Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Forced Perspective Episode #41 - Home Alone with a Forced Perspective 2: Lost in Edmerica

Back by popular demand…

…SuperfriendsUniverse.com proudly presents FORCED PERSPECTIVE, Episode 41 – “Home Alone with a Forced Perspective 2: Lost in Edmerica.” Join SportsGuy515 and Adolfo, along with special guests MR. EDDIE and HAMZA, as they record a commentary track for the beloved(?) Christmas film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Throw in your copy of the film on your Blu-ray or DVD player and follow along with them as they watch (and comment) on what is unfolding onscreen. MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR from all of us here at FORCED PERSPECTIVE and SUPERFRIENDS UNIVERSE! DOWNLOAD/STREAM NOW!


Sunday, December 22, 2013

Forced Perspective, Episodes #39 & #40 - Adolfo & Sportsguy's Deadly Festivus

Your favorite movie podcast returns to the airwaves, just in time for the holidays! On this VERY SPECIAL episode of FORCED PERSPECTIVE, join SportsGuy515 and Adolfo as they interview the co-producer of Caesar and Otto’s Deadly Xmas, the great JOE RANDAZZO. Then the duo begin to play catch-up with the Fall movie releases, beginning with Prisoners and Don Jon.

In Part 2 of “Adolfo and SportsGuy’s Deadly Festivus,” SportsGuy welcomes special guest BIG D in Adolfo’s absence to discuss the FORCED PERSPECTIVE DVD OF THE WEEK, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. But, as usual, the duo go off on a whole range of topics including Power Rangers, childhood memories, classic ’90s Nicktoons, why Zyuranger was always better, pro wrestling, and MORE! ALMOST 2 HOURS OF NOSTALGIA!

PART 1
PART 2



Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Citizen Kane (1941)


CITIZEN KANE
Orson Welles
1941 • 119 Minutes • 1.37:1 • United States
Black & White • English • RKO

Cast: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins, Everett Sloane, George Coulouris
Writers: Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles
Producers: Orson Welles, George Schaefer
Cinematography: Gregg Toland

Awards & Honors

Academy Awards:
Winner: Best Writing, Original Screenplay – Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles
Nominated: Best Picture
Nominated: Best Actor in a Leading Role – Orson Welles
Nominated: Best Director – Orson Welles
Nominated: Best Cinematography, Black and White – Gregg Toland
Nominated: Best Art Direction/Interior Decoration, Black and White
Nominated: Best Sound, Recording
Nominated: Best Film Editing – Robert Wise
Nominated: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture – Bernard Herrmann

American Film Institute:
AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies – #1
AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movie Quotes – “Rosebud…” #17
AFI’s 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated
AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #1

The Essential Films:
100 Greatest Films of All Time – #6
The 85 Best Pictures to Never Win Best Picture

National Board of Review
Top Ten Films
Winner: Best Film

National Film Preservation Board
1989 – Inducted into National Film Registry



You know Mr. Bernstein, if I hadn’t been rich I might have been a really great man.

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead
(Originally Published at Superfriends Universe)

Citizen Kane, Orson Welles’ magnum opus, examines the life of Charles Foster Kane, a wealthy newspaper baron who is heavily based on contemporary media mogul William Randolph Hearst. Kane, alone in his palace which he has named “Xanadu”, dies in his sleep, uttering one word before he passes: “Rosebud.” After leading such a public life where he accomplished many great things, the significance of his final word remain a mystery. Told through a series of flashbacks, a newspaper reporter tracks down key figures of Kane’s life to try and unravel the enigma that is Charles Foster Kane.

