trey songz london, lauren london lauren london, tray songz songs, mtv web site, music mtv video: July 2012

Wednesday, 25 July 2012

Why Bane Is The Best Batman Movie Villain Yet

Even though I state it in the title of this piece, it bears repeating that my assertion here applies only to the film versions of the Batman universe. Despite a brief stint in the mid-90's working at a comic shop and collecting some in my pre-teens, I'm relatively unfamiliar with the involved mythology. I love every Batman film on some level though. Even the breathtakingly broad and unforgivably abysmal Schumaker films have a campy, nostalgic place in my heart.

The old school crew that essayed the rogues gallery on the Adam West TV show and in its film were a ton of fun. Total pros letting loose and losing themselves in the self reflexive silliness of it all. Nicholson's Joker made an astonishing impact on me as a 12 year old burgeoning cinephile and I still cherish his high energy uber-charisma in the role. Devito's Penguin is a revolting monstrosity, and a delightfully memorable one at that. The A-list, respectable actors that so terribly embarrassed themselves as over the top villains in Schumaker's neon abortions bring a smile to my face for all the wrong reasons.

Nolan's vision of the franchise brought gravitas and believability not only to Bruce Wayne/Batman, but to his nemeses as well. I've long thought Cillian Murphy to be a marvelous, unique screen presence and he brings his particular brand of androgynous intelligence to Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow. Liam Neeson is pure gold as Ra's Al Ghul, a role that redefined his cinematic persona for the last decade. I think Aaron Eckhart is the unsung hero of The Dark Knight. His heartbreaking fall from grace and off-putting devolution into the angry, murderous two-face is what makes that film the definitive tragedy of its generation. Ledger's Joker is simply phenomenal. A total overhaul and inspired reinvention of the iconic character. The performance is alarmingly lived in and altogether deserving of the accolades heaped upon it.

The fascinating thing about the villains in Batman's world is how they represent negative mirror images of the Dark Knight's psychoses. The judgemental fervor of Dent, the corrupt opulence of the Penguin, the shattered mental state of the Joker. The through line seems to be that these aberrations are what Wayne could have become under different circumstances with different role models. The other unifying element seems to be that they're no physical match for Batman, instead relying on mind games to gain the upper hand. Bane brings all these elements together and is not only more formidable than past villains, but as strong (perhaps stronger) mentally and physically as Batman himself.

The League of Shadows desires to do away with crime, corruption and the public's apathy toward it by indifferently burning Gotham to the ground as a means to restore balance. Batman wants to save Gotham by inspiring the populace and assisting like minded law enforcement. The dueling, uncompromising ideologies these two forces represent couldn't be more prescient in our contentious political climate. Extremity one way or the other is always a detriment. Bane and Batman are essentially Rush Limbaugh and Keith Olbermann in battle armor. Wayne was nurtured where Bane was left to rot. Wayne continues down the benevolent path of his altruistic father, Bane becomes the strong arm of his domineering, unforgiving father figure. Like Wayne, he even mourns the loss of a love that can never be.

I thought the film would present Bane as the revolutionary leader of an Occupy sect to make for timely commentary, but his orations are simply disingenuous posturing, poisonous lies meant to further crush Batman and delude the citizenry. He is totally antithetical to Batman. His empowering proclamations and incendiary speechifying are merely a callous ruse. Even the design of his mask is a photo negative of Batman's with the exact opposite sections covered. Bane is what Bruce Wayne would have become if he grew up in a prison instead of a mansion.

Tom Hardy knocks every element of this performance out of the park, but his first one-on-one fight with Batman down in the sewers is particularly spectacular. His immense physicality coupled with the ingenious vocal approach adds up to the sequence instantly becoming one of my all time favorites. The insidious, demonic delivery he infuses to the line, "I AM the League of Shadooooows." is so chilling and badass, it's been incessantly echoing in my head for days. There's a million elements and moments that make the scene magical to me. How the music drops out entirely, letting Bane's voice, running water and percussive body blows take center stage. The disinterested and disgusted looks on the witnesses faces. Bale's primal howl of agony. Bane grappling down a chain to deliver further devastation. And of course, when Batman can no longer depend on the darkness. It's epic, horrific and majestic all at once.

I should wrap this up as I fear I could go on for days about such juvenile matters. Matters like how awesome it is when Bane unleashes that cacophonous flurry after his mask gets knocked loose during their climactic fisticuffs. Or how great a character trait it is to have him tuck his thumbs into his flak vest like a simple country lawyer. How about that hilarious head nod he gives the dude in the stock exchange?!?!!?!??! Had to have been ad libbed. Point being, as magnificent as Ledger's Joker is, Hardy's Bane is easily its equal. It's all a matter of taste though. For me, the barbaric brutality, piercing verbosity and monolithic musculature put Bane over the top. He's the perfect catalyst for Gotham's reckoning and a fitting instigator for Bruce Wayne's final realization.

