Hmsbeefnuts Returns With His Top 10 Films of Last Year (Better late than never)

By @hmsbeefnuts

 

Hello, I’m back. I haven’t written anything for a while, apart from an attempt at a children’s story, which is still a work in progress. However, I have been very busy with that thing called life, it’s been far too busy as of late to write much of anything. Well, I thought it was high time that I did something to contribute to this blog I started with Geeky Gem, before she thinks I have abandoned her for good, I havent by the way. So last year was a great time to be a movie geek, we had a few films that many geeks didn’t think would ever happen, but were delivered to the screen in fantastic and amazing ways. I enjoyed many films this year, although I didn’t see as many as I would normally have done, I still got more than my fair share in. So standard Top 10 Time is the order of the day… here we go.

 

10. Prometheus

Lots of people didn’t like this Alien Prequel, but I liked it a lot, in fact, I’d rather watch this again than Alien (not Aliens though, obviously). I liked that we didn’t get all the answers, I liked that it left things hanging somewhat. Good special effects, good mature Sci-Fi. Give it another chance, and don’t view it as a direct prequel to Alien, and more of a film set in the same universe, that may answer some questions, but poses far more.

 9. John Carter

 

Again, not a film many people seemed to like, but I loved this fun Sci-Fi/fantasy film. Great effects, a lot of fun, monsters, aliens and fighting, all a growing geek needs. It’s like Star Wars before Star Wars was invented. Probably never going to see a sequel, and it is such a shame.

 

 8. The Grey

 

 

Liam Neeson has to survive a plane crash, freezing Alaskan temperatures, snow, ice and a pack of hungry wolves who are pissed off at humans being in their territory. Although this film wasn’t Wolf Puncher The Movie, as the trailers seemed to suggest, it ended up being so much better. Really worth checking out.

 

 7. Dredd

 

Wasn’t really on my radar, but I absolutely loved this new take on Judge Dredd. Uber violent, loyal to the comic and very stylish, in a low key way. I would love to see a sequel to this. Karl Urban was great as Dredd, and in any other year, this would have been the best comic book movie, but this year was stellar.

 

 6. Cabin in the Woods

 

 

I’m not even going to talk much about this, because you must see this unspoiled. If you like horror of any type, you should give this a watch. An awesome film.

 

5. Skyfall

 

 

A great end to the first Daniel Craig Bond Trilogy. Not quite as good as Casino Royale in my mind, but it was excellent none the less.

 

 

4. Jack Reacher

 

 

Didn’t really expect to like this film as much as I did, but I loved it. I have a lot of time for Cruise, and his Jack Reacher was fantastic. Made me want to check out the books, so job done there. A gripping thriller, with great action, more Reacher please.

 

3. The Dark Knight Rises

 

 

This could easily have been my favourite film of the year, and it could easily change place with number 2. However, I place this as number 3, simply because the spectacle of number 2 won out. This is the end of a brilliant, outstanding trilogy. Lots of people have said that this wasn’t true to the character of Batman, and I can see that point. However, I like to view the Nolan trilogy as kind of an Elseworlds tale. It seems impossible to imagine a better, realistic take on Batman, simply brilliant.

 

2. The Avengers

 

 

I never thought it would happen, and then I never thought it would be this good. The Hulk was the stand out star, but the beauty was everyone got to shine. This was no easy task to film, and Marvel and Joss Whedon did a miraculous job. Phase one is over, on to phase two, I can not wait.

 

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

 

 

 

My personal favourite film of the year. I love Middle Earth, have done since my Dad read me The Hobbit when I was 5. I loved the books, loved the films, and was in no doubt that I would love The Hobbit. Well, I was right wasn’t I. This film was magnificent, yes it did take a while to get going, but it needed that time. Time spent in the Shire is never wasted. It felt like meeting old friends, slipping back into a comfortable state of amazingness. I could watch this film endlessly, everything was wonderful and just as I imagined. Thank you Mr. Jackson. There will always be part of me that will wonder what Del Toro’s Hobbit would have been like, but overall, I’m glad PJ got to do this, it ties everything up with the Trilogy much better.

UK Weekly Top 10 Movies!

