Dark Knight
+ Maggie Gyllenhaal beat the pants off Katie Holmes.
- That wasn't Gotham, that was fucking Chicago.
- The cinematography. When I figure out how to explain what I disliked about it (and believe me, I'm trying), I'll let you know.
+ Ledger finally gave the world a proper Joker, replacing the Nicholson crap we've had to endure for the past 20 years. (Yes, I *abhor* Nicholson's Joker and think it was a steaming pile of over-acting dreck. I'm well aware that I'm the only person on the planet that feels this way.)
- While Ledger was very good (and I love nearly everything he did), he wasn't Oscar material. If he gets the Oscar it will be because he committed suicide. (Yeah, yeah, I know what the ruling was. I also know that taking the meds he did the way he did is inviting death.)
- Three-quarters of the "goddamn!" moments were in the trailers. I was never truly surprised.
- Not nearly as dark as it was made out to be.
+ The big-picture thematic elements were well executed and I'm interested to see how they'll play out in the next one.
In conclusion, your money will be better spent on Hellboy II (which has a *priceless* scene with Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, and some obvious product placement), which is good, but sadly not quite as good as the one before it. (And I don't like what they're setting it up for in the next one, but I won't spoil it for you.)
This is the summer of "enh" sequels, and frankly I'm getting tired of it. I will, however, drag my ass to X-Files 2 in the hopes that Chris Carter, David Duchnovy, and Gillian Anderson will finally deliver an awesome summer sequel.
- That wasn't Gotham, that was fucking Chicago.
- The cinematography. When I figure out how to explain what I disliked about it (and believe me, I'm trying), I'll let you know.
+ Ledger finally gave the world a proper Joker, replacing the Nicholson crap we've had to endure for the past 20 years. (Yes, I *abhor* Nicholson's Joker and think it was a steaming pile of over-acting dreck. I'm well aware that I'm the only person on the planet that feels this way.)
- While Ledger was very good (and I love nearly everything he did), he wasn't Oscar material. If he gets the Oscar it will be because he committed suicide. (Yeah, yeah, I know what the ruling was. I also know that taking the meds he did the way he did is inviting death.)
- Three-quarters of the "goddamn!" moments were in the trailers. I was never truly surprised.
- Not nearly as dark as it was made out to be.
+ The big-picture thematic elements were well executed and I'm interested to see how they'll play out in the next one.
In conclusion, your money will be better spent on Hellboy II (which has a *priceless* scene with Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, and some obvious product placement), which is good, but sadly not quite as good as the one before it. (And I don't like what they're setting it up for in the next one, but I won't spoil it for you.)
This is the summer of "enh" sequels, and frankly I'm getting tired of it. I will, however, drag my ass to X-Files 2 in the hopes that Chris Carter, David Duchnovy, and Gillian Anderson will finally deliver an awesome summer sequel.