The Dark Knight (2008)

Christopher Nolan has a way with making films. They're always wonderful. Well thought out. Beautifully crafted. Made to look real, believable. But the Batman films have always been absolutely phenomenal. From the script to the music to the actors, the films flow together perfectly, crafting an intricate story about Gotham's caped crusader. Christopher Nolan's films have set a precedent for Batman films and with this being the summer of superheroes, my expectations for Dark Knight Rises are extremely high.

2008's The Dark Knight was an exciting thrill ride. Dark, terrifying, humorous and very intense throughout its entirety, the second Batman film introduced us to the Joker, who was scary, sinister, and downright mad. Seeing the film for the first time made us all feel like we were in Gotham, in this dark city riddled by crime and while Batman is the protector of the city, we can't help but be somewhat terrified of him, too. Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne is brilliant, smart, and quick. But when he transforms into Batman, he becomes this unmatched force of technology, intelligence, and I mean, the dude has a cape. 

The Joker (Heath Ledger) is a fantastic performance, as well. He steals the film away with his mad, crazy comedy act, but there are points throughout the film (or, really, the entire thing), where you see that the Joker is completely batty. There's a scene where the Joker is interrogating a Batman imitator and he asks the perp to "look at him", and then he has to repeat himself, but when he says it again, it sounds nothing like him. He sounds demonic, crazed. And that is what makes the villain in this film unlike any other. He's completely mad. And it makes the film absolutely incredible. 

Other choice actors in the film—Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman —round out a perfect cast. Intense, dark, and humorous, everyone plays their part perfectly. 

The Nolanverse Batman films are not as ... comic-book centric as other superhero films, but that's what sets it apart. He's created an entirely new way to portray heroes on the big screen. From the way it's filmed, to the script, to the music (Hans Zimmer can compose the soundtrack to my life. Seriously), The Dark Knight is beautiful, thrilling, and entertainment at it's best.

He's Batman, after all. 

So, it's Batman week. (also, SDCC hits)

In case you were living under a rock, here's some news for you: The Dark Knight Rises, which is one of the most anticipated films of the year, is coming out on the 20th. This means that you should really go and get your ticket for it because it's going to be awesome. Two hours and forty-five minutes of Batman, Bane, and John Blake. I have faith in Christopher Nolan that he'll be able to make Catwoman ... well, good, but I really want to wait until I actually see the film to make that assertion.

I'll definitely have a review up for it by the time that it comes around. But, in the meantime, I'll be writing up a post about SDCC for all of you to read, though I'm sure you all already know what happened over the past few days. (Iron Man 3, y'all.) Coming up soon!

And so the summer movie season begins.

Summer is always a great time to go to the movies. Why? Because everyone's out of school, we can stay out late, go to midnight releases, all without having to worry about if we have exams the next day. It's pretty awesome. So, without further delay, here's the list of summer movies that my friends and I will most likely be checking out.

Marvel's The Avengers (5/4) — Obviously this kind of opened the summer season (in a big way, it's the highest grossing film of all time now), so having this come out this past week was a great way to kick off the summer season.

Dark Shadows (5/11) — I mostly just want to see this because, let's face it: the TV show was so campy and corny.

Battleship (5/18) — I feel like I need to make it clear that I don't really want to see this movie. Yeah, I like explosions but a movie based off of a game that's more fun when played with pizza boxes and shots just doesn't really cut it for me. I mostly just want to see it so I can poke at all the little plot holes in it.

Men In Black III (5/25) — I'm not a huge fan of the MIB series—I'm a borderline fan, not obsessed but not completely unaware of what they are. But it looks good. I'll need a refresher, because I don't really remember what's happening in the other two movies, but it still looks good!

Snow White and the Huntsmen (6/1) — In the spectrum of all the movies and TV shows about Snow White/fairy tales/whatever that have come out this year (seriously, where did all this hype come from, these things have been around for hundreds of years...), this one actually looks the best because it looks so dark. It's a different take on a classic fairy tale (at least, I think it is, I obviously haven't seen the movie yet), and ... wait for it ... Kristen Stewart actually shows some emotion. So, it looks pretty good.

Prometheus (6/8)— It just got announced that this movie has an "R" rating. I've wanted to see it since I heard about it, but now I really want to see it because it means that they won't hold anything back. Pure Ridley Scott sci-fi goodness. Bring it. I seriously don't even know what this movie is about, I mean, the previews have been pretty cryptic and I don't want to go and search out what it's about online, but this movie just looks so awesome.

Brave (6/22) — I'm a sucker for Pixar movies. It looks good.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (6/29) — Yeah, Rise of Cobra wasn't perfect. But I am only a female—who am I to pass up an opportunity

The Amazing Spider-Man (7/3) — Andrew Garfield, I love him so much. This movie looks so good, I'm so excited. My inner fangirl is just dying at all the comic book stuff that's going to be happening this summer. We didn't get tickets to Comic-Con (which kind of killed my soul), but these will have to do. Maybe we'll just fly to California and skulk around the outside of the convention centre.

Savages (7/6) — It looks okay. I'm not a fan of Blake Lively, but whatever, it looks okay.

The Dark Knight Rises (7/20) —I think that, in light of all the Avengers hype, I may have passed over this a little bit but I'm truthfully so excited for this movie. I love all of Nolan's Batman films and I'm really looking forward to it. Mostly because one of my friends and I have it in our heads that Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character, cop John Blake, is going to be Nightwing. We're aware that there will be no more Batman movies from Nolan, but hey. You never know what those studios have up their sleeves.

The Bourne Legacy (8/3) — Jeremy Renner. And his arms. And his face. That's enough for me. Also: Edward Norton, who I think is so cute.

Total Recall (8/3) — This movie will be awesome. Period. That's all. I'm so freaking excited for this movie. And it comes out the same day as the Jeremy Renner/ Edward Norton arms extravaganza/face extravaganza. This is the 'Colin Farrell is really hot all around' extravaganza.

That's all I can think of right now. There will probably be a couple more movies that I'll end up seeing this summer, but for right now, these will all do.