Author Topic: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!  (Read 175146 times)

Offline BelAir

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #40 on: July 18, 2008, 10:10:14 am »
Hey Paul, I pretty much agree.  I posted some thoughts in a new spoilers thread in The Culture Tent too (having internal dilemma about discussing movie details in the Remembrance forum - it's okay, I know I'm loony.

If I were a glib person, the tag line I'd use would be, "It's good, but it's no Brokeback."


OK, I saw the 12:01AM show tonight.  SPOILERS ahead, perhaps...


You've been warned....



It's almost 4AM here, so the following will be less than coherent.

Like I said at the Culture Tent, after the first few moments of recognizing little Heath quirks (mostly his mouth), I stopped seeing Heath and only saw the Joker.  It is an amazing performance; he somehow goes beyond caricature so typical of this type of villain.  While sadistic, he also supplies the only comic relief in an otherwise pretty dour film.

absolutely, the film wouldn't have been much without him.  

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I am a confirmed wimp when it comes to violence in films, and this was way over the top for me.  I actually thought of walking out a few times.  The PG-13 rating is an absolute travesty, in my opinion.  Even though there may not be much in the way of gore, I squirmed through most of the thing.

I can understand this.  It WAS frightening.  But to clarify for some, the violence was 'off screen' in the sense that you didn't really see blood or many dead bodies (one notable exception).  I was frequently scared they were going to show me something horrific, however, and contemplated practically covering my eyes 'just in case' a few times.  There was lots of death by explosion.  When Dent became two face, it was reminiscent of when The Terminator died, to me, in terms of the appearance of his face...  (i.e. not very innovative)

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I found Christian Bale pretty stiff, and his Batman voice was an annoying loud whisper.  I didn't detect much internal conflict in this performance.  Gary Oldman acted circles around the rest of the main characters.  Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were delightful, and contrasted Batman/Bruce's lack of personality.  Maggie was OK; I can't say much about Aaron Eckhart other than I liked his hair.  

Yes.  Goldman was good.  Not really excited by the others.  Maggie fine, but she didn't have much screen time either, and her character was honestly not all that well developed, imo.

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Heath had relatively little screen time.  If there's an Oscar nomination, I would think it would be for supporting actor.  

I have been debating about whether to comment on the whole Oscar thing.  I think for now, I won't.

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Sorry to be so negative, it's just not my kind of film.  

As I was thinking about what to say about how I felt about the movie, I thought, gee, I'm gonna be the first one to give a bad review, lol...  I imagine a lot of Brokies are going to feel similarly. 

"— a thirst for life, for love, and for truth..."

Offline BelAir

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #41 on: July 18, 2008, 10:00:53 pm »
re: The Joker's impact on Heath - I feel the same way and agree with you that it had nothing to do with his state of mind in Jan.  After seeing the movie, despite it's 'dark' overtones, I am/was (?) even more convinced that the role per se did not have an impact on him; maybe the filming schedule, time away from Matilda or something, but not the character itself.  It WAS apparent that Heath was having fun.  I keep thinking about his last scene, and how just 'tickled' the Joker was at it all...

Of course, USA today perpetuates the stupid story that playing the Joker had some bad impact on Heath...  (I just read the caption on the front page, not the article.)
"— a thirst for life, for love, and for truth..."

Offline Ellemeno

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #42 on: July 18, 2008, 10:30:45 pm »
There is a website called kids-in-mind, that actually itemizes and describes the more questionable parts of movies, so that parents can decide if they want to let their kids see it or not.  I have found it very useful.  I just read the (horrific) description of TDK.  If you want to read it too, to prepare yourself, or to know if these are images you want seared into your or your kids' heads, the link is below.  It doesn't describe the plot, but it does simply and literally describe the violent moments.

For a sample of kids-in-mind, here is how they describe the violence/gore in BBM.  (They rate BBM a 6 out of 10 in violence/gore, which seems crazy, because from the description of TDK, it is far, far, far worse, and it got a 7 out of 10.)
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN  VIOLENCE/GORE 6 - A man is beaten by three men with clubs (we see his very bloody face and it is implied that he was beaten to death). A man talks about another man being beaten by a mob with a tire iron and then dragged around by his genitals until "they fell off" and we see a boy (the man when he was a child) looking at a bloody and battered dead man.
► Two men make crude sexual remarks at a public gathering, and another man tells them to stop; they persist, the man punches one of them in the face (we see him with a bloody nose) and kicks the other in the head. Two men wrestle and fight, one punches the other in the face (he has a bloody nose) and the other punches the other in the face too (he has a black eye). A man is nearly hit by a car, he punches the driver of the car twice, the driver gets out of the car and he punches the man several times while he is lying on the street (we see some blood on his face). A man gags, cries and punches a wall when he and another man part company.
► A man shoots an elk, it recoils when it is hit, it stumbles and falls to the ground, and we then see two men cooking and eating its meat and there are other pieces of meat hanging to dry. A man finds a dead and bloody sheep with its chest and abdominal cavity open and bones and organs visible.
► A man is thrown off his horse when it rears after seeing a bear; the man runs after the horse and appears to be limping. A man shoots a gun at a wolf prowling around a herd of sheep.
► A woman confronts her ex-husband about an affair that she suspects he had (with another man); he yells and raises his fist, she screams and he leaves. A husband and wife argue and yell at each other. A man yells at another man and threatens to hit him. Two men yell at each other and argue.
► We hear that a man was killed when a tire on his car blew up, the hubcap hit him in the face knocking him unconscious, and he drowned in his own blood.
► A man talks about his parents having died when he was young and that he was raised by his brother and sister. A man talks about a lightning storm having killed 42 sheep and that the smell nearly asphyxiated him.
► Two men are pelted by large hail during a storm. We see children playing with firecrackers (no one is injured). A man holds a young sheep and pulls something out of its leg (like a thorn or a burr). A man urinates in the background (we don't see or hear anything).


