It doesn't matter who we are... what matters is our plan. No one cared who I was until I put on the mask.

The Dark Knight Rises

Rating: 5/5

Starring: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon - Levitt

Director: Christopher Nolan

Year: 2012

I briefly talked about this film in my Batman Top 5 but as I have now seen The Dark Knight Rises three times in the cinema I thought that I would give it the proper review that it deserves.

I am still sitting in awe almost two months after I first seen this film and it is one which has really had a major effect on me. This is the film that I have been constantly asking people if they have seen, and is always a conversation starter between friends. I was so excited about this film and really anticipated it over the last year as more teasers and pictures got released.

The Dark Knight really raised the bar with film making and the performance which Heath Ledger gave was phenomenal, and so before the film was released Tom Hardy had a performance to match up to and possibly overshadow. I was really happy with the choice in casting when it was announced that Joseph Gordon - Levitt was to star, being a fan of his for years when he starred in 3^rd Rock from the Sun, 10 Things I Hate About You, (500) Days of Summer (Although I didn’t like this film I did like his performance). As I have previously said, I first saw The Dark Knight Rises on opening night 20^th July in IMAX. Naturally, I had really high expectations about it and I can say without hesitation that I was not in any way disappointed.

The Dark Knight Rises takes place eight years after The Dark Knight as Batman’s reputation is tarnished after he took the blame for Harvey Dent’s crimes. Commissioner Jim Gordon has nearly eradicated violent crime and Gotham’s streets are safe once more, however he still feels guilty about the cover up of Dent’s crimes and letting Batman take the fall. Meanwhile Bruce Wayne is living in exile with only Alfred for company and a new enemy in the form of a masked terrorist named Bane.  Wayne Enterprises crumbles after Bruce loses a large amount of money by investing in a clean energy project while Bane stages an attack of the New York stock exchange and uses Bruce’s fingerprints to place some risky investments. After a meeting with Lucius Fox, he convinces Bruce to entrust businesswoman Miranda Tate to take full control of the assets from Wayne Enterprises. 

 

In order to get her ‘clean slate’ Selina Kyle, a cat burgular who robbed Bruce Wayne takes Batman to Bane’s hideout in the sewers where the enemies battle it out until Bane overpowers Batman and breaks his back. Bruce is led by Bane and his men to a prison from which escape is virtually impossible. After many months Bruce regains his strength and escapes from the prison to bring Bane down and clean up Gotham once more.

I feel that this is without a doubt the best Batman film ever made, it is visually stunning, the acting is incredible and it is just a perfect piece of filmmaking. Christian Bale is fantastic as Bruce Wayne and personally my favourite Batman (after Michael Keaton of course!) I really liked Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle and although I don’t particularly like her as an actress, I thought her portrayal was fantastic and I loved her scenes. The standout performance for me was Tom Hardy portraying Bane. I found it so hard to watch when he was destroying Batman and I think he was a great villain and was very memorable. I thought the voice he adopted for the role was fantastic and I had absolutely no problems understanding his dialogue and could quite easily follow what he was saying. My favourite scene has to be the opening where the plane is suspended in mid air as Bane and his gang are putting their plan into action.

IMAX of course really added to the experience and enhanced the film ten fold. This is definitely a film to see and one which will leave you wanting to see it over and over. Christopher Nolan really does deserve a lot of recognition for this film as it is modern day filmmaking at its best and his franchise will certainly go down in history as a classic.  Whether you are a Batman fan or not I beg you to see this film and I can guarantee that you won’t leave disappointed.

Top 5 Batman Films

I had an idea to do a top 5 a while ago as I haven’t done one since my Romantic Comedies Top 5 in February and then decided that since I thoroughly enjoyed The Dark Knight Rises and have been unable to stop talking about it since viewing it opening night that it would be a great idea for a top 5 list. I have always loved Batman as a child and can vividly remember reading the children’s series of books and watching Batman Returns on repeat many a Friday night. The idea of a man who is a billionaire and putting the money towards saving the world fighting bad guys and the various gadgets that he has is a genius concept. As Christopher Nolan has recently rebooted the franchise, it has set my heart alight and allowed me to rekindle my love with the Caped Crusader. 

