Texlexor
Legions of Gotham Police Officer
Posts: 155
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Post by Texlexor on Jul 27, 2005 4:34:24 GMT -5
Posting two times in a row.. sorry.. hehe The reviews from the major newspapers in Sweden are very positive today! 4 out of 5 and 6 out of 6 (jackpot!) from two of them and 3/5 from the rest of them.. Some comments about the movie lacking humour (what?) and colorful villains such (what?). One review tells the whole plot, including some of the scenes from the end of the movie.. It's gonna be interesting to see what my friends and the public thinks.. now that Begins are finally here..
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Post by arkhaminmate on Aug 3, 2005 22:33:28 GMT -5
Although this is rather late, I should express my opinion. I didn't get to go to the midnight show, but I got to go the next week. It was frikin' amazing. The tone, the feel, it captured the very escence of the comics. My only complaint is The Scarecrow. I loved the look of the character but I didn't completely hate him. That is what WB should strive for among other thing. Christian Bale's performance was top-notch, & when he was Batman his voice changed, If you didn't know a thing & walked in half way & saw Batman, & then Bruce you wouldn't conect the two. This is the Greatest Batman film ever, but also the Greatest film of our time.
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Dusty
Legions of Gotham Police Officer
Raggy!!!
Posts: 233
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Post by Dusty on Aug 5, 2005 16:29:14 GMT -5
I love this movie!!!
D.
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Post by The Demons Head on Aug 15, 2005 1:14:08 GMT -5
I know that it's a bit late to say this, but, the movie was amazing...I didn't go at midnight (who wants to pay $10+ dollars on a movie that you'll be too tired to remember?), but, I did go to see it on opening day, as did my father in Maryland. Needless to say, I felt proud to wear my Batman t-shirt that I wore into the theater after the screening...And I was the envy of all the new-Batman fans...
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Texlexor
Legions of Gotham Police Officer
Posts: 155
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Post by Texlexor on Aug 17, 2005 6:19:10 GMT -5
Batman Begins is at number 1 at the box office here in Sweden, and the biggest newspaper over here still publishes articles about the movie. Today there's an article about Christian Bale where the results of yesterday's poll about "who's you're favorite Batman". Christian Bale won with 41,9 % of the votes. This is in swedish, but the poll speaks for itself no matter the language.. www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,686332,00.html ( a long URL.. copy & paste if you're interested in checking it out...) ;D
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Post by The Demons Head on Aug 19, 2005 17:23:32 GMT -5
Hey, is the text on the newspaper during the end sequence "Drunken Billionaire Burns Down Own Home", or, is it "Drunken Billionaire Burns Down Home" ? I've heard people saying that it's the first one, but, I believe that I saw the movie with both versions [on two sepearte occasions]...Any thoughts?
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Post by MuksC on Aug 19, 2005 19:38:18 GMT -5
I remember it as 'Own Home'. but I've only seen it once, so I might be wrong.
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Post by All Star Batman on Aug 19, 2005 19:57:34 GMT -5
It is the greatest movie I have ever seen. Scarecrow, the Batmobile, the train fight, EVERYTHING IN THIS MOVIE ROCKED! I can't wait to get the DVD! I just hope this new franchise doesn't die like the 1st one(damn Schumacher). I can't wait for Joker in the sequel! My favorite parts of the movie: Origin flashbacks Alfred not being just a "yes man" We see how he got the suit, gadgets, and Batmobile "I'm Batman!" When interrogating Flass: "SWEAR TO ME!" "Bat-Demon" Ra's Al Ghul twist Gordan driving the Batmobile Microwave Emiter and the fear toxin in the water supply New Batsingnal JOKER!
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Post by The Demons Head on Aug 19, 2005 20:34:49 GMT -5
I remember it as 'Own Home'. but I've only seen it once, so I might be wrong. I remember it that way as well; however, the version that I recently watched featured the line without the "Own" part...Could WB've just edited the "Own" part out after the premieres when it was first appearing in future/ places farther and farther away?
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Post by BatmAngelus on Aug 19, 2005 20:54:36 GMT -5
Black Mask, according to the novelization, it's DRUNKEN BILLIONAIRE BURNS DOWN HOUSE.
I have to say that I liked the film a lot, but I would've liked it better, probably, if I had stayed away from spoilers. I obviously have to blame myself for this, but I also put part of the blame on the script leakage that basically spoiled everyone. So if I were to live this over again, I'd stay clear away from the Spoiler Message Boards and do my best to avoid footage (other than the trailers). Some spoilers, however, helped me like the film better (i.e. Liam Neeson was my choice for Ra's. I was disappointed when I heard about Watanabe replacing him, but I was overjoyed when I found out the twist was that Neeson IS Ra's Al Ghul). Oh well.
Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne was spot-on perfect in characterization. I particularly enjoyed the scenes of a young Bruce Wayne back from college to see Joe Chill's hearing. That entire flashback is the most important sequence in the film not only for the story and characters, but for the Batman character himself as well. It's a transition never seen in the comics: a time in which Bruce learns to transform his quest for vengeance into using his pain to fight for justice and the greater good.
His Batman got a little getting used to. To be honest, I like Keaton's subtle, silent, but skilled Batman a bit more. Not by much. While I liked how Bale transformed his voice for Batman, I thought it was a bit much on the animalistic side, which is why I thought that the "SWEAR TO ME" scene was a bit overdone.
Michael Caine really delivered well as Alfred. There were so many moments where I felt truly touched by his delivery. It's hard to explain, but I really think that Sir Ben Kingsley would've rocked in this role. With make-up to make him look like the character (i.e. the make-up on Gordon) and his voice, I think he would've been the best Alfred ever. The thing about Caine is that he still looked and sounded like Caine. A bit too working class sounding of an Alfred (his accent really showed through on the plane scene), but definitely one that I could accept and enjoy.
Hands down, the best James Gordon is Gary Oldman, a brilliant left field act of casting. Oldman made Gordon a character to care about and sympathize with. He made Gordon a character who I wish I knew and had a strong friendship with. With a not-so-big part, Oldman was incredible in pulling that side off and I honestly hope that he shines some more in the sequels.
Liam Neeson as Ra's Al Ghul was a dream come true. He was excellent as a father-like figure and mentor and he was excellent later on as a truly evil villain. Neeson's deliveries were perfect and any lesser actor would've sunk the character.
Katie Holmes was better than people give her credit for, in my opinion. Part of it is because her looks and her character in the film kind of remind me of this girl I like.........
.......moving on...I honestly think that she did well with the material. The faults of the character were in the writing and her age- neither of which are her fault. I honestly believe that an older, more renown actress like Jennifer Connelly would've had just as good of a performance. I definitely think that her storyline with Bruce could've been better and more developed.
Cillian Murphy...this guy is just awesome. I was skeptical about this, but after seeing the teaser for Red Eye and that one "The Bat....Man" bit in Batman Begins, I knew I was in for a treat. And wow...this guy did just as good of a job as Bale did for Bruce Wayne. He completely lost himself in the character. While it's not exactly the comic book version...I thought this characterization was better. I think that he could've been developed a bit more, but Murphy was awesome and made the character memorable.
Morgan Freeman playing his usual mentor-like character. Likeable and funny, Freeman's presence gives credibility to an already great film.
Tom Wilkinson gave Falcone his all. While the characterization was almost nothing like the comic book character, Wilkinson was good as the character.
And I just have to take this moment to appreciate the actors with the minor roles who usually don't get that much recognition in reviews. Ken Watanabe was amazing as the fake Ra's. He never blinks once. Any other actor probably wouldn't have done as well as Ken did, especially considering how brief the role is. Rutger Hauer's presence was definitely welcomed by me. Although I've seen better performances from him, he, like the rest of the cast, did his best with the material. Mark Boone Junior doesn't look like Flass at all, but he brought the character's sleazy personality to life. Linus Roache is another good actor who had a warm screen presence. Much more touching and human than the comic book version of Thomas Wayne (who yelled at his son for falling into the cave in "The Man Who Falls"). Colin McFarlane was, like Falcone, nothing like his comic book counterpart in characterization. But McFarlane was cool as the tough-as-nails Commissioner. I hope they use the "Loeb is corrupt" element from the comics as a bit of a twist in the sequels. Gus Lewis is one of the best child actors I've seen. The "It was my fault, Alfred." delivery and scene hits a chord with me each time. Richard Brake...Thank You for bringing Joe Chill to life. I've known the character since I first was acquainted with Batman and it was cool that he was finally brought to the cinema.
And finally, Larry Holden as D.A. Finch. A brief, thankless cameo, but I have to say that Holden is a great actor. Looked great onscreen. You'd never think that he was the same actor who played Jimmy Grantz in Memento. I hope that he gets a Bruce Campbell-like spot in Nolan's Batman films and returns as different characters. Unlike Campbell though, I'm sure Holden would put his chameleon skills to good use and play a totally different character (i.e. A Narrows Psycho).
