Zack Snyder Interested in The Dark Knight Returns Movie?

At the Watchmen panel, Zack Snyder expressed his love for Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, in response to a question about the more mature direction of comic book adaptations.

“There are a lot of other graphic novels out there, but I would love to see Frank Miller’s Dark Knight made into a movie, but that’s just me.”

Later at the Entertainment Weekly Visionaries panel, Frank Miller told Snyder “You can do it anytime you want to Zack”. To which Snyder said he was making a note of Miller’s response. Now I know this is very speculative, but even Batman producer Michael Uslan has already expressed interest in a possible adaptation.

Miller’s four-issue comic book miniseries, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, was first published in 1986. It has since become one of the most popular graphic novel/trade paperbacks of all time. It reintroduced Batman to the general public as the psychologically dark character of his original 1930s conception, and helped to usher in an era of “grim and gritty” superheroes from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.

Set 20 years in the future, criminals run amok and a gang called the Mutants terrorize Gotham City as superheros are a thing of the past. Bruce Wayne has been retired from crime fighting for ten years following the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin. Despite Wayne’s funding the rehabilitation of Harvey Dent (Two-Face), Dent returns to crime. Wayne dons the Batman costume again and apprehends Dent, but the populace debates whether Batman is a savior.

But with Nolan expected to return for a third chapter in the series, might/could Warner Bros also launch a secondary Batman film? This practice is common in the comic book industry, where top franchise characters usually have a few titles running simultaneously, in addition to the occasional one-shot mini-series/graphic novel… Also, is Zack Snyder the guy to bring The Dark Knight Returns to the big screen?

Watchmen Footage Revealed

Director Zack Snyder and the entire Watchmen gang had a lot to live up to at Comic Con after that extensive teaser trailer took the world by storm in front of all those Dark Knight screenings.

As it turns out, they weren’t quite able to live up to it, but that’s not at all a commentary on the quality of the film.

The footage itself was fantastic, helping to further remove any inklings of doubt that the filmmakers wouldn’t be able to retain the greatness of the graphic novel. The downside was that there wasn’t nearly enough of it. I personally was hoping for at least a couple of full scenes with dialogue, but alas, that was not the case.

In what Snyder referred to as a non-PG extension of the trailer, the montage of clips featured the following quick segments: a close-up of Rorschach’s constantly changing mask, blood dripping on Comedian’s smiley pin, more footage of Dr. Manhattan blowing up people in Vietnam, Rorschach examining Comedian’s guns and costume, Nite Owl sitting down depressed beside his costume, a shot of the Minutemen meeting with the original Silk Spectre and Comedian, a more full look at the origin of Dr. Manhattan (showing his insides disintegrating), a close-up of an older looking Ozymandias, an intimate kiss between Nite Owl and Silk Spectre while a massive bomb explodes in the background, the Nite Owl ship crashing into an iced-over mountain, Manhattan’s gigantic hand reaching into a building and grabbing someone, Comedian’s face getting cut by a knife, Dr. Manhattan bursting people with guns into nothingness, Silk Spectre’s chest nearly being exposed (schwing!), Rorschach slamming a guy into a wall, a knife being launched past Silk Spectre, and finally, a much lengthier shot of Comedian being thrown through the window.

All of these things were a sight to behold, naturally, but I’m still looking forward to seeing something more than just excellent visuals/cinematography.

Red Sonja Posters Revealed

The super hot Red Sonja posters were revealed yesterday at ComicCon as Rodriguez and ex-girlcandy Rose McGowan announced the film was a go. They also showed a few other things to show you what Rose will look like as the iconic warrior woman.

The posters look great.

Rodriguez also went on to explain that the film would be very dark, following more along the lines of the novels than the comics. The most important difference between this incarnation and the original, however, came courtesy of Rose McGowan, who noted, "I wont have a mullet."

Amen. Mullets are not sexy.

Well as I predicted, Rose makes for a sexy hot chick in a chain mail bikini brandishing a badass sword. The flowing red hair is a bit much (still sexy but impractical) but it is probably the only thing that keeps her warm at night considering how little she is wearing. And oh my she is wearing little.

Speaking of little, did you notice that the sword she is using looks like it weights about as much as she does? I am still skeptical about how they are going to make this barbarian woman convincing flipping a sword like that around. They likely have to make it out of balsa wood just so Rose can pick it up.

But if they made her use a katana or something more physically appropriate, she wouldn’t really be channelling Red Sonja would she?

SAW V Teaser Trailer

Lionsgate premiered the first teaser trailer for SAW V at Comic Con, and it’s now available online on Yahoo.

The trailer begins very untraditionally, actually more like a film you would expect to be the complete opposite of Saw. And then suddenly we get assaulted by the film’s true nature - the trap. But the big question is - how will they continue to keep Jigsaw involved in the storyline. Watch the trailer now below.

SAW V hits theaters on October 24th 2008.

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Logo Revealed

It seems the official logo has been released for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Whoopie. I don’t think it sucks, but it was a little anticlimatic to just put the same font to the subtitle and tuck it under the existing title.I’d rather they did this however instead of redesigning the whole thing. The core Transformers Title needs to stay like that.

However the leaked and presumed fake poster had a very similar feel to it.

You can see the title in use at the official site or to go SuperheroHype where I first found it.

Monsters Vs Aliens Promo Cards

Dreamworks has been gearing up for some ComicCon promotion of their upcoming animated feature Monsters vs Aliens.

Dreamworks Animation has released eight promotional trading cards showcasing the creatures and characters of their upcoming 3D computer animated film Monsters vs. Aliens.

I haven’t been that impressed by Dreamworks Animation unless it has had the word Shrek or KungFu Panda in the title, so I don’t instantly get butterflies in my stomach when I hear they are working on something new.

As John has illustrated, there is a big difference between a Kid’s Movie and a Family friendly movie and studios like Pixar have nailed that formula to the wall! Dreamworks tends to lean a little more to one side or the other, and this one looks to be leaning towards Kid.

The characters look silly, but its animation. I don’t think they were going for “gritty real” here. And there is little to differentiate what makes a monster and what makes an alien. Are monsters just alien types that live on earth? Some predictable “we are all different in our own special way” type moral will be tagged on here.

This is just a first glimpse for me, so maybe my opinion will change, but for a first impression all I can say is that it made me chuckle that the President looks like Ronnie Regan. The voice cast looks pretty impressive too, but that is expected.

Witchblade Finds a Director, Michael Rymer of Battlestar Galactica

When the teaser poster for the comic book adaptation Witchblade was released in May (right), we reported that Michael Rymer was attached to direct and today it was confirmed. Rymer most notably produced and directed a large batch of Battlestar Galactica episodes, which gives him enough cachet with geeks to forgive his feature 2002 effort, Queen of the Damned (that vampire movie with Aaliyah). I always imagined someone like McG or Simon West helming this cyber-cleavage flick, but geekier is better.

The lead actress has not been chosen—the teaser poster from Top Cow Productions simply used a Jessica Alba facsimile to get you hyped! One of the rare female superheroes headed to the big screen, the character is a “specially chosen female who comes into possession of a supernatural, sentient artifact with immense destructive and protective powers called the Witchblade. The jewel-encrusted gauntlet gives the wearer extraordinary powers.” I guess it’s better than marrying a bald guy for his money or talking about handies with a 50-year-old SJP. TV vet Everett De Roche (Cybergirl, Parallax, Stingers, Flipper ‘95) wrote the script.

Discuss: Is Rymer a nice choice for Witchblade? And what actress has the qualifications to pull this role off? Yancy Butler fans, please sum up your collective thoughts in a single comment, thanks.

