Today's News: murderers, redundant Sci-Fi en drop-outs

Busy start of the week, I'd say:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157832/nieuwe_trailer_12_monkeys_serie

Is there a point to this? Sure, the movie is 20 years old by now and thus it's totally time for a remake, reboot or whatever, by Hollywood standards. But why make a series out of a two hour movie? And not even a miniseries at that, but what the network hopes will develop into a regular running show. I simply don't see that happen, it seems there's far too little source material available for that. Plus, the strong climax of the movie is not something you can hold off indefinitely episode after episode, while revealing it would mean the emotional core of the story is done and over with and there are no more surprises left. Maybe the writers have thought of ways to flesh out characters and situations, but even then it just doesn't seem to offer much more than its premise. And of course it has to live up to its forebear, a movie many people already have seen so they know how it ends and what it's basically all about. Then of course it must survive being compared to the original movie in terms of visuals, which is also a tough act to follow (it was one of them wacky Terry Gilliam movies, remember?). There's just too many elements working against the series from its inception. I'm surprised it was ever made into a series in the first place. No offense, monkeys. but I just don't see this running for more than a season.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157831/trailer_murder_of_a_cat

Looks like a charming indie-comedy. As a cat owner, I can sure understand the protagonist's plight. I would find it quite abhorrent, disturbing and emotionally scarring to find my cat shot with an arrow - though that is not a likely scenario in my area, you can never rule it out entirely - and the police not taking it seriously because it's "just a cat". And I know full well the natural duplicity of cats, their tendency to have relational affairs around the neighbourhood with whomever is willing to stroke their fur and give them a bite. So I can definitely relate to this. Otherwise it seems like a fairly trite but true concept: a socially awkward guy is shaken out of his cocoon by unfortunate circumstances that brings him into contact with a nice girl. Not particularly original, the stuff of many indie-comedies in fact, but sympathetic enough. I'm glad to know Fran Kranz is still actively acting, I haven't heard or seen a thing from him since his delightful performance in the brilliantly unpredictable horror flick The Cabin in the Woods. Sure, he's playing a nerd again, but that suited him last time, so I see no reason why it shouldn't now. Nerds, also a thing I can definitely relate to. *sighs*

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157825/leatherface_vindt_regisseurs

Here's another thing most of us don't need, except for the people who'll just swallow anything containing blood & gore around Halloween. It's not like the previous Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel was any good or worth remembering. I don't see why it would this time, as the notion of a teenage Leatherface doesn't intrigue me at all. In fact, I'm much averse to the idea of prequels exploring the origins of great villains in the first place, as it tends to demystify them more than benefits their persona. How often have we seen a film like this where delving into his younger psyche made the evil in question even more sinister? Why do we constantly need to be reminded that the monster was once just a guy like the rest of us, telling us we could all go down that route if we're unlucky? We have history to remind us of such distressing facts. I can think of no horror prequel where exploring the background of the menace helped sustain its sense of dread and frightfulness to the same degree it would have done without such a background. Darth Vader, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Hannibal Lecter, Dracula, all of their reputations as phenomenal villians suffered from telling too much about their past. And since Leatherface already underwent such a treatment, I don't see the need to make things even worse. Now that's the true evil only money hungry studio executives can cause.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157850/syfy_maakt_vervolg_op_2001_a_space_odyssey

Another production of which the validity can be questioned. Especially as a separate entity, rather than a retelling of the long story that preceded it. Now any comparison with the two Odyssey movies - one an undying classic, the other one, not so much - is inescapable. After all, this will basically serve as the conclusion of a tale unfinished for 30 years. Wouldn't it have made more sense to start from scratch? I guess the thought of actually remaking 2001: A Space Odyssey first would be too sacriligious even for Hollywood. That's a good thing, but it does make it harder for audiences to get a grip on the story, as I doubt that many are familiar with the sequel 2010 (1984). Rightly so, as it simply wasn't a very good film. But since there's no new material introducing this new miniseries, we  dive right into a deep story that's been laying dormant for decades. We'll either to have to brush up on prior events by our own accord, or just roll with it. And I bet most spectators will go for the second option, just because they're lazy and they can't be bothered to check out old films. I think it's gutsy to produce this show, particularly so late in the game, but whether it's a smart move remains to be seen. No matter what talent attached to it (Sir Ridley!!), I wouldn't hold my breath on too stellar a result just to be on the safe side. But hey, if its fails, at least it's a miniseries rather than a regular one, so it won't leave us hanging in the dark of space as its predecessors did (and as the 12 Monkeys series is likely to end up doing, except for the space bit).

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157848/bale_uit_biopic_steve_jobs

Wow, that was fast. Usually it takes actors quite a bit longer to admit to themselves they're not right for a part and drop out. It's both a blessing and a curse Bale left when he did. This Steve Jobs film is still early in production, so there's time as yet to find a suitable replacement. However, a solid actor like Bale leaving is simply a negative thing in the eyes of most people, there's no denying. Then again, the project survived both David Fincher and Leonardo DiCaprio calling it quits, and their replacements turned out alright. I doubt Danny Boyle is gonna depart simply because Bale just did. Maybe all these stars dropping out is a good sign to the studio they need to find someone less picky for the part. How about a talented but relatively unknown actor instead? It would sure help the budget. Looking at it in such a fashion, this is not a loss, but a great opportunity instead. And at least they still have Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak. Unless he drops out, too. And even if the project now fails entirely, we'll always have that lovely jOBS movie with Ashton Kutcher.

