Author Topic: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!  (Read 175199 times)

Offline Fran

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #220 on: August 06, 2008, 09:28:15 am »
I'm still apprehensive about watching it though  :-\

Fabienne, don't be apprehensive.  I'm not really a fan of super-hero movies, but even I got caught up in the plot of "The Dark Knight."  Just let yourself get swept up in the story, and it'll be a very entertaining experience for you.  It's a pretty amazing movie on a bunch of different levels.  And, of course, Heath is outstanding, but he's so convincing in his performance that you'll be thinking Joker, not Heath.  Well, at least that is how it was for me.

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #221 on: August 06, 2008, 10:09:07 am »


Yes, I agree with Fran.  There's no need to be apprehensive.  It's such a good movie and really interesting in many ways.  And, just remember that the violence is "cartoon/ comic-book" violence.  Think of all those Batman comic books where they write out the word "Pow!!" in a thought bubble, etc... but on a big scale.

Fabienne, I do think you're right that Batman is much more bland than the Joker (or any of his villains).  In a lot of super hero movies the villains seem to overshadow the heroes in their often extreme eccentricities and outlandishness.

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Marge_Innavera

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #222 on: August 06, 2008, 11:31:20 am »
Quote
Fabienne, I do think you're right that Batman is much more bland than the Joker (or any of his villains).  In a lot of super hero movies the villains seem to overshadow the heroes in their often extreme eccentricities and outlandishness.

That's pretty much a rule of thumb in acting, directing and writing -- villains are much easier to make interesting than heroes; same with tricksters vs good guys.  It seems to be related to another 'rule' -- i.e., that it's much harder to make people laugh than to make them cry.  As George Carlin said, to make an audience cry all you have to do is "have one collie die" but to get from point A to laughter is much more of a challenge.  Heath's Joker did make me laugh more than once, especially that schtick with the detonator that didn't go off when expected.


Quote
Note - after reading this article, I looked up when Sid Vicious died.  2 months 2 days before Heath was born.

Choi oi, that makes me feel old -- I was an adult and then some when Sid Vicious was alive!   ::)  But the karmic aspect of that is intriguing.

Offline cmr107

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #223 on: August 07, 2008, 05:41:02 pm »
I just saw it last night. WOW. Some thoughts:

Is anyone else completely fascinated with the Joker's voice? I was just astounded by how different it was from Heath's normal voice. I don't understand people who can do things like that with their voices. Someone posted an article somewhere around here that Heath was studying how Chicago residents speak while they were filming for inspiration for the voice. I heard a little bit of that (my college is just outside of Chicago) and I thought it was really interesting.

Speaking of Chicago, I thought the city was pretty recognizable as Chicago. I knew they were filming there but I thought they would use whatever camera tricks they use to make it look like just a generic city. I was fun but also distracting to see so many familiar places.

I thought Two-Face's face was horrifying at first, but after a couple more looks at it, it started to look almost comically fake to me. While it was still gross, it looked so fake that it didn't bother me anymore.

I agree that there was absolutely zero chemistry between Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal. It made it really hard for me to believe Harvey Dent's freak-out after she died. That kind of thing hardly ever bothers me in movies, but it did in this situation.

I LOVE the little tidbit that the Joker's nurse uniform had a Matilda name tag. I really wish it was big enough to be visible. Those of you who have seen it on IMAX, can you see it on the bigger screen?

The friend that I saw it with just got done with a music production internship at Warner Brothers. She said that they used two different composers in TDK, one for Batman and one for Joker. I want to see it again anyway, and I'd like to try to notice the different music for each of them.

Heath's performance was amazing. I realized that I was kind of tense when he wasn't on screen because I was looking forward to him coming back, but I was still tense when he did reappear because there was absolutely no way to know what he would do next.

I had heard the phrase "body bag scene" somewhere around here in discussion about TDK, but I didn't know exactly what the scene was. Goodness. How unpleasantly startling.

