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Capone hated DARK KNIGHT... ...actually he really didn't... in fact... he kinda loved it like a kid does chocolate!
SPOILER ALERT !!
The Dark Knight
Hey folks, Capone in Chicago here. Allow me to hop on the little-old bandwagon, if I may.
Here's the thing you must understand: even if you've dug up every possible trailer and clip of Heath Ledger as the greatest screen villain in any superhero movie ever, you really don't have any idea how good his performance is in The Dark Knight. The true strength of his Joker isn't his gallows humor one-liners or smart-ass quips he delivers as he tears apart what is left of the fabric of Gotham City (looking more like its filming location of Chicago this time out than the juiced-up version in Batman Begins). The true strength of the final complete performance of Ledger's life lies in his much longer monologues. You see, you may think he's playing The Joker, but he's actually playing the Devil. He weaves truth and lies; every scheme is designed to wreak havoc on multiple layers, including ones that aren't always evident at first; he can also make you feel downright sorry for the guy as he weaves one of many autobiographies spins during the course of the film. He's a master manipulator, and wherever he is, he's the smartest guy in the room. Yes, he's insane, but he's going to let you think he's think that crazy equals reckless and unintelligent. He is neither.
Of course, a lot of what I've just discussed is as much a testament to the writers of The Dark Knight as Ledger. What Ledger adds to the mix is something he's clearly picked up from this version of The Joker. Just as Batman's archenemy has no moral code or fiber, Ledger has completely ripped to shreds everything he and we have come to accept and settle for when it comes to a portrait of evil. He has dismantled the status quo of how bad guys have been played in the past, and delivered a big whopping "Fuck You" to every overacting, mustache-twirling ham who thinks that simply slicking back your hair and wearing dark clothes is the way villainy should be played in film. Watching Ledger move like a rabid animal or subtly flick his tongue like an angry serpent is to behold something you have never seen on screen before and probably will not again in your lifetime. Clearly, I don't need to sell you on how good The Dark Knight is. By now, you've probably read dozens of such reviews. What's important to distinguish is that director and co-writer Christopher Nolan's epic telling of the Batman vs. Joker saga is more than just the greatest superhero movie ever made (and that it certainly is), but it's the year's finest crime drama, greatest character study, and greatest acting performance.
Not to oversell Ledger's work (too late!), but seeing his version of The Joker actually made me mad at Jack Nicholson for not taking it far enough. Nicholson made a career out of being edgy and no-holds barred, but he and Tim Burton decided to make The Joker a clown instead of a true maniac. I'm sure it was not Nolan's intention, but his film made me dislike a film I once enjoyed because I now see that Nicholson's Joker is a pussy. I still think Michael Keaton was a decent Batman, but Christian Bale has such great pent-up (and sometimes not so pent-up) rage in him this time that no one can hold a candle to the dimensions he's adding to either side of his identity. Bruce Wayne gets as much time on screen as his costumed alter ego (maybe even more). And I never felt short changed, probably because when Wayne is in the foreground, it usually means that Michael Caine or Morgan Freeman or Gary Oldman is on screen with him. Each of these characters (respectively, Wayne's Butler Alfred, who gets an interesting sliver of a backstory this time out; the new CEO of Wayne's corporation Lucius Fox; and Lt. Gordon--soon to be Commissioner--who is almost Batman's right-hand man in the above-ground world) gets more screen time and far more to do. They are not simply background characters kept around for the vibe; they are vital pieces to the goings on here.
Maggie Gyllenhaal steps into Katie Holmes' role from the first film as Rachel Dawes, Wayne's childhood sweetheart and one of the few civilians who knows about his secret life. I guess I understand why the Batman films need a strong female presence, but the truth is, I've never liked any of the women in any of the Batman movies. Gyllenhaal's Rachel comes the closest to having a purpose other than slinking things up a bit and providing evidence that our hero is more than a shallow playboy (that said, Dark Knight's running joke about Bruce hooking up with the Russian Ballet is priceless). Rachel is torn between her true love and her new love, the "White Knight" district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart, in easily the finest performance he has ever given). The film's recurring theme of man's duality obviously comes to a head when Dent's face is severely burned thanks to a booby trap set by The Joker, but it's also driven home with The Joker himself, who makes the interesting observation that he and Batman are just different kinds of crazy. And Batman doesn't argue.
While Ledger's performance is the highlight of the film, the production's not-so secret weapon is its aforementioned screenplay (co-written by the director and brother Jonathan Nolan). There are some points in the writing that are absolute poetry. At other points, the humor is worthy of absolute fits of laughter. And the ending is staggering and unexpected, but the writers don't reserve all of the film's surprises for its final 15 minutes. What the brothers Nolan understand is that the Joker doesn't have to kill thousands of people to scare the shit out of Gotham, he only needs to kill certain people, the right people, to bring the city to its knees. Unlike with Batman Begins, in which the evil scheme involved the slightly ridiculous idea of wiping out the entire city, I was far more angst-ridden by The Dark Knight's less complicated, but even more horrifying prospect of anarchy, chaos, mob rule, and citizen turning on citizen. The Joker is a far more effective terrorist than Scarecrow or Ra's Al Ghul. But it's just as fun to watch how The Joker fights face to face--he hides behind his cronies, pushing them between himself and whoever is about to pummel him. He rarely goes after an opponent unless their back is turned or their half out cold on the ground. And he never misses an opportunity to talk his way out of physical violence, which is not to say he doesn't relish a little knife play.
People keep asking me if The Dark Knight sets up an easy sequel. Of course it does. Most of the key actors signed to do three films. But much like the ending of Hellboy 2, the place Dark Knight leaves us indicates a third Batman movie will go in even darker and uglier places than what has come before it. You may have noticed I haven't mentioned the film's action sequences once. They are glorious, to be sure. But this film is that rare action film that won't leave you squirming and bored between the explosions and car chases. I told you this was a crime drama, and the emphasis is on the drama. The conversations in this movie are just as compelling as the fighting and killing and crashing and blowing shit up.
In the end, I don't know if it's good or bad that we'll never get to see The Joker and Batman go head to head again in the current franchise. Of course it's terrible that Ledger is gone, but in a sentiment I'm sure The Joker could appreciate, he has left us wanting more. Even is Ledger were still alive, I'm not sure I'd want him to reprise this character. That would almost be too much of a good thing. What he gave us is more than we deserve or could have anticipated, and for that I'm overwhelmingly grateful. I'll say it one more time, and then I won't have to ever say it again about this film or Ledger's work: you have no idea what's in store for you when you sit down to watch The Dark Knight.
Capone
Console me - as the Joker is now officially the best villain in Chicago - sniffle - not me.
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+ Expand All
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And first, maybe. Can't wait to see this. Midnight tonight, I'm thinking.
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I've said it many times! This movie is the shit! I can't wait to see it again tonight! YEAH!
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fresh from my shredding of those haters over on the watchmen trailer talkback
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So you have nothing to be consoled about, Capone.
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It seems that a lot of these reviewers are all of the sudden bashing Batman Begins...
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Gotham is Chicago, Metropolis is New York.
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Can I possibly want to bolt out of work this very moment and race to a theatre anymore than I already do?? And the most exciting thing about all these good reviews is that the focus of the film is the crime drama aspect. After a very dissapointing Hellboy II I am ready for something great!
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After countless magnificent reviews of this film, yours is absolutely my favorite. I CAN'T stop thinking about midnight tonight!
Oh, and dude in shadows, calling the weak shit you spewed in the Watchmen thread a "shredding" must mean you don't come to this board very often. -
I am bringing a bandolier full of No. 2 pencils and if anyone disturbs my theater experience I am going to invoke the spirit of 2for2true. Beware MST3Ker's and shoulder tapping shitheels! There Will Be Mouth Stabbings!
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Where are all of the chest bumping fanboys who were ranting how Hellboy II would "own TDK" ? I hate that 'my dad is bigger than your dad' crap.
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Thanks for this review :)
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I can't friggin wait to see this movie. Great review Capone!
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Being here in England means I won't get to see this bastard film for another week and I'm pissed right off!
What's worse is the fact that you lot will be Dark Knighting it up and I dare not read ANYTHING in fear of stumbling across any spoilers.
Even though I'm a long time reader and first time poster I'm completely gutted that I won't be participating with TDK Talk Backs.
Why, oh why do I have to wait another week, why!!!??? -
I think Joseph Gordon-Levitt could have a chance. I mean, the guy can act and he even looks kinda sorta like Ledger...