In 1938, Orson Welles produced a controversial radio broadcast of HG Wells’ science fiction classic, The War of the Worlds. The radio play was staged as if it were a real broadcast with a reporter live on the scene as Martians invaded and destroyed the Earth. The broadcast holds the notoriety of causing widespread panic, and the stunt elevated the stage actor’s presence to the point that George Schaefer, an RKO Picture executive, offered him an exclusive motion picture contract. The contract was unheard of in Hollywood, especially to a relative newcomer like Welles. Welles would be allowed to develop a film, by himself, with no studio interference, cast his own actors (of which he borrowed heavily from his Mercury Theater), hire his own crew and would final cut. After some false starts, including a point-of-view adaption of Heart of Darkness, Welles decided to write his own story with partner Herman J. Mankiewicz. Wanting to develop a script where the story was told from multiple viewpoints by the people that knew the protagonist, Mankiewicz and Welles wanted to use a public figure and eventually settled on William Randolph Hearst. Hearst was a newspaper magnate of the time that was known for using his newspapers to influence public opinion (to put it nicely.) Mankiewicz used to frequent Hearst’s Xanadu-esque parties and had plenty of inspiration and first-hand knowledge to draw from. While Kane does include elements of other notable figures like Howard Hughes and even Welles himself, the character’s foundation is clearly Hearst. There are many comparisons to be made between Hearst and Kane that are better explored in the documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane and the dramatization of the making of the film, RKO281. Needless to say, Hearst did everything in his considerable power to prevent the film from getting released, including planning a smear campaign on all of Hollywood, the goal being to get the studio heads to kill the film themselves. The top leaders of all the major studios at the time were shown a cut of the film with the idea that if they (or more accurately, their lawyers) saw anything that could be blatantly linked to Hearst, they would collectively reimburse RKO to shelve the picture forever. After negotiating with the studios to cut about 3 minutes out of the film, Citizen Kane was released to the general public in 1941. All of Hearst’s worries were for naught, however, as the film bombed at the box office and came and went without any real impact. The impact Hearst had was considerable, however, as even though the film was nominated for multiple Academy Awards the following year, it was roundly booed by the audience anytime it was mentioned.

“Ahead of its time” is a term often applied to films that push the cinematic envelope, but there is no film Citizen Kane. Almost everything about the film defied convention. As we’ve covered already, the pre-production for this film was unheard of. Welles had a unique contract that allowed him autonomy to do basically whatever he wanted, from story to production. He hired his own crew. He cast his own mostly unknown actors out of his Mercury Theater company. The set was completely closed, even to RKO studio heads. Legend has it that when said executives tried to visit the set, Welles would have his crew toss a baseball around and would tell the execs that if he wanted them to stop wasting time and money they’d have to leave the set. When watching the finished film and comparing it to other Hollywood productions of the era, the difference is astounding. Everything from the story structure to the editing to the cinematography was just not standard Hollywood filmmaking.
of which the term is more appropriate than with

The story starts with the famous “Rosebud” sequence; somber, melancholy, mysterious. The story begins with the main character’s death. It then jump cuts abruptly to the “News on the March!” newsreel that depicts Charles Foster Kane’s entire public life for the audience. What some biopics do for their central character in 2 hours, this fake news reel accomplishes in about 5 minutes. So in the first 10 minutes of the film, the audience see the main character’s death and then learns about all the major events in his life. What is left? Well… plenty. The film is told in a fragmented style. A news reporter tries to unravel the mystery of Kane’s final word, “Rosebud.” He tracks down all the major people in Kane’s life and each person tells him a different part of the story. What makes it unique is that it all comes from that person’s perspective. Sometimes we see Kane as a young man, then as a boy, then as an old man, then a middle aged man. The story jumps around depending on the viewpoint of the narrator and it is up to the audience to make sense of it all. An underlying theme in the film is jigsaw puzzles. Kane’s second wife Susan is seen putting them together to pass the time in the palatial Xanadu. But this is what the film is… a jigsaw puzzle. When one does a jigsaw puzzle, they see what the finished product is supposed to look like from the picture on the box. In this case, the “picture on the box” is the newsreel footage at the beginning and the multiple viewpoints from the different narrators are the puzzle pieces. But in the end… do we get exactly what we expected? Or is it a different picture altogether?