Source: Witchblade Finds a Director, Michael Rymer of Battlestar Galactica

Christian Bale Arrested. Builds Own Jail Out of Batman Dollars

Yes, he’s already out on b-a-i-l. Earlier today, London police arrested Christian Bale, not to be confused with Adam West, and held him for questioning after his mum and one of his elder sisters made allegations of assault. The charges hit news outlets yesterday, but police apparently backed off and let Bale attend last night’s London premiere of his film, The Dark Knight.

The case will resume in September, unless charges escalate. Bale denies all charges. If R. Kelly can get off using the Little Man defense, we think Bale will be fine, but domestic charges like these are nothing to jest about. The actor has not released a public statement. More as it develops.

Discuss: Be nice to your mum.

via Drudge

Christian Bale Eager to Bring Terminator Back, Batman-Style, With Sequels

After a decade of floating beneath Hollywood’s radar with critically-acclaimed films like “Empire of the Sun” and “Laurel Canyon” and decent-but-overlooked flicks like “Equilibrium” and “Reign of Fire,” Christian Bale is now the new king of the popcorn movie. And after the record-breaking opening of “The Dark Knight,” he hopes to similarly re-launch another mega-franchise (when he’s not turning himself into police, that is…click here to read the breaking news on Bale’s arrest).

“It will be in a similar fashion to the way that ‘Batman Begins’ revitalized and reinvented,” Bale told us recently about “Terminator Salvation,” the May 22, 2009 film that has Bale picking up the John Connor role previously occupied by Eddie Furlong, Thomas Dekker and Nick Stahl. Director McG has been known to compare the “Terminator” re-launch with Chris Nolan’s Batman series, and Bale revealed to us that he hopes to do several sequels.

“I see there is great potential for reinvention and revitalization of the mythology of it,” Bale said, hoping to leave the Schwarzenegger stigma far behind. “And that’s what I’m aiming to do. That’s what I feel like our responsibility is; otherwise there is no point in making it.”

Bale explained that the script, written by David C. Wilson (”Supernova”) and “Terminator 3″ writers Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato, is similar to “Batman Begins” in that it brings a fresh perspective to a fatigued series, while keeping one foot firmly planted in the past. “In ‘Terminator’ we are continuing a mythology,” he insisted. “We don't ignore a mythology, [similar to what] we did with Batman.”

If you could only see one Christian Bale blockbuster today, which would you rather watch: The next “Terminator” or the next “Batman” film?

Source: Christian Bale Eager to Bring 'Terminator' Back, Batman-Style, With Sequels

Watchmen Comic Book to Movie Comparison Video

/Film reader Andrew F created a video which inter-cuts between Zack Snyder’s Watchmen movie trailer and the original comic book panels. I wish it had been done in a side by side format, but it’s cool none the less. Click Here to Watch the Video

Source: Watchmen Comic Book to Movie Comparison Video

Valhalla Rising Pic

Thanks to Henrik, the Danish nihilist we have obtained a picture of the upcoming viking film Valhalla Rising! Check it out!

The above picture is of One-Eye, the imprisoned mute! The film follows this warrior as he escapes from captivity and soon finds himself fighting unknown evils in a mysterious land! This film is scheduled for release in the UK and Denmark in 2008

I could not have hoped for a better plot synopsis! By the beard of Odin!

3 Reasons Why Aaron Eckhart Is The Soul Of The Dark Knight

The other night I was being interviewed on WGN in Chicago and the one and only topic of conversation was The Dark Knight.

We were basically talking about how great the movie is, how Heath Ledger deserves an Oscar nomination and all that jazz… when the host suddenly said: “You know, our station Film Critic said the only thing that was really horribly about The Dark Knight was Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent”. To which I replied: “Then your station critic is an idiot”.

Now, I said that sort of as a joke because obviously all film is subjective and I later felt bad because as the conversation went on I forgot to say I was kidding about him being an idiot. But that’s not what this post is about. What that interview highlighted for me was that in the midst of all the praise we seem to be giving The Dark Knight, in the craze of talking about how much Ledger deserves that Oscar nomination, how good the story was yadda yadda yadda… we all (myself being quite guilty of this too) have seemed to over look the person I would say was actually the soul of The Dark Knight… Aaron Eckhart.

So right now I’d like to propose to you 3 reasons why I believe Aaron Eckhart was indeed the soul of The Dark Knight:

#1 - He Was The Embodiment Of The Hope Of Gotham
Now don’t misunderstand that statement. The highlight of the movie was Ledger, the driving force was Bale… but in the midst of this battle of two conflicting world views of the Joker and Batman, Harvey Dent’s character was the one who embodied and represented US. He was the manifested spirit of Gotham’s hope and of what the city COULD be. In essence he was the tangible realization of Batman’s dream. Do you realize how easily other actors could have made the character slip into some cheesy boy scout wannabe?

#2 - He Grounded The Film
No one will agree with this at first, but think about it for a moment. If you remove Harvey Dent and the way Eckhart played him to perfection, The Dark Knight would basically devolve back to simple (although still really intense) comic book movie. It would have just been good vs bad. Batman vs Joker. But Eckhart brought an extra dimension. He really was Nolan’s secret ingredient that changed the flavor of the whole soup. He takes the film to another level by making The Dark Knight about he people of Gotham as well as the titans (Joker and Batman) of Gotham.

#3 - The Relatable And Fallible Hero
One of the things that takes the edge off of many movie heroes is the perceived infallibility of the heroes. Heck, despite some self doubts, even Batman comes off that way most of the time. Unbeatable, incorruptible, unwavering. Perhaps those qualities are important for the character and they have to be that way, but it still leaves him being unidentifiable for most of us. Harvey Dent is a different character. Completely steadfast in his ideals and beliefs, but when faced with the madness the Joker brings, or with the life of his true love being threatened, he shows that he’s only too human, that he has weaknesses, that he’s fallible. I don’t think most of us realize how nearly impossible pulling that sort of diversity off can be for an actor in the midst of a movie like The Dark Knight. Eckhart pulled off both aspects so well, that Dent become our identifiable point in the movie. He become our anchor.

I can’t say enough good things about the job Aaron Eckhart does in The Dark Knight. I’d go so far as to say that he nearly does just as well as Ledger does as the Joker (it’s just that the Joker is a far more charismatic and extreme character and thus much more noticeable). The fact that Eckhart just blends into the story instead of standing on top of it is a testament to the job he did as an actor. So for the next couple of years we’ll all talk about how great Ledger was (and rightfully so), and we’ll talk about how Bale is the best Batman ever (and rightfully so), but let’s not forget the job done by Aaron Eckhart, who by his performance gave this great movie it’s very soul.

Source: 3 Reasons Why Aaron Eckhart Is The Soul Of The Dark Knight

User comment:

Thank You John, I completely agree, although Ledger was phenomenal and Bale turned in a another solid performance. The film wouldn't of felt as relevant as it was had it not been for Eckhart's performance. I thought he was the true tragic character, of the piece and the one I found myself identifying with the most throughout the film. The moralistic struggle his character goes through and the loss Dent suffers with the nuance Eckhart, played it with is one of things that propelled. This film out of the realm of just being a comic book film, to a film that can be seen as a serious morality play. it's good to see someone else highlight this almost overlooked performance.