Maybe the idea is blasphemous, but I so want to see that Joker again! It was fucking awesome. -
Cool
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got a dufflebag full of cash from Warner.
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for how Dent turns into Two Face??? I've wanted to go into this as blind as I can, and haven't read anything that mentioned SPOILERS but now this!!!!
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New York City is New York City. Chicago is Chicago. It's pretty straight forward.
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That Batman wears a suit and fights bad guys. I wanted to go in to this movie fresh!
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If Batman made any kind of rational argument that he's not a freak like the Joker because he helps people rather than killing them then it wouldn't fit in with Nolan's nihilistic and totally simplistic worldview.
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Oh, you laugh now. But will you be laughing when you're forced to be "reeducated" at your local madrassah? I think not.
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Skarekroe...you cunting douche...keep politics off this board. In fact, get your dad's cock out of your mouth and go die. No one needs your racist ignorant nazi-fag rumors. Fuckhead.
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No to nitpick, how is his performance more than we deserve? Sounds like a Harry line.
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I saw it yesterday and will be seeing IMAX @ 12am.
I am not drooling like the AICN regulars but can't argue w/ their reviews. The PIXAR like streak for the Nolans continues and this may in fact be the crown jewel. W/ exception to Insomnia I'm a huge Nolan fan.
TDK is a well crafted / excecuted epic. I felt like a watched something like the original Star Wars trilogy in one movie. I big story arc, told from first frame to last. Slam dunk. Everything BB left you craving for and more. Kudos. -
Just checking Skarekroe. You sad bitch.
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I'm sorry please please agree w/ me someone cause most of these reviews are so blazenly positive but i had a HUGE time trying to cope w/ BALE's Batman voice? Its Focking TERRRIBLE. He has much more dialog as Batman in TDK and its attrocious, he sounds like he has a lisp and/or is pinching off a stink pickle everytime he has the cowl on. Voice over Kevin Conroy or something.
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Although it wasn't enough for me to stop loving the movie... I must agree with you a little there. There were times where the Batman voice was a bit over the top, and a bit distracting to me. Yup, sure.
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Boy, talk about getting caught off guard. Who plays the Joker?Looking forward to it. I actually heard two old ladies talking about at a restaurant. They were trying to decide when to go. Everyone is checking this out.
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Capone remember that Burton and Nicholson were just trying to shatter the campy 60's Batman that was engrained in people's minds. They could never have taken it this far. Just look at the public's reaction to the much darker Batman Returns. They chased Burton out for Joel, "nipples" Schumacher. Don't hate on Nicholson and Burton for getting the ball rolling for a darker Batman.
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A special thanks should be credited to Joel. If he hadn't of made those two shirt lifting, shit jobs of Batman films we wouldn't be getting such awesomeness now.
... and I'm still pissed off I have to wait another week to see this.
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"racist ignorant nazi-fag rumors", huh? Given that you are calling someone ignorant and then using several very derogatory and ignorant terms yourself, you end up sounding pretty fuckin stupid. Stop being an ignorant retarded c0cksucker! Yes, that was intentional.
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HUGE FUCKING deal. I feel like I'm opening the Ark at midnight or something. Hope my face doesn't melt off. I really need to stop reading these reviews. With all the hype, it's gonna be easy to feel a little disappointing...Naaaaahhh.
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You're probably the same asshole you just posted...just made a change to your login to deflect fro your racist hate speech. GET OFF THE BOARDS, RACIST SCUMBAG.
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Or all three. Hey, why not?
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"Aaron Eckhart, in easily the finest performance he has ever given"... that wouldn't really take much, would it?
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I've got two performances on Saturday, but I will be going to see this to kill the time between them. Can't wait.
What I can't believe is that other movies are actually bothering to come out this weekend to get massacred... -
So how pissed off would you be if you were Marvel right now?
Two great films in Iron Man and Hulk, rave reviews and then along comes the Bat and totally raises the bat-bar and bat-fucks them in their Spider arses. -
was giving away tickets to midnight showing in this area. Darn finals for summer classes getting in the way of going...
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I was simply pointing out you calling someone ignorant while spewing ignorant hate yourself. Actually, I thought skarekroe was joking, and not serious at all. I mean, come on. You are the one that apparently has problems with the gays, based on your own comments. So save it.
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I wouldn't be ok with that either...especially since I'm a Republican (man, you missed that one). BUT I am terrified that the RNC will resort to this kind of fear mongering with shit rumors of 'secret muslim backgrounds and invasions'. McCain can win without that...it's beneath him so I'm glad he's disavowed that type of behavior and campaigning..shame some cocksucker got on the boards spewing hate though. And on a kick ass TDK talkback no less!
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Jul 17, 2008 5:57:16 PM CDT
I still think the evil plot in Batman Begins was a good one
by drewlicious
I suppose it could have used a little more explanation as to why it had to be done but come on...that's way scarier than a nuke any day. Millions of people driven mad by fear, clawing at eachother. 9/11 proved that disaster can bring people together, at least temporarily, imagine what this could do. It would change the world one way or the other. Seems like a good plot to me.
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didn't know Dent becomes Two Face.
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And I don't mean get some big guy to be the dumb, muscle bound, henchman. I want the calculating beast that wants to break Batman and destroy Bruce Wayne. Strong, brilliant, and single minded. Now that final battle I would like to see.
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Admit it, you'd paid to see that.
Other villains I want to see:
Angelina Jolie as Catwoman (provided her uterus hasn't busted out from birthing those twins)
John Malkovich as Riddler (provided it's 80's Creepy Malkovich and not 90's Oddball Malkovich)
Patrick Stewart as Mr. Freeze
Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Penguin
Megan Fox as Talia Al'Guhl
Scarlett Johansen as Poison Ivy -
But it looks like we're getting Two-Face next time which will be fine with me. If they snuck Bane in there, they'd better do it well. What I love about the Batman universe (but not the rest of DC, sorry I'm a marvel man all the way) is that his enemies are all so interesting. Very few of them are boring. Even Killer Croc has an fascinating story.
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Jul 17, 2008 6:29:07 PM CDT
I LOOKED OVER AND KURT RUSSELL WAS SHAKING
by the guy who slept through everything.
HE MUST OF LOVED IT!
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Jul 17, 2008 6:30:03 PM CDT
TDK will love you in more ways than one.
by the guy who slept through everything.
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Jul 17, 2008 6:35:44 PM CDT
AFTER SEEING THIS TDK KURT RUSSELL LEARNED A NEW MAGIC TRICK
by the guy who slept through everything.
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I simply cannot wait for this movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Jul 17, 2008 6:40:10 PM CDT
Nice to occasionally have a movie that the whole staff agrees on
by bravogolfhotel
I must say, AICN has raised my expectations for this film by an order of magnitude. Here at work, they're getting very tired of me whistling the fanfare from TAS every five minutes. Pray you're not in my theater tonight, folks. Daaaaah da da daaaaaah!
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Jul 17, 2008 6:55:03 PM CDT
While we're at it, guys, are we getting a dedicated TDK talkback
by bravogolfhotel
Are we going to get a playpen in which to have a beer and cheet on our wives, or would you rather we post in the forums?
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Hey Capone, I'm dying to know what Matt and Adam thought of it. Give me a sneak peek, please!
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If the whole country follows what my area is experiencing, this movie is going to break $100 million this weekend easily.
I go to the theater in Ormond Beach, FL. Not a huge area, it's halfway between Daytona and Palm Coast. They normally barely fill 1 theater room for a midnight release of a big movie, since the population isn't that big.
They've sold out FOUR for midnight tonight. And all of the theaters in Jacksonville have sold out multiples as well - 4 theaters at Tinseltown, 4 at the Avenues...all of the huge cinema complexes in the entire city are selling out for midnight, multiple screenings.
I have never seen anything like this, and I go to the movies and midnight releases in this area religiously.
This is huge. -
There I said it. Don't get me wrong she's not unattractive but come on...there's hotter women out there. Mila Kunis, Isla Fisher, Megan Fox, Amy Adams, Heather Locklear (at any age), Anne Hathaway, Kristen Bell, & Elizabeth Banks just to name a few are more attractive. She's a good actress and she's somewhat pretty but I just don't get all the media hype. And Lost in Translation is overrated btw.
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Jul 17, 2008 7:02:11 PM CDT
All the midnight showings in my area are sold out, as well.
by randysavage
Good for the studio and filmmakers, bad for me.
