The Dark Knight

[junior2430]

WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW!

That's pretty much all I can say. It is amazing. If Heath Ledger doesn't win Best Supporting Actor, it's a joke. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job. I'm sure a lot of people are saying that if he does get nominated/win it will be because he died. but that is crap. Like Aaron Eckhart said, his death will bring more attention to the role, but his performance stands on its own.

And their version of Two Face is crazy!

I gotta go see this again, if its not sold out still!

[Mark]

Soooooo your saying you liked it?

[NMStorm]

I am excited to watch this movie but I'm going to wait until it is no longer packed to go. I hate watching movies with people packed in around me. I seriously doubt Ledger will win an Oscar though. It almost always goes to an actor in a less mainstream movie. I don't know abot you guys but I use RottenTomatoes.com to read movie reviews. They take hundreds of reviews and give you all kinds of averages. I think it is better than relying on one reviewer for a synopsis. You get a broad variety of opinions.

[loborick]

A friend of mine went to the midnight show the other night. It sold out by 10pm. She said it was amazing. She said it was sad to watch such an amazing performance from Heath Ledger knowing we'll never see another one.

I am also going to wait a few days. I don't want to deal with the crowds. I go to IMDB.com for my reviews. You can also find out just aoout anything you want about any movie. Actors, filming locations, soundtrack. I love that site. I go there everytime I go see a movie to find out more about it.

[NMStorm]

I like IMDB as well for general information. I like that everything is linked together. It makes it easy. I was just reading that The Dark Knight is likely to break the opening weekend box office record. Pretty impressive. I like that it is a little darker than your average comic book movie. I thought HellBoy II would be similarly dark (based on the previews) but it was more light hearted than I expected. Geared more toward teenagers.

[junior2430]

I disagree that Oscars usually go to non-mainstream movies. Occasionally sure, but it's not the norm IMO. I was critical of Oscar talk for him until I saw his performance. It's amazing.

I use both RottenTomatoes and IMDB. I like the fresh meter, altough I sometimes don't agree with it. I've seen movies that I like that score like 35%, and not liked movies that scored in the nineties. Perfect example is Wall-E. Scored like 95%, but I thought it was the most boring movie I have seen in years.

[PHILLY_1982]

I agree with not wanting to wait in long lines. I tried watching it last night, ended up getting a refund because of no seats except the very front row. It's ridiculous.

Even tried another theatre, and it was still sold out till midnight.

I still want to see it, I've heard great reviews on it.

[Mark]

I hate sitting next to those teenagers who giggle and think its cool to talk and make joke throughout the movies.. You dont know how many times (ask my wife) that ive told them to shut up and literally almost have gotten out of my seat. Theres nothing more annoying in life than these idiots.

[junior2430]

I never really had a problem with people talking in theatres until I moved to Cali. Now someone talks in every movie I go to (and I go to A LOT of movies). I guess people just don't have respect out here. It got so bad a couple of weeks ago that I actually got up and stood in front of the people that wouldn't stop talking. I had asked them to stop about 8 times.

However, during The Dark Knight, no one said a peep. I didn't see the bright lights of any cell phones from people texting either. It was amazing.

[NMStorm]

I disagree that Oscars usually go to non-mainstream movies. Occasionally sure, but it's not the norm IMO. I was critical of Oscar talk for him until I saw his performance. It's amazing.

I use both RottenTomatoes and IMDB. I like the fresh meter, altough I sometimes don't agree with it. I've seen movies that I like that score like 35%, and not liked movies that scored in the nineties. Perfect example is Wall-E. Scored like 95%, but I thought it was the most boring movie I have seen in years.

I guess I should've been more specific. I should've said that hollywood blockbuster type films rarely win a lot of academy awards even if they deserve them. I wouldn't call "No Country For Old Men" a hollywood blockbuster type movie and it won best film. The biggest exception in recent years would be Return of the King which won everything (but the previous two got snubbed when they should've won a couple more than they did).

