I’m Catching Up 2015: Mad Max: Fury Road

I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t excited for this movie. I had several friends who raved about it after it opened in May, but I had my sights set on a certain list of “must” movies. I saw the first two when I was a kid, and again later in life. I wasn’t terribly impressed, but they were interesting enough. So Samee and I let this one slip by us.

  
Oops!

This past Sunday, whilst nested into our apartment with food and libations, we decided to roll this one. What we saw, we weren’t prepared for. Yes, it’s post-apocalypse stuff. Yes, it revolves around tricked out cars and trucks. It’s that and more, and it’s SO well-made.
Max is wandering in the desert. When we catch up to him, he’s snacking on a lizard and having PTSD flashbacks of a little girl he couldn’t save. He hops into his car and takes off when he hears a convoy approaching. The chase doesn’t last long, and Max is soon overpowered. He awakes as a prisoner in the Citadel, having been caught by the War Boys. The War Boys are soldiers under Immortan Joe, a vile looking guy whose face is partially obscured by a breathing apparatus, and who seems to have leprosy or some other skin disorder. Max is a universal blood donor, so he finds himself hooked to Nux, a War Boy with an illness in need of some healthy blood. We see that Immortan Joe controls all of the water, and he is tyrannical in his sharing with the common people living in the citadel. He sends one of his trusted, Imperator Furiosa, to gas town to get, well, gas. She has other plans, however, and heads east with 5 of Joe’s favorite wives in tow. Nux is determined to go, so Max quickly becomes a hood ornament on his own car, with Nux at the wheel.

  
I don’t feel I should tell you the rest. A huge part of the fun of this film is allowing yourself to discover the world and the characters. This is a much more human, exciting take on the post-apocalyptic genre. It even improves on the Mel Gibson Mad Max series. Tom Hardy is perfectly cast as Max, and Charlize Theron breathes amazing life into Imperator Furiosa. Between them, they’re worth the price of admission. Nicholas Hoult is surprisingly great as Nux.

  
The use of color here is also amazing. I don’t recall a more vibrant desert landscape outside of Lawrence of Arabia. This is some damn fine cinematography. 

  
The production design just adds to the amazing visual aesthetic. The level of detail in the costuming is remarkable, and the sets, created from scratch, are filled with amazing touches, if you take the time to look.

  
Beyond all of that, though, there’s a powerful story at work here. Themes of redemption and overcoming are prevalent, as well as understanding and tolerance. I could watch this over and over. This is definitely in my top 3 this year. Give it a look.

“The Dark Knight Rises” promises to be the epic conclusion that the trilogy deserves!

If you know me, even a little, you know that I have waited for few things more than I have waited for my first glimpse of the concluding entry in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Last night, it happened. I’ll break it down for you. Spoilers ahead…

The WB and Legendary logos appear in front of the blue flame from “The Dark Knight.”

Camera pans up quickly across the surface of buildings.

A title card reads “Every hero has a journey.”

Ra’s Al Ghul is heard in voiceover reciting the following from “Batman Begins:” “If you make yourself more than just a man…”

A shot from “Begins” of Bruce Wayne walking toward the village.

Title card: “every journey has an end.”

Ra’s: “If you devote yourself to an ideal, then you become more than a man.”

Shot from “Begins” of Bruce surrounded by bats in the cave.

Title card: From Christopher Nolan.

Ra’s: “A legend, Mr. Wayne. A legend.”

Shot from “The Dark Knight” of the Bat-Pod driving away from the camera.

Shot of Commissioner Gordon laying on his side in a hospital gown, holding an oxygen mask: “We were in this together…then you were gone.”

Shot from TDK of Gordon smashing the Bat Signal.

Another shot panning up the side of buildings, reaching to the sky.

Back to Gordon in hospital. “Now this evil…rises…” Shot of a man (Bane?) climbing out of a pit of some kind.

Gordon: “The Batman…has to come back…”

A shot of someone doing pushups.

Wayne/Batman(offscreen): “What if he doesn’t exist anymore?”

Gordon: “He must.” Blurry image.

Gordon (emphatically): “He must.”

Close on Bane’s face.

Camera pan reveals Batman logo amid tops of crumbling buidlings. Camera pushes into light. Screen whites out. Black letters: The Dark Knight Rises.