Week ending 9th September 2012

By Kirkiechick

Welcome back to the top ten weekly film chart. This week has been slow again for cinema attendance. It has been the turn of more adult films being released with the top ten being dominated by two 18 rated films. This is a rarity as not many films are rated 18 nowadays. As the film companies would rather go for lower rated films for release as this will get bums on seats in cinemas. Let us see the chart:

 

1. Dredd, £1,049,345 (New)

2. Lawless, £973,234 (New)

3. Anna Karenina, £875,702 (New)

4. Total Recall, £675,280: Total: £4,075,574

5. Brave, £649,057: Total: £19,344,823

6. The Possession, £533,334: Total: £2,150,064

7. Ted, £479,943: Total: £29,191,321

8. The Dark Knight Rises, £352,587: Total: £55,312,954

9. The Watch, £338,184: Total: £3,162,291

10. The Bourne Legacy, £270,180: Total: £10,569,592

We have another remake film which has hit the top spot; Dredd comes in at number one. This is yet again another release in 3D and also 2D. This version of a police enforced led society is quite violent and a remake of a 1990s Sylvester Stallone film. It seems recent remakes have been quite high in the film charts lately. In at number 2 is the 1920s set gangster film Lawless. Starring Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and Guy Pearce. This film is another 18 rated film. So it seems audiences are loving violent stories this week! Number 3 is a much quieter affair with the film Anna Karenina. A version of a novel by the Russian author Tolstoy. It is a period drama from the director Joe Wright who has done Atonement and Pride and Prejudice. It is a film to take your Mum to! Total Recall drops down to number 4. Brave is sitting steady at number 5. This is not surprising as there are not many children’s films released at the moment. Audiences are still being scared with The Possession at number 6. Ted is still making audiences laugh with its adult humour. The Dark Knight Rises stays in the top ten at number 8; it is slowly slipping out of the chart as people try to catch it before it leaves cinemas.  The Watch is hanging in there at number 9. For spy lovers The Bourne Legacy is number 10, another action packed film.

Catch you next week. Until then happy cinema viewing!

(Source The Guardian Online)

UK Weekly Top 10 Movies!

 By Kirkiechick

I am back again with the weekly UK Cinema Chart for the week beginning 27th August 2012. This week has been a slow week. In the cinema industry this week is seen as one of the slowest weeks of the year for releases, the first week after the summer period ending. So let us see which films were buzzing this week:

1. Total Recall, £2,493,230 (New)

2. The Watch, £2,235,933 (New)

3. Brave, £1,604,163 :Total : £17,940,622

4. Ted, £990,842: Total: £28,122,651

5. The Possession, £979,192 (New)

6. The Dark Knight Rises, £759,838: Total: £54,535,548

7. The Bourne Legacy, £714,020: Total: £9,895,086

8. The Expendables 2, £376,319: Total: £5,546,276

9. Keith Lemon: The Film, £370,735: Total: £2,531,902

10. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, £287,969: Total: £7,086,728

Brave has been knocked off the top spot with new release and remake film, Total Recall gets the top spot. The film has also been released in IMAX. This has most probably helped the film get the top spot this week. It is a fast paced action film. I went to see it without seeing the original version. I felt this was best because I could view this version as separate. I do recommend the film but it did feel like the film was lacking from some plot points. In second place is the new Ben Stiller comedy, The Watch. On first glance the film seems like a silly comedy about a group of guys forming a neighbourhood watch group only to discover they have to protect the neighbourhood not just from crime. Brave drops down to number 3. Ted is still doing well at number 4. The Possession is a new entry at number 5. A jumpy horror film keeping audiences on the edge of their seats. The Dark Knight Rises is still staying in the top ten at number 6. The Bourne Legacy is still bringing in audiences at number 7. The Expendables 2 is still explosive fun at number 8. Keith Lemon: The Film has dropped down to number 9. This film will probably drop out the top ten next week as audiences seem to be bored of the persona that is Keith Lemon. Closing the top ten is Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days.

I hope you guys check out Total Recall and The Possession this week. I highly recommend them. Until next time happy cinema viewing.

(Source The Guardian website)

UK Weekly Top 10 Movies!

By Kirkiechick

I am back with the Film Chart. There have been a couple of new releases but Brave is still number one. Ted is sitting comfortably at number 2.

