The Dark Knight Rises: Official Poster Release

The Internet has been going crazy this weekend with The Dark Knight Rises. First the viral campaign kicked into gear (it lead people to get free passes to an early screening of Prologue) and Christopher Nolan held a special screening for his directing peers and the movies news websites.

The reactions to the prologue have been overwhelmingly good, with the exception that people had a hard time understanding Tom Hardy's Bane. But even so, apparently that wasn't enough to detract from the amazing spectacle that everyone witnessed.

We began wondering if we would get anything else this weekend...a poster...a new trailer..anything. The users at nolanfans.com had basically given up hope when suddenly today, the official website was updated, revealing the new poster.



Its dark and cold and extremely foreboding. It gives us an amazing glimpse at the more than likely epic experience Christopher Nolan has in store for us come July. The man has yet to make a bad film, and it doesn't look like he is about to start with this one.

A side note to get people excited, once the official website was updated with the new poster, the teaser trailer would not work anymore. But in the coding for the website, it suggests that soon they are gearing up to release the full length theatrical trailer online. Hopefully that will happen this weekend, and the moment it does, I'll be posting about it.

Viral Marketing for The Dark Knight Rises

As with all Christopher Nolan films, The Dark Knight Rises is featuring an elaborate viral marketing campaign for the rabid fans. I took part in the one for The Dark Knight, which consisted of websites that would have clues that would lead you to other websites, dates and times usually rewarding the fans with the release of the new full length trailer or posters.

Inception also had one, but most of that campaign featured websites that were set in the "world" of Inception, and merely served to enhance the story.

The campain for The Dark Knight Rises kicked off today with the release of two "confidential" documents, one discussing that a nuclear scientist by the name of Dr. Leonid Pavel has gone missing, the other is a page of dialogue between two unknown people. Many lines and dates are blacked out. As of now we aren't sure whether this has any clues to more oncoming viral stuff, or is just serving as story to the prologue that comes out in few select IMAX theaters across the country.

And with that, here is the little information I have on Dr. Pavel and how I believe he ties in to the prologue.

SPOILERS:

Alon Aboutboul was cast as what was described as "mad scientist" type character. In the document he appears to be Dr. Pavel. According to the document a lot of people are after this guy. Which brings me to the prologue.
As of now the biggest, and most widely accepted rumour is that the prologue will feature an airplane that Bane is hijacking in order to kill an evil dictator. With this viral stuff I believe he is trying to kidnap Dr. Pavel, who i believe will be on the plane. We know from set photos that Bane has some sort of "doomsday" device. I think he kidnaps Pavel and makes him build this device. The prologue will be this kidnapping scene, and according to cinematogropher Wally Phfister, the opening sequence (prologue) is going to be mind blowing. I think it will be reminiscent of Inception's hallway fight.

I will be seeing the prologue on the 16th and will post my review about it shortly after, and will continue to post updates on the viral and normal campaigns

Below are the two documents released

The Dark Knight Rises: Details Revealed

After much torture and speculation, Christopher Nolan has finally shed a very small light on The Dark Knight Rises via this months Empire Magazine. Now I know alot of people are wanting to remain completely in the dark about this movie till they see it which is more than fine, but seeing as how Christopher Nolan himself released this info, its safe to say its very VERY minimal in the spoiler content.

"It’s really all about finishing Batman and Bruce Wayne’s story. We left him in a very precarious place. Perhaps surprisingly for some people, our story picks up quite a bit later, eight years after The Dark Knight. So he’s an older Bruce Wayne; he’s not in a great state." -Christopher Nolan

For a long time people have been speculating when this film would take place, many believing that it was directly after the events of The Dark Knight and that the first scene would be the police pursuing Batman like the end of the previous film. Chris' comments here obviously can lay that speculation to rest.

Nolan also spoke about the upcoming prologue that will be playing before Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in select IMAX theaters. He states that its the first six or seven minutes of the film, and that it will be an introduction to the character of Bane.

