Christopher Nolan lets the fur fly...

It's all official and the speculation can end. Christopher Nolan's third and final Batman opus, Dark Knight Rising, will not Riddle you this. Rather it will reinvent Selina Kyla as Catwoman and Batman back-breaker Bane.

Anne Hathaway will be she of the claws and Inception's Tom Hardy will be Bane.

Unclear is whether Nolan is still following the storyline from the 5 issue Prey comic series, in which case the role of Dr. Hugo Strange would remain to be cast.

Hathaway is a little too nice to fit the image most folks have of Selina Kyle. If Nolan has an Achilles Heel it might be his casting of female roles -- Katie Holmes, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scarlett Johansson, Ellen Page. All seem cut from the same cloth, type-wise and all have delivered underwhelming performances in otherwise stupefyingly good Nolan pictures. What Selina Kyle will be like with Hathaway is anybody's guess.

Just make sure we get plenty of Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon in this last outing, okay, Chris? Fascinating news, to be sure!

Yeah, I'm a bum -- but I've still got an opinion...

43 days without a post?!? Mea Culpa and pass the ketchup. I've been a bum. Blame my descent into the holidays, but there it is. You blink, and it's award season and the parental movie fan, dependent on home viewing finds himself desperately behind. Whither True Grit? Black Swan? Their siren song is calling.

But I did see The Social Network. I must preface that I'm a big David Fincher fan, though I was on the not-so-much side of the bus with Benjamin Button. And dammit if I'm not still on that same side of the bus here. It started off great, but it just didn't connect for me. This is the great Aaron Sorkin script everyone's been lauding? For me, the staying power of this movie was akin to Up in the Air from last year. Very contemporary and I'm afraid history won't be to kind to it. I don't think it's a significant as it wants to be. I loved the "Winklevi" (Armie Hammer is terrific), but ya know, it's distracting that it's an effect. Likewise, when characters are ostensibly outside talking on a cold Cambridge night, I'm too aware of Fincher's CGI "breath," and that took me out of the damn scene.

Painfully, Andrew Garfield's betrayed Eduardo is the weak link in the film. The guy just doesn't have the acting chops and earnestness will only get you so far. He just wasn't doing it for me and sadly, this is the guy that will be the new Peter Parker/Spider-man in the tweeny reboot in 2012. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this..."

You can't fault Fincher's overall direction, he does a great job evoking a sense of place and making the laptop world seem fraught with peril and high stakes. But let me be honest -- it's really hard for me to get too broken up or invested in the trials and tribulations of a bunch of affluent, entitled Harvard students. Boo-freakin'-hoo! Not when it's this talky. Also, Jesse Eisenberg's Mark Zuckerberg -- the main character -- is a complete cipher. We never learn anything about his background, who he is, his fears, his dreams, his family -- nothing.

So I'm not ready to UnFriend David Fincher, but after this and Button I think I have to say I think Christopher Nolan has pulled ahead of him in terms of compelling storytelling. Here's hoping he redeems himself next Christmas with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The Boondock Sons…

Having just wrapped up its third and weakest season, Sons of Anarchy hasn’t jumped the shark yet – but they rode their bikes right up to the edge of the ramp and thought about it. Year three is dominated by two things -- Jax’s obsessive search to locate his kidnapped son Abel, know forever after as “The Wee Bay-beh,” and also by a massive amount of action taking place in Ireland.

Yes, like the Brady family’s Hawaiian vacation, the Sons actually pack up and head to Belfast – sorry, to “BELL-FAHHHHst,” in search of wayward Abel. Or rather, their stunt doubles do, as rather than schlep the cast off to Ireland, we’re witness to some of the most awkward second-unit editing and set dressing in recent memory. Manhole covers convincingly scream out, “Port of Belfast.” Large groups of always-helmeted stunt drivers wearing SAMCRO leathers tool their bikes around the actual Irish countryside, always from a distance, always in a group. When the cast is shot supposedly in Ireland, they’ve tried to find California locations that match Ireland for greenery and tweak the filtering somehow -- it is painfully obvious that we’re still somewhere in Cali – not Kerry.

