The Cold Cut

I couldn't handle a 'hot out of the screening room' review of The Dark Knight. I'm still unsure how the collected press managed to draft up honest reviews of the film mere minutes after walking out of the press screenings. Maybe I was too wrapped up in all the pre-release hype that surrounded this film, but regardless, that hype was not left unjustified.

The Dark Knight, as a cinematic spectacle, is unmatched by any blockbuster of the last ten years (my movie-going period). It is also the most emotionally draining piece of culture that I have ever being exposed to. I felt like a shell of my former self as we walked out of the cinema, physically exhausted by the ever-changing merry-go-round of emotions that the film conjured in me.

The only place to start is the hype. The buzz surrounding this film has been fever-pitch since Commissioner Gordon handed over the Joker card to our caped crusader as the credits rolled for Batman Begins. In that card, Christopher Nolan sent an obvious signal that whilst he wasn't committed to a sequel, Batman was officially reborn, and ready for a franchise if the world was ready for it. And we were.

Cinema is, by the law of averages, a lonely experience. Sure, we go in pairs, threes or more, but ultimately, sitting in a dark room watching a screen is an anti-social experience. So, why do we do it? For the reaction. And if you are looking for a provoking film, look no further. At my birthday dinner I was quite happy to argue with my parents that as a cinematic experience, this is the pinnacle. For two hours.

The Dark Knight is probably not the best movie ever. It would be hard to argue that it is a complete masterpiece, as there are a few limited flaws. And yet, as a complete package, there is nothing out there that even comes close to this as a piece of cinema. The film itself has obviously connected with audiences the world over, and most average people that you speak to would happily place this film in their top 5 of all time. The $300 million in 10 days (amongst a host of other amazing records) alongside a never-ending series of 5 star reviews mean that The Dark Knight will never be forgotten.

Christopher Nolan has a dilemma to deal with. Where do you go from this? Whilst his previous films have all been brilliant, this huge level of commercial success has never factored into his equation, and yet these kind of figures will have changed that. The Prestige was a commercial hit, debuting at #1 in the US and garnering Academy Award nominations. And yet if you mentioned it, most people wouldn't bat an eyelid. The Dark Knight is not that film.

The film is centered around a host of characters who are all totally inhabited by the actors. Christian Bale will no doubt be under-appreciated as Bruce Wayne, although he is the foundation of this film, holding the meandering plot together. Maggie Gyllenhaal reinvents Rachel Dawes, taking over from Katie Holmes and thankfully erasing her annoying turn in Batman Begins from my memory. Then we have the 'white knight' to Batman's 'dark knight'- Harvey Dent. Aaron Eckhart is another success story, using the talent he has to burn and creating an interesting character arc for Harvey. We care about him, and that is the crucial aspect- that whilst Two Face does appear in this film, we are still aware that he and Harvey are the same person, regardless of whats going on underneath that exterior. Commisioner Gordon has an expanded role in this sequel, and Gary Oldman is once again stellar, with the rest of the cast also providing interesting foils for the leads.

And finally I am brought to Heath Ledger. Heath, Heath, Heath. This performance is far bigger than him. It's far bigger than this film. It's bigger than the hype surrounding it. This film has reinvented the concept of a villain. The Joker is a villain for the modern era, killing and creating havoc purely because he wants to. There are no motives- evidence in the fact that his back story continually changes, and the 'wanna know how I got these scars?' question pops up a few times, each time with a different answer. We have all heard the buzz surrounding Ledger's widely supported Oscar nomination, and it is founded. And yet, most of the buzz suggests a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In actuality, The Joker is the lead role, carrying this film, his presence never absent.

This last fact is down to the fact that Gotham City plays a much bigger role second time around. The shots of Christian Bale standing alone on some of the city's skyscrapers are truly breathtaking, and although I didn't see the film in IMAX, I am almost certain that these visuals would be even more impressive on the larger screens. And through Gotham's presence and destruction, The Joker is effectively never off screen. He orchestrates the destruction which plagues the city- cause and effect.

