The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is everything is has been hyped up to be. Any perceived flaws in the film were invisible to my eye, which may have been looking through rose colored lenses. But, I think it only speaks to the film’s story, characters and grip on my attention that I could not see past what was directly in front of me.

And I saw it in IMAX.

I know that I have helped in building this film up before even seeing it, but I can honestly say that it was the greatest movie going experience of my life. Better than seeing T2, Revenge of the Sith or The Departed. Never before have I wanted to see a film so badly and held such high expectations for it, only to have those shattered by the film giving me everything I hoped for and more. The Dark Knight delivers in ways that I have never seen in my life. It is The Godfather Part II and it is The Empire Strikes Back. It will be the film that turns the generation behind me into film makers.

I have to start with the sheer technical brilliance of the film and Christopher Nolan’s incredible job of directing. There is not a split second, not a single frame wasted in the movie’s entire run time. He directs the film brilliantly and effortlessly through the story, really making it much more of a crime drama with a few action sequences, rather than the other way around. The story informs the manner of storytelling and Nolan makes sure that we are given everything we need to understand our characters and their motivation. I used to say that Nolan is a master at what he didn’t show you. I still think its true, but he pulls the curtain away in this film and brings us even deeper into Gotham. It is true that the city becomes a character itself and for good reason. Like anyone else in the film that we are meant to care about, Gotham City is what Bruce, Harvey, Gordon and Rachel all love so much that they are fighting with their lives to protect it. The city is their home and by showing us so much of it, Nolan would have us identify with it and care about whether or not it would be burned to the ground by anarchy.

We will never be able to say enough good things about Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker. Yes, it is brilliant, yes, he steals the movie and yes, he deserves every award he will and will not win. I still cannot say for sure if his death has affected my judgment in anyway, but I could not take my eyes off him and marveled at his talent. I never forgot that Heath was underneath that makeup, but I did forget that he was gone. I celebrated that man’s life tonight and I think he would have preferred that to the alternative.

Everyone in the cast is outstanding, but will be overshadowed by Ledger. I’m sure they’re fine with that, but kudos to Christian Bale for giving us real heart and pathos to Bruce Wayne that are usually only reserved for scenes of him as a child. Never before has Bruce been so tortured by his deeds and so willing to pull of the cowl and lay himself bare for the good of others concerned. He is the best Bruce Wayne. Likewise, though they are given much smaller roles than the first time around, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Maggie Gyllenhaal are superb in their roles, supporting Batman. We know that they empathize with Bruce, but cannot even come to grips with the best way to help him or to show him that he is not alone. As for Aaron Eckhart, he comes across as a revelation. He plays Harvey Two-Face as he was always meant to be. A twisted man hell bent on his own sense of justice. He is perfect, making us truly empathize with Harvey and so regretful when he becomes Gotham’s fallen white knight.

I walked out of the film slightly unsure of it. I knew that I had seen one of the greatest films I had ever seen. I knew I would be back the next day to watch it again. And I knew that Heath’s Joker had become the new Jack Sparrow. I was delighted that a huge summer blockbuster ‘comic book movie’ had not only become a masterful example of the true capacities of the medium, but had really, truly had something to say about our own world. Gotham City was a mirror of our own society and everything that was said about its citizens, about us as a people rang true to me. Sadly, I think most of this will be lost on a younger audience who will not see the forest for the trees. Nolan has been amazingly subversive in using his huge Warner Bros. franchise to explore our morality, our darker side and ourselves as well. I hope as many people go to see it as I plan to, because maybe then, they can discover the real meaning behind the title. Perhaps when we can see what we make of our heroes and the people brave enough to defend us, we can begin to change our world into one where those people can take off their masks and live a life in which the risk they put themselves in is no longer necessary.

Batman Blog-A-Thon Day 5

- Ok, so our final entries to the Batman Blog-A-Thon come from Son of Double Feature and dear jesus. Please show them some love and I want to give thanks to both of them, Blog Cabins, Dark of the Matinee, Fantastic Adventures of Furious D and He Shot Cyrus as well as good friend Alex and my brother Matt for participating in the blog-a-thon. You guys rock the casbah.

- Saw the Dark Knight, loved it, review up soon.

- If you can a chance to see it in IMAX, you must. I'm going back again tomorrow.

Who Is Batman?

