My buddy over at Movieguys has the scoop on what will happen tomorrow on The Scream Awards. The Scream Awards is the premiere event that honors the best in Comics, Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror. With that said, I may have to Tivo this bad boy. The actual awards ceremony has already been had but airs tomorrow night on October 21st on Spike TV.

Any questions??

Without further ado, I will announce the winners (more of a small recap, hit up the source URL above for the full notes) of the 2008 Spike Scream Awards.

Spoilers Ahead Spoilers Ahead Spoilers Ahead

SCREEN LEGEND AWARD: SIR ANTHONY HOPKINS (who else would this go to?)

BEST FANTASY FILM: HELLBOY 2 THE GOLDEN ARMY

BEST COMIC BOOK: Y: THE LAST MAN (announce by none other than Stan the man!)

BEST FANTASY ACTOR / BEST VILLAIN: HEATH LEDGER AS THE JOKER (umm who else would it be?)

Make sure you swing by and read up on the full article over at Movieguys!!

The Dark Knight train is running after Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and will surely catch it. The Dark Knight topped the box office for a fourth straight weekend, adding an estimated $25 million to its massive total of $441.5 million. If the estimates are correct, then Christopher Nolan’s sequel has surpassed Shrek 2′s ($441.226 million) to climb to the third spot on the all-time top selling list, trailing just Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope ($460.998 million) and Titanic ($600.788 million). Warner Bros. Pictures said it expects “Dark Knight” to end up with about $520 million domestically, which I think it won’t stop there. The movie cost $185 million to make, and I am sure some suits in Hollywood are taking long vacations after this one!

Do you think the train will stop anytime soon or what?

“The Dark Knight“.

Say it, savor it, revel in it. For the past year, ever since we saw the very first teaser for “The Dark Knight“, which was entirely comprised of character voice-overs and an ominous blue light slowly illuminating a gradually deteriorating Bat symbol, this has been the movie to see in 2008. From that very first line of dialogue we heard The Joker deliver in that teaser (“Starting tonight…people will die! I’m a man of my word. HAHAHAHAHA!”), chills were sent down our spines as we began to ponder how exactly this movie would play out. Last December, a new teaser with actual footage from the film was released, with its main focus being, of course, The Joker. Here is where we got our first official look of the late Heath Ledger in the role and suffice it to say that the general reaction was: “Oh. My. GOD!” By this time, it was pretty safe to say that Ledger’s take on The Clown Prince of Crime greatly outshone Jack Nicholson’s portrayal in Tim Burton’s 1989 film. While I certainly wanted to agree with that, there was another part of me that told me to wait until I actually saw the film before passing judgment on that. And then, a month later on January 22, Heath Ledger tragically passed away as a result of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills.

As fans dealt with this sudden tragedy, worry began to mount concerning “The Dark Knight“. But the worries that Ledger hadn’t finished filming were almost immediately quelled when it was announced that he had finished filming his part back in November of 2007. Since then, Internet movie discussion boards have been inundated by the amount of talk and hype surrounding what is easily the movie event of this year. Through all of the ingenious viral marketing, trailers and T.V. spots, virtually everybody has come to one conclusion: even though he’s passed on, Heath Ledger lives on in what is without a doubt the biggest role of his sadly shortened career. Heath, this one’s for you.

After the “Batman” franchise had been demolished by the atrociously awful and extremely campy “Batman & Robin” back in 1997, Warner Bros. decided to lay The Caped Crusader to rest for a few years. It wasn’t until 2004 when the studio hired director Christopher Nolan to direct a revamp of the franchise, this one focusing on the more darker, realistic, human and ultimately complex aspects of the Batman character and his billionaire alter-ego Bruce Wayne. And in 2005, “Batman Begins” was released to critical acclaim and overwhelming satisfaction from fans. Nolan’s film proved to be not only the best Batman film to date, but also the best superhero ever made, period. With great performances by refined actors such as Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman, it proved to us that superhero films don’t always have to be about flashy effects and colorful costumes; they can also be about compelling story lines and a surprising sense of realism. So, when it was announced that a sequel to Nolan’s film would be made, everyone knew that it had a lot to live up to. Now here we are three years later with the release of “The Dark Knight”. Now onto my actual review of the film; as The Joker would say: “And here…we…go!”

