Merkel

This will a long post, but some further thoughts I need to get off my chest: The movie is a bit frustrating, as the visual presentation of the character and the world was so strong and sucessfull. Those first 20 minutes or so worked really, really well. Even that view of the "Gotham Times Square", as it were, suggested a city of huge skyscrappers separated by really narrow streets, that looked almost like an American metropolis laid over a european medieval groundplan. It feel really immersive and unique. And as for Batman himself, although I don't think Pattinson is particularly tall, he really had a commanding figure whenever he was surrounded by other people. The way he walked, his body language, the voice the costume itself, I've never seen Batman so successfully realized in live-action. Easily, in my view, the best Batman we've seen in movies thus far. But I do wish the masks in this movie actually meant something. There was only Selina Kyle in this, no Catwoman to be seen. And although I know in the comics she's often portrayed as using the costume merely as disguise, I still think she would be a more interesting character if the costume allowed her to express a side of her personality she wouldn't normally express. Embrace the "Catwoman" character, go a bit over the top with it, realism be damned. Here, she's just Selina, with a very ineficient disguise that barely hints at the Catwoman iconography, as if embarassed of its pulpy origins. Besides, the character is fairly inconsequential to overall story. Speaking of the meaning of masks, Pattinson is Batman throughout the whole movie, whether in costume or not. There was no Bruce Wayne in this. And the relationship with Alfred suffers from this. It's distant, cold, almost resentfull. I suppose they will develop it further in the future, but it just felt off here, although I'm certain Serkis has all the makings of a great Alfred. I love the choice of Jeffrey Wright as Gordon, but yet again, the character felt really underdeveloped and someone who is constantly behind what's happening. He never figures out on his own who the crocked cops are, or who's really pulling the strings. He just leans on Batman to do his work. He was much more a means to an end for Batman to have access to crime scenes than an actual partner, on equal footing, in their joint crusade against crime and corruption. As I've said before, he lacked agency, and as good as the casting is, in here he's more reminiscent of the Pat Hingle Gordon of the Burton films than the Oldman Gordon from the The Dark Knight Trilogy. Paul Dano was doing the same Paul Dano thing he did in movies like Prisoners or There Will Be Blood, with a bit of the Zodiac killer thrown in. He's not really the Riddler. When he was cast, it suggested a really obvious aproach to the character, and for being so obvious, I thought this meant they would go in a radically different direction. Alas, they took the exact same route you would expect when casting someone like Dano in this role. It's not that he gives a bad performance, but simply a very predictable one. The plot promises a lot more than it can deliver and the story is easily the weakest part, as most characters really are very standard tropes with very little development throughout. Which is a shame, because I really think the casting was pretty much spot on for this. It might sound like I did not enjoy this movie and that I'm coming across as too harsh. But the elements this movie did get right were done in such a pitch perfect, spectacular way, it really is frustrating not seeing the other elements living up to this standard. Those first 20 minutes or so are surely among the best of what has been done with Batman in live action, ever. It looks amazing. It's got a great cast. It establishes a fascinating visual language and the world building is, at times, quite stunning. I hope they have a better story, a better plot and better characters in the next outing. The potential is all there. If you took this vision of Gotham City and the visual realization of Batman and put it into The Dark Knight, you'd have the perfect Batman movie.

That was so on the nose, so obvious, it became cringey. That scene should've been cut

Venom 😇

I've just watched this As a huge Batman fan, I was really looking forward to a proper, stand-alone, Batman movie, disconnected from expanded cinematic universe shenanigans. And I mostly got that. First of all, I don't think Batman himself has ever looked better than this in live action. From the costume design, the really fantastic cinematography, the way Pattinson walks and carries himself, this Batman just looks intimidating, absolutely commands any room he's in. He's imposing, without feeling bulky and still retaining a sense of agility. Truly, this is the best visual representation of the character thus far. Aslo, it's nice to see a Gotham that looks like a proper shithole, while still feeling like a very unique, idyosyncratic place. It's opressive, dirty, rainy, but it really doesn't feel like a generic major city, at all. However, I also think this movie has an excess of plot at the expense of story. I suppose Reeves was so dead-set on doing a Batman detective story, that the twists and turns just pile up without any real impact and makes the runtime feel absolutely unwarranted. I was absolutely enthraled with the movie for the first 20 minutes or so, as the way this world was presented was absolutely spot on. But after, it really starts to drag. The cast is good across the board, without any real standouts, though. Pattinson, like I said above, makes for a fantastic Batman, but for a really dull Bruce Wayne. Jeffrey Wright is a good choice for Gordon, but the character seems to lack agency, always trying to follow in Batman's lead. Dano is good, but the character feels generic and they try to make him scary with a somewhat cliched aproach. Andy Serkis doesn't do much and I felt his relationship with Bruce was lacking in warmth. I also wish they would really embrace the Catwoman persona in Selina's Kyle portrayal. In a way, this movie takes a very similar aproach to the character as The Dark Knight Rises did, and while the performance itself is good, the character ends up a feeling as a somewhat generic cat-burglar, without retaining anything particularly distinctive about the Catwoman character. I really think she could benefit from a slightly more "comic-booky" aproach. The score is generic, viewing the movie did not increase one bit my appreciation for it. These are just a few scattered thoughts, so I apologize for the lack of structure. To sum it up: it looks great, Batman himself has never looked better, nice to see again a Gotham City that doesn't look or feel generic, but the movie tries to cram too much plot without really having the story or the character work to support it.