Bane is shaping up to be an incredible villain. Many people I know are concerned he won't be able to live up to Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight. Tom Hardy is more than a capable actor and Bane is the perfect villain to challenge Batman. Not only is he a physical challenge but Bane is also extremely intelligent, capable of tormenting Batman/Bruce psychologically. Hardy calls Bane "Brutal" and "incredibly clinical"

Also concerning Bane, Lindy Hemming The Dark Knight Rises' costume designer cleared up some speculation about Bane's mask...

He was injured early in his story. He’s suffering from pain and he needs gas to survive. He cannot survive the pain without the mask. The pipes from the mask go back along his jaw line and feed into the thing at the back where there are two canisters of what ever it is…the anesthetic. - Lindy Hemming

Below are a few official photos of Bane from the movie. The prologue as well as the first full length trailer will be appearing December 16.

The Dark Knight Rises: Epic shots from New York

The past two days have been nothing short of amazing in the world of an avid Christopher Nolan/Batman fan. Filming has been going on in New York and in the past two days scenes that can only be described as epic have been captured by fans going out with cameras to the set. Us over at nolanfans.com have been in complete awe at the videos and photos that have been popping up online.

So far its pretty safe to say, especially after these past few days if it hasn't been clear enough since filming first started back in May that The Dark Knight Rises is going to top The Dark Knight, and all other Superhero films. The Avengers? who could possibly care about Stan Lee's super one dimensional characterizations being directed by Joss Whedon when you have Christopher Nolan concluding his epic trilogy of the tormented and conflicted Batman. The talent level is just way too high in comparison. Even The Amazing Spiderman (which i'm extremely intrigued by) probably won't stand a chance next to this film. Now Superman is gonna be interesting when its finally finished, but I just don't see anything that could possibly be better than what Nolan and Company have been doing with this film.

With all the pictures and videos flooding in from the last two days I thought i would post a few of them on here, but be warned while not giving away any plot details, these leaks could be deemed kind of spoilery, so if you want to stay completely in the dark and wait to have your mind blown next july, stop reading. but also remember, what you see in these photos and videos haven't been through post production, and they are just from fans, the final product will look drastically different.

First here are some pictures of Christopher Nolan directing.





Now some photos of the filming.

This one is Matthew Modine (looking like a high ranking police officer) in action.
If you don't know who Matthew Modine is he starred in Memphis Belle, Cutthroat Island, Any Given Sunday, and as Private Joker in Full Metal Jacket. He is a good actor that fits with Christopher Nolan's trend of casting past has beens in his films. (like Rutger Hauer in Batman Begins, David Bowie in The Prestige, Eric Roberts in The Dark Knight and Tom Berringer in Inception)









Some photos of Batman and Bane




And now two videos from the set.

Catwoman/Selina Kyle


This one is just epic




This one is the most spoilery, its an epic fight scene between Bane and Batman...

The Dark Knight Rises: Production Update From New York

The continuing production of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises began its first day in New York City today. The production started back in May in India and has since then been in London, Pittsburgh, L.A and now finally New York. So far we have been pretty lucky with the footage and photo's fans have been capturing, and mostly they have all been pretty spoiler free.

The photos from today are no different. From its first day in New York we got some photos of Bruce Wayne's Lamborghini as well as photos of Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (for the most part we have just gotten photos of him being Batman) as well as Joseph Gordon Levitt as the cop John Blake.

Along with that, the other day a man who is playing an extra as a Gotham City Police Man tweeted that they are getting ready to film "the biggest action sequence that has ever been filmed in New York". That is beyond exciting and I don't think I can wait till July. Luckily we have to only wait till December for the full length trailer.

I'm still depressed that no theaters here in Utah will be showing the prologue because they are all digital projection theaters. But I will just have to make do with the regular theatrical trailer and more set photos to help be get through till July.