 

1. Brave, £2,371,691: Total: £13,259,610

2. Ted, £1,692,883: Total: £25,620,707

3. The Bourne Legacy, £1,596,289: Total: £7,828,435

4. The Dark Knight Rises, £1,378,717: Total: £52,534,102

5. Keith Lemon: The Film, £1,196,310 (New)

6. The Expendables 2, £1,028,904: Total: £4,316,173

7. The Three Stooges, £509,324 (New)

8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, £424,206: Total: £6,217,366

9. Ice Age 4: Continental Drift, £331,851: Total: £28,381,351

10. The Imposter, £252,170 (New)

The Bourne Legacy is in third place. The Dark Knight Rises sits at number 4 and is still strong in the chart. I don’t think this film will be leaving the Top Ten for awhile yet. Number 5 sees a new entry with Keith Lemon: The Film. This has surprised me as reports are people have been walking out before the end saying how terrible the film was. I think we may see a sudden dip for this film in next week’s chart. The Expendables 2 is comfortably making money. The Three Stooges is a slapstick comedy for the family, a reinventing of a comedy act from decades gone by. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days and Ice Age 4 stay in the top ten as the school holidays near the end. The Imposter is a documentary about a 16 year old boy from Texas who went missing, appears three years later in Spain. Is he really the missing boy? I believe this film has been an unexpected hit and has appeared at many film festivals this year.

Until next time, enjoy your film watching

UK Weekly Top 10 Movies!

By KirkieChick

Welcome to the weekly cinema chart. All you need to know what is hitting big at the Cinema. This summer has been dominated by the blockbuster that is Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. What film will it take to beat it off the top spot?  Here is the chart up to Sunday 19th August 2012:

1. Brave, £5,269,402 : Total: £8,270,546

2. The Bourne Legacy, £4,620,289  (New)

3. Ted, £2,076,04:. Total: £22,186,549

4. The Expendables 2, £1,985,082 (New)

5. The Dark Knight Rises, £1,506,178: Total: £49,776,391

6. Ek Tha Tiger, £543,073  (New)

6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, £459,526: Total: £5,229,266

8. Ice Age 4: Continental Drift, £350,788 :Total: £27,603,587

9. Step Up 4: Miami Heat, £340,072: Total: £1,797,048

10. The Wedding Video, £333,079  (New)

There are some children’s films in the Top Ten for this week. Brave is the story of a young Scottish girl living in the Highlands and wishes to be a warrior. It is a Disney Pixar film so is expected to do well. Both this and The Bourne Legacy were released on a Monday, which is unusual for films. I believe distributors wanted to maximise the summer holiday audience. Ted is staying strong despite dropping to third place. The Expendables 2 has gone straight into fourth place. An action film for the summer. Batman is sitting at fifth place. This week a Bollywood film proved popular, with Eid being celebrated. Then it is the turn of the sequels for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Ice Age and Step Up. They should keep the kids entertained!  The Wedding Video is a British comedy about a man wanting to film his brother’s wedding and gives it to him and his bride as a present. What could possibly go wrong! Filled with a host of TV comedy actors, I’m sure it will raise a smile or two!

See you next week for more Top Ten Films!

WEDNESDAY WHIMSY

By @hmsbeefnuts

Hello friends, come in, sit down, ice cold glass of Vimto? Welcome to another edition of Wednesday Whimsy, with me Hmsbeefnuts. In this weeks exciting episode… well, I haven’t really planned anything to be honest. I’m writing this on Tuesday morning, the day before I need to post this up, and as I type, I have literally no idea what word will be formed on my laptops screen next, how exciting! Lets just see how it goes shall we?

This month I have not been to the cinema too often, mainly due to the lack of decent films that came between The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises. I did see The Amazing Spider-Man again, and I didn’t hate it as much the second time, although, it was still a pale comparison to the awesome Sam Raimi films, yes, even Spider-Man 3. I obviously saw The Dark Knight opening day, but only in boring normal vision, I had to watch it again in IMAX. I was not disappointed. A second viewing of the film confirmed my feelings about it, and an the IMAX-ness made me fall in love with it all over again. All round top dude Chris Antista (GamesRadar, Laser Time, Cape Crisis etc.) said that the IMAX ‘shook his balls’ and I have to agree with the sentiment. The sound, the picture, can only be described as ball shakingly good, and ladies, I’m sure it shakes other body parts too, so you have no excuse not to see it, you will not regret it.

