my umpteenth blog

So. The Dark Knight. If you haven't seen it yet, please go see it, even if you don't want to or don't think you'll like it, chances are that you will...or at least that you'll be a better person for having watched it, even if you hate it. It IS without a doubt, the best movie so far this year (and probably will remain so, Harry Potter nothwithstanding). It's much darker than I thought it would be, though, honestly, I don't know why I was surprised because that's the one thing all the reviews I read had in common, but anyways...Heath Ledger is the best movie villain of all time. He's willfully, incoherently, and uncaringly malignant. His only end is to establish pure chaos-- an idea that is particularly frightening in our law and norm-bound lives. Ledger so completely portrays this character, that I find it hard now to think of him in any other role. The cinematography is beautiful. Watching it in IMAX, I maybe felt a little seasick at the full-screen shots looking down at the city, but who wouldn't, it's GIGANTIC. And the picture quality is flawless. And in IMAX, our first introduction to the joker is 6 stories tall. It's thrilling and frightening. Christian Bale is tormented by his own goodness and Aaron Eckhart is just tormented. Maggie Gyllenhal is good in her role, but I think we need something between her own sad Rachel and the bubbly idealist Katie Holmes played.

It's dark, yes, and definitely violent, but still pushes the idea that somethings are still worth fighting for, no matter how high the cost, though that idea may be tested in the next installment. A ver.