User comment:

First of all, Gio doesn't need to convince me. As much as there is talk about Ledger, Eckhart equally deserves a writing campaign for various awards. He was that good. The Joker is a character whose very essence commands the screen. All this buzz on the late actor who played him is the same thing (although on a slightly bigger scale) when ol' Jack was The Joker back in '89. The Joker is a strong adversary, and the best known in Bat-verse. The character is so out there you always want to see the next crazy thing he does. But the Dent character was well written and acted. Again, it would not surprise me in the least if the film got more accolades than just Ledger. *** The question of if Dent would have killed Joker's underling is a good one. I say, at the very least, a hell of a pistol whipping. At this point, there were attempts on his life (and Rachel Dawes-he would have found out what happened at the party), the Commish and the Judge were killed, an attempt on the major resulting in the injury (and "later" the reported death) of Lt. Gordon- it was Dent's near breaking point. Heads or tails made no difference. He was at the very least going to give the punk a serious beat down.

User comment:

Right, but until the coin was scorched, both sides were the same...heads. Then after the Rachel Dawes incident the coin and harvy were scorched, so it then was a two sided coin. When batman stopped him the coin was not scorched yet, cause Harvey wasn't. Or at least that is how I saw it.

User comment:

Oh crap, unless you're talking about the scene with the guy that had the Rachel nametag. Sorry Parker.

User comment:

"John, Batman did not have to stop Dent from killing one of joker's men. " Hmmm. That's interesting. The way I saw it, after he becomes Two-face, one side of the coin is scorched, the other isn't. If the scorched side comes up, you're toast. Did anyone else get that impression?

User comment:

John, Batman did not have to stop Dent from killing one of joker's men. I mean he did stop him, but harvey never would have killed him. Harvey was flipping his coin and said heads you live tails you die, but it was a double sided coin, both sides were heads and thus he would never have to kill the guy. --that is, if that is the scene you were referring

User comment:

Oh also did any one feel that they should of gone ahead and made this rated R. I was distracted/ confused at the editing choices they used for some of the more violent scenes that involved the Joker, well being the Joker. I don't like to use my imagination. Thats why I go to movies instead of reading books.

User comment:

I think the whoever wrote the script deserves all the praise for Harvey Dent and the Joker. The dialogue was phenominal. Call me crazy....but I believe the characters made the Actors look good, instead of the other way around.

User comment:

I think the main difference between Dent and The Joker is Dent is a man who falls from grace. The Joker just shows up. He's elemental. He represents to the people of Gotham (and us as the audience) what Batman represents to the criminals of gotham. "I can not and will not buy the plot line that drove Dent to turn on everything he believed in. I think it was very canned that he swapped without a SHRED of evidence that Rachel had actually been killed. Honestly, there is no evidence in the movie that she perished." Sorry, Heartless, but I disagree. There are things implied. Saying you don't buy that she's dead is saying you don't buy that Batman/Wayne doesn't believe she's dead. And he'd know. In fact, we see him on the wreckage of the building. And in an earlier scene, there's a beat of how Dent can lose his shit, especially when people he cares about are threatened. That's the scene where Batman shows up and stops him from killing the guy that has a "Rachel Dawes" nametag. Just my opinion.

Top Gun 2

We have rumblings this morning that a Top Gun 2 may be in the works…. starring Tom Cruise! We get the saucy scoop from our friends at cinematical:

According to those extremely reliable cats at The Sun, a script outline for Top Gun 2 is done and “movie bosses” want Cruise to star.

Apparently a source said this about the plot: “The idea is Maverick is at the Top Gun school as an instructor - and this time it is he who has to deal with a cocky new female pilot.” Ooohh, original … and spicy! It’s like Karate Kid 4 meets A Really Big Paycheck for Tom Cruise! And yet … we’d all still see it. Why are we such suckers? We currently have no idea how real this rumor is, so for the time being I wouldn’t exactly break out into song and dance. Maybe it’ll happen, maybe it won’t.

In this film Maverick teaches his students how to prepare in the event of a UFO invasion against the forces of XENU!! He is a special operative with a dark past, a dirty secret. Eventually one of the students finds out that Mav is an alien abduction survivor and now spends his time preparing for revenge. Top Gun 2: The Wrath Of XENU!!!!

I would love for them to fight aliens in this film, but sadly we will probably have nothing half that cool. Remakes are getting needless, and a Top Gun 2 wreaks of desperate times for Cruise. I hope he doesn’t sign on for this one, because to get in that jet anew - you have to jump a shark.

International Friends - do any of you have any interest in seeing a Top Gun sequel? Or is it “Xenu or bust” for you too?

Dragonball Poster

Yet another great disaster of a movie on the horizon is Dragonball. A movie that like “Speed Racer” is dramatically over estimating the size of its existing fan base and is destined to be a box office flop.

Anyway, a Japanese version of the Dragonball poster comes to us from the people over at Dragonballcn that looks pretty lame. If you want to see a larger version of the poster you can just go here.

Watchmen Tutorial Online

One of the predictions about the Watchmen is that much of the movie going audience will not know about this meaty graphic novel.

Unlike other great graphic novel adaptations (that no one knew about - 300, Sin City) is that Watchmen might come off as a little too spandex super hero to really be appreaciated for what it really is. It has that look of the costumed crusader hero team, so no doubt it is a superhero book. But it is a healthy read, and revolutionary in its time.

So for those who just want to get a foot in the door with the original source material, but have the attention span of …. oh.. shiny!… er… oh right.. Dave Gibbons (illustrator of the Watchmen) has made available a video book, and reads an abridged version to you with his own illustrations right from the original pages of the book.

Rope of Silicon says:

Gibbons takes credit for the illustrations as they are straight from the book, but Moore won’t even allow his name to be attached to an adaptation of his work being read word for word as Tom Stechschulte plays audio book with the novel reading both the male and female roles, a move that already has iTunes commentors and fanboy sites up in arms. Primarily because they must have had nothing else to complain about at the time.

So if you want to get caught up, or even just to preview it, you can hit up the iTunes store and download it for free (for a limited time).

The audio reading is done by a guy, so one of the complaints is that even the female characters are read with a male voice, and frankly the whole thing might take about as long as actually READING the whole thing yourself.

I recommend picking up the collected miniseries in graphic novel form. Its well worth the read.

Tom Whalen’s Dark Knight Magazine Cover

Last month we stumbled across Tom Whalen’s incredible movie art, and decided to featured some of his best creations.

Shortly after the publishing of that post, Whalen was contacted by the UK Magazine LOAD to create the cover art for their Dark Knight issue. How cool is that? You can see the original high resolution unwatermarked artwork on Tom’s deviant art profile. Congratulations to Tom. I hope more people discover his art.

Source: Tom Whalen's Dark Knight Magazine Cover

Dark Knight Sets Opening Weekend Box Office Record

Yes it played on about 200 more screens than Spider-Man 3 did on its opening weekend, but at the end of the day the record books show that The Dark Knight is now the all time opening weekend box office record holder.

Spider-Man 3 was the record holder at about $151 million, and now The Dark Knight has surpassed that number with a take of $155 million.

Damn it’s nice to see that garbage Spider-Man 3 movie kicked out of top spot!

Looks like most people who predicted that Dark Knight would just inch out the record were spot on. It’s nice to see… you know… an actual GOOD movie at the top of the Box Office record books (at least for opening weekend).

So the question now is… how far will it go? With the pace that new movies come out these days, Dark Knight has no chance of catching Titanic for all time box office records… but it certainly looks poised to take the top spot for the year (I don’t think it’ll have much trouble catching Indiana Jones 4 and then nothing else is coming out this year that has huge Box Office potential).

Assessing the Themes of The Dark Knight

I hauled my ass out of bed at 7:30 AM ton Saturday morning and saw The Dark Knight at 9 AM in a packed IMAX theater, and boy was it was worth it. From the opening establishing shot, which was incredibly vivid and breathtaking, I knew that this film would be something different.

