Movies

[Krytos]

I saw The Dark Knight last night. Where to start? Well, in my honest opinion - compared to the first movie (Batman Begins), the new movie is better. Darker, feels more realistic without a silly "evil plot" such as that microwave weapon used to evaporate water to make a massive aerosol instead of making an actual massive aerosol.

I won't talk about the plot, because it's good, relatively solid, and hearing about it before hand will ruin the experience.

A little word of warning would be it's a bloody long movie, and it feels it - so make a pit-stop before hand. I had several moments thinking the movie had come to an open end, only it continue plowing along into some other twist and turn.

I'll try to leave it at that - I really want to say more, but I think it's just too good a movie to bugger up. It's not perfect but it's a truly complete movie that you come out of satisfied in all regards, something I don't think we've had for a while.

 

My only beef, is with Christian Bale. He plays the part well - perfect Bruce Wane. His Batman is good, too, except for the bloody voice he uses. I hate it. It's the same as from the first movie, and I'd kinda hoped they'd fixed it by now, it's too gruff and too evil. But, then, that might be due to the way Batman is portrayed in these movies. It's just so annoying to try and listen to when Batman has long or serious dialogue.

 

Then there's Heath Ledger. By far the best Joker - part of it was the brilliantly well written character, that made the idea of someone dressed up as a clown feel right compared to other movies where it was the comic book villain approach, and partly some damn fine acting.

There are very few times I find myself rooting for the bad guy, especially to be more evil - but The Joker takes the cake, brilliantly evil. Ledger's acting really was spot on - I guess all I'd ask for is some more manic laughter from him earlier in the movie.

Was it an Oscar worthy performance like so many people have said? Mmm, no - 'fraid not. It was awesome, but I don't think it was an Oscar performance. That being said, it's probably the best acting I've seen all year.

 

And I'll say nothing more! You can torture me all you want, you'll get nothing more from me! You'll just have to see it for yourself. Ok, one last word - The Joker has the best magic trick

 

EDIT: Oh, just thought of something else that bugged me - those bloody people who clap at the start and end of the movie. Come on! It's a movie, there's no-one here to clap to except yourselves!

[Mad78]

I have to get around to seeing The Dark Knight. I really enjoyed Batman Begins so I guess i have to see it.

 

The movie I am currently impatiently awaiting is Wall-E. It looks like it could be a very good flick and I trust in Pixar to make good movies.

[DarthTex]

@Mad: Wall-E is an excellent movie. Pixar Gold You'll like it

 

I can't wait to see The Dark Knight

[DarthTofu]

*Grumbles* I can't wait, either. But I have to, because it comes out tomorrow- and I get my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. All freaking four of 'em. Still, it'll be over in about a week- just in time for me to leave the state again on another college visit.

[Darth_Rob]

I had all four of my wisdom teeth out when I was still in high school. I opted to get knocked out for it. It was my first and only time "going under", and it was strange. They put the mask on you with the gas, and then inject you also. I remember just laying there and laughing for no reason, and all of a sudden I woke back up and was delirious. Moral of the story: if you have the option to go under, do it. I dont need to be awake as they yank and chip away at my teeth.

 

For the record, it didnt hurt too much. I missed one day of work, and was back the next day. My mouth didnt really hurt, but you cant eat solid food for awhile. It wasnt too bad, so dont worry about it.

 

Now back to movie talk.

 

My friend is coming up to visit on Sunday, and we shall see Dark Knight then. All I know is that I am highly anticipating this movie, probably more than I did Iron Man and Hulk. I dont think Im going to be disappointed at all.

[Sinister]

I just got back from seeing The Dark Knight. It was by far the best Batman film I have ever seen. In fact, it was the best movie I've seen this year. But, don't take my word for it. See it yourself.

[Eagle]

@Tofu

All the best for the toothage!

 

Didn´t liked the last Batman-Movie so I´m not too curious about the new one.

