Blu-ray you last watched...

[divyansh]

Originally Posted by fassbenderfan

Let's not get carried away here . It's a good movie, but no where near a classic in my humble opinion.
Mr.Ledger's Joker is for sure a lunatic but an actual threat - .Not menacing at all.

Nolan made a mistake of turning this into a crime noir. It's a comic book movie, why so pretentious?

Well according to me it is a classic , this is something extraordinary and unusual , and sure it was a comic book movie but these days these movies have started to adapt a more serious approach and the directors are trying their best to make the movies and the characters as believable as possible ditching the good old cartoonish approach. (Just my opinion)

[fassbenderfan]

Originally Posted by divyansh

Well according to me it is a classic , this is something extraordinary and unusual , and sure it was a comic book movie but these days these movies have started to adapt a more serious approach and the directors are trying their best to make the movies and the characters as believable as possible ditching the good old cartoonish approach. (Just my opinion)

Tim Burton's Batman movies were a perfect mix of realism and comic book fun. The Dark Knight isn't even a Batman film. It's more like an Al Pacino crime drama with one guy dressed as a Bat and one other guy in clown makeup.
Dent was sloppy writing - Two Face was shoehorned in the last 10 mins of the movie.
I have watched Inception recently and this is what I want to say - All of Nolan's movies have good concepts but are really boring and unexciting to watch. He's a bad filmmaker who is seriously overrated. It takes serious talent to take something as interesting as Inception and make it as uninteresting as Nolan does. Watch Perfect Blue. It's a Japanese film but much better done.

[divyansh]

Originally Posted by fassbenderfan

Tim Burton's Batman movies were a perfect mix of realism and comic book fun. The Dark Knight isn't even a Batman film. It's more like an Al Pacino crime drama with one guy dressed as a Bat and one other guy in clown makeup.
Dent was sloppy writing - Two Face was shoehorned in the last 10 mins of the movie.
I have watched Inception recently and this is what I want to say - All of Nolan's movies have good concepts but are really boring and unexciting to watch. He's a bad filmmaker who is seriously overrated. It takes serious talent to take something as interesting as Inception and make it as uninteresting as Nolan does. Watch Perfect Blue. It's a Japanese film but much better done.

No thanks , i'll rather confine myself with this crappy mainstream Hollywood/Bollywood stuff.

[fassbenderfan]

Originally Posted by divyansh

No thanks , i'll rather confine myself with this crappy mainstream Hollywood/Bollywood stuff.

I did not mean to offend you. I was just giving a suggestion. You have something against japanese films?

[srinivas1015]

Originally Posted by divyansh

The Dark Knight

Watched this for the third time and yet again it didn't failed to amaze me one bit ,almost just as much it did the first time , the movie has a constant serious tone and Nolan does a remarkable job of maintaining it throughout , he just made me feel what he ought to and what the scenes demanded , this kind of connection with the movie is something extraordinary , the writing is exceptionally smart , direction is outstanding , excellent performances by each and every member of the cast especially Heath Ledger.

The picture quality of the Blu-Ray is surprisingly bad , noise reduction is very much there and so is edge enhancement add to this Warner's usual artifacts present with the VC-1 encoded disks are also there , IMAX scenes are much better though but the overall result is mostly disappointing.

Audio is much better , i would have liked more surround activity but frankly i was so occupied in the movie i paid less attention to the audio , Dark Knight Rises sounds way better than this though , Way better!

Movie 8.5/10
PQ 7.5/10
AQ 8.5/10

For me, I loved TDK when I first saw it in the theater, then I started liking it less and less to the point where I almost hated it (last year). TDK was redeemed for me when I saw TDKR (which I didn't really like) and now I love TDK again after having read the 'The Long Halloween' graphic novel. It's kind of a love/hate relationship .

[srinivas1015]

Originally Posted by fassbenderfan

Tim Burton's Batman movies were a perfect mix of realism and comic book fun. The Dark Knight isn't even a Batman film. It's more like an Al Pacino crime drama with one guy dressed as a Bat and one other guy in clown makeup.
Dent was sloppy writing - Two Face was shoehorned in the last 10 mins of the movie.
I have watched Inception recently and this is what I want to say - All of Nolan's movies have good concepts but are really boring and unexciting to watch. He's a bad filmmaker who is seriously overrated. It takes serious talent to take something as interesting as Inception and make it as uninteresting as Nolan does. Watch Perfect Blue. It's a Japanese film but much better done.

