In Nolan We Hopefully Trust Again: "Interstellar" Teaser Trailer

It feels like the time when Christopher Nolan was not a source of geek contention is further into the past than it probably is in actuality. Even the months before The Dark Knight Rises were belligerent as geeks engaged in a suddenly more vocal debate between those who deemed the gritty realism of the Dark Knight Trilogy to be either appropriate for the source material or detrimental to the superhero genre. 

Following the divisive response to The Dark Knight Rises, that at the very least was underwhelming compared to the films predecessor, Christopher Nolan became an increasingly contentious figure. Supporting Nolan, even  while admitting any shortcomings, meant one was a delusional and biased fanboy. Conversely, criticizing Nolan was met with vile and even violent reactions. Such was and arguably still is the atmosphere around the internet whenever Nolan's name is brought up.

I do not feel a need to defend or explain myself when it comes to my adoration of Christopher Nolan, but to set the record straight: I absolutely adore The Dark Knight, I love Inception in spite of my criticisms towards the first act of the film, and I find The Dark Knight Rises to be highly entertaining despite unfortunately being Nolan's weakest film. (albeit for reasons no worse than most common blockbusters *goughTheAvengerscough*).

Whatever kind of Nolan fan that makes me, even I was beginning to criticize the filmmaker and found myself yearning for the enthusiasm I once had for him to return. While Man of Steel was a box office success, it was hardly the juggernaut Warner Bros. had been hyping it up to be to say nothing of the mixed-at-best critical reception. Assigning blame between Snyder, Nolan and Goyer for the underwhelming response towards the film seems to remain a unresolved issue among nerds (I personally feel all three individuals were the wrong choice considering the source material). For some time I have been waiting for a new Christopher Nolan film to reinvigorate my support for the director. If the teaser for the 2014 film titled Interstellar is to be believed, I may just get my wish granted.

The Thinking Lens: His Name is Superman

Episode #3

My reaction to the newest trailer for the upcoming film: Man of Steel.

I analyze the latest trailer for Man of Steel and discuss my overall excitement, fears, and hopes for the upcoming Superman film. Are director Zack Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan the right choice for Superman? How do Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe and the rest of cast seem to be? Will the score by composer Hans Zimmer be worthy of such an iconic superhero? Will we finally see The Last Son of Kryton display the full extent of his super powers? All this and more is explored!

"The Thinking Lens": Commentary on Film, Music, Video Games, Television, Politics and Pop Culture.

Where You Can Find Me
The Thinking Lens Blog: http://thethinkinglens.blogspot.ca/
Tumblr.: http://thethinkinglens.tumblr.com/
Gomiso: http://gomiso.com/u/crisrav1138
last.fm: http://www.last.fm/user/SexySeb1138
Film Aficionado: http://crisrav1138.filmaf.com/
letterboxd: http://letterboxd.com/crisrav1138

The various use of media material is protected by the Fair Use Clause of the U.S Copyright Act of 1976, which allows for the rebroadcast of copyrighted materials for the purposes of commentary, criticism, satire/parody and education.

Top 12 Best DVD's & Blu-Ray's In My Collection

Now that I have retired from doing DVD and Blu-Ray Collection Update videos, I decided to reflect on the movies I've gathered so far. Which are my favourites?


I take a look back at every
•Steelbook
•Metal case
•Iron pack
•Digibook
•Box set
•Giftset
•Complete Television/TV Season
•Complete Series
•Complete Collection
•Ultimate Edition
•Collector's Edition
•Deluxe Edition
•Extended Edition
•Special Edition
•Limited Edition
•Anniversary Edition
•Statue/Figure/Mask/Briefcase Edition
•Standard Edition
to decide which are my twelve most prized possessions!

Casablanca and Ben-Hur DVD/Blu-Ray Update: http://thethinkinglens.blogspot.ca/2012/12/dvd-blu-ray-update-christmas-2012.html

The various use of media material is protected by the Fair Use Clause of the U.S Copyright Act of 1976, which allows for the rebroadcast of copyrighted materials for the purposes of commentary, criticism, satire/parody and education.

Retro DVD/Blu-Ray Update Week 1

In order to keep this blog active, I have decided to post weekly videos from the archives of my Youtube Channel, primarily the DVD and Blu-Ray Update videos. So please enjoy and continue to look for all new material in the future!

Mini DVD Collection Part 1
Date Posted: June 6 2008
Summary: The first video I ever uploaded featuring a look at my DVD Collection before I began actively collecting films on home video format.

Mini DVD Collection Part 2
Date Posted: June 6 2008
Summary: The first video I ever uploaded featuring a look at my DVD Collection before I began actively collecting films on home video format.

Smallville Season One Review

TV Show Info

Plot: Clark Kent begins a journey searching for the answers behind his origins and learns both who he is and where he came from. However his journey also reveals a destiny set into motion by his biological father. Meanwhile as Clark grows closer to Lana his relationship with Chloe is strained due to her unrequited love for Clark and Lex Luthor wages war against his father as they both try to uncover the secrets of the Kawatche Caves.