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Stories are all over the place in the media of mass midnight sellouts, NY being jam packed all weekend, and this being the biggest movie of the year. There was no doubt all summer long.
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Wish I didn't have so much bashing to do over the weekend, but best believe, ditching work on Monday doesn't seem too much of a stretch.
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There has been a line at universal citiwalk since this afternoon....
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I think a fact that is being over-looked is how well Nolan and co. have been able to weave multiple character arcs into the story without it becoming ludicrous and cheesy. I hope that a hell of a lot of writers and directors take note of that fact.
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All the midnights are sold out so i'm goin at 12:45 pm tomorrow! I'm fuckin goin though bitches and I can't wait!
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Jul 17, 2008 7:07:46 PM CDT
Tape maker TDK will bow in awe of TDK and relinquish its brand!
by blackmantis
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They all say Joker AND Two Face work well in the movie.
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P.S. Scarlett Johanssen is so hot I would eat fruit loops out of her ass.
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Fanboys want to know.
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there I said it
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Jul 17, 2008 7:13:20 PM CDT
bravogolfhotel - is this not a TDK talkback, y'know, being after
by lamerz
Just FYI
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Stupid AICN talkbacks.
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14 sold out midnight shows. I'm glad to be alive for this.
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And MCMXLAMEASS is his choice for VP!
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I just went and bought a pair of tickets to the previously-sold-out-but-second-screen-added-midnight show, and when I asked the ticket seller chick what to expect with the line and pre-seating, she laughed and said, "Chaos." My dixon ticonderoga #2 thirsts for the blood of shitheels.
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and again at Midnight.
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Jul 17, 2008 7:24:17 PM CDT
TDK WILL GIVE NICHOLSON A STROKE
by the guy who slept through everything.
I found that to be a bit in bad taste. :(
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Not only the worst batman movie, but easily one of the worst things ever created by man. Period. What an insane piece of dogshit that movie was. I'm tired of people regarding it like it's fucking Citizen Kane or something.
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... about Batman's voice in BB. To me it was effective, adequately disguised Bruce's voice, and would scare the shit out of me if I was dangling by a rope upside down 10 stories in the air in the middle of the night and some masked dude was ripping my hair out asking me questions.
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HUH???
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Natalie Portman, Katherine Heigl, Tina Fey, Salma Hayek, Eva Mendes, Alicia Witt, and Keri Russell are just a few more who are more attractive by the way.
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also hotter than Scarlett Johannsen.
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Then he was a member of a black liberation theology based church in Chicago for 20 years that hates white people. Apparently the people who had such a problem with Bush being religious have no problem with that.
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Jul 17, 2008 7:47:52 PM CDT
Good lord. Doesn't anyone think this movie is any good?
by darthcorleone
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Class act.
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"It's jam-packed with flawlessly designed set-pieces and skullduggery, sure, but it's also shrouded in grim portent, overlaid with a filigree of despair, and, for good measure, covered in a patina of dire consequence." ...
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
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Cronies thoughout the internet or are they doing it of free will?
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Of course it's not gonna please everyone. It's probably a fantastic crime drama that just happens to be played out through very very flamboyant and colorful characters. So what's wrong with that? If you take out these characters and put in everyday schmoes, would that make them happy? Yes live your fucking baggage at home and have an open mind. I wanted this movie to stay 100% and be one of the higher grossing films of all time. They probably haven't gotten laid in a while.
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May I inquire as to why I am your "Heeeeeeero"?
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I, however, am fucked. Maybe I'll get to see it next week.
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from the two MAIN guys on this site?? Fuckin A!!!
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The AMC Lennox 24 Theater near Ohio State has 17 SOLD OUT 12:01 Shows as of 9:20 PM, with another 5 still available. A possible 22 sell outs at midnight!? God-fucking-damn.
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obviously if he thinks BR is the worst of the bat-films. Fuck that. Though prior to TDK, Begins was the best, followed closely by Bats '89
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Jul 17, 2008 8:26:09 PM CDT
TDK WILL CAUSE BLUE BALLS IN YOUR BLOOD EYE
by the guy who slept through everything.
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who don't get to go tonight.
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Still, Harry, get off the ass and post a TDK review!! geez
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You have a motel to run. Stop slackin 'n jackin on the job.
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he's too busy running a review based website, ur, ohwhat the frick else does he do? you know he doesn't have a second job. them deoderant and sex clothes banners bring in the money.
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The Top 250, that is. With a rating of 9.0 from regular voters (9.7 in total with non-regulars). Wonder how much it'll drop when people who have actually seen it start voting. It'll probably stay pretty high.
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Jul 17, 2008 8:45:59 PM CDT
you say you didn't like any of the females in the batman
by jackiegleasonufo
films, you mean the girlfriends or like even michelle pheiffers catwoman, because i find that hard to believe.
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what sarah jane dunn plays in this. she's the only actor on imdb with no character listing, yet nolan hand picked her and she was rumored to a pre-harley quinn dr.she says she did scenes with maroni.
she's not bruce's arm candy. she's not maroni's mistress. she has also not shown up in any viral or cable promotionsso who the frick is she in this frickin' picture?!
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I hear that commercial theme in my head.
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before it's too late
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it's 10 or 15 years later. he's seeing that one man can't police an entire city. it's in the people's hands, and they've started following his example- not to dress up like batman but to not take shit in their neighborhoods, to police themselves. he passes the mantle on to a fresh face..a nightwing or terry mcginnis type? someone he is willing to hand over his gadgets to, but with the warning that it comes with the price of living alone, perhaps he has met a woman with a checkered past (catwoman?) and they realize the only way they can be together is if they both quit the costumes and do good as citizens... etc... as for villains, i have no idea.
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Though the ending was a little lame
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OH COME ON! I'm gonna watching The Watchmen Trailer. GOD!
ROOM FULL OF NINJAS?!?!?!?!? OH COME ON! -
OH COME ON! DID YOU GUYS WATCHING THE TRAILER FOR WATCHMEN?!
WHO'S WATCHING THE WATCHINGMEN!?
GOD! -
Can't remember feeling so overwhelmed by a movie (in the best way possible). Make no mistake - it's unflinchingly dark and nasty and goes places I'd thought I'd never see in this genre of film. I'm still not even sure Batman "won" in the end...he's had to pay such a terrible price and the lessons he learns are gut wrenching...I felt like weeping at the end. There are so many things, small things even, that are amazing (the good cop/bad cop scene just floored me) that the little flaws seem inconsequential. I can totally see how this would fit in the continuity of things and sets Batman up to be the badass, paranoid slightly unhinged character we know and love. Can't wait to see it again!
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I'm gonna make Pee Wee look like a saint while watching this.
It's been a while since I've been this psyched for a film. This will be the first action based film I'll probably cry during, because it'll be like a Mozart symphony, for the eyes, mind, ears, and soul.
This is what movies are all about.
The Nolan bros deserve a standing ovation. -
I do love me some Batman movies, all of them (full disclosure -'89 and Forever are my favs though), but you know the media hype machine is in overdrive when CNN runs the Joker's face as the headline story all night. I mean, Warner, I know you gotta make your Speed Racer money back, but this country is still at war, our economy is in the shitter, and we're electing a new president in a few months, arent we?
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I stiil can´t believe he hasn´t written a review of Wall-E let alone Batman. Two of the most importante movies not only in 2008 but for a while now.
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Jul 17, 2008 10:11:14 PM CDT
I get it....it's dark and therefore nerds love dark, hateful, EM
by arnold shitzembigger
but would it kill anyone to make a good, fun superhero movie where someone relishes in their power and what they have to do? That's why I think Iron Man did so well. I'm sure I will enjoy this because I liked the first and I can go for dark films too. Just tired of the fanboy=geek=dark, hate the world the "cool people" therefore we must love the darkness of Batman...
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I can't stand this "best film ever" nonsense, yet I have no doubt this film will be good. Number one rule for "best film ever": you must cry in that film. Yes, that sounds ridiculous, but it's valid. And I don't see anyone talking about tears. The best film ever should have a bit of everything, and it should have moments of heartwarming emotion. This film seems to be all dark emotion. I also can't stand the praise for all this political commentary. Just tell a damn story; don't worry about whether it's got some contemporary message.
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Transformers 2 is all the apoligist will start saying "Well, what do you want Dark Knight!"
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TDK is going to kick major ass, and I hope TF2 will kick some ass as well. It IS possible to like multiple franchises ...Plus, I like how you fuckin KNOW what TF2 is gonna be. You don't know shit about it.
