Monday 14 July 2008

Monday musing

I'm seeing The Dark Knight in IMAX later this week and I'm terribly excited.

Before then there are more films to watch (Eden Lake being one), DVDs to review (Zodiac: Director's Cut, The Neverending Story), Blu-Rays to go gaga over (I wouldn't normally watch Starship Troopers 3 as much as I liked the first one, but they sent me the Blu-Ray of it and it looks so cool), pieces to write (a TF Loves... among others) and scripts to read (yes, like everyone else I've got a copy of Inglorious Bastards). It's going to be a busy week.

Interestingly, it seems batlash has started over The Dark Knight, certainly in the States where New York magazine's David Eldstein claims "Nolan appears to have no clue how to stage or shoot action". (Ouch!)

While David Ansen in Newsweek is decidedly mixed.

"Nolan dispenses with the stylized Gothic sets we're accustomed to in the series," Ansen writes. "He makes no attempt to hide the fact that Gotham City is modern Chicago. Gone, too, is the antic sense of humor that Tim Burton brought to the show. There's not a touch of lightness in Bale's taut, angst-ridden superhero, and as the two-and-a-half-hour movie enters its second half, the unvarying intensity and the sometimes confusing action sequences take a toll. You may emerge more exhausted than elated. Nolan wants to prove that a superhero movie needn't be disposable, effects-ridden junk food, and you have to admire his ambition. But this is Batman, not Hamlet. Call me shallow, but I wish it were a little more fun."

And if, like me, you're also looking forward to X Files: I Want To Believe, may I suggest you read this.

Oh, I saw The Duchess last week.

But I have to go now, so my thoughts on that another time. The wigs were good though.

7 comments:

Gerard said...

Did you make it to your TDK screening on the weekend? I'm in for a review preview tomorrow night (despite my already having purchased tickets for the first session on Wednesday morning...) and am out of my brain with excitement. Cannot. Flipping. Wait.

Keen for your word on Inglorious Bastards - the two script reviews I've read so far have been encouragingly fawning.

And the Zodiac director's cut! Awesome! I'd expected that to have dropped earlier this year and was beginning to worry it would never see the light of day. Be sure to post your reviews (or at least point us in their general direction) - looks like a great week you have ahead!

On a side note, you once mentioned an interest in having a look at a script of mine... how best would I go about getting that to you once I gave it a quick little tidy?

Anonymous said...

Busy week indeed!
I'm not surprised about the fact that some critics don't/won't love TDK... i mean, if they didn't love Batman Begins, they won't change their mind now! Nevertheless, i'm quite curious about the Heath Ledger performance...

So you've already seen The Duchess? It's weird how the trailer gives a way to the movie (all about romance and aristocratic 18th fashion) and the plote line gives another one (drama, extravagant way of life). But i'm quite fond of History movie, and Keira Knightley/Ralph Fiennes duet must work very well...

Unknown said...

this is where critics piss me off. if you WANT your batman to be more glib then why don't YOU make the movie. Batman, in the comics, wasn't really much like Tim Burton's at all! Bruce Wayne IS a taut, angst-ridden superhero... so why shouldn't he play like one. Bale is not the smarky Keaton in any way, shape or form. if you WANTED that way then i'm sure you LOVED Val Kilmer and George Clooney's take on Bruce Wayne. "Gone, too, is the antic sense of humor that Tim Burton brought to the show." yeah, you know why? BECAUSE TIM'S NOT DIRECTING IT! JESUS CHRIST! if he DID, you'd be saying, "Nolan tries to bring back the antic sense of humor that tim burton brought to the table, but it just falls flat."

GOD i hate this guy.

as for the Chicago thing? whatever. so he didn't re-create an entire city with more gothic flew-flaws and flying dutchesses and flim-flams. so it's chicago. so what? at least it's not chicago pretending to be new york or LA, right?

and i'm SURE that i'll leave exhausted. i get exhausted watching the trailer for christsakes!

Mark Salisbury said...

schmid4brains, me thinks you need to find yourself a darkened room and relax... although I know exactly what you mean. Batman is screwed up and angsty, that's why he sticks to the shadows and dresses like a bat!!!

Gerard. Let me know your email again (I think I lost it before) and we can take it from there. Also, I'm seeing TDK this coming Friday (it doesn't open in the UK until a week later) so it looks like you're going to be seeing it before me. damn!

Gerard said...

Next week?! Why on earth...?? How ridiculous. Hell, I'll have seen it three times before you're screening! ;)

As for the email address, gerard.elson @ gmail.com will get you me...

Unknown said...

hellooooo new spam email address!

Anonymous said...

*fingers in ears*

Lalalalala, not listening. Seeing it Wednesday. It's going to be awesome.