Movie Review: The Dark Knight

Keith:

Let me begin by saying that I'm a huge fan of Christopher Nolan and what he did with Batman Begins years ago, which redefined the Batman series. I've been excited for "The Dark Knight" since it was announced. A lot of times it can be a crap shoot as to whether the story content of a sequel will stand up to the reputation set forth by the previous film. The Dark Knight does not disappoint, Christopher Nolan's reputation remains intact, and the series is built very well on what was started, illustrating how Batman Begins was indeed just as its title states... "the beginning."

The story in The Dark Knight clearly articulates many morality issues, and how we as citizens of a society respond to them. Issues that make us all look in the mirror and re-question what we really stand for, and whether we have what it takes to stand for them even in the midst of total chaos and great despair. Some of the issues reminded me about how Americans deal with the Iraq war, that we should back out or regret getting involved. It is this struggle of how the characters deal with the issues and the choices they make that create the "dark" tone of the film which kind of left a feeling of depression in me when it was over, hence the film title "Dark Knight".

Comparing to Batman Begins... the only complaint that I had with the directing of Batman Begins was that the "camera work" was a little too close to see what was going on during fighting/action scenes. I was glad to see that Christopher Nolan pulled back a bit. He fixed this issue in The Dark Knight, giving him a perfect score from the director's chair.

It is said all over the Internet what great performances everyone gave... particularly Heath Ledger. I agree and don't want to sound redundant here. Every cast member played their role as expected and then some. Give credit to the cast, but I would also like to give credit to the director. A good director plays a key role in bringing out the best in the members of his team... like a good coach on any team.

If you liked Batman Begins, then go see The Dark Knight. It is one of those few sequel movies that bring the story to the next level. And if you've like both films, check out other movies that Christopher Nolan has directed, you won't be disappointed.

4 cars


*This film is not for children. Really adhere to the PG-13 rating. I let my kids watch Spiderman, but have not let them watch Batman Begins and for sure would not let them watch The Dark Knight. Also, if you have teens that do watch it, discuss it with them to make sure they understand the important things that are presented.

Eli:

The Dark Knight

Once in a while, a film comes along that is the perfect combination of action, drama, special effects, and great acting and directing. The Dark Knight is one of those films. Director Christopher Nolan reaches a new high with this masterpiece. Jeez, I sound like James Lipton saying those things...

The Dark Knight is a film that is truly inappropriate for anyone under 13, given the films dark themes and violence. I disagree with those, however, that felt the violence was excessive or unneeded. Every piece of dialog and action seemed to be carefully planned and add to the message of the movie. To me, that message was that humans are essentially good. If Heath Ledger's Joker had a purpose, it seemed to be to try to prove that humans are inherently evil, perhaps in a bid to justify his own horrible nature.

The Joker, however, seemed to have no real intention other than to cause chaos and terror in Gotham. He took terrorism to another level, showing the same disregard for his own life and others' shown by today's homicide bombers. Unlike the homicide bombers, though, the Joker doesn't believe that he has any higher purpose--he just wants to "watch the world burn." I was a little concerned when I heard the reports of the stellar performance given by Ledger, thinking that maybe they could be attributed to the post-mortem fondness of Hollywood. That turned out not to be the case, and Ledger's interpretation of the Joker was the crowning Jewel of the film. His redition of the character makes Jack Nicholson's Joker look very much like the cartoon character it was probably meant to be.

The other actors' performances were also excellent, with the exception of some of the mannerisms used by Christian Bale while in his Batman costume (I don't want to spoil it, so if you're curious what I mean contact me). The directing and production were equally brilliant, and the fight scenes much easier to follow than in Batman Begins. This is one of the few movies that you'll ever see that comes close to flawless, and well worth paying to see in the theater. I give it 3 1/2 cars.

*Bonus: picture of my daughter as Batman:

Movie Review: Wall-E

I worked late several nights this week and I think I got used to it because it's after midnight and I can't sleep. So, it's time for a movie review (the original purpose of FrontRunner Review).

Wall-E is the latest offering from Disney and Pixar, a futuristic sci-fi adventure with a clear environmental message. The movie is set at a time when humans have been forced to leave Earth because excessive pollution caused by unbridled consumerism has made the planet uninhabitable. Wall-E has been left behind to clean up the mess, along with an army of identical robots that have long since broken down. Wall-E and his pet cockroach are finally interrupted in their monotonous lives by a visitor (Eve) who comes to Earth with a special mission. Now it's up to Wall-E and Eve to see her mission through to completion for the good of mankind.

The creators of Wall-E did a great job creating loveable characters for this movie. It's no simple task to make inatomate objects like robots expressive and even cuddly, but they pulled it off with flying colors. In my mind, Wall-E bears a resemblance to E.T., while Eve looks like an iPod crossed with an egg:




Also, the producers were able to create a very involved dialog and convey a great deal of emotion and meaning between the robots using only about five words repeated over and over, by only varying the inflection and tone (think about the way that R2D2 spoke in Star Wars).

For those of you that are movie buffs, you'll notice plot similarities with 1972 sci-fi film Silent Running (I haven't seen this movie, and this fact was pointed out to me by someone else--thanks Chris). Also, several explicit references are made to 2001: A Space Odyssey, including the use of Also Sprach Zarathustra (the theme song from that movie). Interestingly, Wall-E treats the subject of the Also Sprach Zarathustra, that of the human race overcoming itself to become superior. However, in this case humans are taking a step forward after several steps backward.

A solid story line is matched by great animation in this film and topped off with a very capable cast, including Jeff Garlin, John Ratzenberger, Sigourney Weaver (yes, she's back in space , this time as the ship's computer), and the hilarious Fred Willard. This movie is definitely intended for younger audiences, so you're tweens and teens may not be very excited about it, and it's not Pixar's best effort. However, it's enjoyable and worth watching if you have small children, at least on DVD. As a bonus, the movie was squeaky clean and not too intense for my 3 1/2 year old daughter.

In all, I give this move a solid two and a half cars: