The Dark Knight (2008) - 4K Review

Review:

*Originally written September 9th, 2018*

Oh, boy. There is a lot to take in here. I've seen The Dark Knight at least a dozen times since its release a decade ago (A decade ago? What the fuck?), it's a film I'd always loved and was easily my favourite comic-book film up until Logan was released last year. That said, upon this rewatch, this just jumped back up to my numero uno superhero film and it still has a place in the my top 10 of all-time.

It's just such a huge improvement all around coming of Batman Begins. It opens to one of the best and most inventive bank heists in film. It truly is one hell of a way to open things off, yet they still manage to top things from there. Every set-piece is a feast for the eyes and insanely impressive on a technical and visual level. It never goes over the top and it all feels real, much like Fury Road or Mission Impossible: Fallout. I'm always consistently impressed when directors go for practical effects or CGI, it always shows and pays off.

Nolan's decision to use IMAX cameras for some scenes was a great choice and really shows off the impressive scale of what he outs on the screen. Also helped by just how much better visually those scenes look quality wise. The 4K disc is a 5 star ride all the way, but the IMAX scenes shine in particular.

This would all be for nothing though if the story wasn't good, but it is. The Dark Knight is still the defining Batman experience. We dig deeper into Bruce Wayne's psychology than we've ever seen before and Christian Bale seems far more comfortable in his role than he last time, fully embracing his role as Batman while his time as Bruce Wayne takes a backseat. I always forget how fast The Dark Knight moves about, it's 2 and a half hours, but goes by like it's nothing. It's one of those rare films that defies the law of diminishing returns.

I've obviously got to talk about the late Heath Ledger and yes, despite the "We live in a society" and Gang Weed memes nearly derailing the character into cringe, he still holds as one of the best film villains of all-time. I hadn't rewatched this since seeing Suicide Squad, and while I didn't mind Leto's Joker. Ledger's Joker just makes a complete embarrassment of him. Ledger completely embodies the role, giving The Joker an array of small ticks and moments that I'm still only noticing today. One of the smaller things I'd never noticed is that he never looks at someone in the face when he kills them, he's always looking off in a different direction or with his back turned to the person he's murdering.

He's the ultimate challenge for Batman and his plan, or lack of a real plan is what makes The Dark Knight's plot far more interesting than most. It's villain isn't motivated by money or power, he's simply interested in bringing out the worst in people and proving that deep down, everyone is just as crazy or bad as each other. It creates far more interesting tension and motivation for Batman compared to a nuclear bomb going off in the city (Oh, I'll get to Dark Knight Rises, don't you worry).

As incredible as this all is, there are just some things that Christopher Nolan just can't seem to get right and have only been made worse since they've been brought up by the internet. 90% of the dialogue from the police and extras are just awful. Everything a cop says is just a cliche line that is painful to here, made worse by some truly awful delivery. A character genuinely says "I didn't sign up for this"...

While everyone talks about Heath Ledger's Joker as the main talking point for The Dark Knight, it's disappointing how underappreciated Aaron Eckhart is as Harvey Dent. His arc is tragic and compelling. I always forget about him before every watch, but when I'm watching it I'm always pleasantly surprised at how good he is. His chemistry with Rachel (A much better Maggie Gyllenhaal) works and creates an interesting dynamic that goes to horrible places towards the end.

I always remember this getting a lot of people riled up for how dark and violent it was for a superhero film aimed at kids, but while this is a comic-book film, it is so different in tone to what we've seen before, it feels more like a Michael Mann crime-epic than a costumed fluff piece. It's brooding and really violent, it pushes that 12 rating as far as it can go, but isn't without the odd bit of editing that is a little confusing. especially in the scene where The Joker cuts Gumble's throat, but is done in such an awkward manner that it looks like he cut his cheeks open.


I just wish Christopher Nolan was able to keep up the quality of The Dark Knight, as it still holds up. It's not just the best comic-book film ever made, it's one of the best action or crime thrillers, full stop. on a technical level and performance level, everyone is on top form here. It's an unforgettable 150 minutes and one I'll continue watching till I die.

