It has been FAR TOO LONG

Well hello there...

It really has been a while. So much for posting my The Dark Knight Rises review... Jeez it has been MONTHS since I posted on here, not even a crappy little update saying more posts are on the way. Well people, if you care enough to read this, thank you kindly and this IS a post saying more posts will be on the way.

Is there a reason why I haven't posted in so many months? Yes. I straight up forgot a lot about this blog, which is actually quite sad the more I have thought about it. Mainly due to the fact I love composing these blogs and preparing to throw them out into the view of the general public.

I like trying to write and make some something that I am happy with. Plus it can be possibly seen by people I don't know. In fact even if it is someone I know reading it I like that too, they may have not known something about me or may care to know my opinion on a topic. For example a friend of mine read my Batman blogs and had no idea I was such a Bat-fan.

Anyway I have completely gone off the point... I do that a lot...

More posts soon. Keep an eye open and who knows... Maybe you'll see something you'd like to read about... I hope so or it's just me writing online to no-one. If that was the case I would still try do it, in the hope there was someone who cared. Maybe that's you!

...

Well this has been weird. I should have stopped after the first paragraph, but I feel a rush running through, my fingers as I'm typing. Due to not doing this for a while I'm just sitting and typing what I am thinking.

Again diverting the point. Just look out folks.

Much love

Tom

A Batman Bonanza - Bat Hype Mania (Part 2)

The moment The Dark Knight ended I began thinking, "What next? Where do you go from there?" and expected perhaps a sequel but not with Nolan at the helm. That thought worried me. I thought Hollywood would see TDK as a cash-cow and milk it for all it's worth, even if Nolan did no longer wish to be a part of it. However he stayed on and confirmed the story he had was worthwhile for the third film back in 2010. It's almost like quality control with him. In Nolan We Trust.

Trying to think how the third film could play out I had a couple of ideas:

Idea #1 - despite the mind-blowingly brilliant performance of Heath Ledger, I thought another actor may portray Joker. I thought this would be shit, mainly due to the reason Ledger put on the performance of a lifetime creating Batman's greatest foe, sadly due to his death could not continue. I just thought had Heath not died the third one would have been the final battle between Joker and B-Man. Now that would have been cool, but the idea of another actor doing it... Uh uh NO. Not happening. This idea was thrown away as quick as a flash.

I only thought of this scenario because Hollywood trying to milk the cash-cow. That's the second time I have mentioned a "cash-cow", this is fast becoming my little catchphrase!

Idea #2 - Riddler vs. Batman - the concept of The Riddler in this more dark realistic Gotham would be amazing, truly testing the brain of the Bat and the ride that could have given the audience would be great. A series of dark Riddles that involved the few people Bruce Wayne cared about, all tied to one final riddle that is revealed at the end. That would have been cool. The Riddler just felt like a natural fit for the next villain and I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only person thinking this. In fact I remember reading this article on IGN, which questioned which actor from Inception could be the Riddler in Batman 3. However the villain is too similar to Joker. Both my ideas were completely off the beaten track. As if you didn't already know...!

News first came out that Tom Hardy was going to play the villain in the film, and also that Anne Hathaway had been cast. Tom Hardy's stock had been going up in my estimation, but being cast on TDKR could be his best role to date, and I thought he was awesome in Bronson. When the news came out that Bane was going to be the antagonist - I just thought of this image. 

God that was so poorly done. I always remember him saying "BOMB..." like 10 times, it makes me laugh. A LOT. However Nolan came straight out and told us fine folk that the film would show the real Bane, both strong and intelligent. This seemed awesome. If you didn't know Bane is famous for being the man to "break the Bat" by actually breaking his back in the Knightfall storyline - a story arc held in high regard by Comic Nerds everywhere. (If I read comics I'd be among them.)

This image was the first image from the film and of Bane, this seems like so long ago now. All of this does, this four year wait I've had seems to have flown by. The Dark Knight was just the perfect super-hero flick, so of course naturally I've been eagerly waiting for the next chapter. 

In fact it seems only two minutes ago I went to the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 midnight screening, where the first teaser trailer was played.

I took away three things from that teaser:
1) TDKR was my most anticipated film of my life to date
2) The idea of Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) asking for Batman to come back is a great story point
3) Bane looked completely BAD-ASS - damn I would not mess with a dude like him...
I'm kidding! ... I would smash his face into a car wind-shield. I love Anchorman quotes that can be used whenever the time is right, the time felt right there...

Catwoman is famously known for being both an ally and a foe to Batman so Anne Hathaway has potential for one hell of a role, both for her career and the story Nolan is telling. I'm looking forward to seeing where her allegiance lies.

