When the reboot of the Batman franchise happened three years ago with Batman Begins, the wisely stayed away from what are traditionally Batman's "A-List" villains. But the weird combo of Ra's Al Ghul, Scarecrow and Carmine Falcone worked well to get the ball rolling. Of course, you knew that a sequel was inevitable and that they'd be rolling out the "A-List" at that point. And what an amazing ride this one is.
The Dark Knight picks up pretty much where we left off. Gotham's still a city that's falling apart. Scarecrow's still on the loose and the mobsters are still running things -- sort of. You see Batman has provided a bit of hope and inspiration. Sure there are idiots now running around dressed as Batman trying to do what he does and doing it wrong, but the mob and the street criminals have gotten a bit more careful.
Into this scenario comes two new people -- Harvey Dent and the Joker. Dent (Aaron Eckhardt) is a force of good, Gotham's upright District Attorney is looking to Lieutenant Gordon and Batman for help in finally ridding the city of crime. The Joker (Heath Ledger) is nothing more than a force of chaos (as he puts it) that has decided that Gotham needs "a better class of criminal." He masterfully pits everyone against each other and by the time half of his plans have played out everyone has been compromised.
One would think that with a cast of characters as large as this one, people would get lost in the shuffle. But that is barely the case. Almost everyone has the right amount of screen time in this massive story that ultimately winds up being Harvey Dent's. Alfred, Lucius Fox and Rachel Dawes (now played better by Maggie Gyllenhall) all return from the previous film. Toss in a few corrupt cops under Gordon, the Mayor, a Wayne Enterprises employee who figures of Batman's secret, a news reporter and a bunch of new mobsters and the film is packed with interesting and well cast characters. Only Scarecrow gets the truly short end of the stick (making one wonder why he's even there).
The story plays out in a similar manner to what I believe is one of the greatest Batman comic book stories ever done, Batman: The Long Halloween, which was also about the changeover in Gotham's criminal element from mobsters to insane freaks and featured the good guy trio of Batman Gordon and Dent until Dent's downfall (an issue I'm skirting for anyone reading who doesn't know what happens to him because it is truely tragic).
The acting is all spot on. Christian Bale holds his own in a film that is so obviously not so much about Batman as it is about his city and these other two men who inhabit it. Aaron Eckhardt's performance as Harvey Dent is spot on perfect from the comics and all the talk of Ledger getting an Oscar for his Joker diminishes Eckhardt's work a bit as he too deserves one in my book. And the Oscar talk for Ledger isn't unfounded. Legder's performance is a weirdly, wonderful and psychotic one that blows any previous interpretation of the character out of the water. Taking their cues from older stories where the Joker just existed without a backstory and mixing it with the idea that either he doesn't know his or tells it wrong every time, the writers have given Ledger a clean slate with which he has created a villainous force to be reckoned with (and his untimely passing leaves everyone in a quandry as the Joker NEEDS to return, but how do you do that for a third film? Do you recast? With whom?).
The Dark Knight is easily the best Batman film made yet. It's probably also the best comic book movie made yet (and this in a summer of really good ones so far with Iron Man and Hellboy II: The Golden Army). This sequel does everything one is supposed to do, take the characters in a different direction while staying true to them and not repeating anything (and this so rarely happens its not even funny -- most sequels tend to be more of "lather, rinse, repeat" variety). The question is where do they go from here?
Meanwhile, just released on DVD as a tie-in is Batman: Gotham Knight. This is part of a new line of direct-to-DVD movies that Warner & DC Comics have been doing. And so far it is the least successful. Taking its cues from Batman Begins, this film is actually six short "stories" that explore Batman and his image in the world. Each is done by a different Japanese animator in a different style which is a nice twist, but each is pretty much undone by the writing. The best of the segments is the last one featuring a nice re-interpretation of the classic Batman/ DC villain Deadshot (maybe he can make an appearnce like this in the next film), but by the time you've reached this last segment you're already wasted an hour (even an appearance by Killer Croc and Scarecrow in the same segment doesn't work). The animation varies from very smooth to "what the heck am I watching" (which is mostly the first segment). Kevin Conroy who voiced Batman in the Animated Series returns to voice him again. Its another plus. Only recommended for die-hard Batman fans or anime fans.