Regardless, I am excited to see it. I've seen most of the blockbusters that have come out this summer and have been dissapointed with all of them except Ironman and maybe Wanted. The thing with Wanted was that I had semi-high expectations for the film based on the directors past russian films. They weren't the best movies but they were visually stunning. Wanted was ridiculous but very entertaining.

I'm hoping the new X-Files movie will be at least okay. I was a big sci-fi fan growing up and I want it to be good. The previews so far ar less than promising. I'm stoked for the Watchmen movie to come out in 2009. That one will be awesome.

I had high hopes for the summer season but so far it has been so-so.

[junior2430]

I think it's been an excellent summer for movies. But then again, I watch and like almost everything that comes out.

There's pretty consitently been at least one movie release per week that has me excited. Next up is Step Brothers. It looks crazy dumb, but crazy funny.

[NMStorm]

I think it's been an excellent summer for movies. But then again, I watch and like almost everything that comes out.

There's pretty consitently been at least one movie release per week that has me excited. Next up is Step Brothers. It looks crazy dumb, but crazy funny.

I was excited about a lot of movies but very few have met expectations. I guess mine have been too high.

1) Hulk: Ed Norton was good and I'm a big Tim Roth fan (Four Rooms, Pulp Fiction). It wasn't bad but it wasn't great.

2) Indiana Jones: I like Indy. I'm just not a fan of Shia Lebouf (or whatever he calls himself). Special effects were solid and the story was good but I expected more.

3) Wanted: Met expectations albeit a bit ridiculous. I still enjoyed it. The Shia Lebouf knock-off did an adequate job.

4) Wall-E: Met expectations but isn't as good as it's reviews portray. Most of the Pixar films aren't as good as they are reviewed IMO but it was watchable.

5) Kung-Fu Panda: I had low expectations for this one and it was funny. Surprised me a little.

5) Ironman: Much better than I expected. The previews did not do it justice. I was afraid the lack of action would hurt this movie but Robert Downey Jr. did a fantastic job.

6) Hellboy II: I already talked about this one. I expect Del Toro to make a darker movie. I'm still excited about him doing the Hobbit and I hope that some day the studios let him do his Mountain of Madness movie. It will be awesome!

7) Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Not nearly as good as Superbad or Knocked up but I laughed. I enjoyed it.

8) The Forbidden Kingdom: Not nearly as good as I expected. The Shia Lebouf clone in this movie was horrible. Action was not as good as you'd think considering you have two of the best action guys around in it.

9) Horton Hears a Who: Not bad. Entertaining enough. I enjoyed it.

10) 10,000 BC: Straight up STUPID! This from a guy who actually enjoyed The Day After Tomorrow.

11) You don't mess with the Zohan: Dumb, not very funny. Sandler used to be at the top of his game with these type of movies, but it feels old and stale.

12) The Love Guru: Mike Myers...See Adam Sandler. Not funny. Nothing new. Dumb. (and I liked Doctor Evil)

13) The Happening: Odd movie. Kind-of boring and not scarry at all. It appears not to make much sense but when you really think about it, it does. It could've been better but it wasn't as bad as the critics made it out to be.

14) Hancock: I didn't think the plot was as hard to follow in the second half like a lot of people have been saying but it wasn't a great movie. There wasn't as many action scenes as you'd expect. Most of them were in the previews. There also really wasn't a villian. It was still okay but it could have been MUCH better.

That is a wrap up of all the theater movies I've seen this summer. I'll watch The Dark Knight sometime this week. I'm excited for it.

Also...I would never watch a movie like Sex in the City, even if my wife begged. I can't stand romance movies. Second also, if I do watch horror films I usually wait for them to come out on DVD. I didn't watch Get Smart for no particularly reason. It just felt like a DVD movie and I can't stand Emile Hirsch so I won't watch Speed Racer.

I'm looking forward to the X-Files Movie, Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, Traitor, Burn After Reading, Miracle at St. Anna, and Defiance. (I enjoy WWII movies).

Step Brother could be okay. That character was funny the first couple of times that Will Ferrel played it but it's gotten old. He does have good chemistry with John C. Riley though.