It would be easy to forgive a little sketchy verisimilitude, but unfortunately it’s combined with some very good actors mounting some very bahd Oyrish Ock-cents. I love Titus Welliver, but as rogue IRA bad guy Jimmy O’Phelan, the incredibly talented Welliver is out of his “dapth.” His Jimmy O runs roughshod over so many “Da’s” and “Fa’ers” it will put you off your Guinness. Deadwood veteran Paula Malcomson (she’ll always be Trixie to me) fairs much better – she was actually born in Belfast – but she has to slog through so many "Wev got to thank aboot the weeee bay-behs!" that it’s hard to stave off the eye-rolling. You will be overwhelmed with Liams and Seans and Brogans by the time that they’re through.

You have to admire any show that tries to be more epic, but when Sons starts to feel more like The Boondock Saints, you want the original vibe of the show back! Regulars Kim Coates as Tig and Scot Tommy Flanagan as Chibs really shine in their supporting roles this year. There’s a terrific cameo early on by none other than Stephen King. But the dynamic lost its way this season. As fantastic and intense as Charlie Hunnam is as Jax, the show needs to return equal face time to Ron Perlman as patriarch Clay, who spent far too much time in the shadows in these episodes.

Just when I was ready to skip St. Patrick’s day and call for a ban on any Amercians ever being cast as Irish again, Sons stepped up and redeemed itself with an absolutely killer season finale that rocked and rocked hard. Supreme kudos to Ally Walker’s slithery agent Stahl, who stole every scene she’s in. But best of all, the writing in the finale really came back to full strength and it felt like some healing had finally begun. The shark had been avoided and Sons was back where it belonged.

It was a long strange trip this season, browther, ent oy fur wan um glahd we’re dohne.

Call off the dogs -- and don't forget to leave a note...

Call off the dogs, because as far as I'm concerned, 127 Hours is the movie of the year. Granted, I haven't seen Inception or The Black Swan yet, but those movies are going to have to get out in the driveway and detail my car in order to impress and rock my soul as hard as Danny Boyle's latest piece of astonishing craftsmanship.

Adapting the true story of Aron Ralston into a feature film was a pretty audacious idea -- which is maybe why Danny Boyle is the perfect choice to take this journey. This is easily Boyle's best move since 28 Days Later -- and I loved Slumdog Millionaire. But this story clearly inspired the hell out of Boyle. More likely awed him. Once you've seen it you'll understand why. The filmmaking on display here is immediate, immersive and totally compelling. At a furious 93 minutes, 127 Hours is a master class in economy, editing and use of sound. Much ink has been spilt about the intensity of being a witness to what Ralston decided he had to do. If that is even remotely keeping you on the fence about seeing this, please believe that the "violence" here is in no way extreme or sensationalized. Given what happened and the courage Aron Ralson found, it's note perfect. Everything serves telling this story in a realistic way, even the brushes with fantasy and delerium that begin to take their toll after the five longest days a man ever endured.

But it would all fall apart and the illusion would turn to powder if it weren't for the phenomenal central performance of James Franco. Gone forever is any reference to "that good looking James Dean guy from Spider-man." Franco will need mantle space very soon, as this is such a mature, open, exposed performance. There's no star puffery, no BS -- it's all real, every facet of man's emotional extremes laid bare -- hubris, ego, terror, tenacity, madness, love...belief -- there are pieces of Aron Ralston we can all relate to, even if we've never climbed anything but a staircase. Franco does superb work here and will now be stealing scripts away from Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

If you love filmmaking, if you love bravery, if extreme stories of survival such as Into Thin Air or The Endurance have ever captured your imagination... you miss this film at your peril. It's the best movie I've seen this year, hands down and I'll be rooting like hell for it come Oscar time.

But when you do see this picture, don't go alone, and if you do...please leave somebody a note.

The beginning of The End...of an era...