This blog was written by special guest blogger Alex 'The Kid' Valencia. He grows his beard in an effort to be mistaken for Alfonso Cuaron.

As a young child, my obsessions and interest always changed. From watching Reading Rainbow to obsessing over space travel, only one thing stayed the same. My love for Batman. Unlike most of my friends I wasn’t able to watch the first Batman on the big screen nor was I able to watch the second film on the big screen. Lucky enough for me, my parents had a VCR and a VHS copy of Batman Returns which played on repeat over the next couple of years along side Beauty and the Beast (No shame in that). To this day I am one of the few people who considers the second film a superior film then the first Batman. Maybe it was the darkness, my attraction to Catwoman or the simple fact that I couldn’t believe I was watching this film without my parents covering my eyes but because of this film, my views on the Batman universe are a bit different then my fellow Batman loving friends.

Who is Batman? Surely its man extraordinaire Bruce Wayne, who holds the hard job of being a millionaire playboy and big boss at Wayne Enterprises. But who is Bruce Wayne? Bruce Wayne comes in as the most tragic figure in all comic books. Wayne joins the ranks of Hamlet (Hamlet), Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid), and Jack Bauer (24). No matter the amount of good he does, his story will not end with a happy note.

Why do we love Batman? He is a human being (sorry Superman) with no super powers like Spider Man or the X-Men. He has gadgets that would make James Bond cream in his pants. Like Tony Stark, he has power, money, and women… or is that Tony Montana? But the reason why I love Batman is not because of his wardrobe or his taste in women but his inner beast. Bruce Wayne set out to rid Gotham City of the cancer that holds the city captive, but along the way Bruce Wayne is killed and out came a demon trying to find a replacement soul.

I know what you’re saying…”Alex, wait up, but Batman is nothing but good, he doesn’t even kill the bad guys.” True my dear friends, but there are several reasons why that might be so. You could go the popular route and say he doesn’t kill because he isn’t a monster like the Joker or Bane. I, on the other hand, think he doesn’t kill because if he rids Gotham City of its plague then Batman wouldn’t exist. Batman needs Two Face, the Joker and the other villains in order to fight them and imprison them. How many times in the animated series, the comic books, and the films have the villains escaped from the Asylum. Countless times. Batman knows that they can’t be held, yet he does that same routine over and over again. Batman is addicted to fighting crime.

In the case of Batman and his villains, Batman isn’t only fighting the evils of Gotham City but fighting himself. Everyone of the villains resembles Batman in a different way. Two Face (battling with two personalities), Poison Ivy (longing to become what they pretend to be), Mr. Freeze (on a personal vendetta because of the loss of a loved one), Scarecrow (use of fear as a weapon) and Ra’s Al Ghul (fighting for the greater good); Then there is Joker, who is the complete opposite of Batman. They are like peanut butter and jelly, eggs and ham, Neo and Agent Smith; everything from their morality to their shoe size is the polar opposite. Except for one big similarity. They both need each other more then Bruce would like his parents back.

Joker has been around since the first comic came out, so the Joker and Batman were born on the same day. I see the Joker as the scariest incarnation of evil ever put on any type of media. The Joker would make Lee Marvin and Steve McQueen soil their pants. What I also love about the Joker is how much of us is in him. He is self destructive, ignores the rules/laws, and hardly does he ever think twice about his actions. To sum it up, he loves to have fun. If that doesn’t sound too complex then chew this for a while, Joker is in love with Batman…How that does that taste? The Joker would never kill Batman for the same reason why Batman won’t kill the Joker; They complete each other. Joker killed the second Robin, paralyzed Batgirl, and killed one of the wives of Commissioner Gordon in NO MAN’S LAND (to strain Batman's and Gordon's relationship) because he is jealous and doesn’t want to share the fun he’s having with Batman.

Every time I see any of the films or read the books, I see Batman as someone who doesn’t find pleasure in anything sometimes even fighting crime. But he is good at it and he knows it. Just like John McClane he knows that if he won’t do it, then no one will. That’s what makes Batman, THE BATMAN.

Batman Blog-A-Thon Day 4

- Make sure you check out the blog-a-thon entries from Fantastic Adventures of Furious D and He Shot Cyrus. Both of them have some really good stuff to say about Batman and Robin!

- Thanks again to everyone who contributed to the blog-a-thon. Matt and Alex and all my fellow LAMBs. You guys are great!