At various stages of pre-production the film had different names such as John Citizen, USA or The American before finally settling on Citizen Kane. Those names are very telling as the story of Citizen Kane is an examination not just of the title character, but the American Dream as well. The story of “rags to riches” success is the myth the many strive for, yet this film destroys. While Kane becomes a great man, his idealism doesn’t allow himself to be seen as one because in his mind he didn’t achieve everything he wanted to. He was never satisfied and he knows that the presence of his wealth destroyed the idealism. He even expresses this resentment towards money late in his life this to his former guardian, Walter Parks Thatcher:

Charles Foster Kane: You know, Mr. Bernstein, if I hadn’t been very rich, I might have been a really great man.
Thatcher: Don’t you think you are?
Charles Foster Kane: I think I did pretty well under the circumstances.
Thatcher: What would you like to have been?
Charles Foster Kane: Everything you hate.

The missing piece to all this, “Rosebud,” Kane’s final word, illustrates the concept of his lost idealism. More than just a plot device to move the story forward, it offers a great deal of symbolism. The mystery of Rosebud is as well kept a secret as who the killer is in Psycho or who Luke Skywalker’s father is or the twist at the end of The Sixth Sense, which is to say it isn’t a secret at all. But if for some reason you do not know, you were warned at the top of this article that there would be spoilers on this 70 year old movie. Rosebud, as we find out in one of the final shots of the film, is the name of Kane’s sled when he was a boy. We see the sled early on in the film when Kane, as a boy, is playing in the snow while his parents and new guardian, Walter Parks Thatcher, are deciding his future indoors. It is the first and last time the audience sees Kane as a pure innocent. The sled symbolizes his innocence, his lost childhood, what he spends his entire life trying to recapture but never again will.

Citizen Kane is an exceptional production on all fronts. We’ve talked at length about story but let’s examine other elements. Welles is most famous for directing this masterpiece, but it’s common to neglect his performance as an actor. We would see Welles’ brilliance in later films such as Touch of Evil and The Third Man, but in Kane he delivers an iconic performance as one of the screen’s greatest characters. His supporting players, specifically Joseph Cotten as Jed Leland and Everett Sloane is Bernstein, bring fully fleshed out characters to life as well. Robert Wise’s, the same Wise who would go on to become the Academy Award winning director of West Side Story, editing is amazing, considering a fragmented, multiple viewpoint story was certainly not the norm for classic Hollywood pictures, yet the film flows smoothly. While I won’t make the claim that Kane as the first film to feature this type of storytelling and editing, it certainly blazed the trail for films like Rashomon and Pulp Fiction. Kane also featured the first film work of legendary composer, Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann was a close friend of Welles and was hired because of his work for Welles’ Mercury theater as well as his radio broadcasts. Herrmann’s motion picture score debut was successful and catapulted him into becoming one of the greatest composers of all time going on to write scores for Vertigo, North by Northwest, The Twilight Zone and Taxi Driver.

Perhaps the greatest creative contribution to the film, aside from the story and direction, is the absolute gorgeous cinematography by Academy Award winning Director of Photography, Gregg Toland. Toland’s work on Wuthering Heights earned him the coveted Oscar, but also photographed The Grapes of Wrath, The Best Years of Our Lives, Song of the South, The Little Foxes and Ball of Fire. Besides Mankiewicz on the screenplay, Welles collaborated with Toland the most on this film. Welles clearly trusts Toland’s instinct and what resulted on film is one of the most beautiful and uniquely shot films in the history of cinema. The famous post-election scene of Kane and Leland was shot so low, to emphasize Kane’s emotional rock bottom, that the audience can see both the ceiling and the floor while the camera looks up to the characters. This was accomplished by literally digging a hole in the studio floor and putting the camera (and camera man) in the hole to be able to capture the shot. The film’s use of deep focus is also legendary and results in breathtaking visuals.