 

Apropos Batman/Christian Bale:

Terminator 4 - Trailer

[DarthTofu]

I want to see Dark Knight, but odds are better that I'll see Wall-E tonight. Apparently I'm in danger of getting too excited, clenching my teeth, raising my blood pressure, gasping, etc. and popping a stitch or three if I see Dark Knight.

 

Admittedly, I'm really looking forward to this. It looks really funny.

 

Edit: Oh, yeah, that and Tropic Thunder. These both look like they'll be some of the dumbest movies of 2008, but also some of the funniest. Robert Downey Jr. makes a surprisingly convincing black man- I didn't recognize him until somebody pointed it out to me.

[Darth_Rob]

I agree with you on Hamlet 2 and Tropic Thunder. Both seem like they are ridiculously insane. Especially Hamlet 2, the rock-and-roll-Jesus-in-love movie.

[Eagle]

Looks like totally whack humour. Wow. hadn´t even recognised Robert Downey Jr. Lets hope those werent the best scenes of the whole movie as usual.

[Darth_Rob]

Just came back from seeing Dark Knight. It was awesome, and better than Iron Man and the Hulk.

 

I thought Ledger got the Joker down to a science. He was perfect. I knew he would be the moment I heard his maniacal laughter oh so long ago during the first teaser (there was no video...only audio against the Batman logo). He also had this thing he did with his tongue which was also creepy.

 

The thing that surprised me was the middle-ending. Basically, I anticipated a third movie, and what I assumed would happen in the third movie happened in the second, and I was very shocked. They kept it hidden very well, since I had heard no rumor of it at all.

 

My only problem is the ending. It doesn't really end with much closure, and leaves you wondering "what is going to happen in the third one?" Not because they leave you on a cliffhanger, but because there is no hint at where its going to go.

 

Nevertheless, it was a fantastic film. Definitely the best I've seen all year, and it truly lived up to all the hype. Everyone should check it out, regardless of if you saw Batman Begins or not. Its just an excellent movie.

[Sinister]

Personally, I don't know how they can top The Dark Knight. It almost leaves you with the feeling that they shouldn't even make another Bat-film after that.

 

Did anyone else notice what I thought were "nods" or "throw-backs" to the 1989 Batman film? Highlight to read the spoilers...

 

1)

 

In Batman 1989, the Joker and Batman play chicken with each other. Batman charges towards Joker in his Bat-Jet, shooting at him and misses. Joker pulls out a gun with a long barrel and blows Bats out of the air.

 

In Dark Knight, Batman charges towards Joker on his Bat-cycle. Joker doesn't move and causes Bats to crash.

 

2)

 

In Batman 1989, at the end, Joker and Batman are fighting it out at the top of Gotham Cathedral. Joker goes to escape, but Batman uses his grapling hook to stop him, which causes Joker to fall to his death.

 

In Dark Knight, Joker and Batman are fighting it out from the top of a skyscraper. Batman throws Joker over the edge but uses his grapling hook to save him from death. It's almost as if Christopher Nolan was saying "This is how it should have been done." If that's the case I agree. Batman and Joker are the two sides of the same coin. One will always need the other. Gotham City just wouldn't be the same without the two of them.

[DarthTofu]

For lack of anything better to do with my time today (I'm not allowed to because of the bloody stitches) I watched Donnie Darko, and rather enjoyed it. The movie simultaneously makes absolutely no sense and is the most profound thing i've seen in quite a while. I seriously don't know how to describe it. After watching it I somehow knew that it was good, but didn't fully understand why it was good. Reading the Wikipedia article on it helped me to figure it out- that movie was overall very good.

 

I got a bit of a shock when I found out it was made in 2001, though. I kept assuming that it was made in 1988, seeing as most movies like that are set in "modern day" of the time.

[Eagle]

Because its supposed to play in the year `88/`89 something. But I still prefer the original version of

.

[Krytos]

Ah, Donnie Darko is a great movie. Definitely a favourite.

