I have seen and been to a lot of movies. I have waited months for a movie to come out and have been there at midnight to be one of the first to see it. I have followed all the news on the production, casting news and looked at photos of the set so grainy they had to have been taken on a cell phone. I can honestly say that I have never been more excited for a movie than I was, and still am, for “The Dark Knight”
The second installment in the Batman reboot finds the caped crusader still hard at work to clean up the streets of Gotham City. The new District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), is leading the charge to get the mob off the streets while Batman (Christian Bale) and Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman) continue their partnership.
Meanwhile a new villain is making his mark on the city. The Joker (Heath Ledger) convinces the mob families that the only way they would be able to stay in business would be to kill Batman. His plan is to throw the city into chaos and use that chaos to kill Batman.
Wayne struggles with what the Joker is doing and with the choices he will have to make in order to stop him. He knows that Batman cannot have limits but Bruce Wayne can and that he might not be able to do what is necessary to stop The Joker. 
Wow. Simply and plainly put. I was tempted to just have that one word be my review. It would save me from having to write a synopsis (always the hardest part of the reviews) and would save you from having to read my rambling. Then I realized there is just too much to say.
The most pressing thing is the performance of Heath Ledger. As many know he died of an accidental drug overdose in January. The most powerful thing about him in this movie is that he disappears into The Joker. He is incredibly creepy, disturbing and psychotic, in a word; brilliant. It is a testament to the actor he was and would have continued to be. He gave The Joker little ticks and voice fluctuations and that is what makes this one of the greatest performances. Even with the pall of his death not once did I see the actor, I only saw the character. That is just how powerful a performance this truly was. 
The other performance that seems to have been overshadowed by the Heath Ledger hype is that of Aaron Eckhart. This movie is really about Harvey Dent’s transformation into the villain Two-Face. Early on Bruce sees Dent as a way to leave Batman behind. As Batman he works with Dent to bring down the mob. Eckhart plays the role of Dent with a lot of charisma so much so that it is shocking to see Dent become the villain, Two-Face and completely change his views. He goes from a man who believes in justice to a man full of anger and willing to take a life all based on a coin flip. Eckhart plays both roles with such ease.
The action sequences are amazing, especially in IMAX. Pay the $10.50 and see it on an IMAX screen, you will not be disappointed. Many of the action sequences were filmed with IMAX film and to see car chases, bank heists, Batman glide from one building to another to get the bad guy are all the better with the IMAX quality picture and sound. 
I do have one bone to pick. Maggie Gyllenhaal, who took Katie Holmes’ role of Rachel Dawes, is a great actress. She was not given much to do in this movie. Here was a chance to give the character more depth and substance and it was missed. Gyllenhaal’s talent is squandered in her first big budget movie. She has been great in so many smaller movies that it is a shame to see the lost potential.
I have now seen “The Dark Knight” twice and plan on at least one more before it leaves the theater. It is not a movie, it is a film. It is art. The performances are as great as any of last years Oscar contenders, the effects are some of the best and the story further proves why the darker Batman is the way to go. If this is not on your summer must-see list then is should be. For me it is worth the wait.
10 out of 10
PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace
Runtime: 2 hrs 32 mins
By this time the majority of you who read this blog (I really hate calling it that) know my stance on musicals. Yes I have made light of the fact that as a guy, musicals are off limits, yes I make jokes about “man cards” being taken away just because I saw a musical. The truth of the matter is I like musicals. I find them entertaining and they do the same job they did back in the 20s and 30s. They are an escape from everyday life. I say all this so that you know I am not using the fact that I am a guy as an excuse.
“Mamma Mia!,” based on the hit Broadway play that used the music of pop super group ABBA, is about a young girl, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), who is about to get married. Her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep), has raised her by herself all while running a hotel on an island in Greece. The one thing Sophie wants more than anything is to meet her father. She finds her mothers diary and narrows it down to three men; Bill (Stellan Skarsgård,) Harry (Colin Firth,) and Sam (Peirce Brosnan). 
Unbeknownst to her mother, she invites all three to her wedding in hopes of having her real father walk her down the aisle. It becomes more complicated when she meets them and still has no idea who it is.
I have some issues with this movie and we will get to that in just a moment. First though, the good stuff.
The two standouts of the movie are Seyfried and Streep. They both deliver good performances and can sing with enough talent to get through the movie with ease. They both have the majority of the singing to do and nail it each and every time.
Being I am more a drama guy than a musical one, I loved the relationship between mother and daughter. They are very close, but each is keeping a secret from the other. Sophie does not tell her mother she invited her “fathers” and Donna does not want her daughter to know that her “fathers” are at the hotel. The way they both tiptoed around the issue and worked to keep the three men hidden from the other was interesting. Sophie loves her mother very much and wants to stay near her, but she also wants her own life. Donna knows she will have to let go eventually, but does not want to.
Now for the bad. Pierce Brosnan cannot sing to save his life. It was so bad I wonder how much he had to bribe the director to be in the movie. It is fine if he is in the chorus, but he has two solos/ duets.
ABBA was one of the most popular pop groups ever and it is reflected in their music. It is all pop. The problem is I hate pop music. Some songs were catchy enough that I may still be humming them silently to myself, but most just annoyed the hell out of me.
I will openly admit to liking musicals but I have to draw the line somewhere. While certain performances were good, most were not. Some songs I liked, but most I did not. It did not blow me away and to be honest, I could have waited until a car ride to Columbus to see it on DVD. Long and short of it is, “Mamma Mia” is just not my type of musical.
6 out of 10
Rated PG-13 for some sex-related comments
1 hr 48 mins
