When I tell you that “The Dark Knight” is an incredible sequel, read the words carefully. “The Dark Knight” is Christopher Nolan’s ace film taking the throne as quite possibly one of the best superhero movies ever made. Is it a masterpiece of modern filmmaking? Not really. Is it an incredible example of comic book adaptation that transforms in to a genuinely epic story? Why certainly. Bringing about shades of “LA Confidential” with a dash of the classic mobster movies, Christopher Nolan’s follow up to “Batman Begins” is a brutal and exhausting gangster epic that brings to the forefront a slew of complex and intricate sub-plots that question how far we’re willing to go to maintain law and order, how much violence changes us, and if the peace keepers are really any different from the law breakers and murderers.
Tag Archives: Crime
Best Served Cold: Our Favorite Revenge Films
We all have that dark voice in us. That little spark that says punch the guy who called you a bitch right in his throat. Go scratch your name into his car. Get revenge. That, my friends, is why we enjoy movies about others seeking vengeance so much. We can sit down, watch the violent release and never have to worry about feeling guilty. The pompous directors in pure denial want to call them thrillers. Hell, they would prefer if we called them thrillers, and not revenge films, but we know what they are. Hell, strippers want to be called erotic dancers, but we all know it’s not going to happen. Strippers are strippers, and revenge films are revenge films.
And that’s just how we likes ’em. Suddenly, the revenge genre is big news in Hollywood, and those of us who love a good revenge tale are in hog heaven. In the last two years along we’ve have flicks like “Death Sentence” with Kevin Bacon, “Straightheads” with Julianne Moore, and “The Brave One” with Jodie Foster. So, in honor of this sudden resurgence, we wanted to pay respect to our absolute favorite revenge films. Be aware, we excluded some utter classics, but we felt these deserved a spot in the top ten in the end. Let the blood flow.
Witchblade: The Complete Series (2000) (DVD)
These past few decades haven’t particularly sold me on the Witchblade franchise that’s for sure. For one, I never found too much to take away from the comic book beyond Michael Turner’s fantastic art, and then here came the TNT Television series that was nothing but underwhelming and completely void of any potential to rise above the television crime series doldrums it practiced.
In spite of my best efforts to enjoy it upon its premiere, “Witchblade” could never quite convince me that it was something worth sitting through until its end after two seasons. It hasn’t aged too well eight years after it premiered. It’s filled with bullet time (courtesy of “The Matrix” craze), and bears numerous references to Ricky Martin, but watching it again after so long, it’s not as bad as I remembered.
Batman Begins (Limited Edition Gift Set) (DVD) (2005)
I set aside everything I was doing when I received this for the simple fact that in spite of being a triple dip, in spite of being a cash grab for fans, in spite of marketing on our anticipation for “The Dark Knight,” this is a marvelous boxed set. Absolutely marvelous. And mind you, I’m a person who hates re-releases and avidly avoids them at every turn. I don’t care how many new features are on a re-release, I’ll avoid it if I’m set with my current DVD purchase. The Limited Edition Gift Set is fantastic, and I think I would love to see this for “Superman Returns” eventually.
Hancock (2008)
Whether it makes money or not, “Hancock” will not be the next superhero franchise to break the bank, nor will it be as anticipated as the action figures from Marvel. “Hancock” has so much potential in the first half to focus on a superhero who is far from the people we get in theaters who happen to be upscale and of the Caucasian persuasion, but the turn in the second half is probably some of the most nonsensical pro-feminist propaganda I’ve ever seen, with the writers anxiously working toward taking an insignificant and uninteresting character and turning them in to someone who could contribute.
Birds of Prey: The Complete Series (2002) (DVD)
I can imagine that if there were a commentary for the “Birds of Prey” DVD set, it would begin with “Well… it seemed like a good idea at the time.” And in theory, it does seem like a great concept. After the success of “Smallville” the (then) WB Network tapped the well by digging in to the Batman universe. What with the new franchise being developed how do you work around DC’s ridiculously strict guidelines of not including the same character in more than two property? You make stuff up, and work with what you have. “Birds of Prey” is based on the successful comic book series where Gotham’s girls team up to take on crime. The problem was that audiences just didn’t care for these characters, and what was worse was that well… it sucked. I saw the entire series on the WB Network when it first premiered and I couldn’t stand how awful it was.
Batman: Gotham Knight (2008) (Two-Disc Special Edition)
So it’s finally here, the long awaited mid-quel to “Batman Begins” that leads right in to “The Dark Knight.” While Warner is taking a fantastic approach to this mid-quel by enlisting a host of top notch cutting edge animators and keeping true to the dark adult nature of the movies, even casting the one and only Kevin Conroy to voice Batman yet again (and he doesn’t miss a beat), “Gotham Knight” feels more like a template of which Christopher Nolan could expand upon should he decide to continue the series after “The Dark Knight.” There are only so many rogues who can be justified on screen with realism, but “Gotham Knight” provides us with some famous villains who could excel with a big screen treatment under the right people.