The Dark Knight

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 12:07 pm

These Batman movies by Christopher Nolan are so much freaking better than the 90s-era slop it feels stupid even thinking about other Batman movies.

You might try to describe Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker in relation to Jack Nicholson, but why? They were on two different world with their performance and, currently, on two different worlds.

Two-Face's look was also excellent, and it's amazing what a little CGI can do in addition to makeup. With Tommy Lee Jones it was just, "Hey, let's put shit on his face!"

A lot of this movie could be cut and it would be the better for it (one of the car chases goes on forever) but this is an excellent movie, much much better than Batman Begins, and it's a shame it will be another 15 years before someone tackles the Joker, as Ledger completely made the role his own.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 5:11 pm

Without Ledger's Joker, the movie is "slightly above average" at best. However, that performance was so goddamn good that it elevates the entire movie, even the stretches (often long, confusing, and otherwise uncompelling) when he's not onscreen. Cuz you know he's OUT THERE, being the JOKER, and sooner or later he'll pop up again.

So:

PARTS OF MOVIE WITHOUT HEATH LEDGER ON SCREEN: **1/2 (two and a half stars!)

PARTS OF MOVIE WITH HEATH LEDGER ON SCREEN: **** (FOUR STARS!)

Move over Peter Finch, you're getting company in the Dead Oscar Winner club!

Now, who would win in a fight, the Joker or Daniel Plainview?

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:18 pm

I would have to go with the Oilman! The Joker's big thing is not beating the shit out of people with a bowling pin, after all?

hygraed · Post by **hygraed** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 8:56 pm

So, ladies and gentlemen, if I say that whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger, you will agree.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 10:52 pm

hygraed! It is great to see you again. I had feared that some of these other assholes had driven you off, as they do to everyone I do enjoy reading, one by one!

hygraed · Post by **hygraed** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:26 am

A man cannot be driven away by assholes when he is an asshole himself

savvyraven · Post by **savvyraven** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:29 am

As a Huge Batman Fan, I enjoyed the movie, but there were obvious flaws.
1)Quit making this shit for 13yr olds and give Nolan's vision the "R" it deserves. When the Joker kills someone, I want to see it, not some hacked up, quick cut version that I only slightly understand (but that could be my horror geek coming out).
2) Where's the scene with Joker at Arkham and he is sitting with his Psychiatrist, a nice shapely blond, and she says "Hi, I'm Harleen Quinzel"? I waited all throught the freakin' credits for that scene! Blasphemy, I tell ya.

Other than that, Ledger was awesome, but everyone knew that going in. Bale was delicious and Maggie, once again, never gets the good meaty roles she deserves.

Overall, my score is a fantabulous ****.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:05 am

savvyraven wrote:As a Huge Batman Fan, I enjoyed the movie, but there were obvious flaws.

Having calmed down some from the OMG awesomeness of it, I, too, would like to talk about its flaws!

- Bale's voice as Batman is a little weird.

- The whole sonar thing was a little...er... made-up? In 24 they are able to give Jack Bauer intel on who is where in the building he is infiltrating. Not that Morgan Freeman needs to be sitting there yelling at him the entire time, but that whole bit seemed goofy.

- The sub-plot of the guy who figured out who Batman is and wants $10 million a year probably could have been cut? Although I like the idea that he actually did the work again. If I were told that by my boss at Wayne Enterprises, I would have figured out how long the job would take and play Tetris for that amount of time. I guess that is why I could not get hired at Wayne Enterprises.

(SPOILER!)

- I didn't catch the fact that the Joker lied about who was in which Destroy-O (c) Brand Warehouse Room. I thought Batman went to save Dent. But reading about the movie afterwards, he went for Rachel, it's just that the Joker switched locations on him.

2) Where's the scene with Joker at Arkham and he is sitting with his Psychiatrist, a nice shapely blond, and she says "Hi, I'm Harleen Quinzel"? I waited all throught the freakin' credits for that scene! Blasphemy, I tell ya.

I bolted from both DK and Hellboy 2 once I saw the credits come up, but I was playing with fire in that there was nothing afterwards! If I catch Iron Man this week, which I hope to do as I know it's going to leave theatres soon, I'll have to stay even though I've already seen the last bit on Youtube. Guy-holding-camera-up-to-movie-screen is alive and well, by the way! I thought bootlegging died out with that Seinfeld episode.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:05 am

hygraed wrote:A man cannot be driven away by assholes when he is an asshole himself

I think Jim Gordon says that in the movie, for what it is worth, when Batman is running around an alley, so this is all very apropos.

savvyraven · Post by **savvyraven** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:18 am

Just to clarify for you, there was no scene with the lovely and wonderful Harley Quinn. I was just really really really hoping there would be.

Worm · Post by **Worm** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:27 pm

It is really unfortunate that Ledger killed himself.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:59 pm

Worm, he didn't kill himself! He overdosed! It was a horrible accident.

Kat, thank you for posting. If this place becomes an ugly, all-male production I am taking a handgun and sucking the boom boom parts out of it.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 12:42 am

Found this today.

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:51 am

hygraed wrote:So, ladies and gentlemen, if I say that whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger, you will agree.

It was better when Nietsche said it maybe a hundred years ago. Or was it Dostoyevski?

Yeah, it was Frederich Nietsche. "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger."