The Valley Review of Dark Knight Rises!

[Spoilers ahead! -- HERE THERE BE DRAGONS!] 

[If you wish to skip the storyline and go straight to the Review, go to SPOILERS END and keep reading]

Characters of Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight ended in a story of falling and redemption for Harvey Dent.  Gotham City was saved, but Batman took the fall for Two-Face.  

Gotham City's top cop, Commissioner Gordon worked between the movies (8 years in film time) with the Mayor (and the absent from the story, Gotham City Council -- I'm in politics, I can't help knowing how laws are made!) to create the Dent Act. 

Organized crime is absent from Gotham City as is reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne.  Batman, still wanted by Gotham City Police Department [GCPD] is also gone, hidden by the lie.

The movie starts with Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) acknowledging Dent.  Meanwhile, across the world, Bane is stealing a scientist from the CIA.  Bane's people are so loyal, they are willing to die for him.  The plane scene is incredibly done and Bane, played by Tom Hardy (of Inception) follows the mood of the comic book. 

In the First Act a missing Congressman plays a role in the audience meeting Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), GCPD Cop John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Gordon's first meeting with Bane (with enormous consequences for the rest of the movie). In the sewers, there is a story that is hidden. The new Deputy Commissioner (who still wants to be the man who got Batman) is uninterested what is below.  Meanwhile, above the city, John Dagget, a man building the underground, is trying to take over Wayne Enterprises. 

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is still smarting over being unable to bring Fusion Power as "Smart Energy," for Gotham City. The Fusion Reactor plays a big role in Act Three.  Keep following this story.

All the pieces are in place, then Catwoman tries to steal something from Wayne's home and the story begins.  A chase between two characters, which continues throughout the story, leads to two character arcs.

Act Two begins with Bane attacking Gotham Stock Exchange. Batman finally returns to Gotham going after Bane, but in a twist, Batman, is chased by the GCPD. 

Catwoman helps Batman find Bane in the sewers. Secrets are learned and backs are broken.

Bane exiles Batman to a prison underground; Then he leads the GCPD on a merry chase into the sewers and then the story turns Dark.

At Gotham Stadium, Bane destroys Gotham using underground bombs and destroys the bridges too, just like in No Man's land. 

"Let the games begin!" says Bane, as Gotham City is destroyed from underground. 


Here the plot ends, the review begins.

[SPOILERS ENDED]

I enjoyed it.  

What makes Nolan's Batman movies worthwhile, is just like in the comics, there is something to refer back to an earlier issue (movie).   That's getting the comic book geek.  

Most comic book movies try to make the comic stuff more silly, instead Nolan brought the characters to a reality not unlike our own.  People are flawed, things don't work, and others have different goals. Even in the dark second and Third Acts, with all Gotham City loses, we human beings have a capability of bouncing back.  

The theme of Hope is carried throughout.  Bane, upends society to make [SPOILERS AGAIN] a People's Republic of Gotham i.e Occupy [wherever].  It is run by terror and fear, not by Hope. [SPOILERS END].  If, a super hero movie can show that theoretical ideas don't work (waving "Hi!" to you Occupy folk), then it is more then a movie, it is a movie that will last long. 

Bane and Catwoman (and a third unmentioned enemy) aren't just Straw People for Batman to battle, but flesh and bone people who represent different goals, and in the end, different futures.

GCPD John Blake was a welcome edition to the franchise.  His role in the denouement even more so.  Again, through him the story of Wayne/Batman moves because of a shared history.  Nolan shows that Even the Common Man can do Great Things (my philosophy too!) 

Nolan has set the standards for Comic book movies:

 

1)  Don't make the world the hero and others live unreal, make them close to reality and build on character and story.  

2) The comics have the Story Foundation, but adapt it to Real World settings and watch the audiences come in.  

And Nolan does something even more striking, he expects his audiences to be intelligent.  Not a bad thing to ask.  

My only questions for Christopher Nolan (should I ever meet him here in the Southland) is: How did you do the bridges? And would he do a Marvel Comic movie? 

I rate the movie Five out of Five Stars. 

Go see and enjoy.  Let me know what you think of the movie in the comments. 

The Master Artwork of Christopher Nolan

First, because of Friday's massacre, let's watch this:

What Random Guy is talking about is how geeks and movie lovers came together in honor of a director who treated their realm (a Comic book character and the world around him) with respect.  We need more directors like Nolan.

Yesterday, I was going to do two posts, this one about the great person and director Christopher Nolan and my review of Dark Knight Rises. No movies tonight in the Valley -- most of my readers have seen Dark Knight Rises, or will soon. So, back to business (of comics and movies)

This post will touch on some of my favorite Nolan movies and why.

When I first saw Nolan's Memento, I had just arrived in LA.  No car, no direction and no clue.  His movie made as much sense to me as Fight Club (at that time).  Very rarely can movies show internal battles, but as I was going through my questions of living in LA, I heard about the plot and went to see Memento.

Memento

Since I saw Memento at 8000 Sunset Boulevard when they had an independent movie theatre there (along with a Virgin record store, Sam Ash and a CPK) and was blown away by the storytelling (and the method using black and white and color to tell the tale), I have been a fan of Christopher Nolan. 