Well, it’s here at last, ladies and gentlemen.  The summer movie that’s had both Batman fanatics and ordinary moviegoers alike shaking with anticipation for the past three years, ever since Christian Bale’s Batman flipped over that card at the tail-end of “Batman Begins” to reveal the Joker symbol: a jester.  It’s the film that sold out numerous midnight showings three weeks prior to its release, prompting theaters to add 3 a.m. showings.  And when those sold out as well, then came the 6 a.m. showings.  Does “The Dark Knight” have the potential to claim the title of “Biggest Opening Weekend” ever?  I’d certainly say so.  It’s also the film that is getting serious Oscar talk where Heath Ledger’s performance is concerned, as well as apparently being the year’s first favorite for Best Picture.  I kid you not.  Now, do I agree with that sort of talk?  Well, you’ve already seen my star rating, so you can go ahead and try to figure it out.  But I’d urge you to let what I actually say be the judge of that.

So first things first.  Does Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” deserve all the praise it’s been getting?  The answer to that is a resounding “YES!”  With “The Dark Knight”, Nolan has not only crafted a film that easily surpasses his original (and that’s saying something), but he’s also created a truly memorable filmgoing experience that is without a doubt the best movie of the year.  “The Dark Knight” is not only the best Batman film to date, the best superhero movie ever made and an ingeniously crafted crime film, but also perhaps one of the best movies of the decade.  I assure you, all this praise is justified.  “The Dark Knight” is more than just a great superhero film; it’s a rich, complex and dark envisioning of a comic book universe.  Everything in this film is grounded in a gritty realism that really does make you believe that these events transpiring on-screen can actually happen.  From an effective atmosphere, explosive action sequences and the most chilling and terrifying villainous performance in years, “The Dark Knight” is not only this year’s greatest achievement, but also director Christopher Nolan’s greatest achievement in his already impressive legacy.  Would I give “The Dark Knight” consideration for Best Picture?  Uh, yeah!

With “The Dark Knight”, Christopher Nolan has created his second masterpiece, right along with ”Memento”, and it is stupendous.  Nolan understands the universe of Batman; he understands the characters, their relationships with each other, and more importantly their impact on one another.  Every character in “The Dark Knight” somehow has an impact on the other characters, as well as the situations.  The choices each person makes ultimately has a consequence, and Nolan does a terrific job of showing those consequences, no matter how violent they may be.  This is most true for Batman himself, but that’s all I’m going to say.

When “The Dark Knight” opens, Gotham City seems to be worse off than it was before.  Even though Batman is cleaning up the streets, he has in turn inspired other criminals to incorporate theatrics into their schemes.  Take, for instance, Gotham’s newest threat: a criminal mastermind and bank robber known as The Joker (Heath Ledger).  He plans bank robberies so elaborate and synchronized, only one person can come out of them alive.  The Joker’s new presence baffles the Gotham City Police, as both they and Batman attempt to figure out where The Joker will strike next.  The Joker is so powerful on the streets, in fact, that he casually walks into a meeting of all the city’s mob bosses and orders them to kill Batman if they want their future secured.  And so begins a wave of chaos and anarchy from The Joker that is seemingly unstoppable.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has a lot on his plate to deal with.  He’s still getting used to Gotham’s reluctance to have a vigilante who, in the people’s eyes, does more bad than good.  Bruce is actually looking for someone to carry on his mantle because he’s not entirely sure he can continue on under these circumstances.  Bruce sees Gotham’s true savior, a “white knight”, in its new DA, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).  Harvey is a righteous, crusading DA who’s adamant about bringing down all the crime lords in the city, no matter the cost; even if it means crossing the mayor.  But when a key mob accountant flees to Hong Kong, Harvey sees no choice but to enlist the help of Batman.  And so, with the help of Lucius Fox’s (Morgan Freeman) high tech creations, Batman travels to Hong Kong to fetch that accountant.  But even Batman’s devices and fighting skills can’t stop The Joker’s deadly reign of terror, as the bodies continue to pile up.  It seems as if The Dark Knight and his only trustworthy friend, Police Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) are facing Gotham’s darkest hour, with no sign of any light at the end of it all.