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and the talkbacks are dead as the fanboiz pack the theatres.
I'm going to see it in 3 weeks. In an empty IMAX fuck whooping and cheering. -
Oooh, everyone seems to like it, I'm gonna be Captain Contrary and be all bitter even though I know jack shit.
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You had it right when you said Iron Man did it well by having him enjoy what he was doing. And look how much $$$ it made. So see, not everything has to be dark. Iron Man was a fuckin blockbuster.
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what about that eddie murphy movie?
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Did I not sure I'm sure it will be great? I don't even know why I feel this way toward the film...I just don't WANT it to be the best film ever. There are so many more opportunities out there for better films. Like big epic stuff. I'm not disagreeing because everyone else likes it.
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Something else will come along in the future.
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the bandwagon regarding rumors of how incredible Ledgers "Joker" is supposed to be...
But I admit...you hairy palmed, Dungeons and Dragons Playing, Actress headshot fapping film geeks have made me excited to see this thing............It better Be better than Indy IV though...you fuckers lied to me about that one! "Crying with joy" my ass. -
It IS possible not to like this film, you know...Are people that biased that they cannot handle any negative criticism about the Dark Knight, sayin that it's not valid or that the reviews are just stupid? Whatever...
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http://www.aintitcool.com/node/23918
enough said. -
what's with the joker boobytrap = two-face spoiler. man, that sucks.
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I meant to say what you said. Essentially, that's why Iron Man rocked and it did so well. Because Tony Stark was digging his power and having fun with it. Of course, we can look forward to him going through personal hell potentially with alcohol. I know I'll dig The Dark Knight because I love the style of filmaking that Nolan has employed in the past and I dig the character. I'm not a fan of the campy crap that the first run of Batman turned into. I just get tired of the fanboy gushing that this movie will be the greatest hero movie of all time because it is so dark.
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http://www.aintitcool.com/node/23918
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I knew THE DARK KNIGHT would be good, but the outpourings of critical praise and jubilance over the film is mind-blowing. This movie has become a huge and important cinematic event. This is a wonderful time for Batman fans!
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Sorry, not to be un P.C. but that's how the saying goes.
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..and yet I didn't read anything about this movie that I didn't know before (or wanted to know, too)
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My Girlfriend and I went to see "The Dark Knight" on 7.18.08 at the midnight showing, and knowing how much in demand tickets were going to be I purchased two tickets, 16 days in advance. Our tickets were for theater 13 at the Regal theater in Ft Wayne, IN (the only one left there by the way, Rave came in and pushed you out of town), we arrived and took our seats. The house lights were on, right up until the trailers began, and they came down. We got to see the trailers, and then the highly anticipated "Dark Knight" began. I would say 7 minutes into the movie, as The Jokers bus was pulling away from the bank he had just robbed, the film burned out, and the movie stopped. After some loud grumbling from customers, a female manager came in and told us all that in just a few minutes the movie would resume, right from where it left off. I thought "great, it took a few extra minutes, but I get to see the movie I have been waiting for. I go to the concession stand and purchase a large frozen Coke, a large bucket of popcorn and make my way back into the theater to take my seat. Two minutes go by and this time an older gentleman, with a light blue shirt, dark tie and a mustache enters the theater with a police officer and tells us that "The Ft Wayne city police department has demanded we evacuate the BUILDING (see he emphasized the building part). I am sorry. When you get to your cars, you must leave the parking lot right away. You will be given a ticket that will allow you to see any movie you want in the future." He was very very nervous about the whole lie. I knew we were lied to, because no other theater had to leave the building! I was duped into buying consessions, because I was promised by one manager that the movie would resume, and then FORCEFULL removed by the local police department. ANd here is the best part: one of the OTHER managers told me when I was buying my $13 in food/drink, they looped the films together because they did not have enough film and over sold what they had. Well run theater. So, long story short, I didnt get to see the movie, and the reason was I was lied to by Regal Entertainment Group. Never again
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Interesting point, just how did those theatres go from 5 showings to twelve today? Did all these theatres get extra prints of the film at the last minute, or how does that work exactly?
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Jul 18, 2008 12:38:58 AM CDT
Muting the film for piracy concerns? Is this for real?
by alfred_packer
Is this for real? Are the makers of the films signing onto this? Are Nolan and Spielberg, and Zimmer and Williams, okay with having their work screwed around with, and who is authorizing it, the studios?
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...TOTAL FUCKING DESTRUCTION!!!
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When you loop the film together you start it in one projector and instead of re-spooling it, you pass it to another projector. Many of the theaters are digital now and can move /copy hard drive copy's to diffrent projectors. Thats how they can go from 5 showtimes to 18
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When you loop the film together you start it in one projector and instead of re-spooling it, you pass it to another projector. Many of the theaters are digital now and can move /copy hard drive copy's to diffrent projectors. Thats how they can go from 5 showtimes to 18
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Thanks for the education on this, Ive never worked in a theatre so I can only guess how they make it all work. Staggering the start times tonight would help too I would imagine if its physical reels, but I couldnt see how you spool it into another projector, but I guess theatre layouts are designed to centre the projection area into one big room to facilitate that. Sounds tricky, its no wonder that theatres have trouble trying to pull off something of this magnitude with all non-union inexperience types Ive heard they stick in the booths these days.
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That would be me. I suggested him for The Joker in future installments. I was flipping through channels the same night I saw TDK and BRICK was on. For a moment I thought he was Ledger and that's how I had that brilliant idea. I'd like a check now please, thank you Warner.
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again! This movie seems to get better every time I see it. I tried to stand by Burton's original, but Begins manages to get me giddy every time I see it. 16 more hours for me!
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Im also in Fort Wayne,IN. I got tickets for the 10:45 show at Rave though. Oh yeah! The day has arrived!
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Yeah, thats where I first read about it somewhere, was at KOTCS screenings, that mix was turned down really low (thats why I cited those two along with the TDK dudes), but this is the second time Im hearing about this so Im beginning to suspect the worst, that the studios are deliberately screwing with our theatre experience and hard earned dollars, which is deal breaker for me as well. Has this practice been picked up in any major news media stories yet?
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i was blown away, the only complaint about the actual movie is that my butt started to hurt. other than that, great.
my other complaint however, it that while heath ledger's performance was magnificent (gave me chills) i think that due to his death, the brilliant performance of aaron eckhart will be completely overlooked. which sucks, because he was great, and from the way it looks right now, SPOILER he might not be back (though im sure if they wanted to, they could figure out a way)
and i love how after all that speculation, anthony michael hall was just a reporter -
It's 3:30am, and I was impressed. Watchmen will rock as well.
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At the 1201 showing 11 plex I used to work at. All 11 auditoriums sold out by 10pm. People were turned away. I smell a record breaker this weekend.
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no words can describe what i just saw.
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I just have to clear this coz it keeps popping up. It doesn't evaporate the water in the people around it because it uses FOCUSED microwaves. It wasn't focused directly at the people that's why they wern't evaporated. if the device couldn't be focused, how the fuck would you use it in battle against the enemy if you'd be evaporated while operating it.
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Nicholson's Joker was just a glorified clown with gimmicks. THIS Joker was just... evil.
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...a damn good Batman flick. Damn good.
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...at my local theater. Waited 8 hours and would have waited more had I known how amazing this movie would be. Please, no Joker in the third. There will never be another Joker as good as Heath.
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This is definitely the best Batman movie, and probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever (if not THE greatest... sorry, just what I feel). I'd see it again, and again, and again! Ledger was bloody brilliant!!! Won't spoil anything, so I'll leave it at that.
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hahaha, sorry. Rookie mistake, lol. Still, this movie kicked ass!
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Damn You Michael Bay
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I still think that the idea of Joker as a "homicidal artist" is very creepy - it's a dark film. The action just gets a little silly and you can still see Tim Burton's discomfort with mixing his own sentiments with the typical Hollywood formula: there are few more internally divided films than "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory." Parts are downright charmy and with Wonka's story playing very well. But when it comes to the Summer Spectacle stuff that was tossed in... WOW! Parts of that movie are just ugly. Really hard to look at.
I was watching "Batman" with my dad a while back and towards the end I was a little uncomfortable. Finally my father brought the silence: "This is a little silly ain't it?"
The man was damn right.
