The Dark Knight Rises – Movie Review

The Dark Knight Rises is the concluding chapter of the Batman Begins/The Dark Knight trilogy and it sure ends this series on an epic and memorable note. Director Christopher Nolan creates a hauntingly realistic and brutal world for us to experience this war/crime drama, but yet manages to incorporate certain light-hearted and sci-fi-ish moments to keep the story in line with its comic book origins.

And wow, this film gave me the goosebumps. Christopher Nolan’s storytelling style is slick, tight, intense, and brings across the theme of the film effectively. Those saying that Nolan doesn’t know how to direct action will be surprised because The Dark Knight Rises contains lots of exciting car chases and hard-hitting fight scenes. The down-and-dirty fist fight between Batman (Christian Bale) and main villain Bane (Tom Hardy) in the sewers is emotionally devastating and absolutely heart-breaking. When Bane [SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER], I felt my own heart getting hammered as well.

With The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man still fresh in audience’s minds, you would think that people are starting to get sick of superhero movies. Fortunately, the studios making these things know what they are doing (Green Lantern not included) and it seems like the superhero genre is the hottest thing in cinema now. As an avid comic book fan, I could not be happier.

The Prestige vs The Illusionist vs Harry Potter

Since everyone loves the young wizard Harry Potter, lets take a look at other movies about magic shall we. (Don’t worry, this post has NO SPOILERS)

The first thing that pops to mind is The Prestige vs The Illusionist. These two films are often confused with each other because they were both released in 2006 and both were about magicians. To differentiate, The Prestige is the one with Batman, Wolverine and Black Widow. The Illusionist is the one with the The Incredible Hulk.

I like both movies, but The Prestige wins for me. It’s directed by Christopher “Inception” Nolan, so the style is very slick and the plot contains lots of mind-bending twists and turns. In fact, I think The Prestige is one of the most under-rated movies of all time. The Illusionist feels very dry compared to The Prestige, but it’s more realistic and the ending is somehow more satisfying. That’s not saying The Prestige has a horrible ending, but the conclusion of The Illusionist feels more natural.

So which magician movie do you prefer? Vote now! (You can choose more than one) Don’t forget to leave your comments!

Public Enemies – Movie Review

Public Enemies is a gangster/crime film written and directed by Michael Mann. It is set during the great depression when crime rates were rising and people support the gangsters as a form of rebellion against the authorities. “Based on a true story”, Michael Mann’s stylistic tone fits the story very well.

If you wish to see Johnny Depp not being Jack Sparrow or some other drunk dude, check this film out. Here, he is a wanted man who escapes prison and robs banks with style. Johnny Depp falls in love with a woman played by Marion Cotillard, and the way he woos her is clever and humourous.

The “love at first sight” concept may be hard to believe, but Johnny Depp is a bank robber after all, and he has the skill to get anything he wants. The girl seems to like him too, and she is okay with his wanted man status. Later on, we see the girl make some sacrifices to protect her lover, which is just one of the many dramatic moments in the film.

Christian Bale plays a guy that is trying to catch Johnny Depp, but his character is nothing out of the ordinary. If you are not a Christian Bale fan, you might not even remember his character that much. Nevertheless, Christian Bale gives a polished and convincing performance which adds more substance to the film.

Nowadays, not many gangster films get the attention they deserve because youngsters prefer the CGI-heavy movies. But if you want to see good filmmaking techniques and good acting performances, check out Public Enemies.

Terminator Salvation – Movie Review

Christian Bale may be Batman, but he is also John Connor, a man who is destined to lead the human army into battle against the robots who are taking over Earth. He meets Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), who is a human-turned-robot. Worthington’s acting is respectable in this film, and he would later go on to good places (like a little blue movie called Avatar). Bale, on the other hand, with his irritating Batman voice is surprisingly bland.

Other cast members include Anton Yelchin who plays John Connor’s father, which I thought was a pleasant performance. Bryce Dallas Howard plays John Connor’s wife, who mostly does nothing. Moon Bloodgood is Marcus Wright’s love interest, who does a little bit more.

Salvation is the fourth installment in the Terminator film franchise, and this movie makes all sorts of useless references and winks to the earlier films. You get everything from the famous “I’ll be back” to the Guns N’ Roses song. There is even a phoned-in appearance by a certain someone, and it’s not even the real deal. If you are not a Terminator fan or don’t remember the previous films, you will most likely be lost. But even if you are a fan, all the throwbacks are way too much.

There is an action scene involving a giant robot and two motorcycles that is relatively well-directed by McG (Charlie’s Angels). Sadly, the rest of the movie is extremely dull and broody. If you are looking for some exhilarating robot mayhem, you are better off with (*ahem*) Transformers, or even I, Robot.

Terminator Salvation could have redeemed itself a little if the final fight was more creative. Worthington gives you a mildly interesting character to follow, but other than that, this kind of stuff is done better in other movies. (Or even better, go back to Terminator 1 & 2).