I didn’t know anything about this movie other than it’s cast and that it was about ESP and stuff like that. But I just had to get it and I’m glad I did. Red Lights is a 2012 Spanish-American thriller film, written and directed by Rodrigo Cortés, and starring Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Toby Jones, Elizabeth Olsen, Joely Richardson and Leonardo Sbaraglia. Sbaraglia is the only actor I did not know about but he stood out during his brief two appearances on the screen.

The movie is about a university professor and her assistant, who is also a promising physicist in his own right, who specialize in debunking supernatural phenomena. They visit various places where invited and check for natural causes which may be behind the events that occur. The beginning of the movie is about establishing this nature of the two – Prof. Margaret Matheson and her assistant Tom Buckley who investigate cases involving paranormal activity and pulling the rug out from under frauds. They visit a house where paranormal activity is supposed to take place and also an African-American family who have an autistic child who only starts drawing when he listens to deafening death metal. All this and they conduct normal classes at the university too.

Tom gets excited when the news channels highlight the return of a world renowned psychic – Simon Silver – a blind man who wowed the world with his feats and “healings” until 30 years ago. The reason he stopped and retired from the limelight is due to the sudden death of his biggest critic and who was investigating Silver’s work. This supposedly left a long lasting effect on Silver but now he is back to sold out shows in theatres and halls in America. Matheson refuses to cooperate with Buckley’s insistent call to undertake another investigation of Silver, warning Buckley against such an undertaking due to her previous experience with the psychic. Matheson did however appear on a talk show which included a panel mostly pro-Silver and which included Silver’s assistant and now lover Monica Handsen. When Handsen touches on a very personal part of Matheson’s life, the latter leaves the show getting upset. Buckley is now adamant to investigate Silver when he is hit by the sudden death of Matheson from a chronic vascular condition at the same time that one of Silver’s re-introductory performances takes place.

Buckley tries to find proof for the purpose of exposing the popular psychic as a fraud. During Buckley’s efforts to reveal Silver’s large-scale trickery, a series of inexplicable events occur—electronic devices explode in the hidden room where he set up to try and trace radio signals, dead birds appear out of nowhere and break through glass and falls on him and Buckley’s laboratory is vandalized. Buckley’s paranoia intensifies, as he believes Silver is behind these incidents. He loses his clam demenour and takes his girlfriend, a student at the university, back to her place while  he continues to spy on Silver’s organization. Silver agrees to participate in an investigation proposed by an academic from the same university that Matheson was employed by, and Buckley bullies his way in ad joins the observation team for the tests. Towards the end of the film, Buckley’s assistants, including his girlfriend, find out how the physic does it – his watch is rigged plus Silver is only pretending to be blind!

At the end, Buckley, who is beaten up by one of Silver’s henchmen, exposes Silver’s fraud in a hall filled with people. The world sees that Silver is not blind. As he leaves the hall and walks out in the rain, he narrates to us that he actually possesses paranormal abilities and has been responsible for the inexplicable incidents that have occurred during his investigation of Silver. Buckley explains a realization in which he arrives at an understanding that his decision to work with Matheson, despite the possibility of loftier career opportunities as a physicist, was the result of an unconscious attempt to seek out others like himself; the revelation clarifies that Buckley’s choices were made in spite of his conscious denial of the existence of paranormal activity (such denial is touched on earlier in the film, whereby the character claims that he chose this career because his mother was delayed from seeking critical medical treatment due to advice from a fraud psychic).

Good twist at the end kind of like 6th Sense although the movie isn’t quite that grade. I do think it is a good film though and everyone acting does a bang up job. 8 out of 10!

Ok, finally I got down to watch this movie, the second highest grossing movie of 2012 (and currently the 7th highest grossing of all time). The Dark Knight Rises is the 3rd and final installment in the Chris Nolan Batman trilogy and sees a conclusion to the story that started off with 2005’s Batman Begins. Nolan not only directed but also co-wrote the script with his brother Jonathan Nolan. The movie visually is a stunning treat, really awesome production and it’s worth seeing a few times in the theatres if you could do so (I ofcourse watched it on my laptop). The actors do a fine job and score is great too.

Joining Christian Bale, who reprises the lead role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, are a returning cast of his allies: Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. The film introduces the characters of Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), a cunning cat burglar in search of a way to escape her past, and Bane (Tom Hardy), a militant revolutionary out to destroy Gotham City. Also new are Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate,   Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake & Matthew Modine as Deputy Commissioner Peter Foley. Now for my thoughts on the film and the cast:

• Batman is a bit sidelined in this film what with the film needing more screen time for the added supporting cast as well as the established allies. I would have loved to have more focus on Bale as Batman but that’s just my opinion. After all it’s not Batman and friends but a Batman movie. Having said that I loved the “retired” Batman look and the scenes in the underground prison. The close relationship between Alfred and Bruce is shown to be a bit tensed but it all works out in the end. I would have loved to see Bale in a couple of Batman flicks before he gave it up but c’est la cinema!
• Tom Hardy as Bane – I only know Tom Hardy from his role as Shinzon in Star Trek Nemesis and therefore it is hard for me to reconcile the much slimmer looking Tom from this beefed up version. Plus that voice – it’s irritating to say the least! I read that it is deliberate to have such a contraction between his physicality and his voice. He sounds almost British high class but attacks like a gorilla! Physically & stylistically, Bane is a very different villain for Batman and it works. In their first fight Bane proves to be too much for Batman and manhandles him towards the end, breaking his back and dumping him in the underground prison.
• Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle – a cunning cat burglar who is looking to get er past wiped clean so she can get a fresh start. The beautiful Hathaway is just graceful & sexy in her role. Selina is an associate of Bane’s and double crosses Batman by leading him to a trap but soon regrets her decisions. She later goes to Batman’s aid and ends up killing Bane. She also falls for Bruce Wayne/ Batman.
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake – in a way I felt that the movie was a lot about him. For the longest time I felt that thwy were prepping him up to be Robin in this series but the young, recently promoted detective, who will provide some inspiration for a disillusioned Bruce & Commissioner Gordon, ends up inheriting Batman’s gadgets and Batcave. Good work by JGL!
•  Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate: Tate, a member of the Wayne Enterprises executive board who seemingly is an ally, confidant and briefly Wayne’s lover, turns out to be the real villain! Tate intervenes when Batman is about to defeat Baneand stabs Batman, revealing herself to be Talia, Ra’s al Ghul’s child, who escaped the prison aided by her fellow prisoner, Bane. She plans to complete her father’s work by detonating the bomb and destroying Gotham. She is killed in a crash but not before detonating the bomb.
• The rest of the cast are awesome – Gary Oldman as a good guy is such a change, Modine is good too. Cillian Murphy has two short scenes as a kind of judge who’s sentencing is sure death no matter which way it goes. Liam Neeson has a short cameo as does Desmond Harrington and Josh Stewart has a small role as Bane’s right hand man. Juno Temple plays Selina’s friend Jen and Christopher Judge has a blink and you miss it tiny role as a Bane henchmen who gets beaten by Blake!
• I loved the movie all the way until the very end. Bruce Wayne retires for good, faking his death and that of Batman by escaping the detonation. Bruce is given a memorial and Batman is finally honoured as a hero again and he is immortalized in a bronzed statute. The Wayne estate is made into a orphanage while Bruce moves to Europe and starts a life with Selina. The mantle of Batman is to be passed onto to Blake – what is this? The Phantom? Will we have multiple Batman’s? Only time will tell.

8.5 outta 10 for me! Solid movie, except for the ending which left me unsatisfied but stunning overall.