The Dark Knight Rises

If you are reading this I will assume you are not concerned about spoilers, so let that serve as warning and turn back now if you don't want to know about things that happen in the film.

Christopher Nolan finishes up his Batman film series with The Dark Knight Rises (starting with Batman Begins in 2005 and The Dark Knight in 2008). And as is Nolan's wont, he does it in epic fashion – the film is nearly 3 hours long and just generally huge.

The film has much more in common in style, story, and tone with Batman Begins than The Dark Knight. Batman Begins introduced two threats to Gotham – organized crime and the League of Shadows, which had targeted Gotham for destruction. Ra's Al Ghul was killed in Batman Begins, which presumably took care of the League of Shadows as well. And with the organized crime of Gotham more or less taken care of in the aftermath of Harvey Dent's death, Gotham is now in a state a peace. Until Bane is brought into town by Bruce Wayne's business rival, John Daggett, who is looking to bring down Wayne Enterprises so that he can take it over.

However, Bane has plans of his own. Following Ra's Al Ghul's death, he assumed leadership of the League of Shadows (he had been trained, like Bruce Wayne, in the League of Shadows) and plans to finish what Ra's started – completely and utterly destroy Gotham.

In Batman Begins we see as Bruce Wayne learns the skills and, seeing the corruption rampant in the city, makes the decision to become a vigilante. Here, in The Dark Knight Rises, we see as Bruce Wayne makes the decision to come out of retirement as the Batman, after taking the fall for Harvey Dent's death so that he may become the symbol Gotham needed. After the punishment he put his body through in the first two films, and 8 years hiding out in Wayne Manor, Bruce is not quite in the shape he once was, and his skills no longer as sharp. This ends in Bane breaking Bruce's back in an absolutely brutal, punishing fight.

As Bruce watches what Bane does to Gotham, he finds a new determination within himself. He must recover, get back in shape, and reacquaint himself with his skills. The result is that Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises act as bookends. Batman Begins is the setup and The Dark Knight Rises is the conclusion that pays it off.

Initially, I thought that the idea of using a giant bomb that threatens the whole city felt a little too old-school comic book-ish (am I the only one who had trouble shaking the image of Adam West's Batman running around carrying a giant bomb from the 1966 movie?). Especially for what Nolan has done with these movies. However, as I thought about it, it made sense, it worked, and actually is not out of character of what he had setup in Batman Begins. As we find out in the end, Bane is working for Talia Al Ghul, Ra's' daughter. And Talia has been posing as Miranda Tate, a business parter of Bruce's, backer of a fusion-energy project which Bruce had canceled after discovering that the fusion device could be modified into a nuclear bomb. Which is what happens. And that was her plan – make the company lose money on this idea that sounds good but she knew Bruce would nix once he found out what could be done with it, and thus the company becomes vulnerable. And given Ra's Al Ghul's plan of tainting Gotham's water supply with an aerosol toxin and a device to turn Gotham's water supply into steam to thus weaponize it on board Gotham's city rail system in Batman Begins, this bomb acts, again, as a bookend - a call back.

And don't take this to mean that they're just re-hashing what they did before. They're not. Like I said, they've setup, they've built, now they're paying off. They use these call backs to the first movie to bring the series full-circle. Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, and David S. Goyer did a very good job in creating the story for this. They've been careful and deliberate in creating a series of films that tells a full, complete story. A story of Bruce Wayne. A story of the Batman. A story of Gotham.

Is The Dark Knight Rises as good as The Dark Knight? No. But that's an unfair expectation to saddle the movie with. I'm glad that they didn't seem to go 'we need to do that again' though. What's most important is telling a good story which concludes this arc, not competing with themselves. Is Bane as good a villain as the Joker? He's not as dynamic and electric as the Joker, but he's the physical, and mental, match the Batman needs. The Joker was chaotic – he plotted in order to push people to the edge and make them unknowingly play into his hands. Bane is cold and calculating – he plots to outsmart, give you hope then snatch it away. The Joker is just simply more fun to watch - that's why the character is so iconic.

I like what they did with Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Her and Bruce work well together. But she's just doing what's best for her. If it helps her to help Bruce, she will. Until it helps her to help Bane. It's not personal, it's just what she has to do in order to get what she wants. And that is to wipe her identity and any trace of her in order so that she can start her life over. It gives her a good, believable story and justification.

The movie is long, but it never feels that way. It moves along quickly. It's just that the story is so big it requires the time. I like that the story isn't just a simple, straightforward setup that could be taken care of in closer to two hours – that sort of story isn't Nolan's style. It keeps you guessing, unsure of where it's going and what will happen next, which gives you the uneasy feeling that at any time something can go wrong as opposed to being sure everything will work out. And, most importantly, with something as expansive as this, it doesn't feel unwieldy, it doesn't get lost.