I find that usually the best films have a Rottentomatoes score between 80 and 88%. The ones in the 90's tend to be somewhat consensual and often a bit more conventional. Not saying there aren't great movies with scores in the 90's, but in the 80's often suggests a certain level of creative risk that makes the films more worthwhile. This is still a massive generalization, though

Only The Dark Knight Returns, really, to the detriment of the Superman character. Pretty much all the other all time great Batman stories, IMHO, have been devoid of super powered heroes

Two-Face as well, as obvious as it is. But I would love to see the Ventriloquist. His episode on The Animated Series was fantastic. John Lithgow would've been so perfect back in the day

It's the only one of the three tracks I have enjoyed thus far. But it really does sound like a David Arnold Bond girl theme

IMHO opinion, John Williams' is the single most important element in defining Star Wars and one of the few which has been of consistently high quality throughout the saga. Simply put, Star Wars is not truly Star Wars without his music

Each can have his own opinion, but the general consensus is that TDK is the best of the trilogy, the best Batman movie and one of the very best superhero movies. In the same way as ESB is held in general consesus as the best Star Wars movie, Personal opinions may vary, but I think it's pretty undeniable that is the general consensus, as much as is possible to have a general consensus about these things

Various Batman stories have shown the Wayne family involvement in several periods of Gotham City history, as seen through the eyes of a young Brunce.

As a huge Batman fan, I must say I never felt Batman V Superman was a true Batman movie and it was therefore hard to conjure up the enthusiasm for it. This one feels much, much more like the real thing

People are just happy seeing a movie they love doing well after so many catastrophistic predictions. The movie doesn't need to break box office records left and right to warrant that. 400 is just a nice round number. Nothing wrong with celebrating it

The Animated Series struck the perfect balance in tone, I think.

I did not say those characters are not interesting on their own. I'm a DC buff. More reason not to shove Batman in their stories, to let them shine and their own two feet. And it's better for Batman storytelling too. And Batman is objectively and by far the most popular character in DC's canon. And the second most popular is the Joker. This is not a criticism of other characters. Just stating a fact

I would agree with this. As a massive Batman fan, I never really felt those movies were true Batman movies, and my excitement for them was ,accordingly, much much lower. I hate seeing Batman shoved into the larger DC universe just to boost the appeal of far less popular characters. This feels like a proper Batman movie. Which exists in its own universe and reality. With sequels, hopefully, but please no crossovers.

Does this mean that Dune ties the first Star Wars as the most nominated Sci-Fi of all time (and even considering Star Wars as Sci-Fi is a bit of a stretch, IMHO. And I know Star Wars got a special achievement award)

I'm rooting for Dune, but Power of the Dog is fantastic and rewards multiple viewings

Well, after the whole doom and gloom when this movie was announced, with one year delay, a pandemic, a HBO Max simultaneous release, here we are, with a 400 million dollars grosser and with 10 Oscar nominations in the bag. Even with Villeneuve snub (and there's no other word for it), the outcome was pretty much the best imaginable for this movie, all things considered

Gutted for Villeneuve. He was the chief architect of the whole thing.

Giacchino is becoming a really uninteresting composer. He was fun when doing tongue-in-cheek pastiche. This, not so much. It's so simplistic, and not in a good way

Not to defend that film, but for better or worse, I don't think anything about it is unintentional

Strange Villeneuve was not nominated for Director, although I fully expect him to get a nomination at the oscars

Domestic has also been updated to $107,561,150, for a worldwide total of $398,961,150 Just a million to go

The Numbers has the OS number for Dune at $291,400,000, for a worldwide total of $398,876,785. Will it get to $400 mil?