Thank you, thank you, visiting relatives, for generously offering to babysit so we had the opportunity to get to the theater and revel in the latest Harry Potter movie. I’m wearing my heart on my sleeve, I feel that these films just keep getting better and more mature and The Deathly Hallows doesn’t disappoint. I think it was a great move on Warner Brothers to split the 7th novel into two films. The Deathly Hallows dares to take its time and focus on character, which fans of the novel are bound to appreciate. There is plenty of smoldering suspense – and lots of novel atmosphere. We don’t even get so much as a glimpse of Hogwarts! We do, however, get our most sustained look at He-Who-Must-Not, who is positively chilling.

The most marvelous things to behold in this wondrous film are the performances of Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe. They have truly grown up and delivery beautifully nuanced performances here, packed with emotion.

Bill Nighy has a great scene early in the film as Minister of Magic. The role of Luna Lovegood’s father, Xenophelius, is somewhat awkwardly cast, which adds a somewhat creepy dynamic that probably wasn’t intended. The ending will have you foaming at the mouth for the final chapter – but one can’t help feeling a little nostalgic knowing this is the last holiday season that will see a Harry Potter film. Every since Goblet of Fire, these stories have just felt so much a part of the winter season. Summer just doesn’t feel like it does them justice. So go and be dazzled, go and be moved. The faithfulness to Rowling’s work is a wonder to behold and the enchantment will prove impossible to resist.

"It's a good day to be dead!"

What kind of champagne do zombies like? Better ask 'em over at AMC, where Halloween's premiere of the Frank Darabont/Andrew Kirkman horror series The Walking Dead delivered AMC's highest original series premiere numbers ever.

How big was it? Season 4 of Mad Men debuted with 2 million viewers. The Walking Dead averaged 5.3 million viewers last night, with a heavy 3.6 million made up of the coveted 18-49 year-old demo, making for... the best series premiere in that demographic for all of cable in 2010!

"It's a good day to be dead," said AMC President Charlie Collier. Reviews were extremely positive across the board. I'll just say that for me, there is this certain type of property where you really love it and just worry to death that someone won't get it and will screw it up. Lord of the Rings, for example. It's something you cherish and you're kind of holding your breath. Well, if you haven't seen The Walking Dead yet, what the hell are you doing reading this?!? It's without a doubt one of the most intense things I've seen in ages. It is just staggeringly well done and Darabont basically shows the rest of the horror world how it's done here. The cinematography in the pilot (Days Gone By) by David Tattersall is remarkable. They keep making choices that favor realism over contrivance, particularly in a wonderful supporting turn by Jericho fave Lennie James that is as human as it gets.

Watch this series!!! This is work that needs to be supported. And if you haven't sampled Kirkman's comics, there are years worth to get crazy with -- he's an amazing talent. My very high expectations were surpassed in ways I am still recovering from. This is the real McCoy and I can't wait for next Sunday night...

Zom-pocalypse NOW!

"When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth..."

This Sunday -- Halloween -- brings the debut of a new series I've been eagerly salivating over for ages now -- The Walking Dead. Incredibly, AMC, the network that's given us such critical triumphs as Mad Men and Breaking Bad has had the cojones to turn Robert Kirkman's jaw-dropping comic into their next high profile TV series! I've enjoyed all 78 heart-stopping issues of this comic -- so I've written about the news of this series before and been waiting with baited breath.

But on Sunday the 31st, this baby finally debuts, shepherded into reality by none other than Frank Darabont, the maestro who gave us The Mist, which for my money was the best horror film in ages -- it's such a dream come true. Because if you're thinking this is going to be a nonstop gore-o-rama, you don't know The Walking Dead, as these are character-driven stories, first and foremost, and with both Darabont and Kirkman involved, I just have the feeling were about to witness the birth of something truly special.

Real horror that's not something to be embarrassed of comes along so rarely these days. We're about to see something raw and shocking and true to its source. I absolutely can't wait...

So lock your bloody doors...