Movie Moan - BATDANCE!
Tue, July 24, 2012 It would be understandable if you didn't go out to see a movie this weekend and, if that is the case, it would be best not to watch/listen to the show as we don't hold back on any details or spoilers regarding 'The Dark Knight Rises'.
On the other hand, it's our job to entertain you and we hope we deliver the goods. Just like Nolan, we've assembled an ensemble cast of Movie Moan regulars to deliver a show stopping piece of entertainment this week.
Joining the regular gang of Jamie, Kristina and Phil is the big cheese of TMT Mr. Peter Georgiou. It's also the long awaited return of Capt. Ed Hocken, who always shows up for a Nolan film. Finally, we are proud to welcome back Justin Korthof; he wasn't crazy about 'The Avengers'. Will he feel the same way about TDKR?
20 seconds - 'The Dark Knight Rises' read-a-long edition with Phil.
8:10 mins - Initial long winded thoughts on the film.
22 mins - The extraneous Daggett plotline.
27:45 mins - Miranda Tate & 'Bane The Bitch'.
32:25 mins - Batman vs Bane: a study in basic brutality.
43:50 mins - Bane's beautiful bare back and.......the voice.
49:35 mins - Batman returns, then buggers off, then returns again.
59:05 mins - Favourite moments (seriously blowing the ending at this point, you have been warned).
70:10 mins - The end is the beginning is the end.
Download the audio only MP3 version right here:
Reader Comments (4)
A solid movie and a fitting end to the trilogy.
The Dark Knight Rises deserves praise for being ambitious even as those very ambitions cause a distancing effect on the emotional beats that were being presented throughout the movie.
Anne Hathaway was THE delight of the movie. Hardy was good and gave a solid performance but I found Bane dull and his departure deficient. None of the set pieces thrilled like those from the previous two movies.
Movie felt like it could use another round of story polish - this one has more hand waving moments in it than the previous two combined - and editing bay - a lot of the emotional payoff moments felt clunky. Whole lot of monologuing in this one - a sign of those ambitions being too much for the movie to properly display.
For me, Nolan's Inception remains his high mark in terms of writing and direction.
Batman Begins > The Dark Knight > The Dark Knight Rises
Great podcast. Lot of interesting viewpoints and, as usual, hats off to you Phil for the wonderful work you do putting these together.
Great podcast on the movie. I agree with Jaime, it is a flawed movie and not as good as the first two. But it is still a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
As for asking about someone who liked Catwoman killing Bane? I did. I even liked the Talia reveal. It is very Nolan and the whole, "There's still one more guy pulling the strings" in this world. I don't think it emasculated Bane like you guys imply as he still has my favorite line in the movie after that: "We both know I have to kill you now. Just pretend you feel the fire." Even so, I do think having Miranda sleep with Bruce while he's flirting much more entertainingly with Catwoman was awkward and, along with the Bruce losing his wealth subplot, was one of the factors that made the first hour feel really bloated. Once we get to the "revolution" and the Pit, the movie finds itself.
Fun discussion.
I'm a HUGE fan of Nolan and this franchise! I've seen it twice already and I fucking love this movie! Just as much as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. It did not feel long at all!
Christian Bale proved again why he's the best Bruce Wayne/Batman to me. What he went through in the entire trilogy and to get his back broken by Bane was heartbreaking for me. Only to RISE and defeat Bane and finally live a normal life was VERY satisfying for me! Also I did think he was dead and yes I was crying. So when they show him alive I cheered like crazy. So crazy that I didn't realize Selina was with him until second viewing. Oh 1 thing you guys didn't mention about him was when Miranda reveals to be Talia Al Ghul, Batman was so shocked that he even stopped using the Bat voice. Bale nailed that moment for me!
Tom Hardy pulled it off as Bane. It's tough to pull off a good acting performance when most of your face is covered but Hardy nailed it! As for his voice well the second time I watched it I pretty much understood all of his dialogue. I love that voice actually. It didn't bother me that Talia was the mastermind and not him but his death bothered me it was too rushed. But he still kicked ass in the movie. Speaking of kicking ass, he destroyed Batman in their first fight. The most interesting thing about the first fight is that there was no music at all. It felt like you were actually seeing a real fist fight. That's what made it work for me so much. As for the second fight I kinda wish it went on a little longer but it was still great to watch. I also love the speech montage. Kudos to Hardy and Nolan.
Anne Hathaway did a really good job as Selina Kyle aka Catwoman. I was really surprise by her fighting. What I really liked about her character is how the whole time she's trying to convince Batman and everyone else that she is cold-hearted. But Batman knew she was a good person deep down inside and he was right! Finally her and Bruce got to live happily ever after...OR DO THEY?! Yeah they do. :)
Joseph Gordon Levitt as Robi.. um err John Blake was really impressive especially in the second viewing. You really feel for this guy trying to help out especially when Bane has completely taken over Gotham. I love the moment he gets pissed off when the cops shoot part of the bridge off for trying to get the orphans out of the city. He deserves to be the new Batman. I was shocked to hear his name was Robin. I never thought I would ever hear the name Robin in the Nolan universe.
As for the rest of the cast Gary Oldman had less screentime but he still did a solid job. I felt bad that his wife left him and took their kids. I'm glad Nolan didn't kill him off. Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox was still fun to watch. I'm glad Nolan didn't kill him off. Sir Michael Caine brought his A game as Alfred. His emotional scenes were fantastic. I'm glad Nolan didn't kill him off. I didn't mind Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate/ Talia Al Ghul. She did a decent job. I'm glad Nolan didn't kill her... oh wait she died and her death scene was fucking stupid.
Now to wrap it up this was indeed a classic trilogy. This is my absolute favorite trilogy of all time! I would like to say thank you to Chris Nolan, the cast, the crew and Warner Bros for ending it with a BAM! Also thank you Movie Moan for the review. I love you guys... yes even Jamie. :)
This has been a great summer of movies for me. Probably the best summer of movies I've seen in theaters in my life. The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, Prometheus(you heard me!) and of course The Dark Knight Rises. Don't know what to expect in the future.
See you guys next weekend and I do have something to say about the Comic Con and the "real" teaser of Superman Begins. No Phil that's not a typo I'm calling it Superman Begins on purpose. :)
What was up with the <spoiler alert> ticking time bomb with digital read-out countdown for the climax? It's the oldest action movie cliche in the book, and I'm stunned Nolan resorted to using it.