FILM REVIEW: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012)

WARNER BROS.

DIRECTED BY: Christopher Nolan

STARRING: Christian Bale, Anna Hathaway

★★★★

It’s not really fair to jump on the paper minutes after seeing a film for the first time. For the most part, a sense of closure and air is necessary to take in what you just saw, to justify an appropriate and conclusive review for the movie. This is definitely something to consider when watching a Nolan film, and it stands in clear black-and-blue with his Batman trilogy.

The first film, Batman Begins, gave us an introduction to what can be possible with superheroes given the right tools and realistic appreciation. The Dark Knight stretched the tools with some of the most impossible villains in comic book history. And now the established finale, The Dark Knight Rises, has us questioning how we pick up where we left off, and how to give justice to these fantastic characters.

Alas, a mistake here and there, but anything can be forgiven with the masterful conclusion Nolan has given to his famed trilogy. Strong performances, fantastic characters, and visual spectacles overcome a sometimes-confusing plot and mildly-satisfying conclusion.

The film begins slowly, with an introduction to Bane, an introduction to Selina Kyle, and… well, a deadbeat from college, let’s call him Bruce Wayne. Set 8 years after the events of Dark Knight, there is no mention of the Joker, but a stark reminder of the hero Harvey Dent was made up to be. Commissioner Gordon is still shaken up with the events between his family and Two-Face and refuses to sacrifice the truth, despite the good Dent has done for Gotham. With Batman declared a wanted criminal, Bruce has put up the cape and simply stood on the sidelines. He walks with a cane, grown out a beard, and has made little contact with the outside world or people. He’s really given up.

This begins to change as a masked being terrorizes not only Gotham, but the reputation of Bruce himself. Soon after revealing an even bigger plot to destroy Gotham, Bruce must return to the mask and become Batman once again, criminal or not. This doesn’t go easily as planned, as Batman is beaten down and broken once more, and the following events become a testament of what it truly means to be a hero.

Though Christian Bale gives another great performance (if not gravelly voice-acting) as Batman, it’s his performance as Bruce Wayne that really shines. Bale gives a clean character arc as a confused and tired old hag, overcoming again and again to return to his proper and former self. While it’s to be expected from his third performance in the role, it’s the newest supporting castmembers that were of most attention, and of most concern for me.

Seeing set photos of Anne Hathaway of Catwoman, her hair let loose while under that tight leather, wasn’t selling it for me at first. After seeing her grand introduction at Wayne Manor, however, it was clear Hathaway was gonna be a looker throughout. She gave a performance with surprising spunk, style, attitude, distaste, and fluidity. Yeah, I still wish her hair was at least in a ponytail or something, but it felt like she knew her stuff as she fought side-by-side with the Bat.

Next to Catwoman is Bane, and like Catwoman, a small, trenchcoat-wearing thug with a mouthmask didn’t sell with me. And in a way, it still didn’t… but there’s no denying the monstrosity of a voice he carries under that mask. However, the real mystery is who’s side is he on. Let’s get this clear: he’s a stone-cold killer. No remorse, no emotion, no identity, only sarcasm and intimidation through a deafening English-accent. Every step he takes continues to baffle whether there truly is a chance for Batman or any of us. However, his actions send a revolutionary vibe that he stands for the working-class; while he throw the wealthy and corrupt into the ugly streets of Gotham, he still allows food and supplies to be sent to the trapped cops and citizens of Gotham. He’s no Joker, but he’s an interesting terror to behold for his demeanor.

John Blake, a young rookie officer for the GCPD, is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who’s really been taking off in Hollywood so far. Seeing him in (500) Days of Summer and 50/50, it was hard to take him seriously with his uniform and Brooklyn accent. However, he grew on me as the (only) cop with a plan, an aware and capable character who’s right to work beside Gordon. Or even Batman, for that matter. In fact, that possibility is stretched during the final moments of the film. How? Well, many comic fans will notice how “John Blake” has a certain ring to it…

While the likes of Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman reprise their roles with exceptional results, Michael Caine is hardly given any room in Rises as Alfred. However, what he gives is much to be commended. While he walked side-by-side with Bruce in the past, Alfred truly comes to care for the weary Bruce, challenging his will to move past the heartbreaks and pain, and be the hero he trusts him to be. It is a painful ordeal he doesn’t want to do to Bruce, but Michael gives flawless emotion to the troubled man who’s made it this far to protect Bruce.