It's been said dozens of times already, but Nolan truly uses the entire screen (six-stories tall as it is) as a canvas to paint a rich and dramatic tale. My podcast review will have to wait for monday night, but I felt the overwhelming desire to write something about the subject.

Please note: The following is not a review. I will not be discussing Heath Ledger's tremendous performance, nor Nolan's directorial choices, nor my problems with the film (yes, I did have some). It's an attempt at coming to grips with some of the themes in the movie, a cathartic but not exhaustive brain dump. So here we go…

[From here on out, SPOILERS ABOUND. DO NOT READ THIS ARTICLE IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE DARK KNIGHT YET]

The Symbology of Batman

The final monologue that Commissioner Gordon brings the themes from Batman Begins to their logical conclusion: Namely, that as a man, Bruce Wayne's powers to evil crime are rather limited. As a man, he can be corrupted, he can be killed, and ultimately, he can be defeated. As a symbol he can become far more, and at the end of The Dark Knight, he becomes, to society, an uncontainable force in very much the same way the Joker was. He becomes hunted, making people believe that he cannot be controlled, that he has lost all respect for societal norms and the rule of law. As Gordon realizes he needs to blame the murders on Batman, he acknowledges not only the need for society to push their fears onto something, but their hopes as well (which he allows them to do by preserving Dent's good name).

In order to keep from tearing itself to shreds, society needs to believe in the incorruptibility of good and the relative remoteness of evil. The Dark Knight points us to ways in which we cope with this need.

Simultaneously, it's also made clear that, in fact, Batman never succumbs to his own dark, inner urges. In the movie, Bruce Wayne says the line, "I've seen what I have to become to fight men like him," and he rejects the path he has to take to stop Joker, a man who has no rules whatsoever. In one of the more memorable scenes from the film, the two have a showdown in Gotham's city streets, the Joker manically screaming "Hit me!" as Batman is propelled towards him in the bat pod. As much as Batman wants to annihilate the Joker, he knows he can't violate his own moral code, and almost sacrifices himself to prevent this from happening (albeit as part of a broader ruse to capture him). Still, Batman doesn't seek to kill evildoers, but to bring them to justice. The dichotomy that the film sets up between Joker and Batman is one of chaos vs. order. The dichotomy between Joker and Dent is one of good vs. evil…

The Triumph of Evil Over Good

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

These words, spoken by Harvey Dent in the film and its trailers, portend the inevitable corruptibility of heroes in the Batman universe. At the beginning of the film, Dent represents absolute good, a goodness that's so pure, that has so much potential to change Gotham, that even Batman is thinking of hanging up his spurs.

Dent is referred to frequently as Gotham's "White Knight," a term used throughout the course of the film. I was speaking with a friend about this movie today and he pointed out that when he went to see the movie he did not anticipate "The Dark Knight" could actually also refer to Dent, a clever yet profound subtext to the film (and that's not even mentioning the night/knight pun, which I will choose never mention again after this sentence). Indeed, Dent's journey from light to darkness is handled plausibly and adeptly in the film, which makes his story arc monstrously tragic.

Many people have remarked on how depressing the film is and I would say that I mostly agree: The Joker's ability to destroy that which Dent loves and turn him to the evil that he becomes is sad in a way that can only be experienced by seeing the film. But the apparent relative ease with which Joker does this is what makes the Dent storyline strike so close to home: The film makes us realize that we, as humans are limited, and that our capacity to be good is subject to the vagaries of fate and whatever the hell else decides to destroy what we love. Dent is not just a proxy for hope, he's a proxy for us as well, reminding us of the duality that lies within each of us.

The Thin Line Between Anarchy and Order

As Nolan has stated in interviews, this movie was not meant to explore the Joker's backstory because it's really not that important to the film. Simply put, the Joker represents anarchy and chaos, a constant and near-unstoppable force whose origins are inexplicable (something which is made clear rather explicitly when the Joker delivers two creepily different monologues as to his scars' origins). Many people compare Joker to other film and comic book villains but the one that I think he can be most closely associated with is Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men, who is a force of nature. His origins are unclear but his actions are strongly felt by those around him (to put it mildly).

The Joker is unpredictable and can't be reasoned with, nor does he have any broader goals except to create chaos and destruction. When I saw the movie Funny Games and watched an interview Michael Haneke, I was struck by something he said: To paraphrase, he said that we as individuals have personal spaces that go unsaid but are accepted by almost everyone. When people violate this personal space, the results can be terrifying. In a similar fashion, the Joker upends the genre conventions of a villain in that he has no inhibitions and refuses to hew even to the ultra-basic moral code of criminals (see: the opening scene). When a character has no values that you as a viewer can relate to and hold on to, the results are extremely disorienting. This unmoors our basic assumptions of the person's capabilities.

All of this comes to a head in the hospital scene, when Joker gives Harvey Dent the "It's all part of the plan" monologue, a speech that's chilling not just for its content and delivery, but also because of its incisive commentary for us as Americans. I will not make any overtly political statements here, except to say that the complacency with which we as Americans have accepted atrocities and miscarriages of justice committed around the world as well as right here at home may have consequences beyond what we can imagine. The Joker's monologue points to our baffling perceptions and reactions to the events that disrupt our lives. In our society, what exactly constitutes cause for alarm? And how much sense do those standards really make?

The Terrible Logic of Human Nature

What do people do when they are put in the worst of situations? What would you do if you were given the ultimate power over someone else? The movie touches upon these questions of human nature, but they are perhaps its least developed.

We see this theme pop up several times, most notably in two separate instances. Firstly, it's evident when Batman breaks into Wayne enterprises and gives Lucius Fox fee reign of the cell phone hackery he has perpetrated upon all of Gotham. Fox demurs, believing that one person should not have this power. People are so easily corrupted that even an initial desire to do good can ultimately lead to evil, the film seems to be saying. This is further confirmed as the entire video interface comes to a fiery end, in a spectacular Batman-programmed self-destruction.

We also see it at the very end, when two separate sets of people are given the ability to destroy each other. Given the lead-up to the film's climactic action scene, it's a little bit strange that the boat-bomb storyline ends in the way that it does: With both criminals and everyday citizens concluding that they won't take another's life just to preserve their own. Throughout the whole movie, Nolan seems to be trying to tell us we are all easily subject to the temptations of the dark side, but the rest of the movie is already so relentlessly dark that perhaps this ending was more palatable to general audiences.

Humans can't handle power responsibly. But maybe, in our shared humanity, there is still hope for compassion.

***

At its best, The Dark Knight holds a mirror up to us as viewers and asks us to look closely, to examine ourselves as humans and as citizens. It doesn't always do this gracefully, but it tries far more than any comic book movie in recent memory has ever done. The fact that it succeeds most of the time is a testament to Nolan's script and artistry.

Discuss: What themes did you see in the Dark Knight? How well did you feel the film explored them?

User comment:

Very "moralistic" of you in the third paragraph, but it's very unpatriotic and sounds somewhat blind to refer to "atrocities and miscarriages of justice around the world" as if they are something our country is doing. Give it some background by first looking up the word "atrocity" in the dictionary, then the encyclopedia as you gain a history of this word and realize it actually does depend on context, motive, and goals. What's so amazing to me is how our country had one of the biggest atrocities committed against it, but rather than stand by our country, all our weak-kneed country-men can do is wax keen on imaginary dictatorships and so-called injustices. This is even sillier against the backdrop of any comic story, including Batman, which accepts and even encourages the idea that absolute retribution enacted through violence is well desired, and even oftentimes absolutely necessary. More Americans need to put their mouths where their heart is, or their mind where the mouth is, so their heart can change.