Okay, so here is the link to the kids-in-mind page about The Dark Knight.  I am glad I read it - I am stunned that I am about to knowingly go tomorrow to watch a movie with so much brutality and sadism.  But what we do for love....

http://www.kids-in-mind.com/d/darkknight.htm

Offline MaineWriter

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #43 on: July 18, 2008, 11:13:04 pm »
Home from the movies....

For the first time ever in my life, I had to evacuate a movie theater in the middle of the movie! And naturally, it was at a very very intense Joker moment! We all trooped out of the the theater, hung around in the parking lot, watched the one fire truck arrive and the two firemen go into the building (when I saw just 2 firemen I knew it wasn't serious!). Eventually a cop arrived and gave the "all clear" and they let us back in. Because it was digital, the movie started up in the exact place it left off but the 45 minute break did disrupt my concentration. Oh well.

My review: I usually loathe these types of movies and stop watching after about 20 minutes. This one...I got through the whole thing. And I sort of enjoyed it. But I think what I enjoyed was (in this order) 1) Heath's performance; 2) scenes of Chicago that I recognized*; 3) Morgan Freeman's few funny lines; 4) Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (I think he is a very handsome man). Beyond that... well, I guess Michael Caine was good, in a stereotyped sort of role.

*one amazing glimpse I caught was of our hotel from our November trip to Chicago! Hannah picked up on it too.

I thought Maggie G. was as dull as dishwater. Sorry for anyone who thought she did a good job. And if this is an improvement over Katie Holmes in the previous movie...ack! Aaron Eckhart's character was also not showing me this huge conflict/transformation thing that was supposed to be going on. Yes, Gary Oldman was good but even he started to get a little dull and repetitious at the end.

Lots of special effects and blowing up buildings. Okay, seen one, I've seen 'em all.

As Paul said, the costume change scene with Heath was great and I especially liked the little touch with the hand sanitizer! LOL. Yes folks, clean hands do save lives!

I am slightly curious to go see the first movie to figure out the bits and pieces I was missing in this one. But I doubt I will see this again in a theater...this is a "once is enough" type movie for me.

As I said on the Heath, Heath, Heath thread, it disappoints me that this is at 94% on rottentomatoes and BBM is 87%. I mean really...it's a no brainer which movie people will be watching 50 years from now.

L
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Offline MaineWriter

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #44 on: July 18, 2008, 11:21:24 pm »

Okay, so here is the link to the kids-in-mind page about The Dark Knight.  I am glad I read it - I am stunned that I am about to knowingly go tomorrow to watch a movie with so much brutality and sadism.  But what we do for love....

http://www.kids-in-mind.com/d/darkknight.htm


You know, there is a part of me that watches these movies and I am always reminded that they came from comic books. So in one way, the tempers alot of the violence (if that makes sense). It is sort of like it is all fake. As a counterpoint, I found the violence in "There Will Be Blood" much more disturbing. Or "Munich." Or "The Departed."

L
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Offline optom3

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #45 on: July 18, 2008, 11:32:16 pm »
Thanks for the kids in mind link. There is NO way my younger son is going to see it.He would have nightmares for weeks.That is a really useful site.
I shall use it in future,but BBM gets a 6 and TDK only a 7, for vilolence/gore,
Madness,if BBM is a 6 then it sounds lke TDK should be 106 !!!!!!

Offline BelAir

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #46 on: July 18, 2008, 11:46:12 pm »
Home from the movies....

For the first time ever in my life, I had to evacuate a movie theater in the middle of the movie! And naturally, it was at a very very intense Joker moment! We all trooped out of the the theater, hung around in the parking lot, watched the one fire truck arrive and the two firemen go into the building (when I saw just 2 firemen I knew it wasn't serious!). Eventually a cop arrived and gave the "all clear" and they let us back in. Because it was digital, the movie started up in the exact place it left off but the 45 minute break did disrupt my concentration. Oh well.