All right, first things first.  The Joker.  Well, suffice it to say that the late Heath Ledger creates a Joker that is so sadistic and violent, he makes Jack Nicholson look like Cesar Romero.  It’s truly an unbelievably great performance and if Ledger doesn’t receive a posthumous Oscar nomination for this role, then I will officially consider the Academy insane.  It really is the best performance by an actor I’ve seen thus far this year, period.  Heath Ledger plays The Joker as a character with zero morality and mercy, completely disappearing into the character in the process.  It takes only one still-photograph of Ledger as The Joker to see how much he differs from previous incarnations of the character.  Even though he may have the least amount of screentime out of all of the billed actors on the poster, it’s a true wonder to behold whenever The Joker shows up on-screen.  Here, The Joker is more morbidly funny than before, and the laughs he receives are definitely dark ones.  I could just go on and on about how truly brilliant Ledger is in the role, but I have other aspects of the film to discuss.

Now, let’s not have Ledger overshadow all the other great acting on display here.  Christian Bale turns in another excellent performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman, with his character effectively contemplating his city’s needs for a hero and wondering if he’s truly the right person for the job.  Michael Caine returns as Alfred and once again proves that he’s still just as good as when he first started acting.  Gary Oldman, to my pleasure, was given much more to do this time around, as the character of James Gordon is actually given something of a story arc.  Morgan Freeman has a larger role as well, and it really serves him.  Maggie Gyllenhaal, who has replaced Katie Holmes in the role of Bruce’s love interest Rachel Dawes, is certainly an upgrade from Holmes, as she brings all-around better acting to the table and makes Rachel a more likable character.  And then there’s Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, who I think turns in the film’s second-best supporting performance.  Actually, most of the story involves Harvey’s character and Eckhart is more than up to the task of having the most important role of the secondary good guys.  But of course, Batman fans all know that Harvey’s destiny is to become the grotesque Two-Face, and he is given a good amount of screen time as both characters.

The advanced screening of “The Dark Knight” that I attended was on an IMAX screen, and the film was a marvel to look at on there.  Christopher Nolan used IMAX cameras to film specific portions and scenes of the film, and those parts were simply astounding.  The picture quality was flawless as it immersed you in the action.  If you plan on seeing “The Dark Knight” in IMAX, then be prepared for a true experience of moviegoing.  All of the already exciting, applause-worthy action sequences are made even more jaw-dropping by the enormous IMAX screen.  It’s simply amazing technology.

All in all, “The Dark Knight” is one hell of a Batman Movie, with awesome action and incredible acting and writing to back up its “Wow Factor”.  Christopher Nolan has achieved something special here; not only has he created the greatest superhero of all time with Best Picture-worthiness, but he’s redefined the superhero genre altogether.  I encourage everyone to see this movie, whether or not you think it’s for you.  I guarantee you if you don’t think you’ll like it and see it, you’ll be happy you did.

I think it’ll take multiple viewings to fully appreciate what Christopher Nolan has done here, and I can’t wait to see it again.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 

My buddy over at Movie-Moron passed this mashup of trailers along to me late last night. I figured I would put it up on the site as its  pretty entertaining.

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Who do you think would win a battle between these bad asses? I have Batman all the way!

I can’t tell you how much I truly, truly hate writing this story. According to CNN Heath Ledger was found dead in his Manhattan Apartment today.

Ledger’s housekeeper found him dead in his Manhattan apartment, New York police said.

He died at 3:26 p.m., they said.

The New York Fire Department received a call at 2:27 today responding to a “cardiac arrest call” in New York.

They found an unresponsive male dead at the scene.

At just 28 years old the actor was turning into one of the finest actors in Hollywood. Having been already nominated for an Academy Award for his role in “Brokeback Mountian” he had carved out an eccentric and fascinating career. I personally first noticed him when I saw “10 Things I Hate About You” one Easter Sunday in theaters. I enjoyed the movie, but the first thing I said when leaving was, “That guy is going to be a huge star.” He was also the best thing about “Monster’s Ball”.