User comment:

great movie but was crammed with too many things i think. oh and i saw it at the imax and the sound was awful.. the score was way louder than the dialogue making plot points easy to miss anyone else have that problem?

User comment:

Solid article. Really thought-provoking. As for themes, how about these ones: 1. How evil can corrupt a system: The Joker is an agent of chaos and madness. But his actions are all for nothing if he can't reach the people who he must stop. Instead of bribing cops and DAs as the mob has done before, he instead uses his favorite tactic -- fear. He puts the families of good people in danger and then asks them to do as he says. And in the end they do because they cannot see themselves losing their loved ones. The Joker has effectively found the cracks in the wall and uses them to do as he will. 2. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions: Harvey, Gordon and Batman go after the mob. All that does is unleash the Joker. Batman tries to save Harvey and let's Rachel go boom. All that does is bring about Two-Face. Gordon and Batman choose to save Harvey's legacy. And all that gets Batman is status as outcast. Is Gotham better at the end of the movie by the actions of these men? It could be argued that no, it isn't. 3. "The path of the righteous is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish...": Contrast the actions of the 3 heroes (Dent, Gordon and Batman) with the responses of the citizens of Gotham and ask yourself "Do they deserve all of this sacrifice?" Time and again they turn inward and self-centered. The Joker's killing criminals and fighting Batman? No one's bothered. He turns his evil towards the Gothamites and, all of a sudden, Batman must surrender. At all times, they're looking for the quick and clean way out. As Gordon ends the movie, "Batman is the hero they deserve." Someone dark, menacing and incorruptible. Someone who'll do what they can't, won't or don't want to do.

User comment:

i really, really hope that "symbology" is a boondock saints reference, and not an honest mistake.

User comment:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Warner Bros. executive says the Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" has taken in $155.34 million to top "Spider-Man 3" for best opening weekend ever at the box office. The figures released Sunday show "The Dark Knight" more than $4 million ahead of the $151.1 million first weekend for "Spider-Man 3" in May 2007. Studio distribution chief Dan Fellman says "The Dark Knight" also broke the "Spider-Man 3" record for best debut in IMAX large-screen theaters with $6.2 million. "Spider-Man 3" opened with $4.7 million in IMAX cinemas.

User comment:

Wow. You have hit the proverbial nail on the head, in a much more profound way than I could ever even try to, so I won't.... Kudos.

User comment:

I just got back from seeing TDK for the first time, so I still need time to digest (and see it again). However, I will say that with regards to the boat scene, I was very surprised that Nolan didn't have the people killing each other. It's not surprising that the film had the boats save themselves for a number of reasons (studio wouldn't allow it, story arc), but it's my opinion that if the movie had the free reign of honesty someone would've pushed the button.

User comment:

Awesome analysis

User comment:

I think one recurring theme was how Batman's only true weakness is dogs.

Source: Assessing the Themes of The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight Voted #1 Movie of All Time on IMDB

On Thursday we told you that 4,591 Internet Movie Database users had rated The Dark Knight a 9.7 out of 10 (or a 9.0 out of 10 from regular IMDb voters), good enough for the #4 spot on the top 250 movies of all time list. We expected the film to slide down a few slots as a larger sample of votes came in. We were wrong. It’s now Saturday night, and with 19,000 more votes counted, the film has propelled into the coveted #1 spot! Of course, The Dark Knight is expected to slide down the list as more and more votes are added to the average, but it’s worth noting this almost unprecedented accomplishment.

The top spot has been held by The Godfather since sometime in the late 1990’s (this late 1996 capture of the chart from the early days of IMDb shows Star Wars in the top slot). As far as I can tell, no film has unseated The Godfather from the top spot in the last decade. The last film to get even close was The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which got a high as the #2 in 2004. Return of the King currently sits comfortably at #14.

Terminator Salvation Trailer

The first Terminator Salvation trailer has hit the web. Don’t hold your breath to see much robotic blood lusting… the movie is still a year away and lots of CGI work hasn’t even started yet. But personally I really like the trailer. Check it out

So what do you think of the Terminator Salvation Trailer? Like the feel of it? Think Bale will make a good John Conor? Why or why not?

Does Batgirl Have A Secret Cameo In The Dark Knight?

This weekend, millions of moviegoers will head to their local theater and fork over their ten bucks for “The Dark Knight,” eager to see Batman, The Joker, Two-Face and some other Gotham City favorites. But will they also get a brief glimpse of Batgirl?

MTV News recently caught a screening of “The Dark Knight,” and it isn’t giving away any spoilers to say that Gary Oldman’s James Gordon has a very different-looking family. The role of his wife has been recast (Ilyssa Fradin in “Batman Begins,” now Melinda McGraw), as has his son James Jr. (an infant in “Begins,” now 10-year-old Nathan Gamble). Most suspiciously, however, a daughter has been added.

As die-hard fans of the comics (and Sixties TV series) know, several incarnations of the Batman universe have had Gordon fathering a daughter named Barbara, who then grows up to don a costume of her own and take on the persona “Batgirl.” In “The Killing Joke” storyline, The Joker turns her into a paraplegic, and she becomes Oracle.

In “Dark Knight,” Gordon’s daughter appears to be 8 or 9 years old, and experiences the sort of creepy close encounter with a supervillain that could make a young gal want to grow up and fight crime. So, is Nolan planting a seed?

“I don’t think I’m going to answer that,” the writer/director grinned slyly when I asked him directly whether Gordon’s daughter was indeed named Barbara. Check out the video for yourself, and you can see the way he takes a very long sip of his drink and squirms a bit before answering – could it be that we’ve caught him in the sort of sneaky scheme usually reserved for a Gotham evildoer?

In the “Dark Knight” end credits, it says the character is named “Gordon’s daughter,” and that she is played by Hannah Gunn. So, I asked Nolan if he even knows the name of James Gordon’s daughter in his universe. “Possibly,” he grinned.

To further strengthen the case, online versions of the “Batman Begins” script show that Gordon’s wife (who is also named Barbara) was pregnant – which we were unable to see since she was sitting down in her one scene. Clearly, there has been a near-decade growth in the Gordon children between films, making it quite possible that Nolan is laying the groundwork to do the same between “Knight” and the third movie. That would leave Gordon's daughter at the appropriate age to take on the Batgirl persona.

The big question for now, however is a simple one: What the hell is that little girl’s name? I went straight to Oldman himself, and this was how our conversation went down:

MTV: Towards the end of the movie, we see you with your children. What’s your daughter’s name? Is it Barbara?

GO: (confused) No.

MTV: Do you know who Barbara Gordon is?

GO: Yeah.

MTV: Well, I ask because in the comics, Commissioner Gordon has a daughter named Barbara. Barbara grows up to Batgirl.

GO: She grows up to be Batgirl, yeah. But I completely blanked on the name.

MTV: Well I don’t mean the actresses’ name, I mean in the movie did they say to you her name?

GO: Yeah, no. You know, we were talking about it earlier. Please no Robin, not in the third one. No Robin, no Batgirl.

So, Oldman seems opposed to any incarnation of Batgirl. But still, the question remains: What is the name of Gordon’s daughter in the new Batman movies, and where is this storyline headed?

What do you think? Could Nolan make Batgirl (or Oracle) a cool character, or should Gordon’s mysterious new daughter simply stay in the background?

James Cameron’s AVATAR Aliens Look Like….Thundercats?

Cheetara is pissed! The image on the upper left is from a staff T-shirt given to an AVATAR crew member by actor Sam Worthington.