Two Face wasn't shoehorned in. Dent morphed into Two-Face as the movie went on, even before the burn. Don't forget the scene in the alleyway when he almost shot that guy. The entire Dent storyline was lifted from The Long Halloween where Gordon & Batman try to catch 'Holiday', an anonymous serial killer.
Joker's story in TDK was lifted from 'The Killing Joke'. What Nolan did for the trilogy was that he lifted storylines liberally from graphic novels and mini series but at the same time he didn't directly adapt any of them.

[mrbrat_Boy]

Watched:



This movie was really good. Enjoyed every single minute of it. I was gripped by the story and the characters. Beautifully shot, and the detail to which the time period was shown is just fantastic. The principal characters are great in their roles. The supplemental features on this Criterion disc is bountiful. I was shocked to learn that the main character was just a twelve year old boy.

As is the norm with Criterion, the PQ and AQ are first rate!

Also Watched:


This was a movie i was looking for a very long time, watched this in the artsy cinema when it came out, and a lot of the scenes remained in my memory. On my second viewing i enjoyed the movie even more. This is also a period movie. It does somewhat show the life of Spanish painter Francesco Goya, but it is not a biography. Francesco lived in the time of the Spanish Inquisition by the church, Napolean Bonaparte's invasion of Spain and the British revolution against Napolean. What the movie does is create characters around these happenings which are not factual but could have perhaps been there. The movie creates an atmosphere around the time he painted his most famous works and what could have possibly inspired him.

Natalie Portman plays three different characters and she does it so well. Javier Bardem is excellent in his role as the corrupt official of the church and then joins sides with the French. The most haunting scenes for me were around the Spanish inquisition by the church.

Cinematography is a major plus point. The time period depicted here also is just perfect and makes you believe you are watching 18th Century Spain. The movie is shot in English, that maybe the only one thing that didnt gel too well with me.

An interesting segment is a piece that shows how Goya's drawings were reproduced to be sold to the public. Its a from beginning to end process.

The German disc from Universum is pristine. PQ and AQ are well presented. Disc is region free. The German subtitles are not forced. Supplements include interviews with cast and crew members, not much else.

[anibap]

Originally Posted by fassbenderfan

Let's not get carried away here . It's a good movie, but no where near a classic in my humble opinion.
Mr.Ledger's Joker is for sure a lunatic but an actual threat - .Not menacing at all.

Nolan made a mistake of turning this into a crime noir. It's a comic book movie, why so pretentious?

Originally Posted by fassbenderfan

Tim Burton's Batman movies were a perfect mix of realism and comic book fun. The Dark Knight isn't even a Batman film. It's more like an Al Pacino crime drama with one guy dressed as a Bat and one other guy in clown makeup.
Dent was sloppy writing - Two Face was shoehorned in the last 10 mins of the movie.
I have watched Inception recently and this is what I want to say - All of Nolan's movies have good concepts but are really boring and unexciting to watch. He's a bad filmmaker who is seriously overrated. It takes serious talent to take something as interesting as Inception and make it as uninteresting as Nolan does. Watch Perfect Blue. It's a Japanese film but much better done.

Good posts, but it also proves the point that we don’t live in a perfect world and we have different opinions and I love that part the most. It is not boring. I see things in a different way. Trust me I have a quite a few likeminded friends when it comes to movies and in our group we have a divided set of opinions on Nolan’t Batman and that is just as normal as our diverse opinion on authors and books .

The Dark Knight is not a classic in my opinion as well, but to me it is one of my fav Superhero movie and I like it a lot. Only time will tell if it can become a classic or fade away.

Like Nolan, Heath Ledger’s portrayal of Joker received mixed response. You are right about his character being a lunatic, but to me he is a threat as well since he is so unpredictable in his actions which throughout the movie translated into destruction, terror and loss of lives. If that is not threat, I don’t know what is and that is also why I found his character menacing as well. TBH, Tim Burton’s joker looks quite pale and cartoony even though Jack Nicolson did a good job.

I have a different opinion on your point ‘Nolan made a mistake of turning this into a crime noir. It’s a comic book movie, why so pretentious?’. Why not and what is so pretentious?. As a filmmaker and a creative person he has told a story in his own way and what’s wrong with that. I also don’t believe in the idea that ‘If it is based on a comic book, it has to be treated like one’. What about alternate interpretation and artistic freedom in adapting an art form and creating something of your own belief and idea? Whether some of us likes his way of storytelling or not is a different question subjected to our own taste, but I won’t say Nolan has done a mistake. I like what he did, so he hasn’t failed me and many others who liked his version of Batman. I can’t see how it is mistake at his end. Some people not liking his approach doesn’t qualify it as a mistake.