I know I still need to get my Hellboy II: The Golden Army review up (it got away from me), so you should be seeing that in a day or two. Until then...
Be seeing you.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Playing Catch Up Yet Again: It's My New Mantra
My wife and I used to have a Netflix membership that we enjoyed, but eventually there came a time where we were sitting on the movies for far too long before watching them. This would happen for a variety of reasons, so we eventually cancelled our membership. These days if we have the time to watch something, we hit our cable's pay-per-view...its just easier. So we've been able to catch up on a few things we missed here and there (especially this summer as there's little on TV). So here are some reviews of films we caught there as well as something currently in theaters and a TV review or two.
The Bucket List -- Didn't realize this was directed by Rob Reiner, but this funny and heart-warming story about two men diagnosed with terminal cancer is worth a watch. Jack Nicholson continues to play Jack Nicholson perfectly and Morgan Freeman does an amazing job as the other guy. The end brought a few tears to my eyes.
Wall*E -- Has Pixar made a bad movie yet? Sure, some are better than others, but there has yet to be a dud in the bunch. This film continues the streak. Very funny, touching and heart-warming (that's the second time I've used that word in this one -- maybe its the hormones from my wife talking).
The Jane Austin Book Club -- My wife is a HUGE Jane Austin fan. Up until I met Tash, I didn't know much about her. This film is about a group of women (and one guy) who meet monthly to discuss each of the novels (one a month). But its about more than that as each woman can relate their lives to each of the novels. The film got me to think about reading a piece of "literature" again, so it can't be all bad.
I Survived A Japanese Game Show -- Yes, the summer doldrums have hit TV and I'm watching crap like this. Its got a bit more meat than watching guys get hit in the balls on America's Funniest Home Video at least.
Wipeout -- Okay...so this show is just an hour of guys getting hit in the balls (well...an obstacle course equivalent as people fall off things or get knocked off things). It makes me laugh to see other in such pain these days. I know...I'm sick.
Doctor Who Season 4 -- With one or two episode exceptions, this may be the best season yet. At first I thought bringing back Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) from the 2006 Christmas Special "The Runaway Bride" as a permanent companion was going to be bad. In that episode she was little more than a shrew and comic relief. She starts out that way in the first episode of Season 4, but by the time we get towards the end she's become my favorite companion. The two part season finale really closes the door on everything that's happened in the previous four seasons (whether you wanted it to or not). And while we get a who's who of the Doctor's friends, the outcome of the longest running threads involving Rose Tyler don't mean much. Its Donna's fate that will have you screaming at the TV (she doesn't die, but she may as well have). The season ends with the Doctor alone again -- really and truly alone. Which puts him in a great place for the series of 5 specials between Christmas 2008 and Christmas 2009 before we get a full and proper Season 5 in 2010.
That's it for today. Next time: Hellboy.
Be seeing you.
The Bucket List -- Didn't realize this was directed by Rob Reiner, but this funny and heart-warming story about two men diagnosed with terminal cancer is worth a watch. Jack Nicholson continues to play Jack Nicholson perfectly and Morgan Freeman does an amazing job as the other guy. The end brought a few tears to my eyes.
Wall*E -- Has Pixar made a bad movie yet? Sure, some are better than others, but there has yet to be a dud in the bunch. This film continues the streak. Very funny, touching and heart-warming (that's the second time I've used that word in this one -- maybe its the hormones from my wife talking).
The Jane Austin Book Club -- My wife is a HUGE Jane Austin fan. Up until I met Tash, I didn't know much about her. This film is about a group of women (and one guy) who meet monthly to discuss each of the novels (one a month). But its about more than that as each woman can relate their lives to each of the novels. The film got me to think about reading a piece of "literature" again, so it can't be all bad.
I Survived A Japanese Game Show -- Yes, the summer doldrums have hit TV and I'm watching crap like this. Its got a bit more meat than watching guys get hit in the balls on America's Funniest Home Video at least.
Wipeout -- Okay...so this show is just an hour of guys getting hit in the balls (well...an obstacle course equivalent as people fall off things or get knocked off things). It makes me laugh to see other in such pain these days. I know...I'm sick.
