Sorry for the delay

I want to apologize to my two readers out there. It has been pretty hectic around here with Christmas, New Years, getting back to work, and the kids back in school. I know blah, blah, blah. Get on with the good stuff.

Before I get into today's section, I have to say that yes I am behind the times a little when it comes to movies (See previous post on movies). I wait until they are released to DVD then watch them when I find some free time.

If you have not seen "Batman: The Dark Knight" I have attempted to give a review without revealing too much of the story. If you are worried about spoilers, then go rent the movie and then come back.

Very seldom does a movie live up to its hype. How many times have we heard this is the best movie of the year or so and so delivers an amazing performance; only for the movie to fall short in all categories. Last night I watched Batman: The Dark Night. I will admit that I was initially put off by the concept of a new Batman series. So many people try to go back and remake a movie and fall way short, not with this series recreation. This is the second movie in the series. The movie stars Christian Bale (Batman), Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent), and Heath Ledger (the Joker). Bale provides a dark persona to the caped crusader which I feel makes for a better image; his performance as the “I am richer than you so I can do whatever I want” Bruce Wayne is spot on. This is the attitude of how I see people with too much time and money on their hands. Aaron Eckhart delivers an always solid performance. This guy comes out in most of the movies I have seen him in and delivers. Harvey Dent/Two Face is a challenging character to play. Passion for justice had to shine through both sides of the coin as Dent and Two Face, especially while being incredibly damaged by loss of a love and half of his face. Moving on to the Joker, again a tough character to play, in my opinion this is mainly due to Jack Nicholson and the memory of his Joker performance. In tragically his final role, Heath Ledger was fantastic; worthy of an Oscar, maybe. This performance was so stunning that it showcases an actor taking a role to a new level. This character has moved into the movie character pantheon (I will work on a list of others for tomorrow). Throughout most of the movie I found myself staring at the screen, at times almost lost in his performance. Some of the other characters in the movie who shined in supporting roles: Morgan Freeman (Lucius) – rarely disappoints, his role helps to balance Batman’s conscience; Gary Oldman (Lt./Commissioner Gordon) – fantastic ability to portray a character that is in a powerless position and make it actually believable; Michael Caine (Alfred) – no other Alfred has even come close to Caine, perfection; Maggie Gyllenhall (Rachel) – an ok performance but I really hate it when roles are recast, more often than not the replacement leaves something to be desired (I am not a big Katie Holmes fan but I thought she was good as Rachel). The director Christopher Nolan (who also directed and co-wrote Batman Begins, The Prestige, Insomnia, and Memento) has the keen ability to keep viewers on the edge. Just when you think you have prepared yourself to go down that same old predictable road he throws in a major turn. The movie was fantastic. The way the characters develop and evolve throughout the film is incredible. I would rate this movie 5 out of 5. I would put this movie in to my personal top ten, which is not an easy list to crack (see tomorrow’s blog for this list).

I really liked reviewing this movie. More fun than I thought it would be. I will try to do this more often, if you like it and want to see more let me know.

Until tomorrow, good day.