The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, but lost to How Green Was My Valley for Best Picture. Valley, in years since, has been unfairly criticized as an inferior film, when in fact it’s actually quite a good film but receives a lot of critics who are incredulous that Kane could have lost. Forrest Gump suffers a similar fate due to the passionate fans of The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction, both nominated in the same year. Kane only won 1 Oscar, for writing, which was seen as an award more for Mankiewicz than it was for Welles. After its initial theatrical run, the film disappeared from the public consciousness until the 50s when RKO sold rights to its movie library for television broadcasts, where Kane resurfaced. Due to World War II, many 1940s Hollywood features weren’t released in Europe, and, after the war was over, Hollywood films, Kane among them, came flooding into France sparking the movement that would become the French New Wave. François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard in particular have spoken about their love of the film. All of these factors plus articles by film historians slowly but surely led to the film’s rediscovering. In the half-century since, the film is now widely considered to be the greatest film of all time. It topped Sight & Sound’s Top Ten films of all time list regularly until it was finally displaced in 2012 by Vertigo. It still sits in second place. The American Film Institute has voted it twice as the #1 film of all time and the Library of Congress has inducted into its National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically and aesthetically significant.” Is it the greatest film ever made? That’s for you to decide. After all you love film on your own terms… and those are the only terms anyone ever knows.




Monday, December 16, 2013

The Essential Films of Joan Fontaine


Just one day after Peter O'Toole's death, Academy Award winning actress Joan Fontaine has passed away at the age of 96.  Fontaine was best known for the Alfred Hitchcock films Rebecca and Suspicion as well as other classics like Letter from an Unknown Woman and Ivanhoe.

Fontaine's first onscreen appearance was in the film Warner Bros. film No More Ladies starring Joan Crawford and Robert Montgomery. She went on to star in a number of classics in the 30s and 40s such as Gunga Din (1939), The Women (1939), Rebecca (1940), Suspicion (1941), Jane Eyre (1943), Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) and Ivanhoe (1952). With the advent of television in the 50s, Fontaine had a successful career on the small screen as well making appearances on "Four Star Playhouse", "Ford Television Theater", "The 20th Century Fox Hour", "The Joseph Cotten Show", "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse", "One Step Beyond", "Checkmate", "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour", "The Bing Crosby Show", "Ryan's Hope" and "The Love Boat." Her last work was as a voice actress for the animated television movie Good King Wenceslas (1994).

Fontaine's work as Lina, a woman who's convinced her husband may be a murderer, in Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress. She was also nominated for the title role in Hitchcock's Rebecca in 1940 and again in 1943 for The Constant Nymph. She was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy for her work on the soap opera, "Ryan's Hope."

R.I.P.
Joan Fontaine
1917-2013

Her Essential Films:

REBECCA
1940
Alfred Hitchcock

Fontaine plays Mrs. De Winter, the new wife of Maxim de Winter, a charming widower. But she soon learns that she is living in the shadow of her husband's late wife in the halls of the mysterious Manderlay.



SUSPICION
1941
Alfred Hitchcock

Lina, a shy young heiress, becomes increasingly suspicious of her new charming husband, Johnnie (Cary Grant), of which she knows little about his past. Soon the suspicion turns into a paranoia that Johnnie is only out for inheritance and is plotting to kill her. Is she mistaken or is Johnnie planning a murder? The role that won her an Oscar for Best Actress.



LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN
1948
Max Ophüls

Stefan Brand is forced into a duel, but he has no intentions of going through with it... instead opting to flee the city. However he notices a letter from a mysterious woman of his past that he has know memory of. Fontaine plays Lisa Berndle, who once had a fling with Brand that he can no longer remember. When she sees him again years later, Lisa is prepared to abandon her family for Stefan, but at what cost?

BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT
1956
Fritz Lang

Author Tom Garrett and his publisher Austin Spencer concoct a outlandish plan to demonstrate weaknesses in the justice system by framing Garrett as a murderer. The plan all along is to have Spencer exonerate him in the end. Fontaine plays Susan, Garrett's fiancé, who is in the dark about the entire plan. The trial does not go as expected, and suspense and intrigue follow.