When not focused on the relentless script, Rises is a visual stunner the likes of The Avengers. Just like the climactic battle of the six in Manhattan, the brawl between cops and crooks infront of the symbol of American prosperity is an epic site to behold. The riveting score Hans Zimmer has provided for the trilogy is still the most impactful and powerful in this realm of superheroes, and the tech & costume design is once again rooted to reality, making you forget at times that this is based on a comic book franchise. Nolan returns to his mind-bending visual style with blocky architecture, such as the Batcave and the prison well later in the plot.

With all this said, there are some questions to be had with the relentless script. The first of which is the amount of air we’re aloud to breath. The pacing never stops, which keeps you in the action, but is too much to allow some moment to take everything in and anticipate the next move. The inclusion of other less-than-necessary characters doesn't help, either. While the main cast felt appropriate and just, the rest of the cast, from Selina Kyle's blonde friend, to the coward chief-of-police, to Bruce's business rival, just made for too many characters. Next to this is some elongated exposition, and plotholes that can be forgiven, but given the proper notice, are definitely questionable.

*SPOILER*

For instance, how does Bruce, the world’s greatest detective, not regard the scar on Tate’s back as being that of the League of Shadows? Just as the camera observed the scar during one instance, it was clear she had connections. And with Liam making an appearance as a ghostly Rah’Al Ghul, it was clear she was related to. This leads to a stretched explanation of what happened years ago that led her to Bane, and to harming the person she loved.

And it should be noted (from me) that the very last moment of the film with Bruce & Selina making it through Alfred’s proclaimed dream, was my take of Nolan going for broke. If I had the decision, I would go the Sopranos route and cut after Alfred smiles towards the screen. Since now we know Batman has made it through all this time and basically renders the philosophical tone of self-sacrifice fruitless, there’s no everlasting impact or mystery, only happy closure. As if despite ‘closing’ the door on the trilogy, Nolan actually left it ajar for somebody else. Maybe for Robin? Who knows now.

*SPOILER*

With these quibbles aside, the Nolan brothers have written a powerful threequel (a feat for any filmmaker), one with strong and surprising performances, solid environments and atmosphere, and an excellent score and cinematography. While it’s easier to follow than The Dark Knight, there is still a lot of chaos to soak in. And while the final revelation isn’t a throw-off, it definitely leaves something to be desired. Here’s hoping this really is the final tale for the trilogy. Because after numerous film iterations, Batman has finally been given his just-dues.

★★★★

- Ant

Proposal

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So what is Proposal? It is about the creative process of the average school student. Books stacked on a TV, papers spread across the floor, and the chaos inside a bedroom, with the emptiness of a whole house. Much like actually making this film late at night, it attempts to strike a chord with what my generation knows about procrastination, creation, and the unexpected.

(the Pukis Cut)

(the Original Cut)

Now, why are there two versions? Well, here's where the story begins. This was my first film class at ASU this semester, and for our first (and only) film project for the semester, Professor Pukis had us make a short silent film. Of all the opportunities and possibilities for us to make collaborate and make something great...

If there’s something I’ve learned from watching silent films like The Artist, it’s that it is a true test of the craft, appropriately stressing an importance in storytelling and characters. I had to tell a story that an audience would enjoy, and a character they wouldn’t get bored with. I can say I probably didn’t give such justice to Proposal, but it was an honest effort for an honest premise.

The premise itself is as true a story as it would seem. I had genuine difficulty brainstorming a project that was not only doable under certain conditions, but something realistic and grounded to truth with students. What more truth is there than students suffering through their busy school-lives? It’s not an easy life, so why not be careless and make stuff up? Carelessness backfires on us sometimes, so why not have everything crash at the last minute because of it? When I presented my proposal (hint) for the class, it mostly agreed with something close to home.

For scriptwriting, I figured that, since this is a silent film, most of our work would involve a consistent visual eye for cinematography. I mapped out an intro storyboard on notebook paper, and prepared for us to make storyboards for our films. Or so I thought. Not according to Pukis, however. Not only did we not touch on storyboards at all this semester, but instead we focused our time on something called an audio/video script. How typing words are better than drawing storyboards, I don’t know, but typing this script was confusing and frustrating with the Mac template, and fruitless since I knew the movie would change over time during filming.

