The latest trailer for the upcoming blockbuster has been released. Directed by Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes, Cloverfield), the movie stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton/Riddler, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot/Penquin.
Check out the trailer:
Two things stand out after watching this trailer:
Matt Reeves has taken the Caped Crusader back to his detective roots.
This version of Batman is probably the angriest of all the live action versions (at least among the ones I have seen)
I am happy with the first part as the Batman being a detective is one of the least explored aspects. Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight briefly touched upon this facet. Credit to Matt Reeves for focusing on this.
The second part worries me. Pattinson's Batman seems bent on outdoing Batfleck on being the broodiest and violent Batman of them all. Even Affleck broke into a smile now and then as Bruce Wayne. But we get one or two shots of Pattinson without the mask and he remains as sullen as ever. This might result in a one-note performance that can get weary soon. Considering that this movie has a run time of nearly 3 hours, it could be become quite a chore to see a dour faced Batman screaming and moping around alternatively.
Speaking of Pattinson, there have been reports of alleged clashes on set between the lead actor and the director.
Coming back to the positive aspects of the trailer, Michael Giacchino's background score is amazing. He looks set to join the annals of great Batman composers along with Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer.
I also liked Zoe as Selina Kyle. She comes across as spunky and spirited. I expect another stellar performance that will rival those of Anne Hathaway, Michelle Pfeiffer and Julie Newmar.
The direction and cinematography looks great.
From a plot perspective, Edward
Nashton has put his plan into motion, despite being held behind bars.
Bruce Wayne/Batman seems to be losing his perspective, much to Alfred's
despair. Plus, Batman seems to be getting real cozy with Selina Kyle.
Keeping in tone with the plot, almost all the actors look and sound solemn. I am not expecting a Batman and Robin or the Adam West series level of camp. But a little bit of humor always helps.
The Tim Burton 1989 movie and The Dark Knight Trilogy managed to achieve this balance of fun and serious approach to the character.
War for the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are two of my all time favorite movies. Matt Reeves has been the main reason I have been excited for this movie.
Here's hoping that the final product turns out great and we will have another great Batman series to enjoy.
Trivia: The song playing in the Batman trailer is “Something In The Way” by Nirvana.
After years of fan petitioning and online chatter, Zack Snyder's Justice League (or simply) Snyder Cut, has been released on HBO Max. This is a 4 hour long movie or a mini series (as some people would like to put it).
Spoilers ahead. Readers who are yet to watch the movie and would like to avoid details, are recommended to skip the post and watch the movie first.
The basic plot remains the same: Superman (Henry Cavill) has been killed by Doomsday. Batman/Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman/Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) are on a recruitment drive to build an alliance to stop the invading forces of Darkseid (voiced by Ray Porter), led by his minion/maternal uncle Steppenwolf (voiced by Ciaran Hinds).
This is not the first time that Darkseid has set his sights on Earth. He had made an unsuccessful attempt earlier, but was beaten back by the combined forces of Atlanteans, Amazons, Gods and a Green Lantern. The three Mother Boxes left behind are given to Atlanteans, Amazons and Men respectively.
This time, Steppenwolf is determined to acquire them and regain the trust and respect of Darkseid. It seems Steppenwolf has fallen out of the New God's good books.
But not every one is eager to jump the bandwagon. Flash/Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) agrees right away but Aquaman/Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg/Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) are reluctant.
Cyborg is content with helping out needy people by depositing cash in their bank accounts. Arthur is more than happy to rescue those in distress on his oceanic turf and celebrate his good deeds at the local bar.
Once
the group does get together, it is time to bring back the most powerful
member back to life. But this Superman is grumpy and may not be
interested in working with others.
Check out the trailer below:
The Snyder Cut is far superior to the studio mandated/mangled theatrical version that was unleashed upon unsuspecting viewers/DC comics fans.
The Snyder Cut differs significantly from the theatrical version in the following ways:
We get our first glimpse of Black suit Superman in live action
Darkseid makes his first live action appearance
Martian Manhunter finally debuts in the SnyderVerse
Steppenwolf's armor and backstory are improved
Cyborg's backstory is fleshed out (arguably the most)
Iris West has a cameo (in the strictest sense of the word)
Ryan Choi features in the movie (DC Comics fan would know him better as Atom)
The Whedonesque humor has been (thankfully) done away with, including couple of not-so-fun scenes with Wonder Woman
The action sequences are much better in this version
Gone are the unfunny jokes and the frankly unnecessary scene of Flash falling on Wonder Woman in the midst of a fight scene (both courtesy of Joss Whedon). Zack finally gets to release his vision for the Justice League as he had originally intended it to be. Like Whedon, there are the inevitable Snyderisms that this 4 hour long movie is packed with: Lots of slo-mo scenes (and I do mean a lot) and ladies reduced to lusting after alpha male figures.
