Anatomy Of A Trailer PT. 2: SHIT JUST GOT REAL…AGAIN.

June 8^th and July 20^th cannot arrive soon enough.  Ridley Scott returns to the genre that he re-revolutionized in 1979 and 1982, and Christopher Nolan ends his extraordinary Batman series.   The Avengers is holding at 92% on rottentomatoes.com, and I expect similar numerical values for Prometheus and The Dark Knight Rises. 

The Dark Knight Rises

            The typical summer blockbuster film contains about 2,500 visual effects (CGI) shots.  “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” contained 1200 and 750 visual effects shots respectively.  Christopher Nolan is a firm believer in practical effects, traditional stunt work, and shooting on film stock.   Nolan learned the sweet science and art of filmmaking by spending hours of time in The University College London’s film labs.  This dedication is slowly returning movies to real locations and extravagant sets that defined the worlds of 2001: A Space Odyssey (a beautiful but pretentious film) and Blade Runner.  Warner Bros. unveiled new footage of “The Dark Knight Rises” at CinemaCon on April 25^th, 2012, and the third trailer was released to the general public on April 29^th 2012.  In the third trailer a spectacular shot of three bridges are shown collapsing in photorealistic fashion.  This is probably one of the few CGI shots in the entire movie, and when viewed in full 1080p the effect is literally and metaphorically jaw dropping.   I suggest (as I always do if you have the means) downloading the trailer in ITunes and HDMI your computer to a HD television and enjoying this 2 minute 19 second marvel in the highest resolution possible.  Until I did this I did not notice the third bridge in the background collapsing. 

            The trailer has Catwoman… lots of Catwoman.  Selina Kyle can be seen walking out of a train station and looking over her shoulder while passing a police officer.  Her costume is firm fitting yet very tactical and suitable for burglary and intense hand to hand combat.  Her voice is seductive without sounding forced like a temptress on a CBS or ABC daytime soap opera.  Anne Hathaway has said that she modeled her voice after Austrian-American actress Hedy Lamarr, and results are seemingly positive.  Catwoman/Selina Kyle apparently is a protagonist, despite considering the Entertainment Weekly photo that shows her cracking open a safe.

            The daytime shots are beautiful and Wally Pfister may earn a second Oscar for cinematography.  Pittsburgh and New York City will pose as Gotham City in “The Dark Knight Rises”, and considering that the film takes place 8 years after the 2008 film, the change is justified.  The vast majority of the shots in the trailer are of New York City, yet the daytime shots are of Pittsburgh.  Bringing Batman out of his nocturnal setting is a first (with the exception of the extremely campy 1960s television series) in the history of Detective Comic’s television and cinematic portrayal of the late Bob Kane’s creation. 

            Bane is the bane of Batman and Gotham’s existence, and this can now be CLEARLY heard through Tom Hardy’s mask/respirator.  Everything so far that people have complained about The Dark Knight Rises has now been answered.

• ·      Catwoman’s ears are not cheesy, they are flipped up night vision goggles
• ·      Bane is totally intelligible. 
• ·      Tom Hardy’s size does not matter, it seems that Nolan is attempting to show a highly intelligent and patient Bane.  And as far as his physicality goes, he is more agile than Batman and has a swagger that exerts tremendous confidence.

Seeing “The Bat” in-flight down the streets of Pittsburg looks more coordinated and swift than in the second trailer, although it is the same take from the 2^nd trailer.  The end flight sequence is exhilarating and I cannot wait to watch the Blu-Ray special features to see how this was accomplished.  

Prometheus

The second trailer for “Prometheus” has been released over a month but last week 20^th Century Fox unveiled the 2^nd international trailer.  The situation looks incredibly dire for the crew of “The Prometheus”, with one crewmember being bitten by a snake-like creature that appears to be an early ancestor of the face-hugger from the 1979 original.

I will not say much about this trailer other than this is Ridley Scott’s year; it is an incredible stretch to judge a movie off of a 2 minute 45 second trailer, but I stand by saying “This will be a 21^st century classic”. 

Christopher Nolan and Ridley Scott are modern film representations of Plato and Aristotle respectively.  Although Nolan was not trained directly by anyone, he viewed Scott’s “Alien” and “Blade Runner” numerous times and has been greatly influence by these films.  I believe (just like in the case of the previously mentioned philosophers), that the student will surpass the teacher.  But this year Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror film will be the cinematic event of the year. 

Let The Viral Marketing Begin For Sam Mendes’ Spy Extravaganza And Ridley Scott’s Return To What He Does Best.

This side of The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers, Skyfall and Prometheus are the most anticipated films to be released this year.  The latter film marks the end of Ridley Scott’s 30-year hiatus from science fiction.   Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road To Perdition) has watched the dapper spy since he was 7 years, and now he is filming his version of Ian Fleming’s beloved spy series. 

IMAX executives have had their hands full for the past few years with large-scale action/adventure movies, working out deals to secure screens with film studios.  Another notion that commemorates 50 years of Bond films is putting 007 in IMAX theaters, a first in the series.  Also since renowned cinematographer Roger Deakins is on the production team, the 23^rd Bond film will be the first shot digitally.  As all of my subscribers know I am not a fan of the digital format, but at least the cinematographer is a proven pro and is utilizing the Arri Alexa 35mm digital camera.   I am quite sure that Mendes and Deakins will have superb photography in the dialogue and action sequences.  With all of the aforementioned considered, the most important aspect to mention is that Sir Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan will be at the premiere in October 2012. 