Screen Gal’s top five Batman films:

1. The Dark Knight Rises 
2. The Dark Knight
3. Batman Returns
4. Batman (1989)
5. Batman Begins

 

1. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Wow...in what way could I possibly begin talking about this film? In my opinion this is a perfect piece of filmmaking. I have been so excited about seeing the final ending of the trilogy and after the endless teaser trailers and posters bearing the words ‘The Legend Ends’ the wait was finally over and I seen the film on opening night on Friday 20^th July. Naturally, I had really high expectations about this film and I can say without hesitation that I was not in any way disappointed. 

The Dark Knight Rises takes place eight years after The Dark Knight as Batman’s reputation is tarnished after he took the blame for Harvey Dent’s crimes. Bruce Wayne is living in exile with only Alfred for company. A new enemy emerges in the form of ‘Bane’ and threatens to destroy Gotham with his faithful army of mercenaries.  Batman must once again don his cape and return to defeat Bane as he is the true saviour of Gotham. 

This is without a doubt THE best Batman film ever made, it is visually stunning, the acting is incredible, the plot is explosive and it is just a perfect film.  The cast could not have been more perfect and all the actors looked as though they were born to play the parts, Christian Bale especially as Bruce Wayne delivered yet again another fantastic performance and I also enjoyed Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. I am not normally a fan of her work and Michelle Pfeiffer will always be Catwoman to me but I liked her take on the character. However, the best performance for me was Tom Hardy as Bane. I had no problems understanding his dialogue and found him terrifying at times. This is definitely a film to see and one which will leave you wanting to see it over and over again.

2. The Dark Knight (2008)

The Dark Knight was one of my favourite films of 2008, and looking back I can remember feeling the exact same way I did about this film as the way I feel now about its follow up. If I cast my mind back to 2008 and all the hype that surrounded this film, I was particularly excited but also saddened as Heath Ledger tragically died from a drug overdose and this was to be his shining moment. The Joker has always been my favourite Batman villain since I was a child so when I knew that he was going to be the main focus of The Dark Knight I was very excited to see what was coming our way. 

The Dark Knight takes place after the events of Batman Begins, where Batman is continuing to raise the stakes on his war with crime. Together with Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, the three successfully begin to round up the criminals that plague Gotham City until a mysterious character known as The Joker wreaks havoc on the citizens of Gotham and throws Batman between the lines of Hero and Vigilante. Meanwhile Bruce must look within himself and see his life more personally as Rachel Dawes is in danger and love triangle with Harvey Dent. 

The Dark Knight is a fantastic film and at times quite harrowing to watch. Heath Ledger delivers the performance of his career and one which he will be remembered for. He is sadistic and psychotic and I love the little tics and twitches that he brings to the character. The opening is fantastic, with a bank robbery taking place where all the robbers are wearing clown masks and talking about the man who hired them for the job, as the audience we know who they are referring to. The film does not lack on action or suspense and the climax chase between The Joker and Batman certainly delivers and gives the audience the Batman picture that they had been waiting for.

3. Batman Returns (1992)

As I stated above, Batman Returns was always my favourite Batman film as a child and one which I most vividly remember. Michael Keaton was a particularly favourite actor of mine, after seeing him in Beetlejuice many times and I thought that he was a good choice to play Batman. 

Batman Returns is the second Tim Burton Batman feature film, where after defeating the Joker he must now face a new villain - the Penguin.  Together with Max Scheck, a crooked businessman with a plan to destroy Gotham, the two men attempt to expose Batman in a different light. As Penguin runs for Mayor, desperate to become accepted into society after being abandoned and living in the sewers for years, Max has his own problems to deal with after he wrongs his secretary, Selina Kyle. Selina is thrown from a building and transformed into Catwoman, who has her own agenda with Gotham and Batman. 

