Thursday, saw The Dark Knight.
A scattered reaction, not an organised review.
Here there be spoilers.
Alfred is taller than Batman? That's not right. I mean, father-figure and all yes, but - taller than batman? Tsk.
I loved the opening, the bank-robbery with the clowns getting shot dead one by one.
"what about the schoolbus? They never found the schoolbus."
Okay, that was possibly funny only to me.
There were a few moments where I cackled and my viewing companions shushed me. Even where the film is clearly leaving a pause for a laugh - just after disgruntled employee talks to Lucius Fox, for example. I liked that moment.
Women! Woman judge! Woman attorney with her own agenda! - who then gets refrigerated so Two-Face can go crazy. BOO.
Still. Maggie Gyllenhall is a better actress than Katie Holmes.
Aaron Eckhart was shiny as Harvey Dent. And as Two-face. I saw much foreshadowing there: he's very much for justice and saving the city, but also he is very focused - if not obsessed - with winning. With being right.
But it's the obsession with bringing justice to the city that Bruce sees and falls in love with.
Ballerinas don't tend to have such breasts, they're not allowed to have enough body-fat for that!
I was disappointed the ballet-performance was cancelled, I was hoping for a bit of ballet-performance. Why not?
On the other hand, billionaire takes whole ballet-troupe on a cruise was funny, and a nice light moment.
Poor put-upon Alfred, "what's the Russian for put sunblock on your own back?" I have no sympathy at all :)
Knowing much Batman comics was actually not so good, in that it led to a couple of disappointments: Rene Montoya? You cannot has. Little Barbara Gordon? You cannot has. BOO.
On the other hand, one version of cannon is that the Barbara Gordon was James Gordon's niece. I like comics cannon, there are so many versions of each story.
Joker was creepy, yay creepy Joker. Very scary and *right*. I liked that he's not ever funny in that reassuring sort of way, the funny that makes you relax and breathe a little easier. He's always worrying, always unsettling. Even when he's walking through and out of the hospital dressed in drag as a nurse - it's not funny, camp drag, it's disturbing. The Joker is not there to make us laugh, he's there to burn shit up and fulfill his own ends. There was a moment of laughter, but it is between release of tension, and the giggle of discomfort and anxiety - we can't tell where the Joker is going next.
#incl. std. mourning for loss of young talented actor here.
Sonar doesn't work that way, also cell-phones don't work that way, but the multiple blue screens were pretty.
I too enjoyed the Joker not having an origin story, and his telling conflicting stories about the source of his scars.
Gotham had so much daylight! Not enough night-scenes of Gotham, too much crime-lords sitting around tables and talking, not much showing of (petty?) crime actually affecting the citizens of Gotham.
Pairings: Harvey/Bruce, Harvey/Batman, Twoface/Joker, Twoface/Batman, Joker/Joker(I just thought of this one. It is probably wrong), Batman/Jim Gordon/Gotham.
Also: ooh, look! An arguement in favour of single-payer Health Insurance: they got to Ramirez because of her mother's medical bills. That was rather surprising to find in a USAnian Superhero movie.
Other thing: in the party in Bruce Wayne's Penthouse, and in the scene on his boat, I thought: where's Robin? Robin so belongs here. Then I realised Batman does not have a Robin yet, and after the last 'Batman and Robin' movie, Batman may never get a movie Robin.
I enjoyed the movie, but it was too long, and it had too many things it tried to focus on, and it ended on a downer.