I'm kinda disappointed that someone's trying to make a sequel to the movie Really not the type of movie to have sequel.

 

Woo! Finally I can talk more about Dark Knight! ...so don't read this if you haven't seen it

 

I never drew those conclusions Sinister - but, then, I haven't seen the '89 version for a long time. Now mentioned, I can see some similar parallels, almost a nod to the original though not made out to be super obvious.

 

As for the "closed end" of the movie - I liked it. On one hand, were the series to end, it would end on a high note that's closed well with a superb movie. If they choose to continue it, there was enough at the end of the movie that allowed for it to be continued. Hell, just throwing in a new villain would work for a Batman movie, though at least there was the hint of a continuing story behind the scenes with the movie's conclusion and Gordan's monologue.

I never liked how Batman Begin's ended, with the Joker card. Yeah, it was kinda cool with the inside knowledge about the next villain - but TV show cool, the sorta thing you expect at the end of a series.

For a movie, even if there's a known sequel, I hate the sorta "to be continued" label at the end. And that's what it was. To me, it was lame. Not as lame as the massive, and literal, "To Be Continued" line at the end of the 2nd Matrix, but still lame.

Which brings me to the point a movie should always be stand alone, or at least conclude well enough. Dark Knight had this conclusion.

 

I think the actor behind Harvey Dent needs some decent praise along the lines of Heath - he was damn good to. I, personally don't recognise him too well so it was a lot easier for me to believe in the "white knight". NOTE! If you haven't seen the movie DO NOT look up this guy on IMDB - it's a spoiler (albeit 5 minutes into meeting the guy you could probably guess the twist). The make up and CG used for him is superb as well.

And once again for Gary Oldman, who is an awesome Gordan. Perfectly acted in my opinion.

 

 

So, who's the next villain for batman? I'm thinking the riddler.

[DarthTofu]

Finally saw it. Highlight for spoilery goodness.

 

Where to begin- well, probably the beginning. I got confused as hell by the fake Scarecrow. Was that a toss-back to Begins? I didn't quite get it. In fact, I thought it was the same actor at first. I liked the fake Batmen, though.

 

The tech in this one ticked me off. In Begins it was a bit out there, but by and large it was believable. With this new one... not so much. But the Batpod.... sorry, while everyone else drooled, I gagged. It comes out of the freaking tank car? What? That makes absolutely no sense. And there wasn't even a reference to having Fox do some work on it or something- just that it existed.

 

The new suit was kinda cool, though- I liked that. The sonar-style vision thing annoyed me, though. He has nothing over his eyes, yet he can see the sonar style of the rooms? What? And it comes in in such clarity- didn't make sense. Luscius's cell phone in China- how did it take out the power, again? An electromagnet that powerful just wouldn't work. Plus the Chinese guys would probably have turned off the power, though I'll cede that it might be activated remotely. All the same, no way it would have the power to totally wipe out the building's power.

 

Actual plot: I liked that very much. Ledger did an amazing job, and scared the piss out of me several times. I damn near wet myself when he had his knife in the crime lord's mouth. "Why so serious?" Best performance ever, there. I especially loved the psychology of him- no purpose besides destruction.

 

The thing with the ferries was great, especially when the one inmate tossed the detonator out the window. I was sort of expecting it, but the performance made me believe in the tension of it.

 

I wasn't expecting Rachel's death at all. That was a huge shock, and was almost as good as the destruction of the Batmobile. Unexpected, fresh, wonderful. Gordon's death on the other hand... he wasn't commissioner yet. I knew he'd live.

 

Two Face: He got shafted a bit, here. Not to the degree that Venom did in Spiderman 3, but he did get shafted. He should have gotten to live beyond the end of this movie, or he should have gotten his own film. The makeup, performance, and lines were all perfect- don't get me wrong there. I loved how Dent and Wayne both saw one another as the one man who could save the city; I just wanted a bit more of Two Face.