I am a huge fan of Tim Burton films and am quite glad that he chose to do a sequel to Batman (1989). It is clear from the outset that he had more creative control in this film, as from the opening credits it is clear that it is a Burton film that we are watching. This film is very clever and very creative; my favourite character of course has to be Catwoman. Michelle Pfieffer is phenomenal as Catwoman and has such dominance about her that every scene she appears in she steals it. Selina radiates sexuality and is quite a match for Batman. Credit it also due to Danny DeVito and I thought he was absolutely perfect for the role of The Penguin. 

4. Batman (1989)

I actually only seen this film around a month ago when my better half and I done a countdown on the lead up to The Dark Knight Roses. I had heard so much about this film and seen various clips of Jack Nicholson’s characterisation of The Joker.  I was really excited to see this film, being a huge fan of Tim Burton’s work and hearing all the hype that surrounded this film being ‘the original’ Batman flick. 

The story begins with a child, Bruce Wayne, who after seeing his parents murdered decides that he will avenge their deaths in a battle with crime as the costumed superhero Batman. Gotham City is controlled by Carl Grissom and his sadistic second in command Jack Napier, who plans to replace him as the head of the crime syndicate. However, Jack becomes horribly disfigured after an incident in a chemical factory and adopts the alter ego of The Joker. It is then up to Batman, along with help from Vicki Vale, a photo journalist to help save Gotham before The Joker takes control and it’s too late to save the city.

I really liked Michael Keaton as Batman and felt that he was quite suited to the character. In this film there a lot of depth to Bruce and he is more socially awkward, often hiding in the shadows. Another member of the cast who I of course have to mention is Jack Nicolson, who gave a fantastic performance as the Joker, and looked quite scary when he had no make – up on and his scars were very visible. This was the first Batman film after the 1960’s Adam West camp fest and was actually taken quite seriously at the time, with one critic claiming that it was ‘too dark’.  Burton has created a memorable, entertaining superhero film which many fans still hold dear in their hearts. 

5. Batman Begins (2005)

 

I had heard numerous reports at the time of this film’s release that it was a big disappointment and it should be avoided at all costs so I admit that on first viewing I was rather sceptical about Batman being brought back. I thought that Chris Nolan successfully explored the origins of Batman and felt Liam Neeson had a great part to play. Batman Begins reboots the Batman films and explores Bruce’s fear of bats and having to cope with losing his parents. 

As a young child, Bruce Wayne is playing with his childhood friend Rachel Dawes when he falls into a well which is filled with bats, causing him to develop a deep phobia. Soon afterwards he witnesses his parents’ murder and so has to be cared for by the family butler Alfred Pennyworth.  Bruce then travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice, mentored by Ra’s Al Ghul he learns how to fight evil and trains as a ninja.  Bruce returns home and finds that Gotham has become overrun with crime and corruption and decides to face his fears and tackle crime under the ego of Batman. With a strong team around him, including Lucius Fox, Alfred and Lieutenant Jim Gordon, he soon undertakes his secret identity and fights the criminals who plague Gotham’s streets. 

I thought that this was a fantastic film with great depth and emotion. Michael Caine is absolutely perfect as Alfred and I honestly cannot think of a better actor to play him. Another character who I really loved is Dr Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow, however I would have liked to have seen a lot more of him. I also liked how this film did not wholly focus on action; instead it gave the audience a background as to who this person is behind the mask and why he is important. A solid beginning for a fantastic trilogy. 

That's my top five Batman films folks, please feel free to comment or add your own top five! I will be reviewing another film before I jet off on holiday next week so save my blog in your favourites as you don't want to miss out! Thanks for all the views guys and to keep up to date with the latest news please follow me @Screen_Gal on Twitter!

This place is about to become a sea of sweat, ear-shattering music and puke...

