The Dark Knight Rises The Christopher Nolan Thread

[Batman jr.]

Memento was also my first Nolan movie back in the day. I thought it was brilliant. Then again TDK was brilliant and so was The Prestige.

I saw Inception last year. Once. Thought it was good but not as good as I first felt. Then I saw it again this year and damn, if it's not brilliant it's damn good entertainment.

I like to think Nolan is a living proof that you can be make great entertainment without falling into the average Hollywood crap.





Haha. I don't think Joey wants any more Batman, and Burton was adamant to direct BR.

Inception is damn good entertainment... in 2D. That's one of the reasons I became an instant Nolanfan.

And Al Pacino gives one of his best "later career" performances in Insomnia.

 

[Ramsay Snow]

I'm not a regular movie-watcher and I stopped caring for Batman after Schumacher's final masterpiece (I had watched every Batman back then, including a few episodes of the animated series). I also missed Begins because I had never heard of it - never had Internet back then.

I saw the teaser for TDK and I didn't even realise it was a Batman movie. I thought it was a movie set during the Middle Ages or something. It was until I saw a sneak peek of Joker crashing Dent's party and read the reviews that I saw Begins and TDK - then I watched the features - Batman Unmasked Psychology of TDK and Batman Tech.

Once Inception was announced, I got so excited because it was by someone who made my favourite Batman movies. I knew it was gonna be something special and I was right - I loved it.

Nolan is the first director that I've paid attention to and watched all his movies, except for Following and the one before it. Bear in mind, I'm not a regular film-watcher.

 

[Batville]

No problem!

Gemma Arterton is supposedly in the lead for the main character Mary. I read the script with her face/voice in mind, and it was extremely vivid.

http://gordonandthewhale.com/gemma-...he-keys-to-the-streets-penned-by-chris-nolan/

http://collider.com/gemma-arterton-the-keys-to-the-street-in-with-the-outlaws-alien-prequels/47451/

I read the script to keys to the street last night. It was very compelling. If Nolan puts it on screen itll be his first women lead role right?

 

[kvz5]

Fun fact: Gemma was on the shortlist for Catwoman but it was never known if she ended up doing the screen test because there were schedule conflicts.

 

[Rocketman]

Fun fact: Gemma was on the shortlist for Catwoman but it was never known if she ended up doing the screen test because there were schedule conflicts.

Appearance-wise, she would've been the ideal candidate.

Catwoman, to me, is very intimidating sexually. As a man, I should feel unworthy of being in Selina Kyle's presence. Men should feel like a bag of crap when she talks to them. She's like Marilyn Monroe to me, and every guy on the planet is Jonah Hill to her... EXCEPT for Bruce Wayne / Batman.

Anne Hathaway, on the other hand, is an Oscar-caliber actress, and is perhaps the closest thing we could get to a female alternative of Heath Ledger's performance.

Either way, we win. But I'm still not completely sold on Anne's appearance. She's never screamed "HOT!" for me, but rather a Plain Jane, Girl-Next-Door, High School Valedictorian. That's not a bad thing, but it's still not "Catwoman" for me. Just my opinion. Instead of being Marilyn Monroe in the presence of Jonah Hill, she's more like Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn, to me, is perhaps the most gorgeous and naturally stunning woman who ever lived, but she's not "HOT!", if that makes sense.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

Fun fact: Gemma was on the shortlist for Catwoman but it was never known if she ended up doing the screen test because there were schedule conflicts.

Gemma is one hell of a gorgeous actress.

 

[moviedoors]

And Al Pacino gives one of his best "later career" performances in Insomnia.

I think that may have been the last flat out great performance he's given.

I remember going bonkers for Insomnia upon its release. I was a Nolan fanboy then. Memento was great, but Insomnia closed the file for me: Nolan is the real deal. I was grabbing friends and going back to show them Insomnia over and over again. Imagine my excitement when I found out he was making Batman.

Hasn't let me down since. In fact, it goes far beyond "not being let down." Nolan delivers that straight shot of cinematic adrenaline that I'm always looking for every single time. I've been watching, rewatching, analyzing, and having real discussions about his work for years now. A long time ago, in a time a far, far away, M. Night Shyamalan was headed that way. He screwed that up years ago. Nolan hasn't. Nolan has been making the transcendentally good cinema that I always hoped he would keep making.

 

[Doc Samson]

Appearance-wise, she would've been the ideal candidate.

Catwoman, to me, is very intimidating sexually. As a man, I should feel unworthy of being in Selina Kyle's presence. Men should feel like a bag of crap when she talks to them. She's like Marilyn Monroe to me, and every guy on the planet is Jonah Hill to her... EXCEPT for Bruce Wayne / Batman.

