The Dark Knight Rises in Theaters Now

Despite paying an exorbitant amount for an exceptionally uncomfortable theater in which a quarter of the screen was blocked by the head in front of me and the seat next to me competed for attention with the sounds of explosions at every infinitesimal movement of its occupant...despite all that, I really enjoyed The Dark Knight Rises. Batman has become one of my favorite superheroes, ever since I watched Batman Begins, my favorite of the Batman movies. I love Batman's origin story, and I loved watching his progression from fearful kid to trained warrior in that first movie. The Dark Knight, contrary to public sentiment, was not my favorite of the two. The Joker was great, but there wasn't enough Batman, especially with the internal conflict I loved in the first movie.

The Dark Knight Rises brings us almost full circle to a broken shell of a man who must rise up once more and make his last stand. Although I think I still like the first movie of director Christopher Nolan's trilogy best, this last installment is a close second.

The Dark Knight Rises begins years after Harvey Dent's transformation and subsequent death by Batman's hand at the end of the second movie, but the plot picks up right where it left off. Batman is a ghost of the past, seemingly no longer needed, an outlaw, actually, in a world he helped create, a world where Harvey Dent is the hero of Gotham City. But a new enemy is surfacing, one from the League of Shadows with a chip on his shoulder and a vendetta to carry out. As Bruce Wayne's already crumbling world falls completely apart around him, he must find the will and strength to save his city one more time.

I don't think it's spoiling much to say that Bruce Wayne is far from on top of his game in this movie. He's no where near as fit as Batman should be (although you wouldn't guess that from looking at Christian Bale alone, as his arms remain as well-toned and muscled as ever); he needs a cane to even walk. He's pulled away from people and life, and once again, we get to see the tormented, internally conflicted Batman I love. It's not that I love his suffering. I love that while he's suffering, he still manages to become more than human with no special powers but a keen mind and a will for justice.

(SPOILERS ahead) I confess, I was a little disappointed at first when Bruce Wayne puts on the cape again. He's been hobbling around for years, and suddenly, with no brushing up on his training, he's Batman again? I didn't buy it, and fortunately, the movie doesn't make you. (SPOILER ALERT!) Batman fails, and that's when it gets good. I won't say more than that. It's a fine piece of storytelling that stands on its own two (or three, in this case, if you include the whole trilogy) feet. If you haven't seen the first two movies, that's where you should start.

There are some fun cameo appearances from the first two movies in this one, and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman is brilliant, putting that wide smile to perfect use in a more believable role than some of hers I've seen since her princess days.

The villain, Bane, is more than one-dimensional, too. He has a story worth paying attention to, but it would be spoiling to say more. I love complex villains. In some ways, I think Bane is more complex than the Joker. (Minor SPOILER alert!) The Joker was mostly insane and completely heartless. Bane, as you will come to discover, does have some sort of a heart.

This movie runs long at 164 minutes but doesn't feel like it (the only indication being a crook in your neck when you walk out of aforementioned theater). It's rated PG-13, mostly for violence, of which there is quite a bit (though nothing justifying the censorship this movie has been getting). There's also an implication of a sex scene (with nothing shown), and Imdb.com says there's language, though I confess it didn't cross my radar enough for me to remember. And just an interesting piece of trivia: this movie reprises some key actors from Christopher Nolan's Inception, which I also loved.

Finally, if you haven't seen this movie yet, there's one thing you really want to know, right? What happens to Batman? I can't tell you, but it's worth finding out. And all the better on the big screen.

Despicable Me, Nicholas Sparks, & Memento

The Last Song
I've seen a run of movies lately, some of which don't deserve their own post. Thus far, the only Nicholas Sparks book-turned-into-movie I have liked is A Walk to Remember. I recently watched The Last Song and Dear John. Both were tear-jerkers, and while that would usually endear me to a movie, I really didn't like either movie. I would have liked The Last Song better without Miley Cyrus. Her character didn't feel genuine to me. I haven't even watched Miley Cyrus act or perform before, and I couldn't stand her. I like her deep voice, and that's about all. I don't know why, exactly. She just comes off as fake to me.

Dear John
As for Dear John, what a horrible movie! In that case, I like the actors but couldn't stand the movie. It was all about two people who fall in love over two weeks, and then he goes off to war and they begin to drift apart. Duh. Finally, she leaves him for a man who has cancer and his autistic son. Was this supposed to endear me to her? Actually, she came off as selfish and weak to me. I totally understood and liked the soldier. Neither of them die, oddly enough for Nicholas Sparks, but all they do is hug at the end. Lame. The book is probably better.

Memento
Memento was crazy. It's a Christopher Nolan film (Inception was awesome!), and it's told backwards. The story is about a guy who can't form any short term memories although all his memories up to a certain point are intact. The last thing he remembers is his wife...dying. He's trying to discover her killer and solve her case on his own, since he doesn't know whom to trust. In order to be able to keep working on a case without short-term memory, he tattoos his body with important information and keeps photographs in his pocket. He does whatever his own writing tells him to do. He has to trust every piece of information he writes down in his own hand. It's fascinating, especially as we begin to put the picture together from the backward fragments of the character's life. The ending totally disappoints, but the movie is worth watching for cinematic value. It's rated R for language, and sections are really bad.

Despicable Me

Despicable Me was a surprise. I wasn't all that interested in seeing it, but a friend recommended it, mainly because she knew the production designer, Yarrow Cheney. You've never heard of him, but if you watch Despicable Me, he gets his very own credit screen at the end of the movie.

The movie is really funny and quirky. Villainous Gru is being upstaged by a young pyramid-snatching villain, so he gets a plan in motion to shrink and steal the moon. Meanwhile, three orphan sisters come into his life, and while trying to use them to further his evil plans, he begins to get attached. Steve Carell voices Gru and does an amazing job with an accent that reminded me slightly of my German grandfather. Gru is all dead-pan serious, but some of the things he says come off hilarious. He struck me as different than other characters Steve Carell has played. The three girls are down-to-earth smart and adorable too. I don't know where the music came from, if it was created just for this movie or not, but the title song is perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed Despicable Me. And it's a family movie. Of the four here, that's the one to see. Leave Memento for the movie connoisseurs.