Massive chanting is heard in the background. Shot of Batman staggering backward and to the right, looking scared and winded. Bane moves aggressively into the left side of the frame.

Title card: The epic conclusion of the Dark Knight legend. Summer 2012.

What do I think? I didn’t know what to expect, but I didn’t expect this. I think that putting Gordon in harm’s way is brilliant. It’s been done before, sure. But if Batman has gone into seclusion, what better way to draw him back out? I like the idea that Bruce seems scared. This Batman has never been equalled physically. To pit him against someone that could potentially kill him is a fantastic and logical way to raise the stakes.

We know virtually nothing at this point. I would like to try to keep it that way. You know, like we used to do it before the interwebs…

Bane revealed!

Today, Warner Bros. Pictures published the first official photo from Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film, “The Dark Knight Rises.” Below, you’ll see Tom Hardy as Bane, Batman’s most physically challenging enemy. As I expected, the Lucha Libre look is gone. In its place is a more practical mask, and by the looks of it, it feeds Bane’s trademark venom into his mouth or his sinus cavities. The super-cynical Fanboy crowd are already drawing comparisons to TMNT baddie shredder, but I promise you that Bane will be a more than worthy foe. I’m officially excited!

NEWS: Bane and Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises!!!!

FINALLY!!!! I’ve been waiting to hear who the villains might be in “The Dark Knight Rises” for what seems like forever. Tom Hardy will be playing Bane, and Anne Hathaway will be Selina Kyle. This is all per a press release from Warner Bros. itself, so it’s official! My thoughts…

How do you follow up the fantastically imposing threat presented by Heath Ledger’s Joker? To me, not with the Riddler. DEFINITELY not with the Penguin! Bane presents a real physical challenge, and he is linked to Bruce Wayne’s past. Bane brings the potential for great action AND story to this film. As for the Anne Hathaway news… I don’t really love the Selina Kyle character, but I do like Hathaway. I think she’s talented, pretty, and charming. Notice that the press release doesn’t mention Catwoman. She may just be a love interest. Let’s see…

This thing has potential. Now, if they will just announce that they’re gonna shoot at least some exteriors in Chicago…

The Dark Knight Rises – possible casting news

Unsubstantiated reports suggest that Charlize Theron is up for the role of Detective Sarah Essen in “The Dark Knight Rises.” Essen was a central character in Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One” graphic novel and later in the regular Batman comic series. Jim Gordon and Sarah Essen fall in love and eventually get married. Vera Farmiga is said to be under consideration for the role of Julie Madison, Bruce Wayne’s fiancée whom he never marries. Julie Madison appeared in the earliest Detective Comics stories, circa 1939-1940.

I think that this is great news. Both of these ladies are very engaging and would be well cast in these roles! Now who is Hardy playing???

Batman 3 has a name!!! And NO Riddler!!!

This is the kind of news that makes me extremely happy. I have been a huge Batman fan for most of my life. I feel that Nolan’s first two Batman films are on par with Batman: The Animated Series as the greatest interpretations of Batman and his world outside of comic book form. Today, I learned that the title of Nolan’s third Batman film will be The Dark Knight Rises. This is a logical title to me. The end of The Dark Knight saw Batman accept the burden of blame for Harvey Dent’s crimes. In doing so, only then did he become “The Dark Knight.” There is nowhere for Batman to go but up. I feel Nolan will go for an optimistic, hopeful feeling similar to what he left us with at the end of “Batman Begins,” but with a more certain feeling that Batman will emerge as Gotham’s true hero. There will be a sense that he won’t need to shoulder an unnecessary and untrue burden to keep the flame of hope alive in his city. He will rise, establishing his resilience as a character. At least that’s my hope/prediction/speculation.

The news also came out today that The Riddler is not the villain. I’m so elated to know this. I personally don’t like the character, and I think it would have made for a boring movie. Tom Hardy is already cast, and I’m hoping he will play Bane. To force Batman to face and suffer defeat at the hands of a physically unstoppable opponent would give room for a more triumphant return and resolution.

My only other hope for this movie is that they shoot at least part of it in Chicago. I selfishly want to be an extra. Let’s just hope…

*update – Regular Nolan film-scorer Hans Zimmer is again doing the music. No word on James Newton Howard’s involvement.

