Film Review: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

A Super Entertainer!

Cast: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy
Director: Christopher Nolan

Surprisingly, Vinny decided to catch the first-day-first-show at 8 am on Friday at Cinemax Sion with a friend. Viggy had booked for an evening show on Saturday and felt quite disturbed about this new scene. That’s when the two of us decided to catch the 11.15 am show on Friday. A smart decision, indeed! The subtitles were really a bonus. I don’t think I would have understood half of what I did if they had not been there.

THE STORY

It’s been eight years since Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) had donned the guise of Batman. He’d been badly injured in his war with Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight. In the meanwhile, Dent is hailed as a hero in Gotham City while Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman) keeps mum about the truth.

Selina Kyle aka The Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) thieves a pearl necklace from Wayne’s home. Her real purpose is to steal the millionaire’s fingerprints. She hands them over to John Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn) who is Wayne’s rival in business. Daggett uses the fingerprints to make some wild purchases on the stock market in Wayne’s name, putting an end to his wealth. Margaret Tate (Marion Cotillard) takes charge of Wayne Enterprises, encouraged by Bruce Wayne himself.

Bane (Tom Hardy) had also trained under Ra’s al Ghul (Liam Neeson) along with Bruce Wayne. He heads the League of Shadows now. Bane is in Gotham City building a network of thugs.

Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) has built a machine to produce energy that can be turned into a nuclear bomb. This machine is kept in a secret vault under the river. As the new managing director of Wayne Enterprises and extremely interested in protecting the environment, Margaret Tate is shown this machine.

When Bane and his men take over the machine and do their worst to subdue the people of Gotham City, it is time for the Dark Knight to rise. Will he be able to?

MY PERCEPTION

I have to give full marks for the casting. It’s just amazing how each actor fits his/her role so perfectly. The film is so well put together like pieces of a jigsaw.

That's Tom Hardy on the left transformed to Bane on the right

Each one of them – Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne as well as the Batman; Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle and the Catwoman; Gary Oldman as Commissioner James Gordon; Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Michael Caine as Alfred the butler give simply brilliant performances.

Marion Cotillard as Margaret Tate played an excellent vamp. You will never recognise Tom Hardy as Bane and that is not just because most of his face is covered. The actor looks so handsome and serene without Bane’s makeup. An amazing performance!

The first prize goes to Joseph Gordon-Levitt who plays the role of police officer John Blake. The actor has a meaty role that he has performed to the hilt. Keep up the great work.

VERDICT: If you are a fan of super-heroes, then you most definitely should not miss this one.

RATING: *****Super

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super

Film Review: RIO

Voices: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Foxx, Tracy Morgan
Director: Carlos Saldanha

The Story: A bird-catcher catches a huge load of exotic birds from the jungle in Rio de Janeiro. He sells the lot to someone in the city. Some of the birds are transported to the USA. A parcel falls out of the truck and in it is found a tiny blue macaw. A small girl finds him and takes him home for her pet. Linda (Leslie Mann) calls her pet Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Blu grows up to be more human than bird. He gets educated along with Linda but never learns how to fly. A scientist and researcher, Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) goes to Linda’s book shop. He tells her that Blu is the last of his species of blue macaw. He also says that Jewel (Anne Hathaway), the last of the female of the species, is with him at his lab. Tulio suggests that the birds are brought together in their homeland of Rio to ensure that the species do not die out. At first hesitant, Linda agrees to his suggestion and takes Blu to Rio against her better judgement. Watch the colourful and hilarious turn of events when they get there right in the middle of the Rio carnival and finally Blu meets Jewel. Jewel is a smart bird with a lot of bird sense. Blu is also smart but very human and pretty sophisticated at that. Will the two get along enough to get together?

My Perception: What hits you most about this 3D film is the rainbow dance of colour. It took me back to our visit to Jurong Bird Park in Singapore. There are so many exotic birds that thrill your heart. 

The wake-up sequence first thing in the morning in the Rio jungle right at the beginning, sets the movie off on the right note.

There is Blu – so suave and smart. He is absolutely knowledgeable about just about everything that one can learn from books and the internet. It’s fun hearing him talk. He cannot fly to save his life – literally.

Jewel is wild by nature and lovely to look at. She is forever trying to escape Tulio’s lab. Desperate to get away, she gets so angry when she falls out of there to land in another jail – that of a bird thief.

The wild cockatoo Nigel (Jemaine Clement) plays the perfect villain. He is admitted to Tulio’s lab pretending to be horribly sick. He wakes up in the middle of the night to steal away all the exotic birds that are homed there. Super villain!

Rafael (George Lopez) is a toucan with a large family and a domineering wife. He goes along with Blu to help him get back to Linda. He’s quite romantic and is keen to get Blu and Jewel together.

Then there are the thieving monkeys of Rio; Bull dog Luiz (Tracy Morgan); the red-crested cardinal Pedro (Will-i-am) and the little yellow canary Nico (Jamie Foxx). All so cute and important characters in the film.

The film takes you from the wilds of Rio at the beginning to a small town in the USA and later back to Rio de Janeiro. It takes you into the slums of Rio and all the way to the grand annual carnival. Beautifully picturised!

A cute bird story that looks gorgeous in 3D animation, edited and directed perfectly.

Verdict: GO FOR IT if you like animated flicks!

Rating: **** Snazzy

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super