Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight

As any review will tell you, The Dark Knight is a monumental and entertaining film. It documents the perpetual struggle of good and evil, both externally and within ourselves. Christian Bale reprises his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne, again reminding Kilmer and Clooney that some things, other people are just better suited for. Bale brings a vulnerable confidence to the role that I thoroughly appreciated. Batman is glorified by his sense of purpose, yet defined by the human frailty that refuses to allow Bruce to live up to his own expectations.Of Bale we are familiar, and seldom disappointed, but The Dark Knight reacquaints us with an icon of crime and lunacy that lingers long after the credits role.The Joker.Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker eerily seeps into your subconscious so quietly that when you find yourself enjoying his anarchy, its almost a mystery of how those thoughts appeared. The haunting luminosity of Ledger’s skill amid the shadow his death casts on the film act to create a villain so perfect, I’m nearly ashamed to only now mourn his passing. The Joker’s sense of purpose plays opposite to Batman’s as a batter plays opposite a pitcher. As Batman fights for some level of order to be restored, The Joker persistently tears away at the fabric of invisible parameters that bind together the separate worlds of good and evil.

The Joker’s hypothesis is that any man, no matter the good he fights to hold inside him is susceptible to the evil that lies beyond his glare.

Batman combats a host of mercenaries that play as pawns in The Joker’s game for universal chaos. The Dark Knight has but a limited amount of allies to join him in his battle, the least of which include a group of copycat Batmen who don mock Bat-suits and put themselves in harm’s way in a symbol of support for their hero and his quest.

Batman’s other allies in justice include Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Maggie Gyllenhal as my saviour from Katie Holmes’ dreadful Rachel Dawes, and Gary Oldman as Lt. Gordon.Two father figures of film also reprise their roles as Bruce Wayne’s trusted friends and advisors; Morgan Freeman as Wayne Enterprises CEO and Gadget Wizard Lucius Fox and Michael Caine as Alfred.Each supporting member makes this movie an opulent sum of its parts, while elegantly allowing Bale and Ledger to shine.The critics from “Too smart to like a popular movie” magazine feel Bale gives a lacklustre performance, while others decide to hurl schoolyard comments at Batman’s raspy voice. Surprisingly, some critics that enjoyed the film felt unsatisfied to find Bale’s Batman was outshone by Ledger’s Joker; yet this is the dynamic that I found most brilliant.In the scope of this movie, Batman’s place is behind The Joker, not within the spotlight that bears his symbol.

When anarchy and terror abounds, we hear not from those fighting for justice or speaking for peace. Unfortunately, when we turn on our televisions we are shown cries of terror, and the faces of evil. In a time of crisis, the place of a true hero belongs in the darkness; where his head can hide from crossfire. But that does not mean his message and his symbols of hope cannot be present within those that believe that good still exist.

Nolan’s The Dark Knight painted this reality so vividly truthful it seems the glare may have offended some.

From Momento to Batman Begins and now The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan has always had something to say. Yet never has Nolan’s social commentary and message to the masses been so loud as it is in this film’s twists and dialogue that span the last thirty minutes.

If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, you become something else entirely

-Quoted from Batman Begins.
Christopher Nolan clearly has devoted himself to his ideals and in my opinion, become the eyes and voice of one of the best films in movie history. As we look around many of the rules and doctrines that currently govern our lives are slowly crumbling under the scrutiny of a quickly growing thinking population. A

paradigm shift is coming to the fate of right and wrong. Black and white are ominously giving way to the reality of grey we’ve consistently come to find more familiar. It is within that grey that greater decisions will be made, just as within darkness there’s always hope.So perhaps the tale of the shining White Knight is better left in a time of simpler struggles. A White Knight plays by the rules of his own inner kingdom and virtues, whereas the new hero, today’s hero, lives within his virtues but is intelligent and resilient enough to play within ours.

A lineup that includes movies like The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight, Indiana Jones, and Hancock, an interesting July 4th film that could go either way. Leading this lineup of blockbusters is IRON MAN. Take a look HERE, for the trailer.

Now I’ll be honest, I personally had been looking forward to this film since I heard Robert Downey Jr. was cast as the lead character Tony Stark. Downey Jr. is a sarcastic bastard, and so I already knew I’d enjoy the humour, but the film itself way over delivered even what I was expecting.

To give you a little background, Iron Man is about a brilliant business mogul/inventor (Stark) that is continuing his father’s legacy by leading their weapons and manufacturing conglomerate, Stark Industries, into a period of huge profits and growth. While visiting what is supposed to be the middle east present day to field test some new missiles for the military, Stark is captured by terrorists who demand he build them a copy of his new weapon. As Stark is dragged through the enemy’s camp he sees they are equipped and armed with weapons from his own company. The geopolitical undertones aren’t overbearing in this film, but they’re present enough to see the parallels with current world issue. The subtle opinions throughout the film add to Iron Man’s appeal.

To escape captivity, Stark builds himself an iron clad suit fitted with flamethrowers, missiles, and a right hook that would cripple a charging rhino. When Tony Stark returns to the U.S. he’s a changed man. He vows to right the wrongs and avenge the deaths his company has been responsible for throughout the years.

The plot line is classic Marvel, right down to the hero’s character flaw; Tony Stark’s heart has a small piece of steel in it from when he was attacked and captured, the only thing keeping that piece of steel from piercing the entire organ is apparently a super powered battery he designed himself. Tragic weakness, classic Marvel.

Unlike other comic book movies in the past, the Iron Man story line holds up like the Great Wall of China. The dialog is quick paced, witty, and always entertaining. The action scenes are everything you’d expect from a Marvel film, and the romantic sub story is enough to benefit the plot without drowning us in enough cliches to remind us what a disaster Superman Returns was.