My review: I usually loathe these types of movies and stop watching after about 20 minutes. This one...I got through the whole thing. And I sort of enjoyed it. But I think what I enjoyed was (in this order) 1) Heath's performance; 2) scenes of Chicago that I recognized*; 3) Morgan Freeman's few funny lines; 4) Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (I think he is a very handsome man). Beyond that... well, I guess Michael Caine was good, in a stereotyped sort of role.

*one amazing glimpse I caught was of our hotel from our November trip to Chicago! Hannah picked up on it too.

I thought Maggie G. was as dull as dishwater. Sorry for anyone who thought she did a good job. And if this is an improvement over Katie Holmes in the previous movie...ack! Aaron Eckhart's character was also not showing me this huge conflict/transformation thing that was supposed to be going on. Yes, Gary Oldman was good but even he started to get a little dull and repetitious at the end.

Lots of special effects and blowing up buildings. Okay, seen one, I've seen 'em all.

As Paul said, the costume change scene with Heath was great and I especially liked the little touch with the hand sanitizer! LOL. Yes folks, clean hands do save lives!

I am slightly curious to go see the first movie to figure out the bits and pieces I was missing in this one. But I doubt I will see this again in a theater...this is a "once is enough" type movie for me.

As I said on the Heath, Heath, Heath thread, it disappoints me that this is at 94% on rottentomatoes and BBM is 87%. I mean really...it's a no brainer which movie people will be watching 50 years from now.

L

That's cool about your hotel Leslie...

I doubt watching Batman Begins will answer many of the questions you have...

I want to start a "who loves Heath in drag?" poll!  I saw it at a regular theater, so I suspect I will eventually see it at IMAX, sheerly for the purpose of seeing Heath on a gigantic screen.

Interesting find Elle, with the kids-in-mind, I wonder what rates a 10 on violence and gore, I also checked Hostage (horrible violent gory film, imo) and it rated an 8.

... so I searched the site and don't really understand how exactly they do it, but I did find some '10' movies as an example (in terms of violence): The Last Samurai, Natural Born Killers, Gladiator, The Patriot, Schindler's List, True Romance, Fight Club.  guess the lesson is, best to read the descriptions!
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Offline MaineWriter

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #47 on: July 19, 2008, 12:05:47 am »

His accent is bizarre (I'm sure you've seen the clips), he does this thing with his tongue that adds to his creepiness.  He has one costume change that is hilarious.  Funny, I don't want to spoil it!



His accent reminded me of his Skip Engblom accent in The Lords of Dogtown. It seemed to be a variation on that.

One review I read (from the Boston Globe, I think...) said the lip-licking thing reminded him of patients who are on anti-depressants. Paul, any comment on that?

L
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Offline Mikaela

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #48 on: July 19, 2008, 06:03:04 am »
I am a confirmed wimp when it comes to violence in films, and this was way over the top for me.  I actually thought of walking out a few times.  The PG-13 rating is an absolute travesty, in my opinion.  Even though there may not be much in the way of gore, I squirmed through most of the thing.

Okay, so here is the link to the kids-in-mind page about The Dark Knight.  I am glad I read it - I am stunned that I am about to knowingly go tomorrow to watch a movie with so much brutality and sadism.  But what we do for love....

http://www.kids-in-mind.com/d/darkknight.htm


Thank you both for posting that, that was what I personally have been looking for in order to make up my mind about going to watch the film.

I am a confirmed movie violence wimp too, and eager and determined to stay that way - I don't want to numb my mind to others' pain or accustom it to feeling no empathy or to stop reacting to cruelty. So whether this sentiment should win out, or my love for Heath, has been a real conundrum where TDK was concerned. It's been bothering me a lot. :-\

From what I'd read in reviews that to some extent detail the gore, sadism and general horror (worst of which, to me, being the pencil thing and the bomb in the stomach...)  it came as no surprise... but OK. There it is and now I know for sure.

I still think it's sad and worrying that this kind of mind-numbingly nasty stuff is what creates box office records and has reviewers falling over themselves to hand out superlatives and praise. Think how many more people will watch this than will ever get around to watching the thought-provoking, humane Brokeback!

Offline Mikaela

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #49 on: July 19, 2008, 06:18:27 am »
From the Tribeca Film Festival newsletter, a wonderful article, clearly written by a Brokie:

http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/news-features/features/heath.html

With Ennis Del Mar, the young actor delivered a performance so stunning and true that we’ll never be able to quit him.

Oh my, I had missed this due to staying away from TDK spoilers. Thank you ever so much for posting that, Meryl. And it's so so so true.... I still can't quit Heath, it would seem, and I'll never tire of Brokeback Mountain. Never. All this other stuff and fuss is really just incidental and will pass....