Check out the pictures of the production below. Its good to see Bale as Bruce Wayne, there wasn't enough of Bruce in The Dark Knight in my opinion.

The Dark Knight Rises Prologue: Only on Real 70mm IMAX theaters.

A week or two ago I posted about the prologue scene of The Dark Knight Rises playing before Misson Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Turns out only a select few IMAX theaters will be getting it, only the legit 70mm IMAX screens. I like many fans am not very happy to hear this because there isn't a single 70MM screen within any sort of reasonable distance from where I live. Every single IMAX screen in Utah is digital, and so far its looking like we won't be getting it, hopefully this will change as December gets closer.

While I am mad about it, I understand it. 70mm IMAX screens will be presenting it in picture perfection, after all most the film is filmed in 70mm. I can only imagine how much better it will look on those screens than it would on our digital IMAX projections. still its a pretty low blow to the thousands of fans who don't get to see it.... my fingers are now crossed that they will change this, or at least that it will be released online as well.

The Dark Knight Rises Prologue

In December 2007 at the IMAX showings of the film "I Am Legend" a six minute prologue scene to The Dark Knight was shown, this of course was the epic bank robbery scene that opens the film. For the past few month myself and other pathetic Christopher Nolan worshipers and Batman geeks have been wondering if something similar would happen this year for The Dark Knight Rises.

It was safe to assume that at least the first full length trailer would come out in December. (The first teaser for TDK came out in July, a year prior to its release, same as The Dark Knight Rises) So far they seem to be following the same timeline with this final installment to The Dark Knight trilogy.

We started speculating that if they were to do a special IMAX trailer like the prologue to TDK it would have to come out with Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, the only big IMAX movie being released in December. Along with that we believe that the regular trailer will be released with The Dark Knight Rises fellow studio film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

A few days ago on the nolanfans forums, a new guy stated that he "heard from a source" that there is in fact an 8 minute prologue that will be playing on IMAX screens in front of Mission Impossible. He stated that he wasn't sure if he would get in trouble posting it, but he did anyways.

Over at nolanfans we are used to people posting made up junk just to start rumors and annoy us fans, it happens alot, especially from new posters. So we all dismissed his claims.

But today /Films (a very reliable film news website) started reporting the same thing, claiming sources told them that an 8 minute prologue would be playing. They have since received more information confirming that its actually a 6 minute prologue. Either way its good news.

I haven't been terribly excited for Mission Impossible, but it looked fun enough but now this has guaranteed my spot in a seat at the IMAX midnight showing for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. The Dark Knight Rises is gearing up to be the biggest film of 2012 (probably only second to The Hobbit) and what better way to get fans even more stoked for the epic conclusion than showing a 6 minute scene as well as releasing the full length trailer the same month? Be excited, be very very excited.

The Dark Knight Rises: Production update from Los Angeles

For the past few months there has been a real lack of released information on The Dark Knight Rises, even most of the leaked photos have been pretty standard. Luckily there has been a tiny bit of actual good information to leak through. Filming is almost done in Los Angeles than they head off to New York for a shot shoot there before Production finally wraps up and goes into post-production. So if all goes well and follows the same pattern The Dark Knight did...we should be getting a full length trailer sometime in December (probably attached to the new Sherlock Holmes movie).

So far we still don't have any clue really as to what the story is really about. I have gotten some solid rumors from some pretty reliable sources on Nolanfans.com (this is still speculation though) that at some point Gotham is under complete lockdown due to Bane taking over the city, causing the streets of Gotham to be empty and desolate. Some of the pictures we have gotten before, mainly the ones of Joseph Gordon Levitt, support this idea.

We also have gotten photos leaked showing more of the Catwoman suit and anne hathaway. Plenty of people were complaining when he official photo was released that there were no cat ears. Those people can stop worrying because Catwoman does infact have cat years....giving Anne Hathaway a look that seems totally influenced by the classic Julie Newmar version.