This is apparently the first look at the alien race called Na’vi in James Cameron’s 2009 3D Movie (that Will Eat the World). In the film, Na’vi live on a planet called Pandora and they’re described as a “humanoid race with its own rich language and culture.” Marketsaw scored the image. Let’s do some bullet points…

• The Na’vi specimen has six camel toes.
• It has a cat-like tail, unless that’s some type of organ.
• It apparently has two little horns or two little ears. Somebody’s going to make the first Avatar LOLcat in the comments. Oh god.
• Supermodelish figure and hair recall Cheetara from Thundercats
• It is carrying a bow-and-arrow.
• Shoulder pads. It’s the future.
• 5th grader fantasy alert.

In the film a paraplegic Earthling/ex-marine teams with the Na’vi to defend their planet from other Earthlings who want to exploit its natural resources. Now, the logline is already pretty bizarre if you ask me, so I’m not going to flip on the image. However, I’m not a fan of tribal tattoos and the accompanying T-shirt graphic below really frightens me. Is that the logo of the most revolutionary movie since Citizen Kane or the logo for a nu-metal band that your first roommate in college is obsessed with?

Discuss: What do you think of the first Na’vi image from AVATAR?

Source: First Look: James Cameron's AVATAR Aliens Look Like….Thundercats?

"Sex and the City" sequel

Get ready for more cosmos and screaming women! After months of idle talk, HBO has confirmed that a sequel to the Sex and the City movie is in the early stages of development.

No surprise, considering the first spin-off from the series has earned $146 million since it debuted in theaters at the end of May. Michael Lombardo, president of HBO's programming group, told a group of reporters at the cable network's annual press tour in Los Angeles today, "We're really heartened by the fans' enthusiasm. Absolutely, there is a lot of energy behind doing another SATC movie." Lombardo wouldn't expound on his comments but a source confirmed that Warner Bros. has begun discussions on a sequel, adding that the studio is hoping to fast-track the project.

However, no deal is in place and there is no script. In fact, the lead actresses involved are taking a cautious attitude towards another film, not wanting to rush a sequel and risk disappointing their loyal fans. Warner Bros. hasn't returned calls seeking comment. — Reporting by Lynette Rice

Via: Entertainment Weekly

Movie Review: Wall-E

Wall-E Movie Review. This review has two spoilers and they are labeled as such in the article.

If that twat Leona Helmsley had seen Wall-E she probably would have left $8 billion to an unkempt robot trash compactor. Or by default Pixar. The nonpareil animation studio's ninth film is arguably their best, a touchstone for the current culture that will outlive us all and makes its way into lonely, lonely space one day strapped beside There Will Be Blood. I'm not overlooking the "contrarians'" views of the film either; Wall-E is definitely a hypocritical vacuum of sorts, vaulting its strong wake up, shape up and save-us-all-from-Wal-Mart message into millions of laps dampened by extra large sodas, fast-food flatulence and sweaty anticipation for an endless sea of Wall-E merch.

As a showcase for the contemporary mating of art, life and entertainment, this film is similar to having Big Brother tell our youngest generations to throw the damn hammer at the screen already. Is Wall-E subversive? Is it progressive? (The ongoing “liberal” argument is for retards). Well, it’s a kid's movie for the summer. And I know that snarky bloggers are supposed to scoff at breeding, but I empathize with American parents who are forced to tolerate packs of smartass, rapping CGI animals year after year. The notions and visuals in Wall-E must feel like a pinch on the ass to them or a hit from a joint. And while 20something viewers without kids may prefer the "we shat and sat" message of Idiocracy—a film with admittedly similar themes and prophecies—director Andrew Stanton's mainstream kid’s film still has more to say than all the hipster "artists" in Brooklyn. Go ahead and skewer the Mickey Mouse ears for the 1000^th time in the galleries Disney is ahead of you.

Discourse about the film’s importance and message(s) will never eclipse the greatness of its first act—the robot waltz; the many transportive scenes between this forgotten island of a male and a more advanced, cutthroat female (that can fly no less, great). The robots playing these characters are free of Perez baggage (just guessing), so the audience is able to enjoy their courtship and ponder it in a way that's arguably no longer possible with today's humanish actors.

Like Paul Thomas Anderson did with TWBB, Stanton lets his film dazzle by ignoring convention out of the gate; Oscar-worthy sound design by Ben Burtt sharpens and buffs our attention, and it all happens sans dialogue; Stanton allows moviegoers the time to patiently reconnect with why we're in a theater in the first place: to get away and go someplace else. With wars going on, so much marketing hype (to which I play a part, sure), $4 fucking bottled water at the movies, and Blackberry breakups, going someplace else takes longer than it used to. Getting bit smitten by a blockbuster film is exceedingly rare. So when it happens, as it does here, it's like lucid dreaming, and when you leave Pixar's realer than real animation, reality feels outdated. You want a pixel squeegee to uncover their signature pearly brilliance on a cigarette butt mashed on the street.

Sort of like love, or a Sam Cooke album, it seems that many viewers don't want the waltz between Wall-E and EVE to end. Many of us wish to see the two of them roll around on Beach Fantasia and finally become a quixotic quasar with one last shot of metal PDA. Basically: "the fatties took the film down oh so slightly" and kept the film from being a masterpiece. Or the more extreme: "Not only did humans ruin the Earth, their sheer inclusion in the film was a minor kill-joy!"

But I feel that the third act is as strong and vital as the preceding two; it pounds the film's commentary home like a cool but very smart brat. Directive: we are fat fucks.

One of my favorite scenes is when the fatties slide around helplessly on their intergalactic, Miami-neon cruise ship like boneless hungry hungry hippos. Tipsy with madcap absurdity, the scene’s rude irreverence is further amplified when two of the main fatties swing their arms around in a last ditch effort to save a row of tumbling chubby babies. Cue the female fattie joking to her male crush, "Get ready to have kids!" More than six of 'em, darlin'. I was waiting for an artificial insemination scene. Humans are rarely portrayed as such a pathetic species on film, and like those chicken-not-a-chickens purportedly bred by KFC, I found myself wanting to bite into these barely sentient humans with a side of mashed potatoes.

Pixar’s decision to interject a live-action Fred Willard into the film as the powerless president of Buy N Large Corp—shown via video feed in contrast to the film’s cartoon humans of the future—is perplexing and ballsy. Far more so than Pixar’s decision to make a film about a chef rat. I'm curious to see how time treats this creative whim. Similar live-action video clips of Hello Dolly are timelessly complimented by Wall-E's teary awe, but Willard's character is aimed at the Dubbya Now.

Willard's presence creates the strange sensation that we're touring a finished Pixar movie rather than watching one. *Spoiler* The scene where he's taken hostage off-camera has a trippy, surprisingly grim interpretation; it was like something you’d see on Adult Swim (where Willard occasionally pops up). It even recalls the mutating media flickers in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. *End Spoiler* The fact that Wall-E's visuals can overpower Willard's adult-aimed jabs of "Attention citizen-shoppers!" is tantamount to Pixar's rolling stone MO and their need to dare expectation.

As the third act wraps up, the film's recurring, Apple-inspired icon for "living plant" begins to mirror the blanket-bomb advertising and propaganda of Buy N Large. *Spoiler* The humans are headed back to Earth to farm "pizza plants” on its massive landfills and everything is alright…from a symbolic distance that ends the film on a humorously mild note. *End Spoiler* And while the ubiquitousness of the “living plant” logo drives home the film's blatant green message to kids, intentionally or not, it also satirizes what the green "movement" is fast becoming: a kind of faceless marketing with shrewder design savvy.