Actual filming was planned to occur during spring break, since there'd be zero distractions from making this, especially at night when everybody's asleep. Problem was, however, me and my predictability; I borrowed my friend's copy of Batman: Arkham City the weekend before, and the rest speaks for itself. So I actually started filming the week after, filming only a few hours at a time before going to bed at my 3am limit. If you see it with a good eye, you'll notice inconsistencies like the bedroom door because of the night-to-night routine, or even the shadow of my arm as my dad left an intro scene.

Night after night, I'd have to arrange my bed props as close to a set image as possible, toss on that white shirt and blue jeans, then get straight to recording with my dad's old tri-pod from his golden years, and my tiny Cybershot camera from Christmas. The A/V script was worthless, so I tossed it out and relied simply on what I pictured in my head, and my own list of what scenes I had left to complete (what to film at night, or computer text I could film at school, etc). We were under a deadline to present our final dailies, so some schoolwork had to be put off until, say, I waited for the bus at the terminal. Finally, it was a wrap, and principle photography was complete. I was tired but ready to show this guy my dailies the next day.

Pukis never checked for dailies.

At least that was over, I stressed. I had time to cool off for a few days, get back on the ball, and then to the next process: editing. Pukis, being the Apple perfectionist he is, insisted, if not assigned us to use iMovie.

Teasing how rebellious I am (every morning, I replaced the Apple mouse with my own USB mouse; and on any other day, I'd have the nerve to whip out my Dell to take down notes directly to my source), he asked me what software I use, implying I use MovieMaker. "No, Vegas." He had a face as if he's never heard of it. Figured as much, since he continued to pester that I use iMovie, seeing as how he's "been in this industry for 30 years, so I know what I'm talking about." What does that have to do with anything? We at least got some hands-on practice with iMovie beforehand, and it did feel slightly familiar to MovieMaker. I had experience the semester before when uploading my high school videos, so I figured it'd be as much a walk in the park.

What ensued would be a new kind of hell the likes of which I was not prepared for.

It should be noted that during this time, for whatever reason, our IT installed a security lock for the MacLab. Only students with a certain JagCard could access it. Disregarding the fact I payed to use this campus in the first place, and disregarding the fact the (fined) card still didn't guarantee the door would open for you. When the Lab was officially open and available, I had one day. One day to edit, burn, and prepare. For 8 hours, I stayed on that seat. No lunchbreak, no risks. Random people passing by, doing their own thing on these computers, in a lab that gets incredibly hot with so many overheating Mac desktops on.

And then there was iMovie. Absolute garbage. No proper timeline, nothing but little icons to give direction. Split? Icon! Transition? Icons! Text? MORE Icons! And with so, so many dailies and files without a proper description (no chance to rename these files, iMovie just takes it and leaves it), the smallest and most unreliable thumbnails made it a frustrating guessing game to edit. Again, with an unusual timeline. Not to mention the sound effects and random music I had to make with GarageBand to avoid copyrights(another icon-fest), and incorporating my mp3 of Beethoven’s 7^th within the required time-frame, and I was dry. Straight-editing for 8 hours, so hungry, so restless... I just wanted this all to end.

Original intro storyboard (rotate right)

Finally, it was burning time. Editing a DVD menu would be less blood-sucking, but the final DVD gave a really low-quality video. 30 years, huh?

Presentations began about two weeks later, my video being one of the lasts over the course of three days. Watching it, I accepted I am not an actor. I couldn't project or enunciate back in high school drama (still can't), and I can't bear the look of myself on the camera. Maybe it's one of those self-esteem things. Overall, the audience noticed the subtle moments of humor I attempted in-between, including my friend Chris Mundy. Pukis randomly chose reviewers for each presentation, and Mundy noted the subtle touches, which made me happy. It also makes me happy that he won the contest. How you turn art into a contest, I don’t know, but his whimsical stop-motion film, A Day With Manatee, won everybody over, including the main competition. The guy cheated in just about every aspect, and Pukis still gave him high marks.

But there is something I learned during this ordeal, and something I think aspiring filmmakers should know for themselves: despite what I made for the class, for iMovie, for this ignoramus, I wasn’t necessarily proud of it. I didn’t enjoy filming it night after night, or editing in one sitting, but every filmmaker should be proud of what work they are doing.