For me, Bane is the best villain to appear in a Batman movie. In the comics it’s still Joker, and Heath Ledgers performance will go down in history as amazing, but Tom Hardy’s Bane is a tour de force, being the only enemy capable of going toe to toe with The Bat, but also a match for his brains. What Nolan did with Bane is exemplary, and The Dark Knight Trilogy is now surely in the top three trilogies of all time, perhaps even the greatest. I know a few people have a problem with the portrayal of Batman in the latest film, that there is no way that Batman would give up his crusade on crime, and whilst I agree with the point, I’d like to add my own take on it. The movies should be seen as an Elseworlds tale, they are not comic cannon, but more in line with Batman Earth One, or Gotham By Gaslight. They are one persons take on the Batman Mythos, and I think that Nolan’s take is a very interesting slightly alternative version of Batman.

Did I mention Catwoman? I guess not. Wow, Anne Hathaway was so awesome as Selina Kyle, the way she went from frightened screaming girl to total badass in a few scenes was amazing, and THAT suit. I was never a fan of Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, but Michelle Pfiefer was hot in the cat suit. Anne Hathaway blows her out of the water. Hathaway looks amazing in the suit, and a few scenes where she is riding the Batpod have made a, hmm, marked impression on me, but it’s her attitude that makes her the sexiest character in any movie thus far this year, sorry Black Widow, you got schooled by the mistress of hotness. Selina Kyle is firmly one of the best things about TDKR.

So, where does The Dark Knight Rises fit in to the trilogy, in bestestness? I still like Begins the best, but  really think Rises is a close second, with a very close third going to Dark Knight. All in all, Christopher Nolan has achieved what few others have been able to, a near perfect trilogy, bravo Sir, standing ovation. I would even be interested in following the story further, even though…well, I don’t want to say too much, but a fourth film would still be worth seeing, at least I think so.

The other film I saw recently was the fantastic Ted. I saw this with a big crowd of friends, and this really is the type of film you want to see with the people you like best. Really funny, very reminiscent of a good Family Guy episode, which is obvious really, but it is better than any Family Guy episode I can remember. Seth McFarlane is a film maker with class. The soundtrack is very pleasant, big band inspired, the direction tight and smooth. The cast, a mix of McFarlane voice cast members is great, and once again, Mark Wahlberg proves that he is best when he is bringing the funny. A few amazingly funny cameos, and some absolutely brilliant, if close to the knuckle jokes. My friend Lucy and I laughed our asses off all the way through. One problem though. Joel McHale. I love Community, but this guy is really getting on my nerves, I cant stand him. He is the shittest thing on Community, and the shittest thing in Ted, however, he does not ruin a fine, funny film.

Anyone else get goose bumps over the trailer for The Hobbit? Skyfall too. It seems that 2012 will be one of, if not THE, greatest years for Geek Cinema, absolutely brilliant so far, it truly is a golden age of geekdom. The fact that The Hobbit is now set to be a trilogy fills me with joy. I can’t wait to see what Jackson has cooked up for us, what are we going to see in this new trip to Middle Earth?

Right, that’s it for the time being, I’m off to finish No Man’s Land, or Lego Batman 2, or finally watch John Carter, or Conan, or Predator all on Blu Ray. Time, I need more time…

Summer Knights: Bat-A-Thon Part 2

By Geeky Gem

Well as we all know the Dark Knight will soon be leaving us again. As a way of honoring him I thought I would sit through all six movies so far and report back to you.  On this journey so far I have watched Batman, Batman Returns and Batman Forever. In this second part of my epic Bat-A-Thon I shall watch Batman and Robin, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.  Shall we begin?

Batman And Robin – 1997

This was a harder watch than Batman Forever, as I am not a huge fan of these to movies but they are worth a sit through if just to refresh my mind in perpetration for the awesomeness to come. Joel Schumacher again was at the helm for this one, along with another new Batman in George Clooney. The debate for the best Batman rages on.

The story line for this one is much the same for all of them so far. Batman comes across an enemy that he must take on with loyal sidekick Robin, in order to save Gotham. This time Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy have their eyes on Gotham. Along with Ivy’s sidekick a very comic and less like himself than he should be Bane. Although Bane is pumped up with Venom he is a mere shadow of the scary man he should be. This Bane could not break the bat.

