The Dark Knight Rises

I am a huge Batman fan.
A rich dude in a bat suit doing superhuman things without super powers?
Ef yes!

Back in the day

Well the movie is starting to take shape, through much controversy within and outside of the production crew. First there was the rumor that the young guy from 3rd Rock From the Sun was going to play the Riddler... I was not fond of this idea because the Riddler is far too similar to the Joker. Sure both characters have immense differences, but you can't follow a joke with a riddle. I thought it was interesting to cast Joseph Gordon-Levitt in this role because I've never imagined him as a villain; it'd be interesting to see. Another grevience I'd have against the casting of Levitt as Riddler is that he looks just like Heath Ledger these days! Christopher Nolan must have noticed this... how could you not? I think it would be an insult to Ledger's inspiring performance in the Dark Knight to cast someone that looks just like him, to play the one roll most similar to his own. Not to mention the fact that they've been in a movie together: 10 Things I Hate About You. Let's not try to replace my modern age James Dean, kthanksbi. But this is neither here nor there, for thank goodness this will not happen.

Doppelganger?

So who will the next villain be? Bane, that's who! Now, I must admit that I have not yet read the comics. I know, "How can you be a true Batman Fan then??" right? Well I am ashamed of myself. But I turned to my (relatively) trusty friend IMDB for a character synopsis on this guy I've never heard of. The short story: dude's a super genius that speaks 6 languages and spent his early life in prison in place of his missing revolutionary father. He started taking a drug called Venom that gives him super-strength, and can't stop taking it or he'll suffer side-effects. Since his childhood, he'd been haunted by a demonic bat figure, and so developed a grudge against Batman and went to seek him out upon his escape from prison. Apparently this character was the dumb henchmen to Poison Ivy in the '97 Batman. Why don't I remember this? I'll have to watch it again. Anyhoo, this Bane guy is going to be played by Tom Hardy.

Tom Hardy: Inception

Hold on.. how on earth did you come up with that bit of casting, Nolan? Oh that's right, he was also in Inception. I am really disappointed in the creativity in casting these days. Just because you are already comfortable with a guy from doing a past big-budget movie, doesn't mean he'll be right for a roll in your next project. I haven't seen Hardy enough to really have an opinion on his acting skills, though, so maybe I shouldn't judge. The character could be entertaining, interesting, captivating, stinky, or just stupid. We'll see. I put my trust in you, Nolan.

Speaking of casting trends, remember the Scarecrow in Batman Begins? Rich dude in Inception. Michael Cane Inception: Father; Michael Cane Batman: Father Figure. Hmm.

This Just In: A new rumor (which seems to be more than a rumor, but you never know these days in Hollywood) has taken form of another villain. Why is it that each Batman film needs 2 or more villains at the same time? Whatever happened to character development? Are we that ADD to where we can't pay attention to one malicious character at a time? Anne Hathaway has been cast to play Catwoman. No thanks! I love the gal, but as Catwoman? Sure she had some sensuality in Havoc, but am I the only one that wasn't fooled by that role? She's too Girl-Next-Door for me. I think she needs to stick with the squishy, girly roles, though I'm sure she'd slap me for saying it. And Rachel Getting Married? No. She doesn't captivate me like I'd want my Catwoman to.

Well that's all for now, I'm off to my Geology class. I may write more later. We'll see.