Tom Hardy gives a fantastic performance as Bane, despite the fact his face is hidden the entire time by a mask. It's a performance of eyes and body language. Anne Hathaway is good as Selina Kyle. She's physical, sensual, and playful. Christian Bale does a good job portraying a character who has essentially given up on life. Gary Oldman is a man worn out by carrying the weight of a massive secret. Christopher Nolan, as always, keeps the film grounded – nothing feels superfluous or coincidental.

It's a fantastic film that closes out the series in a way that it deserves. It doesn't fall into the trap of doing the same thing as before because it worked or just treading water because they know they have an audience. It's the film the series needed as well as the film the series deserved.

4 out of 5

Safety Not Guaranteed

I didn't know what to expect from Safety Not Guaranteed. I didn't know much about it. I just knew it was about a man who put an ad in the paper for a partner for time travel and that it had been getting reviewed very well. As I said, not much.

At first I was curious to see how Aubrey Plaza works carrying a movie. I've only seen her in Parks & Recreation and her small part in Scott Pilgrim vs the World. While she's good in Parks & Rec, she doesn't exactly show much in it. So, does she have what it takes to be the lead? Yes. At least, for a movie such as this she does. All I've seen her do before is be sarcastic and misanthropic. I was quite pleasantly surprised to see her pull off a performance of subtlety, honesty, and tenderness. There actually is more to her than being the funny, sarcastic girl.

She plays a girl, Darius, who, since her mother died when she was young, has gone through life expecting the worst. She has no friends. She, as far as we can tell, has not gotten with anyone romantically. And you think “Aubrey Plaza is a cute girl, even if she was awkward or inept, she should be able to have gotten something.” But they do a good job, in the opening sequence, showing that that's not the issue, it's that she hasn't to get involved with people because she expects the worst from life. So she's gone through life choosing to avoid these things so she doesn't get hurt, which is what she expects.

Working as an intern at a local magazine in Seattle, living with her father, she's not happy. When the magazine has a idea meeting, one of the writers pitches the idea of doing an article about a classified ad that had been placed which read: "Wanted: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. Safety not guaranteed." The ad interests her and she volunteers to join the writer, Jeff, on the trip to profile the man who placed it.

Kenneth is the man who placed it. He's a loner. Jeff attempts to contact him, but he believes Jeff is just attempting to make fun of him. Jeff sends Darius to try and contact Kenneth. They connect and Kenneth brings her in to his world – she doesn't tell him she's working for a magazine though. Kenneth starts training her and through this they bond and connect.

You're never sure of what to think of Kenneth. Is he crazy? Is he paranoid? Is he delusional? Does he honestly believe he can build a time machine? I think they do a good job of never revealing too much or trying too hard to make him come off as crazy to make us doubt him. They give just enough to make you think or feel what they want you to – building slowly to the reveal at the end.

Safety Not Guaranteed a unique movie. It's not science fiction. It's about looking forward, not backward – along with Darius and Kenneth wanting to change events in the past (Darius, her mother's death; Kenneth, the death of the only girl who treated him with kindness), the reporter Jeff suggested this story in order to travel to this town to find an old girlfriend; and the other intern to go on the trip, Arnau, learns to live while he can and enjoy his youth so he doesn't come to regret wasting it. It's a well done movie. Well written. Well acted. And quite enjoyable.

4 out of 5

Brave

I'll just be straightforward and say that Brave is good...for your typical, average movie. For a PIXAR movie? It's kind of a disappointment. It feels more like a Disney movie than PIXAR. So, while it's good and enjoyable (it is, don't get me wrong), it just seems like there should have been more to it.

The story is just underwhelming. It doesn't have the sort of daring or adventure you might expect from PIXAR. It feels ripped out of a book of stock Disney stories. You know – child unhappy with family runs away and through events that happen learns to appreciate and love their family, and the family them. It's nice. But it lacks anything deeper to it. PIXAR is a company that isn't afraid of telling unusual stories (Ratatouille makes us sympathize and like a rat in a kitchen) or touch on more serious themes (Toy Story 3 has the characters facing certain death, Wall-E touches on environmental issues, Up love and death), so when they do something that's just so...unremarkable, it's a bit of a let down.

It takes place in 10th century Scotland, but you could take the story and set it anywhere and any time period and not lose anything. It's a unique and specific setting, so you'd want something that really uses and takes advantage of it. Instead, it seems more an excuse to have funny accents, a couple kilt jokes, and very pretty landscapes (the visuals cannot be knocked, in any way, with this movie). So, aside from the landscapes, the setting is squandered because the story just doesn't utilize it.