The main part of the story is that Alfred is dying and there is no known cure apart from that of a cure that Dr Victor Freeze was working on before his accident. Can Batman reason with him and save his friend? Along with is a new sidekick in Batgirl, who in this version of events is related to Alfred not Commissioner Gordon, not sure why but she is. Anyway she joins Batman and Robin in their fight to save Gotham and Alfred, will they succeeded? Well that would be telling wouldn’t it.

Batman Begins – 2005

Now we move on to the good stuff, 8 years after Batman last graced our screens, it was time for a new direction for the Dark Knight, gone was Burton and Schumacher a new age was coming. Christopher Nolan walked in and a new Batman was born. The question on every ones lips was who shall be the Bat? The answer came in the form of little know Welsh actor called Christian Bale. Many people thought, could this guy pull off Batman? We all waited to see.

It would appear that yes, yes he can. I think is helped in part by the script which is pure genius, which was written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. This thing doesn’t give up, instead of using flash backs to tell the story of Batman we are there with Bruce as he trains with Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Assassin’s not knowing what they really want. On his return to Gotham Bruce has to keep up his playboy life style with that of the Batman. What exactly is Dr. Jonathan Crane up to?   The Batman must find out with the help from Jim Gordon.

The cast in this movie in unbelievable, Bale is joined by the likes of Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Michael Cane, Morgan Freeman and Cillian Murphy. All of who bring a darkness and edginess to Nolan and Goyer’s screenplay which leaves the comedy camp stuff behind and hits it hard with a much darker Batman. Don’t believe me then go watch it.

 

The Dark Knight – 2008

Somehow it doesn’t feel like four years has passed since I sat in a cinema with Kirkie Chick and enjoyed this movie in such a way that it will stay with me for a long time to come. This time Chris Nolan was joined by his brother Jonathan Nolan in writing, I think, an even darker screenplay than Batman Begins. David S Goyer helped write the story and it grew from there.

Many of the same cast returned for this outing with some frankly brilliant new additions. One of which it saddens me to say is no longer with us. Taken way before his time Heath Ledger’s Joker will go down in history as one of the best role’s in movie history. There was something in Ledger’s Joker that wasn’t in Nicolson’s Joker. Ledger took the Joker to that very dark place; where he should have been all along and frankly out shines in this movie. Aaron Eckhart joins the team as Harvey Dent the DA hell bent on saving Gotham from the inside and from the Batman. But what does the future hold for this humble but hard hitting white knight?

As the Joker plans the down fall of Gotham and that of Batman, Bruce is forced to use a technology that both Lucius Fox and Alfred are not too happy about. Can they pull Bruce and Batman back from the edge of crossing the line? Only time will tell. In the mean time poor Harvey Dent must come to terms with his new face and it’s time for Batman to run as he is now a marked man. Gotham will need him one day, so he will watch and wait for the day that Gotham will need their Dark Knight again.

 

That Brings us to the end of our epic Bat-A-Thon, I for one have enjoyed watching all the movies again in order to bring this too you. I will no doubt be seeing The Dark Knight Rises a number of times. As Nolan’s time is over as the man that bought back the Batman we have to thank him for these truly fantastic movies and for showing the world that Batman can be dark.

SUMMER KNIGHTS: BEST BATMAN GRAPHIC NOVELS: PART TWO

By @hmsbeefnuts

Hello Bat fans and welcome to part two of my look at the greatest Batman stories ever told. Last time we looked at the beginnings of The Caped Crusader, this time, we shall look at his end, at least for a time, and his return after a few years in retirement. The Bat fun continues here at All Geek To Me, as we build up to The most exciting film of the Summer, The Dark Knight Rises.

THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS

This was truly a line in the sand for not only Batman, but comics as a whole. Frank Miller wrote a story set in the future, where Gotham has once more been dragged into a crime spree, with criminal gangs and worse, making things hard for the good people of Gotham City. Time then for Batman to come out of retirement, older, thicker around the middle, but still the hardest and most dangerous man in the city. Add a female Robin, shades of ‘the god-damn Batman’ and this dark comic master piece is an absolute must read. Along with Watchmen, this transformed the comics landscape. It was the prime reason that the dark Batman Movie was made by Tim Burton in 1989, and the better Nolan ones in more recent times. This is the Batman we all know and love. Don’t bother with The Dark Knight Strikes Back though, I wish I hadn’t.

KNIGHTFALL/KNIGHTS END

This is the first Batman Story I ever read, thanks to my best friend, and regular commenter, Greeny. He was into comics long before I was, and lent me the Knighfall Saga. Very much in a similar vein as The Death and Return of Superman, this is the story of the Bane, a new threat to Batman, who comes to Gotham to challenge Batman, and succeeds in a devious scheme. He tires Batman out, using almost the entire rogues gallery, before finally facing off against the Dark Knight himself, and breaking his back. Batman retires, a new Batman replaces him, a more violent Batman, not afraid to maim or kill. Bruce rehabilitates himself, and eventually comes back, but who will rule the night?. Kinghtfall is not really considered a classic story, in the same way that The Long Halloween, or Batman: Year One is, but will always have a special place on my shelf as my first graphic novel.

BATMAN/DRACULA

Another Elseworlds tale, this time, what would happen if The Dark Knight came into contact with The King of Vampires, Dracula himself? A dark Gothic tale that fits in with the Batman mythos perfectly. Blood Reign is a great read.

ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN

Frank Miller is not the talent he used to be, I think we can all agree on that, however, whilst most people hated his new take on Batman and Robin, I quite liked it. It was different, and wasn’t classic Batman, but I did like the new take on a Dark Knight who enjoyed his job. The God-damned Batman isn’t for everyone, but I laughed all the way through, especially his way of keeping Hal Jordan out of his business. The art work helps a lot too, absolutely beautiful. The story will probably never be finished now, but the first part was an enjoyable, if different take on the Caped Crusader.

ARKHAM ASYLUM: A SERIOUS HOUSE ON SERIOUS EARTH

A dark and disturbed journey into the heart of madness, with art work to match. This is an interesting and demanding graphic novel, and I will admit, I didn’t much like it on my first read through, but I gave it another go, and over time, I have grown to appreciate it and like it. It is unlike the other books on this list, but is defiantly worth your time.

BATMAN: A DEATH IN THE FAMILY

An important turning point in Batman’s history, and a change in tone from the fluffier camper 60’s and 70’s Batman, to a more serious and darker Dark Knight of the 80’s. What starts as a bit of a ridiculous story, The Joker becoming important in the government of a Middle Eastern State, becomes deadly serious, with The Joker killing and important member of The Bat Family. One that was killed by fans vote. I’m trying my best not to spoil things here, just read it.

SUMMER KNIGHTS: MY FAVOURITE BATMAN GRAPHIC NOVELS: PART 1

By @hmsbeefnuts

I am kicking my Summer Knights series off today, and have decided to give you a run down of my personal favourite Bat based graphic novels. There are quite a few, so I shall not procrastinate here, except to say, Batman is my favourite super hero, and as such, I read more of his comics/graphic novels, than any other character.

BATMAN: YEAR ONE

Frank Miller tells the tale of the first year of Batman’s war on crime, and also Gordon’s first year in the GCPD. A gritty, dark, more realistic tale, this is the story of a man’s war for revenge on the criminal underworld that took his parents. The art work is stark and bold, but fits the tone perfectly. Any body looking to jump into the Batman mythos, would do well to look at this first, it is the perfect introduction to the character.

THE LONG HALLOWEEN

My personal favourite Bat story, this is set chronologically after Year One. Batman is now established, and his war on crime continues, with a serial killer on the loose who kills on holidays. The Holiday Killer is not The Dark Knights only problem, his continuing war on Gotham’s Mob families and super villians is also a large part of the story, and Harvey Dent is also becoming a problem. The Long Halloween has great artwork and is a great read, I urge you to check it out.

DARK VICTORY

Dark Victory picks up where The Long Halloween left off. The Holiday Killer has been put away, but Gotham’s problems aren’t so easily solved. This is also a Robin origin story, and is probably the best one I have read. Usually I’m not a fan of Robin, but Jeph Loeb manages to create a narrative that fits in very well with Year One and Long Halloween, and doesn’t make the character of Robin too ridiculous. Great art again, this book is well worth a read.

GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT

The first Else-world book I ever read, Gotham By Gaslight is set in Victorian era Gotham City. A city that has been visited by the most notorious serial killer of them all, Jack the Ripper. Batman, in a vintage awesome costume, must face the Ripper and protect the ladies of the night that populate Gotham. This really opened my eyes to what Batman could be when I first read it. The Batman mythos is so strong, he can be placed in different eras and situations, and still work, and still be awesome. The fact I’m kind of fascinated by the mystery of Jack the Ripper was the cherry on top of the Batman sundae.

