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Batman Resurrections, set immediately after B89, is being released October 15.

Here's the synopsis:

The Joker is dead, but not forgotten. Gotham City is saved, but it is still not safe. By night, its new symbol of hope, Batman, continues his fight to protect the innocent and the powerless. By day, his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, wonders whether there may someday be a future beyond skulking the city's rooftops or the cavernous halls of his stately manor alongside the ever-dutiful Alfred Pennyworth.
 
But even after death, the Clown Prince of Crime's imprint can be seen in more than just the pavement. Remnants from The Joker's gang are leading wannabes fascinated by his bizarre mystique on a campaign of arson that threatens the city—even as it serves greedy opportunists, including millionaire Max Shreck. And survivors of exposure to The Joker's chemical weapon Smylex continue to crowd Gotham City's main hospital.
 
To quell the chaos, Batman needs more than his cape and his well-stocked Utility Belt. Bruce Wayne is forced into action, prompting a partnership with a charismatic scientist to help solve the health crisis. But as he works in both the shadows and the light, Bruce finds himself drawn deeper into Gotham City's turmoil than ever before, fueling his obsession to save the city—an obsession that has already driven a wedge between him and Vicki Vale. The loyal Alfred, who had hoped Bruce's efforts as Batman could help him find closure, finds the opposite happening. Nightmares begin to prompt Bruce to ask new questions about the climactic events in the cathedral, and investigations by Commissioner Gordon and reporter Alexander Knox into the arsons only amplify his concerns.
 
Having told the people of Gotham City that they'd earned a rest from crime, Batman finds the forces of evil growing ever more organized—and orchestrated—by a sinister hand behind the scenes. The World's Greatest Detective must solve the greatest mystery of all: Could The Joker have somehow survived? And could he still have the last laugh against the people of Gotham City?

This sounds way more appealing to me than the comics set after Returns. I especially love that it's going to be a novel, allowing the author to really dig in to the psychological elements and really flesh out details. Not showing costume designs or city aesthetics allows us to imagine them ourselves which I think has more power and a sense of authenticity, especially when the comics don't match up with what we think. I'll be keeping an eye on this.

Pre-order links here:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/750157/batman-resurrection-by-john-jackson-miller/

What do people think of Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy?

She's close to the comics:

Her flower ball costume is a near pitch perfect recreation of her early appearances.
Enamours men with her love dust.
Bruce hallucinates about her.
Uses wigs as disguises and meets Bruce.
Can control vines.
Spreads seeds of mutated plants.

Her entrance is memorable. Revealing herself from the gorilla suit, falling down to be grabbed by absolutely enamoured men, with everyone looking at her in awe. Men falling down to be literally walked all over by her boots, subservient. The crowd bidding with money they probably don't have, but not caring, swept up in the moment. Great music here from Elliot Goldenthal as well. Hypnotising and glamorous.

She was over the top, but entertaining. She looked great for the most part - didn't like the drag queen one though.

She kills people - Woodrue, the guards mentioned by Gordon upon her arrival into Gotham, the two Arkham guards, does her best to kill Nora and then Robin at the end as well.

Her plot, along with Freeze's, is simplistic. Freeze Gotham and populate it with killer plants. But really, no less silly than blowing up Gotham in TDK Rises with a nuke based on a flimsy argument. Bottom line, Ivy had no qualms about it. "So many people to kill, so little time."

To her, people were just pawns. Case in point Gordon. She love dusts him into a drunken state just to get the rooftop key to sabotage the bat signal. When she has what she needs, he's quickly forgotten. Bane was just another person for her to order around. She liked her men subservient.

As part of the 75th Anniversary celebration of Batman,

a 25th Anniversary Edition of Tim Burton's Batman feature film will be released in the fall.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=116523

I hope this one includes deleted scenes, etc.

Found this link with some unused Penguin army designs:

http://io9.com/5986489/batman-begins-concept-art-reveals-unused-penguins-armed-with-buzzsaws-and-boxing-gloves

[Keaton will play the reclusive and eccentric host of an underground supercar race where he invites the best drivers from around the world.]

Michael Keaton is joining the cast of DreamWorks' video game adaptation, Need for Speed, reports Heat Vision.

He joins a cast that includes Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots, Dominic Cooper, Ramon Rodriguez, Rami Malek, Harrison Gilbertson and Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi.

According to the site, "the story tells of a local street-racer (Paul) who partners with a rich and arrogant business associate (Cooper), only to find himself framed by his colleague and sent to prison.