But great things are to be found there: Joker as a complete narcissist. The Laughter Bag (death scene). There's a Letham book ("Motherless Brooklyn" is priceless for you guys who love and have adopted noir as your own) where the gumshoe has Tourette and the only music he can listen and concentrate to is Prince - he finds solace in its compulsion. In that film, Prince works perfectly. "MONEY MONEY MONEY! HUBBA HUBBA WHO DO YOU LOVE?!"
The current Batman films of Nolan's just really speak to me personally and my own views about heroism. But on its own right, if you separate from a greater external mythology, "Batman Returns" is an epically beautiful film (sans Alfred doing a turntable move on the CD player). DeVito's operatic Penguin is a moving and bewilderingly weird performance (FUCK! He's an Aristocrat!!! Who eats raw fish. Bunuel would've loved it?). -
I think we might be able to date people by which series they prefered. Older people seem to like the Burton films, while younger people appear to be drawn to the Nolan films.
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sometimes on those lonely nights in the cave... you might get a hankering for something to go inside of your sphincter...
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after godfather 2. holy shit. yeah it's gonna go down after some time but damn! seeing it in 5 hours, can't wait!
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I think I'll go see it again, after I see Hellboy II today.
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Man, I live in Chicago and what a wonderful artistic postcard this film is to our city. Shockingly, there are no stars higher than four to rate this film.
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I wish there were...
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Some of those scenes with the joker were so damn chilling...
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There is no way the movie will live up to this kind of hype. There's just no way. I hope it does and I'm going in there prepared to like the movie but with no expectations beyond that.
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Just curious about something. There's some severe TDK hate going on at that site. Just wondering if those who saw the film at midnight can comment on their criticisms.
http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2008/07/17/dark_knight/
http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/btm/?last_story=/ent/movies/btm/feature/2008/07/18/condition/
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Actually, you might as well say he turned himself in during the first so-called capture. It was an elaborate jailbreak. Secondly, his eventual capture was only made possible by Batman crossing a few ethical lines to find his location.
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ChicagoRonin: It seems to me that the reviewer has a long-standing dislike for anything Chris Nolan touches. Check her reviews for Begins, the Prestige, and Mememto. Apparently, everything he does is crap in her world.
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***SPOILERS***After having seen TDK a second time, I'm confident that Harvey is still alive. In the final scene, Gordon and Batman are talking about how damaging it would be if Gotham knew the truth about Harvey's killing spree. Which, of course, is the reason why Batman decides to take the blame for his murders. They then hold a public funeral and proclaim that Harvey "died a hero" when in actuality he "lived to see himself become the villain." Gordon no doubt had Harvey sent to Arkham to maintain this lie.Incidentally, I find it interesting that during the press conference Harvey took the fall for Bats by claiming he was the caped crusader and then Batman returned the favor by taking responsibility for Harvey's murders.Also, I've read some criticism of the fact that Harvey "suddenly" becomes vengeful towards Batman. To me, it makes perfect sense that Harvey would harbor animosity (however unreasonable).Consider:While both men share the same goals, they go about achieving them in conflicting ways (two sides of the same coin, if you will). The White Knight works within the justice system while the Dark Knight rejects it outright, preferring instead to become a masked vigilante and fight crime at the street level. Harvey believes that Rachel's death was directly related to Batman's methods (in that his existence created a madman like the Joker).In addition, Batman was the last person Harvey wanted to see while lying face down in that pool of gasoline. He wished Batman was off saving Rachel and no doubt is resentful of the fact that the caped crusader "chose" to save him instead.This, of course, is bullshit seeing as Batman wanted to save Rachel all along. The Joker (who was aware of Batman's affection towards Rachel after witnessing his daring rescue of her at the fund raiser) intentionally told Bats the wrong address because he knew that Harvey would be angry at Batman if he was saved while his girlfriend was left to die.Add disfigurement and mental instability to the equation (not to mention the Joker's psychological prodding) and it becomes entirely plausible that Harvey would turn against Batman.
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Her reviews of Begins and TDK could not be more incorrect. Her arguments are complete lies at best. How can a person get paid money to write any type of media and then have no consequences for basically acting out some sort of Nolan-inspired vendetta? I mean if you read the begins review she actually says that Bruce is too engulfed by grief, anger, sadness, etc. for us to care about him.
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Nicholson's Joker is one of the greatest cinematic villains of all time. Batman '89 is STILL the definitive Batman film.
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Most entertaining film of all time. And I know what I'm talking about. I primed myself on some of my favorite mainstream films before seeing this movie (i.e. Godfather, Heat, The Untouchables, Wild Bunch, Robocop,) and Nolan's masterpiece bests them all for sheer visceral impact and suspense.
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Nicholson's Joker is nowhere near as superior as Ledger's and Burton's Batman man looks like a trip to grandma's house in comparison to what Nolan does with Dark Knight. I assume you must be joking.
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...not a big fan of "jokes" are you?
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True. And Heath Ledger's Joker really will haunt your dreams. The movie is a little choppy at the beginning, but once it gets going, man. Watch out. Went to the 12:01 showing last night. The crowd was strangely hushed at the start. Almost anticipating what was to come. It's a long movie, but doesn't really seem overlong.
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to read Harry's review please. Make it happen!
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1. A little too much plot. There was so much shit going on, although granted it was all rather riveting, it all started to get a bit convoluted to me.
2. All the surprise plot twists which take up like 1/3 of the movie won't be surprise plot twists anymore on second viewings, which kills the rewatchable factor for me.
3. The anti-climactic ending involving Two-Face. Uh...so what happened...is that it...?
4. Lame final character arc for Rachel Dawes. I mean, she had such a big role in Begins, is that how she deserves to be wrapped up?
5. Lack of emotional investment in Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Dent's character is played as a rather arrogant rival to Bruce Wayne, so that when Dent became Two-Face, I didn't really care what happened to him. But the brilliance of Two-Face as a character in the comics is that in a way we care for him as well, which is what makes him so tragic. I think Nolan failed to invest the proper amount of emotional content in Dent's character so that his fall would seem that much more tragic. As it was, I could've cared less what happened to Dent/Two-Face. I think communicating emotion is an apparent weakness of Christopher Nolan's filmmaking.
5. On the eternal comparison between Nolan's version and Tim Burton's version, I still go with the '89 Batman. Nolan's vision lacks the grand metaphorical scheme and gothic opera of Burton's Batman. Burton's vision was unique, Nolan's vision isn't. Nolan's Batman probably could've been accomplished by any good director from Michael Mann to Ridley Scott to Darren Aronofsky. Nobody, NOBODY, could've done what Time Burton did back in 1989. Nolan's Batman looks like a regular crime movie with Batman in it.
6. How come Nolan uses nearly all ethnic-Americans(Italians, hispanics, blacks, etc.) as his lower level bad guys and crooks and convicts? Because he's a pompous English bastard, that's why.
7. Can't think of anything else right now. I'll get back to you... -
I have to wait til Sunday. Fuck Fuck Triple Fuck!
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Dude Nolans from Chicago.
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Well OK your half right he grew up in Chicago but when to school in England.
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Nolan is not racist which seems to be the implication of your ridiculous post. He is one of the coolest cats working in the business in my opinion. He has been very good to minority actors. And as a minority (black and white/biracial) I am quite pleased with how he realistic portrays all walks of life as they are...Good and bad at the same time.
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Also...
You said this:
"I think communicating emotion is an apparent weakness of Christopher Nolan's filmmaking."
Uh-what? I find Nolan's work in BB, Prestige and Dark Knight INCREDIBLY emotional. The guy is a beast. Honestly there isn't a better pop filmmaker working right now. -
Hancock. Hancock. Hancock.
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In one of your points you demonstrate how clearly this movie went over your head. It's suprising how backwords you see each and every thing. There is nothing much more to say than I disagree perfectly with each of your points. It's pretty rediculous what you have said.
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I'm not that familiar with Nolan's work, having only seen his Batman movies. But yeah, I found his characterization of Harvey Dent to be a bit cold, just as I find Nolan's filmmaking to be in general. It's smart, but cold, to me. Granted, the scene at the end with Gordon's family was highly emotional but it's hard to mess up emotion when a child is involved. That's like Button #1 on the Emotion mixing board.
Personally, I think Michele Pfeiffer's Catwoman in Batman Returns was a more superior example of a tragic Batman villain. I even though the Danny DeVito Penguin was more tragic. Why? Because Tim Burton is damn good at cinematically conveying and investing his characters with the Holy Grail of movies, emotion. -
!!!SPOILERS HERE!!!!
Let me at least address two of your points which seem the very most backwards. I found Rachel's death profound and I clapped loudly when she blew up at an unexpected twist that contradicted normal story telling conventions.