There are some places where this film experiences slight mis-steps. Whilst the first film felt relatively (and that is a huge 'relatively') grounded in terms of realistic technology, The Dark Knight moves away from this approach. Whilst the Batpod is one of the coolest pieces of automotive technology to ever grace the screen, the circumstances in which this transition is made are a little far-fetched. And in the closing moments of the film, a certain piece of equipment almost burst the bubble of Gotham's believable world which had been built so well. Finally, Christian Bale over does the gruff voice a little bit. And that's it.

So, The Dark Knight. Finally, a film by Christopher Nolan that saw the public realisation of his talent. A film that features many revelations- Heath Ledger's terrible passing, and outstanding performance. A film which may finally unseat Titanic. A viral phenomena. And most importantly, a brilliant film. A film that deserves to be remembered, in our hearts and in the record books. The Dark Knight. Where next?

Update- Empire, Joblo and a few other sites have cottoned on to the 'new terminator model'. In the time it took me to write this, it appears loads of people have freeze-framed! View a trailer analysis.

Films, Films, Films.zip (Link 2)

Well- here we are. As requested, welcome to The Cold Cut summer movie extravaganza. It's actually a lot more exciting than it sounds. I'm going to take you on a chronological journey through what will be remembered as one of the biggest summer movie seasons ever. And as this is inherently a music blog, you can take breaks and download some of the great tracks people are feeling at the moment. Enjoy, comment, relax. I may be updating as I go along.

Common ft. Pharrell- Announcement (Dirty)

Before I get started on my summer movie round-up, I would first like to point something out. I'm sure many of you will have seen the Terminator: Salvation trailer by now, and it looks promising. The teaser is hard to take in because of the way it was put together- a gritty live news shooting style-, but if you take a frame by frame of the 1080p trailer (download here) you come across some interesting details. First of all, we get a clear shot of what appears to be a new Terminator... a prototype we haven't seen before (click through for a huge version). Yes, that does appear to be a rather large chaingun. Scary.

The same robot (or a similar one) can be seen again a few seconds later, as a victim climbs upwards, presumably to escape. I guessed from the glowing red eyes.

Anyway, I'm not aware of anyone else pointing this out, and there's a lot riding on this film if a new trilogy is to be spawned from it. The teaser trailer is intriguing, showing off some daylight shots (which have been mostly left out of the franchise, until now) and Christian Bale, who brings guaranteed excellence to a film- he seems to have this innate ability to make any movie completely watchable- Equilibrium anyone? McG might not be the obvious choice for director, but perhaps this is the kind of big-budget vehicle that a failing director needs? He seems to be going for the right vibe, and it looks as if the events of T3 have been wiped from the world's history (now if only we could do the same), perhaps tying in the time-travelling concept of the recent TV series? If anyone with some knowledge could shed some light on this idea I would be appreciative.

Discuss: Terminator: Salvation... Will it be any good?

The Hold Steady- Constructive Summer

As summer movie season's go, 2008 will go down as one of the most intense. The quality of films hasn't been considerably superior (and in some cases- cough*The Love Guru*cough- so painfully sub-par) but the pure volume of films that warrant an 'I want to see that' reaction is greater than ever before.

Perhaps it's down to the industries perfection of cutting a trailer? Hancock came across as a completely different film in the previews, and even films like Meet The Spartans managed to float at the box office by placing all their 'funny' jokes in the trailers. Maybe we are too impressionable? I know the feeling I had when the Iron Man trailer opened: 'No gang signs... just joking, throw it up!'. We were sold!

Immuzikation- Whoa, Yerr A Joke!

The season kicked off much earlier than usual, with Marvel's heavily tipped Iron Man opening on May 2. As origin stories go, Iron Man was uncharacteristically fun, largely due to Robert Downey Jr's complete domination of the film and part of Tony Stark. There are some moments -the pole slowly rising up in the plane, the closing line 'You know what... I am Iron Man'- that you simply won't see anywhere else in any other superhero film.

