Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is an IMAX-shot epic thriller based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin.
Continue reading “The First Trailer for ‘Oppenheimer’ is Here”
This Friday, Warner Bros. will be releasing Reminiscence, an original high-concept, sci-fi film noir, in theaters and on HBO Max. In a world where IP reigns supreme, to have a non-franchise, non-sequel get such a wide release is almost unheard of nowadays. The only person in recent memory who has been able to open an original blockbuster is Christopher Nolan. But, as Reminiscence points out, we can’t always rely on memory. What matters is the here and now, and right now is Lisa Joy’s time. If anyone can successfully tell a high concept sci-fi story, I’ll put my money on the co-creator of Westworld — who just so happens to be Nolan’s sister-in-law.
Continue reading “On a Journey with Lisa Joy, Director of ‘Reminiscence’ + a Clip From the Movie”
It’s been a long time. We shouldn’t have left you without a dope pod to listen to.
The Tenet train keeps on rolling! As Christopher Nolan’s latest continues to invert the box office with its mind-bending greatness, we at the NOC were lucky enough to meet with the film’s “Fixer,” Himesh Patel, for an interview co-led by AsAm News correspondant, and friend of the show, Erin Wen Ai Chew!
Check it out below!
Continue reading “The Fixer: An Interview with ‘Tenet’ Star Himesh Patel”
Tenet has made its way into theaters! And though it’s no secret that the pandemic has hindered our ability to see the film on IMAX screens as auteur, Christopher Nolan, intended, I was very fortunate to run out and see it from the safety of my car at an LA drive-in recently. And let me tell you, this is one heck of a twisty, complex, roller coaster ride that challenges and thrills you! Multiple viewings will be required. That said, I encourage folks to treat themselves to a drive-in night to see it as safely and as soon as possible, because it’s incredibly fun!
Continue reading “The Master of Inversion: ‘Tenet’ Star John David Washington”
Oh man, do I love Christopher Nolan!
It’s no secret that we’re living in an unprecedented time where the very existence of the theatrical experience is being threatened. Even if the quarantine is lifted, there’s going to be a lot of hesitation for audiences to return to the big screens. However, if anyone can bring people back to theaters, begging for more — if anyone can provide an argument for why cinema and movies need to be viewed outside the comfort of our own homes, and through immersive experiences we can’t get from streaming on our TVs — it’s Christopher Nolan!
Continue reading “Time Gets Trippy in the New Trailer for ‘Tenet’”
Dominic and Keith look at movies that feel different watching post-pandemic — namely, The Dark Knight Rises and Watchmen.
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: The Dark Knight Quarantines”
Few directors are franchises unto themselves. But the way Marvel Studios owns the first weekend in May and Star Wars lays claim to the middle of December, Christopher Nolan is synonymous with the mid-July blockbuster. In 2020, that will be the case once again when Warner Bros. releases Tenet.
Continue reading “‘Tenet’ Trailer Teases Nolan’s Nolaniest Movie Yet”
For the last Hard NOC Life of 2018, Keith is joined by actor, writer, filmmaker, and professional nerd Jon Lee Brody to recap the year in superheroes in film and television.
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: The Year in Superhero Media”
On July18, 2008, The Dark Knight was released in theaters and changed things… forever. Ten years later, Warner Bros. is re-releasing Christopher Nolan’s seminal superhero film in select IMAX theaters for one week only.
Continue reading “Ten Years Later, ‘The Dark Knight’ Returns to Theaters”
It has not been a great couple of weeks (years?) on the DC Films front.
After Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad failed to live up to most people’s expectations last summer, Warner Brothers looked like it was starting to right the DCEU ship. Triumphant teasers for Wonder Woman and Justice League made DC the talk of San Diego, and fans were stoked for directors like James Wan, Rick Famuyiwa, and Ben Affleck to lend their visions to DC supeheroes. Well, less than a year later, 60% of those directors have been dropped and now, Ben (maybe?) doesn’t even want to be Batman anymore. And in the most WTF move yet, Warner has approached an actual misogynst, anti-semitic racist to helm a movie with the initials S.S.!