Also rumored to have been seen on set for his third time around is Nolan regular, Cillian Murphy (The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Sunshine, 28 Days Later, Inception) as Dr. Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow. He was one of the main villains in Batman Begins, but only had a small cameo in The Dark Knight. It is unclear how big or small his role in this film is going to be, but the rumor is that his scene involves some sort of trial.



We have also received some good footage of action scenes being filmed, i'm only gonna post a couple so I don't spoil all the action scenes for not only myself but you as well. So below are some videos from the set as well as a couple of pictures. Hopefully we will have more information about the actual storyline soon.





and here is one of what appears to be a scene between Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Batman (Christian Bale)

The Dark Knight Rises: Batwing and Joseph Gordon Levitt as John Blake

After much speculation and discussion among fans whether we would see a new bat-vehicle in this film (such as a new bat-mobile or bat-pod) it is finally confirmed through set photos that we will indeed have "the batwing". This had never really crossed my mind that Chris Nolan would go this route with the vehicles due to his usual reality based ideals for his batman films. I mean in the classic Batmans the Batwing is a jet that he flies around the city, not very plausible. But after these photos and set videos got released it's obvious he is making it work, and the finished product is going to be nothing short of brilliant.

It's definitely not a Jet, more like a Tumbler that flies/hovers around. It definitely looks like it could cause some serious damage.



Video of Joseph Gordon Levitt as John Blake has also surfaced. His character is still quite a mystery, he has only been described as a "beat cop". Nobody knows if he is a good or bad guy. In the video released he definitely has a very suspicious/shifty look about him. I personally would love it if he wasn't a good guy. There is already so many villains it seems that the good guys have all the odds against them and I love that. So i'm pullin for John Blake being not who he seems.



I'm also loving the look of the snow around Gotham. It just adds to the ominous look and helps heighten the desperation. It really is starting to look like Bane (or whomever is in charge of him) has taken over the city. I can't wait to see how this all plays out in the film. Also Below are a couple more videos of Catwoman in action on set and some more set photos of Anne Hathaway and such.

The Dark Knight Rises: Bane Voice Leak Video and More Set Photos

This weekend they filmed crucial scenes at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. At what appears to be a Gotham City Rogues football game Bane it seems causes some serious shiz and walks out and makes a speech. The video below is Bane coming out and delivering his speech. Now remember the video is just of the scene being filmed so you won't see the football players running around and such or see the explosions in this take, but you do hear Tom Hardy's Bane voice. Luckily there are notes in the video that help explain what is going on in the scene.


and here is a closer video where you can actually see Bane delivering the lines.

Also below are some set photos of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle on the batpod, and some of Marion Cotiliard's character Miranda Tate (aka probably Talia Al Ghul)





Now with the official releases and leaked videos that have been springing up, it shouldn't be too long before I have an firm idea of the plot, right now its only guesses. Soon I'll be writing a post about the possible plot lines this film could now follow.

The Dark Knight Rises: First photo of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle

Today Warner Bros. finally released a photo of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle. Instead of pointy cat ears or like anything we have ever seen from the character, she has practical clothing and goggles with lights on them. Now the title of the photo only says Selina Kyle, so i'm still not completely convinced she will ever be referred to as "Catwoman" in this film, although Selina Kyle is Catwoman.



Personally I think it looks great, of course she isn't going to be dressed like a cat this is a Christopher Nolan Batman film, not some Tim Burton or cussin Joel "the hack" Shumacher flick. Her suit is practical and perfect for a thief (which Selina Kyle usually is). Even the lights on the goggles fit with that. Anne Hathaway is going to surprise lots of people I think. She has a lot of doubters, and most people won't remember this but......so did Heath Ledger when it was announced he was playing the Joker and look how that all turned out.

