The Nomasphere

The Final Cut: Review of The Dark Knight
        Well, this is my 3rd time saying it this year, but The Dark Knight is the new best film of the year for me.  First it was In Bruges, then Wall-E (even though personally I’d still prefer In Bruges based on Subject) and now the honor goes to the Bat.  More specifically you could say it goes to a terrifically well acted film, with two particular shining stars in Heath Ledger, who rightfully deserves an Oscar for being the most believably psychotic, down-right frightening Clown in movie history (take that Pennywise, the Joker would give you Nightmares) and Aaron Eckhart playing at the duality of Harvey Dent and the monster he becomes.  Bale, Oldman, and Caine also step up far above par, though as the Batman, Bale’s voice gets exhausted on you very quickly. 

        The film is very high octane and accomplishes a whole lot within 2 and a half hours, like any Nolan film you have to either view it a few times or pay close attention to follow the whole of the plot, I did the later and it held up extremely well.  On top of everything, I was happy to see they delved deeper into many of the themes found in the comic and came out with a truly remarkable story.  By the end, you find yourself wishing it was longer, longing to see more of Ledger and Bale as Bruce Wayan. 

        The whole cast adds a lot and in the end you wind up with a dark, hard PG-13 film, with enough violence, romance, dark comedy, suspense, shocks and drama to appeal to a wide audience.  I went into the film expecting it to be the hype it was given, sadly I wouldn’t call it the greatest film ever made, but I would say it’s the greatest film I’ve seen all year and while it may not have the cultural impact of something like the Godfather or Schindler’s List, it does so much to keep you enthralled, entertained and above all smiling from the edge of your seat.  With some highly memorable lines, a deep satisfying ending and an awe inducing performance led by Ledger the film will likely be the best you’ve seen in a while.  So smile, Why so Serious?   

Overall: 5/5

See it, maybe even twice, buy it when it comes out

            This movie for all its ridiculous over-the-top, Michael Bay on crack action sequences, possessed a kind of charm.  The plot is kind of challenging which is nice, but I found the opening narration to be the best feature of the whole film.  James McAvoy’s narration was reminiscent of films like American Psycho and American Beauty and made me think the film could have really been better if it kept this flair throughout. 

            The film is about an accountant whose life is going nowhere.  Soon he finds out that his dad used to be the head of an organization of assassins, known as the fraternity.  The fraternity then proceeds to recruit him and save his life from the man who murdered his father.  They then train him so he can personally avenge his father by curving bullets and flipping cars.

Danny Elfman provided an excellent adrenaline fueled soundtrack which really added to the pacing of the movie. The film for the most part was extremely fast paced and action packed with fewer then 10 minutes in between a bullet or a fist hitting someone in the head for the duration of the hour and 45 minute running time. 

Anyone can see this is a popcorn flick and generally requires your brain to relax and not take it entirely serious.  For all the ridiculousness of the film it was infinitely better then Shoot-em-up which features a similar style of action. I’d definitely give it a watch

Overall: 3.5/5

You know I may only see this film a handful of times in my life, but I will always remember it as kind of revolutionary.  I’ve never seen any film in recent years do so much with so little dialogue.  I’ve never seen an animated film with so much social commentary that it can package it in a way that’s rated G.  Many people won’t like this film, likely they are manly men who do man things and will deny having watched this.  However, while I can say I love Gladiator and 300, I can’t believe how charmed I was by this movie. 

This movie wonderfully accomplishes Science Fiction, dazzling visual animation, social satire and at its heart is a tale of pure love.  The characters of Wall-E and Eve are the 2 most sympathetic robots I’ve seen in cinema with just a smidgeon more dialogue than R2-D2.  Yes, Wall-E reminds me and many others of Johnny 5, which makes him just a hair more awesome. 

The score and minimalistic voice-work is excellent and compliments the visuals.  The movie delivers a nostalgic flair, as you watch Wall-E learn how to be human using all the crap we left behind, from a Rubik’s cube to Pong.  In general a fantastic film that appeals to all audiences, sweet and endearing, it may just surprise you.

Overall: 5/5

I will start by saying I have never read a Hellboy comic.  But I did thoroughly enjoy the first film, seeing it in the theatre opening day.  I gave the same love to the second film seeing it on July 11^th. 

Hellboy 2 is very different from the first. The setting and plot gave Del Toro more imaginative freedom to create the dark fairy tale creatures he enjoys.  Because of this, the sequel is full of these imaginative creatures more-so then human beings.  This changes the entire ambience of the film.  However, the humor, the one-liners and the action remain relatively unchanged in style. 

Ron Perlman delivers an awesome performance and you can tell he really enjoys playing the character.  Seth MacFarlane, of Family Guy fame, even has an important voice role, which is odd, considering he’s pretty much just doing a modified version of the fish from American Dad.  Selma Blair passes off as neurotic, pyrokinetic Liz. While not really shining in her role, she does serve as an excellent foil to Hellboy and his rascally behavior.

The film delivers in many aspects and manages to outshine the first.  You’ll find yourself awed at the visual effects or laughing at a certain scene featuring a Barry Manilow song.  Aside from pacing issues and a little heavy-handed foreshadowing that leads to a lot of expected twists, I’d still recommend you treat yourself to an awesome fantasy/action/comedy that seems to bridge the gap between dark fairy tale and comic action wonderfully.

Overall: 4.5/5

courtesy of http://www.postergeek.com/WallPapers/Hellboy2/hellboy2-1.jpg