Anne Hathaway, on the other hand, is an Oscar-caliber actress, and is perhaps the closest thing we could get to a female alternative of Heath Ledger's performance.

Either way, we win. But I'm still not completely sold on Anne's appearance. She's never screamed "HOT!" for me, but rather a Plain Jane, Girl-Next-Door, High School Valedictorian. That's not a bad thing, but it's still not "Catwoman" for me. Just my opinion. Instead of being Marilyn Monroe in the presence of Jonah Hill, she's more like Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn, to me, is perhaps the most gorgeous and naturally stunning woman who ever lived, but she's not "HOT!", if that makes sense.

I get you, there's a stark difference between cute & sexy. I think Anne is cute for sure, but her casting was indeed odd, and I think that's why it's going to work.

In no way am I saying her acting skills are on par with Heath, but part of the fanboy ire after his announcement was because nobody could really see it. It's those type of performances, where your blatantly going outside of yourself and embodying a totally different type of character, that resonate

 

[Dark Sentinel]

I sincerely believe that Christopher Nolan does not know how to make a bad movie.

 

[Herolee10]

Nolan is definitely someone who will be long remembered by comic book fans and general moviegoers; and ain't it ironic that he's also the person who's responsible in some shape or way of bringing TWO of DC's BIGGEST heroes onto the big screen; with Batman being primarily his area, but with having had creative input as to how the story of Superman was to be presented in a modern day context.

Not to mention, how many directors that have made a comic book film movie, can say that they've made not only a trilogy revolving a comic book character, but a successful one?

 

[TDK Joker]

I sincerely believe that Christopher Nolan does not know how to make a bad movie.

 

[Batman jr.]

I also love Nolan for his daring casting choices.

I mean, do you remember the outcry when Heath was announced as Joker?

Did YOU think that Hardy would look that threatening, huge, whatever?

And did you really believe that Gary Oldman could be the Gordon we all wanted, and looked like he walked straight out of the comics?

 

[Sharkboy]

I also love Nolan for his daring casting choices.

I mean, do you remember the outcry when Heath was announced as Joker?

Did YOU think that Hardy would look that threatening, huge, whatever?

And did you really believe that Gary Oldman could be the Gordon we all wanted, and looked like he walked straight out of the comics?

I'm of the mind that Gary Oldman could play margaret thatcher better than meryl streep can, so yes I did think he was a great inspired choice for Gordon, but then again I do think it was the first time i've seen him play such a morally straight character, Gary who is known more than anything to be the perfect on screen villain presence.

 

[Batman jr.]

I'm of the mind that Gary Oldman could play margaret thatcher better than meryl streep can, so yes I did think he was a great inspired choice for Gordon, but then again I do think it was the first time i've seen him play such a morally straight character, Gary who is known more than anything to be the perfect on screen villain presence.

Oldman should do a movie with Philip Seymour Hoffmann and call it "Cameleon".

The reason for him being a bit of a daring choice was because we all knew & loved him for True Romance, Léon,...

Best actor of his generation.

 

[Sharkboy]

Oldman should do a movie with Philip Seymour Hoffmann and call it "Cameleon".

The reason for him being a bit of a daring choice was because we all knew & loved him for True Romance, Léon,...

Best actor of his generation.

...yet hasn't even been nominated once for an oscar. Insane.

 

[Batman jr.]

...yet hasn't even been nominated once for an oscar. Insane.

They are not to be taken seriously:

Scorcese had to wait until The Departed (a good movie mind you, but he has made better).

John Hurt never won an oscar.

Avatar gets nominated for best picture, which in all objectivity, had bad dialogue and of course an overly arrogant director...

And while the effects were ok (no more no less), the only thing it will be remembered for is that it has given us is a load of crap PP 3D; Jurassic Park changed a lot more and I still enjoy it.

 

[Sharkboy]

They are not to be taken seriously:

Scorcese had to wait until The Departed (a good movie mind you, but he has made better).

John Hurt never won an oscar.

Avatar gets nominated for best picture, which in all objectivity, had bad dialogue and of course an overly arrogant director...

And while the effects were ok (no more no less), the only thing it will be remembered for is that it has given us is a load of crap PP 3D; Jurassic Park changed a lot more and I still enjoy it.

I don't put much stock into awards, but there is no denying there is a sense of achievement with them. It's always nice to see your favourite film or actor get the adulation s/he deserves.

If any director deserves to be just a little arrogant it's James Cameron. just sayin' he is the man who made terminator 1, 2 and Aliens, then made a billion dollars making a film about a sinking ship.

That being said I was pretty appalled that Nolan got snubbed for Inception considering that was the most directed film of the year. King's speech? that film practically directed itself!