Anyway, that is my unsolicited opinion on the summer movie season so far. :)

[junior2430]

Summers aren't usually filled "great" movies. But there have been quite a few fun and enjoyable summer flicks this year. I agree with your take for the most part. The only one of those movies I wouldn't watch again is Wall-E. I like Guru and Zohan though. Thought they were very funny.

[NMStorm]

Summers aren't usually filled "great" movies. But there have been quite a few fun and enjoyable summer flicks this year. I agree with your take for the most part. The only one of those movies I wouldn't watch again is Wall-E. I like Guru and Zohan though. Thought they were very funny.

Wall-E wasn't bad. I wouldn't watch it again either though. I kind-of figured you'd like those two comedies after saying that you were looking forward to Step Brothers.

I wasn't looking for great movies just entertaining movies and I've been a little dissapointed considering my expectations for the summer.

[LoboBen]

I have to agree with Junior. This was an outstanding performance by Ledger. I am no movie buff by any stretch of the imagination, but I plan on catching it again in an IMAX theater this time.

[loborick]

My take on some of these movies.

I was excited about a lot of movies but very few have met expectations. I guess mine have been too high.

1) Hulk: Ed Norton was good and I'm a big Tim Roth fan (Four Rooms, Pulp Fiction). It wasn't bad but it wasn't great.Agreed. What really bugged me about it was the CGI was not very convincing. Too cartoonish.

2) Indiana Jones: I like Indy. I'm just not a fan of Shia Lebouf (or whatever he calls himself). Special effects were solid and the story was good but I expected more.This movie was actually better than I expected. Indy was still Indy. I liked it.

3) Wanted: Met expectations albeit a bit ridiculous. I still enjoyed it. The Shia Lebouf knock-off did an adequate job.Haven't seen it.

4) Wall-E: Met expectations but isn't as good as it's reviews portray. Most of the Pixar films aren't as good as they are reviewed IMO but it was watchable.This is where I really disagree with a lot of people on here. The first part of the movie with just Wall-e and Eve was amazing. The communication without words was great. I was amazed by it. The second half of the movie, not so much.

5) Kung-Fu Panda: I had low expectations for this one and it was funny. Surprised me a little.Didn't see it.

5) Ironman: Much better than I expected. The previews did not do it justice. I was afraid the lack of action would hurt this movie but Robert Downey Jr. did a fantastic job.This was an amazing movie. It was so much more than I expected. One of the faves.

6) Hellboy II: I already talked about this one. I expect Del Toro to make a darker movie. I'm still excited about him doing the Hobbit and I hope that some day the studios let him do his Mountain of Madness movie. It will be awesome!I really like this. I love that Del Toro doesn't rely so much on CGI and uses more prosthetics and makeup. Makes for much more realism. I like the character and enjoyed the movie.

7) Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Not nearly as good as Superbad or Knocked up but I laughed. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed Superbad and Knocked Up but I thought FSM was much better. More of an adult comedy. My favorite comedy of the year.

8) The Forbidden Kingdom: Not nearly as good as I expected. The Shia Lebouf clone in this movie was horrible. Action was not as good as you'd think considering you have two of the best action guys around in it. Didn't see it.

9) Horton Hears a Who: Not bad. Entertaining enough. I enjoyed it.I enjoyed also. I liked the animation.

10) 10,000 BC: Straight up STUPID! This from a guy who actually enjoyed The Day After Tomorrow.Was never even tempted to see it.

11) You don't mess with the Zohan: Dumb, not very funny. Sandler used to be at the top of his game with these type of movies, but it feels old and stale.Was never even tempted to see it.

12) The Love Guru: Mike Myers...See Adam Sandler. Not funny. Nothing new. Dumb. (and I liked Doctor Evil)Was never even tempted to see it.

13) The Happening: Odd movie. Kind-of boring and not scarry at all. It appears not to make much sense but when you really think about it, it does. It could've been better but it wasn't as bad as the critics made it out to be. Didn't see it.