Whenever news has come in - like information about the 6 minute prologue with Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol I've made sure I've heard about it - but nothing has put more fuel on my anticipation fire than the trailers. All of which have been beautifully, and I do mean beautifully made.

Trailer 2 - I forgot about Alfred! How?! The man who knows Bruce better than anyone - in what seems like an emotional state, this action packed trailer shows just some of the emotion I'll be expecting to see. Bane looks to be causing planned destruction - more methodical than Joker - which to me makes him more dangerous. Catwoman issues a dark warning and this trailer swelled into the "money-shot" of the exploding American-Football field. However in my opinion the real money-shot is Bane speaking to Bruce.

"When Gotham is ashes... you have my permission to die." - Say what...? Okay he's serious...

Trailer Number Three - At first I thought my sound on my laptop was low or not on - but the quiet music and swell of Hanz Zimmer is superb. He sets the tone perfectly with the soundtrack and this trailer follows suit. Some of the dialogue is just so gripping - like the film is grabbing you by the scruff of the neck so that you understand the stakes are high. Of course the visuals back this up with huge scenes of bridges breaking, explosions and a huge game of Bulldogs Charge between Da Police and Mercenaries. 

"You've given them everything." "Not everything... not yet." - Batman's polite way of saying "Shut it - your wrong love."

After seeing the third trailer - I did not really wish to see too much more, I really want to go into the film without worrying about spoilers or anything. However one thing caught me off guard - an MTV Movie Awards Trailer. It was mostly similar visuals but of course some new additions.

Catwoman's "Don't be shy...", was that directed at Bane? Is she working with Bane and The Dark Knight? This is what you want! Questioning! It leaves me more eager to see her role in TDKR, and still pumped for Bane. Good Lord I want to see this movie.

As of now that is all I will watch about The Dark Knight Rises, TV Spots and features have come out but I have tried to avoid them. I've been sold on this film since it was announced. Christopher Nolan's trilogy is one of the best to grace cinema and I just hope this finale does it justice. 

Roll on Friday when I shall see my most anticipated film of all time!

Keep an eye out for my The Dark Knight Rises review which will be up ASAP! Thanks for reading.

T x

Bat Hype Mania (Part 1)

With the release of The Dark Knight Rises imminent, the hype is truly swelling. I thought I might look into why, considering that I have been eagerly waiting for this film for 4 years. Sad I know... Damn you Christopher Nolan for getting me so pumped for a film. The previous two films I fell in love with and made this unparalleled hype I've never had for a film before. Why you might ask, read on and find out!

Batman has no superpowers, everything he uses to defeat his foes are part of his skills or attributes, gadgets help out too. However the gadgets used in Nolan's films are the high end tech of today. Nothing like the gadgets with Adam West as Batman. I must invest in Ocean Creature Repellent Sprays...

Batman Begins - nearly everyone went into this film hesitant, let's face it another reboot to a franchise that had already produced several films for the Caped Crusader. The last film, Batman & Robin, back in '97 was okay for me as a kid, now - oh deary me it feels bad. Begins was a chance to rectify the franchise, take it down the dark roots of the comics. Nolan did that, but also gave the world he created a real feel from the ground up. We all knew the story - Bruce Wayne lost his parents and then became Batman. Whoops. Big jump huh? Begins fills the gap with a rich story.

The film shows how Wayne lost his parents, Alfred raised him, Bruce wanted revenge but got his ass kicked, leaves Gotham wishing to learn more of the criminal underworld. This is where the legendary Liam Neeson comes in as Henri Ducard and crafts Bruce into the skilled fighter he is known to be. Fear is a huge thing - Bruce Wayne conquers his fear of bats to become Batman, thus striking fear in the minds of the criminals. Ducard's intentions differ from Bruce's and the two end up parting ways. Of course this results in explosive action - did we expect anything else?

Seeing how Wayne got his skills to fight expertly was totally new and unique, and so when they are used in the film you believe all he is doing. He's like a god-damn ninja - how is that not cool?!  One of the best scenes in the film is the one where a dude is just firing at anything knowing that there's a predator after him, screams "WHERE ARE YOU?!" and the bad-ass that he is Batman whispers behind him, "Here." First time I saw that; jaw hit the floor - it was so cool. 


I'm not going to keep retelling the story or anything, but if you haven't seen it the film just know it swells up beautifully and leaves you wanting more. Batman Begins changed my perception on superhero films, reinvented a franchise and gave one of my favourite characters of all time the depth of his back story a chance to shine on film.


Where do you take something like that? Something that was such a critical and commercial success?
Enter Joker. Batman's greatest foe, and of course everyone's favourite villain.

