I was planning to watch both "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Brave" much earlier, but I got hit with a bout of conjunctivitis that kept me at home for two weeks. It was just during the last long weekend that I got well and was no longer contagious. Luckily, both of them were still showing, albeit in limited theaters. Since either or both these movies would probably be gone later this week as a bevy of new films like Total Recall are released, I decided to catch both while I still could.
photo courtesy of wikipedia
The first of these two movies I got to see was "The Dark Knight Rises". It's gotten a lot of great reviews, both from critics and audiences. I do think it's a well-made film, although I wasn't as blown away by this as much as most other people. Christopher Nolan does a fantastic job of tying together his Batman series reboot while giving each film the ability to stand on its own. This final part of the trilogy features top-notch performances by cast, although I have to call out Tom Hardy for his chilling portrayal of the frighteningly powerful Bane. Just hearing his voice made you quiver in your boots! I found the climax a bit cliche and the villainous twist predictable - I don't know how I figured it out early on but somehow when one of the supposed allies turned backstabber (almost literally) in the end, my reaction was "I knew it!" LOL - but the apparent introduction of a new hero in the form of Robin leaves me in eager anticipation of what's to come after this.
photo courtesy of wikipedia
For me, the film revelation this year is "Brave". Clearly, I am Pixar's target audience as I am a huge fan of most of their recent films, such as Up, The Incredibles, and Wall-E. I wasn't sure what "Brave" would be about, but the fact that it is a Pixar film made me want to see it. From the trailer, it is clear that the lead is a strong-willed heroine. Another one of those I-don't-want-to-be-told-who-to-marry type of movies, you think? Wrong! The strange sequence of events is so unique and surprising that it catches you off-guard and changes the direction of the film in a way that you wouldn't have expected. Making this an even better movie is the incredible animation - check our the hair of the lead heroine, Merida (read more about the animation of her hair here). I won't go into detail of the storyline since this is one of those films where spoilers may ruin the impact of the twist, but it is absolutely worth watching. I can't wait for the DVD to come out!
My nephew told me that he would rank these four films in this order of preference (although he did say he enjoyed them all): The Amazing Spider-Man, Brave, The Dark Knight Rises, and Ice Age: Continental Drift. Strangely enough, that's how I would rank these four movies as well. :) We're surely in the minority as most people will have The Dark Knight Rises as their #1. But hey, to each his own. :)
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