14) Hancock: I didn't think the plot was as hard to follow in the second half like a lot of people have been saying but it wasn't a great movie. There wasn't as many action scenes as you'd expect. Most of them were in the previews. There also really wasn't a villian. It was still okay but it could have been MUCH better. I was really looking forward to seeing this until the reviews came out. Didn't see it.

That is a wrap up of all the theater movies I've seen this summer. I'll watch The Dark Knight sometime this week. I'm excited for it.

Also...I would never watch a movie like Sex in the City, even if my wife begged. I can't stand romance movies. Second also, if I do watch horror films I usually wait for them to come out on DVD. I didn't watch Get Smart for no particularly reason. It just felt like a DVD movie and I can't stand Emile Hirsch so I won't watch Speed Racer.

I'm looking forward to the X-Files Movie, Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, Traitor, Burn After Reading, Miracle at St. Anna, and Defiance. (I enjoy WWII movies).

Step Brother could be okay. That character was funny the first couple of times that Will Ferrel played it but it's gotten old. He does have good chemistry with John C. Riley though.

Anyway, that is my unsolicited opinion on the summer movie season so far. :)

[NMStorm]

My take on some of these movies.

Hey Rick,

Thanks for your feedback. In regards to Wall-E. I think my problem with it is that I had such high expectations. It had "instant classic" type ratings and I expected the world. I think that is a part of the problem with reviews/previews. It could set unreasonable expectations. In fact, some of the movies I enjoyed the most were movies that I had very low expectations for. One recent movie which comes to mind was Doomsday. I didn't think it would be worth a darn but it had such a Road Warrior feel to it and I loved it.

I try to go into movies with an open mind though. I consider myself a huge fan of movies/books. I love going to the theater. I am married with three kids but I still often go to the first movie of the morning on a Saturday or a Sunday by myself. There is nothing better than being the only person in a theater at 10 AM on a Sunday morning. :)

[loborick]

Hey Rick,

Thanks for your feedback. In regards to Wall-E. I think my problem with it is that I had such high expectations. It had "instant classic" type ratings and I expected the world. I think that is a part of the problem with reviews/previews. It could set unreasonable expectations. In fact, some of the movies I enjoyed the most were movies that I had very low expectations for. One recent movie which comes to mind was Doomsday. I didn't think it would be worth a darn but it had such a Road Warrior feel to it and I loved it.

I try to go into movies with an open mind though. I consider myself a huge fan of movies/books. I love going to the theater. I am married with three kids but I still often go to the first movie of the morning on a Saturday or a Sunday by myself. There is nothing better than being the only person in a theater at 10 AM on a Sunday morning. :)

You are a lucky guy for your wife to not have a problem with you going alone. I have yet to find a woman that respects my need and want of private time.

Let me pose a question to you that I ask many people. Would you rather see the movie or read the book first? I would rather see the movie first. If I read the book first it puts but expectations in my mind and I've already developed what the characters look like. Also, they always leave stuff out of the movie that was in the book. If you read the book first, you notice what was missing. If you see the movie first, the "new" scenes add to the enjoyment of the book.

What is everyone's opinion on this?

[NMStorm]

You are a lucky guy for your wife to not have a problem with you going alone. I have yet to find a woman that respects my need and want of private time.

Let me pose a question to you that I ask many people. Would you rather see the movie or read the book first? I would rather see the movie first. If I read the book first it puts but expectations in my mind and I've already developed what the characters look like. Also, they always leave stuff out of the movie that was in the book. If you read the book first, you notice what was missing. If you see the movie first, the "new" scenes add to the enjoyment of the book.

What is everyone's opinion on this?

I guess I am lucky but it's not because she wants me to have quiet time but rather the fact that she doesn't like going to the movies. She is more into gossiping with her family than anything else. :)

Your question is a very good one. For me, it just depends on the circumstances. Often time, the book comes out years before the movie and I've already read the book. If they come out at the same time it will depend on the buzz for the movie, how strong the previews look, and my opinion on the subject matter.

