Living Life...Boomer Style

Ledger’s Joker is played to the exceptional level of Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the movie 'Silence of the Lambs.' The Joker is hard to look at and at the same time impossible not to look at. It’s because there’s a level of sanity in his psycho, criminally insane mind that draws you in like moths to a flame, and like the moths, you will be consumed. The Joker describes himself as, “An engine of chaos,” and indeed he is.

Great Cast
 

The Joker,' I mean 'The Dark Knight' is surrounded by an incredible cast: Christian Bale as Batman (with a lousy voice over and Batman suit), Michael Caine as his manservant Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox his chief crime fighting outfitter, Aaron Eckhart as D.A. Harvey Dent, Gary Oldman as Commissioner to be Gordon, and the miscast heroine Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes. She is the love interest of both Batman and Gotham’s City D.A.

Gyllenhaal Not All That
 

To be blunt, Gyllenhaal is not worthy of the attention she receives in the movie. As an actress, she plays her part well.  As someone you would want to look at for two hours, well I’d rather not, and that is a poor reflection on me, and not her performance. In my opinion it is not a good idea to have an unattractive young woman pretend to be glamorous in the movies.

 
Still, all the story parts fit, even though the story line tends to fall off here and there; and there seems to be a lot of bad cops in the movie, but hey it's Gotham City, right? It is also not safe to drive in the city, it is not safe to hide in buildings, or take boat rides, or run away to Hong Kong, or run from dogs...well you get the idea.

Overall, the Dark Knight is entertaining, and there is a 'coin- flip' chance that you will really like the movie. I recommend it hardily; just remember to make a pit stop before you enter, as you will not want to miss any of the good parts.

 

 

Too Long

By Nilda F. Andrews

'The Dark Knight' --Okay folks, take out your spears and daggers and start throwing them at me. Yes, this movie has made--at last count--$300 million. So I guess I must be the only person on the planet that found this film to be tooooo long, confusing with so many subplots that you needed a systems program loaded onto your IPhone or Blackberry to keep track. While it was not boring, it was just not a very fulfilling viewing experience for me. The writers tried to put too much characterization into a comic book icon and make him a bad guy…the Dark Knight. It just didn’t work for me.

At a time when we need real live heroes or even storybook ones, making Batman into a vigilante instead of someone who is trying to right wrongs was not very satisfying. We have enough bad guys—both in real life and in fiction. As much as some might dispute that Batman was not the Dark Knight but it was The Joker, take another look. If you listened very carefully over the din of exploding cars and buildings, as Batman rides off on his “BatCycle,” you will hear one of the actors mumble that as a result of the damage he has done trying to right wrongs, he is now the Dark Knight.  

 

But if you have to see this movie, see it for only one reason—the very powerful performance by Heath Ledger. As The Joker, using his diabolic disguise to exude evil and manipulation, he is the epitome of psychotic behavior.

An aside, don’t bring small kids to this movie—there are some very scary and horrific scenes—very unsuitable for little ones.

 

Cast and Credits

 

Cast: Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Michael Caine

 

Produced and Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Genre: Drama, Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Action

 

July 17, 2008

 The Dark Knight Trailer

 

  

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