The other space

Hopefully where I can put some brain to internet and review things I think are worth looking at... or avoiding I guess.

[rabbitholeofleaves]

The Batman

So as a bit of background on my Batman experience and feelings. I am not a big fan of the dark knight returns, when I was in high school I thought it was pretty cool and edgy but I really don’t like how everyone thinks that Batman has to be that way. The Batman stories that interest me are when we see other sides to his character, one of my favourite versions of Batman is the animated series, I love that despite his scary intense appearance that he wants to help people and make things better. I liked Ben Affleck as Batman even if the Batman he was playing wasn’t the kind of Batman that I like. With that said I’m also a sucker for a noir style story so as you might imagine, I really enjoyed Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

So where to begin. The visual aspects of this film are very striking, Gotham feels like a claustrophobic city where people are trapped like rats in a cage or a sinking ship. This feels appropriate for the Batman that we get, a man who has thrown himself fully into vengeance but only sees the city getting worse no matter what he does. The rain feels oppressive and the shadows feel violent in their opaqueness. One of my favourite shots in the movie is when a spray can rolls into the shadows and disappears with the painter staring into the shadows in terror. They really nailed the striking fear into the hearts of criminals (even though the morality of graffiti isn’t something I’d necessarily consider criminal). The Iceberg Lounge was also very well presented, I got some real circles of hell vibes from the different parts of the club we saw. Overall this movie feels like it is in Gotham and it feels like a city that could swallow people whole if they’re not careful.

The story. I really liked the story, I don’t want to get too spoiler heavy here so I think I’ll just say that I’m glad this didn’t follow the usual superhero movie big strong guy smash formula for solving problems. Having the villain be more cerebral and having Batman have to fight on those terms made the film feel different from the standard superhero movie, I also enjoyed Alfred working in a cipher like it was a morning crossword puzzle. This film sets up what could be a really interesting world with a batman that doesn’t just hit things real hard but also uses his brain a little bit. The riddles were fun enough and I particularly thought the answer to the first riddle was clever. There was a cameo that I think the movie would have been better without but I totally get that some things are maybe expected from a Batman movie. The story follows batman trying to solve riddles and find a killer but it also touches on some elements that are more believable now than they maybe would have been in the past. The internet is a hell of a rabbit hole to fall down. I think of the main themes that I liked from the movie was the need for balance to solve problems, batman being “vengeance” isn’t enough, there needs to be more, like say a Bruce Wayne to help Gotham as well.

The cast. I would not change a single actor in this film, I can’t even pick a favourite person because they were all perfect, obviously Colin Farrell as the penguin had incredible makeup so he is unrecognisable but his acting is phenomenal as well. Pattinson is a really good Batman, I look forward to seeing him try and reclaim his Bruce Wayne-ness in future films, Kravitz was excellent as Selina Kyle, she really made her sympathetic which is really important for the character. Serkis is one of the best actors working just now and while he is not in the film a lot he is another great choice for Alfred. Turturro as Falcone was again an excellent choice, he gave a very good sleazy monster performance. Jeffrey Wright has been one of my favourite actors for a while now and his Jim Gordon is amazing, he feels like a good cop in a bad city and you can see the bond developing between him and batman in this movie which I look forward to seeing more of in the future. Paul Dano did an amazing job with the riddler, his dark and unhinged take on the character is worlds away from Jim Carrey and it works so well, the riddles feel heavy with malice and rage and his sudden bursts of violence and anger really show how troubled he is. His first scene is powerful and sets up the duality of his personality.

In summary, if you like dark crime movies you should see this film. If you like batman you should see this film. If you liked the long halloween and the other stories that have been mentioned as inspiration in interviews then you should see this film. The inspirations can be seen pretty clearly without it just lifting pages straight from the comics. So I guess I’m a fan of Robert Battinson.

[rabbitholeofleaves]

Thanos

Is probably the most developed of the marvel movie villains so far, they actually gave him a real character that felt like he had his own motivations for his actions rather than to just be against the heroes... which is impressive considering his goal is kill half the universe.

I also felt the Black Panther movie did a good job with Killmonger in that respect as well.

[rabbitholeofleaves]

Split

The first thing that needs to be said is that James MacAvoy is an amazing actor. He takes his role in this film seriously and with respect. It is because of his acting that I am so conflicted about the whole thing. There are many problems with this film. From here on out there will be spoilers.

As far as I am aware I am neurotypical. So there will be limits to the relevance of my opinion, however, I think that the premise of the movie had potential. That being said I think there needs to be a lot more groundwork done in terms of healthy, positive representations of mental illness. Simply giving someone with a mental illness superpowers and say it’s evolution is to miss the point of comics like the x-men. To then turn that character into a monster is even worse. The groundwork needs to be done because when MacAvoy was portraying Patricia, a female identity, the audience laughed, not through design of the script or acting but because of a lack of understanding. This was made even more frustrating as the character has many identities where their main motivation is not wanting to be made fun of. The audience misses the point and fails to see the irony of the situation.

The treatment of abuse in this film is terrible. Used as a plot device with very little regard to character development other than as the reason that Casey is a loner that doesn’t have any friends. Again this seems like a missed opportunity to have a positive depiction of someone who has suffered from abuse. There doesn’t feel like there is any character growth for Casey. She starts running away from her abuser and ends being taken back to her abuser. It feels like she is being forced to be a victim for the entirety of the movie even when she is supposedly finding strength which just doesn’t feel right to me. I really hope that there aren’t plans to bring out a new franchise that makes a new superhero team from this. I don’t think I can handle M. Night Shyamalan’s Justice League. Not when he treats serious issues with an attention to details that evoke the negative. Victims are victims and illness makes a monster.

[rabbitholeofleaves]

Black mirror: Nosedive

Season 3 of black mirror starts off in top form. A parody of modern life that hits a little too close to home at times. There will be some spoilers ahead. Bryce Dallas Howard is excellent and really makes a sympathetic main character in the story. Lacie works in an average job with people of a similar rating to her. Muted colours fill the story and allude to the surface level interactions that people have just to be liked. Through the episode the harmless 5 starring of people gives way to vindictive 1 and 2 star ratings. Leading to a spiral of darker and less sociable interactions. The culmination of which is freedom from the system and ultimately real happiness and expression of emotions.

[rabbitholeofleaves]

The wolf among us episode 1

I figured my first review on this blog should be the start of a game. The wolf among us is based on the comic series fables, I've not read them as yet but now have every intention of it. The gameplay is set up much like telltale games previous game of the year the walking dead season 1. The story revolves around sheriff Bigby Wolf and his attempts to keep the peace in fabletown. The colours are bright and strong with the cell shaded style working well with the fairytale characters in a gritty world. Characters have really cool appearances and the ones that don't look human use glamour to appear human. The story is as gripping as the walking dead game was and the choices that you make have the same weight. Highly recommend this game if you were a fan of the walking dead and if you never played it, the price is reasonable enough to get the episode to try it out.