 

[vanson]

i especially love nolan for his odd casting choices... rutger hauer,eric roberts,tom berenger... robin williams as a creepy killer.. i mean robin also shines in many other movies, but the other 3 for example also do a lot of B-Movies... its amazing how good they are if you have a brilliant director and amazing material..

 

[Nevincer]

Avatar gets nominated for best picture, which in all objectivity, had bad dialogue and of course an overly arrogant director...

Avatar had no place at the oscars for anything other than visual effects Holy crap.

 

[DACrowe]

Appearance-wise, she would've been the ideal candidate.

Catwoman, to me, is very intimidating sexually. As a man, I should feel unworthy of being in Selina Kyle's presence. Men should feel like a bag of crap when she talks to them. She's like Marilyn Monroe to me, and every guy on the planet is Jonah Hill to her... EXCEPT for Bruce Wayne / Batman.

Anne Hathaway, on the other hand, is an Oscar-caliber actress, and is perhaps the closest thing we could get to a female alternative of Heath Ledger's performance.

Either way, we win. But I'm still not completely sold on Anne's appearance. She's never screamed "HOT!" for me, but rather a Plain Jane, Girl-Next-Door, High School Valedictorian. That's not a bad thing, but it's still not "Catwoman" for me. Just my opinion. Instead of being Marilyn Monroe in the presence of Jonah Hill, she's more like Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn, to me, is perhaps the most gorgeous and naturally stunning woman who ever lived, but she's not "HOT!", if that makes sense.

I would never use Audrey Hepburn to describe "plain Jane" when Hepburn was a unique class to herself, unless you're thinking of Katherine Hepburn. But I get the point you are making. Gemma is stunning and Anne is attractive, but not in that way which is how Catwoman is expected to look. But this could be another Ledger situation where the trailer amazes.

 

[the amazing fro]

Memento vies with Good, Bad and the Ugly and Taxi Driver as my favourite film of all time. The narrative conceit is so brilliant and well structured. It can be confusing at times but is never totally incomprehensible. To juggle such a complex narrative structure (and one that has an actual point to it) and to do it well is just a testament of how good a director Nolan is. To top it all off, the acting, story and cinematography are all sublime. And the ending.... god the ending kept me awake the entire night. My mother and sister hated it because it left so much unanswered. But that's partially why I love it so much.

Insomnia is good and boasts excellent performances from Pacino and Williams but I do think that it is Nolan's weakest film. That's not a really slight on the film but more of a commendation of how good all his other films are!

 

[Batman jr.]

i especially love nolan for his odd casting choices... rutger hauer,eric roberts,tom berenger... robin williams as a creepy killer.. i mean robin also shines in many other movies, but the other 3 for example also do a lot of B-Movies... its amazing how good they are if you have a brilliant director and amazing material..

Robin Williams is very creepy in Insomnia.

 

[Gianakin_]

Insomnia is good and boasts excellent performances from Pacino and Williams but I do think that it is Nolan's weakest film. That's not a really slight on the film but more of a commendation of how good all his other films are!

100% agreed.

 

[Batman jr.]

I don't put much stock into awards, but there is no denying there is a sense of achievement with them. It's always nice to see your favourite film or actor get the adulation s/he deserves.

If any director deserves to be just a little arrogant it's James Cameron. just sayin' he is the man who made terminator 1, 2 and Aliens, then made a billion dollars making a film about a sinking ship.

That being said I was pretty appalled that Nolan got snubbed for Inception considering that was the most directed film of the year. King's speech? that film practically directed itself!

I like many of Cameron's movies, mind you. But I don't like the guy... and his fans.

Of course, there have been oscar winners that truly deserved it But still, Oldman & Hurt without a little statue is a big mistake.

 

[DACrowe]

I'm of the mind that Gary Oldman could play margaret thatcher better than meryl streep can, so yes I did think he was a great inspired choice for Gordon, but then again I do think it was the first time i've seen him play such a morally straight character, Gary who is known more than anything to be the perfect on screen villain presence.

I agree with you on King's Speech. If they thought Inception was too commercial, fine. Nolan should have still been nominated though and both David Fincher (The Social Network) and Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) were so far and away superior to Hooper's HBO film style it is mind boggling that Hooper won. I think as the years pass King's Speech beating out TSN, Inception and Black Swan will be remembered as one of those classic Academy blunders akin to Shakespeare in Love beating Saving Private Ryan, Dances With Wolves beating Goodfellas and Rocky beating Network and Taxi Driver.

As for James Cameron? His arrogance is astounding. I'm sure most of the great auteurs take themselves very seriously, but they aren't so pompous about it. See Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola, Tarantino, Woody Allen, etc. I also think Cameron's ego is ridiculous because while I've liked a number of his films, I don't think he is the masterpiece machine he believes himself to be. My opinion.