10/10 Dans

The Dark Knight is out now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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The Incredible Hulk (2008) - 4K Review

Review:

*Originally written September 1st, 2018*

I know The Incredible Hulk gets a lot of flack for its quality and it has more or less been forgotten in the overall run of the MCU and it's not hard to see why, but in all honesty, it's just a remarkably okay entry. It's no less aggressively mediocre than the first Avengers film, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Iron Man 2 or a bunch of the other 3 star entries of the MCU. 

It's all just by the numbers and competent. It's a huge step down from the first Iron Man in terms of freshness, but it still has its merits. Edward Norton makes for a great Bruce Banner, he lacks the goofy charm Ruffalo later brings to the role, but Norton goes for something different and a bit more serious and I was okay with that.

My biggest gripe is that studios don't seem to know what to do with The Hulk in his own film. I have very little memory of Ang Lee's Hulk, but I remember that being truly awful. This reboot covers a lot of ground we already know and have seen in countless other comic-book  films. Guy with powers is on the run from the government while not being being to be with the woman he loves, while ironically her father is the man hunting him. It's all just fine. 

It's always fun to see the Hulk smash shit up and while the CGI on The Hulk himself hasn't aged massively well, it's still enjoyable chaos with some memorable bursts of action. One could argue Hulk looks too much like Daddy Shrek, but this is definitely not a problem for me.

There's also the annoying superhero film trope of the villain having the same powers as the hero and using them for evil, which is exactly what happens here. Tim Roth is a fine actor, highly underrated even and while it was somewhat of a joy to see him ham it up outrageously, when he actually turns into abomination, I had unfortunate flashbacks to Doomsday in Batman vs Superman. Which is also an ugly, cave troll looking piece of CGI. That said, I wish they would have brought Roth back in the MCU at some point, but I can confidently assume that will never happen now.

Some of more minor things I liked here are a few little moments. There were some nice moments between Banner and Betty Rose, even if she is another one of the MCU's disposable love interests that are nothing less than an afterthought. They really need to work on that. Then there's the heart rate monitor watch that Banner uses to stop himself becoming the Hulk. It might be a bit of a cheap move that maybe simplifies his change a bit much, but I don't know, I thought it was a nice touch.


There's not really a lot else to say here, The Incredible Hulk probably deserves the hate it receives, but I kinda like it, it's remarkably watchable and does very little in the way of interesting, but in terms of the MCU, it's just another watchable, if forgettable entry. Universal and Disney need to sort out the rights issues so at least one of them can make another solo Hulk film again.

6/10 Dans

The Incredible Hulk is out now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD now in the UK
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In Bruges (2008) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written January 26th, 2018*

It's been a while since I've seen In Bruges and when I last saw it, I was far too young to appreciate how truly great this hilarious, violent and horrific crime-comedy was. After seeing Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri recently, I knew the time was right to finally revisit this.

And it was worth it, this was far better, meaningful and more funny than ever remember it being. Yes, it's violent, foul-mouthed and mean-spirited at times, but it does have a beating heart at the centre of it with the two lead, morally confused hit-men played by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. 

After two hit-men fail a job due to the accidental death of a bystander, they are ordered to lay low in the Belgium city of Bruges. Much of the film is just these two characters exploring the city while discussing their feelings of regret and guilt surrounding their work, and it works very well. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Colin Farrell as an actor overall, but he nails it here as the conflicted hitman who caused the death of a child. Brendan Gleeson is also great here as the more focused and more member as the duo, which surprises me as Gleeson is an actor I usually associate with atrocious British crime films, so it was nice to see him pop up one one that was actually good.

By far the most memorable performance was Ralph Fiennes as the boss of the two hit-men, he plays it utterly psychotic and it is just a pure joy to watch every scene he's in. He reminded me a lot of Ben Kingsley's character in Sexy Beast. There's something about his performance that adds a lot to what could have been a one-note psychopath, but Fiennes really manages to bring complexity to the character.

