1.
I’m on a 5:30 flight, so I’m posting this now. Yes, 5:30. The airlines are run by meth-addicted bastards who have no concept of time as it relates to real people.
2.
While I’m at San Diego, I should have the access necessary to upload photos, post drunkenly, and let you guys know when a new installment of The Rack is up if you’re not trained enough by now. (Birdie’s under instructions to just publish it while I’m out of town, so it should be up at the usual times tomorrow and Friday.)
3.
I’ll be at the BOOM! Studios booth most of the time (2543,) so come by and say “Hi” if you’re nearby. I’m also planning to attend just a few panels and visit some friends at their booths, so I’ll be free and clear to navigate if you want to fill me with alcohol at any point during the festivities.
1.
Unlike movies based on comics stories, films like The Dark Knight, based on characters have free reign to pick and choose. Nolan and his brother (along with David Goyer) choose very, very wisely, taking what works on film and leaving what doesn’t, crafting a straightforward yet appropriately cinematic version of Gotham. It may not be the insane place featured in the comics, but it’s one that chugs right along on film. The script is smart and pleasantly layered without losing the audience with unneccessary convolutions, focusing on ethical and moral areas that haven’t been touched on in the genre, at least not in this intelligent a manner. There were moments in which I was honestly surprised by what I was seeing on film, an unusual sensation when watching a superhero film.
2.
Heath Ledger really is that good. A whirling dervish that’s impossible to remain unengaged by, his Joker kicks Jack Nicholson to the rightly-deserved curb and threatens Caesar Romero as the definitive live-action version. What’s amazing to me is how he makes what would seem like an irresolvable dogpile of quirks, tics, and mannerisms come together so elegantly. It’s a lyrical, savvy performance that makes me regret that he won’t be around for another film, particularly after seeing how well he acted out the ideological battle that’s the core of the movie.
3.
Christian Bale knows how to hit every note that’s placed, from the way Batman’s eyes move to Bruce Wayne’s slightly-slouchy rich-man’s pose. His interaction with the other actors in either role raises the bar for anyone else who puts on a costume and poses on film. He’s a lot like Robert Downey Jr in Iron Man; you can actually see him working through things and decisions without a muscle moving.
4.
The rest of the cast, particularly Aaron Eckhart, are also above-average in their roles. Without giving too much away, I’ll say that Eckhart manages to make you believe in Harvey Dent and the attendant quirk without it seeming comic-booky at all while newcomer to the franchise Maggie Gyllenhaal reminds you how very not-good an actress Katie Holmes is. If you saw Batman Begins, then you know how good Oldman, Freeman, and Caine are in their roles, and i was glad to see them all return, even if two of them were in a slightly-diminished capacity.
5.
I’ll need to see the movie again, but I think it may have just nudged its way into my top ten list, maybe even the top five. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a movie engage my brain this well while having an appropriate number of kicks, punches, and explosions.
…so I’ll probably be posting about how it melted my eyeballs and the joy I now experience in my life because of the movie. You should check out Ken Lowery’s review of the movie, which actually got me more excited about the picture than any bit of marketing:
The Dark Knight ignores the familiar beats of an action or superhero movie and proceeds organically, so much so that the audience feels involved in a long, tense episode in the life of a major (if fictional) city. The performances do not feel like performances; these people simply are.
I skipped last week. Deal. I’m also gonna skip Godland because it’s in the middle of an alternate universe storyline. I may also skip sobriety if today keeps going like it has been.
Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #1
I’ve never read Geoff Johns’s Flash run, but the character’s gallery of baddies has always appealed to me, and the allure of a more robust Scott Kolins reuniting with the writer transformed a cursory flip-through into an impulse buy. While this title is mired in the recent past of the Flash titles (in particular, the Rogues’ participation in the murder of Bart Allen,) readers like me get all the information they need to actually understand the story presented, even if the events are tied into Morrison’s Final Crisis event. It’s nice to see DCU villains actually feeling penitent for their crimes without actually becoming antiheroes; they enjoy the game and feel it should have rules of conduct, a nice nod to the Silver Age ethos that I sort of miss, particularly in the titles most closely associated with that gee-whiz period.
My only caveat is that Johns once again indulges in the ultraviolence that defines his weaknesses in my head with the return of one villain. While I understand the desire to make sure we know how horrible a criminal is, there’s really no need to show their acts or the amount of blood they generate. While the tonal shift and its impact is obviously done for a reason, I still found it distasteful and, worst of all, lazy.
Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #26
So, in this issue, aliens come to earth demanding to know how we got rid of Galactus because dude’s around the corner and totally hungry and the Avengers are like “Well, Reed Richards did this thing we can’t do again” and the aliens are all like “Oh no” and Captain America is all “Let’s go try to help them out anyway” and they end up playing baseball, chess, and Texas Hold ‘Em for the sake of the aliens who are, by the way, total douchebags. All of that in one nicely-drawn, funny all-ages comic by Jeff Parker, Ig Guara, and crew that doesn’t talk down to the kids one bit.
