The Dark Knight

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Grand Master

+Nik Louch Subscriber²

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Everywhere I have gone today people have been editing photos with the joker style for example an improvement of the Spears family...

THIS is exactly what should have been a MASSIVE guerilla marketing ploy.

Imagine it - would have been insane!

Grand Master

Rappy Veteran

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inqyw8.jpg

Looks like the Joker is up to his mischief again. Bruce, a proud owner of a Joker phone, has just got a text from [email protected], reading:

Welcome to Short-Attention-Span-Theater: Lash Guilt Thru Unit (-un)?

Which works out as ?Laugh Til It Hurts? and takes us to the new flash game:

www.whysoserious.com/laughtilithurts/

PLUS:

Update

New Acme Security Systems page found:

www.whysoserious.com/laughtilithurts/static.htm

And a flash of The Joker towards the end of the video?

Grand Master

Kev1n

Posted
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He's the hero when Gotham needs one - thanklessly fighting the evil that all of us fear; but that we all have within us. When necessary he will turn and take the blame for all that has gone wrong. He is whatever the city needs him to be. He is unflinching and uncorruptable. He is Batman.

This theme runs throughout The Dark Knight - which is, the darkest, unforgiving Batman movie I have ever seen - and Christopher Nolan's epic masterpiece. We either die the hero, or live to see ourselves become the villian.

It seems the streets are safer in Gotham, and crime lords now fear the night - however, from the opening shot we get a forboding sense of the evil to come. And evil comes - in a opening bank heist sequence that I would never dare give away - we meet the Joker. I find it difficult to put into words exactly how i felt watching Heath Ledger portray the joker, now that he has passed - it almost pains me to think that he will never get to see this movie. He has created one of the most mercilessly evil characters I have ever seen on screen, one that actually disturbed me from time to time because i didn't know what he would do next - one that nearly gaurantees him an Oscar nomination. From the moment he shares his first "magic trick" with the table of crime lords, he will stun you - you will not look away when he is on screen. I think he will make some people unsettled.

As the crime lords unite and align under one leader, "The Joker" - with one purpose - "Kill The Batman" - it may seem like our hero Batman takes the backseat here, and you would be slightly correct. While Christian Bale is amazing as always, this is Heath Ledger's show. But Batman is back with a slick new bike, new suit, and a mess of gadgets from Morgan Freeman - that Christopher Nolan of course takes ample time to explain. I have to say that Aaron Eckhart sometimes rubs me the wrong way, but he is great here as Harvey Dent - the shining ray of hope for Gotham, and Two Face - the evil he has become. Make no mistake, Two Face is not some gag reveal tacked on at the end of the film - no, Two Face is a seriously grotesque villian not to be taken lightly; heads you live, tails you die. Maggie Gyllenhaal is a much stronger character than Katie Holmes' version - and creates a dynamic love triangle between her, Wayne, and Harvey Dent.

The series themes of violent escalation take effect, and things quickly become out of control as the Joker holds the city hostage and stages several nightmare scenarios - forcing innocents to make sadistic decisions. Christopher Nolan holds nothing back. Tumbler and batpod chases ensue, evenly matched with bone crunching fist fights where Bale shows off the strength off his new glove hydrolics. Even when faith is lost, and it appears things are at their worst Batman thanklessly fights on - until two principle showdowns when decisions are made, and characters are defined.

This movie is beautifully paced by Nolan, with a very strong script. His action sequences are a marvel to behold (an end over end tractor trailer flip had the audience gasping), George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have been made to look like complete fools this summer. There is just a scant of CGI to be seen throughout - at one moment a helicopter was crashing and I was thinking, "here come the computer effects", but no - real flaming wreckage.

Dark Knight will excite you one moment, terrify you the next, and then will grip your heart to see the tragic falls of several main characters - no one is safe in this film. Ledger's performance is not one you will forget quickly, he channeled evil for this role, and I am not taken aback easily. Nolan continues his grand opus that he has been orchestrating since Batman Begins, and will continue on into a third film i am sure. Which is good because Dark Knight ends with a slightly "to be continued" feel to it. This is the movie of the summer, and one of the smartest action movies ever made.