Rock of Ages

Rating: 3/5

Starring: Julianne Hough, Diego Bonana, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti and Mary J Blige

Director: Adam Shankman

Year: 2012

Rock of Ages is a musical that I had seen advertised in various magazines and on television etc and to be honest I wasn’t really desperate to go and see it. One rainy night while reading my Total Film magazine, I noticed that they were releasing a film of the musical and Tom Cruise was starring in it. While looking for something to go and see in the cinema, I decided to give Rock of Ages a chance, liking rock music and looking to see something a bit different and surprisingly enough I was very impressed and came out with a huge smile on my face.  

The film takes place in 1987 Los Angeles, California. A young woman named Sherry Christian follows her dreams and leaves her small town of Tulsa, Oklaholma to embark upon a career of becoming a singer. While there, she meets Drew Boley and there they end up in a relationship and he gets her a job in The Bourbon Club, a bar which caters for rock music fans with regular live bands playing. In order to try and boost the clubs profile, manager Dennis calls a favour from Stacey Jaxx’s manager who agrees that the singer will play at the club. Sherry meets the singer and while doing him a favour, Drew ends up thinking that she slept with him and so they decide to part ways for a while.  In the end, he wins her back by guying back her records which were stolen from her at the beginning of the film. 

Throughout the film of course there are various musical numbers including: I Wanna Rock, Dead or Alive, More Than Words, I Wanna Know What Love Is, etc. The songs used throughout related well to the storyline and you really couldn’t help but sing along with almost every song! Credit must be due to Tom Cruise who was excellent in his role as Stacey Jaxx. ‘I Wanna Know What Love Is’ is one of my favourite scenes and moments. I didn’t actually think that it was him singing but alas it was. This film shouldn’t be taken seriously, yes its cheesy and it isn’t the best film ever made but it has a ‘feel good’ vibe to it and it really works. I would consider going to see the musical and have recommended the film to many friends, who like me were quite sceptical at the beginning. I have also downloaded the soundtrack and have that playing in my car on the way to work!

It is a fantastic film and one which the whole family will enjoy.

Good points: The soundtrack is absolutely outstanding, again the choice of songs couldn’t have been better. Tom Cruise. ‘Feel good factor’ Good use of humour.

Bad points: A little long, a chunk could have been cut where there was no singing

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Screen Gal! As I was looking at my blog earlier tonight and thinking about my background, I looked back and realised that my blog is now over one year old!

I can't actually believe that it has been over a year ago since I decided to start writing a blog to share my love of film. It has been one of the best things I've done, however I would love to have more time to update it. I have had lots of views which has been fantastic and wouldn't have continued writing without getting the views and knowing people out there are just as obsessed with films as me! I was talking things over with my better half and he suggested setting up a tumblr account to help boost page views. That is currently in the works as well as the facebook page! I just have loads going on at the moment but hopefully things will calm down soon and I'll eventually be able to get Screen Gal up and running. 

I hope that by the time I look back and see its been two years since I started the blog, things will have taken off and I'll be able to look back and know that I have achieved so much.

In the meantime drop me an email or tweet @screen_gal if you have any questions or comments. 

Top 5 Marvel Films

I had a great idea for this top 5 after seeing Avengers Assemble last week in the cinema (which I cannot recommend highly enough!) and I am hoping to see it for a second time soon! I was thinking about doing a top 5 and after many discussions about the film driving home I decided that it would be great to list my top 5 Marvel films. Marvel have been consistent with super-hero films over the past few years and have notched up a fair few, some great and some not so great. As I have mentioned before, I am not a huge fan of the Fantastic Four offering or Daredevil. I pulled out my DVDs and done some research online to finally come a decision on my top five and here they are: 

Screen Gal's top five Marvel films:

1. Spider-Man
2. Iron Man
3. Thor
4. Captain America
5. X-Men 2

1. Spider-Man (2002)

I actually seen this film for the first time on a flight to Tenerife back in 2004 and was so excited because I missed it in the cinema! Spider-Man is without a doubt my favourite Marvel hero and although he isn’t part of the new Avengers film, I love the geekiness of the character as well as the background story involving his family. 