The main character, Merida, isn't fully utilized, either. She's presented as a headstrong, independent young girl. And, she is. But, you know what? I want to see that character go on an adventure and kick some ass. There's potential that just isn't grabbed. She runs off, comes upon a witch, asks for a potion to change her fate so she's not forced to choose a suitor, the potion turns her mother (who is the one that is set on Merida being and acting like a proper princess) into a bear, and her and her mother must find the witch and the way to undo it and through this they learn to understand and accept each other. Of course, the problem is that the character that really needs to make a change is the mother. Merida isn't really changed, she's sorry for the argument they had, but she still wants the same thing at the end. The mother must make the change from being stuck in the old way to accepting Merida's wishes for something different. So...it's not Merida's story. But it's supposed to be and it should be. And that's the ultimate problem with the movie and what holds it back. Something that feels like it should be an adventure turns out to be two characters butting heads.

I mentioned it earlier, but I should bring it up again...the animation is beautiful. The visuals are beyond compare. The character design, the backgrounds, the detail – outstanding. I saw it in 3D, I'm not a fan of 3D in general because I don't feel that it really adds anything essential, and this didn't change my mind on the subject, but it did look great in 3D – it had great depth and fullness to it.

Also, it's really nice to see a strong female main character. A princess who doesn't want, or need, a man. She can take care of herself, and wants to. How many movies with princesses end with them unmarried or uncommitted to a man? None come to my mind. Merida is a character you can show young girls and they can look up to. And that's why I wanted more from the movie. As good as she is, the way the movie is, it'd have been so much better if they could have let her loose on her own.

So, as I said before, the movie is good, it's enjoyable, it's fun. For your typical animated kid's movie, it's good. It's just that PIXAR has set the bar higher for themselves in the past and Brave is perhaps just under it.

3 out of 5

Bernie

I didn't really know much about this movie going into it. I had read a brief synopsis and thought it sounded interesting. And it was. It was also extremely funny. And, in the end, a very pleasant surprise. Bernie is based on a true story about a murder in a small town in Texas and has the dramatized action interspersed with interviews of local people who knew those involved.

Bernie (played by Jack Black) is a mortician – sorry, assistant funeral director – in Carthage, Texas. He's very good at his job, he takes it seriously and goes that extra step to ease the pain of those grieving. He's also beloved by the people of Carthage, as he's active in the church, local theater, willing to help anyone out, and just generally a nice guy. Even though he's a little “light in the loafers” and there's speculation that he might be homosexual, the people of this small, conservative town love him.

After the death of a local businessman, Bernie befriends the widow, Marjorie (played by Shirley MacLaine), who is not well-liked in the town, described by one of the locals as 'she'll rip you a new, three bedroom, double-wide asshole.' It starts as him just being the nice guy he is and wanting to check up on her. They become friends – they go on trips together, there are rumors that they're intimate, and she convinces him to only work part-time at the funeral home and work for her full-time as her assistant/companion. As time goes on she becomes increasingly dependent on, and possessive of, him. He begins to feel trapped but he's too nice to say 'no' or stand up to her and tell her off.

Finally, one day, in a fit after having her trap him in her driveway as he tries to leave rather than argue with her, he shoots her four times in the back. For the next 9 months, he goes on as though nothing has happened. As she had no other friends, she wasn't really on speaking terms with any of her family, and she more or less had him do everything for her, he was able to convince people that she had suffered a stroke, wasn't well, and went somewhere to recuperate. In the 9 months he continues to spend her money...but not on himself. He donates to help build a new wing on the church. He buys cars or houses for local people who need them. He invests in local businesses. All in her name. Eventually her stock broker becomes suspicious of her absence, as Bernie has been smart enough to not try doing anything in her name with her investments. Her stock broker gets the sheriff to search her house, where they find her body in a freezer.

Bernie's arrested and confesses immediately. He's charged with first-degree murder. However, he's so loved by the locals, the D.A. (a fully-clothed Matthew McConaughey) realizes there's no way Bernie would be convicted. So he has the trial moved and Bernie is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life (I'd worry about spoilers but it's a true story).

The movie is surprisingly funny, especially the interviews with the locals. They're so funny that you start to think that it can't be real, they must be scripted. But they are real. And, really, those interviews and that humor is what makes the movie. If you were to take it away, the story wouldn't be that compelling or interesting – a nice guy befriends a mean old woman until she becomes so mean and unbearable he snaps for a moment, kills her, when caught he gives up, and there's no real drama during the trial. It's the perspective from the locals that does it.

It's an incredibly funny, enjoyable movie. Director Richard Linklater is able to make a compelling movie of a story that by itself is only interesting because it's somewhat quirky. Jack Black plays Bernie very well; he actually acts, he doesn't just do the typical Jack Black thing. At the end, you'll feel for Bernie because he is a genuinely nice man who just broke for a minute but still must pay the price. But you'll also be laughing.

3 1/2 out of 5