I trust Christopher Nolan

I've been meaning to blog about this for, oh I don't know... forever, but have been sidetracked by one thing after another.

A couple weeks ago, Warner Brothers and Christopher Nolan announced their cast for the third Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. This was a highly anticipated announcement, as the fantasy casting for this film has been beat to death, dragged out back and kicked around a little more (not just by me... by millions of fanboys and fangirls all over the interwebs). And, the fan choices have be interesting, to say the least.

I've seen fans clamoring to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt play the Riddler, though one bright young soul proclaimed to the blogosphere last month that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would be cast as The Joker... figure that out, if you can. In any case, I am willing to bet that the number of names batted around the fandom as "sure things" could number well into the hundreds.

Needless to say, there are not hundreds of celebrities cast in this movie.


**Quick note: I do fantasy casting... not reality casting... regardless of what I know about the industry (very little, admittedly) I blog about who I would like to see do certain parts. I'm never going to be right. I also never insist that I am right. Or that I have the ability to predict casting events far into the future. There's a difference. It's the difference between fun and obstinacy.**


I blogged about my fantasy cast a few months ago- you can go look at it if you would like, but I'll sum it up for you; for Bane I chose a man named Nathan Jones (who was actually a suggestion from my husband, the comic-book-nerd-extraordinaire) and for Catwoman, I chose Megan Fox.

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**Another side note: why does she spend so much time in her underwear?**

In case you are unaware of the casting choices made for these two parts, Nolan chose Tom Hardy as Bane and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. Neither of which I could have seen coming, not even from five feet away. 

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 He looks... nice.

Bane is supposed to be this entirely insurmountable obstacle for Batman. He literally "breaks" Batman- in every way imaginable. He's a juggernaut, an imposing figure. Tom Hardy is 5'9" (and a half!). At least, he is according to IMDb, which means there's a good chance he's actually 5'7".

Not exactly imposing... nor insurmountable.

Here's the thing, though: Nolan is always right. At least when it comes to Batman, he is.

I blogged once before about some surprising choices made in films, and Nolan had a couple of Batman cast members on that list. He cast a Welshman as the American Batman, he put a pretty boy heartthrob as the most sadistic villain of all time, and while we are on the subject, let's mention the fact that he cast Liam Neeson, and Irishman as the Arabic Ra's al Ghul.

He nothing if not unconventional. Wait... is that too many negatives? What I mean is... he's really unconventional.

And it works. In the history of all superhero movies, I cannot find a single other film in which an actor or actress was nominated for an Oscar, besides Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. Not only was he nominated, but he won! (spare me the philosophical lectures on posthumous awards- he deserved that award.)

Sure, superhero movies have been nominated for Golden Globes, but those are the "party" awards. Also, they've been nominated for sound/editing/costumes/makeup/cinematography, but they very, very rarely win. No, Nolan stands alone as king of the mountain in the casting and directing of superhero films. He picks unconventional choices, and he brings out the best in them.

So the fact that Tom Hardy seems to be the guy who would be voted Least Likely To Break Batman in high school, I trust Christopher Nolan, and therefore support this choice.

And the fact that Anne Hathaway is very near the bottom of the list of people I would expect to see in skin-tight leather brandishing a whip, I must also concede the brilliance of this choice. She's a brilliant actress and I trust Christopher Nolan.

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Please post your ideas in the comments- whether you agree with me or not!

SURPRISE!

Hello, all, I have returned from vacation. I hope you enjoyed the guest posters I had this past week:  Heather from New German Girl, and Lissa from Take Me With You. I appreciate the blog sitting and have enjoyed the casts they put together for Summer Sisters and Vampire Academy. 

As I said, I just got back off vacation, and during the week prior to flying to Phoenix with three kids under age 5, two weeks with family and friends across the country and the aftermath of unpacking and putting our lives back together here in Orlando, I have not had time to read a single book all the way through. Maybe I'm not vacationing the right way...

Since I have no books, I thought I would point out some of the most surprising casting choice, all of whom wound up being pretty on-the-money.

First up, I start with some Shakespeare. Because, really, everything starts in Shakespeare, more or less, right?

Tybalt, from Romeo and Juliet, is a hot-headed young gun who is basically leading the charge in the new generation against the Montagues. He's a prince and eventually kills Mercutio in a fight that dooms the star-crossed lovers. In the past, he has been played by Michael York and  the venerable Alan Rickman.

In the 1996 Baz Luhrmann production, he was played by...

John Leguizamo.

