Tag Archives: the dark knight

DDOY Review: The Dark Knight

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Finally, on Saturday I was able to get into a screening of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. I went in to the film with very high expectations, as the hype was reaching an unbelievable pitch prior to release. Did it meet me expectations, most certaintly … however was it better than The Godfather Part II & The Shawshank Redemption? I don’t believe so. BUT …. it is one of the best comic adaptations ever put to film. A story wrought with emotion and tragedy, that makes you wonder how this could possibly be topped.

THE DARK KNIGHT

Nolan has in effect created his own version of the DC Universe on film, grounded highly in reality and extremely tangible. Gone are the goofy statues and neon-paint bikers gangs of Batman & Robin. Gotham is an actual city, an amalgam of sorts that allows us to accept the fact that in Gotham, politics and policework is no different than in Oakland, Philadelphia, or Memphis.

Ledger’s performance as the Joker was unreal. From his bank heist introduction to his magic trick, he absolutely owned the screen (which has only be amplified by his death). Sure the Oscar hype is there, and if there was ever a comic adaptation that could be seriously considered … this one would be it.

THE DARK KNIGHT

Let’s talk about Batman/Bruce Wayne. I’m a fan of Christian Bale, even though he (allegedly) beat up his mom and sister. What is with the gravely voice? I understand he is trying to disguise it … but it just comes off as an impression of Clint Eastwood in Heartbreak Ridge.

Unfortunately for Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two Face, his role while pivotal, is completely overshadowed by Ledger. The ending (I won’t spoil it) is ambiguous (at least to me and some fanboys). I’ll leave it at that. Also the Two Face you’ll see is nothing like Tommy Lee Jones it’s actually quite disturbing and grotesque.

The Dark Knight is a great FILM, masterfully directed by Christopher Nolan that really sets the bar high for comic adaptations coming down the way. Definitely better than Spider-Man 2 … but I’m not sure where it ranks against Iron Man (my favorite from the Summer thus far). I’m going to try and grab an IMAX screening in the near future, because it’s worth a repeat viewing in theaters. Also parents … do me a favor … don’t bring your kids to this!

Terminator Salvation? I’m In

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I think I’ll have to add Christian Bale to my Man Crush list. He’s rapidly reaching levels of awesomeness once only attained by the likes of Kurt Russell. Twenty years ago, Russell was able to pull both Snake Plissken & Jack Burton with relative ease. Now we have Bale doing double duty as Bruce Wayne and John Connor.

The Terminator Salvation teaser is running in front of The Dark Knight, has already hit the Interwebnet .

My ultimate reservation is that this newest McG helmed entry into the franchise will be rated PG-13. Something about cybernetic death machines hellbent on erasing humanity screams just a little more edgy that PG-13 … but that’s just me.

Which Movie is Most Deserving of My Fanboy Ire?

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With Transformers being the main focus here on DDOY for the last year, I’ve found myself without a specific movie/project to get behind. As a fanboy, I feel obligated to second-guess and openly criticize someone whose abilities and vision eclipse that of my own. I’ve generated a list of potentials movies with release dates this year.

Iron Man [May 2, 2008] – I’ve been all over this for quite sometime, and have made public my undying love of the work that Director Jon Favreau has done thus far. However, with mere months before release … I may not have enough time.

The Incredible Hulk [June 13, 2008] - Other than some concept art and shirtless pictures of Edward Norton very little is widely known about this project. Hopefully, Marvel will remember that they are releasing this movie in a few short months.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army [July 11, 2008] – Guillermo Del Toro has been on a tear of late. Pan’s Labyrinth was easily the most terrifying yet visually stunning movie I saw last year. It wasn’t until recently that I got into Mike Mignola’s Hellboy books and was stunned as to how accurately Del Toro nailed the look and feel of Big Red and his team at the BPRD. BONUS: Selma Blair is wicked hot.

The Dark Knight [July 18, 2008] – This is a no brainer, but I don’t think I could do anything to help this movie get any more press that it already has … I mean Heath Ledger did take care of that now didn’t he? Batman Begins was damn near perfect, and I have complete faith in the sequel.

