Release Dates Jul 17 2008 @ 06:00 pm
Theater Releases for July 18th, 2008
Yeah, yeah…go, Batman. We all love Batman.
The Dark Knight
I fear the fanboys, so I can’t say anything bad about this movie. So…let’s see…This movie is guaranteed to be the best thing ever. Batman is not getting old as a character at all, even after 70-odd years of doing the same thing over and over. Assuredly, this latest flavor of Batman will be better than all previous attempts to make him relevant, and I certainly can’t think of anything that I’d rather take seriously than a guy who dresses up in a rubber bat costume to fight a sociopath in a clown outfit. A remake of Tim Burton’s 1989 film was way overdue (it’s been almost 20 years! get your head in the game, Hollywood!). And finally, Heath Ledger died tragically after filming this one, which is proof-positive that this is his best performance ever. Enjoy your opiate, masses. (All joking aside, the trailer does make this one look pretty cool. I’ll probably go. Just not on opening night…the thought of rabid Batman fans scares the guano out of me.)
Recommended if…yeah, I’m not even gonna bother. You’re all lined up at the box office already.
Space Chimps
If you were wondering why Dark Knight was still my top choice, despite my sarcasm (what sarcasm?), here’s your answer (well, this movie and the next one). CG animals with celebrity voices are, of course, all the rage right now, because just like Batman, they’re not getting old at all. Every studio in Hollywood knows that kids aren’t particularly discerning, and their parents just want them to shut up for an hour and a half, so the studio suits just play this little Mad Lib game: “(type of talking animal) in (mildly surprising location).” Now fill in the blanks with “zoo animals in Madagascar,” “forest animals in suburbia,” “penguins in the tropics,” or “chimpanzees in space” and you’ve already made yourself a cool $100 million. Who even needs a clever script or the latest animation software? Plus, the sequels to these things practically write themselves!
Recommended if you just can’t get enough mediocrity.
Mamma Mia!
…And if you’re looking for a movie trend even more nauseating than CG animals, how about a nice musical? Like nearly every bad film musical, this was based on a bad stage musical. And like nearly every bad stage musical, that one was based on the aging works of a washed-up pop band (in this case, ABBA). If the trailer is any indication, this one looks to be two hours of Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth, among others, all standing on piers and lip-synching to songs you were hoping you’d never hear again. There’s an outside chance that this could be watchable, but if you’ve really got that musical itch, you’re probably better off renting The Music Man for the umpteenth time and waiting for High School Musical 3 in October.
Recommended if you still haven’t gotten over that 1980s nostalgia that the rest of us have been sick of since, like, 1991.
on Jul 17 2008 @ 7:18 pm 1. Evan Derrick said …
How can you bag on ABBA? There’s room in everyone’s heart for a little ABBA.
Midnight showing of Dark Knight here I come!
on Jul 17 2008 @ 8:34 pm 2. Phillip Johnston said …
“There’s room in everyone’s heart for a little ABBA.”
Ummm … no.
on Jul 18 2008 @ 3:04 am 3. Sean C said …
So yeah, just got back from Batman Luke.
Best. Movie. Ever.
No seriously. It didn’t even feel like a Batman movie, not like it should have felt. It was super dark and very scary. Not the visceral comical mess you would expect from this 70-yr old franchise.
Heath’s performance was…. literally - insane. I was very creeped out by his way too serious performance of this psychopath. If you have read The Killing Joke, then it borrows heavily from it, and Heath Channels that Joker very well, better even.
This wasn’t fanboy awesomeness, this was oscar nomination, even academy award winning awesomeness.
My blog reader has been down, and for me to manually search my blogs out is way too time consuming… so I just got bloglines and I’m back to join heartfelt discussions about Rambo and Batman.
on Jul 18 2008 @ 3:18 am 4. Evan Derrick said …
Just returned from TDK as well. For the most part, I concur with Sean (good to have you back, by the way).
It. Is. Stunning. One of those rare films that functions on an entertainment level (exceptionally so, one of the most jaw-dropping thrill rides in recent memory) as well as an emotional one. The closing words of the film bring new meaning to the title, and they are reverberating with me even now.
The Dark Knight.
I’m not going to be able to write about this until I see it a second time, I think. It demands that level of respect and attention.
on Jul 18 2008 @ 8:30 am 5. Luke Harrington said …
Well…good. I’m glad to see that people rave about this movie after seeing it, as well.
I won’t make fun of this one anymore…at least, not until I see it.
And as always…apologies to any Batman fans I’ve offended. I just could not, for the life of me, see what was so great about Begins. Perhaps it’ll click when I go see this one.
