Sunday, July 13, 2008

Batman Fever

The Brett Favre comeback/don't comeback debate. The Brewers losing 4 out of their last 6 games. The hot, humid, and wet weather that refuses to leave Wisconsin. Flooding and mosquitoes. The inane political debates which have begun to saturate the media. And Bozo the Clown is dead.

We've had to put up with a lot lately, and more than ever we need a distraction. We need Batman.

Thankfully, the wait is nearly over. The Dark Knight, the most-buzzed about film of the summer (a summer with few buzz-worthy movies), will finally be released this Friday across the country. Many theatres are providing midnight showings, and some are even adding extra showings as early as 6 am.

Early reviews of the Batman Begins sequel are only creating more anticipation. Rottentomatoes.com has posted 15 reviews of the movie already, and so far there is a 100% rating. Peter Travers from Rolling Stone magazine raves about all of the performances from the movie's main stars, and compares Christian Bale to "Al Pacino in The Godfather II." Time's Richard Corliss describes how the movie rises above mere comic book-movie-popcorn-blockbuster qualities, creating a far more substantial product. Corliss credits the film's director, Christopher Nolan, for turning "pulp into dark poetry." While Newsweek's David Ansen's review is mostly positive, he does "wish it [the film] were a little more fun." At the same time, he praises (along with every other critic) the performance by Heath Ledger as The Joker, calling it "a stupendously creepy performance, wild but never over the top."

There are few movies that I will see more than once at a cinema, but I am already planning on seeing Dark Knight once in a regular theater and then later on an IMAX screen. The first thing I plan on doing after I get my paycheck Wednesday, is purchasing some advance tickets for a Friday showing.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can Batman hit leadoff?
SS

Anonymous said...

Hey, being 18 hours ahead is pretty sweet, I saw the movie last night...it is great! I plan on doing something I have never done before and seeing it again on Sunday!

--bob

Anonymous said...

By the end of the movie, I was cheering for the joker.

Anonymous said...

Nevermind my previous comment, we traded for Ray Durham.
SS