A baby turning up in a doghouse is an inherently peculiar situation.
When that doghouse happens to belong to the family of teen sleuth Trixie
Belden, it’s the beginning of another mystery. Was the baby kidnapped?
Abandoned by his parents? Could there be some other explanation? In
between taking turns caring for the infant that has charmed them all,
spunky Trixie and her fellow Bob-Whites are determined to find some
answers in The Mystery of the Castaway Children, the 21st book in the Trixie Belden mystery series.
This book, written by a ghostwriter under the name of Kathryn Kenny, is
especially warm-hearted as Trixie and her friends and family rally
around this infant, growing more attached all the time but also yearning
to reunite this wayward child whom they have dubbed Moses with his
parents. It’s a mystery in several steps, and Trixie is very methodical
about gathering new clues as parts of it are unveiled. While she throws
caution to the wind a couple times, her dedication to the case is
admirable, and some of her deductions are quite clever.
As is
generally the case, Trixie’s best friend Honey is right by her side to
help her, and this time, they have an unusual ally in their efforts.
Usually, Sergeant Molinson of the local police department warns Trixie
off of her sleuthing, but this time, he actually requests that she and
Honey work with him. This adds a neat twist to the story and makes
Trixie feel like her dream of being a professional detective is more
within reach than ever. It also allows readers to see this frequently
antagonistic side character in a more encouraging and kind-hearted
light.
All seven of the Bob-Whites – the others being Trixie’s
older brothers Mart and Brian, Honey’s adopted brother Jim and their
friends Diana and Dan – are involved in this story and eagerly share the
responsibilities of caring for a baby. It’s fun to see them all turning
to mush over this newcomer, even the normally snarky Mart. Of course,
the title indicates more than one castaway, and when Trixie and her
friends learn of a second missing child, it adds a whole new dimension
to the mystery and allows for her little brother Bobby to have a key
role to play in the proceedings.
Woven throughout the story is
a lesson on the importance of financial responsibility, as well as
several pointers on how to take care of a baby. Mostly, though, this is
just a solid story of teamwork and ingenuity as a close-knit group of
friends try to figure out how an infant ended up in their care and how
to reunite his broken family.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Derek Jacobi Leads a Masterful Cast in I, Claudius
When I paid a visit to my boyfriend Will’s house earlier this month, he suggested that we make our way through the miniseries I, Claudius
while I was there. He had seen it before; I hadn’t, and while I’m not
as much of a history buff as he is, I was up for it, especially once I
realized the title character was played by Derek Jacobi, a classically
trained British actor I first encountered in a memorable episode of Frasier.
Jacobi serves as the wizened narrator whose comments bookend most of the episodes, while we see him in various younger forms in the flashbacks that make up most of the story. The nearly 11-hour-long miniseries covers a span of about 80 years during the Roman Empire of about two millennia ago. We see the reigns of austere Augustus (Brian Blessed), bitter Tiberius (George Baker), crazed Caligula (John Hurt) and finally gentle Claudius, the stammering, twitching, limping fellow who survives decades of carnage by letting everyone think he’s a simpleton. It’s a masterful performance of a character who seems out of step with his violent time, a wise scholar deeply in touch with his emotions and committed to a family that barely notices him.
The cast is outstanding in all respects, as is the screenplay by Jack Pulman, who adapted the Robert Graves novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God for the screen. While the dialogue has a feel of antiquity about it, it also crackles with wit, and each part of the miniseries has moments that are laugh-aloud funny. Of course, this is far from a comedy, and I found myself grateful that Will had watched it first, since he could tell me just when I ought to avert my eyes and usually warned me ahead of time precisely what sort of unpleasantness would follow. While much of the violence occurs off-screen, there are still plenty of moments that I would consider too grotesque for sensitive eyes.
Because Claudius is so lovable, not to mention the one character you know is going to stick around until the final installment, he is an anchor in the midst of the madness that often surrounds him. Many of the characters are sympathetic at one point or another, but most are also conniving or cruel. The most methodically murderous one of the lot is Augustus’s wife Livia (Sian Phillips), who subtly and patiently plots to remove any and all obstacles that lie between her son Tiberius and the throne. While her actions are largely despicable, Phillips is fascinating to watch in the role, and she and Augustus, the long-lived, rather curmudgeonly Caesar who is my second-favorite character in the series, have some wonderfully playful scenes together.
