Wednesday, July 23, 2008

dark knight

I heard that the new Batman movie has accomplished two things which I consider to be good. If we get the opportunity, my wife and I may try to catch it at a local Imax soon.

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There are intense scenes where the result of violence is implied. Supposedly, you don't see blood and gore, even though you know that something bad happened. I think that's a classy approach. Do you remember the horror flics of old, where the music climaxes as the monster confronts his victim, and the scene switches to something else? The unfortunate prey was doomed, but we didn't see all the gruesome details. There are times where it is better to imply something and leave a little imaginative mystery in the details.

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The other thing I heard about this movie is that the bad guy is truly wicked. We don't get any sanitized Rogerian portrayal of a likeable villain who is basically good, and we would like him better if we just understood him. The bad guy in this movie is evil to the core. He hurts people. Gotham's citizens need to be saved from him, and he must be brought to justice. In other words, the Batman's bad man is really bad, Man!

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Have you seen it? Any yea-sayers on my anticipatory assessment or do you think I'm just a joker?

25 comments:

donsands said...

My daughter saw it, and I know others who saw it.
I got that it was a dark movie indeed.
Dark can be good. But some don't like dark films at all, like my wife.

Carletta said...

Hi Craver,
I haven't seen it yet but a friend says it is good, even great!
I like the implied bad guy thing. I still love old movies.

I guess this movie is a long way from the Adam West Batman huh! :)

Mary said...

We JUST got back from seeing it. I was not a fan of Batman Begins, and this was a million times better in my opinion. LOTS of Chicago scenery, it's funny really because they show one building that has the address "25 South LaSalle" and two storefronts down you see a sign that read something about Chicago on it. They also had a CTA bus that they put a line over the "C" so it read GTA. And the Gotham license plates look just like Illinois plates. Not that those things have anything to do with the movie, but just thought I'd point it out. Heath Ledger was incredible!!!

Wes and I think they should have made it into two movies. I think they did way too little with Harvey Dent/Two-Face that they needed a separate thing for him altogether. It does get a little philosophical, when Joker explains that people are just like him, he just takes it to the extreme. The director said he was trying to prove that point. Except he wound up NOT proving it by turning it into the whole "people are inherently good" (except for Joker). Interesting if you take a look at it from a biblical perspective.

Anyway, we'll probably see it again. We have some friends who want to see it in IMAX and asked us to go with them. I'll stop blabbing now.

Even So... said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Even So... said...

Margie and I braved the crowds and saw it on opening (k)night...worth a look for sure...

dot said...

Before I rush out to see it I'll wait for your review.

Craver Vii said...

Does she at least like dark chocolate Sandman?

Whoosh! Pow! Wham! Bang! Carletta, the Adam West Batman was cool! And Cesar Romero... wow, has there ever NOT been an outstanding Joker?

Philosophical, Mary? I only think EVERY movie gets philosophical. I love to find and interpret world views. But you didn't like Batman Begins? I wonder why. I took S1 to see it, and I liked it a lot.

Hey Florida! Good to see you! You're braver than I am, 'cause I just don't do opening nights.

That could be a long wait, Dot. I want to see it this weekend, but there's no guarantee of that.

Craver Vii said...

[Thought bubble: I wonder if anyone is going to ask me about the photo.]

imac said...

I did see Del boy and Rodney dressed up as Batman and Robin , they were good.!!

Mary said...

Batman Begins was just too slow in my opinion. There was so much build up for the character, build up audiences have been exposed to with every other Batman movie (i.e. his parents being killed). So it was just redundant to me. But that's just me. :)

No need for me to question the picture. It's dark. It's a knight. Clever. :)

Craver Vii said...

Del boy and Rodney. Imac, that's a BBC thing. I wish I'd seen it!

Ahem, you must have read my thoughts Mary! (Here is my original photo.) That was from a mini chess board. These tiny pieces are probably not even an inch high. I got a macro shot of the white pieces. The original camera setting was for Sepia, and it looked cool, but to do the "dark knight" I reversed the colors and added a blue filter. The shadows are kinda trippy when the image is made negative, don't you think? Hence, a "dark knight" photo that doesn't steal artwork from DC Comics. I'm glad you asked. I feel so much better now. :-)

david mcmahon said...

Haven't seen it yet, but yes, you get my vote as The Joker.

Really enjoyed your Sky Watch photo!

Shammickite said...

I haven't seen it.
YoungerSon and DIL saw it... said they really enjoyed it.
I don;t know if I'll see it or not, I don't go to movies very often.
Now give me a live theatre performance and I'm right there!
Regarding Jesus Camp, I don't think you should judge a movie by what you read on the internet.

Shammickite said...

.... and talking about live theatre performaces, I went to see a performance of Jesus Christ Superstar last week. Fabulous! Ever seen it?

Ted M. Gossard said...

Glad to get your take on it, here, Craver.

It's good that they don't try to sanitize evil. But truth be told, there is evil in all of us- or in our actions or thoughts at times- as well as good in the worst cases- though distorted, twisted and broken. Though one descends into being human less and less as they more and more lose out completely in the image of the God who made them.

Never been big into Batman or the like, but I'd like to see this one, sometime.

Ted M. Gossard said...

IMAX is fun, too.

Craver Vii said...

Not joker David, "stand-up philosopher." ;-)

Did you see Jesus Camp Shammy? I'm curious to know what you thought of it.

About Jesus Christ Superstar, it's been a loooong, long time. I had the album in the 70's. LP's and 45's... THAT brings back some memories! I remember seeing Godspell back in '75 or so. ...Loved it.

Ted, that reminds me of something my pastor has said. It was something to the effect of never having done anything out of perfect motives. Our best intentions might be tinted with even the most subtle hints of selfishness or pride.

L.L. Barkat said...

The photo? Ask you? Well, I admit I was wondering what chess had to do with anything, but then the "knight" thought kicked in. Is there something else we should know?

Haven't seen it. I'm the type who sees things on video. :)

donsands said...

"Does she at least like dark chocolate Sandman?"
Patti loves dark chocolate! She leaves all the milk chocolate for me.

She actually buys dark chocolate M&M's.

Funny you said that Craver. Plus, it's actually good for you, as some dark movies can be for the conscience, methinks.

Mary said...

"She actually buys dark chocolate M&M's."

donsands, I am addicted to dark chocolate M&Ms...I won't even buy the milk chocolate ones anymore. They first came out when Revenge of the Sith came out...they were limited time only ones. Then they disappeared for awhile and I nearly broke down in tears. Then finally they came back as an all the time item. Yay for dark chocolate M&Ms!!

donsands said...

"Yay for dark chocolate M&Ms!!"

I guess you have to acquire a taste for them.

Kudos to dark m&m's from my wife right back at ya!!

Craver Vii said...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Daarrrk...

chooocolaatte...

is...

beeesst...

eeeatennn... ssslloooowwlllyyy.

Anonymous said...

mary, broke down in tears? come one now!

Craver Vii said...

(lol) Yeah, as it happens, she's pretty gung-ho about Star Wars as well.

By the way, we do "semi-anonymous" here, meaning that a person doesn't have to go through the rigmarole of creating a Blogger account, but I'm not a big fan of absolute anonymity, so would you at least give us your initials or something when you leave a comment?

Anonymous said...

o sorry -
they call me Mr. T

no blog account.