Today's News: business as usual

It's been a slow second half of the week for posting movie news. Good thing too, it won't cause me to get behind again:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157681/nieuwe_john_carter_in_de_planning

I had hoped for this, so I'm glad the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs isn't letting a second John Carter of Mars movie gestate for another 70 years. I was really disappointed Disney's John Carter flopped so hard at the boxoffice. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but it was a damn fun movie with great visuals and it had solid franchise potential. Maybe I liked it more than I should, but subject material like this - strange aliens, exotic alien worlds, sexy alien chicks, etc. - really is my cup of tea, always has been. Granted, the movie made its fair share of mistakes both in terms of development, narrative and marketing, but in my mind it truly deserved a better fate. And so ERB, Inc. thinks, too. The original books were groundbreaking, swashbuckling rollercoasters of adventure novels that have endured for many decades, so there must still be an audience for them somewhere. No harm in trying again, starting from scratch, maybe not spending such excessive amounts of money on them this time. I'm really hopeful the company can find a new partner, a studio that still feels there's room for old fashioned Sci-Fi adventures like these. At least this time they know what not to do to make it work. Though it would make sense for both the estate and the studio to wait a little longer, after Jupiter Ascending and Star Wars Episode VII have hit theaters, so they can see whether there's still an audience for grandiose space opera in the ERB tradition.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157701/nieuwe_trailer_the_woman_in_black_2

Seems like more of the same. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, as the first Woman in Black was quite a decent horror flick with its wonderfully creepy and moody period look. Trading in a late Victorian style for a WW II era visual look is not a bad thing. From a story point of view, it makes sense as to why people would allow kids to visit that horribly haunted house again. It seems a better place for children to be than a bombed-out London, any regular parent would think. City folks don't believe in countryside ghost stories after all. And not having Daniel Radcliffe as the protagonist is probably a good notion too. His post-Potter presence in the previous part tended to overshadow the movie as having its own identity. The Woman in Black is still commonly referred to as 'that spooky film featuring Harry Potter', and I don't think that does it any justice at all. Then again, the second installment stars Potter's Narcissa Malfoy, for those who weren't aware. Hopefully it doesn't mean the movie will soon be acknowledged as 'that spooky movie starring Draco's mum'. That is, if Angel of Death turns out as decent a scary movie (or more so) as its predecessor. Otherwise, I couldn't really care less anyway.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157700/_bale_speelt_steve_jobs_in_boyles_biopic

Another Steve Jobs biopic? There was one in theaters only a year ago. Than one, however, didn't win much favour with audience or critics with its rather bland and straightforward approach. Nor are its director and main star (Ashton Kutcher, if you recall) considered such bankable talents as Christian Bale and Danny Boyle. So yeah, why not make another? There's still plenty to tell about so inspiring and innovative a man, no doubt. Plus, there's better storytellers available, and Boyle sure is an intriguing choice. I don't mind Bale, though he tends to go a little too far in his acting, reminding you that you're not watching the character he plays, but that you're seeing Bale doing his extreme thing again. The script is in the capable hands of Aaron Sorkin, who seems to be in danger of being typecast as the screenwriter for penning biopics about important folks in the digital industry for hugely talented directors (he also did The Social Network, after all). You think we'll get multiple Bill Gates motion pictures when that Microsoft man logs out of this life? If so, Sorkin is likely to be Hollywood's go-to guy to pen a script about Gates' life.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157709/jesse_eisenberg_in_dcs_suicide_squad

Hopefully poor Jesse Eisenberg fully realized what he got himself into before signing on as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Considering DC's overly ambitious plans for its own cinematic universe - clearly copying Marvel's designs, but still - it would be natural for a bad guy of Luthor's stature to appear in multiple DC movies soon. Luthor, after all, has his greedy conniving arms wrapped aroud a lot of shady businesses in the DC comics, and has had them there for decades. The movie version is expected to be just as busy controlling an evil empire, one that's not restricted to simply plaguing his nemesis Superman, but many of his fellow heroes as well. Right now the most apt comparable character available in the Marvel Cinematic Universe villain would be Loki, who also started out the archenemy of one but soon demanded a bigger piece of the superhero pie. Luthor is likely to do the same. Nevertheless, his skills would make him more of an evil Nick Fury, controlling strings of a lot of other baddies behind the scenes, as Fury does with good guys (or what he considers to be such, at least). In this case, it seems he's the guy responsible for forming the supervillain team called Suicide Squad, soon to give the Justice League a hard time. I wouldn't be surprised to see him, and thus Eisenberg, make regular appearances, both minor and major, in many upcoming DC movies. And I'm sure Eisenberg won't particularly mind, it just keeps him occupied while the pay checks keep coming in at a steady flow.

Today's News: dumb dinosaurs and jungle automata

 http://www.moviescene.nl/p/156944/pixars_good_dinosaur_opnieuw_aangepast

I have a bad feeling about this one. And not just because there's talking dinosaurs present, though that's never a good sign (eh, WWD3D?). The Good Dinosaur has been reported to feature its fair share of production difficulties, and now it appears the whole thing needed to be started largely from scratch, even though the majority of the voice acting had already been recorded. Of course, major restructuring of Pixar films is part of their routine by now. Toy Story, too, had to be started all over again, and few will argue that final result didn't work out as well as the first concept would have done. Then again, the last Pixar movie to experience severe production diffulcties was Brave, and that finished film wasn't among Pixar's best efforts. It really can go both ways. Of course Lithgow says it's gonna be even better than before, but that's not a very reliable statement; he's not likely to say the opposite before the movie has hit theaters. Actors and other assorted crewmen always come clean about disappointing work after the audience has had to experience their failures for themselves. Replacing the original director, who did the wonderful Up, by someone who thus far has only directed a single Pixar short by comparison, doesn't bode well. But then, there's talking dinosaurs in here, so for me the project was going awry from the get-go.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/156960/blanchett_en_bale_in_jungle_book_origins