Blessed is largely endearing as Augustus, who comes across as a pretty decent fellow, all things considered. While he lives to a much riper age than most of the characters in the miniseries, he is the one I missed the most after his departure, and he and Tiberius both come across as extremely hen-pecked by Livia. The most absurd of the four emperors is Caligula, and Hurt seems to revel in his madness as he turns the palace into a den of debauchery and orders executions for nonexistent crimes. Even before assuming the throne, his cold heart and depraved pursuits are chilling, but ultimate power amplifies his beady-eyed insanity.
While I was unfamiliar with many of the actors in the uniformly excellent cast, it was a treat to see some I recognized from later films. My Star Trek geekery and Lord of the Rings fandom were both satisfied by the presence of Patrick Stewart as Tiberius’s ambitious right-hand man Sejanus and John Rhys-Davies as Macro, who helps drive one of the most stomach-turning scenes in the miniseries. I also found it very interesting to see the Biblical Herod Agrippa (James Faulkner) from a different perspective as the worldly but affectionate longtime friend of Claudius.
While I couldn’t say just how accurate this miniseries is, anyone who has an interest in ancient Roman history would most likely enjoy this intricate tale directed by Herbert Wise. Those with a weak stomach should take warning that poisonings, stabbings and outright slaughter are frequent occurrences, and it’s also worth mentioning that there are some pretty steamy scenes, particularly the seedy exploits of Caligula and of Claudius’s libidinous young wife Messalina (Sheila White). I would not recommend this to anyone younger than high school, but it could be a great means of getting older teenagers excited about history.
As for me, while I looked away multiple times, I found I, Claudius a thoroughly rewarding venture that showcases some of the shining stars of British stage and screen, particularly Blessed and Jacobi, and gives me an instant reference point when I hear someone suggest that the world has never been as violent or immoral as it is now.
Jacobi serves as the wizened narrator whose comments bookend most of the episodes, while we see him in various younger forms in the flashbacks that make up most of the story. The nearly 11-hour-long miniseries covers a span of about 80 years during the Roman Empire of about two millennia ago. We see the reigns of austere Augustus (Brian Blessed), bitter Tiberius (George Baker), crazed Caligula (John Hurt) and finally gentle Claudius, the stammering, twitching, limping fellow who survives decades of carnage by letting everyone think he’s a simpleton. It’s a masterful performance of a character who seems out of step with his violent time, a wise scholar deeply in touch with his emotions and committed to a family that barely notices him.
The cast is outstanding in all respects, as is the screenplay by Jack Pulman, who adapted the Robert Graves novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God for the screen. While the dialogue has a feel of antiquity about it, it also crackles with wit, and each part of the miniseries has moments that are laugh-aloud funny. Of course, this is far from a comedy, and I found myself grateful that Will had watched it first, since he could tell me just when I ought to avert my eyes and usually warned me ahead of time precisely what sort of unpleasantness would follow. While much of the violence occurs off-screen, there are still plenty of moments that I would consider too grotesque for sensitive eyes.
Because Claudius is so lovable, not to mention the one character you know is going to stick around until the final installment, he is an anchor in the midst of the madness that often surrounds him. Many of the characters are sympathetic at one point or another, but most are also conniving or cruel. The most methodically murderous one of the lot is Augustus’s wife Livia (Sian Phillips), who subtly and patiently plots to remove any and all obstacles that lie between her son Tiberius and the throne. While her actions are largely despicable, Phillips is fascinating to watch in the role, and she and Augustus, the long-lived, rather curmudgeonly Caesar who is my second-favorite character in the series, have some wonderfully playful scenes together.
