The Dark Knight (2008)

In preparation for The Dark Knight Rises I dusted down my copy of this film to get me in the mood.

In 7 words or less: You wanna know how i got these scars?

What's it all About? After saving Gotham city in "Begins" the caped crusader has struck fear into the city's criminal bosses. With the help of Gordon and the new D.A. Harvey Dent they hit the crime families where it hurts them the most, their wallets. In desperation the mob turn to an unhinged bank robber to exact retribution. The Joker. Aaaand.here.we.go!

Best bits? From the silence of the opening credits to Jim Gordons final speech , this is a masterpiece of crime fiction.
The interrogation scene is just word perfect , the chase sequence and the flipping truck, the batpod bursting out of the tumbler! the magic trick! pretty much any scene with Heath Ledger. But lets not discount Christian Bale's layered ,complex character. Sure the Bat voice can do with some work but he gives some real depth to Wayne as he did in the first movie. 

Did it make you think thoughts? Now i love the Avengers , that was a childhood wet dream of comicbook characters come true, but this, this is grown up stuff. This drew on the fears of terrorism, chaos, pandemonium and what a person would do to survive. As the joker puts it : "they're (people) only as good as the world allows them to be, I'll show you when the chips are down, these "civilised people" will eat each other!". 

Not only that , we don't get the hero saves the day ending (spoilers) rather we get the hero takes the blame for the two face killings and becomes the outcast to hide the truth and preserve a false hero's legacy. It rises (no pun intended) the conclusion above your average superhero story asking the question, is being the hero important or is it making a difference no matter what the personal cost? Ironically, isn't that the most heroic thing of all? Taking the bullet or saying you fired the gun so a more acceptable hero can make the world feel safe in the right way we perceive it should be, with a dashing, successful and socially acceptable hero, not the weirdo who likes to dress up as a giant bat. 

in conclusion The Dark Knight Rises will be  possibly more a story of redemption for the Batman character. While the tag line is "the legend ends" it does say he rises first.

Would you watch it again? Yes, definitely. Depending on how good the new one is I cant wait to have my trilogy at Christmas!!

Rating (out of 100%): Batman films formed my childhood and after the evil piece of crapness that was ....was....i cant say it ....batmanandrobin .....this and the first film really rejuvenated my faith in the franchise. I love this film so i'll give it a 95%. Who ever is brave enough to take on the franchise after Nolan is done has their work cut out.

Batman Begins (2005)

In preparation for my 7:45am showing of The Dark Knight Rises on Friday I thought I'd revisit the previous Nolan works

In 7 words or less: How shall I fight crime? Batsuit!

What's it all About? After Bruce Wayne's parents are murdered, he finds himself travelling the globe and after receiving extensive combat training decides to go back to Gotham City, put on a black suit and confront crime head on as.....The Batman.

Best bits? There's a small spoiler here but I assume everyone who will read this has seen the film anyway. The bait and switch with Ken Watanabe supposedly playing the character of Ra's Al Ghul was nice as were the scenes whenever someone got spayed with The Scarecrows fear gas. A demonic looking Batman is fearsome and actually scary.

Did it make you think thoughts? This film should have been called Bruce Wayne Begins as we get so little of The Batman. He doesn't appear until an hour in and after that has little scene time. And when he does show his face it's a fat chubby face. I'm not really a fan of Bale and even though he's ok as Mr Wayne, when he dons the suit he just looks silly. Add in the laugh inducing, cringe worthy attempted gravel voice and, for me, the films biggest downfall is it's main protagonist. Not great. Katie Holmes is pointless and annoying and still looks like the 15 yr old girl she played on Dawson's Creek and Tom Wilkinson's yankee accent is sketchy. On the plus side, Cyllian Murphy as The Scarecrow is good fun, Michael Caine is great as beleaguered family butler Alfred,Gary Oldman is pretty solid as a Gotham copper and Morgan Freeman slots in nicely as Wayne's inside man with all the tech and gadget. 


The word around Slumpy Towers is that The Chief is a hater of the Nolanverse Batman saga. This is not the case. Sure there are many things I don't like but at the end of the day it's a solid action adventure. Would it have worked without the eponymous 'Bat'? Yeah it would. It could just have easily been some kind of combat gear wearing vigilante. I suppose you can repost by saying that it was the start of the franchise and was never going to be a balls wild cape and cowl fest. Herein lies another issue I have. For me, the best super hero films are the ones that don't take themselves seriously but have a cheeky knowing nod to all things campish and jesty. Iron Man, The Avengers, yes even The Fantastic Four and the first couple of X-Men films all do this well. The world was obviously ready for a grim and gritty 'realistic' take on super heroes but not I. You have to remember we're dealing with a silly genre filled with silly names and silly costumes but I suppose Nolan probably did the best he could. At least the action is tight, the sets spectacular and the script (on the whole) is good. Ultimately Joe Public ate it up.

Worst bit? This had me cringing

Would you watch it again? Yeah. It might seem like I've trampled all over this but there is enough to like to warrant repeat views (in the event I can't find my copy of Burton's '89 version)

Rating (out of 100%): One of the main criticisms levelled at the recent Spider-man flick could also apply here. Did we really need another origin story. We all know Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered and then he chose to dress up as a creature of the night to fight crime. Maybe we do but an hours worth of build-up? No. Anyway, when the dust has settled I give give Batman Begins an over hyped but still enjoyable 80%

Domino (2005)

In 7 words or less: Keira Knightley trades period dresses for shotguns

What's it all About? The 'trueish' story of a young rich kid who flunks out of school and embarks on a career as a bounty hunter. Along the way she gets involved in a double crossing, heist gone wrong that makes the s**t hit the fan.