Needless to say Zack Snyder fans will be lapping this up. I would also recommend the movie to both DC Comics fans and specifically fans of Supes. Supes has never been this good in SnyderVerse. Henry Cavill's screen presence is limited but we do get to see him play a relaxed/smiling Superman (at last). Some may argue that he did that in the theatrical version too. But there are a couple of major plus points to this performance:
Cavill is no longer sporting the hideous (moustache removed) upper lip
He is a blast as the Black suit clad Superman
Additional bonus: We get to see Supes in action with Hans Zimmer's Flight soundtrack in the background. This brings a great closure to Cavill's Supes in this trilogy. I did not like the fact that the theatrical version left out Zimmer's score. But that was to be expected, considering the studio and it's hired hack director did not care for the comic book characters or the fans and were solely focused on releasing the movie for some quick cash.
With Snyder back at the helm, that mistake has been rectified and here we have Supes in his full glory with Zimmer's fantastic theme music accompanying almost all of his scenes (even those teasing his return). The movie scores when Superman is onscreen and Cavill sets the screen on fire in the climactic action piece. Another great sequence is the team working together to bring back the last son of Krypton to life using the Mother Box. It is executed exceedingly well and hats off to Zack Snyder and his crew and actors for pulling it off.
Here is the clip from Man of Steel (for readers unfamiliar with the soundtrack):
I also liked all the scenes featuring Victor Stone and his fractured relationship with his father: Silas Stone (Joe Morton turning in another great performance). The Stones finally come to accept each other and this makes for some heart warming moments and adds the necessary heart and soul to what is essentially another superhero blockbuster movie.
None of the other characters have the kind of character arc that Victor goes through. His transformation over the course of the movie is terrific and Ray Fisher deserves kudos for an amazing performance. Fisher and Morton share the bulk of the work in carrying the emotional component of the movie. Joe Morton always does some of his best work in supporting roles and this movie is yet another feather in his cap. He had played a similar role in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and even had a similar death scene, while operating a device controller.
This extended version makes us understand as to why Ray Fisher was so upset with the theatrical version and the supposed “unprofessional” behavior of Joss Whedon. He has (arguably) been the biggest casualty of Snyder's departure and the subsequent handling of the movie. The media has reported that the studio did not want a black character to be at the core of a million dollar superhero movie, but I think the right decision would have been to retain Cyborg's story line intact. Well, better be late than never. Hopefully, Ray Fisher will get his due and his career will rise to great heights again.
Jason Momoa's Aquaman and Ezra Miller's Flash provide most of the laughs. Ezra Miller's expanded screen presence has both pros and cons: we get to see more of his personal life which is a plus. But his rescue scene of Iris West (Kiersey Clemons) and his scenes with his father, Henry Allen (Billy Krudup) are way too prolonged and just excruciatingly boring. Especially, the last scene between the Allens is the second most boring scene in the movie. (I will come to the first one shortly). And yes this version of Flash kind of fancies Wonder Woman but that is handled much better this time than the in-the-face and crass objectification in the theatrical version (Joss Whedon strikes again).
His attempts at the wide eyed newbie style humor in MCU Peter Parker style gets jarring very quickly. Seeing Flash worship Batman (especially one that is played by the not-so-likeable Ben Affleck) is irritating. But Barry's respect for Supes is understandable.
We get to see more of Willem Dafoe as Arthur's mentor, Vulko. Dafoe is always a sight for sore eyes and this movie is no exception. It is interesting to note that he seems to be taking lessons on hair care from Loki.
Amber Heard has some scenes as Mera but does not have much of impact.
Arthur has some scenes with Diana, where they overcome the long standing lack of trust between Atlanteans and Amazons. This works out well in the final action sequence, when they have each other's back. Contrast this with the Aquaman-sitting-on-the-lasso scene in the theatrical version, in which he inadvertently expresses his crush on Wonder Woman and you will gain a clear understanding of the different approaches taken by Snyder and Whedon towards the source material.
