In Contention

Tag: Batman

  • Battersea featured in ‘Dark Knight?’

    This one is a stretch, I know — and many of you could care less.  But I can’t escape “Dark Knight” news no matter where I turn.  Seriously, I just click on a link to a random news story about the revitalization of London’s Battersea Power Station, and there it is, staring me in the face.

    The Batman films are always valuable for their design elements, but I didn’t know this monolith — perhaps best known from the cover of Pink Floyd’s “Animals” (an image replicated two years ago in “Children of Men”) — was going to be featured in the film.  But it seems that’s the case.

    I can, like, see Battersea from my kitchen.  Very cool.

    Carry on…

  • Exclusive ‘Dark Knight’ set piece footage on ET

    I know, I know.  The Batman stuff is coming fast and furious.  Being out of the loop in Britain (re: press screenings) is pushing the site’s coverage of the film into the fanboy anticipatory realm, but I’m okay with that.  Kind of reminds me of the old days.

    Here’s a look at one of the big action set pieces of the film, which Entertainment Tonight showed exclusively last night:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVWg0KHZl4E

  • Letterman’s top 3 reasons to see ‘The Dark Knight’

    1) Everyone dies in the end.
    2) The motorcycle.
    3) Heath Ledger.

    Yes, it seems late night king of comedy David Letterman got an early look at “The Dark Knight,” and while he pokes fun at the anticipation and, of course, the “keep it under wraps” mentality of the studio, there seems to be some genuine adoration for the effort in there.

    Money quote for Ledger:

    Heath Ledger…oh my God is he great in this one…I’m telling you, this is a tremendous performance.  That’s the reason people ought to go see this film.

    Check it out:

    httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=6-sXBkQ13EQ

    The new TV spot, featuring spooking Joker narration (after the jump):

    (more…)

  • Holy bitchslap, Batman!

  • Teasing it out…

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LirIKbsVCkM

    Tune in 2011, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.

  • Favorite shot yet

  • Rachel Dawes believes in Harvey Dent

    You’ll have to forgive me, folks.  I’m on one of those obssessive “Dark Knight” kicks today.  Back to normal soon, I assure you.

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D15iHxCvjBs

    By the way, this site has an exhaustive analysis of the news bits, viral marketing and studio promotion of the film that reads like a full blown discourse revealing major secrets throughout…and with nothing in the way of “inside” information.  I like the way Michael Moran put it in his link here at The Times: The film ruined for your pleasure.

    There are also some sweet new banner images that hit a little over a week ago, but I’m only seeing for the first time today for some reason.

    Also, “Batman Begins” and “Dark Knight” production designer Nathan Crowley is apparently behind the set designs of a superhero costume exhibit that has been at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York.  Very cool.  Meanwhile, the milk people are up to it once again with “Dark Knight” marketing.

    And I want this motorcycle.  Bad.

    Alright…I think I got it out of my system.  I think.

  • ‘Dark Knight’ soundtrack listing

    1. Why So Serious? 09:14
    2. I’m Not A Hero 06:34
    3. Harvey Two-Face 06:16
    4. Aggressive Expansion 04:35
    5. Always A Catch 01:39
    6. Blood On My Hands 02:16
    7. A Little Push 02:42
    8. Like A Dog Chasing Cars 05:02
    9. I Am The Batman 01:59
    10. And I Thought My Jokes Were Bad 02:28
    11. Agent Of Chaos 06:55
    12. Introduce A Little Anarchy 03:42
    13. Watch The World Burn 03:47
    14. A Dark Knight 16:15

    Source

    By the way, Warners is releasing this thing on vinyl (!). It’ll actually be landing in four configurations, one of them being a collector’s edition with exclusive artwork post-release.

  • Zimmer taking the Joker ‘punk?’

    Todd Martens, who always does a fine job of rounding up news and talking points regarding the year’s film music compositions (especially around the Oscar season), sat down recently with Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. The composing duo of “Batman Begins” and the upcoming “The Dark Knight” are enjoying a nice publicity push, including a press day last week in Los Angeles solely for the pair.

    Martens was able to listen to about 10 minutes of the new score (jealousy isn’t a strong enough adjective at the moment), and he managed to get some details on the way the two composers are splitting duties. It seems Zimmer is on Joker duties, while Howard is fleshing out the aural rhytms of Harvey Dent.

    Zimmer had some interesting things to say on his approach to the Caped Crusader’s latest foe:

    Yet some early signs show “The Dark Knight” departing at least a little bit from the more subtle tones of “Batman Begins”…the theme Zimmer wrote for the Joker, played in the film by the late Heath Ledger, is a damning piece of music. It’s an intense eight-minute piece that comes off like an orchestral interpretation of a something created by Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails. Zimmer says the work is only two notes, but the two notes are twisted and manipulated into mimicking the sounds of thunder, razors and all sorts of clatter heard in alleyways probably better left unexplored.

    Though that description may not make it sound like music to the ears, it’s still immensely listenable. It plays out like something from a horror film, with many a shift in direction and a nod to “Psycho.” But all of it is tied together by a striking blow of strings that keep it from falling apart, and Zimmer said it bears a punk influence.

    Check out the rest. And here’s a glimpse of what might be some of the new score, by the way.

    Anticipation is killing me by the day on this.

  • Actor/movie star — who walks the line the best?

    Continuing the conversation from a few days ago on actors that are more than icons, only one name comes to mind: JACK.

    For more than 40 years Jack Nicholson has been one of the most dominat acting forces in movies, with an impressive array of performances that both challenge him as an artist and also please audiences from time to time with his wild man portrayals.

    In fact, after “Batman,” in which he stole the film from under the nose of Michael Keaton, Nicholson was often accused of playing “Nicholson.” It’s a claim I find absurd considering his performances in subsequent films such as “Hoffa,” “A Few Good Men,” and “The Crossing Guard,” one of his most daring performances ever. Recently the actor has given at least two of his most courageous performances, in “The Pledge” for director Sean Penn, and going totally against type in “About Schmidt,” reminding audiences of the great thespian lurking within the body of the movie star they know so well.

    (more…)

  • Fans anxious for the ‘Dark’ — What about Dr. Jones?

    When I posted last week’s poll regarding most anticipated summer films, I had an inkling Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” would be a heavy favorite. I didn’t, however, expect it to claim nearly 75% of the readership’s votes. Impressive, indeed. (And you all know which direction I leaned on that one.) “Indy 4” and “Wall-E” were the only other competitors with numbers worth mentioning.

    With that assessment out of the way, and with “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” set to be the net big thing — both at Cannes and with a May 21 release approaching — I wonder what the general opinion is of this film’s actual existence. It’s been nearly two decades since Indy swung into theaters (ironically, along with a “Batman” installment and a Bond film still to come, like this year). I’ve had my reservations since the beginning, but at times, they are overridden by the strong desire fo rthis flick to kick major ass.

    So what say you? Is it a disaster waiting to happen or, perhaps, the redemption of George Lucas and his recent desire to tinker with cinematic antiquity? Tell is this week’s poll!

  • Batman vs. Iron Man

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlLeCu63HCA

  • Dun-dun!

    (Props to John at The Movie Blog)