The titular city of Bruges is actually a really gorgeous place too and made for some gorgeous cinematography. The city in surreal and fairy tale like. I always appreciate a film that takes place in a sleepy town that mixes chaotic, extreme violence and bizarre scenes that include a dwarf on ketamine. I'd forgot just how violent this film was too, there is some really extreme stuff here, especially in the last act, which it builds to perfectly.

Even with its dark subject matter, it's extremely funny too and filled with a ton of memorable lines and jokes. There are some fantastic pay-offs to throwaway scenes that are there if you pay enough attention to the dialogue, it almost reminded me of Edgar Wright. I'm sure I'll find even more to love on rewatches with In Bruges. 


Martin McDonagh's debut film is a triumph and so far, the strongest film in his career, a darkly funny, brutal and often touching story of two hit-men in Bruges. I can't wait to watch this again.

10/10 Dans

In Bruges is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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Taken (2008) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written May 5th, 2015*


Taken is a straight-forward action film from 2008 and Liam Neeson's first fully fledged foray into action films after brief appearances in films like Batman Begins and The Phantom Menace.

Liam Neeson plays Bryan Mills, an ex CIA whose daughter is kidnapped in France while following around U2 on a European tour. That's basically the story, and while it takes a good half an hour of the film to get here, after that it is all non-stop chaos and balls out the bath action.

Liam Neeson really proves here that he is capable of carrying action films, which obviously paid off as he's doing about an average of 2-3 action films a year at the moment, even if the results are hit and miss. He commands the screen with his presence and handles action scenes extremely well. His character here is completely no-nonsense and executes bad-guys mid sentence.

The violence here is brutal and gritty and goes to places like the sex-slave trade, which is a pretty dark subject for action films these days and it's a shame that the sequels completely neuter the violence and tone for a more silly and toned down family friendly appeal.

One of the best things about Taken aside from it's brutal violence and Liam Neeson, is the fact it's length is barely 90 minutes. Which gives way to a very breezy watch, even if the first 30 minutes are a bit of a drag to get through and makes a change from action films these days that have a habit of being about 140 minutes plus.

A minor criticism of Taken is the lack of a compelling villain. The bad-guys on display are all faceless Albanians who are nothing but bullet bait for Liam Neeson. Although, I'm not sure if they a big overlooking villain would have worked for the narrative, as the big bad guy at the end does not even get introduced till the final action scene 80-minutes in.

7/10 Dans

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Defiance (2008) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written October 12th, 2017*

"Fuck Zwick"

While a solid war film, Zwick's clunky sentimentality and script gets in the way of what could have been a great war film. Daniel Craig is great as the lead, once you get past his accent. There is also some decent and visceral action, it's a shame it's ruined by some strange creative choices. There's a set-piece where the Jewish rebels have to steal medicine for their camp and it's done in this really strange slow-motion that made me think my disc might have been scratched. It was so out of place.

I did like the morality side of things. These rebels were portrayed in a very grey area, which is a risky move in a film about Jewish people fighting back in World War 2. They could have gone completely one sided, but it definitely helped the film by having these murky morals.

This script had some really cringey and bad lines too. At one point Daniel Craig's love interest tells him "You saved me", to which he responded "No. You saved me". Brutal. There's some more lines like that spread throughout, not that I remember much of it. 

Also, featured the obligatory "Lead actor is in an explosion, gets up and sees the chaos around him while the noise is droned out by ringing". Lame.  


I have a feeling revisiting Blood Diamond and The Last Samurai as an adult might be a bad idea at some point. Zwick is not a very good director. Defiance is still far from his godawful low point of a Jack Reacher sequel though.

6/10 Dans

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Quarantine (2008) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written June 29th, 2017*

"Braindead"

A rather pointless, albeit competently made remake of a much better Spanish horror film starring a TV actress.