Blessed is largely endearing as Augustus, who comes across as a pretty decent fellow, all things considered. While he lives to a much riper age than most of the characters in the miniseries, he is the one I missed the most after his departure, and he and Tiberius both come across as extremely hen-pecked by Livia. The most absurd of the four emperors is Caligula, and Hurt seems to revel in his madness as he turns the palace into a den of debauchery and orders executions for nonexistent crimes. Even before assuming the throne, his cold heart and depraved pursuits are chilling, but ultimate power amplifies his beady-eyed insanity.
While I was unfamiliar with many of the actors in the uniformly excellent cast, it was a treat to see some I recognized from later films. My Star Trek geekery and Lord of the Rings fandom were both satisfied by the presence of Patrick Stewart as Tiberius’s ambitious right-hand man Sejanus and John Rhys-Davies as Macro, who helps drive one of the most stomach-turning scenes in the miniseries. I also found it very interesting to see the Biblical Herod Agrippa (James Faulkner) from a different perspective as the worldly but affectionate longtime friend of Claudius.
While I couldn’t say just how accurate this miniseries is, anyone who has an interest in ancient Roman history would most likely enjoy this intricate tale directed by Herbert Wise. Those with a weak stomach should take warning that poisonings, stabbings and outright slaughter are frequent occurrences, and it’s also worth mentioning that there are some pretty steamy scenes, particularly the seedy exploits of Caligula and of Claudius’s libidinous young wife Messalina (Sheila White). I would not recommend this to anyone younger than high school, but it could be a great means of getting older teenagers excited about history.
As for me, while I looked away multiple times, I found I, Claudius a thoroughly rewarding venture that showcases some of the shining stars of British stage and screen, particularly Blessed and Jacobi, and gives me an instant reference point when I hear someone suggest that the world has never been as violent or immoral as it is now.
Gruntly Is Too Greedy in All For Me and None For All
Pigs are widely considered to be rather, well, piggy, and that
particularly comes across in children’s books. One recent picture book
that utilizes this stereotype is All For Me and None For All,
written by Helen Lester and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. This duo has
teamed up on many occasions to tell tales of critters behaving badly or
having just a little trouble discovering their place in the world. In
this case, the main character is a pig named Gruntly who has never
learned how to share.
Gruntly’s greediness has given him a bad reputation among his peers, which include a sheep, a chicken, a small dog and two more well-mannered pigs. They know that his motto is the titular phrase; he wants to get as much as he can, and he doesn’t care who he has to deprive in order to satisfy himself. Gruntly certainly comes across as a bully, though it’s hard to say whether he is truly malicious or just completely clueless about how to behave. Either way, his pushy, self-serving demeanor does not make him very popular. Is there any way of reforming this hog?
Lester and Munsinger make a great team, with Lester’s simple but lively text accompanied by Munsinger’s fun pictures. In this book, Woolworth the sheep is the only named animal not to wear clothing of some kind. The pigs are fully garbed in shirts and pants, while the dog wears a shirt and the chicken wears a bandana. While the two other pigs, Hampshire and Berkshire, are difficult to tell apart since they are both gray, Gruntly is easily identifiable as the only pink pig in the bunch, aside from the park ranger who is dressed all in green.
Part of the fun of this story is that it involves a scavenger hunt. Each leg of the hunt features a rhymed clue. Gruntly comes to his own conclusions about the end of each verse in an effort to move things along more quickly, but he guesses the wrong word each time. This leaves kids open to try to guess the correct word themselves before it is revealed. It also furnishes a lesson about the importance of patience and of following directions accurately.
The primary lesson in the book, however, is to share with others and not take things that don’t belong to you. For a hoggy youngster like Gruntly, drilling that message into his head is no easy task, but the method is a good one for impressing upon children the value of courtesy and generosity.
Gruntly’s greediness has given him a bad reputation among his peers, which include a sheep, a chicken, a small dog and two more well-mannered pigs. They know that his motto is the titular phrase; he wants to get as much as he can, and he doesn’t care who he has to deprive in order to satisfy himself. Gruntly certainly comes across as a bully, though it’s hard to say whether he is truly malicious or just completely clueless about how to behave. Either way, his pushy, self-serving demeanor does not make him very popular. Is there any way of reforming this hog?
