The Dark Knight Rises

So today is a good day... I think the heavens were aware of what was about to happen and wanted to postpone the obsession that was soon to begin. I got done with one of my classes this afternoon and went to get some lunch at the food court. Standing there waiting for my food I suddenly realized I did not know where my phone was. I searched my bag and myself frantically only to find I did not have my phone. F

Fortunately about twenty minutes later I went to talk to my teacher in his office and someone had turned the phone into him and I was able to retrieve my phone. I settled down in my next class and finished my lunch and as per-usual I pulled out my phone to browse the internet instead of paying attention. I have a rare crippling obsession with Batman and for the past few months have been regularly checking for news on the upcoming Batman film THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.

And finally Warner Brothers had come out with an official announcement about THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Tom Hardy has been cast to play the villainn Bane, and Anne Hathaway has been cast to play the villain/love interest Catwoman or aka Selina Kyle.

So anyways I thought today I would give everyone a little background on each of these villains.


BANE
Bane has already been featured in a full length live action Batman film, he was featured in the 1997 film BATMAN AND ROBIN. However like the other characters portrayed in this movie the character of Bane was totally butchered. In that movie Bane was basically a mindless big brute who fought Batman and Robin and was controlled by Poison Ivy.
Bane in the comic books is a pretty interesting character. He is a massive villain who uses a drug referred to as "venom" to induce incredible super human strength. Unlike most villains who are physically strong Bane was also very smart. He is perhaps most memorable in the comic storyline of "Knightfall". Bane attacks Arkham Asylum and causes most of the patients to escape. Batman has to find and stop all of these escaped villains and when he faces Bane he is physically and mentally strained. Bane almost kills Batman and actually breaks his back and takes control of Gotham City .
I'm excited to see what Christopher Nolan does with this character especially since he is being played by Tom Hardy, who in my opinion is a fantastic actor. I was a little surprised by the choice of Bane for the third movie... but "In Nolan We Trust." haha


CATWOMAN
Catwoman has also been portrayed in a full length live action Batman film in Tim Burton's 1992 film BATMAN RETURNS and I try not to even acknowledge the Halle Berry film. Catwoman has always fulfilled two roles in the Batman comics. She is both a love interest and villain. She is more or less a thief that has somewhat of a love hate relationship with Batman. Ultimately she finds out Batman's true identity and recently in the comics hasn't been cast as a villain at all. She typically carries a whip and wears a tight leather suit that resembles a cat. I think most people are pretty familiar with her so I won't go into as much detail on her.
In Tim Burton's film she was portrayed as a woman who was pushed out of a window and was bitten repeatedly by alley cats and somehow derived cat like abilities. I would like to point out that this is basically completely different than how she is in the comics.
I am excited to see this movie. Anne Hathaway isn't my first choice but I think Nolan has an amazing sense of casting the right people in his movies. So I am excited to see what she brings to the table in the upcoming movie.

I'm done "nerding" out now! haha Thanks for reading.

Grandpa

Growing up I was never really sure how I felt about my grandpa. It's not that I didn't love him and appreciate him, not at all, I just was never quite sure if he liked me! My Dad explained at Grandpa's funeral that Grandpa didn't like it when people bragged about their children or grandchildren in public. My Dad can only remember once or twice throughout his life where Grandpa said something nice about him, and one of the times my Grandpa didn't realize that my Dad was still in the room. He would tell everyone else how much he loved you when you weren't around but he rarely said it directly to you.
So growing up he would constantly correct what I did on the farm, trying to make me a better person, of course instead of seeing the value of what he was trying to do I just thought he didn't like me and thought he was trying to tear me down. But over the years I have realized that even though my Grandpa never said good things about me directly to me he still loved me and the rest of his grandchildren very much.
Two of my most memorable experiences with Grandpa happened while we were riding in a truck going to some job out on the farm. One day my Grandpa asked, "Michael what do you want to be when you get older?"
I have always liked to draw so I told him, "Well I like art, so I think I want to be an Artist."
He simply said, "You don't want to be an Artist... they don't make any money."

A few years later we were riding in the truck and he asked again, "Michael what do you want to be when you get older?"
I said, "Well I really like to write stories, so I think I want to be an author."
He said this, "I wrote a book... nobody bought it, don't be an author!"

Haha that's just the way he was. I remember him being gruff and hard, but I remember how much he loved my Grandma. My Grandpa smiled a lot and had a twinkle in his eye, even if he didn't tell me he liked me to my face, I learn how to see it in his eyes. My Grandpa was one of the hardest working men that I have ever known. Even as he grew old and forgetful he would still come out every morning to work on the farm with my Dad until he was physically unable to.
Grandpa Calvin died on Christmas day. I knew Grandpa was very close to passing on as me, my Mom, and my sister Aislinn drove over to Grandpa's house Christmas day. The sun was coming up behind the mountains and there was a beautiful almost unnatural orange light cast over everything, I won't ever forget that morning. I wasn't sure if I would cry when it happened or not, just because oh how I remember Grandpa. But that morning before he died I finally broke down as I walked around his house and I saw pictures of him. I hope that I can live to be just a fraction of the person he was. I love my Grandpa very much even though like him I have an unusual way of showing it.

My TOP 5 MOVIES of 2010!!!

2010 was an excellent year for movies, a lot of good ones have come out this year... but I have narrowed my list down to the five I liked the most this year!!!!


#5 The Town
This was a great movie. Don't let the fact that this film was directed by Ben Affleck scare you off because I really enjoyed this movie. You got to love crime movies based in Boston! This film has an interesting story and some great action scenes. Plus the story follows a group of bank robbers... A movie with a good bank robbery is always good! (The Dark Knight, Heat)


#4 Shutter Island
Martin Scorsese is one of my favorite directors and before this movie came out my brother told me I should read the book Shutter Island written by Dennis Lehane. I've never seen a movie that captures the feeling and mood of the book as well as Shutter Island does. The acting is great in this movie and Leonardo Decaprio really shows his amazing talent here. It is dark, suspenseful, and keeps you guessing through the whole movie. I highly recommend this movie!!


#3 True Grit
I dare say Jeff Bridges performance of Rooster Cogburn trumps John Wayne any day, some might think that is close to blasphemy but I stand by it! This is an excellent movie, whenever I watch a Coen Brothers movie I am blown away by the quality of the characters they have developed for their movies! Their movies are always full of genuine dialogue that make you feel like you are part of everything happening on screen. This is well acted and has an amazing storyline, this is an incredible movie.


#2 The Fighter
I don't typically like movies based around Boxing tournaments, and usually movies starring Mark Walberg have never made it to the top of my list, but holy crap The Fighter is a genuinely well made movie. The acting in this movie is top notch and absorbs you. This movie is mostly about family and I don't think I have ever seen a more convincing family on screen. Christian Bale alone was amazing in this movie, he almost seems like he is overacting as you watch the movie, but when they play the footage of the real person he portrayed you can immediately tell he was spot on with his performance! You forget that it is Christian Bale completely. Like I said before this is a genuinely well made movie and deserves to be seen!


#1 Inception
If you don't think this is one of the best movies ever made... I HATE YOU!!! haha No but seriously, in my opinion I cannot say enough good things about this movie. Christopher Nolan is my favorite director, he is extremely dedicated to his craft. This movie has everything... it is beautiful to watch, it has an amazing soundtrack, it is well acted, it keeps you interested and involved throughout the entire movie, it is original, there are some amazing sequences of action, and most of all it will blow your F-ing mind!!! This was without a doubt my favorite movie of the year and if you haven't seen it already stop whatever you are doing and watch it now.