People who are too lazy or stupid to read subtitles deserve films this uninspired. It doesn't help that I'd only rewatched the excellent REC very recently, so I felt like I'd seen it all before (Which I had, seeing as this is a more or less shot-for-shot remake).

God knows what the straight-to-DVD sequel to this is like, I'll probably get round to it at some point.

My favourite stuff in this was Jennifer Carpenter hanging out with the firefighters for the first 10 minutes or so.

Blah. I have nothing to say. Just watch the original REC instead, it's better, more effective and you'll thank me after.
  
5/10 Dans

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Iron Man (2008) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written December 29th, 2015*

"Strong beginnings"

Marking the start of Marvel's 'Cinematic Universe', Iron Man is a really great start to a franchise that has been victim to the law of diminishing returns as of late. Not saying they're bad, they just aren't as fresh or fun as they like to think they are.

Following Robert Downey Jr as a sarcastic billionaire weapons dealer who gets captured by terrorists in the Middle East and escapes, but changes his ways to stop making weapons and helps people instead... with a suit, that is essentially a weapon.

I did like the progression of Tony Stark's character. He's an asshole, but he's an asshole you hate to love. He's nothing more than a playboy that also happens to be a scientific genius. Despite this, there is a certain charm to Robert Downey Jr's performance that I can't see the role of Tony Stark being played by anyone else. The guy is a charisma magnet. I found him much more endearing than say the humble Captain America, or any of the other Avengers for that matter.

Jeff Bridges plays Obidiah Stone, the villain of the piece, and while he is a more interesting villain than most of the MCU, that really doesn't say much. By the end of it, he is just another throwaway villain that ends up fighting the hero with powers that are the same as the hero, but evil. Yawn.

There are some fun action scenes though. The first 40 minutes are easily the strongest, especially with Tony in captivity and it feels weird to see the small beginnings of these films that mostly seem to end with a whole city being leveled in a CGI frenzy. Here, things seem more restrained and it works.

As the first film in the now huge MCU, there is obviously some world building. We get the first appearance of Agent Coulson, a good character, but he's not given a lot to do here rather than say the name of his agency. Then in the first post credits sting we have Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury, trying to recruit Tony to the Avengers Initiative. I'm sure the film was also littered with references to Marvel comics and what not, but I don't really know any of that stuff.

Iron Man is great start to Marvel's MCU, it is carried by Robert Downey Jr's charisma and there are a couple of shortcomings, but this was a lot of fun and I can't wait to go forward with my rewatch of the MCU.

8/10 Dans

Iron Man is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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The Happening (2008) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written June 11th, 2017*

 "It was the fucking plants, man"

While entertaining and watchable, there's no denying that The Happening is a laughably bad film. I saw this nearly 10 years ago and hadn't seen it since. Wow. I forgot how bad it is.

The script is garbage. The performances are god-awful (Zooey Deschanel in particular) and the whole film is nonsense. This could have been a fun B-movie if it didn't take itself so seriously, despite being so unintentionally funny. Characters jump to and make conclusions out of nowhere in the silliest ways possible. I think the funniest part of this whole ordeal is seeing Wahlberg play against type and being a school teacher rather than a criminal or cop.

I think it funny that this was billed as M. Night Shyamalan's first "R" rated film, but in the UK, has the same age rating as most of his other films due to our retarded censorship on tame horror films. The Sixth Sense is rated 15. Fucking LOL. That said, this is easily the most violent and grizzly out of all of M. Night's films.

The bursts of gore and variety of suicide scenes keeps The Happening watchable, but frustrating as it creates an interesting idea that nature turns against humanity after all we've done to it. Which is what I assume the message and point of the film is?

That's The Happening, a film deservedly ridiculed because of how bad it is. A film that Mark Wahlberg publicly mocked because "It was the fucking plants, man". I agree, it was the fucking plants. What nonsense this was. At least M. Night's career has picked up again after this and a couple more duds.

3/10 Dans

The Happening is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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