Before I start with The Dark Knight, I have to say that I went to see Mamma Mia! again today, and I enjoyed it even more than I did the first time! It's just such a FUN movie. It's definitely something I will buy as soon as it comes out on DVD.
On to The Dark Knight. There was so much hype about this movie, I was almost afraid to see it. Sure, I was intrigued, and I thought Batman Begins was terrific. Heck, I even liked all the "other" Batman movies with everyone and their brother taking turns playing Batman. I've decided that almost anyone looks pretty darn good in that batsuit. But I've always been a sucker for Batman -- he's my favorite superhero, although Iron Man may rival him in my book. Especially if it's Robert Downey, Jr. playing him.
But, I digress...as I was saying, I was almost afraid to see it. I was looking forward to it for a really long time, and with Heath Ledger's passing the hype multiplied exponentially. THAT is what scared me. I started to think that the movie in no way would live up to expectations, especially with people talking about how it was Heath Ledger's best performance, that he was a genius, blah, blah, blah. I was beginning to convince myself that everyone was just saying that Heath was great in it. But you know what? They were right.
I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly magazine, mostly because it keeps me informed about movies, tv shows, music, and books that are out there. I read an article about Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight, including how his look as the Joker was in-part created by him. He decided to see what it would look like if he just started smearing makeup all over his face. This gave him a darker, mad look than Jack Nicholson's precisely-painted look in the 1989 version of "Batman."
Heath's performance was a far cry from Brokeback Mountain, which is probably what makes him shine as an actor. I found myself "looking" for Heath Ledger in the Joker's face. But all I could see was the Joker. I really believed that he was pretty psycho. Some of the facial expressions and quirks were really amazing. The movie was worth seeing just for his performance alone. However, there was another actor who really impressed me in this movie, Aaron Eckhart, who played Harvey Dent, an Assistant District Attorney. I've seen him in other movies before like "No Reservations," but I really enjoyed his performance in The Dark Knight. I don't want to give away too much for those of you who haven't, but intend to, see it, but suffice it to say that something occurs in the movie that really allows him to stretch himself as an actor and makes him shine.
As far as the plot goes, it's pretty good. Maybe not stellar, and it's fairly typical of superhero movies, but I have to say that I was shocked at the turn of events in this movie. I am normally the type that is pretty good at guessing where things are going and anticipating surprises, but there are a couple of things that happened in this movie that really surprised me. I kept thinking, "no, that's not right, something's going to happen to turn this around." But it never did. So that element of surprise really added something for me.
The short synopsis is that Batman, played by Christian Bale who I think has the greatest looking Batman lips ever, is trying to stop the Joker from wreaking havoc on Gotham City. In the meantime, Batman is trying to figure out if he can trust the new assistant DA, Eckhart, who happens to be dating his former flame, Rachel Dawes (now played by Maggie Gyllenhaal -- Katie Holmes played this role in Batman Begins). So, predictably, there is also a love-triangle in this story as well.
And if you want to play a little game of Six Degrees of Separation: Maggie Gyllenhaal is the older sister of Jake Gyllenhaal, who was Heath Ledger's lover in Brokeback Mountain. Which, by the way, is a movie I didn't "get." Don't get me wrong, my views on same-sex relationships are very liberal, and I don't mind it being the topic of a movie, but whether it was two men, or a man and a woman, I still didn't get it, nor did I get what the big deal was about that movie. I was glad that "Crash" beat it and won the best picture award during the 2005 Oscars.
Once again, I'm getting sidetracked. Suffice it to say that this is a good movie and you should go see it. While I am more likely to watch Mamma Mia! over and over and over again, The Dark Knight definitely has a broader appeal and seeing Heath Ledger as the Joker is worth the price of admission alone.
On to The Dark Knight. There was so much hype about this movie, I was almost afraid to see it. Sure, I was intrigued, and I thought Batman Begins was terrific. Heck, I even liked all the "other" Batman movies with everyone and their brother taking turns playing Batman. I've decided that almost anyone looks pretty darn good in that batsuit. But I've always been a sucker for Batman -- he's my favorite superhero, although Iron Man may rival him in my book. Especially if it's Robert Downey, Jr. playing him.
But, I digress...as I was saying, I was almost afraid to see it. I was looking forward to it for a really long time, and with Heath Ledger's passing the hype multiplied exponentially. THAT is what scared me. I started to think that the movie in no way would live up to expectations, especially with people talking about how it was Heath Ledger's best performance, that he was a genius, blah, blah, blah. I was beginning to convince myself that everyone was just saying that Heath was great in it. But you know what? They were right.
I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly magazine, mostly because it keeps me informed about movies, tv shows, music, and books that are out there. I read an article about Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight, including how his look as the Joker was in-part created by him. He decided to see what it would look like if he just started smearing makeup all over his face. This gave him a darker, mad look than Jack Nicholson's precisely-painted look in the 1989 version of "Batman."
Heath's performance was a far cry from Brokeback Mountain, which is probably what makes him shine as an actor. I found myself "looking" for Heath Ledger in the Joker's face. But all I could see was the Joker. I really believed that he was pretty psycho. Some of the facial expressions and quirks were really amazing. The movie was worth seeing just for his performance alone. However, there was another actor who really impressed me in this movie, Aaron Eckhart, who played Harvey Dent, an Assistant District Attorney. I've seen him in other movies before like "No Reservations," but I really enjoyed his performance in The Dark Knight. I don't want to give away too much for those of you who haven't, but intend to, see it, but suffice it to say that something occurs in the movie that really allows him to stretch himself as an actor and makes him shine.
As far as the plot goes, it's pretty good. Maybe not stellar, and it's fairly typical of superhero movies, but I have to say that I was shocked at the turn of events in this movie. I am normally the type that is pretty good at guessing where things are going and anticipating surprises, but there are a couple of things that happened in this movie that really surprised me. I kept thinking, "no, that's not right, something's going to happen to turn this around." But it never did. So that element of surprise really added something for me.
The short synopsis is that Batman, played by Christian Bale who I think has the greatest looking Batman lips ever, is trying to stop the Joker from wreaking havoc on Gotham City. In the meantime, Batman is trying to figure out if he can trust the new assistant DA, Eckhart, who happens to be dating his former flame, Rachel Dawes (now played by Maggie Gyllenhaal -- Katie Holmes played this role in Batman Begins). So, predictably, there is also a love-triangle in this story as well.
And if you want to play a little game of Six Degrees of Separation: Maggie Gyllenhaal is the older sister of Jake Gyllenhaal, who was Heath Ledger's lover in Brokeback Mountain. Which, by the way, is a movie I didn't "get." Don't get me wrong, my views on same-sex relationships are very liberal, and I don't mind it being the topic of a movie, but whether it was two men, or a man and a woman, I still didn't get it, nor did I get what the big deal was about that movie. I was glad that "Crash" beat it and won the best picture award during the 2005 Oscars.
Once again, I'm getting sidetracked. Suffice it to say that this is a good movie and you should go see it. While I am more likely to watch Mamma Mia! over and over and over again, The Dark Knight definitely has a broader appeal and seeing Heath Ledger as the Joker is worth the price of admission alone.
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