Lester and Munsinger make a great team, with Lester’s simple but lively text accompanied by Munsinger’s fun pictures. In this book, Woolworth the sheep is the only named animal not to wear clothing of some kind. The pigs are fully garbed in shirts and pants, while the dog wears a shirt and the chicken wears a bandana. While the two other pigs, Hampshire and Berkshire, are difficult to tell apart since they are both gray, Gruntly is easily identifiable as the only pink pig in the bunch, aside from the park ranger who is dressed all in green.
Part of the fun of this story is that it involves a scavenger hunt. Each leg of the hunt features a rhymed clue. Gruntly comes to his own conclusions about the end of each verse in an effort to move things along more quickly, but he guesses the wrong word each time. This leaves kids open to try to guess the correct word themselves before it is revealed. It also furnishes a lesson about the importance of patience and of following directions accurately.
The primary lesson in the book, however, is to share with others and not take things that don’t belong to you. For a hoggy youngster like Gruntly, drilling that message into his head is no easy task, but the method is a good one for impressing upon children the value of courtesy and generosity.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Droofus the Dragon Has a Huge Heart
Dragons are powerful mythological creatures whose role in most tales is
to antagonize and terrorize. Sometimes, however, they come across much
more sympathetically. Famous fire-breathers of this type include Puff
the Magic Dragon, Elliot from Pete’s Dragon and Kenneth Grahame’s
Reluctant Dragon. I just ran across another fine addition to this list
thanks to prolific author-illustrator and former Disney animator Bill
Peet.
In How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head, Droofus is just a youngster when he falls behind a group of migrating dragons. Unable to find them again, he goes in for a landing and makes a life for himself on the ground. Droofus has an unusually soft heart, and he is more interested in rescuing small creatures than eating them. In fact, he is so tender-hearted that he decides to restrict his feasting to grass. This vegetarian dragon is able to grow to a hearty adulthood, but how will he fare when he is discovered by humans? Will he have the opportunity to demonstrate his goodwill?
Peet has a delightful style of illustrating, and all of his characters brim with personality. Droofus is a vibrant blue and green, while his wings are pink. He seems to shimmer with iridescence. Instead of jagged teeth, he has a jagged mouth, which sometimes looks very happy and sometimes very downcast but never looks ferocious. Most of the other characters are small birds and woodland creatures, but the people who come into the story halfway through are most expressive, particularly the weathered farmer who isn’t sure what to make of this enormous winged reptile.
Peet seems to specialize in animals that are significantly different than others of their kind. In this case, it is Droofus’s eating habits and pleasant manner that distinguish him. However, this is not a story about him gaining acceptance from his fellow dragons. Rather, it’s about him learning to carve out his own path and find a way to prove to the skittish people he encounters that he is not a threat.
This is a fairly long story, with several paragraphs on each page, so it builds slowly, and it works well as a read-aloud. It could even be broken up into halves and read as a two-parter. There is suspense aplenty in this story as the dragon faces an unanticipated injury and a threat from a king who pursues him not out of fear but out of aesthetic appreciation. With such a provocative title to the book, can there be a happy ending for Droofus?
Through it all is the core of kindness in Droofus’s heart and the way that it impacts those with whom he interacts. For those who prefer their dragons friendly, How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head is a thoroughly satisfying tale.
In How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head, Droofus is just a youngster when he falls behind a group of migrating dragons. Unable to find them again, he goes in for a landing and makes a life for himself on the ground. Droofus has an unusually soft heart, and he is more interested in rescuing small creatures than eating them. In fact, he is so tender-hearted that he decides to restrict his feasting to grass. This vegetarian dragon is able to grow to a hearty adulthood, but how will he fare when he is discovered by humans? Will he have the opportunity to demonstrate his goodwill?
Peet has a delightful style of illustrating, and all of his characters brim with personality. Droofus is a vibrant blue and green, while his wings are pink. He seems to shimmer with iridescence. Instead of jagged teeth, he has a jagged mouth, which sometimes looks very happy and sometimes very downcast but never looks ferocious. Most of the other characters are small birds and woodland creatures, but the people who come into the story halfway through are most expressive, particularly the weathered farmer who isn’t sure what to make of this enormous winged reptile.