The Jungle Book war is on! You'd think Disney's The Jungle Book would have an edge, with a grand cast including the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Ben Kingsley and Bill Murray, but Warner's Jungle Book: Origins, too, has assembled a stellar cast to stay in the competition. Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch?! Suck on that, Disney! Considering both movies deal with the same subject matter in a very similar way, combining live-action with digital animals, and now both include a top-notch cast of seasoned and popular voice actors, the question is which of the pair has the edge. I think I'll have to say it's Warner's Origins, based on their choice of director. Andy Serkis just has much more experience with both animals and motion capture, and that's key. He understands the technology, plus he understands the biology. Jon Favreau, who directs Disney's take on the story, doesn't have the amount of experience with the natural world Serkis does. Also, Serkis has a whole extra year getting things right and working out the technical aspects. Not to mention he gets to see the competitor beat him to theaters so he can witness its pitfalls and carefully avoid them to make for a superior film. Time is not on Favreau's side. However, he has the directing experience, as this is Serkis' true feature film directing debut (not counting his job as Second Unit Director on the Hobbit movies). I guess both movies are relatively even matched. It sure as heck won't be a matter of casting in both cases.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/156923/eerste_posters_dumb_and_dumber_to

Oh wow, a mindless Hollywood comedy making fun of another film in its promotional campaign. Like that's never been done. I gotta say, this choice of poster post-modernism is a no-brainer (pun, duh!). And considering the general reception of Lucy (despite its financial success) by both critics and audience - both parties agreed it made little sense and was utterly devoid of logic - I think the similarities won't end there. But maybe that's just because I care naught for Dumb and Dumber To and don't have any particularly positive hopes for this one. I didn't see the original, which by now is twenty fucking years old, so I won't bother with this excessively late and therefore unwarranted sequel. At least it's safe to say only the marketing campaign will rip off other Hollywood films, unlike most brainless Hollywood comedies whose sole plot seems to be based around that single notion.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/156959/eerste_trailer_automata

I think it's safe to say everybody's first reaction to this trailer will be 'I, Robot much?' Both from a plot perspective and from a design point of view the similarities between both pictures are remarkable. Even though Asimov's 'Three Laws of Robotics' are standard fare in many Sci-Fi works in film and literature these days, this movie seems to take more than a few pages from Asimov. The trailer also hints there's many a character trait Will Smith's and Antonio Banderas' characters from both movies share. Can't say Banderas looks much like an insurance fraud investigator, though in the future, who knows what changes to their image they made? Still, I'm intrigued. It's a Spanish/American co-production starring an international cast and helmed by a relatively rookie Spanish director, so it's bound to be something other than your average Hollywood action flick, which is basically what I, Robot was, though it was a good one at that. The trailer suggests these robots are evolving more or less on their own accord rather than because of outside interference in their programming, which is also an appealing notion bound to raise some juicy existential questions if adequately explored. Other than that I remain on the fence for this one. You just can't judge a film like this based on a single trailer, they're too deceiving. I won't be programmed by a trailer to believe a movie is something when there's a good chance the final product will prove to turn out to be something else entirely.

Today's Triple News: an exodus of empires at the Apocalypse

The quest to post new news continues:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/156389/eerste_teaser_boardwalk_empire_seizoen_5

Looks good. Looks positively final too. A sense of foreboding and imminent closure is clearly instilled with all the little hints at the show's ending found here. 'All Empires Fall', not very subtle, but it can't hurt to let the viewer know this grand show will soon come to an end. And am I gonna miss it. Boardwalk Empire is definitely on my Top-3 of currently running shows. Spectacular production values, compelling writing, intriguing mix of fiction and history and some of the loveliest acting you'll find on telly these days: what's not to like here? But as always, all good things must come to an end. Besides, I haven't even seen season 4 yet, so the finale is not so close for me as for most others. It's a nice thing the teaser makes it clear some of my favorite characters are still alive - some of them just had to be, according to the history books - but I can take a spoiler or two, as they are unavoidable when you're in a line of (unpaid) work that includes posting movie news. Nevertheless, as has become obvious throughout previous seasons (or indeed, most HBO shows for that matter), death still ever lurks around the corner for the characters we've come to appreciate. So we better enjoy seeing these folks interact with each other on screen for a final season, while we still can. For even if they do survive all the way up to the end, we won't be seeing them again anyhow.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/156408/nieuwe_fotos_ridley_scotts_exodus

There's no denying Sir Ridley Scott is the closest thing we have today to the Cecil B. DeMilles and David Leans of yesteryear. While most of his contemporary colleagues opt to film against mostly blue-screen backdrops on this type of epic film, Scott prefers to deal with the real thing as much as the budget allows. And thanks to his long list of past successes, his budgets tend to be fairly large. Hence his opportunity to shoot scenes on sets like the one above, which can best be described as 'lavish'. Which is not to say Scott has difficulty employing the use of digital trickery when tangible means fall short. There's still a Red Sea to part the blue way (or green, it's all the same). The appeal of lush visual effects, spectacular set construction and grandiose costume design aside, will this new retelling of the familiar Exodus story offer anything of novelty? Maybe Scott took a note from Darren Aronofsky's Noah, which told the Biblical tale in a more streamlined form (also to accommodate viewers of other persuasions, it cannot be denied). However, Scott is a much more straightforward director with a tendency to prefer the classical approach of storytelling. I very much doubt his take on Exodus will deviate much from previous incarnations, surely not as much as Noah dared to be different. Which may be for the better, considering the fairly uncomfortable, haphazard results that spawned (also thanks to studio interference).