X Files 2 - [July 25, 2008] – Um, there’s an X Files sequel coming out this year? Not much is known about this movie, and as someone who watched the show regularly from Season 4 on … I was stunned when they had a panel at WonderCon a couple of weekends back. Very little is known about the plot other than it won’t necessarily deal with the alien conspiracy as seen in the first feature, X Files: Fight The Future. Lots or rumors, but nothing substantial … and has it been too long to motivate the legions of fanboys?

So, those of you out there in DDOY-land … what are you most looking forward to in 2008?

Absurdities & Oddities From Toy Fair 2008

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Sorry I haven’t been around, I got distracted by those naked pictures of Lindsay Lohan that invaded the Interweb (they are faptastic). For the last couple of days I have been rapt with attention to the goings on in NEw York City, more specifically Toy Fair ’08. It’s the big industry trade show where all of the major players show off their wares for the coming calendar year. As it is a press and industry insider event only, avid collectors like myself are relegated to updates from the usual players, ToyNewsI, AFHub, Action Figure Insider and so forth.

What infuriates me more than anything is when the manufacturers decide to insert various characters, costumes, vehicles, etc. that do not and will not exist within the respective movies/properties. Take for example this Batman figure from the upcoming line for The Dark Knight.

Action Figure Absurdities At Toy Fair 08

Photo Credit: [ToyNewsI]

What the fuck is that supposed to be? Chinese Fan Attack Batman? So Mattel is telling me that at some point during The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne will find that the only way to defeat the Joker & Two-Face is to develop an armor system that had a giant Chinese Fan? Well I don’t know what’s more absurd, this or the Iron Man mobile that Hasbro is pimping.

Iron Man Mobile? WTF?@?

Photo Credit: [Marvelous News]

Wait a second, Iron Man’s armor system can fly at supersonic speeds … why would he drive such an obvious piece of shit? Who am I kidding this is the same company that puts out Web-Copters for their Spider-Man lines. Hey, we all know they are marketing to 7-year olds but can we just stop with the nonsense? Please.

The Dark Knight Makes An Appearance

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Out of nowhere some pretty interesting stills from The Dark Knight appeared. No one could figure out where they exactly came from, Merrick over at AICN figured that they may have been from the Wizard World Chicago panel. Interestingly, the pictures already got pulled down from AICN at the request of Warner Bros. Legal. They’re still all over the place, so who knows if that’s legit. I’ve beginning to doubt the cojones that Harry and Co. claim to be swinging. More and more they appear to placate to the studios (but that’s a post for another time) Over at /Film, they reported first seeing them on IESB.net. Regardless of where they came from, they are pretty friggin’ sweet.

After the jump check out the rest of the images. They could be considered slightly spoilerific, so some of you may want to sit this one out. We get a glimpse of the new Batsuit, The Joker (which is surprisingly cool), and what appears to be the new Batcave. Excited yet? I sure am.

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The Joker Has Been Sighted

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There has been a good amount of effort by all types of fanboy types attempting to get a glimpse of Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight. There has been a good bit of Photoshop fakes, grainy long shots, and viral websites. Somehow an advantageous individual was able to get a glimpse of The Joker a couple of nights ago while they were doing some night shooting. Well I Watch Stuff somehow came up with this pretty decent shot.

This is probably the best look we are going to get until The Dark Knight panel at Comic Con in a couple of weeks. I think this is a good looking Joker. From what moles on the set have said, the Joker is a wholly and entirely deranged and will set a far different tone than that of Jack Nicholson’s take on the character. I must admit that I was among the skeptics when it was announced the Ledger would be taking on the maniacal clown, but in this snapshot he is certainly looking the part. The costume and makeup still bring that same sense of realism that Christopher Nolan already has done with establishing his Gotham.

I firmly believe that Batman Begins is a pitch perfect comic book adaptation, more so than Spider-Man 2. It’s easily in my Top 10 Movies (and I’m not talking comic book genre). Christopher Nolan is totally committed to his vision of Gotham City, and again has brought together a good supporting cast for Christian Bale. The Dark Knight will be hitting theaters in Summer 2008, which is already crowded with The Incredible Hulk & Iron Man.