Leguizamo did a fantastic job, but who would have guessed that the guy who got his start in a Madonna video, played Mario in one of the worst video game to film adaptations of all time, was The Pest and a cheese-ball drag queen, could handle Shakespeare? Not to mention the fact that he was Hispanic, cast into a family of Caucasians. It was an unconventional choice that paid off, big time.

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*EDIT: Untypically Jia reminded me that John Leguizamo played Luigi, not Mario. She's right. My bad. 

In 2005, the Batman franchise got a facelift. A major facelift. Christopher Nolan, a practically unknown director was at the helm of the rebirth of one of the most popular comic book characters of all time. In the past, Batman was from a generic, large American city with a lot of crime problems. He was also dark, mysterious and sometimes a little zany. So it makes perfect sense that Nolan chose...

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Christian Bale? Wait. First, he's Welsh. Second, this guy has been anything but zany. American Psycho, The Machinist, The Prestige... the dark and dreary go on and on. OK, so he did a couple of Disney flicks, but that's not really the direction that Batman goes either.

I've compared Batmans before, and I overwhelmingly believe that Bale has been the best Batman, but really, who would have guessed?

While we're on the topic of Nolan and his unconventional choices: let's talk about Joker. Now, this is one character that, while sinister, has definitely been played as "zany" in the past. Jack Nicholson immortalized The Joker, and he has long been a favorite of the comic book fans. He's a homicidal maniac with a varying backstory. Of course, he ought to be played by...

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pretty boy Heath Ledger.

I remember when this was leaked/announced, my husband and I stared at the computer screen for a solid five minutes, and then gave each other quizzical looks. Hubby then declared the whole announcement a practical joke. There was no way that pretty boy Ledger was ever going to be convincing enough as a sadist...

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Whoops. Looks like we were wrong. I will admit to the world at large that the Dark Knight version of the Joker is the only human villain I have ever actually been afraid of in any movie. Absolutely terrifyingly psychotic. And brilliant. This is the real shame of Ledger's early death: look at the phenomenal talent that was lurking behind that gorgeous face. This man was poised to take over the world.


Please post your ideas in the comments- whether you agree with me or not!

Batman Villains & Sidekicks

With the third of Christopher Nolan's Batman movies in the works,  I thought I would revisit my fantasy casting choices for potential Batman villains and sidekicks. 


There's really no reliable information out there about which villains will be returning, so I am putting up my top choices. And, NO, these should not ALL be in the next movie. That's some Joel Schumacher-style nonsense. But, one or two of these would be nice to see: 


The Riddler is probably one of the more popular villains, and for good reason. He's a total nutjob, just like the Joker was. Now, here's the trick; Jim Carrey immortalized The Riddler, for better or for worse (I happen to think for the better), but Nolan's Gotham City is a completely different world. A Jim Carrey-esque performance wouldn't fit in with the landscape. I suggest Mr. Edward Norton. He was surprisingly awesome as Bruce Banner/ Hulk, and I think he could be so convincingly psychotic that it would totally work. 

Poison Ivy is all seduction. The character runs along the same lines as The Riddler; a mild mannered scientist by day, psychopath by night. Since there has been a severe lack of female presence in these movies, I actually would really like to see a female villain, and I think Scarlett Johansson has more than proven her ability to be seductive and a total butt-kicker. 

While we're on the subject of girl-power, I think we ought to at least think of the most popular female villain of all time: Catwoman. And, let's be honest, this one needs to be redone at some point, because Halle Berry sucked the ever-living-soul out of Catwoman. She needs another chance to be redeemed. I don't mind the vamped-up idea, and I think it actually plays into the catsuit (pun intended) nicely. And for a vamped up, leather wearing villainess, only one girl comes to mind:  Megan Fox

Bane is a really popular character in the fan world, but I just don't think he's going to wind up in the movies. I just don't think movie goers are interested in a slug-fest from this reboot of Batman. They want mental problems, and Bane just doesn't cut it for me. That being said, a lot of people are clamoring for Bane to be in the movies, and my husband informs me that only man on the planet can play Bane. That man is Nathan Jones
 

Another popular villain is Penguin. While Danny DeVito was brilliant as the Penguin, I also think that  Paul Giamatti could really pull this one together. Let's be honest, the man kind of already looks the part, right?

Now, for a couple of the sidekicks. 


Batgirl has had several incarnations over the course of the comic books, but the most popular version (and the version that I think would work for the movies) is that Barbara Gordon- daughter of Commissioner Gordon-  is dressed up as Batman to go to a masquerade ball, inadvertently gets sucked into a situation where she actually fights some crime, catches Batman's attention and becomes a part of his team. Sort of an accidental heroine. I like Claire Danes for this part. 