I am deeply saddened as a movie fan and a fan of his that we will not see what could have become of this incredibly talented young actor. I am deeply saddened as a human being that he leaves behind a young daughter.

Ledger’s next screen role is that of The Joker in the upcoming Batman film “The Dark Knight”, possibly the most anticipated movie of 2008, and one of the most anticipated performances in recent memory. I have heard that it is nothing short of amazing. He leaves behind a truly remarkable legacy for such a young actor. May he rest in peace.

***UPDATE***

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

The sleeping pills Heath Ledger was reportedly taking have been embroiled in controversy in Australia, where hundreds have had bizarre and potentially dangerous reactions to the drug.

Called Ambien in the US, the tablet is marketed as Stilnox in Australia…

In November, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) reduced pack sizes and updated its warnings on the drug to protect people from its “worrying and potentially dangerous adverse effects”…

Reports suggest that Ledger may have been suffering for pneumonia at the time of his death, with some speculating the drug may have reacted with his condition…

But Sydney general practitioner Dr John Gullotta, of the Australian Medical Association, said such a reaction with Stilnox would be “extremely rare”.

“In the product information (for Stilnox) they do actually caution against use in people with severe respiratory conditions, and pneumonia can obviously cause respiratory problems,” said Dr Gullotta, who could not comment on the specific case.

So, there is one theory.

Can you say HOLY S%&T Batman!!

This trailer is awesome and I must say I will be there in theater awaiting an awesome film. Although if some of you pansies that I have written to get off your asses and start sending me tickets I could go earlier!!

Anyway here is the Dark Knight and the best Joker … period! This is who the Joker is, no one will play him better.

Yeah, yeah, I drove an hour and a half to see “I Am Lackluster” on the big IMAX screen. I was going to do a review for it as well, but frankly I had pretty much the same opinion as everyone else on this site. It wasn’t good it wasn’t horrible it was just there and semi-enjoyable at times (but pretty awful a few times too). Don’t waste your money. UNLESS, you want to have your first “seven minutes in heaven” since the eight grade.

The “Rise of the Joker” prologue for The Dark Knight is some epically awesome film work. From the moment it hit the screen it’s imagery blew “Legend” out of the post-apocalyptic water. Have you seen major movies on an IMAX screen before? Sure it’s pretty cool, they are a bit bigger than they would be at your local theater, but they seem a little washed out and too bright in the dark spots (I Am Legend really suffered from this). That is to be expected, because those movies were all shot in 35 mm and then blowed up to IMAX proportions. Well, “The Dark Knight” is the first movie in history that had sequences shot on IMAX cameras, specifically for IMAX and Sweet Mary Todd Lincoln it shows! The image was stunning! Beautiful, bright, crystal clear and it fills up the whole IMAX screen. There is truly no comparison.

If you want to see a shitty bootleg version someone recorded with the cell phone check it out LEAKED TDK PROLOGUE But, since I fully expect that link to be yanked momentarily I’ve recapped it for y’all below.

*Warning*

Thar be spoilers ahead! Of course it’s only spoilers for the first seven minutes of a movie that you can’t see for eight months, so go for it.

The film opens with a view of the city as the camera sweeps across rooftops and focuses on a window in an office building. An explosion blows the window out. My fist thought is how much this seems like a gritty crime film and not a cartoony comic-book movie – fantastic. In the window we see two guys in clown masks and purple suits, we’ll call these guys Clown #1 and Clown #2 . Clown #1 fires a cable onto a nearby rooftop.

Down on the street is Clown #3. He is standing with his back to us, a large dufflebag slung over one shoulder and his clown mask in his hand. An SUV pulls up, he throws on the mask and jumps in. Clowns #1 and #2 are now zip lining from their window to the rooftop. To say that this shot is harrowing and a little unsettling would be an understatement. Trust me, see this on an IMAX screen when it comes out.

Back in the SUV, Clown #4 is driving and talking to clown #5 (#3 is in the back) about how the five of them are going to split the money and screw over the guy who planned the job – The Joker. Clowns 1& 2 are on the roof talking about how this guy, The Joker, wears make-up to scare people as they break into an electrical box. Clowns 3-5 run into the back and start shooting shit up. Clown #4 is clearly in charge. Clown #2 up on the roof intercepts the banks alarm call and cancels it. As soon as he is done Clown #1 shoots him in the back of the head! He then takes the roof entrance into the bank.