The best thing about Nolan's breakout movie was how he reminded me of Joseph Conrad.  In Conrad's books, not every character is all good or all evil, but many shades of grey morality.  Memento using memory and character exposed that everyone was using each other for bad ends.

Yes, Nolan uses three act structure, but he is not dependent on CGI or the scripts (which is usually written with his brother).  He develops character, he makes his movies almost novel like.  George Lucas lost me when he made Han shoot Greedo first and politicizing the Prequels. 

Insomnia

When Insomnia came out, I ran back to the movie theatres (usually I run to bookstores, movies, rarely).

It starred Al Pacino going head to head with the Midnight Alaska Sun and Robin Williams as the did he or didn't he do it antagonist? Not just a mystery, but a character arc.  I could feel the Midnight Sun creeping up on me throughout the film.

Pacino downplayed his role, and Robin Williams was scarier by not going all googly eyed.  Danger, in this movie, came in quiet footsteps.  The Sun damaging Pacino's sleep patterns and Williams' character being friendly and not at all a villain.

The best storytellers understand that villains don't think they are evil, and the good guys are not always heroes.

During Insomnia, I was still getting my feet wet here in LA. It was a year before my dad died, and he saw it too.  He liked it.  Too bad he missed the Dark Knight trilogy. 

I skipped Batman Begins (and have only seen it twice on TV) because I wasn't in any mood for a superhero movie.  My dad had died in 03, and I was struggling to get back to DC.  I flew back east, took a Summer class at the Leadership institute and have not been back since.  Life interrupted here.

My (current) political work is trying to help turn the tide in LA from Blue to Red.  If I made it back to DC then (or in 03 if my Dad did not pass away), I don't think I would have become a Goth or become entrenched in RPLAC.  But these victories came later.

The Dark Knight

If you have been a reader of the Valley, you know of "the Plague Year,"  I will not rehash the story, just follow the links, here. 

As my mind and soul were breaking that Summer, two movies helped keep me somewhat steady: Southland Tales and the Dark Knight.

The story of Dent's rise and fall matched mine. The Joker's love of chaos matched the craziness going through my own personal life.  Butr what caught me was how Nolan stuck by the comic books.

Anyone can pilot a comic book movie, but what made the Dark Knight lift above all other super hero movies was what Nolan has been working on since Memento.  Not all good characters are all good, and everyone who thinks they know what is going on, doesn't.

The Mob bosses thought they controlled the Joker.  As the movie progresses, the Joker gains control of Gotham (i.e.the "Social experiment,").  I saw the film three times during that summer, I saw a lot of myself in Dent.  Of course, I rooted for Batman. But the Joker had the storyline (and my life) correct: You cannot go back, you changed things.  

Inception

The story of Inception, stealing (or putting an idea into a dream), is an Old one.  But Nolan brought a concept and brought it down to reality.

At this point in my life, I was back on track.  I was politicking, I was working on promoting the Southland Fundraiser,  

The dream within dream within dream concept I got within my first (movie) viewing.  I caught it on cable multiple times.  The story made sense, and I was designing a storyline for Los Angeles Election 2010 that would have brought the Dreamers (the Bloggers) and the goal (Electing LA GOP candidates) together.

One thing about Nolan that I respect is that he does not go into my work realm (politics) and insult or stereotype.  I don't know his politics and he doesn't slam mine.  That is a good working relationship between filmmaker and audience.  

Thank you Christopher Nolan for helping me live my life (in LA now less) through your movies!

My question: Has any director or series of movies affect your life?

Inception: Playing with Your head

I've been a fan of Christopher Nolan's work since Memento. 


The Dark Knight was heads above most Comic book movies (and I'm a Marvel comics guy), and dealt with the theme of rise and fall (Harvey Dent/Two Face and the Mob) and madness (The Joker).  Even I know, Batman would never read the same. 

And today (thanks to an old AMC gift card my dad left behind in Winter 2002), I caught Inception.  Here is the trailer:

The movie blew my mind.  My taste in films are either the truly stupid, inane cheap sci-fi (Ultraviolet) or the thoughtful head changers (12 Monkeys, Fight Club, Usual Suspects, etc.); Inception is sci-fi, but falls into the latter category. While my taste in films leaves much to be desired, wait till you see my library.  That is where I have my depth.

Imagine a world where lucid dreaming is a place where Corporate spies can search your mind for secrets.  Then Nolan writes a scenario where an idea must be given to the mark, in an Escher devised plan. 

Without giving away too much of the plot, Di Caprio's character has some past troubles that interfere with his job, and as the team moves up within the levels of dreaming (the last sequence is spectacular filmmaking), all the stories come to a head.  How many levels? Go and see.

Some people are are debating the ending, I have my own theory [Here there be Dragons -- Spoilers ahead] Di Caprio dies as the flight ends, hence the spinning top [Spoilers end].  Nolan makes us question the validity of our dreams and the secrets we hold inside. 

For once, Hollywood has backed an original idea not from Comic-con or a remake.  Woo-hoo! I wish the rest of the Industry would follow. 

I will try to see Inception again.  If you haven't seen it, go for the mystery and enjoy the magic of the mind.

My question: Have you seen Inception? What did you think? (When you answer, please put a warning of spoilers. Thanks in advance)