The underrated Guy Pearce (Memento, The King’s Speech, L.A Confidential) in collaboration with Technology Entertainment Design (TED), gave a very intriguing performance as Peter Weyland, the CEO of the evil terraforming and exploring corporation.  The speech is grounded in existentialism and greed, yet oddly inspirational.  Ultimately it is an ode to the notion that mankind, although brave and intelligent, will ultimately lead themselves to demise due to curiosity.  Hence the Greek mythology concept of stealing fire from the gods.  We hope to see a full length trailer in the near future. 

SH**. JUST. GOT. REAL.

   

On September 6^th, Cinematic Impact released a list of our most 10 most anticipated films of 2012.   The list included Sam Mendes’ and Quentin Tarantino’s Skyfall and Django Unchained respectively.  But the two films that topped the list are surefire to be audience pleasers and on the top 10 list of major film critics.   The Dark Knight Rises and Prometheus could potentially make 2012 as memorable of an entertainment year as 1939 or 1974. 

The Dark Knight Rises

The best place to follow Batman news (or any Chris Nolan news) is www.nolanfans.com.  Back in February 2011 Nolanfans posted a radio interview of Nolan’s cinematographer Wally Pfister with The Kevin and Josh Movie Show.  During the interview the host as Wally Pfister how is Nolan going to top The Dark Knight.  Pfister responded by saying that “he has…he has done it.  He has written a phenomenal story… and we (the entire production crew) are all scratching our heads on how we are going to film it”.  The 2^nd HD trailer was released today on Apple ITunes.   If possible download the trailer with ITunes or another medium and then HDMI your computer to a HDTV.  The result is stunning, and one can truly appreciate the in-camera effects that Nolan, Chris Corbould, and Wally Pfister have accomplished.  The Batwing looks a bit odd, but moviegoers will greatly appreciate that the fictional aircraft was meticulously constructed just like the tumblers. Consider the scene in the trailer where the Batwing is pursuing Bane’s team of assassins whom have commandeered tumblers that are camouflaged like the vehicle from Batman Begins.  The scene looks seamless without any distracting CGI.  When Nolan is forced to use CGI, it is equally as impressive as his practical effects.  The imploding football field at Heinz stadium looked good but not mind blowing in standard definition.  But in 1080p on a 50 inch Sony Bravia, the detailing looks photorealistic.  The viewer can see that the $250 million dollar budget was used to the max. 

The action is what sells the trailer but the dialogue is also exceptional.  People have criticized the teaser trailer for hammy dialogue, this time the character interaction is anything but hammy.  Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine have well written dialogue with Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne, and give further insight into a man that is still coping with his very existence.  Now that Gotham has Harvey Dent as a martyr, Wayne’s existence as Batman is becoming self-indulgent but necessary to prevent the decay of a city.  Tom Hardy’s Bane has a menacing yet reserved and intelligent demeanor. Hardy will be excellent, yet I suspect that even if Bane is the better villain, Heath Ledger’s performance will still be more revered. 

Prometheus

The last time Ridley Scott filmed a science fiction story was in 1982 for Blade Runner.  Thirty years later the spiritual companion to his 1979 classic Alien will be released into theaters.  The very idea of mankind meeting their creators is already an intriguing concept, but add the space-jockey from Alien into the mix and you have a potential sci-fi classic on your hands.  Today a trailer for the upcoming trailer of Prometheus was released.  Ever single frame of footage was filled with intrigue, mystery, and/or excitement.  The set design is eerily similar to the 1979 film, but has the benefit of having superior materials and a larger yet undisclosed budget.  The crew of Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, and Guy Pearce all seem to be in top form.  The gritty and claustrophobic set will be as much of a challenge for the actors/actresses and moviegoers to endure. 

20^th Century Fox wants to view a PG-13 and R cut of the film.  Here’s to hoping (and I stress hoping) that they go with the latter rating.  Although PG-13 will guarantee more revenue; the R version will be extremely profitable without compromising the gut-wrenching atmosphere.  

Greek Mythology says that Prometheus stole fire from the gods to share with the mortals.  In this story it may be that humankind steals forbidden knowledge from the gigantic Space Jockeys.  The motion capture technology from Avatar is supposedly to be employed to depict these giant humanoids.  Prometheus will undoubtedly be the most original concept of the summer, despite being a possible prequel. 

Update on Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 7:25PM by Travlis Hallingquest

NOLAN IS BOSS. 

Batman-news.com and many other entertanment websites have published articles that voiced the concern of Bane's voice in the TDKR Prologue.  Allegedly Warner Bros. is concerned over this issue, and rightfully so.  But considering how understandable Bane's voice was in the Official 2nd trailer, this should not be an issue.  Nolan is too smart to have an issue such as this take away from this film.  Perhaps the mask muffling Bane's voice along with engine noise from two airplanes (one that has lost cabin pressure) justifies why there is an audio issue.  Nolan has given WB Inception and a totally beleivable Batman series, and the studio thinks so highly of the director that he is given full creative control of projects that range from $150 to $250 million dollars in production costs.  Warner Bros.' should not worry about their most reliable director and producer.