The Dark Knight

Yesterday morning, the family and I went to see The Dark Knight. We have been looking forward to this movie for a very long time, as have many Batman fans. I know everyone is writing and talking about this movie right now, and I will probably not say anything that hasn't already been said. I've heard talk about people being tired of comic book and superhero movies, I can understand that to a certain extent. Despite the fact that this movie is based on a comic book, it's not a superhero or comic book movie. This movie is emotionally tense, I would not recommend it for younger viewers, though there isn't really any blood shed (not on screen anyway).

Christian Bale gives a masterful performance as usual. Michael Caine, as Alfred, is wonderfully understated as the father figure. He provides Batman with support and acts as a foil for his guilt when needed. Morgan Freeman returns as Lucius Fox acting as Batman's conscience and the CEO of Wayne Interprises. Rachel Dawes, now played by Maggie Gyllenhaal (a big improvement), is back. She is working with and dating Harvey Dent, the new D.A. Heath Ledger was beyond phenomenal as the Joker. Traditionally, because of the genre, Ledger would not be nominated for an Oscar in this role. I am hoping that all the buzz in Hollywood is right, sadly it will be posthumous, but greatly deserved.

In many ways, this movie was more of a Joker movie than a Batman movie. This Joker was terrifyingly insane. He was cruel, vindictive, devious. The elaborate schemes he develops while claiming to not be a schemer. He sees himself as an agent of chaos. The mannerisms used by Ledge intensify the lines of the Joker. The body language is far from over the top, in fact they seem restrained. This aids in the feel of a barely controlled madness, which is at the same time not controlled at all.

I have to admit when the credits rolled, I got a little teary. Not just because of the psychological horrifying situations in the movie, but because of the loss of such a talented man as Heath Ledger. I had just watched the last performance, and in my opinion the best, of this young man.

And People Say Movies Aren't Educational

I've gotten to watch four movies recently, one in the theater. Let me start off with that one, "The Incredible Hulk." I remember watching the show as a kid, though my parents were told by others that we shouldn't be allowed to because it would give us nightmares. BAH! We went and saw it as a family, as we tend to do. Everyone enjoyed the movie. Lots of action, it even got intense at times. It's amazing what judicial use of sound effects can do, that excessive amounts of blood can not. The casting was perfect. The Hulk looked so much better than in the other movie. They even got in all the necessary cameos, including Bill Bixby. It was almost as good as "Iron Man". I am looking forward to the Thor, Captain America, and Avenger movies.

The least favorite of my four recent movies was "The Superhero Movie", a parody film. It was stupid and funny all at the same time. Not a bad way to kill a couple of hours. Drake Bell was really good as our Spidey character.

The other two films were romantic comedies: "Definitely, Maybe" and "The Holiday".

We watched "Definitely, Maybe" last night. One of the reasons I wanted to see this movie was Ryan Reynolds, he's hilarious in everything he does. You may know him from "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place" or "Blade: Trinity". He even had a small role in "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle". One of my favorite Ryan Reynolds movies is "Waiting", it's about a group of waiters at a restaurant, it is disgustingly funny. The premise behind "Definitely, Maybe" is that his daughter receives a sex education class at school, and it results in her wanting to know the story of her parents and how they got together. Dad agrees to tell the story, but only if he changes the women involved names. The girl makes a game out of trying to figure out which of the women from her father's past is her mom. This movie is very sweet, and it showcases how complicated love can be. It was also very funny.

Now to the movie that actually taught me something, "The Holiday". A cast of actors that I love was the big draw to this movie: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black, and even Jude Law. The plot: two women that are both trying to recover from breakups decide to escape to another country over the Christmas holidays. Amanda, Cameron Diaz's character, has an inner-monologue that sounds like the movie phone guy. Hilarious. The courtships in this story are very stumbling, and in that way they feel real, though they are exaggerated for comedic effect. The thing I learned from this movie was that there is a relatively inexpensive way to travel the world. You can actually sign up to trade houses with people all over the world. I didn't think it was a real thing, so I did a Google search. It is real. Now all I need is to own a home, then world travel will be within my grasp.

The Golden Compass

I just got back from watching "The Golden Compass" with the family, good times, good times.

I'm the only one in the family that has read the books by Philip Pullman, they are some of my favorite YA books of all time. In many ways similar to Harry Potter, but the writing is more sophisticated and a much more subtle form of story telling. Where Harry Potter leans to imaginary magic to elicit a fantastic world, Pullman creates a "magical" world with concepts of quantum physics.

