A Full Moon and The Dark Knight

Holy Fucking Movie Batman! I have so much to say about this movie and the experience surrounding it, but due to construction on the Schuylkill it took me over an hour to get home, so it will have to wait until tomorrow. (I actually wrote myself notes while sitting in traffic). If anyone plans to go, do not delay, go now!!

Ok, its time for the real recap of my TDK exerpience:

As the title says, last night was a full moon which I thought was highly appropriate for the night's adventure. As i said in my previous post, my tickets were free courtesy of my cable/internet/phone company. The movie was being shown at the UA Main Street 6 in Manayunk. I wore my bat tee for the occasion and upon arriving immediately realized how lame that was. We picked up our tickets and made our way to the nearby Manayunk Diner for some grub. As soon I walked in 2 of the waitstaff complimented me on my tee. OK, so I felt better. But I could hardly eat due to my nervous energy. This wasn't a Tool concert, I was surprised at how excited I was. The waitress even sat down and inquired how long I'd been a bat fan!

After eating, we made our way back to the theatre. We patiently sat through Regal's First Look
and then the 'turn off your cell phones' message. At this point , although the theatre was only half full, you know everyone there was raring to go. And then....nothing! The screen froze and there was no sound. We all sat there looking at each other until a security guard (not an usher mind you, a security guard) came in and told us the movie would be delayed another half hour.
Hmmm, whatever, I passed the time reading a vampire manga book my daughter lent me.

Finally, the previews began - most notably for me were The Spirit and of course, Watchmen.

Spoiler alert: (not really, I don't give away any major plot lines, but just in case)

Then, The Dark Knight began, with a wild opening sequence that I cannot wait to see in IMAX.
This film had much more action and cringe scenes (for me, anyway) than Batman Begins. It's much less of Bruce Wayne's personal story and more of the universal conflict between good and evil, sane and crazy, hero and villian. But taken on the heels of Batman Begins, it was golden.

All the hype over Heath Ledger's Joker was right on. This was really his movie. Whatever accolades he receives for this role are well deserved. I thought Aaron Eckhart portrayed a very believable Harvey Dent as well.

I also previously wrote about being schooled in Bat lore. I am certainly glad for that because I felt a certain kind of satisfaction at being able to recognize story lines, knowing that the writers did their homework and which of the plot turns did not stay true to the original comics. I was extremely pleased to see that the relationship between Batman and The Joker had the same psychological implications as that that was brought out in The Killing Joke. The scenes and the dialogue between the two characters were just as intense as I'd imagined.

I left the movie to view the sight of the full moon in the night sky, and pondering the themed takeaway questions. Is it better to know the truth even if you are 100% sure it will hurt? What hurts more, the staged reality or the truth? Does the lie truly protect the innocent? Does believing in the lie really help those who it is meant to protect? These themes played out for Batman as well as the good citizens of Gotham City. I couldn't help but think of my bat benefactor and wonder how they are playing out for him at this very moment. How are they playing out for me?

I love it when a movie makes me think, and The Dark Knight met that expectation fully. I can't wait to see it again.

Superheroes

This week I finally got around to seeing Iron Man. I had heard that it was good and was intrigued at the idea of Robert Downey, Jr. as the lead character. My only previous encounter with Tony Stark was through Neil Gaiman's Eternals series, though I was aware of his back story. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and it's awesome ending, which, for some strange reason was very validating. I had a harder time accepting The Dude as the villian, but that came together by the end as well. Must be those iron suits.

Next up is The Dark Knight. While by no means am I an expert on Batman, I do consider myself pretty well versed in Bat lore. I loved Batman Begins and I am beyond excited for The Dark Knight. I've been greedily devouring every preview, behind the scenes, interviews, articles, photos, etc I can get my hands on.I planned to see it in IMAX but had to wait till Sunday of opening weekend because the other times were already sold out. Then yesterday I get an email from my cable company offering free tickets for Thursday, before opening night! I jumped at the chance and scored my tickets!

Now here is the catch - I left Iron Man thinking Robert Downey Jr. (as Tony Stark) could be my superhero anyday, and I obviously feel the same way about Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne. However in real life, multi-millionaire, corporate, fast-car driving, suited men don't do a thing for me. Mind you, I've never met one, but you'd think that my values and tastes would translate to the big screen, and historically they have. So I've boiled it down to this - it's not the magic of the movies or Hollywood - it's the power of the comic, the fact that I've read these characters before, and of course the biggest aspect is the superhero factor. If I feel a connection to someone it doesn't matter what his day job is, and that goes for mogul superheroes as well. I can't wait for Thursday....