Catching Up On Cinema

In the final installment of Catching Up On Cinema's Batman Masterclass, Trevor reviews the Zack Snyder Era of the Bat saga!

The most recent chapter of Batman's silver screen exploits, as well as the first that has presented the character as a member of the Justice League and element of greater DC universe, this era of the Caped Crusader's silver screen exploits would prove to be turbulent, confused, and ultimately underwhelming, both critically and at the box office.

Perhaps more appropriately referred to as The DCEU (DC Extended Universe) iteration of the character, this portion of the Bat's history would see the character appear in 3 films, directed by 4 different in directors, across barely 2 years.

By contrast, Christopher Nolan's time with the character saw the release of 3 films over 7 years.

Debuting in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), appearing briefly in Suicide Squad (2017), and most recently co-starring in Justice League (2017), this era would see Ben Affleck don the cape and cowl as Batman/Bruce Wayne.

Visually and thematically inspired by Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (1986), this iteration of the character would be presented as being older, bulkier, and straight up meaner than that of previous cinematic renditions of the character.

Perhaps in part due to the largely negative reception of Zack Snyder's BvS, Batman would undergo a gradual lightening of tone in subsequent films of this era, both in terms of aesthetic and performance.

This trend would culminate in Batman's borderline silly presentation in Justice League, a film which was (somewhat controversially) completed by Joss Whedon, despite Snyder's name being listed as director.

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In this installment of Catching Up On Cinema's Batman Masterclass, we review the final chapter in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

Featuring the same cast and crew as the first two films in the series, the final chapter would see Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway and Marion Cotillard join the main cast.

Despite working from a script that goes to great lengths to reference events and story threads featured in earlier chapters of the trilogy, the untimely death of Heath Ledger prior to the release of The Dark Knight (2008) resulted in a concluding chapter that is both unwilling and unable to acknowledge the most dynamic and revolutionary elements of it's predecessor.

A sprawling, messy, and overly ambitious film, both in terms of scope and execution, the The Dark Knight Rises is very likely the least of Nolan's trilogy, however Tom Hardy's Bane is no less an iconic performance than Ledger's Joker, and the first half of the film is well-paced and full of terrific action set pieces.

A frustrating and muddled conclusion, but one that I find myself constantly re-watching, over and over again. 

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It's once again time for Catching Up On Cinema's monthly Tales From the Shelf episode: The 4k Fandango!

In this installment, Trevor and Brad of the Cinema Speak podcast probe the depths of their movies collections to swap some stories about their 4k discs.

Movies discussed in this month's episode include:

Brad's Picks:

Hereditary

The Deer Hunter

Godzilla

Hannibal

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Prometheus

Trevor's Picks:

Beetlejuice

Blade Runner 2049

The Accountant

Alien Covenant

Antman and the Wasp

Resident Evil: Vendetta

Glory

The Quick and the Dead

Jaws

Ip Man 4: The Finale

Logan

Check out Brad's podcast, Cinema Speak on Libsyn at Cinema Speak, or on Twitter and Instagram.

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In this week's installment of Catching Up On Cinema's Batman Masterclass, we review the Christopher Nolan era of the franchise!

With Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin (1997) representing a critical low point for the series (and the superhero film genre in general), any potential for Schumacher having a third at-bat with the franchise was tossed out the window, and the caped crusader would not be allowed another silver screen adventure for nearly a decade.

In the absence of the caped crusader however, the late-90's, beginning with Blade (1998) and X-Men (2000), would serve as the origin point for the age of superhero films we currently find ourselves in.

With the public clamoring for more costumed heroes, Warner Bros. would contract auteur filmmaker Christopher Nolan to resurrect the Bat in 2005 along with actor Christian Bale assuming the cape and cowl.

Together with David S. Goyer (writer of Blade), Nathan Crowley (production designer), Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard (composers) and his brother Johnathan, Christopher Nolan would boldly set forth to begin the franchise anew, fittingly enough with a film titled Batman Begins (2005).

