For a change from my normal reviews, I asked one of my Twitter friends Leah to let me post some of her film review vLogs. She's a fun reviewer who speaks her mind and is "challenging herself to review every movie released theatrically in 2012". Below she talks about some of the most anticipated movies of the year...
PROMETHEUS
LOOPER & PREMIUM RUSH
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Bright Eyes Long Lashes is a YouTube channel that focuses on movie reviews. As Leah is currently on a mission to view all films released theatrically in 2012, you can subscribe to her channel at www.youtube.com/Brighteyeslonglashes and visit her website at www.LeahHather.com
It’s time I finally got down to writing something about one of the most anticipated and hence discussed movies of 2012. The Dark Knight Rises, like any good film, has divided the film watching world into two halves. There are those who adore it and those who were disappointed by it. There are fans that have seen the film countless times and then there are the people who rate it as the weakest in the trilogy.
All said and done I decided to skip reviewing the film early on. There was a part of me that was almost intimidated about writing a review. I felt that everything that needed to be written was already available on the web. The film had been studied under a microscope and while there might be loopholes and timeline issues or the discussion about a knife being able to go through the bat-suit (I recommend re-watching The Dark Knight to answer that question), for me The Dark Knight Rises was two hours forty minutes of pure entertainment, something we call in India as Paisa Vasool (money’s worth). It concluded the trilogy in the same brilliant manner Batman Begins started it.
So, since I had chickened out of a review, I decided to ask Twitter folk what they thought about the film. Although personally I do not feel there aren’t any SPOILERS in the answers, I would still recommend that if you have not watched the film as yet, please do avoid reading below till the time you have.
And here we have the answers to the question "What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I say The Dark Knight Rises?" in 140 characters or less;
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan Directed by Christopher Nolan Starring Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Caine Bruce Wayne: You’re afraid that if I go back out there, I’ll fail. Alfred: No, I’m afraid you want to.
It is a rare occurrence in Hollywood for any film franchise to be as consistently incredible throughout its run as Christopher Nolan’s Batman series has been. With THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, Nolan brings his ambitious take on the Batman ideology to an epic and fitting close. He brings his slow burning exploration of human fear to the brink of catastrophe and drags Gotham City and all its good people right along with it. The tension he has been building systematically since BATMAN BEGINS, that he brought to entirely unexpected heights in THE DARK KNIGHT, could only conclude in one way and that is with an all-out war. The question is, will anyone come out of this war a winner? Or even alive for that matter?
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES picks up eight years after the last installment left off, when Batman took the fall for Harvey Dent, so that Gotham could go on believing in the hero it needed at the time to move forward. Batman is retired and the man behind the mask, billionaire extraordinaire, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has become a recluse from society. Wayne has always been a conflicted character but the necessary and inevitable journey he must make here to find the bat within and come out of retirement, makes for a bit of a stunted start to the film. We know he will get there so watching him walk away from his waking coma slows us down some, but once he gets there, that’s when things get interesting. Very interesting.
Batman must take on Bane (Tom Hardy) and he has no idea what kind of brute force he’s up against. His motivation to dust off the cape and mask come into question, primarily from his trusted aid, Alfred (Michael Caine, who impresses yet again by finding all new layers to this well known character). Is he doing this because Gotham truly needs him? Or is he doing this because he needs Batman to live? Worse yet, is he doing this because he needs Batman in order to justify killing himself? Regardless, he gets more than he ever expected with Bane, a man with a past that is even more complex than his own. To complicate matters even further, Batman must also contend with feisty cat burglar, Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway). He can never quite tell whose side she’s on and thanks to Hathaway’s playful performance, neither can we.
It isn’t just Batman who must rise to the occasion in this film. Nearly every character we meet must overcome their own limitations and rise to honour their past, their legacy or themselves. Like THE DARK KNIGHT before it, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES builds on ideas of fear, from struggling with it internally to inspiring it in others externally. Unlike last time though, this conflict is more visually destructive than it is psychologically disturbing. As a result, some of the motivation behind the terror felt like more of the same than another truly original installment. That said, the war itself is worth every second. So while THE DARK KNIGHT RISES may not have risen as high as I would have liked it to, it does soar through the sky like only Nolan’s great winged bat can.
With THE AVENGERS now officially smashing records in theatres around the world, there is no denying that the summer movie season is officially upon us. As a film critic, the summer is always an iffy time for me. I am all for big budget blockbusters; I like to shut my mind off and chill out just like the rest of you. Unfortunately, turning off these days is often not good enough for Hollywood. It seems to enjoy some of today's summer movies, one has to actually lower their intelligence to get on board. That's where I usually draw the line, y'know, while I still know how to do so. And so I scoured this summer's calendar and the following is a list of 10 titles I am betting will prove that a great summer movie doesn't have to be dumb to be enjoyed. In order of expected release ...
MOONRISE KINGDOM Directed by Wes Anderson May 25
I'm a big Wes Anderson fan so anytime he comes out with a new film, I'm going to be excited for it. With a cast like this, how can I not be?
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN Directed by Rupert Sanders June 1
After that last Snow White movie, I'm ready to see the story be given a real chance to be re-imagined.
PROMETHEUS Directed by Ridley Scott June 8
I'll see anything with Michael Fassbender in it these days. And I love this viral video!
BRAVE Directed by Mark Andrews June 22
After Pixar's last offering (CARS 2), it will be refreshing to see them get back to their original roots again. Well, I hope it will be anyway.
TO ROME WITH LOVE
Directed by Woody Allen June 22
Woody continues to travel the world and I am ready to follow him anywhere. Side note: I'm so happy to see the words, "Written & Directed by Woody Allen" to finally be proudly displayed in a trailer again.
MAGIC MIKE Directed by Steven Soderbergh June 29
A Channing Tatum stripper movie directed by Steven Soderbergh. Need I say more?
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Directed by Marc Webb July 3
Amazing, indeed. Too soon for a reboot? Who cares?! It's Spider-Man! I love the cast and I'm very curious to see how the (500) DAYS OF SUMMER director holds up in the big leagues.
TED Directed by Seth MacFarlane July 13
MacFarlane brings his FAMILY GUY humour to the big screen for the first time and I'm skeptical but intrigued.
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Directed by Christopher Nolan July 20
This is the big one! It might be the only movie that really matters this summer. Will it match the grosses of THE DARK KNIGHT? I doubt it. Will it be even better? I'm seriously hoping!
PARANORMAN Directed by Sam Fell August 17
I still haven't seen an animated film this year that I liked. My money is riding on this one.
And that's it! 10 whole movies I actually want to see all summer. I'm sure there will be more that pop up along the way but that's it for now. Geez. I might actually have to spend some time, gulp, outside! Getting fresh air! And playing sports! Or I can just see THE DARK KNIGHT RISES over and over again.
