The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

   I have been looking forward to this film for so long. Literally the second The Dark Knight (2008) finished, I was ready for the next film. After four years of anticipation, I am so glad it lived up to my expectations. It was great. I personally think it's the best film of 2012 so far, in a year that has been so good for big blockbusters - Marvel's Avengers Assemble, The Muppets, The Hunger Games etc.
   Despite the opening weekend being marred by the shootings in Aurora, The Dark Knight Rises grossed approximately $162M in North America - a few million dollars shy of the estimate takings, but still a promising start to a healthy return for the studio - after investing $400M on the film's production and marketing.
   So, moving on to the film itself - I thought it was fantastic. I could've quite happily have re-watched it, immediately after. There was not one aspect of the film that I thought lacked in quality. The acting, the effects, the storyline itself were all impeccable, in my opinion. Sure, the storyline was a traditional 'City in trouble, Superhero saves the day' plot, but that's what it should be.
   Nolan as a director was fantastic yet again, he really made the film distinguishable as his. It retained the darkness yet polished style the other two films in the Batman trilogy, also a style that I felt carried through to Inception (2010). Dark Knight Rises, had certain 'wow' shots, particularly the scene in the football stadium - I felt the film got the balance right between C.G.I and real footage, it wasn't over the top like in say, Transformers or other non-stop-action blockbusters. It's also worth mentioning that not only did Nolan direct the film, he also produced the film and co-wrote the screenplay.

Bane (Hardy) and Batman (Bale) get ready to fight in the City's sewers.

   The acting was incredible, Tom Hardy was astonishing as his role as Bane. I personally think that Hardy was as strong as Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight, but I'm not sure many will agree with me. They were two very different roles, but I think Hardy excelled as Bane. The physical aspect of the role, in my opinion gave another dimension to the villain. Whereas the Joker was more psychological, which worked well and Ledger deserved all the praise he got - but I personally felt that Bane was a more straightforward, traditional villain, and I felt it worked well.
   The entire cast was great as an ensemble, Michael Caine proved that even at 79 years of age, he's still a fantastic actor - reprising his role as Alfred. Anne Hathaway was stunning as Catwoman as well, much better than Halle Berry was in the 2004 film, and much more attractive as well - I'm sure every red-blooded male watching the film enjoyed seeing Hathaway in leather, bent over Batman's motorcycle. I am actually struggling to pin-point single actor/actresses in the film, as the entire cast was spot on - Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Christian Bale as Batman himself, were all fantastic and looked comfortable in the roles they had made their own in the previous two installments. The last person I will mention is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who I personally thought was fantastic in both 500 Days of Summer (2009) and when he worked in Nolan's Inception (2010). Despite not having a huge role to play in the film, he still didn't look out of place in a cast of big stars.

      Anne Hathaway as the leather-clad Catwoman      

   Storyline wise, as I said earlier, it was predictable - yet the plot twists weren't always so apparent. The ending itself will have many people in gasps of shock, especially Gordon-Levitt's final scene - which has the audience wondering of a possible fourth film in the series, if not more.
The final fight scene between Bane and Batman was probably my favourite part of the film, I felt that it epitomised the fight between good and evil - with Batman fighting side by side with the police of Gotham City, as he tries to save the civilians. It showed that despite some of the ups and downs in the trilogy, such as when the Batman is blamed for Harvey Dent's death, the people of Gotham know he's a hero and a good guy after all. There's also an emotional Alfred scene or two which I thought were great, Caine's acting as Alfred is flawless and he really connects with the audience, despite not being in the film the whole way through. I am struggling to find a word to describe his acting in the Batman films, other than 'cute'. To see how much he cares about Bruce Wayne provokes quite an emotional response from the audience.
   All in all, I thought the film was fantastic, I seriously suggest that you go see this film. If it wasn't for The Hobbit's release due in December of this year, I would already say that no other film will be as good as this in 2012. The acting, the plot twists, the camera work, it's all fantastic. I would, however, suggest watching (or re-watching) the other two films in the trilogy, to truly get the most out of The Dark Knight Rises, as there are certain aspects of the film which would be better understood if the rest of the trilogy was fresh in your memory. A great job by Christopher Nolan and a great way to wrap up the trilogy (or set up another film?). I loved this film. 10/10.

 All pictures used are © Warner Bros Pictures

The Five-Year Engagement (2012)

   I saw this a few weeks ago, but have been soaking up the sun in Rome and genuinely so busy, I haven't had a chance to finish writing my review on it! The film is a typical Rom-com, centered around the relationship between Tom Solomon (Jason Segel) and Violet Barnes (Emily Blunt). The film follows the relationship and the many ups and downs that get in the way, preventing the couple from tying the knot. The film has had a successful box-office run in the States and had a strong opening weekend, knocking Sci-Fi Prometheus of the top UK box office spot.
   I personally enjoyed the film, it had enough up and down moments to be enjoyable, yet maintained the usual basis and structure of a romantic comedy. There are bits that are very predictable and almost exhausted genre conventions, but these are to be expected in any modern rom-com to be honest.
   Super Segel excelled again for me, as I said in my review of The Muppets, I am yet to find a film where he isn't likeable. There are points in this film where he seems to stray from this 'nice-guy' act but it's fairly obvious he's not going to stick to some of the plans he's contemplating. To be honest, even at the points where the character is considering certain things (It's very hard to word this without giving away, literally the entire plot) you feel a sort of empathy towards him and an understanding of why he's feeling like he is, as he's been pushed by Violet.
   The acting on a whole was very good, Emily Blunt was fantastic as Violet. Cute and quirky when she needed to be, but then serious when the storyline needed her to be. As a character though, I felt that Zoe was selfish - Blunt portrayed this well, but it made me dislike the character somewhat.

Winston Childs (Ifans) looking smug in his turtleneck.
© Universal Pictures

   The film also starred the familiar Rhys Ifans, as Winton Childs - a flirty, professor with a 'thing' for Violet. Ifans plays the part well, coming across as smug and condescending. I really took a strong dislike to Winston, which I feel made me side with Segel's character Tom more. As Winston and Violet are getting closer and closer, poor Tom is watching from the sidelines as the creepy professor is flirting with his fiance - all this comes after Tom has literally uprooted his life so Violet can pursue her own ambitions at University. This is why I feel, as nice as the character of Violet is in parts of the film, the audience will tend to side with Tom for the most part.
   There are a few laugh-out-loud scenes, mainly provided by Tom's best friend Alex (Chris Pratt) who reminds me of actor Seann William Scott (Stifler - American Pie etc.) with his down to Earth personality and straight to the point crudeness - such as in the 'girlfriend song' at Zoe and Tom's engagement party. Segel is also responsible for some of the funnier moments too, a personal favourite is after an argument between Zoe and Tom, where Tom throws a sulk afterwards.
   The film builds to a cute finale that has the audience smiling at the end. Like a predictable romantic comedy, things all work out for the best in the end. It's certainly an enjoyable film, and easy to watch. It's not the kind of film to watch with any high expectations, and if I'm honest the entire film is condensed into less than three minutes in the trailer. It's sort of apparent after watching the trailer post-film that literally all the funny parts are in there somewhere - as well as any plot twists. If you're going to see it, try and avoid the trailer.
   All in all, not bad for a rom-com, but nothing spectacular either. Worth a watch - 6/10.