View Poll Results: The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008) — The Reviews Thread
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The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008) — The Reviews Thread
07-15-08, 07:32 AM
#51
DVD Talk Legend
Check out this really short, spoiler-free, video blog review:
http://www.wfaa.com/video/index.html?nvid=263179
He's so excited that he makes a couple of obvious mistakes on names, but still.
http://www.wfaa.com/video/index.html?nvid=263179
He's so excited that he makes a couple of obvious mistakes on names, but still.
Last edited by Brent L; 07-15-08 at 07:36 AM.
07-15-08, 08:22 AM
#52
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Brent L
Check out this really short, spoiler-free, video blog review:
http://www.wfaa.com/video/index.html?nvid=263179
He's so excited that he makes a couple of obvious mistakes on names, but still.
http://www.wfaa.com/video/index.html?nvid=263179
He's so excited that he makes a couple of obvious mistakes on names, but still.
07-15-08, 10:39 AM
#53
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by Zen Peckinpah
He hasn't given anything a four-star review since The Departed. Not even No Country got it, but this did.
72 hours and counting...
"and perhaps the most impressive mainstream entertainment experience since 2003's The Return of the King."
07-15-08, 03:04 PM
#54
DVD Talk Hero
4th negative review is out, from New York again.
From Time Out New York.
Basically hates the fact there are action sequences in the movie.
Visually impressive, but any hack can do a halfway decent job with trailer-ready tangents. Not everyone can push the genre forward, and the fact that Nolan's padded popcorn flick isn't the streamlined masterpiece it could have been is a real buzzkill.
Basically hates the fact there are action sequences in the movie.
07-15-08, 03:11 PM
#55
DVD Talk Legend
Nice.
If I were from NY, I'd be starting to get a little embarrassed by these "reviewers".
Honestly, I'm more disgusted that he pretty much calls Christopher Nolan a "hack" than I am at the overall review of the film itself.
Last edited by Brent L; 07-15-08 at 03:32 PM.
07-15-08, 04:54 PM
#56
DVD Talk God
all the NY critics are pissed that they didn't film in NY.
07-15-08, 05:56 PM
#57
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I can't wait to see this movie. Its getting great reviews so far. I love Superman, Spiderman, the Hulk, Wolverine and even Iron Man. But Batman has always been my favorite. Having said that, I remember the day I walked out of Batman and Robin. Batman became a complete joke to me that day. I was actually ashamed to be a Batman fan. But it seems that this movie will wash away that bad taste once and for all. Its great that a Batman movie has a real shot at being the best comic book movie ever.
07-15-08, 06:41 PM
#58
DVD Talk Legend
You have to put a lot of reviews, good or bad, into perspective. Some professional reviewers enjoy trying to make a name for themselves by being "that guy". Others reviews can be explained by the company that owns the publication.
I don't bother with movie reviews much these days because many online reviews tend to slip spoilers in without warning you in advance.
I don't bother with movie reviews much these days because many online reviews tend to slip spoilers in without warning you in advance.
07-15-08, 06:43 PM
#59
DVD Talk Legend
Ebert's review usually shows up mid-wk for bigger movies doesn't it? ....ya never know with him, he seems to pick things that most critics don't focus on to either like or dislike a movie for... He usually doesn't go for darker, serious films but he's a big Nolan fan I think.
07-15-08, 08:29 PM
#61
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by Artman
Ebert's review usually shows up mid-wk for bigger movies doesn't it? ....ya never know with him, he seems to pick things that most critics don't focus on to either like or dislike a movie for... He usually doesn't go for darker, serious films but he's a big Nolan fan I think.
07-16-08, 09:37 AM
#63
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by JPRaup
There were a ton of preview screenings last night...what did everyone think?
It has its 5th negative from the jurgen guy at about.com, sort of expected that (I don't think I disagree more with any other critic out there).
Roger Ebert posted his review - no surprise on the score: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/...VIEWS/55996637
Last edited by RichC2; 07-16-08 at 10:30 AM.
07-16-08, 11:29 AM
#65
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Saw the screening last night at the IMAX in Edmonton. The hype is justified. It met (and at some points) even exceeds the lofty expectations I had going in. I can't imagine anyone being disapointed by this film. It truly was not only one of the best I have seen this year, but in sometime. And it truly is unfortunate that Heath Ledger passed away. I would have loved to have seen what doors this performance would have opened for him. I haven't had the pleasure of enjoying a performance that made the entire theater so uneasy with the sheer level of unpredictability that he brought to each scene since Hannibal Lecter.
07-16-08, 11:33 AM
#66
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For those that have seen it: I'm def going to take my dad with me one time ago, but would my mom enjoy the movie? She doesn't like anything too violent, but enjoys an exciting movie with some drama/romance.
07-16-08, 01:49 PM
#67
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lol another angry New Yorker popped up today.
Does that type of pretentious writing impress anybody?
The generation of consumers who swallow this pessimistic sentiment can’t see past the product to its debased morality. Instead, their excitement about The Dark Knight’s dread (that teenage thrall with subversion) inspires their fealty to product.
07-16-08, 02:11 PM
#69
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Originally Posted by Depression
lol another angry New Yorker popped up today.
Does that type of pretentious writing impress anybody?
Does that type of pretentious writing impress anybody?
And, lo and behold, it is.
[Begin Armond White rant]
But I think anyone familiar with him would have been able to predict this review long before he ever wrote it. His trademark condescension towards those who disagree with him - check. Pointless namedropping (it gives him a chance to remind us how amoral and horrible "There Will Be Blood" and all the dolts who liked it are) - check. Now, just for the fun of it, check out his top-ten lists to see if you think he has a slight bias towards Spielberg and de Palma.