Tobey Maguire stars as Peter Parker, an outcast high school student who lives with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in Queens, New York. Peter is secretly in love with Mary-Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) but is too shy to approach her about his feelings. He is also best friends with Harry Osbourne (James Franco), son of Norman Osbourn who owns Oscorp manufacturing. On a school trip to a genetics laboratory, Peter is bitten by a genetically engineered spider and later passes out in his bedroom, to wake up the next morning with perfect vision, muscles and quicker reflexes. It doesn't take long for Peter to realise that the spider's bite has given him powers and he trains himself to scale walls and swing through the city. After his Uncle Ben is tragically killed, Peter puts his powers to good use and fights crime throughout the city, however he also has to deal with the Green Goblin and stop him from destroying everything that he loves.

This film is everything that I imagined it to be, I thought that the casting was perfect and really enjoyed seeing Toby Maguire playing Peter Parker. I loved the choice of villain and think that the Green Goblin is a great character and I also love how they carried this on to later films using Harry Osboourn. My favourite scene is when Peter makes his own costume and enters into a wrestling competition, in this scene you really see how vulnerable Peter is and get a proper insight into this character.

It really is hard to believe that this film is 10 years old! I was really sceptical when it was announced that they were rebooting Spider-Man as I didn’t think that it needed to be done so soon, however I am really looking forward to seeing Andrew Garfield in action and it will be interesting to see what he can bring to the role and possibly a new franchise.

2. Iron Man (2008)

Iron Man is actually a character that I had never read in the comic books until the release of the film back in 2008. I am a huge Marvel fan (obviously!) and was really excited to see another of their heroes come to life on the big screen. I was really surprised by how much I loved this film and since then I have became an avid reader of the graphic novels and comic books.

Playboy Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr)  who has inherited his father's comany Stark Industries is in Afghanistan with Colonel Rhodes to demonstrate a new Jericho missile, however things goes awry when the team is ambushed and Tony is captured, kept alive by fellow captivee Dr Yinsen, who places an electromagnet in his chest to stop a piece of shrapnel from killing him. In order to escape, Stark builds a suit of armour and with help from Yinsen he builds a generator called an arc reactor to power the suit. After his capture, he returns home and announces during a press conference that Stark Industries will no longer make weapons. Company Manager Obadiah Stane, does not agree with Tony on this matter and thinks that he will destroy the company. Tony then discovers that Stark Ind. have been delivering weapons used to attack Yinsen's home village and after an argument with Stane, it becomes clear who the real villian is.

Iron Man is a really hard hitting film and perhaps one of the darkest of the Marvel films. The film involves real life issues and a lot of it centres around middle eastern conflicts. For example, we see a father almost being shot before his wife and child and we see Tony Stark being captured and beaten by the Iraqi guards. I thought that Tony Stark was perfectly portrayed by Robert Downey Jr and he brought the real arrogance and charm that is Tony. I also loved the ‘will they, won’t they?’ relationship between Tony and Peppa Potts. Not forgetting about Jebidiah played by the brilliant Jeff Bridges. 

The second instalment was thoroughly entertaining however not so much as the first and it will be interesting to see if a third film gets the green light. 

3. Thor (2011)

 

Thor is always someone I was particularly interested in as a child, although not in the Marvel sense. Around age 9 I studied the Vikings in school and we learned that he was the God of Thunder and always had a magical hammer with him. Marvel-wise it was never a hero I was wholly familiar with, however I was always picking up and reading bits and pieces about the character. 