- Heard there's a line forming at the theatre, so I'm out like a fat kid in dodgeball!

Bruce Might be an Orphan, but Batman is Family

This Batman Blog-A-Thon entry is written by Matt Mendez. Here he is pictured to the right of his older, devastatingly handsome older brother, who asked not to be identified.

My brother always said that Batman was our generation’s superhero. That we were too old to be amazed by Spider-Man and too young to enjoy Superman. I tried to argue with him, but after some thinking, I realized I couldn’t. He was right.

Reruns of Batman (with Adam West) were something I grew up with. I can remember me and my brother searching them out on TV and eagerly awaiting the credits. Why the credits?? For the thrill that ran through me when Batgirl’s scooter flashed across the screen, it was like an early birthday present. My first TV crush. It’s something magical. Riddler’s riddles, the Penguin’s umbrella’s, Joker’s laugh………they are all etched in my mind and I’ll never forget them.

The original Batman movie is a huge part of my life and my relationship with my brother. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. Before “Arliss”, I knew him as Knox who got a check cut for a million dollars. Before Kim Basinger was Eminem’s mom, she was a reporter that hid film in her bra (lucky film!). No matter what anyone says about “Chinatown” or “One Flew Over” Jack will ALWAYS be the Joker to me. Like Ari Gold says “There’s the Joker, there’s Batman.” And let’s not get started on the quotes that the movie provides………when I was younger my big brother could get me to do damn near anything as long as he grabbed my shoulder, stared me straight in the face and said, “ MATT…….YOU…..are my number 1….GUY.” Kool-Aid was good as made.

And last, but not least…….the costumes. I have the distinct memory of my mom hating life come Halloween when we went as Batman and Robin. I, of course, was Robin because it was natural to follow my big brother’s lead. I had the black mask over my face and the bright yellows and reds. My brother had the utility belt and pointy ears. I know the pictures are still somewhere, but God would I be embarrassed to post them.

“I threw a rock at Batman……….It was a BIG rock.”

Batman Blog-A-Thon Day 3

- Tomorrow is the big day! Finally! Amid the frenzy surrounding Dark Knight, people may have missed the final trailer. Although long and at some points it repeats shots from earlier trailers, this final Dark Knight trailer shows some pretty impressive stuff without spoilers. Check it out.

- Make you sure you check out my brother's entry below and if you haven't already, Fletch's post over at Blog Cabins. Thanks to both of you guys, really great stuff.

- Aw, hell, I don't have anymore to write, I'm too excited! This is like the night before Christmas, except I already know what's under the tree! and it's going to be bitching!

Batman: The Animated Series

There was a time when my roommate and I would forgo a night at the bar to sit in the living room, eat pizza, have a few beers and watch Batman: The Animated Series. This was about thirteen years after the show aired and we would watch hours of episodes we saved on our DVR. My girlfriend at the time was amazed that two grown men would sit at home on a Friday night to watch cartoons. This was about three years ago and even though I’m almost thirty, I have to stop to watch when Batman is on.

The show might have been aimed for kids, but it never felt like it. It was a dark cartoon, mostly scenes taking place at night and indeed, animators drew on black paper rather than white. There was very little comedy and even the pilot was titled, “The Dark Knight’s First Night.” It was one of those fantastic, rare occasions when a product for children so seamlessly worked for adults. The series was deeply rooted in Burton’s films, from the look of Gotham City to the excellent use of Danny Elfman’s score. But, the show took itself seriously as a Batman vehicle. It presented practically the entire gamut of Batman’s villains, giving us the (now) second best representation of both Joker and Two-Face. Episodes took cues from films such as Rashomon and Last Temptation of Christ and in one Clayface episode, there are references to both A Streetcar Named Desire and Psycho inside of thirty seconds of each other. One need only look at these episode title cards to get a sense of the darker tone the series strived for.

The animated series (which never referred to itself as the animated series, simply, Batman.), even made smaller characters such as Renee Montoya and Harley Quinn part of the Batman canon. Mark Hamill played the Joker to perfection, better than Nicholson, but presumably not as amazing as Ledger. The fact that the show continues to air and that a major box set is being planned for it, speaks to the enduring legacy of the show. I love the films, but the animated series will always be close to my heart.

Batman Blog-A-Thon Day 2

- Now that The Dark Knight is releasing this week, more and more information is coming out about the film, even information about the time in between the two productions. Apparently, Warner was unsure about doing a sequel to Begins because of it's relatively modest grosses and was looking at going a different direction. Here was something they had in mind.