In a recent interview, he explained his unusual commercial choice of a superhero film because he 'wanted more than five people to see his film'. He really got his wish. I was one of the millions of satisfied people who forked out for admission, and Iron Man was the first summer movie to take over $300 million domestically. Those kind of figures were a huge boost for the newly independent Marvel Studio's, and they followed it up a month later with The Incredible Hulk. Whilst not quite as enjoyable, the casting was still incredibly inspired, and the film went on to $225 million worldwide, the final figures no doubt pulled down by memories of Ang Lee's 2003 version of the Hulk. Regardless, a strong commercial one-two, no?

Coldplay vs Nas- If I Viva La Vida (Starters Remix)

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. Enjoyable, and well... that's about it for me. I wasn't really expecting the second coming or anything along those lines, and Indy fulfilled my expectations. So, basically, if you went in with high hopes, you might have been disappointed. The one thing I took from it is that Shia LaBeouf is one of the shining stars of our generation: he will be as big, if not bigger, than Hanks and the Cruiser were in their prime. And that homage at the end, with the hat flying by... he may just have another franchise at his feet. Whilst we're on Shia, watch the trailer for Eagle Eye if you haven't already.

Discuss: Shia LaBeouf... soon to be a real household name?

Then came Wanted. Thus far it's my favourite film of the summer, and this is mostly down to good old Timur Bekambetov. I've watched both Night Watch and Day Watch, and whilst they're a little kooky you cannot deny that the guy has an eye for a perfect shot. Wanted proved that Timur arguably works better in English than Russian, bound by the acceptable laws of Western films, and the box office complied- Wanted 2 and Kick Ass (another Mark Millar series) are already in the works. Even bound by the rules, Timur completely reinterpreted many institutions of modern action- half of the action sequences in Wanted featured stuff that I had never seen before, from bending bullets and guns to catching weapons out of mid-air. It reminded many of watching The Matrix for the first time.

Coldplay- Death Will Never Conquer (more on this one soon)

And finally, Hancock. It was always going to be amazing, or... rubbish. It was the latter, and yet something saved this film. Although it was a convoluted mess, one thing shone through. Will Smith. Or giving credit where it's due, Will Smith and Jason Bateman. Their relationship and character's were just too strong for the script and other character's to match. I get the feeling that Peter Berg was aware of that and adjusted the script around that core premise, as an original screenplay of 'Tonight, He Comes' wouldn't have worked around that genuine joe/alcoholic superhero dynamic. It worked... Berg toned down the violence and sexual aspects of the original storyline to retain a PG-13 rating, and the film has already made over $300 million worldwide.

Fortunately, the future is bright. My two most anticipated releases are still to come- Wall-E and, of course, The Dark Knight. Two 10/10 films, without a shadow of a doubt. First things first, Wall-E. This film is a testament to the ability of the talented guys at Pixar. More so than any other studio, they produce consistently moving films, and Wall-E is no different. The buzz is huge, with statements like 'Stanton and co. can produce emotions from two animated robots than most directors can't coax out of their leading actors'. That sort of praise shouldn't be taken lightly!

And then, The Dark Knight. Everything I can say about this film has already been covered. Never before have I seen this kind of hype, and early reviews say it's justified. As well as being the best comic book film ever, we all hope The Dark Knight will never be forgotten. It deserves to break records, and it has- even before it has opened, The Dark Knight has set a record for the most screens playing... 4366 (see here). That figure lays a very strong foundation for some box-office records- we shall see what the 3 day figures hold after the weekend!