HUSH

I was drawn to Hush by Jim Lee’s outstanding amazing art work. It’s been said time and time again, but Jim Lee is the best at what he does, I simply love his art work. Hush is a story about a character from Bruce Wayne’s past coming back to cause Bruce, and Batman problems. To be honest the story isn’t that great, it’s not bad, but there are better Bat stories out there. But when you turn each page and are faced with art work of this awesomeness, sometimes, the story doesn’t matter so much. Hush is a work of art.

THE KILLING JOKE

I’ve always been more of a fan of Frank Miller than Alan Moore, but it must be said, The Killing Joke is phenomenal. At it’s heart it is an origin story for the Joker, but is so much more. We get to see a glimpse at the complicated relationship between the greatest hero and villain in comic books, and a surprising last few panels. The Killing Joke is an important book in the Bat library, that I don’t want to spoil here, just check it out, you won’t be sorry.

So that’s it for part one, I will be concluding my look at the best Bat Graphic Novels later this week, I hope you will come back and check them out.

MOVIE OF THE MONTH JULY

By @hmsbeefnuts & @geekygem

Hello fans of film, as it is the beginning of the month, it once again falls to us here at AGTM, to tell you all about what film we will be picking as our movie of the month, this month. People, I’m not going to mess you around. We all know what movie is out this month, we all know what I’m going to pick, and sorry The Amazing Spider-man, it ain’t you.

Another superhero must take the title this month, The Caped Crusader, The Batman, in The Dark Knight Rises. It is no secret that I love Batman, and am a particular fan of Chris Nolan’s cinematic take on Gotham’s protector. Batman Begins is my favourite Bat film, with The Dark Knight coming in a very close second. The last time we saw Batman, he was on the run from Gotham’s Finest and so we join him in his latest adventure in a very interesting place. 8 years after the Joker went wild with gasoline, and Harvey Dent’s image was both ruined, by the Joker, and saved, metaphorically, by The Bat, what state are Batman and Gotham in?

Things won’t be happy for very long if Bane has anything to do with it. Tom Hardy looks great in the role of the man who broke The Bat, and from the trailer, it looks like Bane is causing Gotham more trouble than ever before. Add in Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, and Batman has his hands full. Will Bruce Wayne survive the film? Will Batman? All I know is this film looks absolutely amazing, if in a slightly grim way.

Just before we show you the trailer, as if you haven’t watched it countless times already, and Geekgem tells you about her pick, I would like to announce an AGTM summer event. In celebration of our favourite Dark Knight’s return to cinema screens, July here at AGTM will be having a knightly theme. Summer Knights, (see what we did there?), will be a bit of a celebration, not only f our beloved Dark Knight, but of Knights in general. Expect to see stuff on Game of Thrones, sword fights, noble steeds, and of course, more than a few Bat related articles. This follows on from our Avenging April series that was very successful, so hopefully, we shall continue with Summer Knights. Now, here is the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, and below that Geekygem, enjoy.

Hmsbeefnuts

Hello everyone, gosh is it that time of month already. Wow that went fast., my guess is just above me Hmsbeefnuts has been bigging up The Dark Knight Rises, not that it needs it. Which makes what I am about to tell you feel like treason as I love the Bat almost as much as Beefnuts does.

In the world of geek you are either a DC fan or Marvel fan, however there is a special camp for those who cant choose and just love comics in general, this is the camp I think I fall in. Seeing as I cant pick The Dark Knight Rises for my Movie for July, I had to have little think but then I recalled a reboot of a Marvel comic was due out, The Amazing Spider-man, that’s right folks I said reboot and it happens only five years after the the final part of Sam Raimi’s trilogy came out.

Peter Parker has been recast into the frankly lovely looking Andrew Garfield he’s just so pretty, sorry my thoughts got away from me there, did I mention he can act? He is joined by Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans. That’s right this month we see Brits taking over Hollywood and two of them are Welsh. Anyway back to the matter at hand, Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father’s former partner. I will say no more as I feel the rest is best told on the big screen. Below is the trailer which I think looks fantastic. Why not just go see both movies this month as they are so going to be awesome.

Geeky Gem