And Harvey Dent was in no way an arrogant "rival" of Bruce Wayne, it was pretty damn clear that Bruce had nothing but profound respect for Harvey, and even that he felt that Harvey Dent may be more important to Gotham than even he was. The respect was mutual as well, at least Harvey had a returning respect for Batman I mean.
My only gripe is that when The Dark Knight is that when I first saw Batman come to save Harvey, I thought that he had purposely decided to save him instead of Rachel, which I thought was a powerful idea that Bruce cared more about the people of Gotham whom Harvey would help the most than the love of his life. I later learned that it was only because the Joker had intentionally mixed up the locations of the two to throw a wrench in things. When I learned that, the "choice" by Batman was less profound, and I was sad about that. -
How can you say that. The man had everything and then the women he loved is killed and he is left with a constant reminder of it on his face. The man was in agony and wanted revenge. Everything the character did was because of the emotion on the story.
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Jul 18, 2008 10:48:19 AM CDT
There is only one Burton movie that works on an "emotional" leve
by fassbinder79
Edward Scissorhands. Burton is really overrated. Stylish, yes. But overrated. And he hasn't made a decent film since Ed Wood.
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Dude he thought he WAS saving Rachel. The Joker switch the two places on purpose. He told Gordan to save Dent.
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My gripe with Nolan's portrayal of Harvey Dent is not how Bruce Wayne perceived him, but how the audience, or rather, I, perceived him. And as how he was theatrically projected in the movie, I just didn't care for Harvey Dent all that much, and thus didn't really care when he fell from "grace."
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SPOILER AHEAD
Probably my favorite shot in film history...second only to Antonioni final shot in The Passenger is in Dark Knight when the Joker leaves the hospital and the building explodes....Pure cinematic genius. -
It shows how human he really is.
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Yes what a moment.
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I think that given his public sentiment over the death of Heath and his stature/skill ... if the Joker were needed in the 3rd film, I think he'd do it.
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Perhaps I didnt make it clear. Yes I realized later that he thought he was saving rachel. But when I first saw him break into the room where Harvey was held, I thought he had decided to save Dent. I thought that was far more interesting, and so I was disapointed again when I realized that he actually had thought that he was saving Rachel. To me that is the most dissapointing thing in the movie, when at first it was my favorite part of the movie.
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Ahh got yeah buddy i can see that.
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Please don't read the my previous post if you havent seen the movie. CAUTION!!! CAUTION!!!
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I thought the exact same thing. That he made the choice to save Harvey over Rachel because he cared more about the city and it's people than himself. It also would go a long way in explaining why Harvey has such hatred of Batman, since the last thing he wanted to happen was Rachel to die instead of him. Still, I understand why Nolan did it this way instead. The Joker wanted to teach a lesson about how even good people can be turned into monsters when everything they care about is ripped away. In the end, that's an even more emotionally powerful statment to make.
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The roles to big - Nolan didnt kill the joker to be left out -- let the character live god damn you all who want to bury the joker w heath.
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BTW sorry - dont read it - and if u did, then i was joking.
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To the people calling this the BEST FILM EVER!.......think long and carefully. Don't get caught up in the hysteria of the moment. Are you really saying that this film is better than : THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, anything JAMES CAMERON made, and the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, etc? Because, even though it was good, it WASN'T A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE that most of you are making it out to be. It's JUST A MOVIE. Instead of giving so much passion and time to JUST A MOVIE, try giving the same passion and time to your family and overall life to better yourself. I'm glad you liked the film! It's a big fun event! But try to stay grounded in reality people.
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We are witnessing the greatest acting performance in the history of cinema - Heath Ledger as The Joker. Second place? Charlize Theron - Monster. Third? Marlon Brando - Apocalypse Now.
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I have to admit, I thought Heath Ledger was devastatingly brilliant in his performance as Batman's arch-nemesis, and the philosophical exchanges between the two characters were examples of really good writing. HOWEVER, this is where my one little problem with this neo-Joker comes in, that as written, he seems a little too self-conscious of himself, a little too aware of himself, as if he was informed by...well...some writers. "I'm an agent of chaos!" "I'm like a dog chasing after a car, if I caught it, I wouldn't know what to do with it!" Yes, I know the Joker is supposed to be smart and all, a genius and everything, but again, he seems a little too self-aware, a little too intellectualized in this film, like some Philosphy-English double major emo kid on a bad freak trip or something. But don't get me wrong, I thought Heath Ledger was still phenomenal in the role, maybe just a little problem with the writing...
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Stay low! There's a lot of hyperbole flying around in here. And we haven't even read Harry's review yet! That will be one for the ages!
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Fuck you. People go on these boards to geek out about nerdy shit that they rarely get to gush over in the real world. The worst motherfuckers alive are the people that say: "BE LESS PASSIONATE ABOUT SOMETHING YOU LOVE!"
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that he killed himself later
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I need to see it a second time to make sure the hype didn't affect me, because I know it did with King Kong at first and then I loved it, but after one viewing I didn't think the movie lived up to the hype. Heath Ledger did, for sure. And the acting across the board was very good, but it just seemed so depressing and dark. And I like dark, mind you. I just wonder if this was TOO dark.
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Ok... Brandon Lee died during the filming of the crow, the make-up he wore is similar in design to the Joker, he was 28 when he died... Heath was 29, similar make-up, and died before the movie released. Weird, huh?
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I'm all for being passionate about something you love. Becoming a religious cult-like member over JUST A MOVIE is messed up. And I see a lot (not all) of people acting like that. Then again, if that's how you want to act, go right ahead. I just gave my opinion because "AINT IT COOL" asked me to, hence why they have a "TALKBACK FORM". Btw...I really liked the movie, my one complaint....Maggie G. was hard to look at on that big screen.
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You forgot to mention that both their last names started with "LE". I smell a conspiracy...
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19 years from now, there will probably be a lot of people raving about some new Batman movie and how the 2008 version was "lame". Maybe.
TDK had great acting by Ledger and a few others. Really good action sequences. COOL, dark mood.... but also convoluted, and therefore weakened storyline and weakened climax. Oh yeah, and about 30 minutes too long. Overall, pretty good. I'll reassess in 19 years. -
It's a very good movie, but I agree with you on the plot hole stuff. For example (SPOILER ALERT), wouldn't the dudes in the plane who rescue Batman from Hong Kong on the skyhook KNOW his secret identity? Doesn't he swim right out to their seaplane AS BRUCE WAYNE?
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I am so glad Maggie G was there and not such a beautiful girl like crazy. The last thing I want in any movie that I am trying to take seriously is some smoldering runway model. In every single one of my very favorite movies, the lead actress is not an extremely pretty girl. I think directors with taste, who are confident in the strength of the writing of their movie know to stay clear of the cheap trick (which Michael Bay ALWAYS uses let me point out) of putting a distractingly beautiful girl in our faces. I think most lowbrows are completely fooled by this trick, and the next thing you see is morons praising movies like Transformers and Underworld. When you need to look at a pretty face and great body, watch some porn. Please don't ask talented directors to mix it into our serious stories.
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No respect, but like everyone else who has see the movie, I strongly dissagree with every one of your points. I found myself very much invested in the Harvey Dent character, the climax kept me on the edge of my seat(but nonetheless the whole movie did). And in point 5 you talk about each director's vision, and how burton's is supperior, in which I disagree again. In burton's, which I did enjoy, I really never found myself caring emotionally what would happen to the characters, mostly because the city felt way too fictionized. It felt like I was watching a slightly more adulterated cartoon. But Nolan's vision, I find myself much more emotionally invested due to it really feeling like a Gotham City.
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It can cause Nerd priapism.
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I hate that plastic-hollywood-model look too. But, are you seriously telling me that Nolan couldn't find ONE PRETTY actress who can ALSO ACT in this ENTIRE WORLD? Maggie did a good job acting, but....I'm pretty dam positive that she could of been replaced with another great actress...one that just happens to be pretty too! But, if you like her, whatever floats your boat. I've know guys that were "armenian chubby chasers".
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Jul 18, 2008 2:49:16 PM CDT
The Dark Knight makes Batman'89 look like the 60s TV series...
by mrhazard
It just looks corny in retrospect. And I LOVE B'89 but TDK is 100% better...
And it's probably the closest we will ever get to seeing a Rated R Batman movie... I cant think of a more VIOLENT, darker PG-13 movie... Best superhero movie ever... -
Agreed.100%.