Lily Allen- Guess Who Batman (Fuck You Very Much)

I am so unbelievably excited about this film, and I really hope that it goes down as a classic. In some ways, The Dark Knight was almost destined to be huge- the viral marketing campaign is a work of genius, Christopher Nolan has produced a handful of brilliant films (but no masterpiece- until now) and the production of this film is an amazing story in itself. And Heath, well... it deeply saddens me that he cannot be here to witness the finished product, but I hope it is how he envisaged it. A posthumous Oscar would be a fitting reward for such a performance. R.I.P.

Discuss: Seen The Dark Knight? Is it the film of summer 2008? IMAX or standard cinema- is there a huge difference?

T.I.- No Matter What

So, that wraps up the movie season thus far. Before you leave, I really suggest you watch the new Watchmen trailer a couple of times. It's truly incredible. I haven't read the comics, but after this I'm really considering it; it appears that Zack Snyder has understood what's realistically required of him as the director of such a monument. He just gets the fans. After seeing this, I feel fairly confident predicting a masterpiece of sorts. The trailer is unlike anything I've ever seen- Snyder is able to show random footage and it still sends my jaw to the floor... it's that beautiful and wonderfully realised.



View a high definition version of the trailer over at Apple.com

It probably hasn't occurred to many people so far, but the age-old ritual that is going to the cinema is slowly going out of fashion... A few of us have questioned why we go to the cinema with other people when it is essentially a solitary experience (what with not wanting to talk etc.....). Also, with the rapidly advancing technology that most of us own in our TV room, you needn't leave the house to have a cinematic experience: who needs to sit with 200 other people when you can watch Lord Of The Rings on your 108 inch projector with Dolby 6.1 Surround Sound, all in the comfort of your Laz-E-Boy recliner? I have a feeling that people are starting to come around to the fact that the digital age is upon us; films can be downloaded in DVD quality from BitComet just as they are released, and then watched on Media Center PC's....

Its quite disconcerting that this is the case: I think going to the cinema is still a worthwhile way to spend your money, and despite what I have said, it will be some years before staying in can match the overall experience of seeing a film you have been waiting for (insert your preference here) months. My main gripe with the film industry is the price: going to the cinema nowadays can set you back 15 quid, which somewhat lessens the enjoyment you get out of it. This is probably down to the fact that big cinema's such as CineWorld are buying out all the smaller companies. Thats all very well, but lets be honest; when was the last time you saw an indie film being played at your local multiplex? It seems that this aspect is having a negative aspect on the smaller films that are made every year, and on our wallets.

The live action Transformers film comes out on the 27th July this year, and early screening reviews have stated that it is surprisingly good. It obviously has all the elements of a Michael Bay film: guns, explosions and car chases, but the cast are all said to put in good performances, especially Shia LaBeouf. I have been impressed with him in his other performances, in particular 'A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints', and honestly think that he may be on his way to being the best actor of his generation (he has been a big box-office draw so far, with Disturbia at the top of the box office for 3 weeks).

Anyway, all the footage and images I've seen of Transformers prove only one thing: that the robots themselves look fantastic. ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) have done a fantastic job in making the transformers and their transformations look realistic, which in a film that is basically about huge metal robots fighting, was the make or break element (take a look for yourself at the bottom of this page). Despite what all the 'hard-core' fans may think, Michael Bay was the right choice for this movie, especially when he has Steven Spielberg to help him with the lower-key moments of the film. Many have complained that he has changed the look of the Transformers; they wouldn't look anywhere near as cool if he hadn't, as the original transformers were box-like and wouldn't fit in (an old VW beetle? Definitely not the car Sam Witwicky would buy...)

Regardless of what people may have to say about this film in the coming months, I am extremely excited about this film, which may just be the dark-horse of the summer blockbusters; it has a lot of competition from Spider Man 3, Pirates 3 and Shrek 3, but I hope this film does well, so that they can make more in the future: the only complaint so far that I have heard is that people want more as soon as they have seen the film; I am sure this will turn into a summer franchise of sorts. If you are one of the lucky few who have seen the film, we would like to hear your opinions: what were your first impressions: good, bad or excellent? Did you think the CGI was good? etc etc...