Executive Producers/Developed For Television by: Alfred Gough & Miles Millar. Superman Created by Jerry Siegel & Joel Shuster.

Starring: Tom Welling (Cheaper by the Dozen, The Fog), Kristin Kreuk (Eurotrip, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Chuck), Michael Rosenbaum (Justice League, Cursed, Breaking In), Sam Jones III (ZigZag, ER, Blue Mountain State), Allison Mack (Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, The Ant Bully, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies), John Glover (Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Robocop 2, Batman & Robin), Annette O'Toole (It, Stand By Your Man, Superman III), and John Schneider (The Dukes of Hazzard; Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman; Nip/Tuck) as Jonathan Kent.

Steven Spielberg and Robopocalypse: The Film Apocalypse?

After delivering War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin to audiences in 2011, Steven Spielberg will tackle the best-selling book “Team of Rivals” and bring the story of President Abraham Lincoln and the road to the end of the Civil War to the sliver screen.  Looking to projects beyond the film titled Lincoln, Spielberg briefly discussed his follow up film titled Robopocalypse, based on the New York Times best selling science fiction book by Daniel H. Wilson of the same name, with Time Out.
                                                          

Spielberg offers some hints about what audiences can expect from the film, from the obvious premise of a global war between man and machine, and compares the upcoming film to another science fiction film directed by Spielberg himself-Minority Report. Now as a huge Spielberg fan who considers Minority Report to one his best films and an underrated one amongst cinema in general, I can’t help but be intrigued by the film despite the novel on which it’s based having strongly divided reviews and the title being admittedly ridiculous. However this comment from Spielberg himself on the films plot and themes stood out amongst everything else he had to say on the project:

“It’s about the consequences of creating technologies which make our lives easier, and what happens when that technology becomes smarter than we are. It’s not the newest theme, it’s been done throughout science fiction, but it’s a theme that becomes more relevant every year.”

What really caught my attention with his comments wasn’t the films premise, which was to be expected given the nature of the source material, but his input on exploring a theme that has been tackled numerous times in film before. Nowadays there are too many pretentious film goers who stick their noses up at any mainstream film-unless it was produced for less than one million dollars and distributed only into a number of theaters that you can count on both hands-for using a story, theme, style or even one single type of sequence that has been used before…ironically while losing their minds over films such as The Tree of Life for reminding them of the works of Stanley Kubrick.

Superhero films are the biggest victims of this over simplified method of judging films these days, however in the eyes of the “intelligent film goer” any film that doesn’t completely turn the conventions of film making on their head, or at the very least draw inspiration from the least common styles of film making, isn’t worthy of being referred to as “cinema”.  

The comments by Spielberg about Robopocalypse’s theme and how it’s not exactly the most fresh of ideas out there helped me fuel more arguments against these sort of “film fans”. Now this isn’t me fanboying over Spielberg or making it seem as though he’s come across some ingenious, undiscovered argument in favour of mainstream film. This also isn’t a premature review of the film stating its brilliance. Given the fact that the project hasn’t even gone into production yet, I’m well aware that the film could be a disaster. It’s simply an observation I’ve made about his statement that helped me realize a point I hadn’t considered all the much before.

The idea that plots and themes would be reused isn’t anything new considering many classic tales have been passed on through generations for ages. However the notion that they can continue to grow more relevant as humanity continues to grow and, in some cases, fails to heed the warnings of these stories is something to consider when criticizing a film for failing to completely reinvent the wheel.  For example, given the nature of our history, could themes of man’s evil towards his fellow man not be one that can only continue to evolve and have new examples with which to explore these ideas? It’s an interesting notion that not only does time warrant the reuse of familiar ideas, but it can also make them ever more significant and offer new methods in which to express these ideas. This to any sane person is a stronger way to judge films: How something is explored, not solely what is being explored.

Source: Time Out                                   

The Dark Knight Rises Movie Review

The Dark Knight Rises Film Review

C-Rav rises from the darkness to review the final chapter of director Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy: The Dark Knight Rises.

Film Info

Plot: Eight years after assuming the blame for the death of D.A Harvey Dent, Bruce Wayne went into a self-imposed exile and Batman has never been seen since, while Gotham City has been experiencing peace at last after criminal activity was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. However everything changes when a mysterious cat burglar drives Bruce out of seclusion and the far more dangerous masked terrorist named Bane proves to be Batman's most lethal foe.

Directed by: Christopher Nolan (Following, Memento, Insomnia, Inception).

Written by: Christopher Nolan & Jonathan Nolan (The Prestige, The Dark Knight).

Starring: Christian Bale (American Psycho, Public Enemies, The Fighter), Michael Cain (Alfie, The Italian Job, Austin Powers in Goldmember), Gary Oldman (Bram Stoker's Dracula, True Romance, Léon: The Professional), Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries, Alice in Wonderland, Les Misérables), Tom Hardy (Bronson, The Warrior, This Means War), Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose, Nine, Midnight in Paris), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Mysterious Skin, 500 Days of Summer, Looper) and Morgan Freeman (March of the Penguins, The Shawshank Redemption, The Bucket List).