In the realm of Asgard, king Odin wages war against the Frost Giants of Jotunheim 

to prevent them from conquering the nine realms, starting with Earth. The Asgardian warriors defeat the Frost Giants and seize the source of their power, the Casket of Ancient Winters. In the present day, Odin's son Thor is awaiting to ascend the throne but is interuppted during the ceremony when the Frost Giants attempt to retrieve the casket. Thor and his gang including his brother Loki (the brilliant Tom Hiddleston!), childhood friend Sif and three other warriors decide to travel to Jotunheim to confront the Giants, a battle breaks out which Odin must intervene and saves the Asgardians, destroying the truce between the two races. As punishment for his foolishness, Odin takes Thor's godly power away from him and exiles him to Earth as a mortal accompanied by his hammer. He lands in New Mexico and meets Jane Foster, her assistant and her mentor and it is not long before Loki seizes power and tries to destroy the Earth.

I really loved this film and I am currently awaiting the DVD to come down in price before buying it. I actually seen this film in 3D in the cinema and as I have previously stated, I felt that the 3D added nothing extra to the experience. The performances in this film were fantastic, special credit is due to Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston for their biggest debut performances of their career. It also does help that Chris is particularly easy on the eyes. He is a great actor who can carry off humour so well and I loved the battle scene with the Destroyer. I have also heard that there is going to be a Thor 2 so I am really looking forward to going to the cinema to see yet another offering from marvel. 

4. Captain America (2011)

 

I actually only caught this film a couple of months ago and somehow missed the release in the cinema, although I think that I was on holiday at the time. Anyway on our Blockbuster 14 day free trial we rented Captain America and were not disappointed. I was really happy that Chris Evans was cast as I love many of his other films including his small role in Scott Pilgrim VS The World.

Captain America centres around the story of Steve Rodgers, a sickly man from Brooklyn who has tried to enter the army but has been declined because of physical and health issues. While attending an exhibtion with his friend Bucky, Dr Erskine overhears Steve telling Bucky that he can't help in the war but really wants to enlist and so Dr Erskine recruits Rodgers as part of a 'super-soldier' experiment. Rodgers emerges from the experiment taller and more muscular and after Schmidt sends an agent to assassinate Dr Erskine, he is used to tour the nation in a colourful costume known as 'Captain America' to promote war bonds. During the rescue he learns what Schmidt's real plans are, and when he reports to his superiors, he forms a unit to thwart his plans and save the world.

I found this film was particularly well detailed and realistic when it came to re-enacting the war sequences and credit is due to the design, wardrobe and make up departments for their vision in making the audience feel that they were back in time. To be honest I feel that the villain could have been a little more thought out and didn't quite feel that he was bad enough.

5. X Men 2 (2003)

 

I absolutely love the X-Men films and it's a great series which Marvel really planned out. I first seen this offering back in 2003 in the cinema and immediately knew I was in for a treat. I am also a HUGE fan of Alan Cumming's work and was really pleased when I heard he was going to be cast as Nightcrawler. I loved the first X-Men film however the second film still remains my favourite in the series. 

This film takes place several months after the X-Men defeated Magneto and imprisoned him in a plastic chamber. A mutant called Nightcrawler attemps to assassinate the President in the White House setting off a chain reaction of anti-mutant measures by the government. Professor X's school is attacked by William Stryker's forces and Logan, Rogue, Iceman and others are lucky to escape. Stryker managed to capture Xavier and it is up to Wolverine and the rest of the team to join forces with their enemy, Magneto to stop Stryker before it's too late. 

I really love this film and although I don't watch it as often as the other Marvel films, I still find it really exciting. You can imagine my excitement when visiting Casa Loma in Toronto two years ago, as this is used for X-Mansion interior shots throughout the film. I think the performances are fantastic, with Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman holding their own. I have yet to see X-Men: First Class or Wolverine but I'm sure I will get around to it eventually. 

That's my top five Marvel films folks, please feel free to comment or add your own top five! I will be reviewing Avengers Assemble in a future update so save my blog in your favourites as you don't want to miss out! Thanks for all the views guys and apologies for not updating as often as I'd like but things will change.