 

All in all, 8.5 out of 10 stars. It was a great movie, but it could have been just a bit better. Tech was a bit too out there (assembling a fingerprint off of a shattered bullet, and digitally to boot?), and Gordon's death was too cheesy, but other than that, it was all splendid.

[Sinister]

There are plenty of villains on the Batman roster to choose from, but who would make the best transition to the big-screen is the question. However, I have faith in Christopher Nolan. If anyone can pull it off he can, as he has demonstrated. If they do The Riddler, I don't want him to be a carbon copy of The Joker, like in the previous franchise. There's always Catwoman, but I wouldn't want the movie to be a cheesy love story.

 

Spoilers....

 

I'm glad they did not kill the Joker. This leaves him available for future sequels. Problem is, who would play him now? One thing that made The Dark Knight so good is the chemistry Batman and the Joker have. Oh, and they could do a movie centered around Two-Face. They could say that he did survive the fall, but they told the public that he died. They made it pretty clear at the end of The Dark Knight that they didn't want the general public to know what Harvey Dent did. At the beginning of the sequel, he could be locked up in Arkham Asylum under a fake name.

[Krytos]

It's in black

I'm not too sure about Scarecrow either. The last movie left him crazy, riding on a horse with tazer electrodes sticking out of his face. Maybe he believed in good? Maybe he was being bad? That part needed some flour to thicken it.

Bat-bike, not pod And yes, I too cringed at that - but it seemed like so many people liked it. Go figure? But I also cringe every time the Bat-mobile goes into weapons mode and pulls batman into that little hole.

The sonar wasn't too bad. He had some small lenses cover his eyes for it, so they'd be small arse LCDs. The ultra sharp image isn't believable - but at the same time, you're unlikely to get a Hollywood movie purposely make some high tech display look "realistic". Side note, I like in Battlestar Gallactica that their displays for radar etc. are very military realistic and some designer hasn't gotten their hands on it.

The phone. I find the sonar element as bad as the EMP (Not Electromagnet) concept - but, it's Batman so I gave them some lenience And I doubt once confiscated that a security guard would turn it off unless it was rung. I'd imagine you'd need a powerful EM weapon to knock out a building, buuut batman - 'nough said. And whilst in Asia, I liked the idea that they pulled Batman outside of Gotham - where the other movies had him sole in Gotham as if you was stuck there.

 

I've not wanted to quote any lines from The Joker, in case someone reads it then sees the movie - you really need to go into it with as little known. But, as you said, it was a great character and acted as such.

 

"The thing with the ferries was great" - for a second there, I had no idea what you were talking about. At this point in the movie, my mind is coming up with every possible way it could play out. The crim's fight the guards for the remote and blow it. The civvies do the same, or vote to blow it. The detonators were for their own boats. That the crim's would be selfless (but when that big dude grabbed it, and spoke, that idea was thrown out the window enough for me to be surprised) and die. That part, mixed in with the hostages dressed as the terrorists, was great suspense. I was thinking that the police would fire on batman.

 

Rachel's death was probably the biggest surprise in the whole movie. After Batman said he was going for her (obviously The Joker lied because he wanted his ultimate victory with Harvey), and Harvey had his face in petrol - I figured he'd get blown up and survive at the end and there'd be the third movie. Instead his face got KFC'd and made for a perfect way to turn Harvey into Two-Face.

 

Gordan's fake death, for me not being a huge Batman follower, had me wondering what was going on. I truly thought that the new movie was trying to go down a new and different path and show characters could die. And with the way, after his death, that the camera looked at his son - I was wondering if he'd somehow work his was to the top job..in about 20 years. What I didn't like about it, was ultimately, it seemed to me useless. Batman was used as bate, and Gordan snuck up on The Joker - did he have to pretend to be dead to do that?