But, taking a page from Vulture’s always awesome
Continue reading “Forget the DCEU: Warner Brothers Should Embrace the Multiverse”
by Benjamin To | Originally published at BANDtogether
In the summer of 2008, there I was: A fresh-faced, 19-year-old pharmacy school dropout, a few months removed from stepping off the plane from humble Oregon and on to hopeful California soil. I had no direction of where I was going or knowledge of how to accomplish my lofty goals, but I knew I wanted one thing and one thing only: I wanted to be a part of cinema.
Continue reading “‘The Dark Knight’ Changed the Way I Watched Movies”
Nolan had me for a moment, I was deep in space with his crew as they went through a worm hole; into the next galaxy for our new earth. After the film’s release, following tradition in the wake of a Nolan film; debates began. Physicists were referenced and America’s favorite smarty-arty Neil De Grasse Tyson weighed in. I had no problem with any of the alleged technical flaws of the film, I was more concerned with the brother. Matthew whats-his-name and the other Caucasoids left him in space for 23 years?
If you were on the internet yesterday, you might have seen some images from the set of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice leak on to your computer screens. Part of the problem that comes with shooting on location in a real city — as opposed to in front of a blue screen inside a giant soundstage — is that there are real people with real cameraphones lurking around every corner.
BvS:DoJ has had its share of set leaks in the past, and this one isn’t all that revealing, honestly. But for me, it reveals something that I assumed we had moved past in a Batman movie. I won’t reveal anymore until after the cut, but if you’ve read the headline, you’ve already been spoiled. Sorry.
Continue reading “How Many Times Must We See Batman’s Parents Die?”
Over the weekend, Christopher Nolan’s space epic Interstellar opened with a $47 million weekend — coming in second place behind Disney’s animated Marvel adventure Big Hero 6 — and ended up being a mixed bag for most viewers and critics, alike. A lot of folks loved it, but there were many more who thought otherwise.
Personally, there were isolated moments that blew my mind, especially when projected on a six story IMAX screen. This is clearly Nolan’s most ambitious project, and I admired his willingness to go big and heady for each scene. Unfortunately, those scenes didn’t add up to a whole, and I found the movie’s last act was emotionally distant (when it wasn’t supposed to be) and rang false and unearned (which is how I feel about the third act of most of Nolan’s movies, actually).
Anyway, there is one nerd whose opinion of Interstellar I was most curious about. Last year, Tyson was responsible for one of the more infamous twitter rants ever when the Oscar-winning Gravity was wowing audiences, Tyson once again took to twitter to share his thoughts on Interstellar.
Continue reading “Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s Thoughts on Interstellar“
Today is actually the first day you can see Christopher Nolan’s latest magnum opus Interstellar, that is, if you have an IMAX theater nearby. About a month ago, Paramount Pictures announced it would be opening Interstellar three days early on 70mm IMAX screens so that viewers who wanted the immersive experience could get it ahead of everyone else. For those of us not lucky enough to live in a region serviced by a real IMAX theater, don’t despair, we can still get our tickets to Interstellar now for the traditional November 7 opening.
After the jump, we’ll fill you in on how you can get a free movie ticket from Fandango and as well as a chance to take a ride on your own rocketship!
Continue reading “Interstellar Sweepstakes and Ticket Giveaway”
Earlier in the week, Drew McWeeny at HitFix sent the internet into a tizzy when he reported that Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment had mandated a strict “no jokes” policy for their entire slate of upcoming superhero movies. As per usual, much handwringing ensued, followed by several reports debunking the original one.
Whether that no joking policy was true or not is irrelevant. The mere fact that so many people believed it in the first place shows just how different and far apart DC and Marvel are in their approaches to superheroes. For decades, DC has embraced grimdark — in both their comics and their movies — to their benefit as well as their detriment.
