Inaugural Post - "The Dark Knight Rises" Full Review & AFI Top 100 Beginning Thoughts

The Inaugural Post Address

Hello, all! To the selective & I'm sure excitable audience who might be reading this, I say welcome, and thank you! It is my honor to be hosting you. (Really...) In order to properly introduce this, however, I will give a minute but extensive background investigation of myself - Chris "The Irish Crier" O'Reilly (That story [a plethora of stories combined into one, all-encompassing 'tale'] will be for a later post) from the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.
 In short, I have always been a lover of film and movies since I can, truthfully, remember. I realize many say this about many things, but this is an absolute truth for me. I can not name one other 'thing' (pardon my vagueness) that I have, truly, loved for a great majority of my life (Malted Milk Balls/Swedish Fish & Chris Farley's cackle/aura may be close). Of course, it has developed & continues to do so, & has gone through obligatory "relationship stages" (Pubescent awkwardness where "Dumb & Dumber" was THE best; Emotional/Beastial teenager where "Saving Private Ryan", "Black Hawk Down", & "Gladiator" helped to unleash some sort of emotional angst; For example.) Truthfully, though, through this all, these movies - once loved & seemingly worshiped as dwellers of the Pantheon/Parthenon - have still managed to hold a special place in my heart. Without television & film, I would absolutely not be pursuing the career I have chosen to pursue, & would not have the integral creative lean that I have come to embrace. My (eventual) choice of Marquette University for my undergraduate education had as much to do with Chris Farley's attendance of the school as it did academic reputation; perhaps poetically, it has been the most rewarding three semesters worth of schooling intertwined with personal, real-world growth. My love of movies - and, more importantly, my appreciation of what it is that goes into the successful creation of one - has driven me a couple miles over the speed limit, with the 'top down', & minimal bug infestation of my stomach lining.

Quickly here, I would like to provide a "How-To" Short, Brief tutorial of just how to read the blog:
---I will provide a short heading with the movie title (similar to the heading found at the beginning of this), and a rating (This rating will consist sometimes of a run-of-the-mill, typical "Out of Four Stars" rating; Other times, I will be so emotional & excited that I will legitimately use adjectives/descriptive phrases, trying to insert awkwardly my rating out of four). Additionally, I will try to insert a trailer/clip of the film concerned, with spoilers at the forefront of my mind so as to not include a clip riddled with them.
---HOWEVER, this all being said, what I find to be most therapeutic & least intimidating/labeling is to delve right in without any sort of bearing as to what my train of thought is; Chances are, if this is what you find yourself looking at, the overall consensus will be found at the end, with some sort of letter grade/star/adjectival adverbial conjunction that would force Dr. Seuss into the Betty Ford Clinic.
---I will keep summary at a minimal and will, instead, do my best to merely provide insight. Thus, if at any point (even if a minimal risk) I think a 'Spoiler Alert' is needed (which, again, will hopefully be minimal), I will tag the text with the following: ****SP-OMG-ILERS****

BUT, to abruptly cut that train of thought off onto another diverging track, I would like to begin with my full review of "The Dark Knight Rises", and begin a theme of these blogs that should not (but might despite this) intimidate you with a grouping word-name I call: Fanboy-ism. [TRAILER BELOW]

The Dark Knight Rises

On Thursday, July 19th, I - and a few friends - chose to attend "The Batman Experience" (as this phrase was, verbatim, the marketing title for this event) at AMC-Loews 19 in Woodridge, IL - a suburb of Chicago. What this consisted of was the Christopher Nolan trilogy - "Batman Begins" at 6:00pm, "The Dark Knight" at 8:45pm, and, finally, "The Dark Knight Rises" playing at 12:01am sharp. The event itself was incredibly rewarding, as the story & continuity seemed to be clearer & the basic foundations laid for the seemingly monumental skyscraper of "The Dark Knight Rises" (henceforth referred to as 'TDKR') were more apparent & immediate.
What struck me immediately was the dark tone set with beautiful scenic shots of Newark/Pittsburgh at night, with a glowing Wayne Manor sitting as a pariah on the top of a lonely, tree-infested hillside on the banks of a Gotham river. This, coupled with the immediate presence of a beautifully morbid score (done, seemingly effortlessly again, by Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard), set a dark, bleak tone that would carry on throughout the film. His pieces for this film were, as expected, mostly dark, sad, & angsty, with a few (albeit mostly Catwoman's) being lighter. However, with this being said, what differentiates Hans Zimmer from other composers is his ability to incorporate other, "more positive" emotions in the sadder pieces; no piece is one emotion.

