The Dark Knight Review - Here Be Spoilers

You have been warned.

The Dark Knight starts off with a Bank Robbery with clown-mask wearing robbers. Some guy called the Joker is calling the shots. It also seems that whenever someone accomplishes their task they are killed by the robber behind him, until only one remains. That one removes his clown mask to reveal a make-upped and scarred face. He is The Joker. I found it interesting that the Joker in this telling in fact wore make up to give him that pasty complexion. In Chris Nolan’s Batman, everything has to have a real feel element, and so if someone were to fall into a vat of toxins, they would die, rather than come out with white skin and green hair. This works for me. The next time the Joker appears, he is confronting a group of mob bosses, and starts to explain his plan. The mob bosses are mad at him, because it was their money he was stealing from the bank. The Joker then proceeds to do a magic trick, in which he makes a pencil disappear. This was probably the most shocking moment of the movie for me, because at this point we didn’t know what type of villain he would be, and bam… the pencil disappeared… eraser end first mind you. Yes, this was going to be a very intense movie. They weren’t pulling any punches with the Joker. He will go down as one of the best movie villains in the history of cinema. He was cruel, calculating, and quite frightening. He was also quite insane. I think my favorite Joker moment was when he was walking away from the hospital as it exploded. This felt right out of a comic book to me, which is why I enjoyed it so much. He started off the series of detonations *before* he was even out of the hospital. And then when the final kaboom didn’t happen… that was just classic. And to top it off his outfit made it all the more ludicrous. I can picture the scene in comic book format, and it is perfect. Yes, the Joker stole the show, but I don’t think he would have done without the characters he stole it from.

Don’t forget… there are spoilers present…

Batman… I absolutely love this Batman. He *is* the Batman from the comics. He is the bone breaking, shuriken throwing (albeit Batshaped shuriken), gadget toting, non-lethal Batman. I was 15 when Tim Burton’s Batman came out, and hadn’t read the comics. It didn’t bug me that Batman killed bad guys in Batman and Batman Returns. Then I found out that Batman doesn’t kill people in the comics, and those movies lost a little something. And then in Batman Forever, the Batman I knew would have saved Two-face. He was able to save Robin from the same death… heck, it would have been even better had Robin saved Two-face. Anyway, I digress. So when Batman chucked Joker off the building, in a split second I thought “Good… wait, no… Batman will have killed him if he hits the ground.” Then I think I sighed and rolled my eyes. Then the totally unexpected happened. Batman shot out his grapple thing, and saved the Joker’s life! I cheered! I was so happy! Chris Nolan understands Batman, and that is pleasing.

What? The spoilers don’t end there? Nope… in fact there’s some bad ones ahead…

Harvey Dent. He’s what the movie was all about. It truly was a Harvey Dent / Two-face movie, and Joker was the vehicle in which Harvey travels. Yes, Two-face had a different origin story in the comics, but this worked just as well. Actually it may have worked better. What better way for a man to snap then to have your girlfriend say she’ll marry you, and then hear her die. After the explosion, we finally get to see Two-face, and this was one of the few times Chris Nolan left his “grounded in reality” world of Batman. His scarred side was very shocking, and looked very similar to some of the comics, and the Batman Animated series, but honestly I was expecting something less… less being more in these movies. I figured his face would be that of a burn victim, which would have been shocking enough, but no… this time they went over the top, and I was a little disappointed by it. Character wise, Two-face was written very well indeed. And his final moments with the Gordon family and Batman were excellent. Including himself with the coin toss rotation, and the internal struggle as Jim plead with him, and then relying on the coin toss to make his decision. I was disappointed that Harvey died mainly because I was expecting him to be the villain in the next movie, but also pleased that Batman didn’t kill him. Batman saved the child and himself, and if he could have, he would have saved Harvey… I know he would have. That’s what Batman does.

Ahh… no more spoilers.

Soo… yes it did have a flaw here or there in my opinion, but they are very excusable. There was no sex / nudity, which in my books is a plus. There was no swearing that I recall, which in my books is a plus as well. And there was no over the top, graphic, blood splattering violence… that was shown. It was rated PG-13, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone under 14 seeing it, as it was quite disturbing and somewhat frightening. Having said that… this was almost a perfect movie from my point of view. I really hope that this group makes a 3rd movie, but only if they can make it as good as Batman Begins, because there is no way to top this one.

I give it 9.7 out of 10… it’s an arbitrary number and doesn’t really mean anything, but I think Two-face’s face not being grounded in reality lost a few points.

Oh yes, and if you have the means, see it in the IMAX… I totally recommend that.

The Big Picture

The Boston Globe has a blog called the big picture and today's was about the Chinese Military practicing anti-terrorist drills. I'm really not sure what to make of this shot...If you have a reader of some sort, like Google Reader, then I highly suggest adding The Big Picture to your list of feeds.

Must breathe... Hooooo heeeee hooooo heeeee

This is why I want a Wii... this has always *been* the reason for wanting a Wii. Especially after reading that The Force Unleashed Lightsaber isn't 100% reactive to your own movements.