Continue reading “Why So Serious? Of Course DC has a “No Jokes” Policy”
In Part One of our conversation with Michael Uslan, the Batman movie uber-producer recounted his decades-long journey to bring a “dark and serious” version of the Dark Knight from the comic pages to the movie screen, a journey that is the foundation of his memoir, The Boy Who Loved Batman. After a string of Hollywood studios and financiers initially rejected the idea, the Batman film franchise has gone on to earn billions of dollars in box office and merchandising and solidify Batman as a cinematic legend, with even more big screen adventures on the way.
After the jump, Michael and I continue our discussion of what makes the Batman such an iconic — and enduring — character.
Continue reading “Legend of The Dark Knight: More with Michael Uslan”
Remember how — despite all my trepidations — I started actually getting excited for the Man of Steel sequel I refuse to call Batman vs. Superman? It was just last week.
Well, that didn’t last long.
Seems like all the good will Warner Brothers engendered from their sneak peek at Ben Affleck under the cowl has been squandered away with the reveal of the dumbest superhero movie title in the history of dumb superhero movie titles.
That’s right, Man of Steel 2 is now, officially, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Ugh.
Continue reading “Man of Steel 2 Should Have Just Stayed Untitled”
Unless you were living under a rock (or fell down a well and got trapped inside a cave) yesterday, you’re probably aware that Zack Snyder officially revealed the first look at Ben Affleck in the Batsuit. And of course, I — along with everyone else on the internet — went a little nuts over it. In my write up about the Batmobile/Batsuit reveal, I mentioned how it’s already a little more than ten years since the last time my anticipation for a Batman movie was at this kind of a fever pitch.
Coincidentally, the same day that Snyder tweeted out his Batmobile tease, Cinemax happened to be airing Batman Begins. It had been a while since I sat down with the movie, so I quickly got sucked in. An hour into it, I remembered I had a twitter feed.
Continue reading “Feeling Nostalgic for Nolan’s ‘Batman Begins’”
What is Power? Let’s get at the word.
We have to consciously study how to be tender with each other until it becomes a habit because what was native has been stolen from us. — Audre Lorde
Continue reading “Inception, The Matrix, and Communicating Power”
Let me start by saying that this post is not intended to be a rant against Batfleck. I’m actually on board with the idea of Ben as Batman, so his fitness to be the new Dark Knight Detective is not what the headline of this article is implying. Instead, as the rumors continue to swirl about the Man of Steel sequel (I refuse to call it Batman vs. Superman because that’s just a dumb title — though these are even dumber), I keep feeling less and less inclined to be happy with the movie. It’s not the sequel we deserve, but it’s the one we’re getting right now. And this from someone who actually really sort of liked Man of Steel.
Of course, all of the leaks and rumors that are currently flooding the tubes right now could all turn out to be massively wrong. But there was one report that surfaced last week that really made me reevaluate just what DC and Warner Bros. are trying to accomplish with this new, shared cinematic universe.
Continue reading “Nolan’s Batman Should Be in the Man of Steel Sequel”
Last week, twitter was all, well, atwitter when artist Sean Murphy tweeted out a loose pencil sketch of Robin — Batman’s trusty sidekick — with an African American teen under the mask. Needless to say, the internet pretty much exploded when the initial tweet went out. Two hours later, though, Murphy and Scott Snyder deflated many a nerd’s bubble when they clarified that this “new” Robin wasn’t actually meant to be “in continuity.” Instead, the sketch Murphy sent out was only meant to be a brief glimpse into an alternate future in one of the anthology pieces in a special issue celebrating the 75th anniversary of Detective Comics #27 next year.
Still, all the swirl around “the first Black Robin” — and the fact that cross-racial casting of superheroes has been a popular topic on the blog recently — got me thinking about comics’ prototypical superhero sidekick. Few headlining superheroes are as indelibly iconic as the Boy Wonder. He’s also one of the few “legacy” heroes — that is, heroes whose mantles have passed down to different characters over the years — who has successfully navigated through several different and distinct identities without losing any of the iconography (while developing ardent fanbases for each version of the character). He’s also one of DC Comics’ most enduring multimedia stars as well, having been portrayed in several incarnations in very different media.