After his stint in the joint, he joins a New York-to-Los Angeles race to get revenge.

But when the ex-partner learns of the scheme, he puts a massive bounty on the racer's head, forcing him to run a cross-country gauntlet of illegal racers in all manner of supercharged vehicles.

Keaton will play the reclusive and eccentric host of an underground supercar race where he invites the best drivers from around the world.

The script for the film was written by George Gatins. His brother, John Gatins, is producing with Mark Sourian and Patrick O'Brien.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=99944

For the 20th Anniversary of Batman Returns, I have written an analysis of Craig Shaw Gardner's Batman Returns novelization.

Here it is:

http://www.batman-online.com/features/2012/5/22/batman-returns-novelization-analysis

The trailer has hit and I am very impressed.

This seems like it could be a Tim Burton classic. It has all the right ingredients you'd expect from him.

If I were ever to write a Batman story, it'd have to have something different. Something that hasn't been done before in depth and presents a real challenge to Batman where he's out of his comfort zone. I'd want it to be scary, funny and sad. Paying tribute to the rich history in some way. I was thinking about what scenario could interest me, and then I recalled this post I made back in 2009. A scenario that goes above and beyond Nolan realism, but in a world where it's full on gothic and fantasy.

Take the Batmobile, for example. Even if you could build one without anyone finding out, someone would eventually follow you back home.

I've always thought that. Going to and from Wayne Manor in the Batmobile each night really is rolling the dice. No matter how stealthy you may be - or how hard you try, eventually someone is going to follow you back, place a tracer or whatever. It's mostly out of your hands.

It's a big City out there with lots of people in it. People talk and people observe. And you can't tell me after operating in Gotham for years, Batman is rather complacent about the whole thing.

And that's just with people. Technology really would complicate things.

Given his vigilante status, in reality they'd view the entire Gotham area via satellite with heat vision capabilities. He wouldn't even know. You'd have footage of his movements to and from Wayne Manor and it would be all over the news.

Say they had just began the monitoring, and they didn't know where he lived - and Batman was in Gotham and *somehow* aware of this, he's still going nowhere. He'd be driving around all night and all the police would be after him. That really would be it. He's caught. He couldn't drive back to Wayne Manor. And it would eventually be morning.

I think it's a cool concept and would love to see DC tackle it.

You could have this with no lead in, Batman just out on the street and realising, OMG, what on Earth do I do? Thinking on the spot. I'm not sure how he'd get to that realisation at the moment, but it would be dynamite. Or perhaps a lead in where something happened, ala being framed for the Ice Princess in BR. The City being on a lockdown afterwards, hunting Batman from then on with all the resources and technology they have. And Bruce is forced to go back in to deal with it by some 'subtle' villain ala Penguin in BR. Showing long term problem solving and detective work.

Either way it would be interesting to get into Bruce's internal dialogue about the problem. You could have signal scrambler gadgets, etc. Using a penthouse as a base.  Scenes with him being pursued in the Batmobile via police, rigs the car to blow and escapes via the deep sewers, away from surveillance, for example. Having to get things sorted out and back home before dawn breaks, with the real truth coming out at an emotional cost.

http://www.thedarkknightrises.com/selina_kyle.html

First impression? Disappointing and bland. Hardly evokes Catwoman, to tell you the truth.

I will definitely need a full body shot.

A few obvious ones are there, but other plot points have emerged.

Recent filming backs this up as well.

Highlight if you dare.

- Miranda Tate is actually Talia Al Ghul.
- John Blake is actually Alberto Falcone.

- The League of Shadows is back with Bane as their leader.
- Talia, Falcone and Bane are all being funded by Nixon, the corrupt politician.

- Talia infiltrates Wayne Enterprises as Miranda.
- Falcone infiltrates The Gotham Police Department as Blake.

- Bane was trained by Ra's Al Ghul.

- Catwoman is a villain who then turns good in order to team up with Batman.

- Lucius Fox gets killed (by Talia or someone else) in order to get access to the Tumblers.

- Talia (as Miranda) releases the Tumblers to Bane and the League of Shadows.

- Batman has been attacked physically (stabbed by Talia), emotionally, and financially: His Batman gadgetry at Wayne Enterprises has been tampered with.

- After the snow fight outside City Hall where Batman gets stabbed by Talia, Catwoman drives the Bat-Pod in a chase scene after Talia and the LoS in the Tumblers.

The Tumbler is returning for TDKR.