JANE EYRE
1943
Robert Stevenson

Fontaine plays the title role in this adaptation of the renowned Charlotte Brontë novel. Jane Eyre, orphaned as a young girl, raised in abusive home, only to rise above and become a governess at a stately manor. While there, she falls for the older master of the house, Edward Rochester (a young Orson Welles).  Readers of the book will know how this mostly faithful adaptation explores a love with a multitude of obstacles... not the least of which is the specter of Rochester's wife.





Other Notable Films:

A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS (1937)
GUNGA DIN (1939)
THE WOMEN (1939)
THE CONSTANT NYMPH (1943)
BORN TO BE BAD (1950)
IVANHOE (1952)
THE BIGAMIST (1953)
OTHELLO (1959)
VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (1961)
THE WITCHES (1966)

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Peter O'Toole Passes Away


Peter O'Toole, one of the greatest actors of all time, died today at the age of 81.  O'Toole's most famous role was unquestionably one of the greatest films of all time, Lawrence of Arabia, in which he played TE Lawrence.  O'Toole was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor 8 times:  Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Becket (1964), The Lion in Winter (1968), Goodbye Mr. Chips (1969), The Ruling Class (1972), The Stunt Man (1980), My Favorite Year (1983) and most recently in 2007 for Venus.  In 2003, The Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences awarded him an honorary Oscar for his entire body of work. Initially he refused as he still felt he had many years left, but eventually graciously accepted the award on the Oscars telecast that was presented to him by Meryl Streep.  

O'Toole's first screen work was in an episode of "The Scarlet Pimpernel" in 1956. From there he went on to a legendary career that included: Lawrence of Arabia (BAFTA for Best Actor), Becket (Golden Globe Best Actor), Lord Jim (1965), What's New Pussycat? (1965), The Sandpiper (1965), How to Steal a Million (1966), The Bible (1966), Casino Royale (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968, Golden Globe Best Actor), Goodbye Mr. Chips (1969, Golden Globe Best Actor), The Ruling Class (1972, National Board of Review Best Actor), Man of La Mancha (1972, National Board of Review Best Actor), Caligula (1979), The Stunt Man (1980, National Society of Film Critics Best Actor), My Favorite Year (1982), Pygmalion (1983), The Last Emperor (1987), Joan of Arc (1999, Emmy Best Actor), Troy (2004), Venus (2006) and Stardust (2007). He also played the Pope in a recurring role on "The Tudors" and was the voice of snooty critic Anton Ego in the Pixar film Ratatouille

R.I.P.
Peter O'Toole
1932-2013

His Essential Films:

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
1962
David Lean
Role: T.E. Lawrence

An epic about British officer T.E. Lawrence’s mission to aid the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.

BECKET
1964
Peter Glenville
Role: King Henry II

King Henry II of England has trouble with the Church. When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, he has a brilliant idea. Rather than appoint another pious cleric loyal to Rome and the Church, he will appoint his old drinking and wenching buddy, Thomas Becket, technically a deacon of the church, to the post. Unfortunately, Becket takes the job seriously and provides abler opposition to Henry.

HOW TO STEAL A MILLION
1966
William Wyler
Role: Simon Dermott

A woman must steal a statue from a Paris museum to help conceal her father’s art forgeries.

THE LION IN WINTER
1968
Anthony Harvey
Role: King Henry II

1183 AD: King Henry II’s three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won’t commit to a choice.

THE STUNT MAN
1980
Richard Rush
Role: Eli Cross

While on the run from the police, Steve Railsback hides in a group of moviemakers where he pretends to be a stunt man. Both aided and endangered by the director (Peter O’Toole) he avoids both the police and sudden death as a stuntman.

THE LAST EMPEROR
1987
Bernardo Bertolucci
Role: Reginal Flemming Johnson

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People’s Republic

RATATOUILLE
2009
Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava
Role: Anton Ego

Anton Ego is the snooty food critic that receives a shock when he sees who is truly cooking his food.

Other Notable Films:
THE SAVAGE INNOCENTS (1960)
CASINO ROYALE (1967)
THE RULING CLASS (1972)
CALIGULA (1979)
MY FAVORITE YEAR (1982)
SUPERGIRL (1984)
PHANTOMS (1998)
TROY (2004)
VENUS (2006)
STARDUST (2007)

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)



THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Christopher Nolan
2012 • 165 Minutes • 2.35:1 • United States
Color • English • Warner Bros.

Cast: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Matthew Modine
Writers: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan (Screenplay) based on the story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer based on characters created by Bob Kane
Producers: Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas
Cinematography: Wally Pfister

Awards & Honors

American Film Institute
Official 2012 Selection

The Essential Films
2013 Essential Film Awards
• Official 2012 Selection
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Tom Hardy
• Best Stunt Choreography: Stunt Coordinators – Sy Hollands, Tom Struthers


- What does that mean?
- Rise.

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON SUPERFRIENDSUNIVERSE.COM

(Warning: This Entry Contains Spoilers)

And here we come at last. The final entry in our Batman on Film Series. Best for last? Maybe. Maybe not. After all, this film remains incredibly controversial amongst fans of not just the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight trilogy, but fans of Batman as well. Some find it a fitting end to an epic trilogy. Others find it a disappointment after the high achievement of The Dark Knight. And even others just down right hate the film.

In the opinion of your humble narrator: This is an epic achievement in the superhero film genre, action genre and Batman franchise. Is this film flawed? I cannot lie. Yes. It is flawed. There are plot holes and contrivances that, honestly, are hard to overlook. However, the truth of this film cannot be denied. It pays off one of the most sprawling and epic superhero tales of all time, bringing in elements from throughout the franchise to tie into a climactic conclusion. The conclusion to this trilogy delivers on such an emotional level that those plot holes, tropes and contrivances can be forgiven. That is a rare feat for a film to accomplish.

Our story starts 8 years after the conclusion of The Dark Knight, Gotham City, is safer and relatively
crime-free due to the passing of the Dent Act, which was created after Harvey Dent’s death, which denies criminals parole hearings and keeps them locked up. With most of Gotham’s underworld locked up indefinitely, Bruce Wayne retires the mantle of Batman, while Commissioner Gordon turns Dent into a martyr who died for the city, when in fact his final hours were spent in a murderous rampage. The appearance in Gotham of the hulking mercenary, Bane, and the sexy cat burglar, Selina Kyle, as well as the hospitalization of Gordon, draws Wayne out of retirement and soon The Batman is back on the streets of Gotham City, much to the distress of the ever faithful Alfred. After a brutal fight with Bane leaves Batman physically broken, he is sent to a hellish prison while Bane holds Gotham City hostage with a nuclear bomb.

Batman comic fans will notice the similarity of many Batman stories. Among them is the obvious Knightfall which features Bane’s first appearance in the comics and the breaking of Batman’s back. The Nolan brothers also drew inspiration from The Dark Knight Returns with the story of an older Bruce Wayne coming out of retirement to once again become Batman and the devastated Gotham landscape invites comparison to the No Man’s Land story arc.

You are as precious to me as you were to your own mother and father. I swore to them that I would protect you, and I haven’t.

It seems odd that while this is the final film in the trilogy, this is the story of how Batman truly becomes a hero. The first film, gives the audience the backstory of Bruce Wayne’s tragic past and his drive to avenge the deaths of his parents. While the second film focuses on Batman’s race to end The Joker’s chaos, he makes selfish decisions that lead to tragedy. When faced with the choice between saving Harvey Dent, the man who in turn could save Gotham City, or save his beloved Rachel… he chooses Rachel. And the universe repays him by both killing Rachel and deforming Dent into the maniacal Two-Face. The quote that rings through that film (and the trilogy) “You either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain” is especially poignant as Batman ends the film, in the eyes of Gotham, as a villain while Dent dies a “hero.” The Dark Knight Rises is the story of Batman’s redemption and his final rise as the hero he was always meant to be. When he is drawn out of retirement, Alfred can see right through his motivations. He knows that Bruce is willing to lay his life down, not for the greater good, but because he feels he has nothing left to live for since Rachel’s death.

How can you move faster than possible, fight longer than possible without the most powerful impulse of the spirit: the fear of death.

This is why he ultimately fails in his fight with Bane. This is why he fails when he tries to escape the pit. His motivation is flawed. Years ago his father asked him “Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” The message is clear. You don’t give up. You pick yourself and keep fighting. This is why when he makes the climb out of the pit the third time, without a rope to keep him safe, he learns to fear death, but he successfully escapes. The juxtaposition of the imagery of Bruce’s childhood trauma and the image of him climbing out of the pit are masterful. Bruce finally becomes the hero he was always meant to be when he climbs out of the pit. He has learned to pick himself back up and keep fighting. This is the reason he is able to defeat Bane in the second confrontation. He is driven and is motivated as the hero of Gotham. Once again those words ring true, “You either die a hero…” After Bane is defeated, Batman only sees one way to save the city: take the bomb over the Bay in his aircraft and let it detonate. He knows the sacrifice he must make. He doesn’t hesitate. He doesn’t question it… and in the one of the most emotional moments of the entire franchise, he sacrifices himself for the good of the city.

A hero can be anyone.

Of course, as we see in one of the last shots of the film, Bruce Wayne fixed the autopilot on his “Bat” and survived the explosion. He left a legacy of Batman that will resonate with the citizens of Gotham forever. But, as literlaly the last shot of the film shows, he also left John Blake clues to allow him to take the mantle should it be needed. Because a hero can be anyone. The Batman is a symbol, and, echoing Batman Begins, it’s not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you.

I’m so sorry. I failed you. You trusted me, and I failed you.

Michael Caine returns as Alfred, in a somewhat diminished role than the previous films. However, his emotional impact can’t be denied. The purpose of his character this time around is to deliver some heart-wrenching dialogue that pleads with Bruce to end his seeming quest to die. Eventually he realizes he can longer be a part of this and leaves. Bruce dismisses his oldest companion and the closest thing he has to a father figure without heeding his advice. But perhaps that what Bruce needed all along? To lose everything, not just his money, but his surrogate father, his city, his control… to realize that he indeed does fear death and loss. Caine’s delivery at Bruce’s funeral is one of the most devastating moments captured in superhero cinema to date, a genre that is filled with tragedy and loss.

There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.

The final film introduces two major new characters. The first of which being Selina Kyle, whom most
comic book fans will recognize as Catwoman. The film never officially calls her “Catwoman,” but makes certain the audience is aware that she is a “cat burglar” and the way she wears the goggles of her outfit on top of her head certainly make it look like cat ears. As Halle Berry found out in the catastrophic spinoff adaptation of the character, the mantle of Catwoman is a hard one to fill. Julie Newmar christened the role in the 1960s “Batman” TV show, Michele Pfeiffer brought it to a dark place in Batman Returns while Anne Hathaway did more than fine job filling out the catsuit this go-round. The role requires sex-appeal, danger and shovelfuls of attitude, and Hathaway held nothing back looking sexy and lethal simultaneously.

You can watch me torture an entire city and when you have truly understood the depth of your failure, we will fulfill Ra’s al Ghul’s destiny… We will destroy Gotham and then, when it is done and Gotham is ashes, then you have my permission to die

Of course, it is impossible to talk about The Dark Knight Rises without talking about the terrifying awesome portrayal of Tom Hardy as the monstrous Bane. Batman Begins‘ Scarecrow focused on fear while The Joker in The Dark Knight was all about wreaking chaos out of order. Bane is neither of those things, he is just a seemingly unstoppable juggernaut. Nolan has said for the character of Bane, he imagined a classic movie monster with an impressive brain, and that is what he and Hardy deliver. Improving on his 1-dimensional comic book counterpart, Bane is a man whose intellect defies his massive size. In previous films Batman may have met his physical match in R’as al Ghul or had his intelligence challenged by The Joker’s insanity, but Bane matches Batman intellectually AND overpowers him physically, making him perhaps his greatest challenge in the series. Tom Hardy gained 30 pounds of muscle mass to play the role and adopted a posh, cultured accent that adds to the menace.