Best bits? Any of the scenes involving Chris Walken's sleasy tv exec are great value, as is the introduction of former 90's 90210ers Ian Zierring and Brian Austin Green for the formation of a reality tv show that follows the exploits of our bounty hunting squad.


Did it make you think thoughts? I really thought I would hate this. Why did I watch it then? I dunno, I guess I'm a bit of a sucker for crap films I can slag off. Accessed denied here though as it was actually quite enjoyable. The intro is good and gives a large chunk of background info without dragging too much. Once the action starts it is hard, fast and fairly brutal. The relationships are interesting with Mickey Rourke playing the hard as nails leader of the rag tag group and Edgar Ramirez, his more than a little psychotic right hand man, having a mega crush on Domino but never doing anything about it. I wasn't too keen on the whole film being shot in a washed of sepia tone but that's a minor quibble.


Would you watch it again? Yeah, I would.

Rating (out of 100%): There are enough twists, plot devices and interesting characters to make this a worthwhile watch. I give Domino a bonesy 74%

The Black Dhalia (2006)

In 7 words or less: LA Confidential take two...just more confusing

What's it all About? Set in 1940's America, two cops are hellbent on trying to solve a murder spree. As they become more obsessed with finding the killer their and dark secrets come to light, their personal lives start to unravel.

Best bits? The opening boxing match between our two heroes is brutal and exciting as is the tension created from the inevitable love triangle.

This guy's shooting at us

Did it make you think thoughts? Man, I'm really starting to love the genre that is crime noir cinema. The waistcoats, hats and constant cigarette smoking paints a vivid picture of post war Americana. Eckhart is believable as Lee Blanchard who hides a troubled past beneath his buff macho exterior. Johansson sizzles as always as his femme fatale all husky and sultry. The third part of the main trifecta is Josh Hartnett an unfortunately he proves to be the weakest link. It's not that he's bad, far from it, he plays the well as the spunky young upstart, it's just that you wonder if he will be forever remembered for his teen based roles.

I know

Even with a tight script, engaging story and good performances there are still some negatives. The scene in the lesbian club where half the women are dressed as men is a bit weird and unnecessary as is the scene filmed directly from the point of view of Bucky. Also, towards the end the twists and turns get ramped up and as more characters are introduced, the relationships and names become ever harder to follow resulting in a confusing mess. 

You know that's bad for you?

Would you watch it again? It did enough for me to want to give it another go.

Rating (out of 100%): I give The Black Dhalia a bullets 'n broads 75%

Singin' In The Rain (1952)

In 7 words or less: Musical about the making of a musical

What's it all About? With silent films going out of fashion, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and his studio boss decide to make a 'talkie'. Unfortunately his leading lady Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) is from Noo Yoork and they decide that her strong raspy accent should be dubbed over with that of new sweetheart Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds). Providing the comedy clown bits is the rubber limbed Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Conner). 

Best bits? The choreography on display here is so good it nearly blew my nutsack off. The title song might be good but there are even better dance numbers on offer. The 'Good Morning' scene is ace.



'Make 'em Laugh' is another display of an amazing routine featuring such skill it will make your eyes bleed. 



Did it make you think thoughts? Wow, today's actors sure are lazy toerags. Back in the day you had to act, sing and dance to be able to tread the boards and hit the heights of stardom. Kelly and O'Connor are so precise, skilled and likeable you wonder if they're robots programmed on the 'entertain' setting. The two female interests are equally as good and match our male protagonists blow for blow. Debbie Reynolds is gorgeous and Jean Hagen turns the feisty meter up to eleven. Great stuff.



The sets are sprawling, the songs spectacular, the direction immaculate, and the technicolour glorious. All in all a super tight production.

Would you watch it again? Hot damn I love this film. Yes I will.

Rating (out of 100%): I can't believe I'd never seen this before this morning. What a chump. If you don't have a smile on your face whilst watching this you're dead to me. I give Singin' in the Rain a stormy 90%

Broken Arrow (1950)

In 7 words or less: Is peace possible between Cowboys & Indians?

What's it all About? During the the latter part of the 19th century, US settlers are at war with native American tribes. After Tom Jeffords (Jimmy Stewart) saves the life of a young brave, he begins to wonder if the horrors of this conflict can be put to rest with the establishment of a peace treaty.

Best bits? The relationship between Jeffords and Indian Chief Cochise is believable and develops at a pace that allows the viewer to become caught up in the politics and pugilistics of the conflict.


Did it make you think thoughts? This film came at a time when most western cowboy centred flicks were depicting native American Indians as nothing but stone cold killers who were set aside by the rest of society and it sought top buck that trend. Broken Arrow may be crude and sometimes heavy handed in its pursuit of the view that, 'they're just like us', but it's a great film that would have opened a lot of eyes back in the 50's. 


Would you watch it again? The topics of prejudice and isolationism are still relevant today and that means this film will hold up to repeat views. That's a yes by the way.

Rating (out of 100%): A ground breaking film that can be enjoyed by non-western lovers as much those familiar with the genre. I give Broken Arrow a non-broken 70%