Now just try to hold your excitement for a few more weeks.

9.5/10 - One of the great, dark, comic book epics to ever grace the screen.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthr...age=3&pp=30

Grand Master

Xero

Posted
Posted (edited)

Apparently comparing pre orders to Spidey 3, TDK is selling 8x more. If you didn't think this movie was going to open big, you damn well better now. Lets hope it shatters Spideys 300millie weekend and has the biggest opening weekend in film. Lord knows it will live up the hype unlike spidey :hmmm: I bought my tickets today, not only was I able to print them so I don't have to stand in line to pick them up, I got tickets to the IMAX screening. Big screen, big sound, ****in sweeeeeet. Marley knows what I'm talking bout.

Dark Knight Ticket Sales Eight Times as Much as Spider-Man 3

Edited by Xero
Experienced

Skulltrail-old

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NOTICE!!!

Do NOT ride Six Flag's Dark Knight roller coaster, it is simply horrendous!!!

The line was about an hour long and once you get it you see a teaser of the movie (very nice, room very artisticly altered to fit the movie). After watching it the room goes black and emergency lights start flashing (the Joker comes, not really but his presence is shown). Then you go through a room, into a tunnel and head for the rollercoaster. It was very ironic to see a mini New York subway/cart looking roller coaster. You get in and out you go. It's extremely dark, mostly only neon lighting throughout the scenarios. The only thing worth mentioning is the immensive speed which the roller coaster goes at. Not faster than the Nitro or the Kingdaka but pretty fast, maybe because the endless amount of quick, sudden turns. After about 30 seconds, you are back in the station and get to leave.

Grand Master

Lqv2015

Posted
Posted

Spoiler free review from someone at AICN

"I'll start out this review by saying that I have not read comic books in years. When I was a teenager, I was an avid reader but I just seemed to grow out of it. With that said, I thought BATMAN BEGINS was the best comic book on film I had seen to date. After seeing DARK KNIGHT earlier today, I can safely say, this was the GODFATHER 2 of comic book films. (I owe an AICN chatroom attendee for that comparison.)

The film begins with the 6 minute teaser that some of you had seen previously in December on the front of I AM LEGEND. I read somewhere that Nolan was inspired by HEAT with this film. It shows. The bank robbery seems to almost be an homage. William Fichtner is even in the scene. His only scene in the film at that. I do not want to really go into plot details on the film as I want to try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible. I just want to comment on the various aspects of it.

First off, the look of the film is stunning. The last Batman film kind of reminded me in some spots as being very Londonesque, especially Wayne Manor. Gotham looks more like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles then any of the previous BATMAN films to date. Nothing at all seems like a soundstage. It surpasses THE PRESTIGE as Wally Pfister's most beautifully shot film to date, Do yourself a favor and see the film in IMAX if you can. Not an OMNIMAX screen, because they curve. And when a film is shot in Cinemascope, OMNIMAX makes it blurred and hard to follow action.

Next, the screenplay and direction. I am convinced after seeing this film that Nolan may be one of our greater talents out there today. He has not made a bad film yet and this film might be his crowning achievement. He and Jonathan Nolan co-wrote the script together and they seem to have such a firm grasp on the story and the characters of Gotham City that part of me wishes the Burton BATMAN films never existed. The Nolan helmed BATMAN films have been everything that Singer forgot to do with SUPERMAN RETURNS. You can pay homage to the past but make damn well sure you have a script to go with it. And unlike SUPERMAN RETURNS, which at times seemed intolerably long, THE DARK KNIGHT is 152 minutes on the edge of your seat. Nolan moves the camera in ways that he has never done in his prior films. There are 360 degree pans around characters in several scenes. You all know what that is normally. The Michael Bay special. Nolan never abuses it and keeps it slow enough that you can follow everything going on in the scene. And a true test to craftsmanship, never in this film was I distracted by CGI. When it is used, it is so beautifully handled that it never stands out. That is the true success of proper CGI.