Like the 4 hour long movie, this post has already gotten quite lengthy. I will be covering the rest of the aspects in another post, which will be up shortly.
Image Sources: Atlas Entertainment, DC Entertainment, DC Films, HBO Max, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, The Stone Quarry, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros., Warner Max
If Superman's cousin can have her own TV show, how can Batman's not? So we have Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) donning the cape and cowl. The episode starts off with a voice over by Kate. She is handcuffed and has to make her escape from being drowned in icy waters. This reminded me of Bruce Wayne's training scene with Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) in Batman Begins. Back in Gotham, Jacob Kane (Dougray Scott) runs Crow Security and has taken the role of protecting Gotham. Where
is Batman? - you might ask: As per the writers, Batman has been missing
in action for about three years. Of course, no one observes that Bruce
Wayne is gone too. But, I digress.. Jacob is in charge of a public ceremony, being presided over by the Mayor Akins (Chris Shields). He wants to shut down the Bat signal. But disaster strikes and Crow's Sophie Moore (Meagan Tandy) is abducted. Sophie also happens to be Kate's former lover.
Kate's step-sister Mary Hamilton (Nicole Kang) informs her about the situation. Using her deductive skills and the footage from Bruce Wayne's security, Kate deduces that the gang has taken Sophie to the Burnside Orphanage.
We
run into Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson), the son of Lucius Fox. And just
like his dad, he becomes the Q to our soon-to-be self-anointed
superheroine.
The movie charts the steady descent of Arthur into madness and perhaps unsurprisingly, we get to see Joaquin Phoenix in literally each frame. Kate rushes head first to rescue instead of listening to her father. After a showdown with the gang members, Kate is overpowered and taken to their leader, Alice (Rachel Skarsten). Alice knows much more about Kate and her family than a stranger would. It is also revealed that her primary target is not Gotham or Crow Security, but Kate's dad himself. But instead of killing Kate, Alice has her deposited somewhere else..
Kate decides to take things into her own hand and re-visits Wayne Manor. This time, she hits the jackpot and discovers the Batcave. She also learns that Bruce Wayne/Batman has spent years trying to figure out why he could not save her sister and mother from the fatal car crash which was supposed to have killed them.
Kate has Luke re-design the Bat costume to fit her. Donning the new suit, Kate aka Batwoman takes on Alice and her gang and rescues Sophie. Despite her successful debut, Kate is still disturbed with the fact that Batman could not help save Beth, her sister. Finally, it dawns on her that Beth is still alive and is in fact Alice. The episode also sets up another plot line - Sophie is now married to Tyler (Greyston Holt). But clearly, she is still deeply in love with Kate.
This was an ok pilot episode. The acting was passable from every one except the lead actress. Ruby Rose seems to be overacting. She is not alone though. Rachel Skarsten as Alice/Beth also chews the scenery as an over-the-top villain. Dougray Scott and Camrus Johnson do their best with their roles of caring father and the nervous geek respectively. So does Nicole Kang and Elizabeth Anweis in their roles as the naive daughter and status conscious wife. The only actor to make an impression is Meagan Tandy as Sophie Moore. She manages to convey the intimate connection that her character shares with Kate.
The series is heavily influenced by the Chris Nolan movies. As I mentioned before, the training montage was similar to the one in Batman Begins. The Wayne Tower itself too has been lifted from the same movie. Plus, the night time shots of Gotham also reminded me of those from The Dark Knight. Click on the link below to buy your copy:
On the other hand, the only scene featuring Batman looked to be shot on a shoestring budget. Granted this was the pilot episode.. still that scene could have been shot better.
Recommended watch to fans of DC Comics.
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Image Sources: Berlanti Productions, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television
This post contains spoilers and readers are recommended to watch the movie before proceeding further. The (purportedly) standalone origin story stars Joaquin Phoenix as the Clown Prince of Crime. Todd Phillips (Old School, The Hangover trilogy, Due Date) has directed the picture. Check out the trailer:
Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a clown for hire and an aspiring stand-up comedian. Arthur has some psychological issues and is on medicines. He laughs out uncontrollably when under stress and carries a placard asking onlookers to ignore his outbursts. Arthur also has a gaunt physique to match his fragile mindset.
The movie charts the steady descent of Arthur into madness and perhaps unsurprisingly, we get to see Joaquin Phoenix in literally each frame.