Peet seems to specialize in animals that are significantly different than others of their kind. In this case, it is Droofus’s eating habits and pleasant manner that distinguish him. However, this is not a story about him gaining acceptance from his fellow dragons. Rather, it’s about him learning to carve out his own path and find a way to prove to the skittish people he encounters that he is not a threat.
This is a fairly long story, with several paragraphs on each page, so it builds slowly, and it works well as a read-aloud. It could even be broken up into halves and read as a two-parter. There is suspense aplenty in this story as the dragon faces an unanticipated injury and a threat from a king who pursues him not out of fear but out of aesthetic appreciation. With such a provocative title to the book, can there be a happy ending for Droofus?
Through it all is the core of kindness in Droofus’s heart and the way that it impacts those with whom he interacts. For those who prefer their dragons friendly, How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head is a thoroughly satisfying tale.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
A Slightly More Somber Chuck Still Entertains in the Fourth Season
Last year, my family and I breezed through the first three seasons of Chuck,
the refreshingly funny and wholesome NBC dramedy about an unassuming
computer geek who becomes a spy after having a top-secret government
file downloaded into his brain. At that point we had to stop, since
season four was currently in progress. It took us a while to get back
into a good watching groove with the fourth season on DVD, but it proved
to be thoroughly charming once again.
As someone who spent as much time puzzling over LOST as I did, my dad continues to express admiration for the gradual way the mysteries of Chuck unfold, always seeming to make sense eventually as more pieces of the puzzle emerge. In the fourth season, we delve more deeply into the secrets surrounding Chuck’s family. Despite numerous revelations about him, particularly in season two, there remains plenty left to discover about his father, while his mother is the main focus as she returns after a long sojourn undercover, leaving Chuck – and us – constantly second-guessing her true loyalties.
As always, Zachary Levi is wonderful as Chuck Bartowski, though he is not quite as unassuming as he was in the beginning. Now that Chuck is finally in a relationship with Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) and has learned how to exert proper control over the Intersect that now allows him special abilities as well as knowledge, he seems more like a regular spy and less like a hapless everyman whose ingenuity and sweetness gets him out of precarious situations. There’s less room for creativity as he conquers the baddies; usually he simply dispatches them with kung fu or a stun gun, which is efficient but not as funny as some of the outlandish situations from earlier seasons.
That’s certainly not to say that there is no humor in the fourth season, but there’s a general feeling of settling into a routine and maturing. Most of the romantic tension has dissipated, though some remains as Chuck and Sarah don’t always see eye to eye on everything. The show finds ways of keeping just enough conflict going there to make things interesting, even as they remain one of television’s sweetest and most affirming couples. Chuck’s best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez), a bit of a tag-along doofus for much of the series, really comes into his own here, both in his management skills at the Buy More and the unique skill set he implements as a part of Chuck’s spy team.
Big changes loom for everyone as Chuck and Sarah contemplate marriage, Chuck’s devoted sister Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and golden boy brother-in-law Devon (Ryan McPartlin) prepare to welcome a new addition and less-surly-than-before assassin John Casey (Adam Baldwin) adjusts to fatherhood after getting to know his sweet-natured daughter Alex (Mekenna Melvin), who may just be the woman of Morgan’s dreams. This lends the season a somewhat somber tone, though it still feels cheerful more often than not.
Just as Quantum Leap and Enterprise alum Scott Bakula is an inspired choice to play Chuck and Ellie’s father, Linda Hamilton, whose geek cred includes starring in the Terminator movies and the Beauty and the Beast television series, seems perfect for the maternal role in this pop culture-heavy show. Former James Bond Timothy Dalton also has a key role to play as Alexei Volkoff, one of the series’ most intriguing villains, particularly in the way he relates to the Bartowski clan. His storyline throughout the season takes a number of twists and turns, but I found myself very satisfied with where it ends up.