And, you can't talk about Batman without talking about Robin. Chris Pine is my pick. IMDb currently has a rumor that an unknown is going to play Dick Grayson, but that rumor was started by the young actor himself, so I'm not going to put much stock in that. I'll stick with Chris Pine. He's a handsome devil.

Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts in the comments!
Images: Google Images

Weekend Showdown: Batman

It's time again for a weekend showdown! 


Again, I am returning to a character who has been put to film more times than most of us can remember. Luckily, we have IMDb to tell us that there have been 103 film and TV versions of Batman (including cartoons), plus 8 video game versions.


This is way too many for me to contrast and compare thoroughly here on this blog. So, instead I will stick to the most recent: Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale. 


The character, as you know, is based on the DC comic character, and is really (especially in film versions) a conglomerate of two alter-egos: Bruce Wayne and The Batman. First, some visual comparisons: 

Michael Keaton in Batman (1989)  and Batman Returns (1992), Val Kilmer in Batman Forever (1995), George Clooney in Batman & Robin (1997) and Christian Bale in Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008).  (same order above, as Batman, and below, as Bruce Wayne)

 And now, my criteria for best Batman: (granted, some of these are directorial or production choices, but it's all part of the package)

OK, so first up is the Batsuit.  The all-black is a departure from the comic tradition entirely, and there is not a pajama or pair of blue underpants among any of our Batmen, so toughness is of the essence, not authenticity. Let's get one thing absolutely straight: codpieces and batnipples are BAD. Really, really bad. Not tough. And, I didn't realize it until Batman Begins and Christian Bale came around in a matte-finish suit, but the shiny suits don't make any sense. Isn't he a vigilante? Incognito? Working at night? WHY would Batman be reflective? For safety measure? No, matte finish wins. No questions about it.


Now, for the Hotness factor. You know, I would have guessed that Val Kilmer had won this. But, upon further review, he looks like a total nerd. And not a hot nerd. Just a nerd. Tragic. So, by default it goes to Christian Bale. EDIT: it has been pointed out to me that I have no category for "best lips in the Batsuit". Seriously, why did I not include this? Val Kilmer definitely wins this point, however, the final tally remains so distantly in Bale's favor that it doesn't really matter. But I concede the point anyway.


If Kilmer is going to go around looking like a nerd, he might as well look intelligent too. But he didn't. Clooney beat him on that count, hands down. And Keaton loses this category for looking surprised and confused during most of his time as Bruce Wayne. 


Toughness is important in a Batman. Bale's character is the toughest, for sure. He trained with the League of Shadows, he is the only one we see really working out, or bruised, or sewing up his own freaking knife wounds.


Batman is, as you must know, completely bent on vengeance. He cannot revive his parents, but he can rid the world of crime. The Keaton Batman had some of this, but by the time Clooney rolled around, all semblance of vengeance was gone. We had lost touch with WHY Batman exists (Hint: it's NOT to have a "gay" old time with Robin, as Clooney's film might suggest). Bale brings vengeance back with a... well, with a vengeance. 


In order to fly around in a batsuit looking for criminals, one must be unhinged, or as Bale's Wayne tells us, "a guy who dresses up like a bat clearly has issues." And while Bale's incarnation pointed it out, I think Keaton's version really nails the manic side of Batman. 


Bale is the only Batman to have a different talking voice from Bruce Wayne. Again, this is one of those things that didn't seem wrong with the first four movies, but as soon as it was corrected in the reboot, it was so obvious. WHY hadn't anybody thought of this sooner? Bale wins again. 


The next two, smiling and crotch shots, are part of the bigger picture of toughness and overall masculinity, but they are such egregious errors that they require additional points to be deducted from their respective Batman. Batman doesn't smile. Especially not after being kissed. And bat-crotch shots? Seriously? If openly gay movie directors want to be taken seriously in the mainstream, especially with superhero flicks, they should not do close up shots of codpieces and butt cheeks. Sorry, but it's true. 


And, lastly, the only true ladies' man of the franchise is Christian Bale. He has Rachel Dawes waiting anxiously in the wings. He dates multiple European supermodels- simultaneously. That is a ladies' man. Keaton loses this one for one big reason: he falls for Catwoman. Idiot.


 The final score: 


Keaton: +1 -3 = -2 overall


Kilmer: +0 -3 = -3 overall
Clooney: +1 -4 = -3 overall
Bale: -0 +6= +6 overall


And, you know, I could have guessed this would be the outcome before my analysis, but I would not have guessed it by such a big margin. I guess I forgot how much the older Batman movies sucked. Christian Bale- a Brit- is the best Batman yet. Go figure.


Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts in the comments?
Images: Google Images