I understand taste in films are completely subjective, but I personally guarantee a fun time his from start to finish with IRON MAN. Don’t wait for it to come out on DVD, its 100% a popcorn theater film.

The Zeitgeist Movie is broken up into three separate parts.

The first deals with religion -mainly christianity- and how religious doctrines around the globe are essentially comprised of the same basic thesis. The film starts by outlining Egyptian beliefs and illustrates how all subsequent religions are based around Egyptian mythology which revolves around the sun and stars. The author explains the significance of December 25th as the proposed birth of christ (though this date is never mentioned in the bible), and how the constellations represent the story of the three kings and the north star. The first part of this film does tend to drag a little but for all you offended faithful fear not, the subsequent chapters of the film have nothing to do with religion. For those of you who are already against religion this will merely fuel the fire for you while waiting for parts 2 and 3.

Part II is centered around September 11th, 2001 and succeeds in covering only the most interesting and engaging aspects of the event. The Zeitgeist movie stands out where other films like Loose Change go off into looney town. The day of September 11th will live on in infamy for the rest of my days, just as the assassination of JFK still plays out into a number of viable scenarios without any concrete evidence. Although some facts of September 11th are awash with misgivings, there are a number of valid questions that the Zeitgeist resurfaces that I believe deserve an honorary mention. Like WTC Building #7, the tale of the tape does not lie. This building was not attached to the WTC, and although the buildings surrounding #7 stayed perfect intact, #7 crumbled like the Titanic had been dropped on its roof. There are a number of valid points to be considered, but in all honesty, I’m fed-up with 9/11 conspiracies. I tend to arrive at a certain point where I know what I believe and what is plausible, but after you come to that conclusion its time to move on because you will never get the answers you’re looking for. I applaud those that are still out there challenging those in power and continually asking questions that no one will answer. I think someone needs to be held accountable for successfully making the public swallow what is obviously something other than what it appears to be; but that’s not the life for me.

Part III of The Zeitgeist Movie is by far the most interesting and had me researching thoroughly after the movie had already ended. Part III describes the role of the Federal Reserve in the US and how it is actually a quasi-privately run corporation opposed to the total government entity I long believed it to be. Though the Board of Directors are Presidentially appointed the Fed runs as a corporation, printing and lending money to congress at a fixed rate of interest; interest that is pushed onto the public and paid for via the  Federal Income Tax. Just the fact alone that U.S. federal currency is controlled by a corporation opposed to the government is a rather heavy implication for the future of both the country and its heavily disenfranchised citizens. The Zeitgeist also makes the point that these private bankers profit most during times of war as congress needs heavy funding to continue their efforts and must continually ask the Federal Reserve for funding. If you have been keeping up with the news you’ve already noticed that Congress just approved another $70 billion for  President Bush to continue his efforts in Iraq.  But that’s not the most interesting part, it really makes you think when the film describes the exact events that led to President Wilson signing the Federal Reserve Act and those involved.  But I do suggest doing your own personal research after watching as you should never let a movie like this have the last word with you.

Part III also introduced to me current legislation that has been pushing forward for years on the North American Union without the consent and oversight of congress, nor the house of commons. Check out this quick CNN clip in which Lou Dobbs discusses the implications. The Zeitgeist also touches on the concept of the AMERO, a proposed North American currency that will mimic the Euro. Apparently the Amero is getting a lot of bad press from both Canada and the US but this was the first I’d heard of it. And aside from The Zeitgeist movie you can find the Amero written and discussed all over the internet along with more information on the North American Union. Dobbs’ describes this progression moving into an era where one government rules without the consent or input of its citizens. The Brave New World.

The Zeitgeist Movie though a little long at two hours is definitely worth watching. Also before pressing PLAY please click on the link below the film titled “Clarifications”. This is where the creator amends a few mistakes in the film and accounts for a couple clips that were shown for effect. When watching films like these its always good to keep in mind the complete bias of the filmmaker. Conspiracy Theory films are slanted as such because they are the vision and devotion to a specific belief of the author. The Zeitgeist definitely has that slant, but its difficult to argue with the majority of its points as they are usually rooted in information easily substantiated as fact. And all other information is, in my opinion, to be contemplated and then left in the wind.

After you watch it, come back and let me know what you thought.

Sucked. There’s definitely no eloquent way to put that. From beginning to the end, this movie never even attempted to be going for anything other than a quick buck on a 3rd installment of a trilogy that was mediocre at best.

Many scenes fell right off the mountain of plausibility, and if it weren’t for the few funny moments throughout the film I may have considered asking for a refund on the grounds of psychological damage.

In one scene and Tucker and Chan are facing off against a group of Chinese Triad assassins inside a hospital, but mysteriously there are absolutely no patients, no doctors, no nurses, no staff whatsoever on this previously bustling hospital wing. It takes away from the entire scene when you’re taken out of the movie thinking, “Huh? Wait a minute”.

The truly funny moments and witty jokes are few and very far between in this film and the acting is sub par throughout. Jackie Chan provides some highlights as always with his lightning quick reflexes and maneuvers, but its clear he’s nearly too old for performing at the breakneck pace we’re used to.

There’s an entertaining fight scene with Chan on what is supposed to be the Eiffel Tower but the background during the action looks like something out of the 80s movie, Tron, than Paris, France.

I took my 13yr old brother with me to this one and between my eye rolling and moaning he still had a blast so for the kids this 86 minute action-comedy hits the target. For those of you in the thinking population, I’d wait for the release on TBS in about 3 years right before Rush Hour 4 is released.