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/156405/singer_onthult_details_opening_x-men_apocalypse

And there's more ancient Egypt to go around in Hollywood these days. Which will not surprise audiences who knew better than to walk away before the end credits of X-Men: Days of Future Past had rolled completely. As Bryan Singer's tease of the treatment shows here, X-Men: Apocalypse will open more or less on the same note its predecessor left us, namely the backstory of the age old mutant En Sabah Nur, who will grow over the centuries to become the new X-nemesis Apocalypse. Spectators familiar with the comics won't be surprised by this particular bit of background story for the mutant megalomaniac, as it is integral to the formation of this big Marvel baddie and his 'not all mutants were created equal' philosophy. The scene also serves to flesh out his prime henchmen, the Four Horsemen, which may be of major importance to the various X-Men we're familiar with, as some of them will undoubtedly be chosen to represent Apocalypse - whether they want to or not - in the movie's present day and age. Or is Singer going to be very brave and ignore the events of Days of Future Past by diving directly in the alternate reality popularly known as the Age of Apocalypse? I would applaud that decision, but I'm sure it won't come that far, as the studio will be convinced it will needlessly confuse the general audience, which might have some difficulty accepting the notion of alternate universes which in the comics has become a routine ingredient of the X-franchise. It would also detract from the cinematic universe studio Fox is currently hoping to built (though Days of Future Past showed disappointingly little evidence of that, hinting at the studio's insecurity as to how to proceed on that front) if things were to be mixed up too much at this point. Lastly, Days of Future Past's overly cheerful ending, where a dark finale heralding the rise of Apocalypse seemed to have made so much more sense than the happy-happy joy-joy climax we were served instead, goes to show Singer too isn't so brave as to stir things up that aggressively. I don't expect to be surprised by X-Men: Apocalypse too much from a narrative perspective, as I'm not at all surprised by the hints dropped through this Instagram tease.

Today's (Semi)Review: American Hustle

Wrote this one as an informative piece for Filmhuis Alkmaar, but since at this point it's the question whether this title will make it for release in that arthouse-theater for various reasons, I might as well post it here on my blog, and save me the effort of writing it again in English (though in that case it would have been longer and more detailed). Considering it's kind of a puff piece and there's no room for exploring the movie's downsides - you want to entice people to go see the movie by pretending there's nothing to hold against it after all; you're basically performing a con yourself, so to speak - I can't honestly describe it as the most balanced of reviews. That said, I found little to be wrong with this movie, save for the ending which, like most movies dealing with hustles and con artists, typically leaves something to be desired in terms of credibility. We're led to believe the situation is what it is, until it suddenly makes a 180 degree turn and things happen to fit together quite differently, stretching the limits of how much we're willing to swallow. However, the strong personalities and terrific performances of the cast, coupled with delicious production design and gorgeous costumes and make-up, make it all the more acceptable for us to be conned as hard as we turn out to be. American Hustle is worth checking out on those accounts alone.

American Hustle: ****/*****, or 8/10

'Sommige van het volgende is echt gebeurd', is de boodschap waarmee American Hustle opent. Het is zoveel eerlijkheid als je gaat krijgen van regisseur David O'Russell (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook), die geen overdreven historisch accurate pretenties koestert in deze bewerking van de FBI's Abscam-operatie aan het einde van de jaren zeventig. Voor dit luchtige misdaad-drama bewijst O'Russell eens te meer een uiterst bekwaam acteursregisseur te zijn, die het beste uit zijn hoofdrolspelers haalt om zijn verhaal over de oplichterspraktijken van hun personages te vertellen. Zijn alle acteurs immers niet bedriegers?

American Hustle vertelt over het duo 'con artists' Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) en Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) die na een mislukte poging tot fraude door FBI-agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) ingezet worden in een heimelijke operatie om mogelijk corrupte politici uit de tent te lokken. Een neppe zakendeal met een Arabische sjeik die wil investeren in Amerikaanse projecten moet beelden vastleggen van burgemeesters en senatoren die smeergeld aannemen en zo als omkoopbaar aan de kaak gesteld kunnen worden. Het is een gewaagd plan dat Irving en Sydney slechts onder dreiging met een gevangenisstraf kunnen aannemen. Onder druk van het onvoorspelbare gedrag van Irvings vrouw Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) en zijn onverwachte vriendschap met hun eerste slachtoffer, de energieke burgemeester Polito (Jeremy Renner) van Atlantic City, wordt de zwendel steeds uitgebreider en moeilijker in toom te houden. Als vervolgens ook nog de maffia bij het stiekeme schandaal betrokken raakt heeft de operatie zo'n grootscheepse omvang aangenomen dat het onmogelijk lijkt het geheel nog tot een goed einde te brengen. Kunnen Irving en Sydney zich het vege lijf nog redden in deze schijnbaar totaal uit de hand gelopen situatie?

O'Russell begreep wel dat hij een sterk staaltje geschiedenis in handen had dat door zijn publiek met een flinke korrel zout genomen zou worden. Het maakte hem er slechts vastberadener op American Hustle te serveren als een sterk verhaal dat de kijker diverse keren op het verkeerde been zet, met een juiste balans tussen drama en humor om de bizarre aspecten van de Abscam-zeepbel te onderstrepen. Zijn grootste troef blijkt echter zijn fabuleuze acteursensemble dat elkaar bijkans van het scherm af probeert te spelen in veelal geïmproviseerde scènes, waarin ze het meer van hun gevoel als begenadigde acteurs moesten hebben dan van een script dat hun dialoog netjes op een rijtje zette. De acteurs en hun personages vullen elkaar uitstekend aan, met Bale als de ervaren maar voorzichtige oplichter met overgewicht; Adams als zijn partner-in-crime en stiekeme liefde van zijn leven; Lawrence als het secreet van een echtgenote, volstrekt egocentrisch en onverantwoordelijk: Cooper als de gedreven maar overambitieuze FBI-agent; en Renner als de sympathieke en gepassioneerde burgemeester met maffiabanden. Dat Bale, Adams, Lawrence en Cooper allen beloond werden met een Oscarnominatie blijkt geheel terecht en bewijst dat ze O'Russells beproeving moeiteloos doorstaan hebben. Het sublieme acteerwerk maakt de film een feest om naar te kijken.