Torn between his career ambitions and personal duty to take care of his ailing mother, Penny Fleck (Frances Conroy), Arthur looks up to Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) as his mentor/role model. Arthur also has a crush on his neighbor/single mother, Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz). Arthur is regularly picked on by bullies and street punks day in and day out. Randall (Glenn Fleshler), one of Arthur's colleagues, provides him a gun for self-defense. It does not help that Murray himself makes fun of Arthur. As the final nail in the coffin, his state sponsored therapist informs him that their sessions will be over soon, due to lack of public funds.
All this inner rage and frustration boils over, when Arthur is bullied by three Wall Street types. Using the aforementioned gun, Arthur turns the tables on his tormentors and becomes the poster child for the oppressed/downtrodden sections of Gotham. From then on, it all goes downhill as Arthur discovers the truth about his troubled childhood. He then goes to murder his mother, his colleague and finally Murray himself. This was one of the darkest cinematic experiences I have had so far. At a time, when mass shootings are happening in a disturbingly regular basis, making and releasing this movie seems to be a very poor choice in judgment by the director and the studio.
Acting wise, Joaquin as expected gives his all and has delivered an absorbing performance. De Niro looks to be miscast as a popular host. Speaking of the female leads, both Zazie Beetz and Frances Conroy have limited scope to perform and are pretty much one dimensional characters. The movie excels in the technical aspects. The production design by Mark Friedberg and cinematography by Lawrence Sher are top notch.
While the lead actor might win acting awards and the movie will make lot of money for the studio, thus taking forward the director's career much ahead, there is also the matter of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The movie has been well made and scores on both acting and technical fronts. But does the DC supervillain really need an origin story, that humanizes him and in a way justifies his crimes?
That is the moot question.
Looks like Todd Phillips wanted to make a Martin Scorsese type NYC based gritty movie set in the 1980s and since Warner Bros is always looking to make money using the DC Comics based characters, an unholy alliance was made. A truly disturbing decision was made to turn Travis Bickle/Rupert Pupkin into the Joker. We DC Fans deserve better. Despite being a lifelong fan of DC Comics, I cannot recommend this movie. For great Joker performances, I would suggest the readers to check out either The Dark Knight or Batman (1989) or Batman: Under the Hood or Batman: The Animated Series. I would take any one of these far superior ones over this version. Click here to read all my posts about DC Comics.
Image Sources: BRON Studios, Creative Wealth Media Finance, DC Comics, DC Entertainment, Joint Effort, Village Roadshow Pictures, Warner Bros.
For a long time, there has been a lot of online chatter about the different Jokers in the DC comics based movie universe (DC Films or DC Extended Movie Universe as it is referred to). We have seen Jared Leto's interpretation of the Prince Clown of Crime. Now we have our first look at Joaquin Phoenix's take on the super-villain.
In addition to Joaquin, the movie also features Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Brett Cullen and Frances Conroy. Todd Phillips (The Hangover trilogy, Old School) directs the origin movie for inarguably one of the most famous baddies to have inhabited a comic book. Check out the trailer:
Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a struggling comedian. Like Travis Bickle, he is at odds with the world and is being slowly driven to losing his sanity. Joaquin's Arthur is also seen flexing his lean and mean physique. If that reminds you a bit of Scorsese's Travis Bickle, you are right on the money. Martin Scorsese was once attached as a producer and there were rumors that one of his frequent collaborators (Leo DiCaprio) would don the grease paint. But as a small consolation, we have his other favorite collaborator, Robert De Niro (the Taxi Driver himself) starring in the movie. Joaquin Phoenix seems to have delivered a knockout performance as the titular character. While it is too early to judge, based on a 2.5 minute teaser trailer, that smirk in the closing scene is quite telling. Set to the song “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin, the trailer sells itself as an urban crime drama with the lead character who is out of control and spiraling into the abyss of insanity. In addition to Martin Scorsese's movies, the movie is also inspired by Batman: The Killing Joke, the graphical novel by Alan Moore.
This trailer has raised my expectations and hopes for the movie and Joaquin's performance. Fingers crossed, that the final product will live up to the hype. Click here to read all my posts about DC Comics.
Image Sources: BRON Studios, Creative Wealth Media Finance, DC Comics, DC Entertainment, Joint Effort, Village Roadshow Pictures, Warner Bros.