So, my friend Robert and I (going to TDK in IMAX on Thursday) were looking at my Lexus today and we both decided that it was both entirely feasible and not at all difficult to get a new black paint job, fix the ground effects and throw a Batman logo on the front of that bad boy. Are we serious? You will soon find out, dear readers.





- Check out Fletch's contribution to the blog-a-thon at Blog Cabins. It's a very clever piece, but then again, most things that dude writes is clever. Thanks, Fletch!


- The guys over at Digital Bits have posted their review of Dark Knight after attending a screening I missed out. It had to do with this whole deal about emails and printers, but anyways, they dug it and if you can't trust the guys at the Bits, who can you trust?

Batman Blog-A-Thon Day 1

- Firstly, check out Ryan McNeil's blog, Dark of the Matinee. I read his stuff all the time and in showing that great minds think alike, he's on a Bat blog binge this week as well. And I love the tricked out look for his site!

- It had to happen eventually and it finally did. Someone wrote a negative review of The Dark Knight. David Edelstein of the New York Magazine has called the film "noisy, jumbled and sadistic." The only other well known critic to be unfavorable to the film is David Denby from the New Yorker. You can read his review here in which he describes it as "constant climax; it's always in a frenzy and it goes on forever." Besides jumbled, are any of these things negative?

- A friend sent this to me today. It's a rather cool thing about a Dark Knight screening. You can read it at the link if you cannot read it well here.




All rather cool stuff indeed.

Batman: A Man For Our Time(s)

Batman. Bruce Wayne. The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The World’s Greatest Detective. A hero with many names and a single indelible image. From 1939 up to the present day, Batman has remained in our public conscious while other super heroes has risen and fallen. Why has such a dark character become a symbol of America and more beloved and embraced than his ally, Superman?

Batman Issue #1

Why is Batman our beloved superhero? Unique in his own way, Batman has no super powers, only his physical strength and intellectual prowess. He also has a wealthy business empire, which would be considered a super power where I’m from, but throughout the years, Wayne Enterprises has always aspired to be the opposite of big business. Although the family owned corporation was based on such American success stories like the Rockefellers or the Gettys, the Waynes have always invested back in their community and sought to make their fortune off medical supplies, improved military gear and scientific innovations in various other fields. Perhaps we identify with him because Bruce Wayne is an orphan, his parents murdered before his eyes? People might think that Batman has mirrored society’s ills, but during the Sixties, Batman was more campy and colorful than ever before. It wasn’t until after Vietnam, in the mid-Seventies and throughout the Eighties that Batman returned to his roots as a vigilante crime fighter. Maybe it could be his villains? Can you name five Batman bad guys? Easy, right? I used to impress people by rattling off all four major villains from the TV series and the seven actors who portrayed them (Bonus points if you knew who played Mr. Freeze). Now, name five Spider-Man villains? Slightly more difficult. How about five Superman enemies?

I know why Batman is my favorite. Mostly it’s because of television. When the first Batman movie came out in 1989, I was eight years old. And that bat logo was everywhere that year. Never mind Underoos, there were tattoos, haircuts, glasses, everything. When I was a kid, Batman was like the Beatles. Up until and after the release of the film, the old Batman TV show was on the air, twice a day, everyday. And just like my dad twenty years before, I was there at the same bat time, same bat channel. Batman was a hero you could relate to. He accidentally became Batman. Bruce Wayne could have been any of us, anyone with a childhood trauma. But the difference between him and us, what makes him a hero is his self-sacrifice, his willingness to put himself in harm’s way and unwavering determination to make sure that nobody suffers the same fate as his own. He pulled on the cowl, stood up for himself and stood up for us. He refused to be intimidated and braved the psychologically frightening villains of Gotham City to spare the rest of us. Batman is for the people and of the people.

