless. rowr.
michael caine. the only actor in the movie who rose above the plot-point dialogue. mentally cheered whenever he was on-screen.
cinematography. beautiful in places. the drop-off scene in the warehouse where the thugs are all like "oh no, someone's in here" and they're walking around slowly and shooting into random corners -- there's this one bit where the camera catches a whiff of smoke coming up from the guy's semi-automatic, and i was like "woah."
one small bit near the end where gordon's driving the Mach 3 Turbo-mobile -- he runs over some cars and there's this great reaction shot of him wincing and whispering "sorry," which is awesome because these types of scenes always cut to the hero looking stoic or whatever, but that line just made Oldman's character and the whole situation about 1,000 times more human, at least for a minute or so.
nay:
neeson and ninjas and the whole league of shadows thing. i don't know, it just seemed impossible to treat seriously in any way. neeson's much too human-sized to fit the cartoon of an immortal freemason-type committing genocide every hundred years or so. he's a great actor (see: kinsey), not a great piece of contrived plot machinery.
katie holmes. see david edelstein's review for a totally OTM take on her.
Overarching Themes: vigilante justice vs. due process. does this seem like a relic to anyone else? like a strange meme that defined a couple of U.S.-centric decades last century and allowed so much shit to go down? i.e., the macho stories we tell about ourselves to allow us to have our 'justice' cake and eat our 'benevolent' image too. very war-in-iraq, fox-news-esque. this was really repellant to me in the movie. seems so stupid and beside the point. do i need to loosen up here? probably.
the action scenes. just totally uninspired, incoherent, way too much close-up.
overall, a big disappointment, mainly because i had high hopes. memento and insomnia were incredible, but this felt like it was made by committee = what the hell happened nolan? i mean, it's probably not near as bad as half the movies coming out this summer, but don't expect something inspiring. spend your $10 on a cd or something, save this one for netflix or any situation where you can watch a movie for cheap, at home, with booze and friends and such.
― fauxhemian (fauxhemian), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:51 (eighteen years ago) link
― fauxhemian (fauxhemian), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:59 (eighteen years ago) link
― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 18:00 (eighteen years ago) link
― fauxhemian (fauxhemian), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 18:13 (eighteen years ago) link
― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 18:28 (eighteen years ago) link
― fauxhemian (fauxhemian), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 18:30 (eighteen years ago) link
― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 18:32 (eighteen years ago) link
I suppose it did but -- not that this is required, obviously -- at the same time it wasn't per se unique. (See the Pinter-scripted Betrayal from the early eighties as one example; doubtless others exist.) I suppose the other tag was meant to be the identity of the killer, which alas I guessed five seconds after I first read something about the film years back, so that reduced it back to the conceit. In some respects I'm actually really looking forward to this film precisely because it might be the first Nolan film I full on enjoy.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 18:39 (eighteen years ago) link
The rooftop chase is 'third person', and hence almost lyrical--if your lyrics were emoted while on speed.
Regarding Holmes--good agent.
― Ian in Brooklyn, Wednesday, 15 June 2005 18:42 (eighteen years ago) link
― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 18:45 (eighteen years ago) link
― Huk-L, Wednesday, 15 June 2005 19:10 (eighteen years ago) link
― latebloomer: We kissy kiss in the rear view (latebloomer), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 21:12 (eighteen years ago) link
neeson and ninjas and the whole league of shadows thing. i don't know, it just seemed impossible to treat seriously in any way. neeson's much too human-sized to fit the cartoon of an immortal freemason-type committing genocide every hundred years or so.
oh come on! you cant go wrong with ninjas.
― latebloomer: We kissy kiss in the rear view (latebloomer), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 21:16 (eighteen years ago) link