As in the past, this season is littered with geeky references, with Star Wars seeming most prominent in my mind, both in a thematic sense and as a symbol for the extended childhood from which Chuck and Morgan are slowly detaching themselves. One scene involving some long-held memorabilia is particularly heartbreaking, even as it paves the way for an entertaining new living arrangement for Morgan. This season seems to be about growing up in a sense, which is never easy and is particularly painful for the audience because it signals a move into the last act of the series. Nonetheless, these are still the same great characters, so even as they change a bit, their appeal does not. We're stretching out that last season as long as we can; it will be a great shame to see them go.
As someone who spent as much time puzzling over LOST as I did, my dad continues to express admiration for the gradual way the mysteries of Chuck unfold, always seeming to make sense eventually as more pieces of the puzzle emerge. In the fourth season, we delve more deeply into the secrets surrounding Chuck’s family. Despite numerous revelations about him, particularly in season two, there remains plenty left to discover about his father, while his mother is the main focus as she returns after a long sojourn undercover, leaving Chuck – and us – constantly second-guessing her true loyalties.
As always, Zachary Levi is wonderful as Chuck Bartowski, though he is not quite as unassuming as he was in the beginning. Now that Chuck is finally in a relationship with Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) and has learned how to exert proper control over the Intersect that now allows him special abilities as well as knowledge, he seems more like a regular spy and less like a hapless everyman whose ingenuity and sweetness gets him out of precarious situations. There’s less room for creativity as he conquers the baddies; usually he simply dispatches them with kung fu or a stun gun, which is efficient but not as funny as some of the outlandish situations from earlier seasons.
That’s certainly not to say that there is no humor in the fourth season, but there’s a general feeling of settling into a routine and maturing. Most of the romantic tension has dissipated, though some remains as Chuck and Sarah don’t always see eye to eye on everything. The show finds ways of keeping just enough conflict going there to make things interesting, even as they remain one of television’s sweetest and most affirming couples. Chuck’s best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez), a bit of a tag-along doofus for much of the series, really comes into his own here, both in his management skills at the Buy More and the unique skill set he implements as a part of Chuck’s spy team.
Big changes loom for everyone as Chuck and Sarah contemplate marriage, Chuck’s devoted sister Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and golden boy brother-in-law Devon (Ryan McPartlin) prepare to welcome a new addition and less-surly-than-before assassin John Casey (Adam Baldwin) adjusts to fatherhood after getting to know his sweet-natured daughter Alex (Mekenna Melvin), who may just be the woman of Morgan’s dreams. This lends the season a somewhat somber tone, though it still feels cheerful more often than not.
Just as Quantum Leap and Enterprise alum Scott Bakula is an inspired choice to play Chuck and Ellie’s father, Linda Hamilton, whose geek cred includes starring in the Terminator movies and the Beauty and the Beast television series, seems perfect for the maternal role in this pop culture-heavy show. Former James Bond Timothy Dalton also has a key role to play as Alexei Volkoff, one of the series’ most intriguing villains, particularly in the way he relates to the Bartowski clan. His storyline throughout the season takes a number of twists and turns, but I found myself very satisfied with where it ends up.
As in the past, this season is littered with geeky references, with Star Wars seeming most prominent in my mind, both in a thematic sense and as a symbol for the extended childhood from which Chuck and Morgan are slowly detaching themselves. One scene involving some long-held memorabilia is particularly heartbreaking, even as it paves the way for an entertaining new living arrangement for Morgan. This season seems to be about growing up in a sense, which is never easy and is particularly painful for the audience because it signals a move into the last act of the series. Nonetheless, these are still the same great characters, so even as they change a bit, their appeal does not. We're stretching out that last season as long as we can; it will be a great shame to see them go.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
The Dark Knight Rises, and So Do My Spirits
Four years ago, The Dark Knight
hit the big screen to great fanfare, and I was eager to see what all
the hoopla was about. I figured this was a movie worthy of opening
night, but I hadn't counted on just how many people would turn up at
that hour in Erie. As a result, we arrived an hour early and all three
showings were sold out, and I didn't try again until it made its way to
the dollar theater, where I came to the conclusion that it was far too
oppressive for my liking. Would I feel any differently about The Dark Knight Rises, which concludes Christopher Nolan’s trilogy?
