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.

Top 10 Best Films of 2012

Better late than never, right? At least this list has the benefit of time and a few re-watches!

Retro DVD/Blu-Ray Update Week #37

DVD & Blu-Ray Collection Update #35 "Risen"
Date Posted: December 6, 2012
Summary: Final DVD & Blu-Ray Collection Update. Check out my latest DVD & Blu-Ray collection featuring the final chapter of Christopher Nolan's superhero crime epic Batman trilogy. Movie Review also included. Risen: Being or moving from a lower position to a one of higher or greater in some value.

Retro DVD/Blu-Ray Update Week #15

DVD Update #13 "Knight"
Date Posted: December 10, 2008
Summary: 13th and greatest DVD update EVER! Featuring the 2 disc steelbook Futureshop exclusive (in Canada). WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Man of Steel: Hope for Superhero Films?

I haven't exactly kept my disdain for Zack Snyder and most of his filmography a secret. 300 and Watchmen were mediocre at best, if I'm being generous, and Sucker Punch appears to encompass every single problem I have with Snyder in terms of style of content. I get that you can dismiss my lack of enthusiasm for the slow-motion, the all CGI worlds, and the horrendous use music/covers at inappropriate times...but you'd be wrong. You can disagree that those traits are even problems to begin with, but insisting they are traits unworthy of criticism is simply mistaken.

So naturally as a HUGE Superman fan whose watched and loved the Richard Donner Superman films, the Superman prequel television series Smallville, the Superman animated series, and countless other related media...I was not elated to hear Snyder would helm Warner Bros. latest attempt to revive the film franchise of the worlds most famous superhero.

Surprisingly, I was also wary of Christopher Nolan being the films guide and story writer. While his grim, gritty, and realistic style is PERFECT for Batman, Superman is a character designed to inspire hope, bring brightness, and clearly exhibit abilities beyond the realm of reality. So this didn't feel like a right fit for either Snyder or Nolan, much less the combination of both artists. However in recent months, since the success of The Avengers to be exact, I've come to appreciate this teaming up of Snyder and Nolan.

I have to get say out of the gate: I really love The Avengers. It's a fun, exciting, and humorous popcorn ride filled with visual awe and a great cast. It's entertaining without being stupid and delivers on the imagination we all shared when dreaming of a big superhero team-up. Having said that...it is far from a perfect film. Some of the dialogue is pretty awful (The exchange between Loki and Fury about ants having quarrels with boots is laughably bad), the story is predictable and offers little sense of true suspense, dread, or surprise, and the first hour is oddly paced and rushed in terms of character relationships and individual development.

Yet somehow films like Brave, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Dark Knight Rises can share these exact same traits and be lambasted while The Avengers is praised as a groundbreaking new gold standard for superhero films. Sorry...but no. In terms of costume design...okay, I guess it is the only film with the balls to make them look exactly like the comic books designs......if you ignore films like Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy or The Fantastic Four films. It certainly isn't the only superhero film to be "light-hearted" and "fun" and I cannot fathom how anyone could consider it to have a better script than The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 2, Iron Man, or Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Not good enough? Well maybe there is a superhero film that combined a great script with the courage to be all out silly and comic-booky...like the very first big one- Superman: The Movie. The Avengers fine and fun film....but hardly the revolutionary, does things no superhero film has ever done before, gauntlet smashing film that some are making it out to be. 

Now in recent days the new Star Trek Into Darkness teaser and every other genre film that has the audacity to apparently take itself seriously has been criticized by some (idiots) for pursuing a 'Dark Knight' style in a post-Avengers world....because now apparently no matter what film you are, screw characters and story...being goofy and fun is all that matters! 

Suddenly this teaming up of a director with the skills to create engaging stories and characters with another director with an admittedly passionate flare for visual action is beginning to really excite me. Man of Steel needs to really hit the ground running for Superman fans and while the latest trailer doesn't entirely excite me, it does indicate that there is enough there to ensure the future of superhero films will continue on the path of a PRE-Avengers world.

So what stand out about this trailer?

1) The negatives first: I smiled a little when Kevin Costner's Jonathan Kent appeared in clothing similar to the Smallville Jonathan as played by John Schneider. However that joy quickly faded when Jonathan suggested that perhaps Clark should have let a bus full of children die in order to protect his secret powers. That really bugged me. In my experience Jonathan Kent has always warned Clark about the dangers of exposing himself, however it was never at the expense of the lives of others. This line just felt very un-Pa-Kent-Like and I very much hope that conversation take a different turn in the final film.

2) Overall the trailer didn't exactly excite me. As I shall explain there are aspects of it worthy of enthusiasm, however for the most part there wasn't much of a "Wow that was cool!" or "I need to see how this turns out!" moment.

3) Now for some positives...the mythic vibe of it all really impresses me. I'm not a fan of the music, but the overall feel of the trailer does emphasize that Superman is a character of epic and godlike stature in appearance and in terms of what the character represents. The shots of Superman in the arctic preparing for and eventually taking off into the sky truly felt like the stuff of legend. 