The more that gets released from this movie, and the more leaked set photos the more confused I am getting at how it is all gonna come together. I get how Bane, Talia and the League are going to work into it, but Selina Kyle is the one I just don't understand yet, but as always "In Nolan I Trust"

The Dark Knight Rises: Production Update in Pittsburgh (photos and more)

The Dark Knight Rises production arrived in Pittsburgh to begin its long stint of filming in the U.S last week and already great photos and videos are poppin up on the web. Supposedly an action scene is taking place at the football stadium where the Steelers play, but I haven't found any photo's of that yet. What we do have is a picture and video of Bane up on top of one of the tumblers (batmobile) appearing to make a speech or something. He is wearin a thick coat and such, leading me to believe that TDKR is going to be taking place during winter (last winter Nolan and Co filmed helicopter shots of New York so they could catch it with snow). Also is a video of a jail exploding in which prisoners are going to escape. And to top it all of there is a video of Bane and Batman choreographing a fight, then an actual fight scene being filmed between the two! here is an epic picture from said fight!














So pretty much i'm geeking out hardcore right now, and since there is still a year away, i see no signs of this geeking out coming to an end. So if you are not a Christopher Nolan fan or a Batman fan...then i'm sorry because i will be posting about TDKR quite frequently for the next year.....If i can survive that long!

The Dark Knight Rises - Official Teaser Trailer [HD]

Ok So the it's finally here. The trailer came out on Friday with Harry Potter and all that was online was bootlegged copies. Now WB has released it online in full HD so we can enjoy it repeatedly in all it's epicness. Now it is only a teaser trailer so it shows very little new footage, but the new footage it does show is brilliant. Before I go into the full analysis , check it out below, or click on the link




Some people are complaining about the footage at the beginning from the previous two films, I personally think its brilliant! It helps set the tone of the whole thing, especially the voiceover from Liam Neeson's Ras Al Gul from "Batman Begins"

Then we have Gordon in the hospital bed talking to Bruce (who is wearing a ski mask in this scene to hide his identity from Gordon) Obviously Batman has left and all heck is breaking loose. This brings up thousands of questions. The first being, Why is Gordon in the hospital? Who did it to him? (probably Bane).

We also get a good look at Tom Hardy as Bane, and he looks like a freakin monster, I can't even describe my excitement for him in this film. The last shot in the trailer as he is walking towards Batman is beyond epic.

The trailer brings up more questions, like how is Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle going to fit in with this? How does Ras Al Gul come into play? Are the League Of Shadows involved again? All things we won't know till later, but man I can't wait.

It also shows what we can expect from the film as well, pretty much that the stakes are all higher, and its going to be more than epic. Production has just begun here in the States in Pitsburg and it will continue here in the US till the fall. The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotilliard, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Michael Caine and is set for release July 2012!

Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" - Official Trailer [HD]

Ok so I talked about a film a while back titled "The Invention of Hugo Cabret". It's Martin Scorsese's first film made for children in his entire brilliant career. It's set in the 1930's, it's about a young boy who is shown a mysterious robot by his father. His father is killed and the boy is orphaned and he tries to discover the secrets of the robot. Now it was filmed in 3D...also a first for Martin Scorsese. Finally a trailer was released and the title has been shortened to just "Hugo".

I'm more than a bit intrigued by this film. Martin Scorsese has made some of the greatest films of all time *cough* Taxi Drive, Raging Bull, Goodfellas...just to name a few... And now suddenly he is doing a kids film? The trailer has given me mixed feelings however. It's quite sappy and cheesy, but then again it is for kids. And the use of Thirty Seconds To Mars in the trailer really grates on my nerves, but even with that the trailer still has some interesting stuff, such as the cast. Jude Law and Ben Kingsley are bother great, especially the latter. I would see him in anything.