Saturday, 21 July 2012

The Dark Knight Rises

First off, there's something I need to get off my chest. I've thought long and hard over the past several months about exactly what it is I'm doing with this blog and more importantly, why I'm bothering to record my thoughts on film for posterity and (limited) public consumption. I read a great many film sites and follow the luminaries that run and contribute to them. I read message boards and twitter, keeping up with the conversation and taking note of the contending opinions that tend to crop up with most genre film. So, where do I fit into this black-hole-miasma of blowhard pontificating? Well, what I've come to realize is, "film critic" isn't really a thing I believe in anymore. The democratization of our society via the Internet has rendered the term meaningless. When everyone can give their voice wings, the sky becomes a crowded place. Some soar above others, but ultimately, we're all circling pop culture vultures, emphatically squawking into the void.

Don't get me wrong, I love film dissection and firmly believe it is its own valid form of art and expression. I depend on the writers I respect to round out my understanding of a film and challenge me to not look past the flaws my boyish enthusiasm shields from me. But the bottom line is, at this point in the evolution of humans as technological animals, film criticism has morphed into a wide ranging discussion, at least as far as the Internet is concerned. So what I imagine I'm doing with this blog is contributing my thoughts to said discussion, in whatever manner I feel relevant, addressing whichever talking points I consider pertinent. I assume you've seen the films if you're reading this, so before I begin in earnest on the conclusion of Nolan's Bat-trilogy, be aware I eschew plot synopsis and spoilers shall abound.

Let's step back from all the noise surrounding this massively important film for a bit, shall we? Let's forget about the Rotten Tomatoes commenting kerfuffle, the wild box office speculation, and let's especially ignore the despicable midnight show shooting perpetrated by a deranged monster. Let us look at The Dark Knight Rises as a standalone film and as the conclusion to a trilogy. I would argue this is a film you need to go into having seen and being well versed with the world of the previous entries to fully understand what's going on. That's not really an issue though when you're discussing a series as monstrously successful and culturally important as Nolan's Bat-films. This is that rare series whose thematic through line and sub-textual relevancy can be viewed as a consistent, circular journey, as satisfying as it is profound and profoundly moving.

Nolan's trilogy is the story of the psychological state of Post 9/11 America, viewed through a surrogate city watched over by flawed, complex protectors and constantly beset by amoral or outright malevolent terrorists. The tragic protagonists in these films are no more equipped to deal with the evil they face by possessing bottomless resources than the purposeful antagonists are limited by their simplistic means and archaic approach. Gotham's enemies view it as a hopelessly corrupt beast whose inhabitants are compromised caricatures of humanity, waiting to be put out of their misery as the den of iniquity that spawned them is swallowed in flames. Batman and his ever dwindling allies see Gotham as a struggling, impetuous child that needs guidance and protection. A troubled metropolis full of basically decent people that require positive symbols and patient reinforcement to properly flourish.

It's a challenging series of films that begs complicated consideration of the notions of fear, justice, personal responsibility and all consuming guilt. It also poses uncomfortable questions about what we as a society have become since that first seed of fear was planted. The lengths we've gone to to keep our loved ones safe and the sacrifices we've made to our code of ethics in the interest of pursuing justice.

I went into The Dark Knight Rises enthusiastically expecting more of the same I got from The Dark Knight. Another tortured, angst ridden descent attempting to decipher the current political climate, updated for the Occupy movement and its attendant focus on inequitable living conditions and glaring class contradictions. That is present, but it's definitely NOT the carrot that wags the dog here. Nolan has delightfully subverted expectations and delivered a rousing conclusion to his series that pays off huge (and unexpectedly effective) emotional dividends while beautifully tying together the trilogy in a confident manner that never feels cheap or forced.

Everything comes full circle here back to that scared little boy in Batman Begins, who learned why we fall, how to pick himself up and to not be afraid. Bruce Wayne finally comes to grips with his limits in this film and it has nothing to do with strength or endurance. It's no mistake that the clean energy machine Wayne Enterprises harbors hidden and unused (a deliciously convenient narrative contrivance) is so easily converted to a nuclear weapon when it falls into the wrong hands. It's a metaphor for Batman's entire quest to save Gotham and how such undiluted vigilantism can turn poisonous over time, to not only himself, but his beloved city as well.

Ra's Al Ghul and Thomas Wayne both believed there was a problem with Gotham and desired to alleviate it in very different ways. One through patience and hard work, the other with a scorched earth mentality. Their respective offspring continue this battle to its logical conclusion in The Dark Knight Rises. Bruce Wayne realizes that he himself is that bomb, a vessel of retribution slowly and surely melting down to extinction event, and he wisely, selflessly extricates himself from the equation. It's extraordinarily pulpy, replete with a third act ticking clock, but it is deceptively resonant and didn't hit me until a full 24 hours after seeing the film. I can only imagine how much more this masterpiece will reveal to me upon the innumerable viewings surely to come. That's why I feel tentative in writing this, unwilling to put my opinions into a concrete, lasting statement. Film criticism is, as I stated at the onset of this piece, now a fluid conversation. The conversation on this film is just getting started and it's far too gargantuan an undertaking to dismiss with a paltry "review".

