Will Ferrell has made some very interesting moves that differentiates him from the common comedic actor. The “Film” he and Kristin Wiig are starring in for Lifetime Network, A Deadly Adoption, continues Ferrell’s role as groundbreaking comedian.Like him or not, Ferrell has done some pretty original projects for lower pay he could make on a wide release film, starting with setting the standard for A-list actor internet videos with the creation of the Funny Or Die website where he debuted everyone’s favorite online video, The Landlord. He did Casa de mi Padre, a Spanish Novela where he spoke nothing but Spanish (Will Ferrell is not a Spanish speaker). He did a play on Broadway as George W. Bush… with a penis slide on his power-point. His show/role on Spoils of Babylon (watch it on Netflix! Worth it!) was an odd choice that really paid off. Hell, I think he was the 1st comedian I saw on Man Vs. Wild, getting help from Bear Grylls to survive in arctic conditions.
Tell me he doesn’t look like modern day Christian Bale!
Tangent – I think Christian Bale should play Grylls in a Lifetime original movie, because look at this guy! Grylls shares Bruce Wayne’s sullen face in The Dark Knight Rises.
Back On Topic – Making a parody of a Lifetime original movie, that the Lifetime Network WILL air on their channel is Ferrell’s latest clever endeavor (though I guess James Franco did a soap opera at the height of his fame, which is similar). Here is the synopsis from the Trailer’s description on Youtube:
Inspired by a true story, A Deadly Adoption is a high-stakes dramatic thriller about a successful couple (Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig) who house and care for a pregnant woman (Jessica Lowndes) during the final months of her pregnancy with the hope of adopting her unborn child.
I doubt it is based on a true story because it’s being done as a parody starring two comedians, but I wouldn’t put it past Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig to base their project on actual events for a larger joke.
Obviously, I don’t want to short change the hilarious Kristen Wiig will all my Will Ferrell talk… so… she’s in this movie! There.
Now, let’s watch the trailer for the Lifetime Original Movie, A Deadly Adoption.
Like Casa de mi Padre, it is interesting at this point to not know how seriously the actors take the drama. Is treating a silly Lifetime Movie true story(?) with deadly seriousness the joke? Will overacting lead to the laughs? Maybe the story is even more funny than it looks?
Whatever the case, I’m in!
A Deadly Adoption starring Will Ferell and Kristen Wiig airs June 20th on Lifetime. I bet you probably thought you’d never watch that channel. I know I never planned on it.
Batfleck Vs. Superman (also known by the silly title ‘Batman V. Superman: Justice Begins’) is still over a year away with a scheduled release date of March 25th, 2016. In the meantime, I think we should all take a step back to admire the greatest comic book movie of all time; Christopher Nolan’s 2008 film ‘The Dark Knight.’
Breaking Batman
I wanted to do the top 5 scenes of the entire ‘Dark Knight Trilogy,’ but that was too limiting as there are too many fantastic scenes in my ‘The Dark Knight Trilogy’ to cover here. I couldn’t even narrow just ‘The Dark Knight’ down to 5 favorite scenes. I need 6 to do the job!
Without further ado, here are the top 6 scenes from ‘The Dark Knight’ in the order they happen in the film’s narrative.
1. The Heist
The Bank Heist is quite the little scene to open and therefore establish the tone of the 2nd movie in Nolan’s Batman Saga. Inspired heavily by the Michael Mann film ‘Heat,’ the scene twists a classic heist into the Joker’s (Heath Ledger) plot, all while setting you on complete edge using the heights of IMAX and the sharp cords of the Joker’s theme… all screaming “Chaos.”
The Joker poses as one of his own henchmen.
2. Decent Men In An Indecent Time
The Joker’s heist may kick off the movie, but it is a decision made by three men that really set events in motion.
To defeat Gotham’s biggest recognized problem, the mob, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian Bale) make a pact that will dictate the fate of all three involved, as well as collateral damage of Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal).
Gordon warns,
“We’re going after the mob’s life savings. Things will get ugly.”
Replies Dent,
“I knew the risk when I took this job, lieutenant.”
Dent accepts the risk willingly, as do Batman and James Gordon.
It is this pact that will determine the destiny of all three men; destroying them all by the end of the film.
3. Dent’s Dark Side
‘The Dark Knight,’ specifically the scene just covered, is largely based on my favorite graphic novel ‘The Long Halloween’ by Jeph Loeb and by Tim Sale.
Nicholas D’Agosto’s Harvey Dent on ‘Gotham’ has quite the temper.
In the comic, Dent’s dark side is hinted at early in the story; long before the accident that scars him. Let’s just say he may may have done more than take a henchmen down an alley and flipped a coin to decide his life. But we’ll get to that now.
Dent spends half the movie as Gotham’s “White Knight,” the honest and law-fairing District Attorney bringing hope to Gotham. I would argue that Dent’s dark side is introduced too late in the movie; around the hour mark. Even here, the film form is not as severe as his comic version. Hell, ‘Gotham’ showed Dent’s short fuse in the first episode introducing the young assistant D.A.
Shiff Thomas wearing Rachel Dawes’ name; signaling her as Joker’s next victim.
