Burton Gone Batty

Now that Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy has come to its monumental conclusion, I figured it was time to explore another director’s take on the Caped Crusader. It didn’t go as well as I’d hoped:

Tim Burton’s Batman is a strange animal: too dark to be enjoyed as pure camp, and too absurd to be viewed as serious entertainment.

Discarding the outright goofiness of the 1960s TV series, Burton takes a grimmer, gloomier approach to the Batman mythos. The result is both fantastically stylish and frustratingly hollow – a celebration of style over substance that dazzles the eye without ever engaging the mind or heart. Continue reading —->

The Dark Knight Rises

A breathtaking finale for the first truly great superhero saga in the history of film. Terrific casting. Pulse-pounding action. Powerful storytelling. And an epic score from music-maestro Hans Zimmer. The Dark Knight Rises is the greatest thing to hit theaters so far this year – and I doubt anything will surpass it. Viva la Nolan!

“We will destroy Gotham and then, Mr. Wayne, when it is done and Gotham is ashes, then you have my permission to die.”

(I’ll be posting a more in-depth review
on my movie blog Reel Quick)

Soundtrack Review: The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises
(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Running Time: 50 min.
Released: 2012
Opinion Stars: ★★★★★

I’ve been a Zimmer fan boy for years now, and if you ask me why, I might just punch you in the face; because contrary to popular opinion, there is such a thing as a stupid question, and that is one. Now, moving on… To say that I eagerly awaited the release of this score would be an understatement of staggering proportions. I was counting down the weeks, the days, the hours and the minutes. Well, the waiting is over now. It’s finally here. Finally. No more waiting. The score for The Dark Knight Rises has been unleashed on the world – and it’s bigger, bolder, and better than I could ever have imagined. Let’s see if I still know how to spell masterpiece…

A Storm Is Coming starts the album off in a suitably ominous fashion, and is followed shortly by Gotham’s Reckoning, a track dominated by driving percussion, dissonant strings, and chanting choir – Bane’s theme, I’m guessing, and a memorable one at that. The Fire Rises is an explosive action queue with a heavy layer of electronica toward the end, hearkening back to Zimmer’s work on Inception. Why Do We Fall? is purely stunning, a magnificent crescendo of strings and drums that culminates in a stirring rendition of the Batman theme. Then there’s Imagine the Fire, which is so dang epic it defies description. It is, without a doubt, one of the best pieces of action music I’ve ever heard. Ever. The seven-minute Rise ends the score on a heroic, but undeniably tragic note. Feel free to let your imagination run wild as you consider what that means for the conclusion of Nolan’s film.

Buy the MP3 album on iTunes or Amazon.com.

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Art With Salt – Batman, The Joker, and Bane

My reasons for posting these are threefold: 1) I love Batman, 2) I love Christopher Nolan, and 3) I love table salt. Watch the videos below and prepare to be wowed.