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I think you miss my point. I don't want Christopher Nolan to put ANY effort into finding a pretty actress that can act too. I'm sure there are tons of beautiful girls that are excellent actresses too, but I don't really care. I think it is detrimental to a movie that is trying to convey any sense of realism to have an unussually beautiful girl always on screen. It's sort of like overly flashy special effects distracting me from noticing a poorly made movie. I think Maggie G is not particularly beautiful, and neither was Katie Holms. But they both are normal looking girls who are by no means ugly. Unless there is specifically a reason for the story to have an incredibly beautiful girl in it, just skip over that. If the story is extremely cartoony in the first place, then go ahead, put in your runway models, just like in Tim Burton's batmans. Those movies were nothing more than saturday morning cartoons anyways, so we might as well have some cartoonishly beautiful girls all over the place as well.
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were you not the guy who was talking shit on the dark knight and batman for the last year straight????
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...In all the movies I've seen in my entire life, I have never seen a movie harder to follow. Every scene was 8 seconds rapidly cut together. It felt like a 10 hour movie edited down to 2 hours and 20 minutes. It was like Arrested Development on cocaine. It just became absolutely absurd at some parts if Nolan expected any audience to totally follow what was going on.
Sure, I got the gist of what was going on from scene to scene but I wouldn't be able to nail down the details. I thought the themes were great and the dialogue was great. But I couldn't recall all the details of, for example, the Joker's plot to kill the mayor and how it went awry.
I know I'm practically begging for someone to reply that I'm simply not intelligent enough to follow it. Go ahead, I'm pretty confident in my ability to follow a story. I can pick up on every nuanced callback or meta-joke on Arrested Development, and I can tell you more about Lost than lostpedia.com. But The Dark Knight was just insane.
In fact, if you insist on taking that stance then allow me to ask you some questions about the plot and I'll prove that you weren't following it as well either. Who is up for it? -
That is the bottom line.
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I'm not going to call you stupid, not yet at least. A lot of times I have to keep myself focused more than ever during the dialog of movies like this, and not allow myself to zone out. I knew this going in to see Dark Knight, and as a result I found it relatively easy to follow. I don't think it was too much too quick, but the movie definately will benefit from repeat viewings, which I am going to have again tonight. The logic of the story is somewhat complex, and even flawed in some areas perhaps. But it is not too complex.
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The cure for that is Maggie Gyllenhall's face.Somebody CGI that thing.
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That was a pretty cool touch.
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Not that it's been a tough year, but holy shit. That was a great movie experience. I could have stood for it to be longer, actually. 150 minutes and not one scene that dragged or slowed the momentum.
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I don't know if I would call it complex, it was just too fast. Like I said, it felt like a 10 hour movie edited down to 2 hours. Just as I was grasping what exactly was going on in one 8 second scene, the next 8 second scene would twist things again without allowing me to digest what was completely going on. You said "movies like this," what other movies would you compare this to in these terms? I'm wondering how I would compare them.
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did they mess up the pyro on that??? The pause between the first explosion and the last seemed too long... I think it was supposed to be quicker and Ledger ad-libbed the part in between with him repeatedly pushing the detonator button like a spoiled child wanting more... Either way, best hospital bombing scene ever!!!
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Why is everyone all about Chicago. Nice city. Glad they shot it there. But, Gotham is New York City folks. The best most popular city in the world. ;)
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...in spite of the fact Nolan still can't put together a coherent fight to save baby jesus.
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...where Heath Ledgers performance as the Joker is concerned. Fact.
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Y'know, I hadn't thought of that. If it really had been a goof-up and Ledger really did ad-lib it, then it was genius.
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Actually, I read somewhere that it's a dictional city not in New York, but near New Jersey.
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Saw it in Hollywood last night. Someone thinking he was a 'joker' pulled the freaking fire alarm 10 minutes into the thing. So upsetting. took 20-30 min to get going again. oh well. Was still great and i got a free ticket for another show.
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Great movie. I had only two minor problems. The first was that the film stopped during the previews and it took the idiots over 20 minutes to fix the problem. The guy running the projector had the nerve to say;"Don't worry,I have already seen it." There was also some annoying 13 year old dressed like Joker trying to scare people by walking up and down the isles. The other minor complaint is that I wish there was more Two Face. Other than those 2 issues, what a fantastic film going experience.
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I also would like to see a slimmer version. The movie could have been cut down by about 20-25 minutes.
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with respect to Reeve and Donner, DKR is the best superhero movie (but Reeve is still the best superhero)
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Too protracted a narrative. Way too much Bale "lispering." Ledger's Joker is great, but not earth-shattering (most actors can play "anarchical"). Great truck-flipping sequence though. Anyway, the film really belongs to the old heavies putting up the low-key, yet stalwart work (e.g., Caine, Freeman, Oldman). Revisit the film in a year or two and you'll see. Good, certainly. Maybe even really good. But hardly great. In time, Iron Man will fare better.
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Joker switched locations??? If this is true, this went right over my head... Either way, I gotta see this movie again either tonight or tomorrow...
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Jul 18, 2008 6:11:13 PM CDT
TDK, BEST. MOVIE. OF. THE. YEAR.
by the guy who slept through everything.
That was the fastest and most entertaining 2 and a half hours I've sat through in a long fucking time. Ledger and the Nolans NAILED the Joker, OMFG. I never thought it could be done, till they did it. I'll trust Nolan with anyone he casts in a Batman movie.
Best superhero movie ever, I'm not gonna say Comci book, this was FAR from that, fucking amazing.
oh, and FUCK all of you who say this sucks, or that Batman 89 is better. Jesus, you dissapoint me as fellows geeks, suck my anus. -
I'm EXTREMELY pissed and sadened because I'm never going to get to see Ledger's Joker again. :(
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Jul 18, 2008 6:27:47 PM CDT
In a way, it's good Ledger's Joker is a one time performance...
by mrhazard
You should always leave the audience wanting more... His performance is even MORE special knowing we will never see it again...
With that being said, I would've loved to see Ledger's Joker kill Robin in a future installment but oh well... WHY SO SERIOUS!!!!!!! -
Jul 18, 2008 6:38:37 PM CDT
"This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovab
by the guy who slept through everything.
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Ledger IS Joker.
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It possessed my body and soul and couldn't remember what happen after that...
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one of the main reasons, in my opinion, why the TDK is so incredibly brilliant: Choice. The essence of all great drama is "conflict," and in TDK, it manifests itself in the form of inner conflict -- choices the characters are forced to make. Whether it's Bogart telling Bergman to "get on that plane," Michaele Corleone choosing to kill Friedo, or Romeo choosing to drink the poison at the sight of his comatose Juliet, choice is at the very heart of the storytelling. Every main character in TDK has to make some sort of choice in which the consequences can and do lead to tradgedy. It doesn't take the Hollywood "out" either, where a character makes an ethically or morally questionable decision, but is somehow redeemed by the end of the film, simply because he or she is a "good" character. Iron Man was great for many reasons, but let's face it, the choice Tony Stark makes, (to fight for justice) comes early and is clearly the only choice he could make,or there wouldn't be a film. Indy 4 was so ineffective because there's very little inner-conflict. It's basically a chase picture, and of course when one is being chased, few choices have to be made. "Run," would be a good one. Even Alfred, has to make a critical decision in this movie. Some will question it, others feel it was for the best. Okay, that's my two cents. I can't wait to see it again. That's an easy choice.
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Joker in the cop uniform. (see greatest joker stories ever told)
The plot of the joker announcing who he was going to kill (Greatest joker stories ever told)
Didn't the old batplane have those rods protruding from the front?
anything else?