Nolan-ites, rejoice!..maybe…

For those of us who can’t wait to see how Christopher Nolan will follow “The Dark Knight,” his grand crime opera, it seems we have something to look forward to. Tom Hardy, last seen as Eames in Nolan’s excellent “Inception,” has been cast in the final chapter of the Batman trilogy. No one is saying who exactly Hardy is playing, but it doesn’t matter. Nolan packs his films with fantastic actors, and gets great results from doing so. In addition to Bale, Ledger, Neeson, Oldman, Eckhardt, Caine, and Gyllenhaal, supporting players like Watanabe as the Ra’s stand-in/Ubu, Murphy as Scarecrow, and Wilkinson as Falcone have added greatly to the first two Bat-stories. According to , Hardy has been cast in a lead role. This could be the much-speculated villain, the Riddler, or another character. Who knows what Nolan has up his sleeve.

**Afterthought – Hardy would be physically right for Bane. This would be a great way to wrap the trilogy, in my very humble opinion.

On the downside, it seems that Warner Bros. wants to film in New Orleans. This saddens me, as Chicago has stood in for Gotham City very well throughout the first two movies. If it were up to Nolan, I’m sure he would film largely in Chicago. I hope that the production still ends up here at some point.

One last thing: for those of you who are speculating that Killer Croc is the villain based on the New Orleans locale, I say this: stop. Think. Would Croc work in the Nolan-verse? I say no. Additionally, I don’t think they’re going to set the film in New Orleans. They’re just filming there, probably to save money more than any other reason.

Until we hear more… keep the signal in the sky!

Re-Incepted: my second screening of the much-hyped flick

If you read my stuff regularly, then you know that I was chomping at the bit to see “Inception” again while it was still in theaters. On August 29th, 5 days after my birthday, I got my wish. Hollywood Blvd, a favorite theater of mine, sends out a pass for birthdays that’s good for free admission for up to eight people. We had 5: my girl Samee; her mom, Mary; Samee’s sister, Erica; Erica’s friend Mike; and, of course, myself. If you’ve never been, the great thing about Hollywood Blvd. is that they do full food service while you watch the movie. Said service is typically first rate. On this day, unfortunately, our waitress was nearly incompetent. Our drinks didn’t come. In fact, I had to track down another waitress to retrieve them. We weren’t asked if we wanted free refills OR dessert. Again, I had to track someone down. To top it all off, the waitress never brought change. Had I not asked for said change on my way out, she would have had a $10 tip for lousy service. Even this, though, could not ruin my experience with Inception: round 2!

The fun of the second viewing for me was in trying to see little details that I hadn’t seen the first time, while enjoying the things that had impressed me before. Honestly, though, I got so caught up in the experience that I didn’t always remember to look for new things. The actors all commit to the material in a way that made me want to follow their individual and collective journeys, even though I knew their outcomes. If anything, I questioned the motives of Cobb (DiCaprio) more in this viewing. He seemed to me to be more of a protagonist by default this time around. He has the capability of throwing anyone under the bus if it means he can see his kids again. The only reason that Arthur (Gordon-Levitt) has avoided this is because he reads Cobb like a book. The tension in their professional relationship is partly there because Arthur could potentially be a more efficient team leader than Cobb, and Cobb is threatened by this knowledge. Ariadne acts as a sort of conscience to Cobb, right down to forcing him to confront the projection of Mal in limbo. I didn’t fully appreciate her role in the overall plot the first time. And while Eames (Tom Hardy) isn’t crucial to Cobb’s story, I had forgotten what a brilliant character he is and how well Hardy brings him to life.

Nolan’s eye for an evocative image is certainly no less present here. I found myself staring in awe at many of the wide shots. His DP, Wally Pfister, knows how to frame gorgeous shots, as evidenced in many of Nolan’s films. It’s obvious here as well, with the snow scenes being an obvious standout. The filming angles in the anti-gravity scenes are also stunning.

For me, the bottom line is this: Inception entertains me. It engages me mentally. I enjoy the hell out of it. I doubt that it’s actually as deep as some people want it to be, but who am I to say? I love it. It’s a new classic and I will likely buy the DVD on the day of its release so that I may watch it many more times.

Also, the pizza was delicious.

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