Top Ten Movies of 2012: Javi Edition

So this year was exceptionally fruitful when it came to movies. I have to admit, I haven't had such a hard time picking my top ten movies of the year since we started this blog. It's strange to think that while this year felt like it had a lot of let downs and just downright mediocre movies, there were gems that were sprinkled throughout the year. This year I had more movies on my list that actually didn't end up being as critically acclaimed as they should be either but were just better made.

As per is customary, I wanted to explain how I pick my movies. They have to have had a theatrical release during the current year, and there's no point, in my opinion, in highlight movies I've seen at a festival that other people can't see for another year or so. In addition, there's a huge and glaring omission from my list: DJANGO UNCHAINED. The reason for this being is that while I did see most of the movie, I was not able to see all of it due to the screening being shut down after some assholes got in a fight in our theater and someone pulled out a gun and the cops were called in. Anyway, Jonesy and I turned out to be OK. But that's why I didn't have the movie even in my honorable mentions, it didn't feel right not seeing a movie all the way through and considering it for my top ten.

But check out my top ten below in no particular order with my favorite movie at the end. 

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Review- He Said/She Said

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Written by: Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Morgan Freeman

Synopsis: The final chapter of Nolan's Batman trilogy. Batman must come out of hiding to defeat Bane who has plans to take over and bring down Gotham.

To commemorate the end of what can only be described as one of the more important movie franchises in recent history, we will be doing something a little unusual. We will be posting short separate reviews here. Then, later on in the weekend, we will be posting a discussion that will encompass the movie in a more spoiler-y manner and in context of the entire series of movies.


On a more serious note, regarding the terrible news coming out of Aurora, Colorado, we offer our condolences to the victims of the heinous shooting. We don't deal with politics here much and now is not the time, but rather a time of respect for the loss of fellow fans that were lost in a senseless crime.

So here...we...go!

MONDO Appeases the Whiners and Will be Making an Olly Moss THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Available for 24 Hours!

As movie nerds that live relatively close to the Alamo Drafthouse, we are big fans of their boutique poster department Mondo. For those that aren't familiar, they release gorgeous prints by contemporary artists and even the legendary Drew Struzan. They always release their posters in very limited quantities at random times of the day. The only way to know when they will be on sale is to follow their Twitter account. Thanks to my own luck and Jonesy's awesome X-mas and birthday presents, I've managed to snag a couple of awesome pieces. The problem that happens every time, especially if you're on Twitter with movie nerds, is how many people ALWAYS complain about not getting one. There is nothing worse than seeing man children bitching about not getting a movie poster online. Mondo posters and their economy are what they are for better or for worse. There will always be more posters that I want than what I will be able to get. Unfortunately, it is what it is.

But! The good folks at Mondo have heard the cries. They will be commemorating what will be one of the most popular movies of the year along with one of its most popular artist by releasing the Olly Moss THE DARK KNIGHT RISES print you see above. The catch is that they will be printing as many as are ordered for a full 24 hours.  The poster will be $40 and then they will be offering a 180 limited edition varian for $100. This is the closest that you will ever get to having a retail Mondo poster release, so jump on it.

The poster will be on sale starting Wednesday, July 18 at 12:01 am CST time and end at 11:59 pm. So follow this link for the original post and don't forget to follow @MondoNews on Twitter for updates.

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THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Trailer Drops! The Internet Freaks Out!

Javi here. Late last night, the Warner Brothers YouTube account posted the third trailer for the final Batman movie by director Christopher Nolan, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. What's interesting about this trailer is that once again, Bruce Wayne and Batman are not really the focus of it. Instead, you have Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anne Hathaway as John Blake and Selina Kyle taking precedence and we hear that Bane actually sounds pretty clear. In addition, the YouTube page confirms the name of Marion Cotillard's character, Miranda Tate. But you don't want to hear me talk about it. Hit the jump for the trailer.

New THE DARK KNIGHT RISES photos

Summer seems like forever away, but it will sneak up on us before you know it. No doubt that the final chapter of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is on top of many people's most anticipated for the year. Over the holiday season, we were treated to an awesome teaser trailer. Today, Entertainment Weekly released five new photos from the movie, including Gary Oldman in action, a better look at Christian Bale in his suit, and of course, more Tom Hardy as Bane.

Check it out after the jump.

Second THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Trailer Is Here

Javi here. So here is the big one, the second trailer for director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, has arrived. It was attached to SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL at the midnight screenings but now has been released officially. Check out the trailer at the jump and check out the link since Apple's Quicktime site is has downloadable versions of the trailer. Many thanks to ComingSoon.Net for the high quality embed.

Check out a few of my observations after the jump. Beware of potential spoilers.

The Legend Will End; New THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Teaser Poster Revealed

Javi here. So, yes we have refrained from posting about every set photo & "viral" marketing non-sense associated with THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. But today, Super Hero Hype has shown off a new teaser poster for the third and last Christopher Nolan Batman movie. Check it out after the jump.