Stolen from theforce.net (which stole from Lucasarts.com)

STAR WARS THE CLONE WARS: LIGHTSABER DUELS™ (Wii)Now everyone can experience the fun and excitement of a Lightsaber fight. Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels immerses you in the characters, locations, and epic duels from the all-new Star Wars animated feature film and TV series. Built from the ground-up for Wii™, Lightsaber Duels features an intuitive motion-controlled combat system that puts the Lightsaber™ weapon in your hand. Mastering the Jedi's distinctive weapon is now within any player's grasp.

-Fight the most memorable duels from The Clone Wars feature film and TV series.
-Wield your Wii Remote like a Lightsaber and experience first-hand the unique weapon of the Jedi knights with intuitive controls, so no matter what your gaming experience you can become a Lightsaber master.
-Play with your friends as your favorite Clone Wars hero or villain - from familiar characters like Anakin Skywalker and General Grievous to new faces like Ahsoka Tano and Asajj Ventress - each with a unique fighting style and set of skills.
-Exploit your interactive surroundings to defeat your opponent: slice down pillars and Force throw them against your foe.
-Duel your way through significant Clone Wars locations, such as Tatooine and Teth.

That's a Space Station!

So yup… she’s official. The Lego Death Star Playset. Holy SMOKES. I would love to have a set like this, because it just looks like so much fun to actually play with. It has 3800 pieces, and so at $500 CAD, the price has dropped to 13 cents per piece (usually 14 cents). On the other hand, the price in the states has risen to 10.5 cents (usually 9.5 cents). Good for us… bad for them. But here’s the kicker. When I mentioned earlier that it had 24 minifigs, I failed to notice one. The Dianoga! How sweet is that? (That’s the trash compactor monster for the uninformed out there.) So here’s a list of all the people you get.

Luke Skywalker™ (Stormtrooper™ outfit), Han Solo™ (Stormtrooper outfit), Assassin Droid™, Interrogation Droid, Death Star Droid, 2 Death Star Troopers™, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi™, C-3PO™, R2-D2™, Princess Leia™, Chewbacca™, Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight), Darth Vader™, Grand Moff Tarkin™, Emperor Palpatine™, 2 Stormtroopers, 2 Emperor's Royal Guards™, R2-Q5™, a mouse droid and the all-new Dianoga™ trash compactor monster!

Ayup… that’s a good amount. Anyway, I am pleased with this set, though at $400 US, I don’t think I have the means to buy it at this time… even for Alex. Perhaps in 3 or 4 years if it’s still available. Hey… my Star Destroyer is, and it came out about 6 years ago.

Review: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

On my way to the theater I found myself thinking “Do I really want to go see this movie? So many people have told me that it sucks, and that it diminished the other movies. That the CGI spoiled the movie and there was no urgency, no fear for the characters. Maybe I’d rather go see The Incredible Hulk.” Then I mentally slapped myself and said “What are you talking about… it’s Indiana Jones, and you must see it on the big screen no matter what anyone says.” So I did.

The movie starts out with the new Lucasfilm logo… well, not really new anymore, but new since 1997, but then the Paramount logo from 1982 appears and then it fades and turns into a mound of dirt in the exact same shape, just as it did in Raiders and Crusade (though those were a mountain and a rock formation, respectively). Anyway, when I saw that I knew that they were going to try very hard to be true to the characters and movies of the 80’s.

We get taken through the storage warehouse from the end of Raider’s of the Lost Ark, which we found out is at the Air Force Base, Area 51. Indy gets into a scrap with the Ruskies, and bullets start flying. Indy of course is not hit by any of them, because he’s Indy! I remember seeing this other movie, where the hero was being chased by a bunch of Natives and even though they are probably very efficient with their spears and blow guns when hunting game and warring against other tribes, they can’t seem to even knick the hero… what was that movie called? What? Oh yeah! Raiders of the Lost Ark!

Then it gets a little silly… ok… it gets a lot silly. He goes and gets himself blown up by a Nuclear bomb. But no, he saves himself in a fridge. Don’t worry… the fridge is lead lined, and apparently also has Inertial Dampers and is a Super Fridge that can keep things cool even though outside is 2000 degrees C. They had much cooler stuff in the 50’s because they *had* to be prepared for just such an emergency, and didn’t have to worry about the EPA saying that it’s bad for the environment. Indy just needs to be scrubbed down afterwards… no big deal. I’m going to put it out there that he also keeps a vial of water from the Holy Grail on hand at all times for just such an emergency. Yes, yes, the grail’s power loses effect beyond the great seal, but work with me here people.

So we go on. Indy is accused of being a commie and is fired. He makes mention of the death of Marcus Brodie and Henry Jones Sr. Funny that he said first Dad, then Marcus, because Denholm Elliot is actually dead, but Sean Connery isn’t. It should have been the other way around.