Clown #1 starts drilling into the vault, while out in the main bank some manager gets uppity and shoots Clown #5 in the back with a shotgun he had stashed in his office. Numbers 3 & 4 hide. 4 asks 3 if the manager is out of rounds and 3 nods. 4 jumps up to shoot him, but just misses being shot himself from the manager’s last shell. #3 jumps out and fills the manager full of holes (but doesn’t kill him). #4 yells at him for his lack of mathematical prowess.

#4 now joins #1 in the vault, they mention that this is a mob-run bank they are stealing from. #4 asks where the alarm guy is. #1 says, “Boss told me when he was done to take him out. One less share right?” #4 responds, “Funny, he told me something similar.” Goodbye #1. Only 3 & 4 are left now. 3 watches the captives while 4 loads up the cash. #4 brings the bags out into the lobby and comments to #3 that Joker probably told him to kill him when they were done loading the cash as he points his gun at #3. #3 doesn’t seem bothered by this turn of events as he slowly sidesteps and causally says, “No no no no, I kill the bus driver.” #4, “The bus driver?” A big yellow school bus CRASHES through the front doors and flattens #3.

Clown #6 now jumps out of the back of the bus laughing “School’s out! Time to go!” They throw the huge bags of cash into the back of the bus. #6 asks #3 “What happened to the rest of the guys?” #3 says nothing, he just shoots #6 and walks away. The bank manager, writhing on the floor starts yelling about how criminals in this town used to believe in honor and respect (and they basically would never rob a bank run by the mob). He screams at #3, “What do you believe in?” #3 gets in his face and offers this retort, “I believe that whatever doesn’t kill you, simply makes you… (he pulls off the mask and unveils himself as The Joker!) STRANGER… If you hadn’t figured that out by now you should be ashamed of yourself.

Joker shoves a smoke bomb in the dudes mouth and walks away as we see the pin is connected to Joker’s belt. He climbs in the bus and drives off as the pin is pulled and green smoke pours from the bomb. Out on the street Joker’s bus falls right in line with a long caravan of school buses off to make the afternoon pickups and we hear sirens in the background.

We are then treated to a montage of images from the film including standard fare of the new Batsuit and cycle, the old faithful Batmobile, and Bats himself standing on the edge of a high building looking out over his city (beautiful shot). We get some maniacal shots of Joker and we see Jim Gordon smashing the Bat-Signal with an axe (Why Jim?).

Sorry this was more of a recap than a review, but I know a lot of people have no way of seeing this and really want to know what happens (and I don’t expect that video link to work for very long). If anyone had any doubts about Heath Ledger as the Joker now is the time to shut your mouth and pretend that you never lacked faith in Mr. Nolan and his vision. I really don’t feel that I am exaggerating when I say that I don’t think anyone could bring this character to life better than the combination of Heath Ledger and Christopher Nolan. But rest assured, by all accounts this is Batman’s movie and will not be more Joker than Batman. With the new villain coming in it’s easy to forget what it’s really about, but Mr. Bale will show us all why the series is about Batman and not the villains.

BONUS

I get a much better version of that kick-ass Joker poster from a friend of mine. Here you go clowns!

Normally I am totally opposed to this kind of thing, but this is just far too cool. HERE is a bootleg version of the first official trailer for The Greatest Movie Ever Filmed – THE DARK KNIGHT.

Yeah, it is supposed to be debuting online next week, but if you can’t wait check it out. It is so much cooler than I had previously hoped. Inside my belly now it feels like there are two hundred midgets dressed in jester costumes playing leapfrog and doing cart wheels. And I think that is a good thing.

Also, below we have the first four international posters. Hopefully we will get ones equally cool in these here United States, but it always seems that the international posters are way cooler than the domestic ones. I guess they figure they have to dumb it down for us.

Batman

Joker

Is this the coolest fucking poster ever? Indubitably. (sorry it’s not a full pic)