Top 10 Tuesday: Movie Sequels

Here are the 10 best movie sequels of all-time.  Only sequels to an original film are considered.  So no "sequels of a sequel" on this list, if it's part of a series it has to be the second.  With so many great sequels to choose from like Hangover 2, Iron Man 2 and Jurassic Park 2 it was really hard to find just 10.

Honorable Mention: Scream 2, Halloween II, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Batman Returns, Aliens, Bad Boys II

10. Blade II (2002)

9. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)

8. X2 (2003)

7. American Pie 2 (2001)

6. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

5. Die Hard 2 (1990)

4. The Devil's Rejects (2005)

3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)

2. Star Wars Episode V: Empire Strikes Back (1980)

1. The Dark Knight (2008)

Rich Reviews: The Dark Knight Rises

Chances are you have already seen The Dark Knight Rises.  Well I didn't see it til this past Saturday, so here is my review anyway.

The Dark Knight Rises is good.  In fact it's very good, but not great.  I preferred The Dark Knight to any other in this trilogy or any Batman film prior and now sense.  This most recent installment was facing some tough obstacles right out of the gate.  The main villain in the film, Bane, is some what limited.  He talks through a mask with a funny accent, making him difficult to understand at times.  Bane made his comics debut in 1993, that's more than 50 years after Batman was introduced and certainly long after many of his most infamous counterparts hit the big time (Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, etc.) 

That is not my main complaint, as "newer" villains can certainly be very complex, entertaining and all of that.  (In fact, I wish Harley Quinn was somehow included in The Dark Knight along with the Joker).  But Banes story, although interesting in its own right, could never live up to The Joker, or even Two-Face, The Riddler (if done the right way) and others.  Tom Hardy did a great job playing Bane, Christopher Nolan utilized Bane probably as well as you could, and still its a far cry from The Joker (Heath Ledger's performance, combined with the history of the character, his standing amongst all-time super villains, and that incredible relationship between Batman and him.). 

So going into the movie, I knew that the best Bane could only go so far, and I was proven right.  My other complaint going in was the decision to cast Anne Hathaway as Catwoman.

Don't get me wrong, she is a great actress, probably a better actress than any in the age bracket for this Catwoman.  But she's not hot.  I don't see it.  Mila Kunia, Natalie Portman, Megan Fox (after 10 years worth of acting lessons... ok then she's out), would have been better.  But the truth is, Hathway was fine. 

I thought they could have explained Catwoman and Bane's stories a little bit more, that might have helped with both of them for me.  No spoilers here, but the film takes place 8 years after the last, and these two new characters seem to be thrown in a bit. 

I understand that The Dark Knight Rises is meant as a conclusion to the trilogy.  With that said, I felt it served as a pretty good wrap up.  It's a very solid film both for the Batman die hards and the comic book novices out there.  I recommend it, but don't think there is any way to compare it to the Ledger driven Dark Knight. 

8/10

(Batman Begins probably gets an 8/10, I'll have to see Rises again to really break the tie and determine which is better.  The Dark Knight is definitely 10/10.)

-Keefe

The Dark Knight Rises Preview

We are roughly 4 months away (July 20 release) from The Dark Knight Rises, the 3rd installment in the Christopher Nolan, Batman Series. Honestly, I am consciously optomistic about it. Batman Begins was great, The Dark Knight was even better, therefore the stakes are high.

Anne Hathaway as Catwoman? Doesn't sound good on paper, but neither did Heath Ledger as The Joker. Bane is the lead bad guy (no Joker), how will that play out? Either way I'm in.



-Keefe

Keefe's Oscar Picks

This Sunday marks the 81st annual Academy Awards. Being the huge movie fan that I am, I will share with you my picks for the most prestigious awards in Hollywood.

Best Picture: The Dark Knight

(What? This movie wasn't nominated? Forget it.)

Best Actor: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Best Actress: Liv Tyler (The Strangers)

(This movie was scary! Well kind of, could have been better. She's in the mix right?)

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

Best Supporting Actress: Rosie Perez (The Pineapple Express)

(Great film, great acting. She wasn't nominated either? Nevermind.)

Best Director: Jon Favreau (Iron Man)

Ok, I'm going to stop. I've seen The Dark Knight and The Wrestler, that's it. Nothing else gets nominated. Where's Iron Man, The Pineapple Express, Strange Wilderness, Incredible Hulk, The Strangers, and so many other fantastic cinematic treasures? The last 3 years I successfully picked, Crash, The Departed, and No Country for Old Men. This year? Who knows, everyone says Slumdog, so I'm rooting for the field.

Enjoy it. And let me know if you've seen any of the films up for best picture.

-Keefe

Rich Reviews: The Dark Knight

Is there a better comic book movie? I haven’t seen one. Simply put The Dark Knight is one of the best movies in years. The sequel to Batman Begins took home an opening weekend record of $155+ million. It was one of the most hyped up films in recent memory and more than lived up to it. I never wanted it to end. I’m not sure I have a single thing to complain about. It’s easy to get let down by a movie after you’ve waited so long to see it, but that was not the case here. I want to see it again.

Christian Bale already became my favorite Batman following the last film. With all due respect to Michael Keaton, Bale was just better. He was a comparable Bruce Wayne, and a far superior Batman. Both men were better for the role than Val Kilmer and not even close to the forgettable effort my George Clooney in Batman & Robin. Bale brought the same intensity to his Batman and cockiness and swagger to his Wayne from the first. Bale’s stat line would be 2-2, 2 HR.

Director Christopher Nolan certainly made sure to put the “dark” in Dark Knight. At times I was almost surprised the film was rated PG-13. I guess as long as you don’t drop F bombs or show boobs anything can avoid the R rating. Clearly the movie executives wanted to make sure it wasn’t an R so it could capture the highest grossing opening weekend, but you could see how they could have crossed a line and just made it over the top. Perhaps an unrated DVD is in the future? But the film still delivered with implied violence and excellent camera work.

What put this movie over the top was the performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker. A year or two ago when I read that Ledger agreed to play the part, I admit I was very skeptical. How could he pull this off? I mean, Jack Nicholson was the Joker. It would be like recreating Star Wars with a new Han Solo or Ace Ventura with a different…Ace Ventura. Looked like an up hill struggle. But as you have seen, whether in the theater or on the previews, they just made him crazier, scarier, and well darker.

This ain’t your father’s Joker. Ledger portrays an absolute psycho path who has nothing to lose. His makeup is fantastic, and his performance is one of the best villains I have ever seen on screen. As I have mentioned before other super hero movies like Iron Man or Hulk lack popular/ fascinating villains. It’s the exact opposite in The Dark Knight. You’ll find yourself more interested in the Joker and even the chilling reincarnation of Two-Face more than Batman. And it’s no fault of Batman’s because he too is very good.

The acting is unparalleled for the typical comic book movie. I enjoy this films so much I always over look the less than stellar performances by the actors/actresses in movies such as X-Men or Fantastic 4. The Dark Knight is on par with any other Oscar nominated film. Bale, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman reappraise their roles from the 1st film along with the additions of Ledger, Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent/ Two-Face), and Maggie Gyllenhaal (in for Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes.) The cast is a Dominique Wilkins slam dunk. Wind mill style.

What more can I say about it? It’s one of the best movies I have seen in a while, I recommend it to everyone and anyone, whether you’re a comic fan or not. Even though I assume most of you have seen the film, I didn’t want to get into any kind of spoilers, but please leave a comment with your thoughts on the movie or any questions you may have.

Final Rating: 10/10

-Keefe