I'm still worried though, I know Scorsese isn't untouchable, he has made some flops before (The King of Comedy, New York New York...) but I just want him to continue to be great, just like I wanted Speilberg to always be great until he let us all down with Indiana Jones 4. Scorsese has always been one of my all time favorite directors, I don't want him to make a bad film, especially after doing what I thought was a great film with "Shutter Island" For now I guess i'll just have to cross my fingers and hope that the master delivers again. Check out the trailer below

The Dark Knight Rises: Teaser Poster Revealed

Finally more updates to fuel the hype of the obsessed Batman/Christopher Nolan fanbase. Not only is the teaser trailer supposedly slated to appear before the showings of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 this weekend (and very possibly online tomorrow afternoon!) But today they released the teaser poster...which is awesome. Since its the teaser poster its fairly simple. Its got buildings that are crumbling and at the top of them they form the bat symbol. Simple yet it looks epic:



Pretty good stuff! Hopefully by the end of the week I will be posting the Teaser Trailer....

Plot Synopsis for Ridley Scott's "Prometheus"

A couple years back it was announced that Ridley Scott would be returning to the universe he created back in 1979. It was said that he would be directing a prequel film to "Alien", and at the time the film went under the simple title of "Untitled Alien Prequel" Then a few months back suddenly that imdb page disappeared, to be replaced by Prometheus. Nobody knew what to think, and only hoped it would still be the prequel.

Talented actors started being added to the cast list. Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender( who said early on to be playing a synthetic android, only fueling the hope that it was connected to "Alien") Idris Elba and Guy Pearce. It was widely believed the story would focus on the mythical Space Jockey from "Alien". Now if you are not "Alien" savvy, I'll explain what the Space Jockey is.

Near the beginning of the 1979 film, John Hurt's character is exploring a derelict space craft on a remote planet. Inside the ship is a giant fossilized creature that was sitting in a gigantic pilots chair. The creatures chest was burst outward (obviously from the Alien creature). Nothing more was ever mentioned about this character, leaving it up to fans to discuss. So fans have been waiting anxiously to discover the mystery of this creature. And from the plot synopsis and descriptions given from Ridley himself, it appears that we are going to get just that.

Visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to the genre he helped define, creating an original science fiction epic set in the most dangerous corners of the universe. The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life's ultimate mystery.

Ridley also told Empire magazine that "It's set in 2085, about 30 years before Sigourney Weaver's character Ellen Ripley from "Alien"… It's fundamentally about going out to find out 'Who the hell was that Space Jockey?'"

So all of us giddy sci fi fanboys can rest assured knowing the mystery is soon to be solved. The film has a killer cast, a brilliant director and takes place in my all time favorite science fiction universe, so I am anxiously awaiting 2012 for this, among other films *cough* The Dark Knight Rises *cough*.

Below is a photo of the Space Jockey in "Alien". "Prometheus" is due out June 8 2012, and is directed by Ridely Scott and written by Damon Lindelof. It stars Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce and Ben Foster.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

I brought this movie up a while back but they have finally released some more trailers for it and I feel that "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" deserves a little hyping. It's a horror film based on a made for tv movie of the same name that came out in 1973. Now the title is a little lackluster, and the trailers might be off putting to some so let me explain the premise and give reasons why it deserves some hype.

Sally is a young girl played by Bailiee Madison (Bridge to Tarabithea) who is sent to live with her dad played by Guy Pearce and his girlfriend played by Katie Holmes. They are moving into a renovated older home, where Sally discovers creatures that want to claim the young girl as one of their own. Simple enough.

Now I can see why some people would think that sounds stupid or cheesy, but c'mon evil creatures terrorizing a young girl really isn't cheesy. Then add to the fact that you have the great Guillermo Del Toro (writer/director of Cronos, Devils Backbone, Hellboy and Pan's Labyrnth) writing and producing then you can be sure it will have something worth watching.

Add to the fact its not a movie that is gonna be heavily reliant on gore, and more reliant on tension and suspense gives it another edge above most horror films currently being served up.

Also Guy Pearce is another huge reason for intrigue. Yes the guy is very hit or miss with his films (misses: The Count of Monte Cristo, The Time Machine, Bedtime Stories....Hits: Memento, The Proposition, LA Confidential) but when he is on, he is incredibly talented! So check out the link below and watch the trailer and see what ya think!