He meets up with a knife juggling greaser, there is a chase, and we get to hear the Wilhelm and they go to South America. There they find a crystal skull, and the Ruskies find them. They threw in the old Serial gag of “Native-about-to-kill-sidekick-with-blow-dart but hero-jumps-up-and-blows-dart-backwards” which never made sense to me because how would the poison tip stick in the guy’s mouth, but it was from the serials, so it must be included.

Oh yes… the crystal skull? Alien. Nuff said.

Anyway, was it a perfect movie? No. Did the CGI diminish it? Somewhat. Was there a feeling of urgency, and did you fear for the hero’s life? Not at all. Was it entertaining? In my opinion, very much so, although it was entertaining in the same why that Wile E. Coyote entertains me. Absolute absurdity. Do I think that George, Steven, Harrison, and David Koepp believe that someone could survive a Nuclear blast in a fridge? Do you? Did you say to yourself “That’s not realistic” or did you laugh and enjoy the humor of it. I laughed when I noticed the fridge flying over the car… I still feared for Indy’s life a little with the Ant scene, because there wasn’t an ant proof fridge to be seen. Actually I feared more for Indy’s hat then I did for Indy.

I’m not afraid to say it… I’ll shout it from the roof tops. I LIKED THE PREQUELS A LOT! I DIDN’T FIND JAR-JAR ANNOYING! AND I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL!!! There… I’ve said it. It was a fun movie that didn’t take itself seriously, and I will watch it again, and add it to my movie collection. This one ranks number 3 for me in the series. In this order: Raiders, Last Crusade, Crystal Skull, and a very distant 4th (5th or 6th if you include any of the video games) Temple of Doom (which I just really have a hard time watching… doesn’t entertain me at all).

I give Crystal Skull 3.5 Wah-PAA’s out of 5… it’s just an arbitrary number… it means nothing.

AFI 10 Top 10: A Rant.

So the American Film Institute (AFI) are a bunch of idiots. I thought the Academy Awards was political, but the AFI’s latest List is down right retarded. They did 10 categories and showed the top 10 movies in each category, that they felt were the 10 best for that category. Sports movies made sense; Gangster movies made sense; Sci-Fi movies mostly made sense… except for A Clockwork Orange. That movie was never on my books as Sci-Fi. And Westerns even made sense. Anyway… Fantasy made no sense at all. There was only one movie in the list that if you looked in the Fantasy section of a bookstore, would you find the novel of. That being Fellowship of the Ring. Umm… the only Fantasy movie to win a Best Picture Oscar was Return of the King… would *that* not qualify? Other “fantasy” movies in the list were Big, Groundhog Day, Field of Dreams, and Harvey. Those aren’t Fantasy… not really. I mean, yeah, they can’t happen in real life, but if that’s the only factor, where was Raiders of the Lost Ark? Actually I guess Harvey *can* happen in real life… it’s just a guy with an imaginary friend. I think I saw that in “A Beautiful Mind”. Fantasy should be about dragons or skeletons or magic. Where was the 7th Voyage of Sinbad? Where was Legend? Anyone ever hear of a movie called “The Dark Crystal”? The “#1” movie was The Wizard of Oz, which I would call fantasy, but was it better than Lord of the Rings? No… don’t be silly. 2001 A Space Odyssey was the number 1 Sci-Fi, with Star Wars (A New Hope) being #2. I guess you could say that 2001 was pure Sci-Fi, in that it is somewhat realistic and could even be achievable. It was an excellent book, but was it a good movie? I haven’t seen it, but others have called it boring, confusing, and artsie-fartsie. Now compare that to A New Hope. This movie changed the way Sci-Fi movies were made. It is a story of good vs. evil with good triumphing at the end. It’s a great movie that stands the test of time… at least it did until George went and made Han shoot second. 2001 obviously did not, because it’s 2008 and there’s still no moon base, space station with artificial gravity, or manned interplanetary space travel. It was rather funny that all but one of the Animated top ten were Disney or Disney-Pixar cartoons. The non-Disney cartoon was Shrek and it was number 8. Perhaps they don’t feel that Anime counts, because Akira was a dang fine movie. I hear that Princess Mononoke was also really good. What about Chicken Run or Curse of the Ware-rabbit? Both were really excellent animated movies. Oh yes… the #1 Romantic Comedy was a Charlie Chaplin silent picture called “City Lights”. Why? Quoting the AFI president: “When 'City Lights' is honored as the number 1 romantic comedy, millions of people will go back and watch it again." So basically they aren’t honoring any films, they are just using it as a 3 hour TV commercial for a bunch of movies that people don’t care about any more, and they throw some in that people do care about to keep them interested. Annie Freaking Hall. Anyway… I had to rant about that.

That's no moon!

Holy smokes! A Death Star playset is coming, and it looks like it will be very playable with. I just might have to buy this one, and put it away for Alex for when he's a touch older...

You can go here to see more pics. There are 24 minifigs that come with this set! TWENTY FOUR!!! 3 different Lukes! That's crazy! It also comes with a not quite mini TIE-Advanced X1 which also floats my boat.

Kudos to the Lego group for this one.