I can not help, now, but to talk about the characters and performances by each corresponding actor/actress:
Gary Oldman - "Commissioner Gordon" - An all-around incredible performance. He brought Gordon's character full-circle - with his humble beginnings as a "beat-cop" in 'Batman Begins', to his heroic displays leading to his eventual promotion to Commissioner in TDK, to his emotionally exhausted, yet still always willing to fight & lead when he sees fit in TDKR.
Marion Cotillard - "Miranda Tate" - Subtly powerful & confident, played Miranda uniquely. She seemed to have a firmly convicted grasp on just who Miranda was, and what it was exactly motivating her to become close to Bruce.  Ms. Cotillard is a talented woman, and was the perfect choice for Miranda.

Anne Hathaway as Selina

Anne Hathaway - "Selina Kyle/Catwoman" - The most surprisingly strong & convicted performance of the bunch. She played Selina with a firm conviction as well, and stayed loyal to her consistent portrayal as a witty, conniving, yet very bitter and cynical jewel thief in the Batman comic books. She had complete control of the character, which convinced me that, in a given situation, Selina Kyle has control over what it is she is doing; Because she played this part with a purpose, she by virtue gave the character purpose and conviction.

JGL as "John Blake"

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - "Officer John Blake" - This seemed to be a possible trap for Gordon-Levitt. The character, to me, had the potential to be a flat, one-dimensional city-cop/detective, played stereotypically heroic and without much real emotion in order to establish a rugged exterior. HOWEVER, there seemed to be much emotionally deep potential by virtue of Chris & John Nolan's dialogue & plot elements (MORE on those later) whilst still maintaining a rugged, "tough guy" exterior; I only realize this second option now because that is exactly how JGL played it, and he was magnificent. His no-nonsense attitude, coupled seamlessly with his yearning for truth, established a very independent, insular character, comparable to Christian Bale's Batman/Bruce Wayne. JGL was, with Anne Hathaway, a pleasantly rewarding surprise, but not entirely, as he is an infinitely talented performer.

Bane in his "Thinker" pose

Tom Hardy - "Bane" - To me, comparable to Heath Ledger's 'Joker' potrayal. Although it was inevitable to begin comparisons, I hate doing so, as 'Bane' & 'The Joker' have distinctly different character motivations & root-purposes for the mayhem-inducing chaos (repeatedly redundant) caused eerily similarly by both. Tom Hardy, wearing the mask  for the duration of the movie, was not limited in his character choice. I found his specific, Gypsy dialect to be hauntingly macabre, & the perfect choice for Bane. His intimidation factor - while not manic like 'The Joker' - is, instead, a calm, confident, evil aura he established around the character so that, whenever he is not on screen, the audience assumes he is active elsewhere, furthering his plot to destroy Gotham. He has been underrated by most since the release, with the reason consistently being "he was hard to understand" (Chris Nolan chose to record through the mask for Hardy's dialogue.) This is an easy, lazy excuse for audiences to dismiss his performance; yet, simultaneously, this is the most unfair treatment an actor can receive. His dialogue, to me, was clear to be understood, if one chose to listen intently (as usually done with Christian Bale's "Growl in the Cowl".) Chris Nolan, with his own conniving & intelligible motivations, perhaps may have done this on purpose; Bane's dialogue was hugely important to the film, as it was there for exposition purposes (i.e. to advance the plot.) Thus, listening intently to him is not merely important for only his character development, but additionally the overall plot's development. Tom Hardy was my own favorite part of this film.
Christian Bale - "Bruce Wayne/Batman" - Effortlessly great, & perhaps the brightest, most deserving actor of recognition for his/her role. Christian Bale took the time to delve deeply into the emotional quagmire Bruce Wayne found himself in. He is, & will remain, the greatest actor to portray Batman because of this dedication to the role, rather than a (deceptively simple) dismissal as a 'comic book character.' 

Batman, Bane, & Uniformed Cop #2

Michael Caine - "Alfred" - The paternal figure with emotionally torn characterization by Michael Caine. He was incredible because of his dedication to Alfred as Bruce's pseudo-father. His insights throughout the film provide the audience with a "devil's advocate" point of view typically, and persistently challenge Bruce to re-consider his emotional involvement as well as personal involvement as Batman. This concern created a seeming omnipresence whenever we, as the audience, watched Batman not-so-cautiously re-enter the criminal badgering world and, more importantly, state of mind.
Morgan Freeman - "Lucius Fox" - Again, effortlessly amazing, and his character stayed consistent throughout the trilogy. He was a second, more detached father-like figure to Bruce, and his emotional attachment/detachment was apparent throughout the film; his quips and positively cynical attitude helped to maintain a sort of calm whenever he appeared. Overall, just another amazing performance by Morgan Freeman.

In all, the film felt absolutely carried by not only the incredibly worded script by Chris Nolan, but these strong characters, whose "pay-offs" all came to fruition with the finality & certainty of this film. Speaking of scripts, Chris and John Nolan ('brothers-in-arms/Microsoft Word'; they are not, to clear up confusion, Siamese twins, nor are they Microsoft spokesmen) wrote this with a seeming conviction and purpose that each performer portrayed his/her character with. Also clearly apparent was the chief concern over giving each character a developed arc, with their gift being a finite ending - after well-developed, extensive psychoanalytical, emotional, and physical explorations - to each character's respective story. Truly, the film felt as if it had little-to-no holes, and the credit is due 100% to Chris and John Nolan, and their pension for writing irresistibly suspenseful, emotionally taxing scripts that have the ability to not only inspire the performers, but the audience as well. The script, as well as Chris Nolan's direction and once again the eery cinematography by Wally Pfister, for me, were the over-arching bright spots of the film.

In summation, I suppose it's time for now an addressed opinion, but it will be short, as my descriptions are about as indirect as an obsessed stalker's demeanor around their concerned stalkee. I felt the finality of the film to be fulfilling, and Chris & John Nolan's ending was superb and convincing. Although the film felt despairingly dark at times, I can not help but remind myself that this is what needed to happen in order to tell the story in a convincing, "real-life" manner - as was the intent of Christopher Nolan when he signed on to create this trilogy, essentially, "from scratch." By doing so, he single-handedly re-invented the "Superhero" genre of film, by making them other societal members who have real, tangible, emotionally taxing human struggles.

ALL in ALL, just an amazing film and (as a "fanboy" of Batman being taken into consideration, too) an A+.

My Future Endeavors - AFI "100 Years... 100 Movies"

Seeing the entire list of AFI's "Top 100 Movies" is a bucket list item for me, and this summer has been deceptively boring. This pseudo-equation does "equal" more movies being watched, and I have thus far seen forty-six of the one hundred films on the list (not all this summer, mind you; that would be deserving of a Ron Burgundy "I'm not even mad... that's AMAZING!") I will, however, begin blogging and posting about each of my favorites so far, and about each proceeding film I watch.

Thank you so very much for reading, and my next post will be (mostly) concerning "Rear Window" & "Hitchcockian ideas/ideals." (Mind you, these are conjectures on my part, and in no way am I claiming to know more than a formally educated student of film) This will not be the last post about Hitchcock, however, as he has a whopping five films in the Top 100. Perhaps I will not post about Hitchcock until finishing all... but "we shall see!" as he might (and I am verbally emphasizing "MIGHT" at my computer screen right now) say today.