Um, I think that's all for now. I glad I can finally read this thread! I had been avoiding spoilers.  :)

Offline Mandy21

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #224 on: August 08, 2008, 12:00:51 am »
I just saw it last night. WOW. Some thoughts:

Is anyone else completely fascinated with the Joker's voice? I was just astounded by how different it was from Heath's normal voice. I don't understand people who can do things like that with their voices. Someone posted an article somewhere around here that Heath was studying how Chicago residents speak while they were filming for inspiration for the voice. I heard a little bit of that (my college is just outside of Chicago) and I thought it was really interesting.

Speaking of Chicago, I thought the city was pretty recognizable as Chicago. I knew they were filming there but I thought they would use whatever camera tricks they use to make it look like just a generic city. I was fun but also distracting to see so many familiar places.

I thought Two-Face's face was horrifying at first, but after a couple more looks at it, it started to look almost comically fake to me. While it was still gross, it looked so fake that it didn't bother me anymore.

I agree that there was absolutely zero chemistry between Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal. It made it really hard for me to believe Harvey Dent's freak-out after she died. That kind of thing hardly ever bothers me in movies, but it did in this situation.

I LOVE the little tidbit that the Joker's nurse uniform had a Matilda name tag. I really wish it was big enough to be visible. Those of you who have seen it on IMAX, can you see it on the bigger screen?

The friend that I saw it with just got done with a music production internship at Warner Brothers. She said that they used two different composers in TDK, one for Batman and one for Joker. I want to see it again anyway, and I'd like to try to notice the different music for each of them.

Heath's performance was amazing. I realized that I was kind of tense when he wasn't on screen because I was looking forward to him coming back, but I was still tense when he did reappear because there was absolutely no way to know what he would do next.

I had heard the phrase "body bag scene" somewhere around here in discussion about TDK, but I didn't know exactly what the scene was. Goodness. How unpleasantly startling.

Um, I think that's all for now. I glad I can finally read this thread! I had been avoiding spoilers.  :)

Hi CMR107, I love the way you stated all that.  From the "WOW" all the way down to the "unpleasantly startling".  I did feel the exact same way while watching.  I couldn't wait for Heath to appear, was pleasantly startled when he appeared so quickly, and then just held my breath and then my tears for every time he appeared thereafter.  I'm afraid I might have been one of the first spoiler-makers to mention the body-bag scene.  It just threw me for a gigantic loop, was never expecting that.  I haven't been able to go back and see it a second time, but am treasuring and reliving the memories of the first time in my head ever since.  I think I've watched every single Heath movie a few dozen times since his death, excepting "Candy", which I can't watch for personal reasons.  Watched BBM probably 100+ times since then.  You are right in your description.  Heath took a huge risk and turn of pace in being The Joker, but he most absolutely positively WAS that character -- grimacing and comical and horrifying and entertaining and mesmerizing.  I was thinking the whole time that if he wasn't a homicidal maniac, I would give anything to have him as my best friend.  If that makes any sense at all...

Genius, to the very end.
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Offline optom3

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #225 on: August 08, 2008, 02:16:54 pm »
I find it strange that the only films I can not watch several times over are TDK and Candy. TDK broke my heart because it showed the true genius of Heath, and reaffirmed what I already knew we had lost, in a horribly stark way. Had his last fully completed role been a light touch comedy, it may have been easier.I still maintain, Casanova was so under rated. He used subtlety and small facial expressions, where he could have used, OTT gestures.Always less is more.
Candy I cannot watch again as it is just too raw.I lost a good friend that way too which does not help, he was a superbly talented musician and had just completed his first score for a small arthouse film.Also with all the hype that surrounded Heaths death, Candy became very painful,it makes me cry even now.It seems to me that for many, true artistic genius come with a flaw.The attraction towards excess, to facilitate the expansion of the mind in as many ways as possible. Very very sad.What our maker seems to give with one hand, he seems to also in many cases to  say, well that gift will come at a cost.
Anyway back on topic. Heath as the joker is one of the finest pieces of total immersion acting I have ever seen.There is no Heath, only Joker and in some ways that helps, but in others it hurts, because part of me wants to see Heath, if that makes any sense.
I am sometimes thankful for my Bipolar a in my high moments I can easily believe he is still here,unfortunately in my down times the opposite is all to searingly apparent. Now being one of those.
I guess the business analyst we have just had in, telling us we will be bankrupt in 6/12 is not improving things a great deal.Guess I will just have to kick myself up the rear end and prove him wrong!!!