Since my childhood, my favourite Superhero has been Batman and I have seen Tim Burton’s Batman 5 times the year it released and several times later. But, honestly when I watched it recently after a long gap, the only value that was left for me was ‘Nostalgia’ and nothing else. I prefer Nolan’s Batman over Tim’s creation now. This does not make Tim any inferior filmmaker to Nolan or Nolan any superior to Tim. It is just that I prefer the new Batman more than the previous versions. Tim Burton’s Batman is fun, but far from realistic IMHO.

I totally disagree on the point that the Dark Knight isn’t even a Batman film. To me, it is in every aspect a Batman movie much beyond my expectations compared to what came out before this. I keep an open mind in this case so that filmmakers can surprise me going beyond conventional stereotype of direct comic to film rendition.

Agree to your point to a certain extent that Harvy Dent was sloppy writing, but only to his last few scenes on becoming the Two face (bit rushed).

I consider Nolan a very good filmmaker who can assimilate good concepts and characters into engaging films that I like, but I know many including people very close to me who hate his films. And this is quite common with many filmmakers.

I am used to this kind of arguments in my own friends circle on Nolan and with Nolan, this is quite a topic when it comes to liking or disliking his work.

Haven’t seen ‘Perfect Blue’, thanks for the suggestion . I have added to my rental list.

[Jafar]

Originally Posted by fassbenderfan

Watch Perfect Blue. It's a Japanese film but much better done.

You mean "Paprika", and not "Perfect Blue", I suppose? The former shares similar themes with Inception, though both are great films!

[ravenus]

^Both of them deal with variations on the theme of blurring the lines between reality and dream, but yeah like you say Paprika is more directly connected theme-wise. There's also the (comparatively) more conventional Millennium Actress. And if you've seen those then it's time to dip into the TV series Paranoia Agent :mind-frak:

[srinivas1015]

I've seen a few movies in the last few months that I didn't really have the time to talk about. So here goes .



Die Hard
Clearly the best of the saga. What I think makes this movie are the colorful characters, especially Alan Rickman, who in my opinion steals the show. There's a certain level of class and elegance that you don't see often in a villain. The cop who buddies up with John, the FBI guys, the sleazy salesman, the news reporter, the police chief.. The interactions between all these characters is what makes this movie fun, which does an excellent job of balancing humor and action and is very well paced. There's a certain level of suspense that is missing from the other films.
10 out of 10





Die Hard 2
This film manages to have the same 'feel' as the first but despite the exciting premise, the action in this feels kinda dull. Alan Rickman is sorely missed as we're introduced to a generic action movie villain. It still manages to balance humor and action well and I never felt bored during any period. Despite the villain not being noteworthy, there are still quite a few entertaining characters, not to mention the reporter (), making it a very good ensemble.
8 out of 10





Die Hard With A Vengeance
This is where the series took a wrong turn and I didn't like the idea of opening up the 'arena' to an entire city. Samuel L Jackson brings in the humor with his racist comments but I sorely missed the ensemble cast that the previous two had. This film suffers from pacing issues as well, making it seem longer than it actually is. Despite the stakes being higher, it just doesn't feel as thrilling. The last 20 minutes are dragged out and unnecessary. The movie should've just ended in the shipyard. It felt like the movie reached its climax and then dragged on for another 20mins leading to a second ending, which was anticlimactic.
7 out of 10






Live Free Or Die Hard
This movie feels more like the first Die Hard film and is much more entertaining than third one. Very well paced and I love the banter between McClane and Justin Long. The only 'flaw' is that McClane comes across as a Hollywood action hero rather than a real-world cop. But I can overlook this as the 2nd and 3rd movies have a few over-the-top movies as well. IMO, only the first movie is fully grounded. Oh, and Maggie Q vs Bruce Willis was a great fight to watch! That's another thing about this movie - all the action and set-pieces are really well choreographed.
9 out of 10