Het sterke spel van zijn acteurs is niet het enige dat American Hustle tot een valse maar toch geslaagde cinematische vertelling van het Abscam-schandaal maakt. O'Russell doet de late jaren zeventig ook voortreffelijk herleven dankzij het visueel schitterende productiedesign. Ook hier vormen de acteurs het stralend middelpunt dankzij de nauwgezette reconstructie van de uitgebreide mode en weelderige haarstijl uit die periode. Maar ook de tijdsgeest waarin zij vertoeven, de auto's en technologie van weleer, wordt met de nodige flair nieuw leven ingeblazen, en weet zich daarbij gesteund door een hippe soundtrack die met een vette knipoog naar het Amerika van destijds refereert. Het geheel sleurt de kijker volledig mee in de deceptie, maar de relativerende humor die het absurdistische van het schandaal onderschrijft zorgt er doeltreffend voor dat de toeschouwer gepaste afstand houdt met het wel en wee van de oneerlijke personages als hun zwendel op een gevaarlijk kookpunt dreigt af te stevenen. Hoe grotesker de uitkomst, hoe leuker voor ons.

O'Russell maakt er geen groot geheim van dat hij ons diverse keren op het verkeerde spoor zet en ons bedriegt door het niet zo nauw te nemen met de historische feiten. Zijn hervertelling van de Abscam-operatie is letterlijk zowel te bizar als te mooi om waar te zijn, maar met een prachtig eindresultaat als American Hustle maken we daar geen enkel moment bezwaar tegen.

Today's News: an Exodus of Thor posters

Here's a double bill for ya:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/149631/nieuwe_posters_thor_the_dark_world

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/149632/nieuwe_cast_voor_ridley_scotts_exodus

A pair of grand new posters, befitting the characters in question me thinks. Thor looks mighty and divine as a thunder god ought to, while Loki appears sinister and villainous as always. There's some subtle clues in the Loki poster concerning the fate of Asgard at the hands of the legion of the Dark World of Svartalfheim, possibly - and likely - with Loki's aid. There's little more to be said about these new one-sheets other than that they continue to foster hopes Thor: The Dark World will be an epic Marvel flick successfully succeeding its predecessor in terms of cosmic scope and marvelous mysticism.

And speaking of epic - as subtle a segue as you're ever gonna get from me - there's Sir Ridley Scott's latest project which appears to be just that, but Biblical. It appears Exodus is his serious take on the Old Testament book of the same name, without going for a more cynical tone, as was at first the idea with his Robin Hood (which unfortunately didn't work out though, and it ended up a typical period film devoid of surprises accordingly). So far its increasingly impressive cast seems up to the task, though I do disagree with the casting choice for Christian Bale as Mozes; personally I wouldn't follow Bale to the Promised Land, though I concur there are plenty of others that would. I'm more intrigued by the casting of established character actors the likes of Ben Kingsley (also a Sir), John Turturro, Sigourney Weaver and Joel Edgerton (not Sirs). As for Aaron Paul, he seems the odd one out in this bunch. Unless he's supposed to deliver a lighter overall tone to the piece, something I trust Scott won't let get out of hand. That he can play the type of character he did in Breaking Bad is one thing, but now Paul must prove he's up to playing other types of roles as well. Under Scott's supervision, I say we need not fear for anything less than stellar performances of Bale's colleagues throughout. As for Bale himself, well... he's Batman... no more! Ben Affleck is Batman now, deal with it.

Batman's bane: pain and hope

The Dark Knight Rises: ****/*****, or 8/10

Say what you will about the shocking event of a lunatic dressing up like The Dark Knight's Joker and shooting dozens of people in a movie theater in the USA, at least it indicates that character as played by Heath Ledger (1979-2008) has become iconic in only a short space of time. Of course, that does cause a problem for the next installment in the franchise, since it has a lot to live up too. Not surprisingly, expectations for The Dark Knight Rises have risen to extreme heights in the last few months, every rumour involving the project mindlessly taken for actual truth, every tidbit of news meticulously examined by legions of overexcited fanboys, every newly released still picture undergoing major scrutiny and investigation as to how it might fit in the movie and its overall plot. With such hyperactive hype, it seems unlikely the film will hold any surprises for the die-hard fans that have looked at all the available evidence and undoubtedly know the movie by heart before they've even seen it as a whole. And now the final product has finally arrived in theaters everywhere, so everyone can go and watch it and we can at last put the hype behind us and look at the motion picture objectively. Simply said, Nolan struck gold again, though not as amazingly rich as before.

Warning! Spoilers! Set eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, its successor first sees Bruce Wayne (still played by the overly serious Christian Bale) in the midst of a deep depression, still mourning the loss of his childhood friend and the love of his life Rachel Dawes, who fell prey to one of the Joker's diabolical shenanigans. Living alone as a hermit at Wayne Manor, only in the company of his faithful butler Alfred (again played impeccably by the ever reliable Sir Michael Caine), he has hardly set a foot outside since his alter ego Batman took the fall for the faults of the maniacal Harvey 'Two-Face' Dent, after which the Caped Crusader himself also left the scene indefinitely (and still nobody can't figure out the identity of the masked vigilante). However, when a mysterious cat burglar named Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway playing the ever infamous Catwoman, though never referred to as such) steals a family heirloom from right under his very nose, he's intrigued enough to pursue the matter personally, not so much for the stolen goods as for the identity of this intriguing female thief. However, he soon finds she's just the tip of the iceberg in a much larger, lethal scheme that once again puts his beloved city of Gotham at the hands of a mad terrorist plot, instigated by the excessively intimidating mercenary leader Bane (Tom Hardy fully muscled up and wearing a slightly silly mask). And so, the Batman is forced to come out of retirement to battle the forces of evil once more over the fate of his city, despite having been out of it for quite a while, but still equipped with all the right martial arts moves, clever detective skills and above all, fabulously cool gadgets ranging from bat shaped throwing stars to his own private stealth jet. Problem is, against Bane, it turns out it's just not enough...