The Dark Knight Rises: First Pic of Tom Hardy as Bane.

Alright so I am jumping on this a little late, the image was released this morning on the newly built official website for "The Dark Knight Rises". Its the first official look on what Christopher Nolan and co. have been up two the past two weeks. So you can imagine my complete giddiness when I discovered this had been released, anyone who read this blog leading up to "Inception"'s release knows how much I worship the guy and his films. The way the photo was released in a pretty crazy way. According to Nolan Fan's website the Dark Knight Rises website was seemingly just black, with an audio file playing chanting. Then I guess a fan at Super Hero Hype took the video spectrum of the audio file and embedded in that was the Twitter hashtag #thefirerises. Once tweeting the hashtag, each persons icon was assembled to make the picture of Tom Hardy as Bane. Click on the image to view a larger, hi-res version.



Its an awesome picture, and i'm incredibly stoked about it! Tom Hardy is an amazing actor. There was some speculation if Bane would have a mask or not in Nolan's film (usually Bane has a luchador mask), some thought it wouldn't work, but looking at his it works perfectly. Hardy looks wildly intimidating and has bulked up a bit since playing Eames in "Inception".

"The Dark Knight Rises" has been filming for two weeks now, it started last week in India for a few days, and this week it has been going in London. The film has many other locations on the filming list, such as Pittsburgh, LA and Scotland. Now brace yourselves everyone cause the film is set for a July 20, 2012 meaning I've got over a year to let my hype grow and grow and grow, it will more than likely eclipse both my "Inception" and "The Dark Knight" hype, so get ready for it gang!

12 Angry Men

Recently the great Sidney Lumet passed away, leaving behind a legacy of terrific and inspiring films such as "Network" "Dog Day Afternoon" and "The Verdict". For a while I have been a fan of his films, but had never seen the film that really started his career, 1957's "12 Angry Men". Fortunately, I had to watch it for a class.

From the moment the film began I knew I was in for something special. the film is about 12 jurors on a murder trial. The defendant is an 18 year old kid, accused of stabbing his father to death. The entire film takes place in the locked room where the jury decides this boys fate. Everyone in the room seems to unanimously agree that the kid was guilty, the trail seemed to leave them with no question, except for juror #8, played incredibly by Henry Fonda.

He doesn't know if the kid is guilty or not, he just has doubts, and doesn't feel like they can send a kid to the electric chair without discussion. All the other jurors (many big names throughout like Ed Begely, Jack Warden, Jack Klugman and Lee J. Cobb) are in a hurry to be done, one has a baseball game to get to, others just seem rushed. Nobody but #8 seems to think it needs discussion.

In a murder trial the vote has to be unanimous to send a person to the chair, and with #8's vote of not guilty, the discussion begins. As each presents their case to him about why the kid is guilty, he easily comes up with logical rebuttals. Slowly he convinces more and more of them to question their own beliefs and decide if the kid is really guilty.

As stated above the performance from Fonda is brilliant, it proves why he is a Hollywood legend. The emotion conveyed in his facial expressions, the morality his character portrays is just brilliant. This film puts him up there with the classic greats of Gregory Peck, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. The rest of the jurors put in great performances as well.

Jack Warden (While You Were Sleeping) plays the jokster, who just wants to be done so he can watch the ball game. Jack Klugman (TVs The Odd Couple) plays a quiet reserved man, who is also from the slums, just like the accused, who can't stand the social prejudices of some of the other jurors.

Like I said the entire film takes place in one room. But the script is razor sharp, leaving you riveted the entire film. The cast is electric, and the directing is perfect. The film was a glimpse at everything to come in Sidney Lumet's long and brilliant career as a master filmmaker. No matter how good he got though, I think its safe to say "12 Angry Men" is more than just the beginning of his career, it might have just been his best work period. Its the classic example of the cliche`d phrase, "They just don't make em like the used to!", they really don't.....