Batman carries on beginning in ... The Dark Knight

ledger was awesome, so fun to watch, so unpredictable

I've got nothing against showiness, FWIW, but I did think it was incredibly predictable.

Not sure what you mean about Hannibal Lecter rip-offs. IIRC Hopkins was basically just a kind of oleaginous, exaggeratedly polite dude with a weakness for human flesh.

I think what bothered me about Ledger was that it's like OK, yes, good job acting "maniacal" but what's at stake? What does he want? Why does it matter if he gets it? I don't want the answers from the script, I want them from the give-and-take in a scene. Ledger/Nolan's Joker was in his own little world the whole time. Maybe you'll say yes, that's who the Joker is, he's in his own little world. Well, OK, but that leads to some pretty static, one-note perfs.

i don't know. i'm not sure i care very much about his motives, in the context of superhero movies (in other kinds of movies, i care a lot). in part it's because i'm not much of a fan of superhero films, but -- in particular -- i've been really bored by the "origin stories." it's one of the reasons that, in this genre of films, the second movie is often better than the first (it isn't bogged-down in the characters' origins and/or motivations).

Dramateacher Hand

it becomes clear over the film that the joker just wants everything to burn - that he just gets off on the chaos and perversion of it all

i mean, it's so clear that it's even in the dialogue

i mean the whole point was to play off the "who is he REALLY" thing and show it up as being kind of useless - i thought that was cool

Not sure what you mean about Hannibal Lecter rip-offs. IIRC Hopkins was basically just a kind of oleaginous, exaggeratedly polite dude with a weakness for human flesh.

― progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, August 31, 2010 2:40 PM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark

see some more bad serial killer movies. they're all freakin' polite and mannered now

or at least were for 10+ years after silence o the lambs

I think what bothered me about Ledger was that it's like OK, yes, good job acting "maniacal" but what's at stake? What does he want?

as s1 says, that's just the point. he doesn't give a shit at all. for him, nothing is at stake. you can make the case that that's not necessarily good drama, but it's not because of the performance.

hoping next movie is batman v. angry human centipede.

would allow them to acknowledge a lot of minor entries in the rogue's gallery, something i wish more superhero films would do in a montage or something

Argh, no. Dick Tracy did this and it was a terrible misuse of characters.

Yeah I don't know why Heath Ledger didn't consult me before taking on this role. LEARN FROM THE BEST, DUDE.

Anyway this is distracting from the real tragedy of Dark Knight, which is that Gary Oldman's mustache was scandalously unmentioned in the credits.

Ledger's performance is natural, haunted, tragic. I don't really care for the movie that much when he's not on screen, but it's easily one of my 10 favorite performances ever. Reminds me of Brando in Last Tango in Paris.

ok, to be more precise, I barely tolerate the movie when he's not on screen.

you hiss and swear at the screen and stamp your feet

more like reload ilx

matt otm. the performance is amazing: vibrant, funny, endlessly surprising. by far the best thing about either of nolan's batman movies, maybe the only good thing. totally mystified by tracer's objections.

Ledger's performance is natural, haunted, tragic. I don't really care for the movie that much when he's not on screen, but it's easily one of my 10 favorite performances ever. Reminds me of Brando in Last Tango in Paris.

wow

Well I've tried to explain it from about 8 million angles but at this point I'm just being annoying so I'm not going to try again. Actually probably well before this point. This movie sucked btw.

*overturns table and storms out*

HAND OUT

Let me know if they need to come to my office for discipline.

agreed with this pretty much

Nolan's filmography can perhaps be summed up by the iconic shot of the Joker in The Dark Knight, sticking his head out the police car window, oblivious to the dangers around him—an image of freed chaos. It's a small, lyrical moment, and it feels like it happened by accident. The shot is surrounded by so much plot detritus that it feels like a scream from a smarter, better film.

i think the movie is dope

a lil heavy handed but yeah -- forget joker, the opening scene is one of the best opening scenes in an action movie everrr

My least favorite major hit of the last five years. I put it on my Netflix queue to see if I still hate it.

a lil heavy handed but yeah -- forget joker, the opening scene is one of the best opening scenes in an action movie everrr

Too bad about the rest of the movie.

probably my most favorite major hit of the past 5 years

you should put it on your netflix queue to see if you still love it

I finally did: I was right.

well we haven't heard from deej yet

Come Anticipate Rewatching The Dark Knight.

I will always have love for this because of the nice shots of Chicago and because I took my dad to the IMAX rerelease and he geeked hilariously hard over it, but that ending monologue never made any serious sense to me until someone on Tumblr captioned a picture of Kanye with it in the wake of the Taylor Swift fiasco

you should put it on your netflix queue to see if you still love it

― real s1ock (s1ocki), Tuesday, August 31, 2010 9:57 PM (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i own it but ill put it in my netflix queue anyway

for balance

Come Anticipate Rescreening The Dark Knight.

So I've had it up to here waiting for a new Batman film to come out.

I don't think you actually have.

haha

I agree w Matt about Ledger being the only reason I will watch this movie.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

well, that and THE BATMAN VOICE.

other reasons-

michael caine
morgan freeman
looks great
fighting/action scenes & setpieces all great

love catching bits of this movie on HBO, as far as heavy-handed blockbusters go, there's a lot of bells and whistles and actors I like.

xpost!

do people think "I like michael caine/morgan freeman"?

what a very strange question

That scene w/Morgan Freeman and the dude who has figured out that Bruce Wayne is or is funding Batman is A+

i can't remember if it worked better the first time i saw it or not, but i think the movie would be pretty great if Nolan was capable of really injected an element of chaos (and fear of that chaos) into the movie. prob the best non-ledger scene in the movie is just before the big action set piece in the middle, with the police convoy setting out and you're wondering just what in the hell is about to happen...

i think the first one is a more enjoyable watch tbh

ilx hates all cinema, it's a conspiracy to send us back to the flipbook era

nah that's just morbs pining for what he grew up with

because he's old