It would have been interesting to have seen a different design, but I'm content with this. The Tumbler IS the Nolanverse car. Just as the BM6 is the Burtonverse car. Take a look:

http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/167841-batman-vehicles-arrive-on-the-pittsburgh-set

Here it is:

http://www.thedarkknightrises.com/images/TheDarkKnightRises_TeaserPoster.jpg

Looks like the place got hit by an earthquake, ala No Man's Land.

Anyway, I like it. Clever and dramatic.

So the trailer for the fourth Mission Impossible film has hit. And it looks slick (check out the cinematography), energised (check out the action) and above all - fun. There is nothing wrong with comic book simplicity. I know people here are longing for that interpretation. There is something more campy and heightened about the Mission Impossible films that I enjoy. Now, they're not as good as the Bournes or most of the Bonds. But they're still reasonably well-made, entertaining and have never given us a dog like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull or Terminator Salvation. Roll on December. Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0LQnQSrC-g&feature=player_embedded

Very good recent interview:

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/05/12/michael-keatons-dark-memories-of-batman-and-shining-love-for-beetlejuice/

Seen these before? I haven't.





I have a few others if anyone is interested.

Read about it here:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=73133

That is the official title of Batman 3.

Seriously....that absolutely SUCKS.

Clunky as all hell. It's more like a sentence.

I would've preferred something totally different sounding, like comparing BB to TDK.

But seriously....that's the best they could do?! Just add rises to the end of the old title?!

[Vespertillo]

Say you're putting together a BB/TDK best of CD.

How would you go about it?

Here's my attempt.

Vespertillo - The basis for everything to follow. Wing/cape flaps, swirling tension and the rising horn.
Like A Dog Chasing Cars - Takes the rising horn motif straight to the final product. Things gradually slow down and seque into the brooding:
Watch the World Burn - Lennon's "Dear Prudence" to McCartney's "Back in the USSR". Contrasts well as the mood is totally the opposite.
A Watchful Guardian - This plays immediately after in sequence of the film, therefore it flows well. We are first introduced to the end credits theme.
I'm Not a Hero - I like the opening two minutes.
Buyer Beware - Subtle horror movie music. Blends both the end credits theme and the opening part of "I'm Not a Hero".
Artibeus - Just noise to me, but takes the horror movie music to the next level.
Harvey Two Face - Decent track.
Barbastella - Covers the Wayne shooting. End with a combination of drumming and rising horn.
Aggressive Expansion - Follows on immediately from "Barbastella" with more drumming and rising horn. Moves onto broody music that escalates.
Nycteris - Has similar sounding music going on, eg. knives sliding, etc.
A Little Push - Thunderous and dark.
Tadarida - Emotional cues, with aspects of thunder as heard in "A Little Push".
Antrozous - I prefer this one to Molossus. Decent way to end things.

But remember, to quote Jack's surgeon in B89, "you see what I have to work with here.."

This is no joke: The Joker outfit Jack Nicholson wore in the 1989 Batman movie is going up for sale. The iconic multi- colored suit created by famed tailor Tommmy Nutter is expected to fetch at least $15,000 at a Bonhams memorabilia auction next month. Experts believe the highest bidder will be either a diehard Batman fan or a fashion-savvy Tommy Nutter collector.

http://www.flashnews.com/news/wfn10100728fn6137.html

This probably doesn't require a thread, but I couldn't find an existing one that it would fit into.

Just briefly skimmed through Returns.

A few things I noticed:

We all know Schreck?s vampire inspiration with the name and also the power plant. But you know the scene just before he pushes Selina from the window and says ?Actually, it?s a lot like that?? Well, notice how he leans forward and his head seemingly focuses on her neck area. Anyone catch that?

Also, has anyone ever considered that the clown with the time bomb strapped to his chest could have been a suicide bomber? It is possible it was just temporarily being stored there as he moved around the street, but you never know. It never really entered my mind until all the antics of current day terrorism started.

Straight after Penguin?s ?rescue? of the Mayor? baby; it cuts to the scene in Wayne Manor. I?ve always just assumed the scene took place at night due to the gloomy lighting and roaring fire. But the television reports the event took place ?just minutes before?. Bruce could have taped the news and been watching a video replay to review the days events I guess. I know the expressionism Burton used, but if this scene took place during the day, that just makes it even better.

Just a few minor observations. I wonder what came of Selina?s trashed apartment after her meltdown? She did go back to work straight after it. I wonder if she stayed put there, and if so, for how long? Oh, and one last thing, I have always loved how Keaton throws his report across the table to Schreck. Absolutely perfect. So cool.