What I’m Watching – July 2012

This list only includes films I watched for the first time this month. My most recent viewing is the top entry:

Ted (Dir: Seth MacFarlane, 2012) ***

The Karate Kid (Dir: Harald Zwart, 2010) ***

From Paris With Love (Dir: Pierre Morel, 2010) **

This Means War (Dir: McG, 2012) ***

The Dark Knight Rises (Dir: Christopher Nolan, 2012)

Gangs Of New York (Dir: Martin Scorsese, 2002) ****

Magic Mike (Dir: Steven Soderbergh, 2012) ****

The Five-Year Engagement (Dir: Nicholas Stoller, 2012) ***

Friends With Kids (Dir: Jennifer Westfeldt 2011) ***

Katy Perry: Part Of Me (Dir: Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, 2012) ***

The Amazing Spider-Man (Dir: Marc Webb, 2012) ***

Insomnia (Dir: Christopher Nolan, 2002) ***

Thanks For The Shivers, Mr. Nolan

With The Avengers already a success story both critically and commercially, this summer is once again chock-full of superheroes – we mustn’t forget Sony’s Spidey reboot due in July. But out of the three, it is only this new trailer which gives me goosebumps. Yes, I adored The Avengers and came out feeling like a giddy three year-old who had eaten too many blue Smarties, and sure, the Spidey trailer has its moments, but they’re not a patch on the feeling of dread and stunning silence that enshrouds Nolan’s latest puzzle piece.

Far quieter than the viral run up to 2008’s The Dark Knight, Bane still feels almost entirely alien – a stark difference to the vast use of the Joker’s face. We have barely seen anything of Selina Kyle in either guise other than photos and, as for Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, well, what they’ll be up to beyond the allusions of their character names is anyone’s guess.

But where Nolan succeeds is with his phenomenally loyal fanbase. Though the viral marketing may seem sparse and cryptic and only readily available to those ‘in the know’ (yep, that’s us, fellow nerd), he never needed to present a trailer that provided any explicit storyline or character info. And this makes me so much hungrier for July 20th.

Rewatching the trailers for The Dark Knight, they may seem significantly more epic, but I have no doubt this third and final trailer for Nolan’s Batman bow out is only a meagre taste of the impact Bane and co. will have once they hit our screens.

In Nolan We Trust.

Trailer Talk: Bruce Wayne, Space Jockeys and Hobbitses

Bruce Wayne, Space Jockeys, Hobbitses, Gods, R-Pattz, Channing Tatum trying to be a comedian, a PVC-clad Beckinsale and discontented teachers. Let’s talk trailers:

Excited Doesn’t Even Cover It

Review: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

DIRECTOR: Joe Johnston.

CAST: Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Richard Armitage, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, Kenneth Choi, JJ Feild, Lex Shrapnel, Samuel L. Jackson.

SYNOPSIS: With World War II forcing America into action, Steve Rogers (Evans) is desperate to be drafted for military service. Sickly and rather on the small side, he receives knock back after knock back until his path crosses Dr. Erskine (Tucci) who is recruiting for the very hushed Project Rebirth. Being accepted due to his incredible courage, his body is enhanced to its maximum potential and Captain America is born. However, Johann Schmidt (Weaving) has plans to use the same technology to progress the Nazi’s secret organisation, HYDRA.

Holy smokes. Joe Johnston’s made something that’s more than just a ‘good’ film. In fact, he’s made a bloody great film that can easily boast of standing alongside Marvel’s best. Captain America is one of those rare comic book adaptations that has more on offer than just a glossy surface. It lacks an overly camp villain, manages to avoid glaringly cheesy one-liners from its star and has a female love interest who has more than a couple of brain cells (and who earns extra brownie points for being a Brit). The ending is one that will more than satisfy the Marvel diehards, but will undoubtedly confuse the hell out of those who have merely popped along to see that-film-that’s-going-to-shove-American-patriotism-down-my-throat – which it surprisingly doesn’t, actually. Of course, you’re not a real Marvel fan unless you stay until the end of the credits and this time the payoff is unbelievably sweet.

Christopher Nolan’s The Viral King

Today brought us the first teaser poster for the final chapter of Christopher Nolan’s phenomenal Batman reimagining, The Dark Knight Rises. And it’s signature Nolan. Very similar to the style of The Dark Knight and Inception marketing campaigns, I wouldn’t have it any other way. From how we look up to the sky to how the bat symbol is incorporated into the crumbling skyscrapers, it’s more than evident the dark tones of The Dark Knight will be carried over here. I think it’s also safe to say the demise of Gotham as portrayed in this poster will have a lot to do with Tom Hardy’s Bane.

With the very first teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises coming nicely packaged in front of fellow Warner Bros. franchise Harry Potter on Friday, my excitement and anticipation for this final outing couldn’t be any higher. So I felt the need to revisit the teaser posters and teaser trailers from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight to try and guess what we might have in store from another of Nolan’s brilliant viral campaigns.