Offline Shasta542

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #226 on: August 10, 2008, 04:33:35 pm »
TDK still #1 even on its 4th weekend!

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx/?news=326360&GT1=28101

"It has taken on a life of its own, and in doing so got so much positive press and word of mouth that older audiences who normally don't rush out to see movies or maybe only see two, three movies a year are coming out in large numbers," Fellman said. "It's a question of `We've been reading about this for three, four weeks now. Let's go see what it's all about.'"
"Gettin' tired of your dumbass missin'!"

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Offline optom3

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #227 on: August 10, 2008, 05:12:37 pm »
TDK still #1 even on its 4th weekend!

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx/?news=326360&GT1=28101

"It has taken on a life of its own, and in doing so got so much positive press and word of mouth that older audiences who normally don't rush out to see movies or maybe only see two, three movies a year are coming out in large numbers," Fellman said. "It's a question of `We've been reading about this for three, four weeks now. Let's go see what it's all about.'"

I have just finished reading that online somewhere.It almost seemd begrudging though, as the figures are followed up with, but tickets cost more than they did when Titanic hit the screens.!!!! The implication being even if TDK does eventually take the No.1 slot which I think was 600 million. It would not really be No.1 owing to ticket price comparisons.
Peronally I just could not stand Titanic,so TDK has won in my book already.!

Offline ednbarby

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #228 on: August 11, 2008, 12:24:09 am »
I was thinking the whole time that if he wasn't a homicidal maniac, I would give anything to have him as my best friend.  If that makes any sense at all...

It makes complete sense to me.  I just watched it for my third time tonight.  My brother is visiting from Ohio, and I took him to see it for his first.  You all can relate with the joy in sharing something known and loved with a newbie...  And the greater joy in watching someone "get it" like you did your very first time.  He laughed at all the right parts, said "Oh, my God!" at all the right parts.  OK.  Basically, he repeated my feelings.  So that means he's perfect!

What we both got about Heath's performance is that, on some level, this guy really makes sense.  That scene in the hospital with Harvey Dent (the wonderful, wonderful way he said "Hi" notwithstanding) really got me this time.  He brought Harvey down to his level by making sense.  He was right.  It really is pathetic to think that we have any control whatsover over chaos.  I think that's why the lines in the Billy Idol song that go "There is nothing fair in this world.  There is nothing safe in this world.  And there's nothing sure in this world, and there's nothing pure in this world - is there nothing left in this world?" so resonate with me.

The other thing that got me tonight was his voice.  Didn't fully appreciate all the nuances in it before.  But for some reason, tonight, my ears were finely tuned in.  He is just The Shit.  Always has been, always will be.

Oh, and my brother, God bless him, thought Maggie was "sexy as hell."  Good man.


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Offline cmr107

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Re: The Dark Knight: News, Reviews, your Views. "SPOILERS" welcome!
« Reply #229 on: August 11, 2008, 01:40:36 am »
I saw it for the second time tonight, this time on IMAX. (We got there 10 minutes before it started, for a Sunday afternoon show, but it was so full we had to sit in the second row! That is NOT a good seat at an IMAX.) I was completely fascinated by his voice before, but the better sound quality of the IMAX theatre somehow made it even more fascinating to me. I may be weird, but I could listen to it for hours.

I looked really hard for the 'Matilda' on his nurse uniform name tag, thinking I could see it on such a huge screen right in front of my face, but I couldn't. I could see that something was written there, but couldn't make out any letters.  :-\ Oh well. I'll just trust that it's there.

Random question: I keep hearing about the three different stories he tells about how he got the scars, but I only hear two. He tells one to the guy in that dreadful scene with the body bag and one to Rachel at the fundraiser, but that's all. Near the end when the ferry boat people are making their decisions he asks Batman if he knows how he got them, but he doesn't actually tell a story. Am I missing the third story somewhere?