Doctor Who Season 4 -- With one or two episode exceptions, this may be the best season yet. At first I thought bringing back Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) from the 2006 Christmas Special "The Runaway Bride" as a permanent companion was going to be bad. In that episode she was little more than a shrew and comic relief. She starts out that way in the first episode of Season 4, but by the time we get towards the end she's become my favorite companion. The two part season finale really closes the door on everything that's happened in the previous four seasons (whether you wanted it to or not). And while we get a who's who of the Doctor's friends, the outcome of the longest running threads involving Rose Tyler don't mean much. Its Donna's fate that will have you screaming at the TV (she doesn't die, but she may as well have). The season ends with the Doctor alone again -- really and truly alone. Which puts him in a great place for the series of 5 specials between Christmas 2008 and Christmas 2009 before we get a full and proper Season 5 in 2010.
That's it for today. Next time: Hellboy.
Be seeing you.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Would You Believe That Get Smart is The Best Film Ever Made?
I've been a fan of Get Smart ever since I was a kid watching reruns on New York's WPIX Channel 11. It was a funny show then and still remains a funny show now (one of the few classics I watched as a kid that I still laugh at time and time again -- unlike Gilligan's Island or The Brady Bunch which I also watched as a kid).
The premise was a James Bond spoof about a bumbling American spy who worked for a secret organization known as CONTROL. Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 (Don Addams), would stumble in and out of situations and inevitably save the day by accident. Most times he was helped by Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) while he exasperated his Chief (Edward Platt) in his fights against the forces of KAOS. The best episodes were the ones that featured Siegfried (Bernie Kopell) as the KAOS frontman (he always had a superior we never saw). The show aired for five seasons (four on NBC and one on CBS).
The original series is currently available on DVD only from Time Life and only as a full series set with oodles of extras. This is the right way for any TV series to appear on DVD -- full series first and then break it up into seasons because the other way is just becoming obnoxious at this point. The first season will be available in retail stores at the end of August.
The original series gave way to a few revival attempts and remakes. The Nude Bomb in 1980 featured Don Addams as Maxwell Smart and Robert Karvelas as the even more bumbling Larrabee, but little else from the original series remained. While Max had to fight the forces of KAOS again, he was now doing it working for an organization known as PITS. The film was just released on DVD in widescreen and this was probably the first time I had seen it in over a decade. While funnier than I remembered it being, it was still an odd and pale shadow of the TV series.
In 1989, a TV Movie aired on ABC entitled Get Smart Again. This time everyone from the original show was reunited (except for Edward Platt who had died in the 1970s) and the laughs came as fast and as furious as they had during the 1960s TV series. This movie is available on DVD in bargain bins if you can find a copy.
The success of this TV movie led to another attempt at a relaunch, this time on FOX (making Get Smart the first and only show to have aired on every major network at some point). While both Don Addams and Barbara Feldon returned as Max and 99, the show's focus was mostly on their son bumbling Zack (Andy Dick -- before he was really Andy Dick) and his much smarter partner Agent 66 (Elaine Hendrix). The show was lacking the spark of the original and only seven episodes were made. The show is now available on DVD (mostly to piggy back on the new big screen remake) and there's only one episode that even comes close to the original series in quality: the sixth episode features a return by Bernie Kopell as Siegfried and gives Don Addams more screen time as the two old "enemies" continue their battle from years ago. Its a fleeting glimpse at what the original series was and shows what the new series could have been.
Which brings us to the big screen remake starring Steve Carrell. Honestly, I was unsure of what they could do with this series to make it fresh for the movies. The Addams Family kept it fresh by staying close to the original material. The Brady Bunch kept it fresh by staying close to the original look and feel and modernizing everything around the family. So how does one take a 1960s spy spoof and modernize it and make it relevant to today's audiences while staying true to the material? Exactly how these guys have done it.
Max (Carrell) still works for CONTROL, but now he's an analyst who dreams of becoming a field agent. The Chief (Alan Arkin) wants Max to remain an analyst because he's the best there is, but when CONTROL is infiltrated by a KAOS spy and the covers of all their secret agents become compromised, Max is teamed with 99 (Anne Hathaway) to get to the bottom of KAOS ultimate goal.
