Dark Knight is awesome! Some of the pyrotechnics demand a certain amount of suspension of disbelief, and the Joker pulls off some things that require deus-ex-machina omniscience, but, that being said, it does not play down to the lowest common denominator. If anything it will probably lose some points with the general public for its overall density - you really have to pay attention & things happen fast - but that's only because Christopher Nolan tops his Batman Begins in both action set-pieces and in character development...
You absolutely cannot Take. Your. Eyes. Off. of Heath Ledger's Joker. F***ing brilliant.
Just came from seeing TDK and I agree, pretty much -- nothing could live up to the kinda hype it's gotten, of course, but it's very good and very dark and Ledger is indeed amazing. Very crowded aud at Metreon for a 5:45 show on a Friday as the film begins its third week in theaters -- it will break the $400M mark on Monday, probably.
Sarah and I just saw it tonight as well, at a small, single-screen house in Newberg (the closest "big" town to us). Can't find a thing to argue with what's been said about it already--its overriding darkness, Ledger's tour de force performance as the joker, and pretty fine turns by Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart as well. (Anyone else think The Joker's voice sounded like Tom Waits' speaking voice? An uncanny similarity, imo. And did anyone notice Anthony Michael Hall in it? I didn't but saw his name in the credits at the end.)
Spotted something in the press today that predicted TDK might surpass
Titanic as the top-grossing film ever. Even after it hits $400M it's still got a ways to go (
Titanic did just over $600M domestically), but it's definitely in the running.
Gotta give props to the Cameo (
www.99w.com), where we saw it. It's a great old theater, a survivor of the 50s, and run with the same sort of ethos as, say, SF's Balboa. Deco carpeting, original light fixtures, and other accessories, an old projector on display upstairs, and other enhancements. They show old home movies of goings on in this area from the 40s and 50s, as well as some great vintage pre-film ads pushing popcorn and admonishing the crowd about talking, and "public displays of affection." A great movie going experience, and probably the coolest thing going on in the city of Newberg. These guys definitely get it (they also run a drive-in at the other end of town, see link above).
Oh, and one more thing: the cost of admission?
Six bucks for a loge seat, and a mere five-spot if you're willing to sit in the less cozy seats--when was the last time you went to a movie that offered loge seating? The snack bar is almost as cheap, so the whole evening (two loge seats, two large drinks and a medium popcorn) was a mere $21.50. I can't imagine there's any place on the west coast showing that film any cheaper.