The small hint at The Clown Prince of Crime in Begins had me making a noise that can often be heard on The Jerry Springer Show when some big news is dropped. Similar to "OHHHH!" I hope you get me... First thing I heard of The Dark Knight was back in maybe 2007 with the teaser trailer - if you never saw it check it out. It still gives me the goosebumps I had the first time.

That laugh that made the world take notice, everyone knew - this was going to be BIG. Some friends of mine believed it was a stand alone film - not a sequel which shocked me a little. Nevertheless following the back story driven first film it made sense that 2008's The Dark Knight would feature a huge villain. Nolan could make this into something all Bat-fans could love. He did.

Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker has been of course well received and everyone knows how good it is. What he captured was perhaps my favourite trait about Joker; he has nothing to be threatened with, he's not in it for money or power, he has nothing to lose and is therefore an Agent of Chaos. Sat in the cinema I truly didn't think Batman could defeat him. The idea of a realistic character like Joker in Nolan's realistic Batman world was everything I wanted it to be and more. The scars for his wicked smile shocked me at first,  but they used it as part of his character. "You wanna know how I got these scars?" lead to a different story - like he's full of shit, when really it's just keeping Joker that more mysterious.

"How about a magic trick?" = Pencil Smash - I damn near jumped out of my skin.

Harvey Dent, Gotham's White Knight is on the rise and Bruce wants out he cannot be Batman forever. As a side note Batman Forever also had Dent, Two-Face, what was Tommy Lee-Jones thinking...? Anyway, Dent is the hero that Gotham needs - so the idea of Joker breaking him was something I did not see coming.

The Dark Knight's ending was brilliant and somewhat ambiguous, did Batman break his one rule? What do you think? Maybe leave a comment ;) By the end of the film I just wanted more and more. I've waited four years and now here we are. The Dark Knight Rises is on the horizon. You might be asking why is this Part 1? Oh well wait and read PART 2 COMING SOON!

Thanks for reading, leave a comment or message me via pigeon.

Tom x

Summery Avenging Goodness

Now that I have broken up from uni until September I drastically need to keep myself busy, it is a bit unreal the amount of free time I have. If you've seen Episode 4 ("Basic Alan") of Series 1 of "I'm Alan Partridge", you may know how my life has been going since uni finished. Boredom levels are on the increase. So I'm going to try blog it up!

However in the time off I have had so far, one of those great moments of cinema has been brought to the public. NERD TIME: The Avengers, easily my highlight of my time off so far. It's just... I don't even know. To call it "great" or even "amazing", is selling it short. Fact is I don't need to sell it though, $200+ million in an opening weekend speaks volumes. (That was one of the rare time I used my Dollar Sign on my laptop - oh yeah.)

Why did it do so good? Easy, they made 5 films all teasing the main event. I'm a fan of post credits scenes, not a clue why, maybe it's because people leave straight away as the credits roll and the additional scene is almost secretive. This Marvel Cinematic Universe captured that and made you eager for The Avengers.

In far more honest and realistic terms the reason it did so good is the fact it showed the greatest superhero team on film for the first time. KERCHING! It's so obvious that putting huge superheros together is going be a success. This was why I went in skeptical, I was sure Hollywood would F this up for all great superhero fans everywhere. Man was I wrong.

Joss Whedon - if you ever read this, which I don't think will happen but still! I tip my hat to you. Each part of the team was made relevant, it was not focused on one hero in particular, it was an actual team! That in itself is a success. It seemed like the film might focus on Iron Man or Captain America but no, everyone is a huge asset to the initiative. Hulk quite literally "huge", also Hawkeye is pretty damn cool.

The film is simple, it's made into three great acts all of which are done well. Act I is Loki arriving on the scene and showing just how badass he is, this forces the team being brought together. Act II - WHOA! putting this many personalities in one team is like a pressure cooker ready to blow up, just like it should. Act III - differences aside the world is on the line, Avengers... assemble.

Found this on YouTube channel
- Pretty Much It

Hulk might have actually stolen the show - the moments he Hulks out he is the unstoppable force he should be. In fact some of his moments are the memories from the film you'll take away - but there are a lot of them. 

My personal favorite moments from the films are: the Hulk/Thor punch, Iron Man's "one way trip", the shawarma reference (post-credits brilliance again) and Coulson's fan boy attitude to the Cap. it was like how us fans would react! If you haven't seen it, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Go see it. If you have seen it, how awesome is this t-shirt?

It's weird because it has been a four year wait for The Avengers, just like The Dark Knight Rises - this years summer films have a lot of pressure behind them. The Avengers pulled it out the bag magnificently, here's hoping TDKR will too. In Nolan We Trust. Been eagerly awaiting Christopher Nolan's next chapter of this wonderful series he has created, but that's another blog for another time. 

If you have read this thank you very much, tell me what you thought and if you want more!

Tom Maguire

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