The 1st sign something is amiss with Gotham’s White Knight is when he interrogates Joker’s henchmen Shiff Thomas; the man wearing the name tag pegging “Rachel Dawes” as the Joker’s next victim.
The Darker Side of Harvey Dent.
Thomas gets the ‘ole coin flip multiple times, gun held to his head, until Batman stops Dent. The Dark Knight warns the D.A. that if anyone saw what Dent was doing, faith in the White Knight and Gotham would fail.
Even going off the cuff, Dent left the fate of Shift Thomas to his double-sided coin. He (likely) meant Shift Thomas no terminal harm.
Still, that Dent darkness has to appear somehow.
4. Batman Interrogates The Joker
Batman’s one rule comes back to bite him in the ass. By a rabid dog chasing cars.
“You Complete Me!”
It’s really hard not to love this scene. Though Batman has the Joker in his gauntlets, Joker has all the power.
“You have NOTHING! Nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to do with your strength.”
It really is powerful to watch Batman wail on Joker to no avail. His “one rule” that prevents him from killing leads to the deaths of others in the film. This same number was over 600 by the time the pair face off for the final time in Frank Miller’s ‘The Dark Knight Returns.’
In this case, his one rule kills Rachel and blows Dent halfway to hell. But it is this rule that separates Batman from the masked villains. Even though he may lose to the Joker this scheme, I think he may get him in the end…
5. An Unmovable Object and An Unstoppable Force
Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin dies the old fashioned way.
‘The Dark Knight’ breaks the superhero’s genre one rule, established in classic films like 1989’s ‘Batman’ and carried on to nearly-modern day ‘Spider-Man’ (2002) and ‘Batman Begins’ (2005): kill off your villain so the end is nice and tidy.
The Caped Crusader does toss the Clown Prince of Crime off the Pruitt building… only to catch him with his grappling hook, much to the Joker’s disappointment.
“Oh, you. You just couldn’t let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren’t you? You won’t kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won’t kill you because you’re just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.”
Boom! That’s comics in a nutshell.
Spider-Man doesn’t kill the Green Goblin in the comics (well he does, several, but some come back… and, you know, crazy Marvel stuff); they clash again and again and again. And there are very few foes that have been clashing longer in the comics than Batman and the Joker.
6. The White Knight Vs. The Dark Knight
The real finale. The one we were promised when Gordon, Dent, and Batman meet on that rooftop in the first act.
Things got dirty. And all three of these decent men in an indecent time were torn to shreds by the joker, but none more than tragic Harvey Dent.
“What happened to Rachel wasn’t chance. We decided to act! We three!”
Batman knows what’s up! Cause he’s the world’s greatest detective.
But Harvey Dent is the apparent loser in the room, having lost his fiance (and scared his face), with no knowledge that Bruce carried similar feelings for Rachel.
In the comics, Bruce Wayne blames himself for not revealing to Harvey Dent who he was. For not showing Dent who fought alongside him for the soul of Gotham. For remaining anonymous and letting Gordon and Dent take the brunt of mob vengeance.
In the movie, even in this immense time of crisis, Batman is able to vocalize the importance of Harvey Dent to Gotham; why he was chosen.
“Because you were the best of us! He wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall.”
So rests the soul of Gotham in these three-warriors-torn-asunder’s final moments together. Harvey “Two-Face” Dent deciding each of their fates with a flip of the coin.
This scene completes the movie. Three young men with rose-color glasses are wrung through the shredder as a promise they made destroyed their partnership and their lives. Classic Nolan/Batman tragedy.
Again, I come to you, bringing tidings of Pete Holmes, who will soon have his own show, THE PETE HOLMES SHOW, premiering on Monday, October 28th, on TBS (a channel that really doesn’t know funny at all… yet).
I am not paid to promote Pete Holmes (any accusations would be ridiculous for a website with such low readership); I am just a giant fan, both of his BADMAN videos and his excellent Podcast that puts Marc Maron’s WTF to shame, YOU MADE IT WEIRD WITH PETE HOLMES. His E*Trade baby ain’t too terrible either.
While ramping up for the impending premiere of his show, Pete Holmes has put up two hilarious sketches, both from the comic universe; taking pot shots at Marvel and DC.
First, Pete Holmes returns as Batman in his ‘Teaser’ for BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN.
Not his best appearance as Batman (see GOOD WILL HUNTING with Batfleck), but still, not bad. I really do owe my own impression of Christian Bale’s Batman to the one, the only, Pete Holmes!
His greater sketch of late, has to do with a metal Marvel hero with a love of the expression, ‘Bub.’
EXTREME SPOILERS AHEAD FOR AVENGERS, DARK KNIGHT RISES, AND SKYFALL.
Possible SPOILERS for any other films referenced.
We’ve finally reached 2012, a year full of great villains! Perhaps the best year for antagonists in this modern age!
Some 2012 Villains spent their time in glass cages…
All of 2012’s “Terrible 3” fit the mold I discussed in previous posts of “A Better Class of Criminal” (Part II, Part III). All 3 deserve to be on the list of 100 greatest villains ever; any other year, each would be the highlight due to less steep competition from the other 2.
