The Dark Knight thread.

[ryhoyarbie]

So ever since seeing it, I've been speculating on the possibilities of a third installment.

Fox told Bruce Wayne his bat suit was cat proof. Could be a reference to whom the next villain is, though I never really thought of Catwoman as a villain.

 

[RedPiggy]

There are 2 ways I could see Harley:

Comedic version: Like those Bat-impostors, she's just some cheap nut "honoring" Mr. J before getting taken out in 5 minutes by Batman at the beginning of the film.

Serious version: Mr. J has been sent to Arkham, where another villain (the main one) has beaten him to a pulp or killed him. Dr. Quinzelle flips out and sets out to punish both that villain AND Batman (for catching Mr. J in the first place). Rather than an actual jester suit, she could just have a tatoo of one (either serious or cartoony would work). Should they bring back Two-face, she could pose as Rachel to mess with him. Should they bring in Ra's daughter, they could team up, since they both lost their criminal loved ones and would have something in common.

 

[peyjenk]

I like those ideas.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

We've argued on whether it'll reach the $200 million mark by the end of the weekend, but it'll earn enough to shatter Spider-Man 3's record from last year.

Didn't quite reach that hight, but it did shatter Spider-Man 3 with an estimated 155 million to making it the biggest opening weekend of any movie in history! When international numbers come it it could be a different story for over all take in.

 

[frogboy4]

The brief frogboy review.

The Dark Knight​

Overall

I saw the Dark Knight last Friday evening and was blown away. I hardly noticed the time as two hours and thirty-two minutes rolled by. That is rare for me. There is absolutely nothing I would cut from the picture, but Nolan did give much of the film’s scenes a little more breathing room than needed. Tightening up the edges of what was already there could easily take a good ten to twelve minutes off the running time without losing any content. It might have given the film an extra kick it appeared to need for the more fidgety moviegoers. Nevertheless, the film receives an enthusiastic 98% (near A +) from me. The best film of the year so far. It is missing nothing. If anything it has about 2% too much.

The Joker

It is sad that Heath Ledger has passed away. The one true disappointment of this film is that he will not be able to reprise his role. By the way, for any detractors – this is the Joker. The film focuses on his preexisting sadistic side more than his pranks and his white skin is painted on (the Joker actually doesn’t wear makeup) but this fits the gritty tone that Nolan has established for this telling. Jack Nicholson was a genius in reinventing the character just as Tim Burton had a beautiful, heavily modified, pop art look at the film in general; however the Joker was never some aging, stout, balding character that killed Bruce Wayne’s parents. Nobody ever really knows where he comes from and the Dark Knight handles that humorously. There are no shades of personal turmoil in Ledger’s pitch perfect performance. His scenes are intense and just like a schizophrenic, his demeanor and accent change to mold what the situation demands. This performance is what Oscars were made for.

Other Players

Christian Bale takes a little more of a back seat here than before because no matter what – no one outshines the Joker. Bale does give a little more variety of emotion in this film than in Begins. Maggie Gyllenhaal puts in a respectable performance as Rachael Dawes (replacing the weightless performance by Katie Holmes). I just wish it had been her in both pictures. Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent/Two Face was well written and executed. In every comic book telling, as in classic Greek myths, things are altered a little to facilitate a new perspective. Nolan keeps the integrity of the character intact while adding a new veneer to the character that solidifies the story. Morgan Freeman is back (like he ever sleeps) in another fantastic performance as does Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and my favorite Cillian Murphy!

The Movie

There is so much to this film that keeps coming to mind. It plays out in a different rhythm than typical movies. This, of course, is Christopher Nolan – the director who’s film Memento ran in reverse! He sees things differently. Directors like Coppola might think that every story has been told, but Nolan continues to prove that there’s enough possibilities left for unique film language, structure and storytelling to keep films from becoming stale and formulaic. It almost plays like a miniseries cut into one solid film. There are many movies here that work as a cohesive whole. This motion picture is a tad looser than I would like – not by much at all. It also tackles some current social and political issues without tying them up with a neat little bow. This is not the sweet goosebumpy message of Spider-Man 2 that I enjoyed. The Dark Knight has a scattered but hopeful view of humanity. This lends the film a gritty resonance rare in big budget American cinema. It took a British director to show us that such a film can be a runaway success.

I love this movie. I love Batman. There must be another!

 

[RedPiggy]

I would say Joker is more disassociated than schizophrenic (studying for a psych exam). Just to be accurate.

Although they never get to an honest origin for him, I would think that someone he idolized scarred him (emotionally or physically or both), since his ONLY consistent trait is that he wants to humble the proud and villify the good.

 

[frogboy4]

I would say Joker is more disassociated than schizophrenic (studying for a psych exam). Just to be accurate.

Although they never get to an honest origin for him, I would think that someone he idolized scarred him (emotionally or physically or both), since his ONLY consistent trait is that he wants to humble the proud and villify the good.

Hmm...I can see that. I always noted schizophrenics as beeing the ones who change their tonality of voice with different situations. Well that and "cocktail personalities" he he. We all know those types. They can be even scarrier.

Good, but too dark. And the whole time while I was watching the movie, I kept on thinking back to the movie's tag line "why so serious"? Indeed, the movie didn't have to be that serious.

This film is appropriately titled the Dark Knight and the Joker is "seriously" disturbed so it's about as dark as I expected. I enoyed the departure from the silly Adam West program (I watched the West film on Blu-ray last night) and the attractive pop art Burton films, but I appreciate Nolan tapping into something different rather than a rehash. The characters here are darker and fleshed-out. I like different things in all the tellings. Personally (in my head) if I were to make this film it would be somewhere between the Burton and Nolan visions. I so wanted to see Harley and some hyenas!

 

[RedPiggy]

http://www.schizophrenia.com/diag.php

People diagnosed with schizophrenia usually experience a combination of positive (i.e. hallucinations, delusions, racing thoughts), negative (i.e. apathy, lack of emotion, poor or nonexistant social functioning), and cognitive (disorganized thoughts, difficulty concentrating and/or following instructions, difficulty completing tasks, memory problems).

It can be argued that Joker has delusions and maybe racing thoughts and maybe apathy ... though he certainly doesn't ACT with a flat affect. He certainly doesn't seem to have appreciable cognitive difficulties (his "gags" are well thought out and highly premeditated).

What you're thinking of is along the lines of some anxiety/personality disorders. He is certainly sociopathic ... but this is not a trait of schizophrenia. The problem with Joker (as noted in a fascinating book, "The Forensic Files of Batman") is that he's actually a mix of several disorders ... IF you take his symptoms as-is and don't assume he's faking some of it to mess around with psychiatrists (Joker to Terry McGuinness/Batman: "Don't try to psychoanalyze ME, boy." Joker is well-versed in psychiatry and can easily run circles around the best therapists ... look what he did to Harley....).

 

[frogboy4]

I think we all misuse the schizophrenic term. Thanks for clearning that up. The Joker is my favorite comic book character. Poor fella's just misunderstood. He he.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

195 million world wide total.

Nobody's going to believe this but Mama Mia already has a 100 million world wide total in three days.