Dave's Verse

Politics is slow and boring right now. So I haven't had much to say. I'm also kind of back into my "depressing job search" mode in which I blog in spurts. So to get out of ruts I try to look beyond politics to find something to write about. And this was a big week for Batman fans like me. The Dark Knight Rises came out on BluRay. Obviously, I was ready to drop $40 on the special edition (picture here ). But the first two places I went informed me that none of their stores in the entire city had the special edition set. I was extremely annoyed that the first store didn't have it. I was on the brink of snapping and turning into the Joker when the second store didn't have it. Luckily, the third store had two left (in retrospect, I should have bought both). If they didn't have it I would have either fell to the floor weeping or snapped and destroyed the store. So, crisis averted. I had underestimated how few of these special editions they were making and how...

There isn't a lot of political stuff I find interesting at the moment. Rep. Steve King has shut the fuck for a few days. And I find the whole Romney/Reid tax returns thing ridiculous. So I figured I'd post some more on The Dark Knight Rises, which I've seen four times and still love. The best critique I've heard is from people who have a problem with Nolan's directing style, which they claim is a problem across his entire career. And it manifests itself in TDKR in it being so dense with plot and cut with so many scenes that it gives the appearance of being both long and messy. Basically, they think Nolan doesn't let the camera linger enough and doesn't transition between scenes effectively. In TDKR, they think it was cut together too much and in a way that could be confusing and ineffective in driving home the themes. As I've said, I had no problems following the plot. And I've enjoyed all of Nolan's films, both visually and plot-wise. So as ...

Spoilers to follow I had a quick thought about the issue of Batman dying that was prompted by listening to the Batman on Film podcast. And I couldn't get it out on Twitter so I wanted to put it here. As I've said, I loved the ending. I've seen it three times now and it is more powerful each time. So this is really just a thought for those who aren't completely buying the ending. What if Batman doesn't know he is going to escape and use the autopilot when he tells Selina that the autopilot doesn't work? What if that last shot of Batman in the Bat is him thinking about the decision and then finally deciding that he can let go of Batman? He has to make a quick decision when he knows they can't get the bomb to the chamber to be deactivated. And being Batman, he knows he has to get the bomb away from the city. So he has to accept that he will die quickly because he doesn't have time to think through the other options. What if after he says his goodbye...

There will be spoilers in this post. I've been reading people's thoughts about the movie on a few message boards and blogs. While most seem to like it or at least think it's pretty good, there seem to be a lot of people who had problems with some parts of the plot. I haven't really dug into a lot of the specific points they are making because I just don't think they matter all that much in relation to the plot as a whole or to the themes of the movie. Frankly, I think it's just a lot of nitpicking by people who were expecting something different than what they were given. Anyway, I wanted to point you toward this excellent post that was tweeted via The Bitter Script Reader, who I recommend you follow and check out his site. It talks about why the movie worked despite whatever issues with the plot there may be. Here come the spoilers: That said, a lot of people really didn't like it and multiple bloggers have laid down their case either for or against ...

I've seen it twice and I have a more firm opinion of the film. I love it. I still felt the full brunt of all the emotional aspects of the film. I still think it was shot and paced well. And I just don't have the problems with the plot that some seem to. Spoilers from here on. I won't summarize the whole plot. I'll just talk about the highlights for me. The end of the first act is the first confrontation between Bane and Batman. It was as brutal and awesome as I was expecting. They both just pound the hell out of each other. And Bane talks shit the whole time. As I said when the prologue came out, Bane is supposed to be the physical equal, if not superior, to Batman. The Joker was a great villain. But he wouldn't last long in a straight up first fight with Batman. Bane and Tom Hardy completely delivered on giving Batman an equal foe, which for me made the fight scenes more entertaining and dramatic. This of course leads to Bane breaking Batman's back and thro...

This will be a short and spoiler-free review. I want to give people a chance to see it without possibly being spoiled. And I'm still forming my thoughts about it. It's so big and epic that I need to see it again to make a final judgement. I just woke up a while ago because I spent all of last night watching the entire Batman trilogy. It was really fun to see Batman Begins and The Dark Knight in the theater again. Batman Begins is a really good movie and turned out to be a great refresher for what happens in The Dark Knight Rises. I strongly recommend you watch BB before you see TDKR because Nolan draws on it quite a bit. Even after seeing The Dark Knight at least 10 times, it was still great in theater. Heath Ledger's Joker never fails to be completely riveting. I would also recommend seeing it before TDKR since TDKR deals with things that happened in TDK. While being part of the same trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises is a slightly different film than BB and TDK. The tone,...