Loki (Tom Hiddleson), THE AVENGERS
Only one way to wipe that grin off his face…
Loki is the weakest of the 2012 “Terrible 3,” yet he is still fan-diddily-tastic and miles above most antagonists on the silver screen (technically, billions of miles above, since he is from Asgard…).
Let’s tick the boxes off for the traits we’ve already covered ad nauseum…
1) Loki has a mastermind of a plan. The demi-God is always on step ahead of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, and even his own brother, Thor. More specific, like great villains past (think the Joker), his plan involves being captured in order to destroy the Avengers from the inside. In his case, he wants a shot at the monster S.H.I.E.L.D. brought on their own Hellicarrier, Bruce Banner aka the Hulk.
Like I said, the glass cage is all the rage in 2012!
Even past his capture and escape, Loki is a step ahead of Captain America and team, setting up at Stark Tower before even Tony Stark realizes it.
Loki grins as he “stabs” a man in the eye.
2) Loki loves his work. He smiles so often, with such evil and glee, even when things look there worst for him. My personal favorite is the smile Loki pops off while “removing” a man’s eyeball before he first encounters Captain America in Germany.
He smiles when he arrives on our planet, as Thor threatens him, as he watches Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America clash, as he passes Banner’s lab in cuffs, as he threatens Black Widow, and even when Tony Stark taunts him in the third act. Loki’s having so much fun he can’t contain himself.
Smiles All Around
As a result, so do we! A lot of credit has to go to the actor, Tom Hiddleson, on this one. As written, Loki could be played more seriously, but Hiddleson nails Loki’s playfulness.
3) Speech! Speech! – Loki may not have a unique voice like his predecessor, The Joker, or his successor, Bane, but he can still deliver quite the evil speech.
To the people of Germany:
“Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It’s the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.”
To Black Widow:
“I won’t touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear! And then he’ll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I’ll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!”
To Hulk:
“Enough! You are, all of you are beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature, and I shall not be bullied by…”
Ok, so not all Loki speeches end so great…
No one fucks with Phil Coulson… except Loki.
4) Loki is unique. Sure, we’ve seen many super-villains over the years, but Loki is a God/Alien. He considers himself a fallen king, driven mad by the power of the Tesseract and envy of Thor. He sees the human race as ants, something very few to no villains mentioned previously feel. After all, even those like Norman Osbourne aka the Green Goblin, who sees himself as above regular people, was human himself before experimentation.
5) Loki makes it personal. He attacks the Avengers “where they live” (according to Tony Stark), killing friend of the team Agent Phil Coulson.
Bane as painted by Casey Callende.
Bane (Tom Hardy) , THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
I argue that Bane is an even stronger Nolan Batman baddie than Joker… and most people call me a fool.
Joker may have tested Batman’s one rule… and corrupted Gotham’s White Knight, Harvey Dent… but BANE BROKE THE BAT! And held Gotham hostage for months, keeping the entire US government at bay.
The panel from KNIGHTFALL
My favorite scene in Nolan’s entire DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY is Bane and Batman’s initial fight in the sewers. Not only is the action perfectly brutal, leading to the destruction of Batman – the final moment true to the exact panel from the comic – but every line Bane utters during the fight is gold; instantly classic. Both the writing, and the all important delivery by the extraordinary Tom Hardy make the scene the best of the comic-book-movie crop:
“Not as serious as [your mistake], I fear…
Let’s not stand on ceremony here, Mr. Wayne.
Peace has cost you your strength. Victory has defeated you!
Theatricality and deception. Powerful agents to the uninitiated. But we are initiated, aren’t we Bruce? Members of the League of Shadows. And you betrayed us!…
I am the League of Shadows! I’m here to fulfill Ra’s al Ghul’s destiny!
You fight like a younger man with nothing held back. Admirable, but mistaken.
Oh, you think the darkness is your ally. But you merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t see the light until I was already a man. By then it was nothing to me but blinding!
The shadows betray you, because they belong to me!
I will show you where I have made my home whilst preparing to bring justice to Gotham… Then I will break you.
Your precious armory, gratefully accepted. We will need it.
Ah yes, I was wondering what would break first… your spirit… or your body?!?!”
CLICK “READ MORE” BELOW FOR MORE BANE GOODNESS! NOW WITH SILVA FROM SKYFALL!
Like him or not, Ferrell has done some pretty original projects for lower pay he could make on a wide release film, starting with setting the standard for A-list actor internet videos with the creation of the Funny Or Die website where he debuted everyone’s favorite online video, The Landlord. He did Casa de mi Padre, a Spanish Novela where he spoke nothing but Spanish (Will Ferrell is not a Spanish speaker). He did a play on Broadway as George W. Bush… with a penis slide on his power-point. His show/role on Spoils of Babylon (watch it on Netflix! Worth it!) was an odd choice that really paid off. Hell, I think he was the 1st comedian I saw on Man Vs. Wild, getting help from Bear Grylls to survive in arctic conditions.
BREAKING GEEK Radio: The Podcast 