Almost every major character from the original series gets remade and updated in the right way. We get appearances by Larrabee (David Koechner -- now more of a stupid bully towards Max, but it works), Agent 13 (Bill Murray in a pointless cameo), Hymie the Robot (Patrick Warburton in the most perfect bit of casting who doesn't get nearly enough screen time), Siegfried (Terrence Stamp in the biggest mistsep in this film as this Siegfried would be more at home fighting Jason Bourne or Jack Ryan -- Stamp is so out of place as Siegfried he seems like a villain from a more serious film and its made all the more apparent once Bernie Kopell puts in a cameo) and Shtarker (Ken Davitian). The weapons inventor from the original series, Professor Carlton, has been replaced by Bruce and Lloyd (Masi Oka and Nate Torrence) with great effect.
The film moves at a brisk pace and the humor comes more from the characters and situations as opposed to being slapstick for slapstick's stake. There's stuff that will feel familiar from plenty of more recent films like The Bourne Identity or Patriot Games, we even go back as far as 1979's Bond film Moonraker for a sky diving scene (that's almost an exact remake of the one from that Bond film), but it never feels old, or tired or spoofy. The script treats the main characters with respect and as far as big screen remakes of small screen shows go, this isn't quite as good as The Addams Family or The Brady Bunch but its pretty damn close (and a far cry from Car 54 Where Are You or My Favorite Martian).
This is definitely a comedy worth seeing.
Now, while we saw this film on opening day, it has taken me a few weeks to get around to my review because I wanted to also see the direct to DVD film, Get Smart's Bruce & Lloyd Out of CONTROL, being release in conjunction, but after, Get Smart. If the new Get Smart were Hamlet then this film is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Here we see Bruce and Lloyd (still played by Masi Oka and Nate Torrence) as they try and recover some stolen technology during the events of the plot of Get Smart (of course, the two plots have nothing to do with one another, but there are scenes and characters that do dovetail in and out). We get scenes with Hymie (who gets more screen time here than he does in the main film), Agent 91 (Terry Crewes who is pretty much Larrabee's partner in crime in the main film) and Larry Miller (who plays a CIA operative in the main film, but here he's also playing that character's twin brother who is called Under Chief since he's one step below Alan Arkin's character in the chain of command). There's also a funny cameo by Anne Hathaway as 99.
The film works well enough. Its not as funny or as well made as Get Smart, but its still fun (kind of in a "we're hanging around after work to have fun" kind of way). It's got some very funny moments, but they are few and far between. For a direct to DVD release, I've seen a lot worse.
Anyway...that's all for today. I'm trying hard to get back on a schedule with writing so with luck you'll be seeing reviews closer to once a week. I hope to be back with some small catch up reviews in a few days before we tackle the new big summer release we plan on seeing: Hellboy II: The Golden Army and then after that is The Dark Knight (woo hoo!!!!).
Be seeing you.
The premise was a James Bond spoof about a bumbling American spy who worked for a secret organization known as CONTROL. Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 (Don Addams), would stumble in and out of situations and inevitably save the day by accident. Most times he was helped by Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) while he exasperated his Chief (Edward Platt) in his fights against the forces of KAOS. The best episodes were the ones that featured Siegfried (Bernie Kopell) as the KAOS frontman (he always had a superior we never saw). The show aired for five seasons (four on NBC and one on CBS).
The original series is currently available on DVD only from Time Life and only as a full series set with oodles of extras. This is the right way for any TV series to appear on DVD -- full series first and then break it up into seasons because the other way is just becoming obnoxious at this point. The first season will be available in retail stores at the end of August.
The original series gave way to a few revival attempts and remakes. The Nude Bomb in 1980 featured Don Addams as Maxwell Smart and Robert Karvelas as the even more bumbling Larrabee, but little else from the original series remained. While Max had to fight the forces of KAOS again, he was now doing it working for an organization known as PITS. The film was just released on DVD in widescreen and this was probably the first time I had seen it in over a decade. While funnier than I remembered it being, it was still an odd and pale shadow of the TV series.
In 1989, a TV Movie aired on ABC entitled Get Smart Again. This time everyone from the original show was reunited (except for Edward Platt who had died in the 1970s) and the laughs came as fast and as furious as they had during the 1960s TV series. This movie is available on DVD in bargain bins if you can find a copy.
