MoeFOH's Movie Of The Week... Week #47

[MoeFOH]

MoeFOH's Movie of the Week 🎥

Each week we're going to spotlight a movie... be it a classic, new release, hidden gem, or outright turd... and open it for discussion: i.e. post up your favourite quotes, clips, memories... or dive deeper and give us a critique on why you think it's great, overrated, or a complete train wreck... And finally score it for us...  

All contributors go into a monthly prize draw for a 2-cigar sampler! 

PM me with suggestions if there's a movie you want to nominate for next week's discussion. 

 

Week #47: Trilogy - Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises

Moe says: "The Christopher Nolan Dark Knight trilogy is very highly regarded in the Batman universe and the cinema fan's world in general, as far as I'm aware. What do you think, is it the definitive version? Yes/No... Why/Why not?..."

Wiki says: 

The Dark Knight Series is a set of three Christopher Nolan Batman movies. It includes Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Cillian Murphy appeared in all three movies.

All cast and crew members worked on all three movies, except for music composer James Newton Howard who did not work on The Dark Knight Rises. Composer Hans Zimmer worked together with Howard on the first two films and made the soundtrack for the last movie by himself. Katie Holmes played Rachel Dawes in Batman Begins, but was replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight. Liam Neeson appeared as Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins and in The Dark Knight Rises.

Heath Ledger received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight. Ledger died before the movie was released and the award was given posthumously.

Each of the three movies was a success in the box office; The Dark Knight was the number one grossing movie in 2008. The Dark Knight Rises is the third highest grossing movie of 2012. Batman Begins is the ninth highest grossing movie in 2005. Batman Begins earned $372,710,015 worldwide. The Dark Knight earned $1,023,045,358. The Dark Knight Rises earned $1,081,041,287, passing the receipts of The Dark Knight.

In both Batman Begins and in The Dark Knight, Gotham City was shot in Chicago, Illinois. In The Dark Knight Rises, Gotham City was shot in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, New York City, New York, and Los Angeles, California.

Over to you!

How do you rate it out of 10? 

Post up favourite clips, quotes, etc... 

[MoeFOH]

 

[Ford2112]

All 3 good films,The Dark Knight stands above the rest. Great cast obviously and Heath Ledger deservedly gets accolades but I think Christian Bale is amazing,Michael Cain makes a great Alfred,and Gary Oldman is so good as Commisioner Gordon the first time I saw the movie I didn't recognize him at first.

 

 

 

Dark subject matter and Nolan sets the tone well. 10/10.

[Chibearsv]

Dark Knight is the best of all the Batman movies 100% due to Heath Ledger’s Joker.  Good story, great villain, excellent action.  I could watch it every time it’s on. 10/10.  The other 2 are decent enough but not on the same level Dark Knight Rises 9/10, Batman Begins 7/10

 

[JohnS]

Christopher Nolan ensured his current reputation as an 'auteur' in these series of films. It helps that he had a cast of A-list stars who continue to act in his films. Consider that prior to Batman Begins, Nolan got noticed through his 2002 film, Memento. Memento had a great story, great cast (although not bona fide A-list stars) but lacked the budget, obviously, of every Nolan films since.

Consider too that Mr Nolan is very particular, like many artists who excel at what they do, he is not everyone's 'cup of tea'. Don't try to work with him on set and think you can divert yourself by attending to your mobile phone, for example. As Heath Ledger famously said whilst playing the Joker in the Dark Knight', "this is serious!"

Dark Knight is the best Batman film ever made and the series is the best trilogy devoted to the character. Heath Ledger pulled off the best portrayal of the Joker that is possible. Everyone else who plays this character in the future will be compared to this role in the Dark Knight.

This series also owes a lot to Christopher Nolan's wife, Emma Thomas and his brother, Jonathan Nolan. They played a big part in making these films successful too. I'd also add that David Goyer's influence is evident in the writing too.

[Cigar Surgeon]

As a trilogy, I think it's the strongest comic book movie trilogy and it's not even close.  Again one of the few times where a sequel is stronger than the original IMO.

[Doctorossi]

Well, I think the last one lets the trilogy down a bit, but I'd still give the three an 8/10 together.

[BettyHumpder]

i’ve seen hundreds of movies—from high art to low-brow schlock and everything in between.

i just can’t get with christopher nolan. it’s not to say that his movies are poorly made or he gets poor performances from his actors or even that they have bad cinematography.

my primary gripe with him is his movies tend to rely on a non-linear narrative structure, massive-scale spectacle, and end with a “reveal” of some sort. i find it gimmicky and a cheap way to tell a story. it takes away from the story itself. it also makes the movies less compelling on rewatch. as tarantino said, “i really like the movie [dunkirk] but the spectacle almost numbed me to the experience. i don’t know if i felt anything emotional because of the spectacle, i was just kind of awed by it.”

his batman movies are maybe an exception to this trend.

his movies feel like you’re trying to solve a math equation in your head while being best over the head by the scale of the mise en scène. “what day is it? when is it? wow look at this huge thing!” he purposely creates an incomprehensible mind-%!@&. the viewer spends more time trying to figure out the timeline of events than digesting the story and what compels or motivates the characters. i’ve seen some edits where his movies are played in the appropriate sequence of events (dunkirk, the prestige, memento) and they are just….not compelling.

if i’m watching a high-end movie, which nolan’s stuff is, i have higher expectations than a popcorn flick or a background netflix show. i want to be moved, engaged, feel connection to the story and characters.

when you strip away the tricks, i don’t think he writes an interesting story. and nearly every movie he makes is a variation on this theme. it’s too bad, because he’s a master filmmaker. there’s a good reason his movies aren’t highly regarded by many of the best film festivals around the world.

