The dark knight rises

Christopher Nolan concludes his Batman trilogy in typically spectacular, ambitious fashion with The Dark Knight Rises, but the feeling of frustration and disappointment is unshakable. Maybe nothing could have met the expectations established by 2008’s The Dark Knight, which revolutionised and set the standard for films based on comic books by being both high-minded and crowd-pleasing. With Christian Bale as his tortured superhero starting from 2005’s Batman Begins, Nolan has explored the complicated and conflicting motivations of man as well as the possibility of greatness and redemption within society.

Here, as director and co-writer, he’s unrelenting in hammering home the dread, the sorrow, the sense of detachment and futility of a city on the brink of collapse with no saviour in sight. With so many new characters who are all meant to function in significant ways that The Dark Knight Rises feels overloaded.

It does feature the kind of impeccable production values we’ve come to expect from Nolan’s films; but his approach is so coldly cerebral that it’s a detriment to the film’s emotional core. This is the problem when you’re an exceptional, visionary filmmaker. When you give people something extraordinary, they expect it every time. Anything short of that feels like a letdown.

The film is rated PG-13 for violence and action, sensuality and language. Running time: 164 minutes. — AP

DVD reviews: New releases and classics in stores

Jackie Brown (1997) ®

Quentin Tarantino’s adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch released soon after his superhit films — Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Touted as one of his more ‘grown-up’ films, Jackie Brown is about a flight attendant of the same name who smuggles money from Mexico to the United States for a gun runner — Ordell Robbie to make ends meet. When one of Ordell’s men gets caught, he decides to kill him, but before Ordell can reach him, the man reports Jackie to the police who then gets arrested. She, however, strikes a deal with Ordell and the cops to bring them large amounts of money, but in the end plays the game to suit herself.

Duration: 154 minutes

Genre: Crime thriller

What’s good: Plot, stellar performances, humour
What’s bad: A tad slow

Cast: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Bridget Fonda, Robert De Niro, Micheal Keaton, Robert Forster 


Rating: ΗΗΗΗΗ

The Lucky One (2012) (PG-13)

US Marine Logan Thibault escapes death a few times while in Iraq, and he thinks it is because of a photograph of a young woman he finds lying about in the war zone: it becomes his talisman. Upon return to the US, he tracks down the woman, Beth Clayton, in order to thank her and ends up falling in love with her. Some complications — in the form of Beth’s ex-husband primarily — and misunderstandings follow, and the lovers are torn apart, before the ever-so-slightly contrived ending reels. The movie is adapted from Nicholas Sparks’ bestseller.

Duration: 101 minutes

Genre: Drama

What’s good: Good chemistry between the lead pair, a lovely rendition by Blythe Danner and the languid countryside setting

What’s bad: The clichés

Cast: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Jay R. Ferguson, 
Blythe Danner

Rating: ΗΗΗΗΗ