The success of this TV movie led to another attempt at a relaunch, this time on FOX (making Get Smart the first and only show to have aired on every major network at some point). While both Don Addams and Barbara Feldon returned as Max and 99, the show's focus was mostly on their son bumbling Zack (Andy Dick -- before he was really Andy Dick) and his much smarter partner Agent 66 (Elaine Hendrix). The show was lacking the spark of the original and only seven episodes were made. The show is now available on DVD (mostly to piggy back on the new big screen remake) and there's only one episode that even comes close to the original series in quality: the sixth episode features a return by Bernie Kopell as Siegfried and gives Don Addams more screen time as the two old "enemies" continue their battle from years ago. Its a fleeting glimpse at what the original series was and shows what the new series could have been.
Which brings us to the big screen remake starring Steve Carrell. Honestly, I was unsure of what they could do with this series to make it fresh for the movies. The Addams Family kept it fresh by staying close to the original material. The Brady Bunch kept it fresh by staying close to the original look and feel and modernizing everything around the family. So how does one take a 1960s spy spoof and modernize it and make it relevant to today's audiences while staying true to the material? Exactly how these guys have done it.
Max (Carrell) still works for CONTROL, but now he's an analyst who dreams of becoming a field agent. The Chief (Alan Arkin) wants Max to remain an analyst because he's the best there is, but when CONTROL is infiltrated by a KAOS spy and the covers of all their secret agents become compromised, Max is teamed with 99 (Anne Hathaway) to get to the bottom of KAOS ultimate goal.
Almost every major character from the original series gets remade and updated in the right way. We get appearances by Larrabee (David Koechner -- now more of a stupid bully towards Max, but it works), Agent 13 (Bill Murray in a pointless cameo), Hymie the Robot (Patrick Warburton in the most perfect bit of casting who doesn't get nearly enough screen time), Siegfried (Terrence Stamp in the biggest mistsep in this film as this Siegfried would be more at home fighting Jason Bourne or Jack Ryan -- Stamp is so out of place as Siegfried he seems like a villain from a more serious film and its made all the more apparent once Bernie Kopell puts in a cameo) and Shtarker (Ken Davitian). The weapons inventor from the original series, Professor Carlton, has been replaced by Bruce and Lloyd (Masi Oka and Nate Torrence) with great effect.
The film moves at a brisk pace and the humor comes more from the characters and situations as opposed to being slapstick for slapstick's stake. There's stuff that will feel familiar from plenty of more recent films like The Bourne Identity or Patriot Games, we even go back as far as 1979's Bond film Moonraker for a sky diving scene (that's almost an exact remake of the one from that Bond film), but it never feels old, or tired or spoofy. The script treats the main characters with respect and as far as big screen remakes of small screen shows go, this isn't quite as good as The Addams Family or The Brady Bunch but its pretty damn close (and a far cry from Car 54 Where Are You or My Favorite Martian).
This is definitely a comedy worth seeing.
Now, while we saw this film on opening day, it has taken me a few weeks to get around to my review because I wanted to also see the direct to DVD film, Get Smart's Bruce & Lloyd Out of CONTROL, being release in conjunction, but after, Get Smart. If the new Get Smart were Hamlet then this film is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Here we see Bruce and Lloyd (still played by Masi Oka and Nate Torrence) as they try and recover some stolen technology during the events of the plot of Get Smart (of course, the two plots have nothing to do with one another, but there are scenes and characters that do dovetail in and out). We get scenes with Hymie (who gets more screen time here than he does in the main film), Agent 91 (Terry Crewes who is pretty much Larrabee's partner in crime in the main film) and Larry Miller (who plays a CIA operative in the main film, but here he's also playing that character's twin brother who is called Under Chief since he's one step below Alan Arkin's character in the chain of command). There's also a funny cameo by Anne Hathaway as 99.
The film works well enough. Its not as funny or as well made as Get Smart, but its still fun (kind of in a "we're hanging around after work to have fun" kind of way). It's got some very funny moments, but they are few and far between. For a direct to DVD release, I've seen a lot worse.
Anyway...that's all for today. I'm trying hard to get back on a schedule with writing so with luck you'll be seeing reviews closer to once a week. I hope to be back with some small catch up reviews in a few days before we tackle the new big summer release we plan on seeing: Hellboy II: The Golden Army and then after that is The Dark Knight (woo hoo!!!!).
Be seeing you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)