Dark Knight Rises Prologue Thoughts

The other day, I went to see The Dark Knight Rises prologue (and the free showing of MI IV that followed), and here are my thoughts. For those of you who don't know, this basically shows the first six minutes of the movie. That may not sound like much considering that there is a huge chance this will be a long ass movie, but let me tell you, it was enough to get me absolutely hyped for next summer.

So basically, the main point of this was to showcase the villain: Bane and his talents. Based on this six minute clip alone, I can tell you that he will be an awesome villain. In the clip, we see him and his merry band of mercenaries take over a plane controlled by the CIA as they are attempting to capture this guy called Dr. Pavel. We don't know who he is, what he is a doctor of, or why he is so important, we just know that Bane wants him for whatever plan he has for Gotham. I don't want to give away more than that, but I will say that while they may not have gone the venom route with this character (at least I don't know if they have yet) we do know that Bane will be a big dude and will be uber strong (we see him break out of his handcuffs with complete ease). He and his men also have some sort of call sign that they say to each other: 'The fire rises'. Besides that, all I can say is that I am more than excited for July.

One thing I will say, however is that a lot of people have complained that Bane is a little hard to understand. I personally did not have that problem, but I hear that while Chris Nolan doesn't want to completely change the sound of Bane's voice (he is wearing a mask very ala Darth Vader and I think he might have an accent as well), there will at least be tweaks to the audio to make him more understandable.

Top Ten Favorite Directors

These are the ten directors who I get excited for when I see their name attached to a movie. I would like to start this out by saying that there are directors who I like but won't be making this list for one reason: They're dead. That doesn't mean I like them less, but in order for me to say they're my favorite, I want to be able to say that I can look forward to what they are going to make in the future. Directors like Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra and Orson Welles are the big ones that I am thinking about. I've liked what I have seen of their's but since they are no longer with us, I won't put them under "Favorites". That being said, let's get right into my favorite directors, and the movies that I like the most from them.

1. Martin Scorsese- Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Hugo, The Departed
2. Christopher Nolan- The Dark Knight, Inception, Memento
3. Quentin Tarantino- Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds, Reservoir Dogs
4. Joel and Ethan Coen- No Country for Old Men, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, True Grit
5. Ridley Scott- Bladerunner, Alien, American Gangster
6. David Fincher- Fight Club, Se7en, The Social Network
7. Tim Burton- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Ed Wood, Batman
8. Michael Mann- Heat, The Last of the Mohicans, Public Enemies
9. Peter Jackson- The Lord of the Rings trilogy
10. Clint Eastwood- Mystic River, Unforgiven, Gran Torino, Letters From Iwo Jima

Hero of the day- Professor Abraham Van Helsing

She lives beyond the grace of God. She is Vampyr, Nosferatu... So my friends, we fight not one beast but legions that go on age after age, feeding on the blood of the living

This guy belongs in the same category as Father Merrin in that (aside from Count Dracula) he is the most interesting character in the story (whether it is the book or the film). We don't meet him until about halfway through the story and again, even though we don't know jack shit about this guy, he is still one of the most interesting characters in the book. He's like the Obi-Wan Kenobi of vampire killing and proves it when he single handedly kills all three of Dracula's wives and tosses their heads off a cliff. He is also very knowledgeable in the ways of things that would have no purpose outside of this story. When he was investigating an illness that had everybody stumped, he knew that the girl was the victim of a vampire and had no problem asking her fiancee to stake her once she had returned from the grave. Now that is hardcore! Later on, he would lead a posse of men to take Dracula head on and would bring the vampire count's life to an end. On a side note, he has also been played by some of the most well known actors on screen. Most people know about Anthony Hopkins, but there is also Christopher Plummer and even Peter Cushing, who apparently played him like six times!

Hero of the Day- Jack Bauer

Damn it!

Where do I begin? This guy is like MacGyver and John McClane rolled into one. The show 24 was awesome for a lot of reasons, and each of those reasons was all the different ways we got to see Jack Bauer kill somebody. And it didn't matter what they threw at this guy, he still wouldn't die. He even died and it turned out he hadn't died. How does that make sense? I don't know, but it happened! I will tell you that one of the saddest days of my life was the day I found out that they weren't going to bring 24 back for another season. And considering I found that out a few days before my birthday... yeah that was not fun.

Top ten Disney movies

Over the years, one film studio has captured audiences the way no other studio could, and that studio is Walt Disney Pictures. Think about it, Disney has practically become their own genre. I have even heard people split movies up into lists of "Disney" and "Non-Disney". Some of the first movies we have ever seen have come from Disney, and that really says something. And the fact that they are reaching out to kids first and foremost and adults second, you really have to admire that, and admire it even more when they are able to make movies that reach across the table and are entertaining for everyone. So, here is my list of my top ten favorite Disney flicks. And this is the top ten that does not include The Nightmare Before Christmas. I think it's a little redundant to put it here because you all know that it's one of my favorite movies overall and would be taking the number 1 spot easily. Some of these I like because they still hold up and others I like because of nostalgia reasons.

1. The Lion King- This was one of the first movies I ever saw in theaters, and for that, it has a special place in my heart.
2. Aladdin- yet another great movie, Robin Williams as the genie is just fantastic
3. The Great Mouse Detective- I never knew that Vincent Price was the villain until recently.
4. Sword in the Stone- This is more for nostalgia purposes. I liked it as a kid and I like it now just thinking back on it.
5. Fantasia-I actually like this one more now that I am older and can appreciate the music and the imagery that goes with it. The whole package is just amazing.
6. Robin Hood- The idea of making Robin Hood a bunch of animals is pretty clever and they really make it work
7. Toy Story- One of the first movies I can remember seeing in the theater. And the third movie I saw a week after graduating from high school. You bet your ass I was sappy when I saw the third movie!
8. Ichabod and Mr. Toad- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow bit is a classic piece of animation
9. Alice in Wonderland- Those of you who have seen me get quirky should probably know that I get a lot of inspiration from the characters in this movie. They are all hilarious, but you wonder if they are all there mentally.
10. Peter Pan- Every boys day dream.

Hero of the Day- Martin Brody

Smile you son of a bitch!

This guy killed a giant freaking shark by blowing it up with a rifle and an air tank... What have you done with your life? Whatever it is, it sure doesn't measure up with that! That might make him one of the coolest persons on this list... And the odd thing is he doesn't look like he would be the kind of person that would do that. Roy Scheider strikes me as being 'the every man'. Kind of your average joe sort of hero. Which makes the scene where he blows up the shark that much more awesome. Not to mention that he did it twice. Once in the original Spielberg film and another time in an unnecessary sequel. Thankfully though, his sons and aging wife were there to get the job done in the following unnecessary sequels. And his wife killed the shark by raming a boat into a pressure point of some sort and causing the shark to spontaneously combust. Now shouldn't that gain her a spot on this list? Nope, because nothing about that scene (or that movie for that matter) made a lick of sense. It makes about as much sense as having sequels to the movie Jaws.

Hero of the Day- The Bride

I'm better than Annie Oakley and I've got you right in my sights

I never thought that Uma Thurman was that hot… In fact, I still don’t think she’s all that attractive, but there is just something right about a woman who can kill a bunch of bodyguards with a ninja sword. She’s so awesome even The Comedian from Watchmen would look at her and say, “That bitch is crazy”. How many people did she kill in the Kill Bill movies? There was Bill, the Crazy 88, each member of the viper assassin squad (except Bud), the body count she stacks up is quite huge.