The Dark Knight Rises: The Honest Trailer

The Dark Knight Rises could have been even longer...

...if it actually used the scenes filmed to explain Bane's backstory. As is, TDKR doesn't really explain much of how Bane got the way he is; we know he needs the mask up pump himself full of painkillers, but why? Some deleted scenes would explain:

The thing that you should have seen during that sequence is [Bane] being injured in his youth. So one of the fundamental things about his costume is that he has this scar from the back injury. Even if he hasn't got the bulletproof vest on, he still has to wear the waist belt and the braces. In that scene in the prison, where he's learning to fight the same way Batman learned to fight, he's wearing an early version of his waist belt. It's showing support, but it's not the finished one he eventually wears. He's also wearing an early version of his gas mask, all glued together ... If you look at the film, unless they've cut it—and I'm sure they haven't—there's a whole early section for Tom Hardy where he's fighting and being taunted by people. He's got chains on him, and he's standing on a wooden thing while people are attacking him. And in that scene, he's wearing a much more ragged, primitive version of the mask.

The above quote is from costume designer Lindy Hemming, and we can only hope the DVD/Blu-ray edition will have those scenes intact.

Via Vulture

TDKR has 3rd largest opening weeked

Despite being marred by the "Batman Massacre" and the totals being withheld until today, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises still managed to open to the third best opening weekend in history, finishing behind The Avengers and the last Harry Potter movie with $160.9 million. It finished just above The Dark Knight's record-at-the-time $158.4 million.  TDKR's total may not have broken the record set earlier this year, but it is nothing to be frowned upon. It did not have the aid of 3D ticket sales and was hindered by a nearly 3 hour run time and the aforementioned tragedy; despite this it was the best opening for a 2D movie ever.  Next weekend will really dictate how well the film does, as a small drop in sales will predict good legs for the final installment.

Overall, I personally feel there are too many factors going against TDKR to beat The Avengers but I wouldn't be surprised if it came close or surpassed it.  Now strictly in terms of base ticket sales, I'd say Batman takes out the Avengers any day.  Stay tuned in the next few weeks, as the movie will certainly continue to rake in the money.

And if you haven't already done so, check out my "one word" review here.

The best reaction to the "Batman Massacre"

If you haven't already read about the tragic events that took place during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises, catch up here first.

Obviously nothing will fix what happened that night, and the families of the 12 people who lost their lives will never be the same.  But as it is with any tragedy, returning to a relatively normal life as soon as possible is the key to recovery. It makes it much easier to cope, and more importantly shows the evil people behind the acts that they won't continue to get under their skin. Which is why the actions of one survivor are admirable, and serve as a great reaction to James Holmes' thoughtless actions; he made headlines, now let him suffer the consequences.

Anyway, 16 year old Batman fan Justin Davis did what he set out to do on that fateful night and finished watching TDKR within a mere 24 hours.  He made a very powerful statement by essentially brushing off what Holmes did, and did so respectfully at that:

"I just want to finish it, and for all those men, women and children that didn’t get to finish it, I want to finish it for them.”

Very respectful coming from anyone, especially someone only 16 years young.

The Dark Knight turns into a massacre

On what should have been a great night of entertainment for everyone, one midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises turned into a night of horror.  24 year old student James Holmes walked into a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado (yes, like Columbine) and opened fire on an ususpecting audience after Batma's first appearance in the film. He had 4 weapons in his possession, including an AR-15 assault rifle (capable of storing 100 rounds of ammunition). After emerging looking similar to the character Bane from TDKR, Holmes threw smoke bombs and fired shot into their air, which many people believed to be part of the movie or a publicity stunt.  Unforunately, the events that unfolded were all too real.

When the entire ordeal was over, which only lasted a few minutes in real time but probably felt like a few hours to the witnesses, Holmes was arrested at his car decked out in full riot gear with the (legally purchased) weapons surrounding him.  The casualites from what is being called the "Batman Massacre" total 71, making it the largest mass shooting in United States history; 12 innocent people were killed, with another 59 injured.

To make this situation even stranger, the gunman told police he was "The Joker" and his apartment was booby trapped. He wasn't bluffing, as a large number of explosives were found by the bomb sqaud, as well as tripwires rigged to set them off.  He may have combined Batman villians, but Grade A psychopath indeed.  And the asshole didn't kill himself after the shooting, so I hope he rots in a jail cell the rest of his life.

Sources are all over the web, including ABC News with video.

One word review of The Dark Knight Rises

Yes, I saw it before you; I won tickets to an advance screening! Anyway:

Wowthatmayhavebeenthebestendingtoamovieeverdonotmissthelast15minutesanddidImentiontherestofitwasamazingtoodidIshedatear?

Pee-wee dubs The Dark Knight

On Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:

The Dark Knight Rises behind the scenes video

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via ComingSoon

New trailer for The Dark Knight Rises

Without further ado...

The Avengers sets record for opening weekend with over $200 million *UPDATE*

Yep, you read that right. The latest super hero flick, The Avengers, set a new record for opening weekend box office.  In just 3 days it has grossed an estimated $200.3 million domestically.  $80.5 million of that take was on Friday alone, making it the second highest single day total.  Saturday brought in another $69.7 million for The Avengers, making it the largest Saturday total of all time.  These numbers are all without the international totals, which have set records as well.  It'll be interesting to see how The Dark Knight Rises responds later this year.

UPDATE: The film grossed more than studio estimates, and finished with a 3 day total of  $207.4 million.  Wow. Already setting for best Saturday of all time, it also set the record for best Sunday of all time. 

The Dark Knight Rises Trailer

I'm sure most of you will see this before "The Avengers" this weekend, but here's a sneak peek at the awesome trailer for "The Dark Knight Rises". Enjoy.

The Sweded "Dark Knight Rises" Trailer

Hilarity via BuzzFeed

Check out my previous post for the official trailer.

The Dark Knight Rises official trailer

The Dark Knight Rises teaser poster

Click for full size

Sorry, no Batman at Occupy Wall Street

Came across this interesting tidbit of information today and figued I'd share.

Since The Dark Night Rises had been filming in New York, it was rumored they would film during the Occupy Wall Street protests.  This ended up not happening -at least not officially, as I'm sure several Batmans attended- and here's why according to actor Matthew Modine:

"The wisdom of Christopher Nolan and his incredible team was that, while it seemed like a good idea to give [the protestors] an opportunity for work, to give them money, it would send a terrible message.  At the end of the day, we're making a movie. What's happening down there is more important than that. To co-opt what's happening there and around the country ... we didn't want to trivialize it. It was more important to respect what they're doing than to do anything that could potentially trivialize the political situation downtown."

Via Vulture 

The Dark Knight Rises

Set photos from The Dark Knight Rises

From Batman-News.com via ComingSoon.net