Batman and Bane Fully Revealed In New Empire Magazine Cover

So apart from being super busy, and not wanting to be complete hit-whores, we haven't been posting too much about director Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT RISES until the really juicy stuff comes up. And this weekend's reveal is relatively juicy. For the past few months we have been getting lots sneaky set pictures of Batman, Bane, and Catwoman, but this weekend after a contest held by the magazine, Empire revealed the first looks at Bane and Batman. They will appear in next month's issue. Check out the slightly larger pictures after the jump.

In This Week's Installment Of "People Freaking Out Way Too Much": Possible First Looks At The Batwing from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Javi here, I wanted to write about this a while ago, but if you know where I work and what's been going on, I've been really really busy.  But hey! It's the weekend, so let's talk some obligatory weekly THE DARK KNIGHT RISES news.  Apparently there's been a reported sighting of what people speculate might be the Batwing.  Thanks to Batman-News for the pics and subsequent video. Check them out after the break.

First look at Catwoman from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

You knew it was a matter of time.  Earlier this week, photos surfaced of Bane from the upcoming Batman movie.  Now, Warner Bros officially released our first photo of Selina Kyle aka Catwoman.  This revamped Catwoman's costume was described earlier as "more tactile, like the comic book and less sexy than the Michelle Pfeiffer or Halle Berry's Catwoman costume".

How can she move in that?

A little too Halloween-y for me

Check it out after the break.

First Look at Bane from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

I don't think there's a question that THE DARK KNIGHT RISES will be THE movie next summer.  The craze and anticipation have only been heightened with the release of the teaser poster and trailer.  Now, we have pictures from the set of Tom Hardy as Bane.

Check out the pictures after the break...

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES teaser trailer! Now with a 100% less annoying Harry Potter fans!

Javi here, just wanting to pop in and show you guys the new teaser for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES! So many questions in just a couple of minutes.  And so begins the end of the best superhero movie series....

Hell yes for the day: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES teaser poster

Rumor has it the teaser trailer for THE DARK KNIGHT rises will be attached to Harry Potter this weekend. Let us hope so.

But for now enjoy and geek out a bit over the new teaser poster:

Hell yes!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES will be released on July 20, 2012 starring Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt

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THE DARK KNIGHT RISES- Tom Hardy as Bane revealed!

Once again, director Christopher Nolan has nailed a potentially goofy character and adapted him to a more realistic look.  He did this with the Joker in THE DARK KNIGHT, and now he has done it with Bane in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's role in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Revealed! (SPOILERS)

It's not secret that I'm such a fan of twitter's own @HitRecordJoe or Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as he is known in other circles. When I heard earlier that he would be coming to the final installment of the BATMAN saga by director Christopher Nolan, I was even more excited. And now we have word from Variety about who exactly he will be playing. In the interest of keeping people as spoiler free, I'll put his role below. The character itself cold lead to speculation about the plot of the movie so be warned.

SPOILER!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES plot points revealed. Possible spoilers

This is an interesting bit of news coming from the Batman front. Seeing as how we will know very little, it's great to hear new things even if they are rumors.

It's official: Batman has its villian and villianess

 

Finally, all the casting rumors swirling around The Dark Knight Rises can be put to bed.  This morning LA Times broke the news that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Catwoman.  Christopher Nolan states, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.”


 Couldn't agree more!  I, Jonesy, have loved Hathaway since her debut in The Princess Diaries and loved her even more in her raw performance in Rachel Getting Married.  She will put a fresh spin on the role that was made iconic by Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry made Razzie award winning.


 I, Javi, am not all that excited for this casting, but since I trust Nolan, I will be cautiously optimistic about it. My apprehension mostly comes from the type of character that Selina Kyle/Catwoman is, which is one of a seductress and a complete bad-ass.   Catwoman first appeared in Batman #1 back in 1940 and has had a varied history from going from a stereotypical villain where she was a cat thief (ha ha get it?), to an unlikely ally and even romantic interest to Batman.  I know that Hathaway is not all "PRINCESS DIARIES", and she is a very talented actress with a wide range, but it's the fighter/thief side of Catwoman's personality that I find it difficult to believe Hathaway could pull off.

She will be joining Tom Hardy, who has been cast as Batman's other villain, Bane.  Nolan said, I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.”  Bane first appeared Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 (January 1993). He was a prisoner that was experimented on and had a steady supply of venom, which endows him with super strength.  He is most famous as the enemy that broke Batman's back in the mid 1990's, and he has since become one of the more dynamic and rather interesting villains in Batman's Rouge's Gallery. After the atrocity that was committed during BATMAN & ROBIN, it will be interesting to see if Nolan will take advantage of the nuances and complexities of this character.


Finally, I, Javi, will say that it is interesting that both of these characters are first purely antagonistic towards Batman, but at certain points they both become either allies or anti-heroes.  I think that there is a lot of ground to mine from and it will be interesting to see where Nolan goes from here.  




The Dark Knight Rises is set to release July 20, 2012.