As he did before to great critical and fanboy acclaim, Christopher Nolan fully manages to apply a full range of motivations and pathos to all his major characters, at times making the movie feel more like a Shakespeare play than a superhero blockbuster, but he's ovbiously fully aware this is his final Batman movie (to many audience members' chagrin, including mine) and he should close things off accordingly, deliveringly one last action extravaganza to completely blow his loyal spectators' minds in every respect. Resulting in a 164 minute film, he's definitely gone all out, but at times it feels he's just gone overboard a little too much, considering the excessively epic setpieces, including a city wide occupation that lasts for five months, armies of thugs and police officers duking it out on the streets and a nuclear explosion to neatly tie all ends up. It all feels a little too large scale for a Batman film, considering he's usually restricted to smaller, more personal vendettas. Fortunately, the movie acknowledges this aspect too by giving Batman plenty of personal issues to deal with, from a double love affair – with Selina on the one hand and philanthropist-with-a-secret Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) on the other – ending in betrayal and near death, to the admiration of rookie cop and wanna-be pupil Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and most importantly, Bane's ties to mentor-nemesis Ra's Al Ghul, thought killed in action in Batman Begins, which makes The Dark Knight Rises refer to the first movie with the proper respect, even having Liam Neeson return for a small bit part as the sinister Ducard who tutored Bruce in the ways of a shadow warrior. With so much on Batman's plate, this film has plenty of fascinating material to cover already. Just consider the epic action scenes a nice little bonus, aiding an already grand finale to this trilogy by giving it some additional visual flair that neither helps nor hurts the already satisfying experience that forms the whole.

With so many characters, many of them new additions to the cast and thus terra incognita, it's a wonder the many plot lines involving them don't get in each other's way, though it must be said, both Michael Caine and Gary Oldman (playing Batman's long time ally Police Commisioner Gordon again) are out of the picture for longer than we would like. The new characters all get a decent set-up and the necessary background information is supplied (though some retain a fair amount of mystery), but the main villain Bane and the delightful rogue Catwoman get the lion's share of attention. The former opens the movie with an instant classic action scene, where he is bound and held on a plane by the CIA, only to quickly have things revealed to be totally under Bane's control as he turns the tables on his supposed captors, demolishes their plane spectacularly and forcefully takes what he was after. Bane is in essence a one-man army, much like Batman himself, with all the right training, fights skills and gadgets, except more prone to violence. Hardy, exceptionally beefed up to make him larger than life, plays him with believable bravoure, lack of subtlety and genuine scariness to make you believe that if anyone can break Batman, mentally and physically, this is the guy who would, and he does just that, snapping the Dark Knight's back upon their first encounter, taking all his assets, overrunning his town and reducing it to total anarchy and banishing his enemy to a creepy prison pit that nobody but Bane himself is said to have escaped. With regard to the latter, this literal hell hole feels a bit out of place in Nolan's vision of the Batman legend, surrounded by mysticism and located in a desert environment, but with such a contradicting feel to the dark streets of Gotham it serves adequately as a place where the defeated Dark Knight can rise, surviving his ordeal and returning to his home town with a vengeance to have another go at his new archnemesis.

You might ask, 'why so serious?', and the answer would be that Bane just doesn't joke around. He's no Joker out for general chaos, he's Gotham's reckoning, out to finish what Ra's Al Ghul started in Batman Begins, razing the city to the ground, reducing its citizens to utter desperation and destroying their dark protector in every way possible. However, he's also no Joker in the way he just doesn't have the same impact as a villainous character, despite the havoc he wreaks on poor Batman. It's likely due to his somewhat grotesque appearance, wearing a goofy breathing mask that distorts his voice but still leaves room for a funny accent. Of course the Bane from the comic books looked worse, but in hindsight Nolan would still have been allowed to change the character's look to make him less comic-y and more realistically a bad guy.

Fortunately the much needed levity is found in the character of Catwoman. Hathaway portrays her as the typical sultry “feline fatale” we've come to love in all her incarnations (with maybe one blatant exception; eh. Halle Berry?). She's obviously more interested in her prize than the men she deceives to get what she wants and she features catchy dry wit and major seductive talents, though there's also a certain level of fragility mixed in: her origins remain to be revealed but it's clear she didn't grow up in a happy place, making her only care for herself and her blonde (girl)friend Jen, seeking to escape the world and aiming for a clean slate. She may look cheerful in her devil-may-care attitude but there's an undeniable level of fright and trauma present. Plus, she's extremely spiteful of rich people, making the chemistry between the nonchalant billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne – who's really loosing up from his personal demons when meeting her – and Selina a surprise to herself and a blast to watch for the audience, surpassed only by the even more charming and wittier chemistry between both their masked alter egos.You root for the pair of them, though Selina's bad history makes it seemingly impossible for them to ever affectionately exchange anything other than wisecracking dialogue as they fight Bane's henchmen together. While Bane is the movie's major antagonist, it's clearly Catwoman who steals the show.

