 Though he will not appear – or even be mentioned, for that matter – in The Dark Knight Rises, no discussion of the film or its eponymous character can be reasonably made without his arch nemesis, The Joker. He is arguably the most famous comic book villain in history and has been featured in just about every media translation of Batman’s stories. As has been brought up often in their conflicts together, it could very well be argued that the two are inseparable forces that have come to define one another in their long history together.
For a character that has become a staple of the franchise, The Joker was not originally conceived as such a longstanding addition to Batman’s rogue’s gallery. Introduced in Batman #1 in 1940, the initial plan was to kill him off after his second appearance until a last-minute plea from Editor Whitney Ellsworth caused a hastily-drawn panel showing the villain surviving his stab wound, tormenting the Caped Crusader ever since, and the story of who actually created an initially brief antagonist became a lot more disputed. Prolific comic book artist Jerry Robinson went to his grave insisting that he was the man who created The Joker, but Bob Kane tells a different story: Read more on Understanding the Character: The Joker…
Categories: Article Tags: batman, Batman: The Animated Series, Best Supporting Actor, Caesar Romero, Christopher Nolan, Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson, The Dark Knight, the dark knight rises, The Joker, Understanding the Character Series
Two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman is making his directorial debut with Quartet, a film based on the acclaimed play by Ronald Harwood, who wrote the screenplay for the film. Quartet takes place in a retirement home for former opera singers, and with a cast that includes Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Tom Courtenay and Michael Gambon, one can expect some cheeky humor.
With her recent surge in popularity via Downton Abbey and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Maggie Smith could find herself being recognized somewhere during the awards season for this performance. However, the first trailer doesn’t do enough to get me run out and include her in my predictions just yet. Fans of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – which has made well over $100 million now - will probably eat this up. The UK release date is November 2nd. There is no US date set.
Check out the trailer and synopsis for Quartet after the jump…
Read more on Dustin Hoffman Makes His Directorial Debut with ‘Quartet’…
One of the great things about the advances in film technology is that it enables old classics to be improved quality wise and be presented to new audiences on DVD. Universal is making the most of the restoration processes available to re-release its classic monster tales in time for Halloween. Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection set will include all of the classic creatures: Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Bride of Frankenstein, the Phantom of the Opera, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. The collection hits shelves on October 2nd,with restored versions of the eight films, over 12 hours of bonus features, and a 48-page collectible booklet. Check out the special features and a video about the Dracula restoration after the jump!
Read more on Universal to unleash its classic monsters on Blu-Ray this October!…
Disney/Pixar’s Brave didn’t have a very long run at the top of the box office. In fact it fell to third in what was only its second week in release. While the film is certainly worth seeing, I still remain in the camp that Brave is not among the storied company’s best films of late. The surprising thing is that the two films to out draw Brave are not the competition the children-friendly film should have had. The dominantly adult male audience for Seth MacFarlane’s Ted ($54.1 million) and the dominantly adult female audience for Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike ($39.2 million) should be an entirely different crowd from that of Brave. So I wonder if word of mouth has pushed some people away from keeping Brave ($34 million) in the number one spot this week. The film has still remained very successful overall, totalling $131.7 million in its two weeks thus far.
Check out the rest of the Box Office Review after the jump…
Read more on Box Office Review: ‘Ted’ and ‘Magic Mike’ Prove That Raunchy Can Sell…
 An annual tradition at The Awards Circuit, this is my rundown of the first 6 months of films for the year. Right now, at the beginning of July, I’ve seen more than 115 films and I’ve noticed something interesting. The average film is better than usual, but there are less movies to go wild over as well. It doesn’t necessarily indicate anything about the year on the whole or what the second half will be like, but it’s just something that I’ve taken note of. As for this piece, I’ve limited it to only the films that have seen theatrical release between the beginning of January and the end of June, so that excludes anything I’ve seen that is only playing VOD right now or won’t be out until July or beyond. As for what was eligible, you can see the best and worst of 2012 so far below, along with some awards as well.
Read more on The Highlights and Lowlights of 2012 Thus Far…
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