The performances are all top notch. My theory has always been, the better quality of actors in an action film, the better your film will be. The holdovers from the previous films, Bale, Caine, Freeman & Oldman all have settled into their roles. Bale has the more demanding chore because he is Batman much more in this film then Bruce Wayne. My only complaint, and it's a minor one with Bale is at times, I think the Batman voice sounds too much like a grunt. Maggie Gyllenhal steps in for the completely replaceable Katie Holmes and gives her character a much more layered feel to it then Mrs. Cruise did. Aaron Eckheart is actually a prominent fixture in the film and if you don't want any more spoilers involving his character, stop watching the TV ads. He would not have been my first choice for Harvey Dent but he seems incredibly right for it. But, as you might expect, Heath Ledger's performance is nothing short of spectacular. Again, when I heard Ledger was cast, I had my suspicions. His take on the Joker is so menacing, it makes Nicholson's campiness look like Caesar Romero. With Ledger's Joker, you aren't laughing at him like you were with Nicholson. At times, you are laughing a nervous chuckle at his pure psychotic behavior. It is a mesmerizing performance that Ledger immerses himself in and truly makes it his own. He is a landmark villain for this genre of film. I would absolutely remember him posthumously at Oscar time. It's a shame he's gone. This would have moved him to the A list. A minor spoiler here, see if you catch the BROKEBACK joke Heath throws into the film.

While I know it is impossible to please everyone, Nolan certainly comes damn close here by delivering a film of such brilliance, that it goes beyond great comic book film to great film period."

Interview with Oldman and Nolan regarding the Joker, a third installment, and the Riddler

While conducting interviews with the cast of The Dark Knight this afternoon, I got a chance to chat with director Christopher Nolan and Gary Oldman about the proposed third segment of their supposed Batman trilogy. While none of us in attendance really wanted to dwell on the death of Heath Ledger, Oldman offered his thoughts on the actor's portrayal of the Joker, calling it the scariest on-screen performance he's ever seen.

He even went on to compare it to his own work as Sirius Black, saying, "Sirius Black might scare six year olds, but he doesn't scare nine year olds. It's hard to scare kids these days. Heath does. He scares everybody. This is one of the most frightening performances I have ever seen put on film." When asked if he thought they should recast Ledger for the third film, or just not include the character, Gary thought it was a good idea, "I don't see why not. I mean, they did it with Katie Holmes' character. I understand that this is a different circumstance, but I think another actor could do the job. I think Heath would want another actor to do the job."

Oldman then took a moment to think about it some more, "Maybe we don't need the Joker. Because we'll have The Riddler." Yes, Oldman alluded to the fact that The Riddler may in fact be the next on-screen Batman villain.

When I asked if he, himself, wanted to come back for a third segment, he smiled coyly, "We don't really know if Nolan is coming back." He then shook his head. "I guess I have to come back." He then put his hand to the side of his mouth as if to hide the next line from everybody, "Nolan will come back for a third one. I think we all have to." It is well known that Oldman tried to get out of appearing in The Dark Knight, but his contract wouldn't allow it.

Next, I asked Christopher Nolan if he wanted to come back for a third Batman film, and he said that he wasn't sure that he wanted to come back, "I don't know. I take my projects one at a time, and I am not thinking about that right now. I don't know if I want to come back." After that, I asked, "If you do choose to make a third Batman film, do you think that you would recast for the Joker? Or will he not appear in the film?"

Nolan's replay, "I don't know. I honestly have not taken a moment away from what is going on with the film now to even think about that. I don't know. I simply don't know."

http://www.movieweb.com/news/18/29618.php

Kevin Smith's review:

Without giving anything away, this is an epic film (and trust me: based on the sheer size and scope of the visuals and storytelling, that's not an overstatement). It's the "Godfather II" of comic book films and three times more earnest than "Batman Begins" (and ****, was that an earnest film). Easily the most adult comic book film ever made. Heath Ledger didn't so much give a performance as he disappeared completely into the role; I know I'm not the first to suggest this, but he'll likely get at least an Oscar nod (if not the win) for Best Supporting Actor. ****ing flick's nearly three hours long and only leaves you wanting more (in a great way). I can't imagine anyone being disappointed by it. Nolan and crew have created something close to a masterpiece.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...logID=410282847

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