(And as for ABBA…I got nuthin’ against ‘em. They’re just kinda bland.)
on Jul 18 2008 @ 8:59 am 6. Courtney McLaughlin said …
I’d just like to comment on your nice use of the word guano.
on Jul 18 2008 @ 9:51 am 7. Nathan Keltner said …
Dark Knight was phenomenal. I’m excited that my wife didn’t get to come see this with me so I have a valid excuse to go spend money to see it again!
This is probably the first movie that I’ve said “I have to own this the first day it’s available.” This is the first title to get me really excited about Bluray. Maybe it won’t have the “staying power” or whatever and I won’t feel so strongly after weeks/months/years, but, wow. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I’m still trying to process some of it, though. I felt it was sending contradictory messages and I’m not so sure about the messages it was sending, anyway. I won’t get in to it too much so I don’t spoil anything, but the movie makes all of these claims:
- Trust people; they’re basically good and they’ll do the right thing.
- Don’t trust people; they won’t do the right thing, so you should lie to them instead to protect them.
- Privacy is sacrosanct and one person should never have too much power.
- Except when it’s expedient to violate privacy and grant said power because a) we have cool special effects we want to show off and b) we must protect the world from terrorists.
I look forward to your review, Evan!
on Jul 18 2008 @ 10:34 am 8. Evan Derrick said …
Those are probably all valid observations, Nathan. I think the overriding theme of the film for me was choice, and every moment in the script plays off of that in subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways. Batman has ‘chosen’ to lead the life of a vigilante, and that comes with consequences (doesn’t get the girl, physical and emotional trauma). The Joker is all about making people choose, as the climax illustrated (actually, there are about 8 climaxes, although that isn’t a bad thing). Harvey Dent rejects choice in favor of chance because inwardly he’s a coward, unwilling to accept responsibility for his own actions. Of course, one of the pivotal moments in the movie involves a terrible choice that Batman must make, and the outcome of his choice bears tragic ramifications for himself, Dent, and Gotham.
The script beautifully weaves that theme in and through and around all of the characters. Where Batman Begins dealt with fear, The Dark Knight deals with choice.
These thoughts will probably all make it into my review in one form or another, so I apologize if they become redundant down the road.
on Jul 18 2008 @ 1:54 pm 9. Piper said …
I used to love ABBA when I was a kid and it drove my brother nuts. I had all their albums on vinyl and my brother would take them all, put them under the cushion of a chair and sit on them until they were warped. That sumbitch.
I can’t do Mama Mia. It feels like Hairspray + My Big Fat Greek Wedding put together. Can’t do it.
And I’m seeing The Dark Knight tonight. I’m not a fanboy, but I’m very excited to see it. Thought Batman Begins was excellent. Wait, maybe I am a fanboy. Scre that, I’m no fanboy.
on Jul 18 2008 @ 4:08 pm 10. Kristena said …
Piper- I grew up listening to ABBA too. Loved them from age 4. So I kinda want to see this. I don’t actually understand how Space Chimps ranks above Mamma Mia! on your list, Luke.
Hey, Keltners, wanna trade off babysitting for each other so we can all see TDK with spouses?
on Jul 18 2008 @ 4:34 pm 11. Luke Harrington said …
Have you seen the trailer for Mamma Mia!, Kristena? If you had, you’d understand. (Space Chimps also has in its favor that I know next to nothing about it.)
I admit it was a tight race, though.
Thanks for the nod to my use of the word “guano,” Courtney. Bat-related puns…is there anything they can’t do?
on Jul 18 2008 @ 8:40 pm 12. K. Bowen said …
Don’t watch Batman with an attitude. It really is phenomenal.
on Jul 18 2008 @ 9:58 pm 13. Sean C said …
It’s almost a full 24 hours later and TDK is still resonating inside. I haven’t processed the feelings. Some of it is probably because of Heath Ledger I think… like a thick gloom about that situation. It definitely added to the darkness that overcast this movie…. my God as I think of some of the epic feelings I got from the shots wide panoramic and aerial shots they took. This was a huge world and a lot was going on in it. All of it intertwined and weaved together to form a coherent story. Several stories and several themes throughout in fact as the guys above me said. I understand Evan when he says that he will have to see it again before he can write about it… there’s just something it leaves with you after the closing credits and somber and dark final score…
As far as Begins, I felt the same way… Actually Evan was the one that schooled me on why it’s a better Batman than the rest and once I saw it in that light it is easily the best Batman. Although it is crippled a little by the 3rd act, it’s still a very cohesive movie. That aside it’s a great reboot and falls in line with Frank Millers reboot. Evan do you remember the countless morning coffee pot conversations? Especially about movies and games? haha.
on Jul 19 2008 @ 5:50 pm 14. Cinexcellence said …
Just got back from watching TDK at the IMAX with Phillip. It was quite the experience in awesomeness.