I have no problems with the other negative reviews the film has gotten. I realize that no film is universally acclaimed - and as long as the critic has a good reason for their viewpoint, I don't care if they agree with me or not. Ebert is one of my favorite critics, and I disagree with him a fair part of the time. But White's "style" is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I think he might claim that his goal is to increase "love for genuinely good filmmaking" or something to that extent - but to me, all he accomplishes with his ad hominem attacks (see his comments on "Before Sunset", and his letters to Stephanie Zacharek) is simply to put people on the defensive. He seems to want to destroy all viewpoints but his own (since he thinks that all true lovers of film will love and hate the same films he does, and for the same reasons.)
Which is all to say - I'm not a fan.
Another fabulous quote:
As in Memento, Nolan shows rudimentary craft; his zeitgeist filmmaking—morose, obsessive, fussily executed yet emotionally unsatisfying—will only impress anyone who hasn’t seen De Palma’s genuinely, politically serious crime-fighter movie, The Black Dahlia.
[/Armond White rant]
Last edited by Sondheim; 07-16-08 at 02:48 PM.
07-16-08, 02:15 PM
#70
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally Posted by JPRaup
For those that have seen it: I'm def going to take my dad with me one time ago, but would my mom enjoy the movie? She doesn't like anything too violent, but enjoys an exciting movie with some drama/romance.
07-16-08, 02:51 PM
#71
Challenge Guru & Comic Nerd
Originally Posted by me12321
Woohoo. I read that comment and thought "this must be Armond White."
07-16-08, 02:58 PM
#72
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Originally Posted by JPRaup
For those that have seen it: I'm def going to take my dad with me one time ago, but would my mom enjoy the movie? She doesn't like anything too violent, but enjoys an exciting movie with some drama/romance.
07-16-08, 03:22 PM
#73
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Depression
lol another angry New Yorker popped up today.
Does that type of pretentious writing impress anybody?
Does that type of pretentious writing impress anybody?
That's horrible, such a poor review that I really don't know what to say about it.
Well, other than to share this - Armond White's final thoughts on the Jason Statham/Jet Li flick, War:
Atwell’s superb craft and Smith & Bradley’s informed script show up how The Departed, overblown and decadent, ruined the modern action film tradition. This no-excess film is so potent, I’d guess Martin Scorsese would probably love War—and envy it for the simple expediency he can never achieve.
Or maybe his little blurb on There Will Be Blood:
"'No!' is the first word spoken in There Will Be Blood, and it should be the last said in response to Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest pretend epic."
Last edited by Brent L; 07-16-08 at 03:26 PM.
07-16-08, 03:37 PM
#74
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Originally Posted by Trevor
Wow. Who reviews the reviewers? Seeing his ranking of Spielberg's films, how can anyone take him seriously.
And he does have his somewhat ardent supporters - but even they, in my experience, have an attitude of "you have to take the good with the bad." And I'm sure there are some who are attracted to the contrarianism of a critic who loves "Norbit" and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" and hates "I'm Not There" and "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and Two Days" (and "There Will Be Blood", and "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead", and so on and so forth.)
And, to be fair, at his best he can be a pretty good writer. And, on a very rare occasion he can have a good insight about a film.
In my mind, however, it's not worth sifting through all the crap to find the occasional worthwhile insight.
I can't resist posting one more: His review of the remake of "The Flight of the Phoenix" (which he really likes.) In it, he suggests that John Moore, the director of "Behind Enemy Lines" and the remakes of "The Flight of the Phoenix" and "The Omen", may well be the true successor to Sam Peckinpah. And also, he provides us with his explanation for why critics (and other people) react so defensively to his opinions (of them, since most reviews he writes include an analysis of the type of people who disagree with his assessment of the film, and his assessment of other completely unrelated films) - it's "another example of critics who refuse to deal with an opposing thesis and resort to weak forms of dismissal." Interestingly, I've never seen a professional critic resort to personal insults more than he does - but, of course, he doesn't call names, he's just writing with "force and enthusiasm".
They call it "bullying" or "slightly nuts" simply because their unexamined values or arrogant prejudices have been shown up.
Ok, ok - one more.
And:
As for the “art” of criticism: No amount of fancy wordplay can excuse the destructive effect of praising offal like Before Sunset. (That’s not a personal attack, it’s a defense against the injury of bad criticism and poor taste.) I don’t read criticism for style (or jokes). I want information, erudition, judgment, and good taste. Too many snake-hipped word-slingers don’t know what they’re talking about—especially in this era of bloggers and pundits. That’s why a hack like Michael Mann gets canonized while a sterling pro and politically aware artist such as Walter Hill is marginalized. Let me be more blunt: I am not the least bit interested in reading the opinions of people who don’t know what they’re talking about. There, I’ve said it.
Nothing at all insulting. He's just a truth-teller, and we should all bow down to his superior wisdom and insight - and start agreeing with all of his opinions about film, politics, and life.
But I really should stop talking about Armond White now.
Unlike Nicholson’s multileveled characterization, Ledger reduces The Joker to one-note ham-acting and trite symbolism. If you fell for the evil-versus-evil antagonism of There Will Be Blood, then The Dark Knight should be the movie of your wretched dreams.
So, um, yeah... I'm really excited for "The Dark Knight"!
Last edited by Sondheim; 07-16-08 at 09:29 PM.
07-16-08, 08:08 PM
#75
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Originally Posted by Depression
You should show her the prologue and see what she thinks.