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It's a very good film, but I'm not sure it's as great as some people are saying. I was actually annoyed by the hard edits at the high tension points. In my opinion they could have handled those transitions better. But hey, maybe that's why it didn't get an R rating. I'm pretty sure that if it had even a few curse words that it would have. I LOVED LOVED LOVED the limited color palate and set design. If you can't go BIG with the Batcave I guess minimal is the way to go. I'm hearing a lot of people comment on Gotham, but to me it was less of a character in this film than any other Batman movie. It blended really well, so well that even in the beautifully shot panoramic views out of the upper floors in skyscrapers I still couldn't take my eyes off the actors. I didn't like Maggie. I know, I know. Don't get me wrong, I think she did a fine, fine job with her performance. But I just don't buy her as the love of Bruce Wayne's life - a very small gripe, though. The fight scenes took me a while to get into, but then I fell in love with them. They're not crazy, never before seen wire-fu like the Matrix. They're not frenetic camera shaking in so close you can't see what's going on like Gladiator (which I love) or the first Bourne. And they're not anything like the epic battles in Braveheart, which were then seriously upped by Weta for the LOTR movies. Instead, to me anyway, it felt like watching a live action comic book fight. You don't always see all of Batman. You'll see his upper left side as he smashes somebody. Then he'll get hit and fly out of screen. You'll see him duck and just get his back across the bottom of the screen. It all felt very comic book panelish, to me. Instead of an "action movie" fight, you get punch. move. punch punch. block. move. kick. move. block. punch. move. And I believe in nearly every fight, maybe all of them, there are shadows, and he uses them. As you can see, I really dug the fight scenes. Now, everyones got to comment on Heath I suppose, so I will. Heh. I do think his performance was great - iconic even. There are several scenes where I was genuinely freaked the hell out. Also, even though I thought it would take me out of the movie, only twice - for just split seconds, did I stop and think, "oh shit, that's Heath Ledger". That, as much as anything I think, speaks to the power of his performance. All that being said, I'm not sure that he didn't actually show more range as an actor in Brokeback Mountain. I love his Joker, and I do believe it's more iconic that Jack's now, but I don't know that it's his best work. If we're going to talk Oscar, though, personally I think Michael Cain deserves at least a best supporting actor nomination. His scenes with Bale were incredible. Regardless of the situation they were both completely at ease with there acting. Nothing was forced or fake. I actually think they're SO good together that people aren't noticing. My only two real complaints are these: first, it's too slow for the first hour. Maybe not too long, but too slow. And I like exposition, really, I do. I also think they did a great job of getting everybody screen time. I mean, several characters have as much time up there as Bale himself. And second, why can't anybody ever get an ending right anymore. Sure, they had problems with this one. They're hands are tied many ways. But damn, it just didn't sit right with me. They present this huge morality play, take you to the limits of deciding what good and evil really are, and who falls into each category. It's dark and it's heavy and it's sometimes genuinely disturbing. And then the Jokers caught and Dent falls, do some cutaways and some dialogue over the top and it's over. It wasn't a satisfying ending for me. So, that's a terrible review, but I was up until 5 am last night watching the film and these are my sleep deprived ramblings.
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First, I'll give it a 7 out of 10 with a recommendation that people see it and decide for themselves. Second, of course everyone clapped and screamed with Heath's name came of the screen at the end, but I was kind of surprised when most of the people left in the theater also left out a little "woot!" when Morgan Freeman's name came up as well. I thought that was cool. Made me feel like I'd just watched TDK with some people that actually had a few braincells regarding movies.... if that makes any kinda sense. lol
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***SPOILERS***My initial reaction was that Batman changed his mind and decided to save Harvey instead of Rachel (favoring the "greater good" over his own personal feelings). But after seeing the film a second time, it became clear to me that the Joker intentionally switched the addresses just to fuck things up (as he did many other times throughout the film). He is, after all, a self-proclaimed "agent of chaos." Also, if Batman had decided to save Harvey it would have been a premature completion of his character arc (it's not until the final scene that Batman realizes his duty is to the "greater good").
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When it was called Die Hard With A Vengeance. Plus Bruce Willis is a much prettier women then Maggie Gyllenhaal.
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...worked and made sense to me. As much as we want to elevate it into some new territory, it's still a comic book film, and that means it lives by comic book rules. Harvey switched because the Joker messed with him in just the right way. He broke his pride, and then lied to him about how it happened. Maybe it wasn't a lot, but thats the world that film makers are allowed to play with when making this type of movie. I will say that after seeing Heath's performance and how they handled Dent/Two-Faces "death", I wish that TDK could have been a one villian film.
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...had to do with his understandable hatred for Gordon and wasn't necessarily an endorsement for killing children. Although Harvey IS a politician so I wouldn't be surprised if he flip-flopped on the issue.
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Gordon and the other officers were listening in as the Joker revealed the locations of both Harvey and Rachel. When Bats left the room Gordon asked which one he was going after and Bats said "Rachel" before speeding away on the Bat-pod (notice that he didn't relay any address information to Gordon). Gordon, following the information he HEARD the Joker say, proceeded to the location he assumed Harvey would be at and arrived just as the building (actually housing Rachel) exploded. If Bats had changed his mind both he and Gordon would have arrived at the same place, thinking they were about to save Harvey when in fact they had been duped by the Joker. Case closed.
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Jul 19, 2008 3:08:11 AM CDT
Samuraiyao, yeah, the movie kinda peaked with the hospital bombi
by mrhazard
Even tho I liked the rest and the end was great with Batman becoming the villian of Gotham, the Dark Knight, they couldn't top the hospital bombing scene.
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where are the people who used to say that?
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The sarcastic laugh "Ha, ha, ho, ho, he, he." I think this Joker would get along great with Tyler Durden. As they cook up recipes from the Anarchist's Cookbook. Man did Bats get to beat the hell out of a lot of people in this one. Better lighting makes a world of difference. Not just the best comic book movie ever but it better be on the next AFI all time best list. Top 20 at least.
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as a possible new Joker. When you watch the movie you'll see that they are spot on with that assesment.
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You hit the nail on the head with this review, Capone. The movie wasn't perfect, but came closer than anything I've seen in a long time. Makes Batman Begins seem boring by comparison, and I loved Batman Begins.
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Your suggesting Joseph Gordon-Levitt sent chills down my spine. He would be the perfect choice to follow up Ledgers performance.
Start the rumor mill and we'll get him in there by Batman 3!!! -
Loved it of course. Being a Marvel man I just wish someone with Nolan's brains and talent had done the X-men series as well. Far richer characters and plots in that Universe. Iron Man, X-men 2 and Spider-Man 2 were great, but I do hope somebody one days brings as much darkness and complexity to the Marvel film universe. Now fuck off.
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'Nuff said.
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continues to be set by Nolan. What a great time to be a wild-eyed film fan. No wonder Harry loves his job so much.
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I always thoght they were both based on New York; or at least both are on the east coast. I seem to remember a line in one of the earlier Batman movies (maybe the Kilmer one): a character saying something about driving up to Metropolis?
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Bullshit. Batman fans deserve, and were given, a great Joker. There are other actors who could have provided us with that as well.
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One of best movies i have ever saw that was a comic book on screen
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THIS IS THE YEAR OF COMIC BOOK MOVIE
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Jul 22, 2008 8:45:32 AM CDT
I'm all for shelving the Joker for a couple of films but...
by scytheofluna
You cannot leave him out forever. Regardless of how good Ledger's performance was. Catwoman, Riddler and company can hold us over for a few films, but Joker has to come back eventually. Sorry, but he has to. There are other actors out there who could pull it off. No offense to Ledger, but it's true.
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Singer's X films were totally overrated. They were the "Wolverine show: guest starring the X Men". Hopefully they'll get around to doing the origin properly someday with Scott, pre-blue Beast, Angel and Jean. Maybe they'll actually get a redhead to play Jean. Wolverine: Origin is probably going to suck anyway, especially if it's not going to include anything from the graphic novel of the same name. His origin story should have been a separate film prior to his inclusion in the X Men films.
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Gotham and Metropolis are both based on NYC, just different visions of NYC. Gotham is New Yorks gritty underbelly, which looks a lot like Chicago or Detroit, and Metropolis is the shining skyline of silver spires. Two fictional cities, one dichotomous inspiration city.
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Two-Face should have set his sights on Joker, not Gordon and family. That would have opened up much more interesting road to climactic ending.
Joker's manipulation of events throughout was brilliantly executed. Harvey's transformation, however, was not.
Also - the whole sonar thing - LAME! And here's my vote for Katie over Maggie.
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who knew he wanted to do a superhero film?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQAuLBYEW_o -
Saw it yesterday and it completely blew me away. My 12 year old daughter said it was the best time she's ever had at the cinema (and she's seen many films out of the 3 or 4 thousand in my collection). Oldman delivered on every level. I completely forgot it was him and WHY CAN'T LEDGER BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE BEST ACTOR OSCAR NOD..? Everyone keeps talking about him winning supporting actor but he has at least the equal of Hopkins' Lektor in terms of screen time. I think it's a very worthy performance from an actor who, obviously, pushed himself right to the edge to play that role. Still, the man is immortal now thanks to this brilliant ensemble of talents that combined to create TDK. Best film of the year hands down.
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No, really.
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