A brief synopsis of the story for those of you who haven't read the book: Lyra, a girl of about 10, is being raised at a University as an orphan at the behest of her Uncle Azrael. In this world, a person's soul is not inside them, but in the form of an animal companion called a daemon. Her best friends are Roger, a kitchen boy, and Billy, a Gyptian boy (kind of like gypsies). The school is trying to educate her and turn her into a lady, but being a precocious, independent and cunning lass, she is having none of it. Everyone is hearing rumors of these horrible creatures, the Gobblers, that are taking poor kids off the streets. The Gobblers take her friends Roger and Billy, this helps start Lyra on a great adventure that takes her on a journey to the great mysterious North to fight the Gobblers. Before setting out on her adventure, she receives a "Golden Compass", a device that allows her to ask questions and find the truth. On the way, she gets help from the Gyptians, a Texas Aeronaut, and an armored bear. The Gobblers are a part of a bigger organization that is afraid of a substance called Dust and doesn't want anyone to know about the parallel world that can be seen in the North. I have, of course, left out details and spoilers.

This is one of the best adaptations of a book to film I've seen in some time. It made exposition as concise and clear as possible, though some of the complexities and plot twists are lost. There were large parts of conversation in the film that came directly from the book. They did a great job of bringing some of the subtleties from to book into the film using the daemons. The girl playing Lyra fit her description to a T and did a great job as well. In fact, the whole cast was fabulous. Great cinematography and use of CGI. They definitely left the end open for the sequel, in fact they stopped the movie before the end of the first book.

The whole family can enjoy the story and adventure, though I wouldn't recommend for kids under 6, they would probably get bored during the story developing segments. I think the husband's favorite part was the fight between two armored bears. I'm not sure which part was my favorite, I think my favorite moments actually contain spoilers for the plot, so I guess they'll have to remain secret.

Go and see this movie.

I am Legend

The husband and I went to see "I am Legend" a week ago Saturday. We were able to do so because my mom called and wanted the kid for the night, a one night pass from "baby jail".

Now my husband and I have both read the book by Richard Matheson. It's a great book, short but intense. If you aren't a fan or horror and have passed this book by because it's in the horror section, reconsider. It is an amazing character study and looks at the true nature of good and evil. If you enjoyed the movies "Somewhere in Time" and "What Dreams May Come", I strongly suggest reading all three books by Matheson.

I know many people were weary of Will Smith being in the role of Robert Neville because they think of "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" or "Men in Black". If you have never seen the episode of "Fresh Prince" when Will is shot by a mugger, I highly recommend it. You will also see that even in those early years he had some serious acting chops. I was not concerned with Will's acting ability but with possible directoral choices. I was very afraid they would have him do his catch phrase from Independence Day, "Ah, hell no!" They didn't do it.

Now onto the actual film...

For most of the movie Robert Neville is alone, except for his dog, after a virus rips through the human race, either killing them or causing them to attack their fellow humans. We discover about him through flashbacks that show his wife and daughter. At the opening of the movie Neville has been alone for 3 years, and is showing signs of losing his mind, though the signs are very subtle. The director used a great combination of subtle techniques to show Neville's mind starting to slip, including his dialogue, body language and interaction with his environment. We see Neville clinging to daily rituals, partly out of survival necessity and partly to maintain his sanity. In this updated version, he is a scientist/soldier that was part of the team to cure the virus, and though he thinks he is the only person left alive he continues to seek a cure. This was also true in the Charleton Heston version, "Omega Man," though it was not true in the book. The writer and director did a great job of adapting the book to film for the most part. They did alter the mentality of the infected to an animal state of intelligence, with the exception of the alpha male, while in the book they retain their human intelligence. Sadly, they did alter the ending and lose the message of the novel. I will not explain how the ending was altered as that will spoil both the movie and the book.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie a lot.

Birthday

About a week ago it was the girl's birthday, she was terribly excited because of her party and the fact that Spiderman 3 opened on her birthday. In honor of this she decided to have a Spiderman birthday party. None of the people from school that she invited showed up, this turned out to be a good thing since several unexpected people showed up.

We went to see Spiderman on opening day, she loved it, me not so much. It was entertaining, but I wanted more character development and less camp.