And in this respect, Wall-E is itself a sly pop-art creation, the corporate illusion is complete. But to Pixar’s unwavering credit, as an audience member you still feel a healthy, unified regard for their badass staff and vision so many billions of dollars later. You feel like you’re experiencing ’00s greatness alongside them, and their cultural connection and wow-factor hasn’t been this strong since 1995 and Toy Story. When we look back at 2008, Wall-E will be up there.

Did I mention that this is a really romantic film, and that Wall-E looks exactly like Johnny 5?

10/10

source: Slashfilm

Was Louis Leterrier Offered Superman?

The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier slipped at a recent AlloCine question and answer session and revealed that “maybe they have already asked me” to direct the new Superman movie.

The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier slipped at a recent AlloCine question and answer session and revealed that “maybe they have already asked me” to direct the new Superman movie. From the first minute Superman: The Man of Steel was announced, rumors have been running wild that Warner Bros wanted to replace Bryan Singer and reboot the franchise. I've heard that other big name directors had been offered the project, but had never been able to confirm the story. Leterrier quickly responded in the talkbacks on AICN claiming that what he "meant was that [he] had been told about a possible reinvention of Superman.”

“Not that I was offered the job."

For some reason, I'm just not buying it. And then again, this is the guy who claimed Captain America was in The Incredible Hulk. May be he’s just a compulsive liar?

Discuss: I know a lot of people weren't happy with Superman Returns, but I think Bryan Singer knows what he needs to do to satisfy fans in the sequel. Would you be happy if they replaced Singer with Leterrier? I vote for Singer!

Max Payne Trailer

Fans of the Max Payne video game franchise rejoice! The trailer for the movie is out, and it's HOT.

This is the first video game movie that actually looks GOOD...and not just passable (I'm looking right at YOU, Hitman). Check this out!

Cool Dark Knight Chicago Promo

Picture of a Bat signal promo that is currently being flashed in Chicago. Check it out!

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Debut Trailer

EW.com has premiered a new trailer for LucasArts’ Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

I haven't played a Star Wars video game for years, but that might change as some cool games are on the horizon: Forced Unleashed and the upcoming lightsaber game for the Nintendo Wii.

Obviously the selling point of The Force Unleashed is that you get to use your awesome force abilities to an extent that was only hinted at in the films. And the story looks very promising. Although I must warn you, the end of the clip shows a fight sequence which could probably be considered a major (but expected) spoiler.

Magneto Script Reviews

The good people over at cinematical have found out about 2 separate Magneto script reviews thanks to the good people over at IO9.

Through these sources, I gladly pass the info onto you, my international friends. I will not go into any of the details of the script reviews - they spoil the film for me, so I refuse to read them.

For those of you that do have interest in reading the reviews, please journey over to Sal’s Scripts and Coventry Telegraph.

2 New X-Files TV Spots

We have 2 new X-Files commercials to show you today. They are back to back in the following video that was brought to our attention by comingsoon:

These are short and sweet. I really cannot comment on my feelings because the images all went by so fast. I’m glad that the duo will return to the northern wastes in this film. Arctic landscapes are brutal, serene and foreboding.

This film joins the sumer hits and will be in theaters July 25.

Does ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ Have The Best Joker Ever?

Writers have disagreed throughout the years over what makes the Joker the Joker. (Read about the history of the Joker, from “Batman” #1 to Heath Ledger here.) Is it his laugh, his menace, his ironic absurdity? But few today argue over who did it the best:

“Bruce Timm and Paul Dini,” comic-book legend Jeph Loeb said of the work done by the co-creators of “Batman: The Animated Series,” who, for the first and only time in history, made the Joker equal parts menacing and comical, combining the very silliest and scariest aspects of the character.

“Virtually flawless,” Loeb added, “which is really extraordinary, given the times, that they rethought how Batman should be presented in an animated way and wound up telling some of the best Batman stories that have ever been told.”

What went into their creation? Would you believe everything but the kitchen sink?

“He’s kind of an amalgamation of all the previous Jokers that there have been… Everything from the Cesar Romero version from the Adam West show to even the more comic-book-oriented one that used to be in the old Filmation cartoons and a little bit of Jack Nicholson too,” Timm said to MTV News. “The thing with the Joker was we really wanted to try to make him kind of as dark and psychotic and scary as we possibly could within the limitations of a children’s program. But at the same time, we didn’t want to make him so dark and scary that he ceased to be fun, because he’s a joker. He’s kind of a scary clown, so that means he’s got to be scary and he’s got to be funny.

“Even as his sense of humor isn’t what we’d normally think to be gut-busting humor, we still wanted to keep the sense that he’s entertaining to watch,” Timm added. “Even at his most homicidal.”

Unable to show the Joker killing people on the cartoon series, Timm and Dini instead had him paralyze people with a toxin that would fix a permanent grin to their faces — in many ways, more terrifying than actual death.

Integral to their portrayal, of course, was the voice acting of Mark Hamill, whose Joker was a delicate mix of psychosis and manic glee, just as ready with a gun as he was with a gag. Fans of the character still give Hamill credit for the most definitive take yet.

“And he didn’t even have to try hard!” Timm exclaimed. “He can put the Joker on like that, just instantaneously. He doesn’t have to stop and do the whole Method acting thing, like, ‘OK, now, what’s the Joker like?’ He can do it at the drop of a hat. He can do it in the middle of a sentence. He can be talking about something and go right into the Joker voice and it’s just, he’s there. It’s, like, yikes. It’s actually kind of frightening.”

So who is your favorite version of the Joker? Ledger? Nicholson? Romero? Hamill? Or is it one from a specific comic? What qualities must your Joker have? Do you prefer him to be a prankster or a maniac? Sound off on all things Joker below.

The Day The Earth Stood Still Trailer

It’s one of the most anticipated movies of the year, and now that the trailer for “The Day the Earth Stood Still” has arrived online, fans everywhere are watching the footage with Zapruder-like intensity for clues to the remake’s vision.

We went right to the source for a talk with director Scott Derrickson. Read our exclusive chat with him below, then watch the trailer for yourself (click here to see it in glorious HD) and let us know what you think of the film in the comments below.

The last shot in the trailer is a hero shot, although strangely not of Keanu Reeve’s character Klaatu, but of his trusty robot Gort. The look of the character deliberately recalls his look in the 1951 original.

“It was intentional,” Derrickson said. “I certainly took a lot of time to explore other possibilities. It wasn’t just a foregone conclusion in my mind that we would be sticking to the original. I tried looking at a lot of different possibilities, worked on a lot of different ideas with artists and just always a nagging sense that there was something right about the way the original, that there was something about this alien entity choosing a human form or being in a human form that had value even by modern standards, not by 1950 standards. I also am such a fan of the original film. You have to also just have some respect for Gort. Gort is Gort. There’s no question what we designed pays homage to the original.”

Klaatu sits in an interrogation room, hooked up to a lie-detector as a government official quizzes him on his purpose. Even in still frames, Keanu Reeves has a rigid, alien quality about his body language.

“One of the biggest challenges of this movie was whether or not audiences would really buy the whole idea — and there’s no question that you buy it, there’s no question that you believe Keanu’s performance. He really thinks through every moment and every beat with tremendous rigor. And he is very clear, I think, about what works for him and his physicality,” Derrickson said. “And yet it’s not like he’s doing things that are highly unusual or highly quirky. He’s not performing an alien like Jeff Bridges in ‘Starman.’ What he’s doing is something that’s not quite so upfront and center or distracting, but it still really gives you a feel of alien-ness and keeps you aware of the fact that this being you’re walking through this movie with is not a human being.”