As a matter of fact, I did. It helped that this movie night was a lead-in to my boyfriend's family reunion and that the charming Town Hall Theatre in Lowville, NY, is of great sentimental value to him. The graciousness of the proprietor and the amusing remarks of a friend who has seen the campy Batman movie from the 1960s far more times than she would like added to the fun of the outing, as did the fact that this was the first movie we saw together on the big screen. Nonetheless, I'm certain that no matter what the circumstances of my watching it had been, I would have found it the most enjoyable installment in the trilogy.
The film is set nearly a decade after The Dark Knight in a time when Gotham City has been seemingly purged of its unsavory element. Hundreds of criminals sit stewing behind bars while ordinary law-abiding citizens breathe a sigh of relief. In the depths of the city's most expansive manor, a billionaire broods, trapped in a prison of his own. His name is Bruce Wayne, and without vigilantism to occupy himself with, he has lost his sense of purpose. Will he ever be able to leave Batman behind him and start over?
Christian Bale returns as Bruce, but this time around we see very little of him in costume. Considering how much his Batman voice annoyed me in the second movie, I didn't mind. Besides, that allowed plenty of time to really focus in on Bruce and delve into his psyche. Until the last segment of the movie, he has little direct involvement with battling its baddies. Instead, he wars with himself while others team up to fight the bomb-wielding terrorists led by the chilling Bane (Tom Hardy), who breathes intimidation under his voice-altering mask.
Bane is no less horrific than the Joker, and the threat that he places over Gotham City could hardly be grimmer. Nonetheless, the movie feels far easier to take. We don't spend the entire film under gloomy cloud cover or in the midst of bleak industrialism. Bright sunshine and glitzy halls are equally abundant. While the scene concludes in calamity, it was great fun to see the moment set in a football stadium and know that all those yellow jerseys belong to Steelers fans in nearby Pittsburgh. I appreciated the score, which often had a classical feel to it and only occasionally reprised the pounding cacophony heard throughout much of The Dark Knight. Despite the dire circumstances, it just felt like a lighter movie.
I also loved the partnership that develops between noble but world-weary Commissioner Gordon, once again masterfully played by Gary Oldman, and idealistic cop Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), whose childhood loss of his parents gives him a sense of deep solidarity with Bruce. These two profoundly good men do not have all the fancy tools at their disposal that Batman does, but they do work very effectively together. I also enjoyed Anne Hathaway's performance as the sly, seductive Selina, otherwise known as Catwoman. Her playful prowess makes her great fun; she is an accomplished thief who burgles for sport and greed, but a sweet vulnerability lurks not too far below the surface. Her ambiguity makes her one of the most compelling characters in the series.
I have always had a soft spot for Bruce's loyal butler Alfred, and I have particularly loved the magnificent Michael Caine in the role. While he is off-screen for the majority of the movie, he is at the heart of two gut-wrenching scenes; elsewhere, his dry wit provides several laughs. Morgan Freeman also returns as sage inventor Lucius Fox, and I found him just as delightful as in the previous films as well. While they have only brief scenes, I also enjoyed seeing LOST's Nestor Carbonell, back as the city's slightly overwrought mayor, and Brett Cullen, who plays a hapless congressman at the beginning of the movie.
The Dark Knight Rises is just as much an action movie as its predecessors, but it also has a deeply introspective quality to it. The threat of violence is severe, but what we actually see on screen is considerably less grotesque than in The Dark Knight. While the adrenaline-pumping moments are edge-of-the-seat fun, what I really appreciated were the quieter bits that really gave us a chance to know Bruce Wayne and understand what makes him tick.
Before I saw this movie, my brother warned me that while he found the ending appealingly optimistic, the night truly is darkest before the dawn in this case. I assured him that I would shield my eyes at the appropriate times, and he replied, "I don't think you'll have to shield your eyes much... It's more shielding your soul." Yikes. However, after that ominous warning, I have emerged from this film experience unscathed.
I'll readily confess that I like Batman best in his corniest incarnation, but for a dark series, this movie offers a conclusion that makes it well worth the ride.