A Good Day To Die Hard
This is where the franchise went completely off the rails. Willis doesn't even come across as the smart-talkin' McClane. Furthermore, McClane's son is more or less the lead character in this movie with John feeling more like a sidekick, which is the total opposite of the previous films. After the well choreographed chases and action set-pieces of the last film, it's just a bumbling mess in this film. The plot is barely existent and only serves to get our characters from one action scene to another. There's no banter between McClane and his son, who is as wooden and unemotional as one can get, feeling like a poor man's Sam Worthington. John is just pissed off the entire movie.No humor, no banter, no character interactions, no character development.. There's no 'life' in this movie, it feels very lethargic.It's okay as a mindless action flick with over the top set-pieces. One thing I have to commend is the audio on this BD. It's absolutely spectacular and is worth the price of the BD alone! (provided the BD is 9$-12$ ofcoarse )
5 out of 10

[ravenus]

My detailed review of AGORA

Big heaping thanks to mrbrat_Boy for sending me this hugely interesting movie.

[fassbenderfan]

Originally Posted by srinivas1015

Two Face wasn't shoehorned in. Dent morphed into Two-Face as the movie went on, even before the burn. Don't forget the scene in the alleyway when he almost shot that guy. The entire Dent storyline was lifted from The Long Halloween where Gordon & Batman try to catch 'Holiday', an anonymous serial killer.
Joker's story in TDK was lifted from 'The Killing Joke'. What Nolan did for the trilogy was that he lifted storylines liberally from graphic novels and mini series but at the same time he didn't directly adapt any of them.

Meaning what exactlyt?

[srinivas1015]

Originally Posted by fassbenderfan

Meaning what exactlyt?

Nolan used storylines from one mini-series (The Long Halloween) and one graphic novel (The Killing Joke) for The Dark Knight. But at the same time, he did not directly adapt any one of them.

Almost 80% of TDK is based on The Long Halloween and only the Joker plotline is from The Killing Joke. Nolan infact combined both the stories:

In The Long Halloween, Dent, Gordon and Batman form an alliance to bring down the mob bosses but Dent starts to realise that following the law and ethical routes won't help bring justice. He gets really close to becoming a murdering vigilante, like shown in the alleyway scene in TDK.
One thing I liked about the novel is that it shows Harvey slipping day by day and it reaches a point where the acid being thrown in his face is simply the last straw. In the movie, the burning of his face & Rachel are what trigger his psychotic break. (This is in the final act of the novel, just like the movie. If Two-Face had a larger role and people knew about him, then Batman wouldn't have been able to take blame, which would mean Nolan wouldn't have been able to do the whole 'Silent Guardian' bit. Not to mention making a lot of the plot of TDKR impossible, with Batman being hunted, Gordon lying to the public, etc. Two Face may have had a small role, but his actions are what trigger everything..It's kind of a domino effect if you think about it.)

In The Killing Joke, the Joker kills Gordan's daughter BRUTALLY, kidnaps him and tortures him mentally. The Joker tries to drive Gordon mad and wants to prove to Batman that he(The Joker) is no different than any other man.






Nolan used that storyline in TDK but used Dent & Rachel instead of Gordon & his daughter, thus tying both stories together. Not to mention adding new stuff like the boat sequence (which I don't really like now as it's tiring during repeat viewings of the movie).

In the novel, Joker's past is shown to us via a flashback sequence where his wife is murdered and his face is scarred. He literally loses his mind and chooses to take in the insanity rather than remember the past. He ends up making multiple origin stories for himself and his scars. This is what is shown in the movie as well as The Joker telling each person a different story of the origin of his scars. I thought he was just crazy but the angle from the novel makes it more interesting (where his past is so brutal that his mind has literally blocked it).








As for whether an origin story in TDK would have made it better, I guess that's up for debate. An origin story would have given him more layers but leaving it ambiguous makes him more intriguing. You believe his story when he tells it to Rachel at the party but when he tells a different story later, it makes you go - "this guy has lost his marbles!".
Origin stroies usually demystify classic villains (what I mean is that instead of fearing him/her or seeing him/her as a threat, you as the audience would pity him.) but if done right, then can make him/her more deeper..




There are various scenes in TDK that are COMPLETELY from the novel, right down to the dialogue, such as the rooftop scene between Dent, Gordon & Batman.











Gordon even says "He does that." in the movie when Batman suddenly disappears in the middle of the conversation :

The Dark Knight - Dent & Gordon talk with Batman - YouTube

[mrbrat_Boy]

Originally Posted by ravenus

My detailed review of AGORA

Big heaping thanks to mrbrat_Boy for sending me this hugely interesting movie.