In an interview with MTV News in March, Reeves told us that Klaatu’s message to Earth was very different from the one in the original, that he was bringing with him a warning to stop destroying the environment. Here it looks like the environment is destroying us (or Giants Stadium, at any rate) — which is it?

“It’s both and even more,” Derrickson explained. “I think that this film in some ways is an attempt to address a number of issues that are amongst the most pressing issues for the human race. The original being a Cold War film was addressing what was clearly the greatest threat for the human race at that time, mutual nuclear destruction, and that’s not the most pressing threat that we face now. It’s also man vs. man. We are destroying each other as well. Our country’s at war right now. There is certainly the issue being addressed in the movie of our treatment of one another on the planet. I think it’s a movie about human nature as much as anything else and how human nature is acting itself out in the world right now.”

In the original, Klaatu finds the character of Helen after he escapes from custody. Here, she goes to him.

“She’s actually a professor at Princeton University and she’s a microbiologist and she’s recruited early in the movie for an event that’s clearly occurring. She’s recruited by the government whether she likes it or not, really,” Derrickson said. “Helen is probably an expanded role from the original film. Jennifer, of course, is a fantastic actress. She was always my first choice for the role so I’m elated that she’s in it.”

The original was a not-so-subtle allegory for Christ (the alien’s human name is Carpenter, he calls for peace, he is resurrected at the end, etc.). Is Derrickson’s version as overt?

“I don’t think you can really escape that metaphor,” Derrickson said. “I think the Christ-myth stories make great stories, whether it’s ‘The Matrix’ or ‘Braveheart,’ they all are tapping into some kind of deep myth in our DNA, and by myth I don’t necessarily mean false. I mean something that has mythological power and that’s definitely part of the story and part of what attracts me to it. My approach to that was to not discard that, but to be not quite as direct as the original.”

What do you think of the trailer? Excited for “The Day the Earth Stood Still”? “Klaatu barada nikto!” Sound off below.

The Best and Worst Movies of 2008

Hey there guys, and Happy Fourth of July! We’ve just crossed the mid way point of 2008, and as I’m costumed to doing I thought I’d throw together a mid-year report of the 10 best and the 10 worst movies of the year to date.

The worst thing… AND the best thing about these lists is that no one totally agrees with them, which opens up tons of room for discussion on the year so far. So without further a due I present to you TMB’s best films of 2008 so far:

#1 - WALL-E Without question the best film of 2008 thus far, and barring an AMAZING 2nd half to the 2008 film season the Oscars will make fools of themselves if this isn’t at least nominated for best picture. Not only the best picture of the year so far, but also the best film Pixar has ever made… and that’s saying something. Brilliant movie on every level.

#2 - IN BRUGES The most surprising film of 2008 so far to me. The 3 main cast members (Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes) are all beyond brilliant. The film is funny, exciting… and who knew that Colin Farrell could be such a great actor when he puts his mind to it? The film has a “Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” sort of feel to it, but it’s very much its own movie.

#3 - WANTED I suspected this film would surprise a lot of people, but I didn’t anticipate it surprising me as much as it did. This film is just over the top insanity and adrenaline inducing fun from start to finish. Never thought I could buy James McAvoy as an action hero… but I guess I was wrong about that. Oh, and I’ve never seen Angelina look sexier in any role before either.

#4 - THE DARK KNIGHT There is such a huge amount of hype surrounding this film, and at the same time right now a huge amount of unrealistic over-exaggeration (in my opinion) going on about how good this film is. No, this film is not the best thing since sliced bread, but make no mistake about it, it’s a FANTASTIC movie. I believe it exceeds Batman Begins and Heath Ledger legitimately deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance as The Joker. No one will be disappointed.

#5 - IRON MAN I was not at all looking forward to this flick in the least when it was first announced. I even thought doing a movie on Iron Man in general was a bad idea. But after seeing the trailer at Comic Con last year, I started getting interested, and the movie delivers. Exactly what a summer super hero movie should be. Holy crap did Robert Downey Jr. knock it out of the park. He was the perfect Tony Stark.

#6 - SON OF RAMBOW A movie that was a hit on the film festival circuit, but sadly never found a serious audience in its theatrical run. This is a beautiful movie that I lament more of you didn’t get a chance to see. A wonderful look at innocent in a world of filled with a lot of beautiful that only innocent eyes seem really capable of seeing. The kids in this flick were great too. Touching, funny… and you even might learn something watching it.

#7 - FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL After “The 40 Year Old Virgin”, this is, in my opinion, the funniest and best Apatow related movie they’ve ever done. On the surface a formulaic comedy that somehow also manages to generate a ton of heart with a very symapthetic lead character you just can’t help but cheer for. It lacks a little of the hidden deeper stuff found in Virgin, but a wonderful and enjoyable film nonetheless.

#8 - DEFINITELY, MAYBE There is definitely an anti-romantic comedy bias out there… because… well… most romantic comedies suck. This one however, rules… so much so that I hesitate to call it a romantic comedy, but I guess that’s what it is. Best Ryan Reynolds performance I’ve ever seen him give, terrific female supporting cast and a legitimately interesting story told in a pretty unique way. Trust me guys… it’s worth checking out.

#9 - THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES Going into The Spiderwick Chronicles I was expecting a cookies cutter film in the same vein as all the new little fantasy family films that seem to be popular to produce these days. Surprisingly, Spiderwick turns out to be more than just that. The movie makes you feel awe and wonder with the world in which it takes place with a FANTASTIC performance by my favorite child actor Freddie Highmore.

#10 - SMART PEOPLE Thomas Haden Church absolutely kills me in this movie. His interactions with Juno’s Ellen page are the highlight of the movie for me… but it’s also a great character driven movie. The life of the main character (Denis Quaid) isn’t the life the majority of us lead… but I think on many levels there are a lot of us who can identify and relate with what he’s experiencing on a general level… we’re all holding our own lives back, paralyzed by fear of taking a chance… damn I loved this flick.

AND NOW FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, I PRESENT TO YOU, SADLY, THE WORST FILMS OF 2008 SO FAR

#1 - MEET THE SPARTANS I throw up just a little everytime I have to even type the title. Check out Doug Nagy’s famous video review of it here.

#2 - THE LOVE GURU Should have just called it “Austin Powers 4 With A Different Accent And Without The Humor”. Myers… what happened to you dude?

#3 - WITLESS PROTECTION Come on, the movie stars Larry the Cable Guy… what were you expecting? The title of this movie should have stopped after the first word.

#4 - OVER HER DEAD BODY Turns out Eva Longoria actually can’t act or attract an audience and just fluked out with Housewives. Wow this movie SUCKED! Why did Paul Rudd agree to be in this?

#5 - DRILLBIT TAYLOR I guess not everything Seth Rogen writes is gold… sometimes it’s pure shit… especially when he just rips off his own Super Bad characters.

#6 - PROM NIGHT See that look on the girl’s face in the poster? Yeah, that was most of us after realizing we paid money to see it.

#7 - YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN Title should have been “You Shouldn’t Go See The Zohan”

#8 - FOOLS GOLD Just because the duo worked in “how to lose a guy”, doesn’t mean you can just put them in anything piece of garbage.

#9 - SPEED RACER Apparently the Matrix brothers went to the “George Lucas School of Post Phantom Menace Film Making” and figured flashy visual effects would cover a horrible piece of crap movie.

#10 - THE EYE Do yourself a favor and just stick to the original Asian version. SHOCKING NEWS!!!! Jessica Alba can’t act! Who would have thought?

So there you have it. Head into the comments section and discuss the list, what you would have taken off, and what you would have added. Have fun, and enjoy the fireworks tonight!

Source: The Movie Blog