The first of the series to explicitly detail the life's journey of Bruce Wayne from childhood to masked crimefighter, the film's stunning cinematography, lively editing, and generally more serious tone would prove to be a success that would result in an entire trilogy of films: 

The brooding and mythic Batman Begins (2005), the genre redefining crime drama, The Dark Knight (2008), and the messy but wildly ambitious war epic finale, The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

In this, the first of two episodes exploring Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, we review the first 2 films in the series.

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In this week's installment of Catching Up On Cinema's Batman Masterclass, we review the Joel Schumacher era of the franchise!

In the wake of thee critical and public dissatisfaction with unsettling imagery and tone of Tim Burton's Batman Returns (1992), Warner Bros took steps to ensure that the mid-90's represent a kinder, gentler era in the live-action film adventures of the Bat.

Explicitly ordered to produce brighter, more kid friendly Batman films, Joel Schumacher's time at the helm of the Batman franchise gave us the massively successful Batman Forever (1995), and the critically derided Batman and Robin (1997).

Riddled with subtext and aesthetic and directorial flourishes, both films are undeniably products of Schumacher's creative hand and eye, however behind the scenes materials and interviews have since made it equally clear that Warner Bros and other vested parties were not prepared to offer him the same creative control that other directors of Batman would be afforded.

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It's September, so it must be Masterclass Month at Catching Up On Cinema!

This month we'll be taking a deep dive into the entirety of the live-action Batman film series, one era at a time.

In the first installment of this Masterclass, we review the Tim Burton era of the franchise, consisting of the groundbreaking Batman (1989) and it's bizarre and somewhat divisive follow-up, Batman Returns (1992).

Setting the tone for an entire wave of comic book films to come, and effectively crystallizing the rapidly evolving grim and gritty characterization of the character in the comics, the Tim Burton era of the franchise serves not just as a pivotal moment in Batman history, but of pop culture history in general.

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It's once again time for Catching Up On Cinema's monthly Catching Up On Blu-ray episode!

In this installment, Trevor is joined by Brad from the Cinema Speak podcast as the 2 movie collectors review the physical media release for the month of August 2020.

Check out Brad's podcast, Cinema Speak on Libsyn at Cinema Speak, or on Twitter and Instagram.

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In the final installment of Catching Up On Cinema's second annual Anime August event month, Kyle and Trevor take a look at Hiroyuki Okiura's Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999)!

Based on a sprawling multimedia franchise created by Mamoru Oshii, the film is a melancholy tale of lost souls trying to eke out a living under a brutal fascist regime in 1950's Tokyo.

More of a "look and feel" experience than a straightforward narrative or character study, the film is nevertheless a technical wonder, boasting exceedingly detailed background paintings and astonishing rendered mechanical designs.

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In this week's installment of Catching Up On Cinema's Anime August event month, Trevor and Kyle review Gisaburo Sugii's Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie (1994)!

An adaptation of the beloved Capcom fighting game, the film is a near plotless, unabashed parade of spectacularly animated fanservice.

Featuring the entire roster of characters from the franchise up to the time of it's release (including a cameo by Akuma/Gouki), the film largely exists as a promotional tool for the massively popular arcade game.

In spite of this however, the film is by no means a 100% cynical production, with many of the of the plot points and character design elements developed specifically for the film going on to influence subsequent games in the series. 

Sluggishly paced, with repetitive and formulaic plot progression, the film sadly is only truly engaging for moments at a time, with the technical aspects of the animation being praiseworthy rather than entertaining.

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In this month's edition of Catching Up On Cinema's Tales From the Shelf, Trevor and Brad of the Cinema Speak podcast break it down to The Backlog Boogie!

Emotions run high as the 2 collectors explore the more neglected corners of their film collections, highlighting both oddities and films that deserve to be bumped to the fore of their respective viewing queues.

As is the norm, most of Trevor's picks consist of obscure and/or foreign region movies from Asia.

Highlight: 

Brad shares his complete Vestron Video collection!

Check out Brad's podcast, Cinema Speak on Libsyn at Cinema Speak, or on Twitter and Instagram.

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