I like some things from the previous films better (mainly the visual designs, the style of the score, and some story points that I thought were executed better), but this film has really made people around the world care about Batman.
No matter how many little flaws people have with this film, there's no denying that Batman is back and better than ever.
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Post by The Demons Head on Aug 19, 2005 21:53:34 GMT -5
I loved explaining that to people who'd seen the movie; I knew it was him even without the spoilers since last year when I first saw the picture of [Liam] Neeson looking off to the distance with the "forked beard" of Ra's from www.batmanbegins.com ...Hmm...I wonder where we're getting the "Own" part?...The weird thing is [is] that I'm not the only one who says that they've seen it...I could've sworn that I saw the word on the screen after the premiere; I was so excited afterwards and kept laughing all the way home about that line...Even if it's not correct, I still beleive that adding "Own" makes the line even funnier... ;D
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Post by BatmAngelus on Aug 19, 2005 22:04:39 GMT -5
I didn't like explaining the twist to people. I think it could've been clearer (i.e. Bruce/Batman calling him by the name of Ra's more than once), but honestly, I think a lot of them either couldn't hear or weren't paying attention to the very first lines of the encounter in which Bruce calls him "Ra's" and Ra's acknowledges his dual identities. My friends were like "Yeah, I didn't get that." Then again, one of them didn't pick up on the fact that Gordon's the young cop who comforts Bruce, so maybe I shouldn't criticize the film....
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Post by The Demons Head on Aug 19, 2005 22:16:06 GMT -5
I think that if I had to pick one thing that truly irritated me the most, it was the pronunciation of Ra's name...And here I thought that the non-fans ( and E! which does an amazing job of pretending that it's a legitimate channel... ) wouldn't pronounce it correctly compared to the actors...
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Post by BatmAngelus on Aug 19, 2005 22:18:21 GMT -5
Well, if that's the only thing that irritated you, you're in luck. Technically it IS pronounced correctly based on the Arab pronounciation and the fact that Dennis O'Neil, Ra's Al Ghul's creator, was on the set to overlook things (I think. Pretty sure I read that in an article...). The "Raysh" pronounciation in BTAS is incorrect and honestly I like the way it was pronounced in the movie better as long as it sounds like "Raaaaz" and not "Rosss."
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Post by The Demons Head on Aug 19, 2005 22:47:33 GMT -5
Well, if that's the only thing that irritated you, you're in luck. Technically it IS pronounced correctly based on the Arab pronounciation and the fact that Dennis O'Neil, Ra's Al Ghul's creator, was on the set to overlook things (I think. Pretty sure I read that in an article...). The "Raysh" pronounciation in BTAS is incorrect and honestly I like the way it was pronounced in the movie better as long as it sounds like "Raaaaz" and not "Rosss." Wait-a-minute... How does that explain him over-looking the pronounciation of his [The Demon's Head's] character's name in B:TAS when he was the one who wrote the episodes [The Demon's Quest, Parts I & II], and therefore, would've been in the position to have the actors properly pronounce it?
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Post by BatmAngelus on Aug 19, 2005 22:55:51 GMT -5
^ Dennis O'Neil is Two-Face. That's why...
Jk jk.
That's a good point, but the name is Arabic and all of the posters at message boards who claim to be Arabic have said that the pronounciation of Ra's as Raaaz is correct.
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Post by The Demons Head on Aug 19, 2005 23:09:40 GMT -5
I'm not saying that they're wrong in the pronounciaton (I briefly dabbled in learning Arabic on my own; very tricky...Very tricky...), all I'm saying is that I've been decieved by O'Neil, the very man who created the character and wrote one of my favorite B:TAS episodes/ two-parters...It's just frustrating, is all... It sure took him long enough to spot his error...
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Post by MuksC on Aug 20, 2005 8:25:48 GMT -5
@ Batmangelus, I agree with your points aboutbeing 'spolied'. I think they released too much material before the release of the film. 2 or 3 trailers would have been good, but they gave us so many tv spots and extra footage, how many of us were strong-willed enough to resist looking at them? I certainly wasn't.
I saw the 'Tumbler testing' scene so many times, that when I saw it in the movie, I was urging it to hurry up, to get to the parts I hadn't seen yet.
the same goes with Ducards speech about "society's understanding". I was almost mouthing along with him and hoping it would get to the next part. thats not a good sign for a film we've waited years for.
I also have an issue with Caine as Alfred. IMO he isn't posh enough, his cockney accent comes through too much. when he meets Bruce after 7 years, his line "you look very fashionable, apart from the mud" sounds like "apart from the mad". and I think he hammed up the emotional scenes a bit much. I just wasn't drawn to him as a person.
Neeson was good, but I don't like his facial expression when he gets to the end of the "crime can not be tolerated" line. its like he nearly ran out of breath remembering the whole piece of dialogue, and not a natural delivery.
overall I still really enjoyed the movie, but a couple of better casting choices (Holmes & Caine) might have improved it for me.
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Post by BatmAngelus on Aug 20, 2005 11:57:52 GMT -5
^ I felt the exact same way when watching the film. I could say the whole thing line for line and couldn't wait to get to the unseen stuff. Except I blame a large percentage of that on myself for viewing that footage so many times. At least I didn't feel that the entire story was practically handed down to me in the trailers (i.e. Fantastic Four).
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Post by The Demons Head on Aug 20, 2005 12:04:22 GMT -5
I saw/ heard most of the lines from the trailers as well, but, I looked at it this way; I was just glad that there was a new non-Schumacher Batman movie coming out, and thought to myself, "Self, I would rather have a bazillion commercials and tv spots for a great new Batman movie, than have none at all..." That's just my belief...And besides, we [the fans] are going to buy the movie and watch it so many times that we'll eventually remember the dialog from Batman Begins anyways...
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Post by The Demons Head on Aug 20, 2005 17:28:54 GMT -5
Did anybody else enjoy the opening sequence with the music and the Batman (mainly HUSH, but, it's still a great storyline...)comic pages turning rapidly in the style of Marvel? (Which I will give them credit for a great original idea for film)
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Post by The Demons Head on Aug 21, 2005 7:02:01 GMT -5
;D How I respond to people who try to make fun of fans because of the 60's series or the previous four movies... ;D
(An elderly police officer turns to fellow younger officer) Uh-oh, another crazed fan. Better bring out the fire hose...
(Young cop) Seems like more of'em every day, huh chief?
(Old cop Chuckles to self) God, I love my job...
(Fan/ heckler is doused with an enormous ammount of high-pressure water)
(Younger officer turns to old cop) He's been howling for about 20 minutes...You think he'll be ok?
(old cop) Yeah, kids these days...They'll bounce right back, you'll see...Just you wait...
(Young cop) And if he's dead?
(Old cop) Just...say that he was attacked by zombies...
(Young cop) Are you sure that anybody's going to buy that story?
(Old cop) Of course not! But, by then, I'll be long gone, faster than you can say "Fleeing from the crime scene"...
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Post by BatmAngelus on Aug 21, 2005 9:56:28 GMT -5
Did anybody else enjoy the opening sequence with the music and the Batman (mainly HUSH, but, it's still a great storyline...)comic pages turning rapidly in the style of Marvel? (Which I will give them credit for a great original idea for film) I know I did. For the sake of continuity, I'd love to see that be the standard opening for a Batman film, in the same vein as the James Bond opening or Star Wars's "A long time ago in a galaxy far far away..."
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Post by The Demons Head on Aug 21, 2005 9:59:41 GMT -5
This ^ + John Williams' opening theme= One great Superman movie next year! Imagine, me, a Batman fan, excited about a Superman movie...
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Post by BatmAngelus on Aug 21, 2005 10:03:12 GMT -5
^ Hey, I'm excited for it too and I'm not that much of a Superman fan. ;D
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Post by The Demons Head on Aug 21, 2005 10:08:52 GMT -5
2005/ 2006: The years that DC regained the super-hero film reigns from Marvel? We'll just have to find out... ;D
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Post by MuksC on Aug 24, 2005 12:52:36 GMT -5
during Bruce's training, we see Ducard running inside the monastery to someone who appears to be hanging upside down, and pulls their gloved hand away, and we see what look like nails or screws through a piece of wood in or through the hand.
What is this? is someone being punished, or are they training to hang upside down using spiked gloves? this has been bugging me since i saw the film, but haven't found out what it is yet.
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Post by BatmAngelus on Aug 27, 2005 22:18:35 GMT -5
He's training to hang upside down. The nails in the guy's glove helps him hang onto the wooden pillar. Still, the guy has to use agility to stay there. "A ninja understands that invisibility is a matter of patience and agility"
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Post by MuksC on Aug 28, 2005 9:29:52 GMT -5
ah, thanks for that. it seemed a bit dark so I couldn't tell exactly what was going on. its in some of the trailers too I think.
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Post by J-Man on Oct 17, 2005 14:51:47 GMT -5
[shadow=purple,left,300]Batman Begins is now on DVD (well... almost )! Feel free to discuss the movie, the extras or both from this point on! [/shadow]
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