Nolan completes his masterpiece trilogy by addressing yet another major theme that forms an integral part of the Batman persona. Whereas Batman Begins revolved around fear and The Dark Knight was all about chaos, The Dark Knight Rises' focal point is hope, though in every character's event it's born out of pain. Selina hopes for a chance at a new life to escape her gloomy old one, whereas Bane, suffering from terrible pains only controlled by his mask, hopes to exact revenge for Ra's Al Ghul by breaking his mentor's wayward pupil. Bruce Wayne has lived in pain for nearly a decade and finally learns to let go of it in getting involved with Catwoman and Miranda, but their betrayal leads to even more pain, as he is exiled to an abyss and forced to watch as Bane cuts of his city from the rest of the world and threatens to destroy it in a nuclear explosion, making Gotham's citizens hope for a champion to end this reign of terror. The good guys eventually rise above their pain and face their tormentors to liberate Gotham from its ordeal. As with all of his movies, Nolan injects his story and the characters inhabiting it with a great amount of psychological issues, delivering an action film that doesn't just go for high adrenaline spectacle and sensational sights (though it does feature plenty of both) but also contains thematic values and insights that make it rise far above the average summer blockbuster, yet still consists of many excellent moments making it a successful popcorn movie too, especially when Batman goes all out on fighting crime with his array of awesome vehicles. When the Caped Crusader finally hits the screen in full regalia on his Batpod in the middle of a wild chase scene between cop cars and thugs on motorcycles, accompanied by Hans Zimmer's memorable booming orchestral score, the audience can do nothing but cheer and fully immerse itself in the gripping action.

It might as well be called a fact Ledger's untimely death gave The Dark Knight and his own performance as the Joker a mystique that could never be duplicated, and Nolan doesn't bother to try, going so far as to never even mention the Joker in The Dark Knight Rises. While the regrettable Aurora incident will certainly give this film a macabre place in film history all its own, and it will undoubtedly break a number of box office records as any film this highly anticipated would, Nolan's Batman-movie-to-end-all-Batman-movies cannot surpass the superior The Dark Knight, despite Nolan's best efforts. Like the Bane character, it's simply larger than life a little too much and it could be called too epic for its own good. However, it's doubtful anybody ever expected it to top its predecessor, no matter how much people looked forward to it. As a conclusion to Nolan's superhero trilogy as a whole, it succeeds in its purpose, resulting in a grand finale for the much beloved and acclaimed franchise ending on a bittersweet note that still allows hope for more to come (which Nolan states is not gonna happen: maybe for the best). Were it not for the studio already in the process of revamping the character and rebooting the franchise yet again (after all, there's simply too much opportunity to make more money here), Batman could finally retire for real this time. In any event, Nolan's Batman will always be fondly remembered as the ultimate take on the Dark Knight.

And watch the trailer here

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thedarkknightrises/

Dark Knight, The

Rating: *****/*****, or 10/10

Superb sequel to the excellent Batman Begins (2005). The already dark and sombre atmosphere of its predecessor is carried on in this film as the vigilante Batman (Christian Bale) is confronted with his ultimate nemesis, the insane criminal mastermind named simply the Joker (Heath Ledger (1979-2008) in his penultimate screen role, undoubtedly the most memorable character he has played in his sadly all too brief career). Continuing to step up his game in his master plan to bring chaos to Gotham City, the Joker unleashes a reign of terror on the town: in response, Batman is forced to use ever more desperate tactics to ensure the city's survival and order, aided by the relentless district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) who is waging his own war against organized crime. However, even the pair of them can't stop the Joker from killing one person too many, the woman they both love (Maggie Gyllenhaal), with dire consequences to both Dent – turning him into the villain Two-Face – and Batman himself, who must take the fall for Dent's undoing so Gotham's laws he established stay in effect. Ledger's eerie and psychotic but in a twisted manner surprisingly amusing bad guy is a perfect counterpart to Bale's overly gritty and brooding Caped Crusader: after all, 'why so serious?', since this is still a comic book adaptation. However, of all the comic book adaptations done so far, this one deserves to be taken the most serious considering the gripping story, the compelling performances by the lead actors (Ledger was posthumously awarded with an Oscar) as well as grand established actors in supporting roles (among them, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman) and some edge-of-your-seat action scenes, including a night time freeway chase involving a truck and Batman's fan favorite vehicle gadgets, the Tumbler and the Batpod. Partially shot in IMAX, Nolan's preferred cinema format: on the home video releases, this leads to changing aspect ratios that tell you what was and what wasn't produced using IMAX cameras. Nolan would conclude his epic threesome of Batman films – dubbed the Dark Knight trilogy due to the overwhelming success of this film – with The Dark Knight Rises (2012), a formidable flick in itself, but no match for this movie, which in the mind of many (including myself) remains the finest superhero film of them all.

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart

Directed by Christopher Nolan

USA: Warner Bros., 2008

Batman Begins

Rating: ****/*****, or 8/10

Christopher Nolan's darker, grittier and overall more realistic take on the much beloved Batman character results in a fantastic origin story that universally made audiences forget about any previous incarnations of the Caped Crusader. Portraying Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale) as a young man ruled by trauma and fear, the movie witnesses him learning to embrace that fear and wield it in his fight against the rampant crime of Gotham City, ruled over by mob boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson). However, Wayne's educator Ra's Al Ghul/Ducard (Liam Neeson) also doesn't prove to be very trustworthy and has his own shady agenda for Wayne's home town, after which Bruce dons the Batman persona to go at it his own way, together with this trusted butler Alfred (Michael Caine), his associate Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) providing all the awesome gadgets and hardware in his quest for justice and redemption. This is undoubtedly the prime example of how to reboot an extremely popular franchise correctly. First movie I saw in IMAX.

Starring: Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine

Directed by Christopher Nolan

USA: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2005

Rescue Dawn

Rating: ****/*****, or 8/10

Cursus hoopvol overleven met Christian Bale

Christian Bale is een man van extremen. Nadat hij zichzelf volledig uitgehongerd en uitgemergeld had voor The Machinist moest hij zichzelf qua spieren fors oppompen om Batman te spelen in Batman Begins. Nu mag hij hetzelfde kunstje een tweede keer uithalen om de gemaskerde wreker opnieuw te vertolken in The Dark Knight, nadat hij zich eens temeer tot levend skelet heeft gereduceerd voor Rescue Dawn. Of een dergelijk ritme gezond genoemd kan worden is nog maar zeer de vraag, maar het geeft wel aan dat Bale zijn vak als acteur serieuzer neemt dan het merendeel van zijn collega-steracteurs.