 

I'm two minds with Two-Face's end (like a lot of things in this movie). On one hand, it felt like a perfectly set up bad guy was wasted when he could have been another movie. But then, character wise, I'm not sure how this Two-Face would play out. He was pissed at those who took Rachel, I'm not sure I see him waging a war on Gotham - maybe the police, and maybe Batman. In this "universe" his character was less the Two-Face we knew but more of a new character with familiar grounds. His setup and birth were, by far, my favourite of any villain's (Why wasn't Vader more like this fallen hero?!?) and the way that he was used as a pawn by The Joker suited this movie more - The White Knight and saviour of the city being the ultimate victory by turning him evil.

Still, it is a little disappointing not seeing that menacing face and that newly twisted mind tossing a coin to decide your fate. Speaking of the coin, though, (this was another element of Two Face and the new batman series I loved - how the coin use to be more of a calling card, the back history on it shown in the movie just made it all that much better when he flipped the coin as Two Face) when Harvey first showed the coin flip there were little gasps in the theatre as brains clicked.

I guess I just like how none of the characters felt forced on us, it had the perfect blend of telling the audience only what they needed to know, leaving character mystery for The Joker but portraying Harvey as the White Knight.

[DarthTofu]

More discussion- read at your own risk.

 

Gordon fakes his death for the safety of his family, not so that Joker wouldn't suspect him. Joker had so many pawns in so many places that anyone who stood up against him was at serious risk. This way Gordon could put Joker away with less fear of being caught.

 

And I heard that it was deffinately called the Batpod. Ah, well. It certainly looked cool coming out, but my inner nerd will forever scream, "No, that's not allowed!" at it.

 

I suppose Harvey might be alive- did anyone actually pronounce him dead, or might he just be passed out from pain and shock? I was actually surprised by the flame transition. I probably shouldn't have been, but I thought I remembered him getting his face mutated by chemicals or something like that. I was trying to figure out what this stuff that looked just like gasoline was... and then I found out when his face lit up and felt like an idiot.

 

If he does get his own movie, I think it can certainly work. He gets the idea that Gordon and the Batman both have to die, to make things fair. The only problem is that he doesn't know Batman's secret identity, and Gordon, now the commissioner in the most dangerous city ever, is way too well protected for Harvey to even think about taking him out and still go for Batman.

 

Knowing that he can't kill Gordon before he kills Batman, he seeks to make Batman come to him- copy the Joker a bit, by performing similar acts, killing civilians until Batman comes to him for that final revenge.

 

Gordon, obviously, gets wrapped up in it as well, but is put into an odd situation- Two Face knows how important he was as Harvey, and is threatening to undo all of that by revealing that he's still around and what he's done, forcing Gordon's hand. It could be very good. God, but that makeup/CGI was the best I've ever seen!

 

Now then, other villains we could tap: I have nothing. Mr. Freeze and Penguin are probably eternally ruined by poor Batman movies of yesteryear (thank you for that, Arnold, I appreciate it). Poison Ivy, maybe, but not likely. I vote Riddler as well, but he's still a tad campy.

 

They could always go for the set of villains from Batman Beyond- I'd not mind that. Heck, they could make a few of their own villains and I wouldn't mind that too much. In fact, I wonder why that cartoon series didn't last longer than it did. It was good stuff.

[Darth_Rob]

As far as future villains, there is only one I would like to see: Bane.

 

Bane was introduced (very poorly) in Batman & Robin, the last of the original Batman movie series from the 90s. He really was cheated, and was greatly overshadowed by Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze, becoming nothing more than a common thug. However, in the comics, the badass broke Batman's back.

 

I think he would be the perfect fit for the next Batman movie. Batman Begins started off with two obscure villains (Scarecrow and Ra's al Ghul), and I can see it doing the same for the next film. They have already used the Joker (who is a must, being Batman's arch-nemesis), and I must admit that I can do without the likes of the Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, and other villains who appeared in the previous movie series.

 

So yeah, I would love to see Bane. Or The Mad Hatter..

[Sinister]

For the third film, I now definitely think they should do a movie centered around Two-Face. He could have survived the fall, and right now has the best emotional tie to Batman. Bring on Bane for the supporting role, but bring back Two-Face for sure.

