Theatrical Releases: The Dark Knight Rises

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES || July 20th, 2012

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES || Even with the horrific event that occurred in Aurora, Colorado, by not seeing “The Dark Knight Rises”, you might as well let terrorism win. We cannot be afraid to go outside and I feel like, if anything, “The Dark Knight Rises” teaches that lesson during its two hour and forty-five minute run-time. Concluding the Christopher Nolan directed Batman trilogy, Nolan proves that a superhero film can live in the real world. Starring a huge ensemble cast, my biggest hope for this film is that it destroys all the records previously set by James Cameron’s “Avatar”.

THEATER

	30 BEATS \|\| Set in New York, “30 Beats” is about a group of 10 people that form a sexual circle during a summer heat wave in which they all take turns having sex with one another. Sounds interesting enough. With people’s expectations and desires getting involved in the mix, I am very curious to see what this turns out. Starring Justin Kirk, from “Weeds”, this ensemble cast looks provocative.	STREAM
	FIXING THE FUTURE \|\| Synopsis: David Brancaccio explores a variety of new opportunities that have emerged in the wake of 2008’s financial meltdown.	PASS
	HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI \|\| Having not seen director Takashi Miike’s previous film “13 Assassins” (which I really do want to see), I can not use that to base an opinion on whether to see his current film “Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai”. However, the trailer makes the film look gorgeous. Though the story is rather age-old, the action appears to freshen up the film and I do believe I will eventually see both of Miike’s films.	STREAM
	THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES \|\| “The Queen of Versailles” looks like a pretty honest look at the life of a billionaire and his wife. The trailer does a nice job of setting up the entire story, with the couple building one of the biggest mansions in part of their wealthy lifestyle due to the billionaire’s success in the time-share industry. But when the stock market crashes and luxury becomes an after-thought, they are faced with “hardship”. Though I highly doubt that they actually face any adversity, the film still looks somewhat promising.	STREAM
	THE RUNAWAY \|\| Ever since his performance in both “Weeds” and “A Better Life”, Demian Bichir is a huge selling point for films and even in this independent Irish film about a Spanish man crash landing his plane in a small Ireland town, Bichir looks to be about the best thing going for the film, although I’m afraid that still won’t make me see it.	PASS
	SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS \|\| Apparently only in theaters for one night only, “Shut Up and Play the Hits” is billed as the “very loud ending to the band LCD Soundsystem”. So basically the documentary follows their band on the last day as a band, concluding at their farewell concert filled with crying fans and people ready to leave it all behind. It looks like a powerful film… if you’re a fan of LCD Soundsystem, which I am not.	PASS
	STRONG! \|\| “Strong” is strong documentary film-making about a very strong female athlete, but there’s very little to hook anyone into going to see this film unless they know of this particular female athlete or if they’re intrigued by either Olympic athletics or strong-(wo)man competitions.	PASS
	THE WELL-DIGGER’S DAUGHTER \|\| What looks to be a somewhat strong foreign drama about a young girl and her fight for a normal life after sleeping with a man that leaves her, “The Well-Digger’s Daughter” focuses on the relationship between the young girl and her father, as they both grow older. All that being said, there is absolutely nothing special looking about this film to get me to see it.	PASS