It didnt take me very long to jump all over and maul this weeks new issue of Entertainment Weekly. The cover says it all with two black suited icons adorning the page: Christian Bale as Batman and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. This is the beginning of the countdown to release we have been waiting for. The summer movie preview issue of EW is here folks and The Dark Knight Rises is the blockbuster tentpole subject covered. Finally, I thought! Some ray of hope for new tidbits about this summers most anticipated film. No such luck in the issue. Same old song and dance Im afraid but I cant say Im very surprised. With no viral marketing to hold a candle to Christopher Nolans last Bat-installment, vague trailers, and the lack of even some action figures released yet, it looks like we are all just going to have to wait for July 20th. Honestly now that the release is closer, I have come to realize that I have never known so little about a movie before seeing it. The experience should be almost heart stopping to really have no clue what is in store. Even with the brilliant precursor The Dark Knight, any Bat-fan worth their salt could gather the gist of what was going to go down between Batman, the Joker, and Harvey Dent. Back when Rises was filming on all of those densely populated areas teaming with bystanders with cameras, I figured this time around we would be dodging spoilers like crazy. So far I am very pleased to have been proven wrong. The best part of the new Entertainment Weekly article are the new stills from the film. Again, nothing TOO special, but wonderful nonetheless. First up we have Bane holding up the photo of Harvey Dent which almost everyone has already seen. Next we have Batman clearly playing on some sort of Bat-iPad (not a spelling error of Batpod). Honestly it looks like he just got a high score on Temple Run and is desperately looking longingly into the night for someone to acknowledge him. After that we have a side angle shot of the trailer scene with Selina dancing with Bruce at the masquerade ball. Both of them look miserable. The next photo is by far the most exciting. It shows Bane standing tall in what appears to be some sort of Gotham Stock Exchange building (probably the interior of what they shot at the New York Stock Exchange exterior several months back.) Hostages are clearly shown cowering and at least one man is slumped over dead or unconscious at a desk. The craziest thing about this new photo is Banes attire. Still wearing the facemask we have all come to ponder of course, but now sporting some sort of evil mad scientist getup. Think 1930s era Dr. Frankenstein meets Red Dawn. Oddly it looks like he has a nametag on his uniform as well. Now Im sorry but no matter how cool I think he looks, it also makes my sick mind imagine Bane working at a post apocalyptic Burger King in Russia. Go figure. The next picture made me laugh out loud because its just a great picture of Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox standing with Bales Bruce Wayne clearly just getting up from a Bat-Nap. Bruce clearly just wants to wear a bath robe and read the latest Gotham Times but cant escape the perpetually disappointed look on Foxs face. Lucius appears in this picture like he is the new butler at Wayne Manor. Im sure he isnt but it still looks funny as a stand-alone photo. The bowtie helps as well. Another great photo up next, as we see Catwoman on her knees looking displeased at the open and empty safe in front of her. Great to see this first look at Catwoman the potential burglar. And of course Anne Hathaway looks stunningly beautiful in a cat costume. Finally the grand finale. A picture of Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the same non-descriptive pose of a police officer with a gun looking determined to do something. Come on. So much secrecy for this John Blake cop character is pretty bizarre. Sure he could be Robin or something but I just keep reminding myself that Anthony Michael Halls character in The Dark Knight was so secretive everyone thought he would be the Riddler or some other grand scope character. And then he was just a news reporter. Yay. Regardless of my ability to make fun of some of the pictures a little, I must admit I had a great time reading through this issue of EW. The pictures are a delight and any Bat fan will enjoy the article and tight lipped interviews. Hopefully May will bring us the next trailer and a few more answers but until that unknown time comes, July 20th 2012 is still our only sure thing fellow Bat-Fans!