Batman: Year One

I have grown up with Batman and he has always seemed age appropriate as well. The first movie premiered when I was a kid and the cartoon ran for three years when I was a kid and still syndicates. And when the films took a campy turn during my high school years, I went back to discover for the first time the comics I missed when I was younger, from the Frank Miller books of the 80’s to the newer stories like The Long Halloween. By time I had grown up and gained confidence in my inner geek, Christopher Nolan has made the Batman films more relevant, believable and impressive than anything that preceded them. And all these things represent Batman to me. Kevin Conroy’s voice over a pair of white triangles on a black screen. Dave Mazzucchelli’s art running past Frank Miller’s words. Michael Keaton hanging a mugger over a ledge and letting him know who he pisses his pants for. And now, Christian Bale as the best Bruce Wayne, really giving us someone to care about under the cowl. I have often joked about accepting Batman as my personal Lord and savior. But, Batman is simply my hero and a hero worth believing and hoping in.

Christian Bale as Batman

Big Mike's Lil' Update 7/11/08

Batman Blog-A-Thon starts next week, Monday morning! Read all the details at the Official Batman Blog-A-Thon Announcment post!



That is all.

Big Mike's Lil' Update 7/4/08

It's the Fourth of July, Independence Day. So, which movie should be watched today, Independence Day or Born on the Fourth of July? Hmm...

- OK, I know not everybody loves Spaced as much as I do, but there are several events coming up this month if you do. In Los Angeles, there will be a signing at Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash followed by a screening at the Hollywood ArcLight with Edgar, Simon, Jessica and Kev Smith in attendance. Will you be as well?






- Yes, I saw Hancock, yes, a review will be forthcoming and yes, I have a man-crush on Jason Bateman. This is NOT a bromance, just a man-crush.






- Helena Bonham Carter in Terminator 4? This week has no lack of good news for me.


- I was getting ready to get into my fall/winter preview, but most of those films still don't even have one-sheets out yet, like Harry Potter. Oh well, I guess I will put if off for a few weeks.


- I'm not sure which is odder, David Gordon Green directing Pineapple Express or Huey Lewis doing the theme song? Yea, it's David Gordon Green.


- So, if it is generally held that Batman Begins is basically Batman:Year One and The Dark Knight is The Long Halloween, then would it be all bad if the next movie were based on Dark Victory? Could Bale's insistence on not bringing in Robin merely be an attempt to throw us off the trail, akin to Raimi expressing disinterest in Venom? Would a young Robin actually work for Nolan's Batman? Do you think he will shoot the third movie entirely in IMAX? What's your favorite Batman comic? Who writes him better, Kane, Miller or Loeb? Will Nolan bring in Scarlett Johansson to play Selina Kyle or fulfill my wishes/internet rumors and cast Eva Mendes instead? Or does she just play Renee Montoya? Is it possible for Dark Knight to NOT live up to the hype? Does Heath get the Oscar or just a nomination? If everybody is comparing it to Godfather II and Empire Strikes Back, can I be the first to compare it to Aliens? Have you told all your friends about the Batman Blog-A-Thon? If I got a Batman tattoo, would I get the new logo or the classic 1989? If I were Chandler Bing, could I ask anymore questions?














-Oh, and for the first question, I'm going with neither. I just got Control. Hooray for British black and white musical bio docudrama!

Announcing Big Mike's Batman Blog-A-Thon!

I was originally going to post this last Monday, but the passing of George Carlin cast a serious pall over my entire week. But, I don't think I'm losing much in letting a week go bye.

If you're like me, you cannot wait for The Dark Knight. I already have my tickets for the midnight premiere in IMAX! It's going to be awesome. I am so amped for it that I wanted to do something with my blog for it. And so, following the success that was the Indiana Jones blog-a-thon at Cerebral Mastication that I enjoyed so much, I have decided to try my hand at running my own blog-a-thon. And I can think of nothing better to experiment with than my hero, Batman.

I will be running a new Batman blog everyday the week that Dark Knight opens, finishing on Friday with a review of Dark Knight that I'm sure I will be writing at four in the morning. That makes the time frame from July 14 to July 18. But, that's not all! I'm opening up the blog-a-thon to any and all bloggers who share a love, a hate or even a disregard for the Caped Crusader. So, whether you want to blog about the comics books, the television series, the movies or anything else concerning the world of Batman, I want you to share it with all of us. Here's how you can participate.

Post your blog and e-mail me the link. I will update my blog with your links when I get them throughout that week. If you don't want to e-mail me the link, you can post a comment with it and I will take care of the rest. And, if you do not have a blog but still want to get in on the fun, send me your piece in Word format and I will post it with proper credit to you.

Please e-mail with any questions and forward this along to anyone you know who is a Batman fan. I'm excited to hear what other people have to write about the the World's Greatest Detective!