Bale speelt in Rescue Dawn de rol van Dieter Dengler, een Amerikaans piloot van Duitse komaf die in 1965 boven Laos wordt neergehaald tijdens een geheime missie tegen de Vietcong. Hij overleeft het neerstorten maar wordt vervolgens tot krijgsgevangene gemaakt, gruwelijk gemarteld en maandenlang in een gevangenenkamp vastgehouden, waar hij lotgenoten aantreft die daar al jaren vastzitten en zowel psychisch als lichamelijk afgestompt zijn. Uiteindelijk weet hij zijn kameraden over te halen een gewaagde ontsnapping uit te voeren, maar daarop blijkt het overleven in de jungle minstens zo zwaar en afmattend als het kampleven te zijn.

Onder regie van Werner Herzog vertolkt Bale Dengler met zijn gebruikelijke kwaliteit. Hoewel zijn fysieke gestalte ongetwijfeld de meeste aandacht trekt levert hij ook in de overige facetten van zijn optreden een geslaagde prestatie af. Bale speelt Dengler als een wat naïeve, dromerige knul die het hele conflict rond Vietnam maar weinig kan schelen, laat staan dat hij weet wat er überhaupt aan de hand is: vliegen, dat is waar het hem om te doen is. Zijn jongensdroom om piloot te worden is eindelijk uitgekomen, slechts om tijdens zijn eerste missie al tot een vroeg einde te komen. Vervolgens moet hij de vele folteringen van zijn bewakers het hoofd bieden. Ondanks de hoeveelheid narigheid die Herzog ons hierbij toont blijft Bale de rol van charmante optimist spelen, in plaats van te vervallen in zijn gebruikelijke rol van mompelende zwartkijker die in zijn werk doorgaans de boventoon voert. Dengler blijft erbij dat hij zal ontsnappen, overleven en terugkeren, ook al hebben zijn medegevangenen die hoop allang opgegeven. Toch weet hij hen ervan te overtuigen een poging te wagen.

Naast Bale spelen ook Steve Zahn en Jeremy Davies een overtuigend spel als Denglers gebroken kampgenoten. Vooral voor Zahn mag dit opmerkelijk genoemd worden, aangezien hij zich doorgaans getypecast ziet als komische sidekick (Sahara, Employee of the Month). Desondanks weet hij zich tegen de verwachtingen in te handhaven als de volledig afgematte Duane, die uiteindelijk met Dengler de jungle (waarvoor het oerwoud van Thailand een prachtig decor vormt) in vlucht. Hij weet de verslagenheid en desillusie van hoop door twee jaar gevangenschap, evenals het sprankje vertrouwen op een goede afloop dat Dengler in hem inspireert, voortreffelijk neer te zetten. Davies (Solaris, Dogville) echter speelt de rol van Duane's tegenpool, de instabiele Gene die blijft volhouden dat het beter is af te wachten tot het gezelschap vrijgelaten wordt en sabotage van Denglers vluchtpogingen niet schuwt. Ook hij levert een tour-de-force af en zet een personage neer dat door zijn lafheid al snel onze sympathie verliest, hoewel we zijn standpunt volledig begrijpen: een mislukte vluchtpoging van een enkeling kan immers de dood van alle gevangenen betekenen.

Voor regisseur Herzog is het onderwerp van Rescue Dawn niets nieuws. Al in 1997 produceerde hij de documentaire Little Dieter Needs to Fly, waarin hij Denglers martelgang uit de doeken deed. Als zodanig lijkt Rescue Dawn voor hem een herhaling van zetten, maar we vergeven het hem, want met deze tweede variatie op het thema levert hij een spannende en aangrijpende film af die zich moeiteloos kan meten met diens voorganger, alsmede met andere geslaagde Vietnam-films. Desondanks is het waarschijnlijk dat niet iedereen de inhoud van Rescue Dawn volledig kan appreciëren: de film bevat schokkende scènes van marteling en ontberingen. 'Waterboarding', mieren, stront, mitrailleurs en wormen eten: Bale krijgt het allemaal over zich heen (en lang niet alles is in scène gezet) maar weet het te doorstaan zonder de hoop te verliezen. In die zin is Rescue Dawn een lofbetoon aan de overlevingsdrang van de optimist: Dengler vliegt, verliest zijn vleugels en krijgt te maken met onvoorstelbare wreedheden, maar niets zal hem ervan weerhouden opnieuw te vliegen en zijn droom te leven. Met een dergelijke hoopvolle boodschap is niets mis. En die prachtige beelden van het Thaise natuurschoon krijg je er gratis bij.

American Psycho

Rating ****/*****, or 7/10

Disturbing slasher film, based on the novel by Brett Easton Ellis, regarding upperclass Wall Street yuppie Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale in one of his most memorable roles) who spends his off-time murdering people. In a hallucinatory thrill ride through banking executives' offices and dark, prostitute filled alleyways alike, director Mary Harron portrays Bateman as a totally amoral character, incapable of any regard for human life, but obsessed with superficial details like the quality of gold lined business cards. Bateman eventually gets absorbed deeper and deeper into his depraved fantasies, but can continue playing them out because of the justice system's total lack of interest, underlining the notion that in New York's financial district, life means nothing compared to money and apathy has conquered empathy completely.

Starring: Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Jared Leto

Directed by Mary Harron

USA: Lions Gate Films, 2000