I'd still like to touch on some of the more clear cut observations to be had. The film is a staggering technical achievement, though that should be expected with a master auteur given free reign with a quarter of a billion dollars. The IMAX footage and cinematography in general is the standard bearer for how magnificent a medium film is and serves as a forceful rebuttal to the digital revolution. Zimmer's score is an unhinged master work with atonal bouts of swirling, tribal insanity off set by familiar melancholic themes of grim resolve. The practical stunt work and set pieces are a joy to behold and hold so much more weight and power than the out of hand CGI spectacles that have come to dominate the genre.

Nolan continues his fascinating casting approach, pitting interesting B-level character actors against A-list Oscar winners while throwing in the occasional washed up reminder like Matthew Modine and peppering in unforgivably bad soap-opera-level ham slingers just to spice it up. The truly awful performance by the CIA operative in the opening scene is classic Nolan. Inexplicable, memorable and deviously charming. It's jarring at first, but over time, that guys stilted delivery will come to be as cherished to me as "No More Dead Cops!!!" in The Dark Knight.

Bale is terrific as always. People just expect him to be great because he's reliably amazing and scarily dedicated. He's my favorite and most respected actor working today and this film is a showcase for why. His crazed, animalistic primal scream trying to psyche himself up during his first fight with Bane is why that scene is so horrifying and heartbreaking. Speaking of Bane and those fights: Tom Hardy is a God in this film. His presence, his voice, his eyes. He makes this character every bit as compelling and charming as Ledger's Joker, just infinitely more terrifying. I had ridiculously unreal expectations for Bane and the fights he has with Batman and the film totally exceeded them. I was breathless.

I've only seen The Dark Knight Rises once. I gave it a day before I put anything down. These are my initial impressions. I plan on seeing it a few more times in glorious 70mm IMAX and look forward to future marathon sessions with the trilogy at home on bluray. Nolan has done something unprecedented here, changing the superhero game forever. He succeeded wildly and on his own terms, reinventing the genre and pushing it irrevocably forward and upward. This is a series as important to cinema as it is to our cultural identity. Events like this don't come around often, we need to stand back from the deafening noise surrounding it and come to our own personal conclusions. Finding cohesion is hard at first, but over time, the work will come into focus.

Wednesday, 18 July 2012

GOODBYE

THANK U SO MUCH TO EERY SINGLE PERSON AROUND THE WORLD THAT CLICK TO VISIT MY BLOG, THANK U FROM THE DEEP OF MY HEART, CAUSE TILL THE FIRST DAY FEBRUARY 14 2012 I REACH 9,095 VISITS IN 6 MONTHS, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.
ESPECIALLY TO ALL OF THE 5448 AMERICANS THAT FROM THE USA VISIT IT, TO THE 1715 VISITS FROM THE U.K., 249 VISITS FROM RUSSIA, 194 VISITS FROM GERMANY, 192 VISITS FROM FRANCE, 135 VISITS FROM CANADA, 69 VISITS FROM SOUTH AFRICA, 68 FROM SPAIN, 50 FROM ANGOLA AND 45 FROM AUSTRALIA, AND THE OTHER COUNTRIES LIKE HOLLAND, BELGIUM, NAMIBIA, POLAND, BERMUDAS, BOTSWANA, CONGO, GHINEA, ETIOPIA, SOMALIA, BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, MEXICO, INDIA, THAILAND OR PORTUGAL, THANK U SO MUCH.
I DONT DELETE MY BLOG CAUSE I DOESNT SLEEP A LOT OF NIGHTS, I WORK REALLY HARD, TO BRING YOU THE LATEST ON TREY, AND IS TOO DIFFICULT, BELIVE ME, THE BIGGEST SITE DOESNT SAY TOO MUCH, I SEACRH ON THE SMALL SITES, OR LOCAL WEBSITES, REALLY DIFFICULT, THNKS TO OTHERS FAN-SITES OR TWITTER-FAN, THANKS TO FANS-TUMBLR OR FAN-FACEBOOK, SORRY IF U DONT LIKE MY POLITIC, BUT IS MINE, TO THE SONGERZ THAT MAKE MY BLOG A HIT ON BLOGGER IN 6 MONTHS, T H A N K Y O U
SINCERELY, THANKS YOU
BILLIE

Saturday, 14 July 2012

2 Reasons at the doors of the Top 10

This week Trey have 2 songs at the top 15 of the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop songs, at #7 down from #4, is Heart Attack, that is also charted at the Hot 100 at #44 down from #42, at the radio chart stay at #27 for 2nd week, at the digital songs is down on the 2nd week to #68 from #58 and at the ringtones stay at #11 for 2nd week.
2 Reasons jumps from #15 to #11 at the R&B/Hip-Hop songs, enters at #97 at the Billboard Hot 100 and debuts at the #64 at the Radio Songs.
THIS WEEK ONLY "2 REASOSN" WAS MARKED AS "TITLES WITH GREATEST AIRPLAYS AND SALES GAINS THIS WEEK" !!!!