And that’s why I made the Original Cut. After exams were finished (boy, do I wanna tell you about our exam), I uploaded the “Pukis cut”, but went straight to work on a stronger, lengthier, and more personal Proposal. The title sequence I loved so much had to be cut from iMovie to manage time, which like many aspects of this competition, clearly didn’t matter to anybody else or Pukis. The credits felt much friendlier and appropriate than the iMovie credits, with the awesome score of Alexandre Desplat. Adding this with the widescreen cropping, controlled audio levels, and an obvious boost to color and quality, and it definitely felt like this was the project I’ve been wanting to make this whole time. It wasn’t all romantic, though; editing can still be a life-absorbing process, even with the familiarity of Sony Vegas, so there were plenty of extended breaks before going back and getting more complete.

With both projects out of my system, I leave you with this recollection. By default rules, I always picked PCs over Macs, but with the experience I had this semester, I am more than aware and grateful for my choice. iMovie is absolute garbage, and nobody will ever convince me otherwise that it is not. After my experience with the class, with rules, with this ego-maniac, I decided not to take another film class for this coming semester, or maybe even the next. While I’ll give Pukis credit for having me make something official (and give a name to this studio), I’ll also give him credit for being so God-awful at his craft, as a filmmaker and a professor, to push me forward with this ambition.

I love filmmaking. From brainstorming to a premiere, there is nothing like it. Proposal taught me a lot for it, and there is always room for improvement. But whatever experience one has with making a movie, or any other creative craft, it can’t be regarded with love by audiences if it isn’t regarded with love by the artist itself. Whether for a grade or a profit, however good or bad it turns out, none of it matters when the passion and enjoyment isn’t put forward.

That’s what makes art personal.

- Ant

UPDATE: Blogger/YouTube update

Alright, so here's what I did today. I woke up, felt like crap, looked at my channel, felt like crap some more... then I accepted that antgarcia62 simply isn't doing enough. So I decided to go more official with FilmANTic Manny, and create an official YouTube page:

http://www.youtube.com/user/FilmANTicManny

This is where all the action will take place. Not just that, but to kickstart tomorrow morning, all my official videos from antgarcia62 will be moved over to this channel. They'll still be live on antgarcia62, but don't expect much from this channel from now on. It may or may not simply be a sister-channel for my less-formal uploads (no FilmANTic insignia).

You'll also notice a newly updated blog appearance... well, it's not a huge change, just made it appear less cutesy, more appropriate. I was questioning whether to remove my ancient posts prior to this becoming a place of film critiquing and discussion... but I figured it'd not only be alot of work, but I'd be losing a part of myself in the process. Anyway, it's history, ain't it!

Alright, so there's YouTube, the blog, no Twitter (don't think I'm there yet)... "what else is left to update?" And then a Facebook page came to mind:

https://www.facebook.com/FilmANTicMannyPictures

My good friends have already given some support, and you'll find most of my quick and up-to-the-minute updates on here. My MyIGN blog is also getting some notices and posts from around the awesome IGN community, though it is also a question as to whether I should replace like I did with YouTube. Probably not, since I'm still understanding the layout, and I hardly ever use it, anyway. Irony.

I feel like I did alot, but not something I can really say was "a lot" to, well, say my parents coming home. But I feel accomplished. It's far-fetched, but I feel like I'm getting closer to my outreach. As impatient as I am, only time will tell.

Thanks,
- Ant

FILM REVIEW: Battleship (2012)

Missed the first 34 minutes on the way to see 'Battleship', so I figured we missed most of the "important" character/story development, and just head straight to the chaos and stuff.

What ensued were about 100 minutes of awful characters, atrocious acting, obsessive slo-mo, obsessive dubstep, music from the dependable Steve Jablonsky, cliche cinematography, annoying alien sounds, racism towards Asians, stereotypes over the military and nerds, a modern reenactment of Pearl Harbor, one-dimensional heroes & aliens, uninspired references to a board game, and one-liners far more predictable than a BBQ on a 4th of July.

Heck, not even Liam Neeson can save this one!

They got Liam Neeson! And it still failed!

Maybe, just maybe, the USS Missouri intro with the kickass veteran naval crew was a nice touch. But if you want some thing, anything redeemable except just flashy SFX... then you're obviously very intelligent enough to avoid this crap.

☆1/2

- Ant