on Jul 19 2008 @ 6:13 pm 15. Phillip Johnston said …
I concur. Not one dull moment in the whole run time.
on Jul 19 2008 @ 7:35 pm 16. colleen said …
Got back from TDK a few hours ago. It was good, and there isn’t a single thing I could say against the film, yet I just didn’t find myself drawn into the film. With Hellboy I was leaning forward and completly absorbed in what Del Toro was dishing out the whole movie. I was aware I was watching a film the whole time I watch TDk. Shame, cause I did think it was a good film
on Jul 19 2008 @ 7:59 pm 17. Sean C said …
Colleen, I’m not sure how you weren’t drawn in from the opening scene until the very end. I have no answers for you. I was dazzled by Ledgers performance and the movies pace kept you at a steady anxious pace through out…
on Jul 19 2008 @ 8:01 pm 18. Sean C said …
The movies rhythm kept you at a steady anxious pace..
on Jul 20 2008 @ 7:35 pm 19. Matt Gamble said …
Yay for hyperbole!
Saw TDK. Liked it. Didn’t love it because it is loaded with continuity errors and horrible editing which almost ruins a pretty great film.
But then I must be an idiot because I didn’t lurv lurv lurv it.
on Jul 21 2008 @ 7:58 pm 20. Cinexcellence said …
Hyperbole is a lot like stereotypes: Sometimes it’s just true, darn it.
on Jul 21 2008 @ 10:27 pm 21. Luke Harrington said …
So…just got back from TDK. It wasn’t bad. Pretty good, even. Certainly better than Begins (and of course, better than either of Joel Schumacher’s films…but that goes without saying).
A man in a rubber bat suit is still silly, though. No amount of “grittiness” can hide that.
Oh, and Aaron Eckhart was excellent. I enjoyed his performance more than Ledger’s…but he’s still alive, so of course no one will notice him. Sad.
on Jul 22 2008 @ 6:46 am 22. G said …
Oh Luke. A man in a rubber bat suit is silly, of course. It’s also, in this instance, deadly serious - a lot like invading a country because its leader said bad things about your dad. Silliness and grittiness go hand in hand all the time.
All things considered, I consider The Dark Knight pretty low on the silliness/grittiness ratio. There are a number of real life things that have killed many people that are much sillier. I’d love to go into them, but I’d just end up offending everyone.
on Jul 22 2008 @ 8:46 am 23. Luke Harrington said …
You make a good point. Life is dumb, and it still kills people, so our movies should be dumb and kill people. Wait — that wasn’t your point, was it?
Seriously though, I can’t argue with what you say. All things considered, the film did an excellent job of imagining the Batman comics, as they might happen, were they to occur in the “real world” — which I guess is Nolan’s intention. The characters had depth, the plot had twists and turns, and the acting was pretty good. It also came much closer to capturing the spirit of a noir (which has apparently been a Holy Grail to Nolan for his entire career). I have very little to complain about.
It did, however, remind me of what bugged me about the first one. That voice that Bale uses when he’s in the Batsuit? Totally ridiculous.
on Jul 23 2008 @ 8:21 am 24. Cinexcellence said …
“It wasn’t bad”
WOW.
That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said about a superhero film.
on Jul 23 2008 @ 9:00 am 25. Luke Harrington said …
Not true. Read the sentence that directly follows that one.
I’d also like to point out that I was huge fan of Spider-Man 2, Iron Man, and Sky High.
on Jul 23 2008 @ 11:01 am 26. Phillip Johnston said …
The voice is the only thing that turns me off about this new Batman. I know its necessary, but he just sounds … uhhh … butch?
on Jul 23 2008 @ 11:05 am 27. Luke Harrington said …
It’s not a bad thing for Bruce Wayne to use a deeper, gruffer voice when he’s Batman…it’s just that Bale is taking it to a point of ridiculousness. Some subtlety is in order, I think (which is ironic, since subtlety is otherwise the best thing that Nolan’s series has going for it).
on Jul 23 2008 @ 1:37 pm 28. Evan Derrick said …
I was initially put off by Bale’s voice, but on further reflection it’s part of a cohesive vision by Nolan. I’ll explain whenever I finally get to my review.
on Jul 23 2008 @ 4:25 pm 29. Daniel said …
I was initially put off by Bale’s voice, but on further reflection I was even MORE put off by it. I’ll read your defense of it, though, of course.
I actually don’t even think it’s Bale’s idea or anything, nor do I believe that it’s done with massive electronic amplification. It’s just distracting.
on Jul 23 2008 @ 4:27 pm 30. Daniel said …
That should read “withOUT massive electronic amplification.”