[MoeFOH]

5 hours ago, BettyHumpder said:

i’ve seen hundreds of movies—from high art to low-brow schlock and everything in between.

i just can’t get with christopher nolan. it’s not to say that his movies are poorly made or he gets poor performances from his actors or even that they have bad cinematography.

my primary gripe with him is his movies tend to rely on a non-linear narrative structure, massive-scale spectacle, and end with a “reveal” of some sort. i find it gimmicky and a cheap way to tell a story. it takes away from the story itself. it also makes the movies less compelling on rewatch. as tarantino said, “i really like the movie [dunkirk] but the spectacle almost numbed me to the experience. i don’t know if i felt anything emotional because of the spectacle, i was just kind of awed by it.”

his batman movies are maybe an exception to this trend.

his movies feel like you’re trying to solve a math equation in your head while being best over the head by the scale of the mise en scène. “what day is it? when is it? wow look at this huge thing!” he purposely creates an incomprehensible mind-%!@&. the viewer spends more time trying to figure out the timeline of events than digesting the story and what compels or motivates the characters. i’ve seen some edits where his movies are played in the appropriate sequence of events (dunkirk, the prestige, memento) and they are just….not compelling.

if i’m watching a high-end movie, which nolan’s stuff is, i have higher expectations than a popcorn flick or a background netflix show. i want to be moved, engaged, feel connection to the story and characters.

when you strip away the tricks, i don’t think he writes an interesting story. and nearly every movie he makes is a variation on this theme. it’s too bad, because he’s a master filmmaker. there’s a good reason his movies aren’t highly regarded by many of the best film festivals around the world.

Love this perspective. I'm a big Nolan fan but I agree with this in some ways. I think (or hope) Tenet was the high point of the complex mindf*ck MO. That film was just way too elaborate to ever get your mind and emotions in sync and enjoying it properly. But I actually still liked it. I enjoy something a little more cerebral in a plot or narrative, even if it's a bit gimmicky in the final wash up. I think Nolan is just planting his flag in that way much the same as David Lynch has done in a more avant garde fashion. 

I wonder what he will do with Oppenheimer... I'm very much looking forward to it regardless. 

As far as the Batman films go, I'm still reserving my decision till I work out what the point of all the remakes are. This seems key to me. The appeal of the character and his universe has never really enthralled me in any way, so I'm trying to get at the heart of that before working out what delivers for me there. Hence, these topics. It will be interesting to see comments on the other iterations as we go. 

[BettyHumpder]

Love this perspective. I'm a big Nolan fan but I agree with this in some ways. I think (or hope) Tenet was the high point of the complex mindf*ck MO. That film was just way too elaborate to ever get your mind and emotions in sync and enjoying it properly. But I actually still liked it. I enjoy something a little more cerebral in a plot or narrative, even if it's a bit gimmicky in the final wash up. I think Nolan is just planting his flag in that way much the same as David Lynch has done in a more avant garde fashion. 
I wonder what he will do with Oppenheimer... I'm very much looking forward to it regardless. 
As far as the Batman films go, I'm still reserving my decision till I work out what the point of all the remakes are. This seems key to me. The appeal of the character and his universe has never really enthralled me in any way, so I'm trying to get at the heart of that before working out what delivers for me there. Hence, these topics. It will be interesting to see comments on the other iterations as we go. 

that’s an interesting comparison to david lynch! like, they couldn’t be more different in style but in form i think you’re absolutely right. and, if i were rating favorite directors, lynch would easily be in my top 5.

the batman movies nolan directed were really limiting for him. he *had* to make something that was true to the genre. similar to how lynch made the straight story—a family-friendly disney movie LOL. which is awesome, if people haven’t seen it.

i may revisit the whole batman series, since it’s been years since i’ve seen them and i was just an angsty young guy when they first came out and HATED nolan. i’ve made my peace with what he does now, so maybe they’ll resonate differently now.

[Tunkat92]

I rate the trilogy a 9/10.

Batman Begins 7/10

Both Dark Knight Movies 10/10

I was never really a Batman fan until theses movies came out. I found the previous Batman movies/shows to be extremely tacky. After watching The Dark Knight, my mind completely changed about super hero movies.

[Fuzz]

Patrick Bateman really went full on schizo!

[JustDave]

On 2/14/2023 at 8:50 PM, Chibearsv said:

Dark Knight is the best of all the Batman movies 100% due to Heath Ledger’s Joker.  Good story, great villain, excellent action.  I could watch it every time it’s on. 10/10.  The other 2 are decent enough but not on the same level Dark Knight Rises 9/10, Batman Begins 7/10

 

best opening