4) I love that we will appear to experience a story that is deeply personal for Clark Kent/Superman. Moments such as his mother and father comforting and teaching him in times of weakness or uncertainty really capture the important fact that Superman is who is because of the Kent's and how they raised Clark. These scene looks like they will provide some of the most emotional moments of the film.

5) Superman questioning his purpose in the world and whether or nor humanity is ready to accept him provides huge relief that the film will actually have an inner character journey that isn't simplified or easily dismissible. It gives Superman not only an arc for audiences to engage in, but possibly even a reason to rejoice beyond the typical 'hero saves the day' joy as Superman will now have something to prove to himself and the world. These are the types of stories that superhero films can and should aspire to.

Overall the trailer is fine. The aren't many awe inspiring moments but there are signs that the film will succeed in providing solid character and story depth, which frankly is the best sign the film could have given me. For some characters/franchises bright colors, gags every few moments, and fan service is not only fine, but required for a faithful adaptation. However in other cases, treating superhero films, their stories, and their characters like any other great film would, in other words taking them seriously, is more in line with what I hope to see in the future for the genre.

Every Journey Has An End

This is it. Following my latest DVD & Blu-Ray Collection Update video (seen above) I revealed that it would also, in fact, be my last. This was a long time coming and there is little to no chance I will go back on this decision, but what does this mean for the future of my Youtube channel and my involvement in this Film Fan online community that I’ve become a part of? Well here’s the deal:

1) I’m Not Going Anywhere: My Youtube channel will remain open and all previous videos will still be available for viewing. I’ll still be watching and commenting on videos from the people I’m subscribed to, especially from those who were kind enough to take the time to regularly view my own, and I’ll still be present online where the DVD Collecting Community generally ‘hang out’ on social networking sites such as Twitter, Tumblr, Last.FM, DVD Aficionado, and Gomiso.

1) No More DVD/Blu-Ray Collection Update Videos: This is a final decision. The reasons come down to the basic fact that even when putting a minimal amount of effort into getting the update videos online and with at least some sense of quality, it still takes more time than the rewards are worth. I don’t want to come across as someone whining about a lack of comments or views on my videos recently, but facts are facts and there seems little point in putting work into something without an audience. Naturally I will still be collecting films on DVD and Blu-Ray, and I will still share my recent buys with the online community, however these new “updates” will either take the form of a simple image of recent hauls or a blog post featuring brief reviews of the films I’ve collected. This takes me to my next point…

3) The Thinking Lens Blog!: Considering I’m now in full-time University studies in a Film Studies program, I’ve more than decided that a career in film journalism is the path I’d love to pursue. While I’ve made blog posts in the past, I’ve generally done them sporadically and in moments of boredom. Now I’ve decided, for the time being at least, to focus on this blog first, foremost, and with greater frequency. While Tumblr is a great place to write, posts can easily get lost among the reblogged images, GIF’s, and works from others. This blogspot site will be devoted exclusively to whatever written posts I may conjure up. If nothing else the writing will be good practice for whatever future endeavors I may embark on. This blog will unsurprisingly focus on film, television, music, literature, politics, and everything else going on in the world worth discussing! Hopefully many of you will swing by and visit!

4) Future Youtube videos?: Does the end of DVD/Blu-Ray Updates mean the end of new videos? Not permanently…but probably for a while. While a traditional short Christmas related video will likely be up for the holidays, chances are it will be the last video of any sort for some time. So what’s planned for the future? Some of you may have watched two of my videos uploaded under the title The Thinking Lens (and to those who did, I thank you) which focused on analyzing various media related topics of my choosing. While the videos didn’t exactly turn out how I planned, I have learned from them and developed new ideas for the ‘series’ in the process. Therefore the future for my Youtube channel will consist of videos part of a series titled The Thinking Lens which will continue to explore and discuss all things media. The key difference this time is that I will be putting a lot more effort into these videos in terms of producing better quality work. Hence why it may be a while before you see new videos as it will take considerable time to get them to where I want them to be and I am still a full-time student with other responsibilities. Some would argue why quit making Collection Update videos due to low viewership only to begin making more ambitious ones? We’ll my logic is that if I’m going to put up videos at all, they may as well be ones I’m proud of putting up and hopefully the audience can grow from that. I’ll update you all on when you can expect to see these videos, however in the meantime this blog is where I will be most active. Hopefully you will stick around here now and in the future!

There you have it. I’ve enjoyed my time sharing the films I’ve collected with you all and will continue to share in the discussions with all of you. This is far from the end for me on Youtube or as a member of this great community. It’s a fun group which looks to be adding newer and greater members as time goes on and I look forward to future material from all of you. This is just a step in a new direction for me that I hope turns out well. Until then, thanks for the support and take care!

-Seb 

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).