 

Oh, and they should just leave Robin out of the equation. That's another character that would not transition well to Christopher Nolan's more realistic Batman.

[Krytos]

I think the Riddler would work the easiest, however I'd also think that he'd feel very similar to the Joker. Jim's Riddler was very campy, but then again looking at Jack's Joker - I'd hardly call him a straight edge I'd say turning the Riddler into a creepy bad guy wouldn't be too hard - the hard part is making him not feel like The Joker's brother.

A lot of the "original" villains I can't see being part of this universe. Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Cat woman ... the names alone make them sounds lame. Penguin might work ... Danny's role as him was quiet cool, although the more I think about it the more I feel him as a comic book character only. It's kind of hard to imagine a lot of the characters that were portrayed in the Batman movies as a real villain anymore - they were twisted into overly colourful, stupid, childlike entertaining things. Lets just hope that the next villain doesn't have his "troops" dress up in theme with him. (Not pocking fun at Dark Knight's bad guys with clown masks, because that worked. More of the older movies where they all looked the same and similar to their boss).

Perhaps it's time for a brand new villain? Both new Batman movies have left things open for regular bad guys - the mob still had some power at the end of the movie. Time will tell all.

 

@Sin: Oh god! Please no Robin! The whole becoming 'batman' identity thing got a decent plot. How's Robin going to play out? "Oh, when I wath young I goth scared by some birdieth and I decided to ..." Lets just not go there

 

Highlighty

Good point Tofu - I'd forgotten about Gordan's little line there about doing it to keep his family safe. Can't really complain about that part too much except I'd have liked a little bit more about him deciding how he'd fake his death - sort of using the shooting at the mayor as good timing and a good reason to try. Otherwise, whist nothing said it almost sounds like when he protected the mayor it was all to plan - unless I'm forgetting another bit of the movie

 

Argh, I remembered the other thing that made me cringe that you mentioned: reconstructing the finger print I know he's meant to be a detective, and I was intrigued at where the scene was going when he the brick out - but then it went lame. Several mini guns to fire 4 bullets, then the 3d reconstructions - argh. I'd have liked a more se7en style clue in that apartment for Batty to find.

 

Like I said before, I'd like to see Two Face come up again. That fall was hardly enough to kill either Batman or Harvey and your little write up of his feelings and motives sounds about right to me. In fact I'd also look at him killing corrupt cops and criminals in general, his own justice to the city tied in with trying to kill Batman and Gordan. He mightn't have gotten the longest time on screen as a bad guy, but if he's gone from the story I'm still happy with how it played out.

[DarthTofu]

Highlighty:What if Two Face becomes an unknowable entity? Okay, that came out kinda wrong.

 

What if his character is ambiguous? He believes in chaos, right? And chaos means having a strong enough good guy force as well as a strong enough bad guy force. So Harvey spends part of the movie trying to help, making cops act straight, cleaning up the streets, killing criminals as he goes- and another part of it helping the crime syndicate, making them more powerful so that there's more justice. That old fifty-fifty chance; right now the two sides aren't equal, but he has the potential to make them equal, and he chooses to.

 

Then again, that might be a bit too campy, I guess. I do most certainly like the look of Bane, though. I tried to find him and couldn't; Derek Powers/Blight is a cool character, but he's probably too unbelievable for the series... unfortunately.

 

Edit: If you want a little visual spoiler of what happens to... umm, one of the characters, click this link. It's a pic of one of the most stunning visual feats in the whole movie. Clickity

[Eagle]

Saw "Diary of the Dead" by Georg Romero recently. The gore FX were over the top, but story and acting was absolutely disappointing. A filmcrew is out in the woods to film a horror-flic while in the rest of the world a zombie-plague is breaking loose. The whole movie is filmed in the "Blair Witch Project" first person view. Not very convincing and also not very original IMO. Well I guess its ok to enjoy it with a six-pack beside you.

[Sinister]

That is unfortunate. I expected more from Romero.