Brilliant review of the movie. Hypatia was a really interesting character for me. Her firm stand on her work even though the surrounding chaos is nearly apocalyptic is admirable. Rachel Weisz's presence exudes the sensuousness of the character, yet she is not arrogant, and is dedicated to educating. The movie does have many beautiful standout scenes. I am glad that you enjoyed it.

[fassbenderfan]

Originally Posted by srinivas1015

Nolan used storylines from one mini-series (The Long Halloween) and one graphic novel (The Killing Joke) for The Dark Knight. But at the same time, he did not directly adapt any one of them.

Almost 80% of TDK is based on The Long Halloween and only the Joker plotline is from The Killing Joke. Nolan infact combined both the stories:

In The Long Halloween, Dent, Gordon and Batman form an alliance to bring down the mob bosses but Dent starts to realise that following the law and ethical routes won't help bring justice. He gets really close to becoming a murdering vigilante, like shown in the alleyway scene in TDK.
One thing I liked about the novel is that it shows Harvey slipping day by day and it reaches a point where the acid being thrown in his face is simply the last straw. In the movie, the burning of his face & Rachel are what trigger his psychotic break. (This is in the final act of the novel, just like the movie. If Two-Face had a larger role and people knew about him, then Batman wouldn't have been able to take blame, which would mean Nolan wouldn't have been able to do the whole 'Silent Guardian' bit. Not to mention making a lot of the plot of TDKR impossible, with Batman being hunted, Gordon lying to the public, etc. Two Face may have had a small role, but his actions are what trigger everything..It's kind of a domino effect if you think about it.)

In The Killing Joke, the Joker kills Gordan's daughter BRUTALLY, kidnaps him and tortures him mentally. The Joker tries to drive Gordon mad and wants to prove to Batman that he(The Joker) is no different than any other man.






Nolan used that storyline in TDK but used Dent & Rachel instead of Gordon & his daughter, thus tying both stories together. Not to mention adding new stuff like the boat sequence (which I don't really like now as it's tiring during repeat viewings of the movie).

In the novel, Joker's past is shown to us via a flashback sequence where his wife is murdered and his face is scarred. He literally loses his mind and chooses to take in the insanity rather than remember the past. He ends up making multiple origin stories for himself and his scars. This is what is shown in the movie as well as The Joker telling each person a different story of the origin of his scars. I thought he was just crazy but the angle from the novel makes it more interesting (where his past is so brutal that his mind has literally blocked it).








As for whether an origin story in TDK would have made it better, I guess that's up for debate. An origin story would have given him more layers but leaving it ambiguous makes him more intriguing. You believe his story when he tells it to Rachel at the party but when he tells a different story later, it makes you go - "this guy has lost his marbles!".
Origin stroies usually demystify classic villains (what I mean is that instead of fearing him/her or seeing him/her as a threat, you as the audience would pity him.) but if done right, then can make him/her more deeper..




There are various scenes in TDK that are COMPLETELY from the novel, right down to the dialogue, such as the rooftop scene between Dent, Gordon & Batman.











Gordon even says "He does that." in the movie when Batman suddenly disappears in the middle of the conversation :







The Dark Knight - Dent & Gordon talk with Batman - YouTube

DUDE....do you EVER relax and simply watch a movie or read a comic? You don't have to write a thesis..relax and enjoy the material, man! No need to go so DEEP! If I were you, I would have a headache by now!
Very interesting post and very nice observations but cool off and relax from time to time.

[ravenus]

^Come on, you were the one that asked him what he meant, so he told you. He can't help that he has a mind that keeps making the connections. I don't think he finds it stressful that he has to deliberately not do this to relax. Awesome post, Srini.

[jerryjames72]

@srini awesome observation

[fassbenderfan]

Originally Posted by ravenus

^Come on, you were the one that asked him what he meant, so he told you. He can't help that he has a mind that keeps making the connections. I don't think he finds it stressful that he has to deliberately not do this to relax. Awesome post, Srini.

i know, but such long posts are strainful to read . i was only saying that it is hard to make those kind of observations when watching something unless you concentrate like when you are studying .

[Anurag1700]

Originally Posted by fassbenderfan

i know, but such long posts are strainful to read . i was only saying that it is hard to make those kind of observations when watching something unless you concentrate like when you are studying .

I guess thats just reflecting his unavoidable passion. Even for critics for that matter, i always used to wonder if they watch it twice to make those observations but no. After a long experience of watching good amount of cinema It just comes naturally to such people that they are able to enjoy and analyse at the same time.