I really enjoy reading science fiction but not so much action/drama so if the movie is more of an action/drama movie I'll always go to the movie first. If I really like the movie, I'll probably read the book. With science fiction, if the book is out first I'll read it. I usually don't have a problem with movies after I've read the book unless the movie is really poorly done. I enjoy seeing other people's take on my favorite characters. One example is The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The books were much more in depth but this didn't take away any of the enjoyment I had watching the movie. The same thing with the movie/book "Contact" which I love (outside of Matthew McConaughey
of course).

We should all put together our top ten films of all time. I think that would be interesting. I often debate that topic with some of my friends. Sports and movies are two of our favorite topics.

[Mark]

Nice breakdown NMStorm and nice rebuttal Rick. You should write a blog NMStorm! If I install this new blog thingy im looking at, I suggest you write in it!

[NMStorm]

Nice breakdown NMStorm and nice rebuttal Rick. You should write a blog NMStorm! If I install this new blog thingy im looking at, I suggest you write in it!

I've been told by several people that I should write reviews or share my opinions online about movies and I'm open to it. However, I tend to be very opinionated and confrontational in regards to movies and being that way online is frustrating to me. If I'm going to be confrontational, I want to be confrontational face-to-face. Most people are much more aggressive online than in person but I'm the reverse of that. To me, it's much more fun to debate/argue in person.

[Mark]

Its a Blog so nobody can argue with it! lol

[NMStorm]

Its a Blog so nobody can argue with it! lol

Yeah, I know.

[Mark]

Actually, I did some research and THEY CAN respond, in fact members can subscribe to your blog so when you write something new it automatically sends them a PM message alerting them.

[NMStorm]

Actually, I did some research and THEY CAN respond, in fact members can subscribe to your blog so when you write something new it automatically sends them a PM message alerting them.

Cool. Good to know. I thought you could respond if the blogger wanted them to. You've done an awesome job with this site. It is clean, easy to read, and very dynamic. Thank you.

[junior2430]

I try to go into movies with an open mind though. I consider myself a huge fan of movies/books. I love going to the theater. I am married with three kids but I still often go to the first movie of the morning on a Saturday or a Sunday by myself. There is nothing better than being the only person in a theater at 10 AM on a Sunday morning. :)

I completely agree. I love going to either the first show of the day or the last. I always try to go with an open mind also. I think I also tend to view movies differently than most people. It's kind of hard to decribe, but I'll give it a shot. When I go to a movie like The Love Guru, I don't expect it to be good. I know Mike Myers, and I expect a lot of stupid, corny jokes. Well, the movie plot wise wasn't good, and there were a lot of stupid, corny jokes. But I found it hilarious.

It's hard to compare movies of various genres to each other, because they really don't belong anywhere near each other. The goal of Anchorman wasn't to set box office records or win awards. The goal was to make you laugh. Did you laugh? Then it was a good movie. That's how I look at it anyway.

Also, RPS if you want to start a blog for movie reviews, I'd be down to write. I see almost everything that comes out.

[loborick]

I see this as a forum for reviews. I've done that a couple of times. Some good conversation regarding movies has gone on here. As for the top ten movies, I would have a heck of a time doing that. I've tried before and I have a hard time keeping it to ten!

[junior2430]

I would have to do it in genres. top 10 comedies, action, dramas, etc.

[NMStorm]

I see this as a forum for reviews. I've done that a couple of times. Some good conversation regarding movies has gone on here. As for the top ten movies, I would have a heck of a time doing that. I've tried before and I have a hard time keeping it to ten!

I have a hard time keeping it to ten as well. I have about 16-20 that I would have to rank. I've done so for the RottenTomatoes forum so I have a list. By genre would be interesting as well but for me I'd skip the entire romance category all together. I'm going to start a thread later and list my top movies. We'll see how it goes.

[LoboMike]

Saw the Dark Knight tonight. Ledger was outstanding and made the film what it is. The rest of the movie was kind of a letdown after all the hype, but Ledger makes it more than worthwhile. Agree that he is Oscar worthy for this performance.