Ah yes, I was wondering what would break first. Your spirit… or your body.

The most memorable scene in the film is the breaking of Batman by Bane. What makes this all the more memorable is the fact that while Hans Zimmer composes a magnificent score that resonates throughout the entire film, this scene is completely without music. All you hear is the awesome sound effects of Bane’s steps (they practically thunder when he walks), the wet smacking punches of Batman’s futile strikes, the devastating blows by Bane, the screams of Batman in agony and Bane’s constant running commentary. Never has there been a hero/villain fight with SO many quotable moments. Even more chilling is the fact that Bane’s henchman are just standing around without interfering. They know their leader has this well in hand, and he does. Batman’s fall is inevitable. Much has been made by critics that the reveal of Miranda Tate being both R’as Al Ghul’s daughter and the ultimate mastermind of the villainous plot reduces Bane to a henchman role. To that I say: then doesn’t that make Darth Vader a “henchman”? Yet he remains probably the most recognizable screen villain of all time. This reveal doesn’t diminish Bane’s effectiveness, yet adds a layer of complexity (the fact that he did it all for the love of Talia) to the monster. This is an empty criticism. Bane has cemented himself as one of the greatest villains of all time.

It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.

The Dark Knight Rises for all of its flaws, delivers on such an emotional level, that any sins, legitimate or exaggerated, should be forgiven. An emotional climax to a phenomenal series with a now-iconic villain and a masterfully told tale of a hero’s redemption. The Dark Knight Trilogy has replaced Star Wars as this generation’s epic saga.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Paul Walker's Essential Films


PAUL WALKER
1973 - 2013

Action star Paul Walker, best known for his role in the Fast and the Furious franchise, died yesterday in a single-accident car crash, unrelated to filming.  Walker started his career as a teenager in the 80s on television shows like "Highway to Heaven" and "Who's the Boss" before making his feature film debut in Tammy the T-Rex in 1994.  He broke out in Pleasantville in 1998 and other teen films like She's All That and Varsity Blues. After The Fast and The Furious opened in 2001, Walker became an action star and never looked back.  Listed below are his best and most essential films.  RIP

PLEASANTVILLE
1998 • Gary Ross

Role: Skip Martin, star basketball player in the fictional TV town of Pleasantville.




JOY RIDE
2001 • John Dahl

Role: Lewis Thomas. In this modern day update of the 1970s classic Duel, Lewis and his friend Venna and brother Fuller are on the run trying to escape a murderous truck driver.


RUNNING SCARED
2006 • Wayne Kramer

Role: Joey Gazelle.  Present during a drug deal gone wrong, Joey spends the night running from various threats including the mob, corrupt cops, pimps and child molesting serial killers.



FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
2006 • Clint Eastwood

Role: Sgt. Hank Hansen.  Walker's Hansen leads the platoon of marines that climbed Mount Suribachi to plant the American flag in what would be one of the most iconic images of World War II.



FAST FIVE
2011 • Justin Lin

Role: Brian O'Conner.  The former FBI Agent has turned rogue and is now working with Dominic Toretto's outlaw crew of street racers. This time, the crew plan a magnificent heist in Rio de Janeiro in what is now the film franchise's best film to date.


FAST & FURIOUS 6
2013 • Justin Lin

Role: Brian O'Conner.  Government agent Luke Hobbs tracks down the Toretto crew. This time to work for the government to take down Owen Shaw, a rogue British ex-Special Forces agent.



Other Notable Films:

BROKEDOWN PALACE (1999)
VARSITY BLUES (1999)
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (2001)
2 FAST 2 FURIOUS (2003)
TIMELINE (2003)
NOEL (2004)
INTO THE BLUE (2005)
EIGHT BELOW (2006)
THE LAZARUS PROJECT (2008)
FAST & FURIOUS (2009)