There is a picture of her birthday cake. I made it myself.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I took The Girl to see TMNT today. I loved the Turtles as a kid, but was concerned about them revisiting the franchise. I have seen too many franchises revisited and ruined.

All I can say is that it was HAWESOME!! They didn't rehash the beginning of the turtles, they didn't remake the old movie, but continued the story from when the stuff in the 80's left off. Now I loved the original movies, with the turtle suits and all.

They updated it a little, not in the references, but April and KC are living together. April isn't a reporter but has a cargo business and knows about archeology. Not only that, but she has trained and kick but with a sword.

All the characters retained their original personalities. There is character development and a plot. The fight scenes were beautifully choreographed. Some will say, "But it was animated." All the fight scenes still have to be worked out. There is one where two characters are fighting on the roof top in the rain and the individual raindrops dripped down faces or bounced off.

Everyone that likes the Turtles should see this movie, hell, even if you are just a fan of action movies go see it.

A Late Review

I know this movie has been out on DVD a while, but I borrowed it from my parents and watched it last night. Miss Congeniality 2, a Sandra Bullock sequel to the hit Miss Congeniality, was enjoyable. It starts off with the FBI offering Ms. Hart a job as the "face of the FBI" after a sting operation at a bank goes wrong because she is recognized by the people. Ms. Hart is upset about her field days being over and then gets the double whammy of her boyfriend breaking up with her.
We then introduce the other half of the team, another woman agent with anger management issues. Hart takes her on to prevent her from being transferred, needless to say, she isn't grateful. You get the fairly standard bickering as with all reluctant buddy movies. William Shattner returns in his role from the first film.

It is a funny and enjoyable movie. It does pull some of the gags and jokes from the first movie, but not overly much. If you need a lighthearted romp with decent chemistry between the cast members I recommend this movie.

Two Movies in Two Nights

I got a rare treat this weekend, I got to see two movies in as many nights.

On Friday, I took my daughter, Aislinn, and her friend, Elizabeth, to see Bridge to Terabithia. I had read the book over a decade ago in college and until I was the previews I forgot that there was any fantasy elements in it.


The movie is visually beautiful, not just the parts where the CGI fantasy characters show up but in the way that it is shot to help convey the innocence of our heroes. The opening credits take the drawings and bring them to life while still looking like drawings, it's lovely artwork and gives a good sense of the movie.

The basic story is mainly about Jesse, a poor boy in a small town, he is picked on by the school bullies. He loves to race, which he tries to use to gain the respect of the bullies, and drawing, which he hides from everyone. It's the day of the big race and his mom throws out his shoes and gives him a pair of his sister's old sneakers (They're pink, oh the horror). This is also the day that the new girl, Leslie, shows up. She's cute, but her style is a bit shocking to the small town kids. The race starts and both Jesse and Leslie race, Jesse pulls ahead of the bullies but is defeated by the "new girl". Jesse is a shy, reserved boy and Leslie is the opposite of him. They become friends through her efforts. She's helps him relax and encourages his drawing. They develop a close friendship and create an imaginary world in which to escape the bullies at school.

This is a beautiful story about friendship, love, bullying, family struggle, and the power of imagination. If you read the book, you will be glad to hear that they stuck very close to it. If you are looking for a lighthearted, silly kids movie this isn't the one to go to. It isn't scary, but parts are deeply emotional. I wouldn't recommend this movie for small children, there is not a lot of action.

Last night my sister and I went to the movies together, we wanted to see Pan's Labyrinth, IMDB.com told me it was showing at AMC 30. We got there and no Pan's Labyrinth. We ended up going to see the new Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore romantic comedy, Music and Lyrics.

Hugh is funny as always and Drew is her usual charming self. Hugh Grant is playing a has been 80's pop star from a band called Pop. Drew is a slightly neurotic girl that is taking care of his plants for a couple of days.

Hugh's character gets a chance to write a song for Cara, the biggest star in rock, and Drew is there when he is working on it. She spouts off some decent lines and he begs her to help him. This is not a surprising comedy, but it is funny, sweet, charming and enjoyable.

In place with the idea of him being a 80's Has-Been, at the end credits the movie makers chose to take a page from VH-1's Pop-Up Video show and update you on events using speech bubbles over one of "Pops" old videos. The song they write is sweet and a little catchy, I was singing along by the end of the movie.