As a matter of fact, I did. It helped that this movie night was a lead-in to my boyfriend's family reunion and that the charming Town Hall Theatre in Lowville, NY, is of great sentimental value to him. The graciousness of the proprietor and the amusing remarks of a friend who has seen the campy Batman movie from the 1960s far more times than she would like added to the fun of the outing, as did the fact that this was the first movie we saw together on the big screen. Nonetheless, I'm certain that no matter what the circumstances of my watching it had been, I would have found it the most enjoyable installment in the trilogy.
The film is set nearly a decade after The Dark Knight in a time when Gotham City has been seemingly purged of its unsavory element. Hundreds of criminals sit stewing behind bars while ordinary law-abiding citizens breathe a sigh of relief. In the depths of the city's most expansive manor, a billionaire broods, trapped in a prison of his own. His name is Bruce Wayne, and without vigilantism to occupy himself with, he has lost his sense of purpose. Will he ever be able to leave Batman behind him and start over?
Christian Bale returns as Bruce, but this time around we see very little of him in costume. Considering how much his Batman voice annoyed me in the second movie, I didn't mind. Besides, that allowed plenty of time to really focus in on Bruce and delve into his psyche. Until the last segment of the movie, he has little direct involvement with battling its baddies. Instead, he wars with himself while others team up to fight the bomb-wielding terrorists led by the chilling Bane (Tom Hardy), who breathes intimidation under his voice-altering mask.
Bane is no less horrific than the Joker, and the threat that he places over Gotham City could hardly be grimmer. Nonetheless, the movie feels far easier to take. We don't spend the entire film under gloomy cloud cover or in the midst of bleak industrialism. Bright sunshine and glitzy halls are equally abundant. While the scene concludes in calamity, it was great fun to see the moment set in a football stadium and know that all those yellow jerseys belong to Steelers fans in nearby Pittsburgh. I appreciated the score, which often had a classical feel to it and only occasionally reprised the pounding cacophony heard throughout much of The Dark Knight. Despite the dire circumstances, it just felt like a lighter movie.
I also loved the partnership that develops between noble but world-weary Commissioner Gordon, once again masterfully played by Gary Oldman, and idealistic cop Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), whose childhood loss of his parents gives him a sense of deep solidarity with Bruce. These two profoundly good men do not have all the fancy tools at their disposal that Batman does, but they do work very effectively together. I also enjoyed Anne Hathaway's performance as the sly, seductive Selina, otherwise known as Catwoman. Her playful prowess makes her great fun; she is an accomplished thief who burgles for sport and greed, but a sweet vulnerability lurks not too far below the surface. Her ambiguity makes her one of the most compelling characters in the series.
I have always had a soft spot for Bruce's loyal butler Alfred, and I have particularly loved the magnificent Michael Caine in the role. While he is off-screen for the majority of the movie, he is at the heart of two gut-wrenching scenes; elsewhere, his dry wit provides several laughs. Morgan Freeman also returns as sage inventor Lucius Fox, and I found him just as delightful as in the previous films as well. While they have only brief scenes, I also enjoyed seeing LOST's Nestor Carbonell, back as the city's slightly overwrought mayor, and Brett Cullen, who plays a hapless congressman at the beginning of the movie.
The Dark Knight Rises is just as much an action movie as its predecessors, but it also has a deeply introspective quality to it. The threat of violence is severe, but what we actually see on screen is considerably less grotesque than in The Dark Knight. While the adrenaline-pumping moments are edge-of-the-seat fun, what I really appreciated were the quieter bits that really gave us a chance to know Bruce Wayne and understand what makes him tick.
Before I saw this movie, my brother warned me that while he found the ending appealingly optimistic, the night truly is darkest before the dawn in this case. I assured him that I would shield my eyes at the appropriate times, and he replied, "I don't think you'll have to shield your eyes much... It's more shielding your soul." Yikes. However, after that ominous warning, I have emerged from this film experience unscathed.
I'll readily confess that I like Batman best in his corniest incarnation, but for a dark series, this movie offers a conclusion that makes it well worth the ride.
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