The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is simply an astonishing film. It is perhaps the greatest superhero film of all time for one simple reason, it isn’t a superhero movie. The Dark Knight shows that director Chris Nolan has no borders, no restrictions, and no rules. This isn’t your regular Batman flick, it’s a suspenseful, on-the-edge thriller that keeps you going from the very start.

The story takes place not long after the hit movie Batman Begins, in which Bruce Wayne continues to clean up the streets of Gotham City. Suddenly, a new threat emerges. The psychotic Joker brings about doom and chaos all across Gotham, to the mob, to the police, and to the Batman. Driven to boiling point, Batman must decide whether or not to break his one rule, whether or not he should kill the Joker.

The Batman films have always been made up of all-star casts, and this film continues that tradition faithfully. Christian Bale returns as Bruce Wayne, bringing more to the character than ever before. Gary Oldman (Commissioner Gordon) does an amazing job as well. Not to mention Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent) who bring a lot to the character of Two-Face, and truly does an outstanding job. However, standing above them all is Heath Ledger as the Joker. Perhaps his greatest role in his career, Heath makes you love and hate the character. For the moments he’s onscreen (which can at times be short), he has a presence that is simply extraordinary. The cast, in all angles, is well built, and works well.

The size of this film adds to the reality of Gotham (given that the film was shot in IMAX). There are many times throughout the movie that Gotham will have an actual size to it, feeling huge, dwarfing the people we see. The visuals also add between the light and dark, day and night. Overall, the movie’s feel is cold, and dark.

In the end, The Dark Knight is one of the most action-packed, spine-tingling, suspenseful 2 ½ hours of our lifetime. Unarguably the greatest superhero movie of all time. With plenty of classic Batman detective work, wonderful performances by the cast, and an ending that will just leave you amazed, you can’t go wrong with the caped crusader on this one.

*****/*****

Twilight Movie Review

The memorable love story of vampire and human finally hit the big screen and gave Twilight fans everythingthey hoped for.  The plot demonstrates the hardships Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) must endure when she falls in love with the breathtaking vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson).  The movie was extremely well-written and had characters that fit Stephenie Meyer’s book flawlessly.  The movie was slow but understandably cannot match the book perfectly when you’re trying to fit an entire novel into a two-hour film. 

         The movie, which is targeted at kids over the age of 12, will do amazing at the box office with either good or bad reviews. The only complaint I could say about the movie is the compressed time lapse and the special abilities of the vampires, such as super speed, look gimmicky. These are relatively small flaws in what is a production that should soothe the enormous “Twilight” fans.  ——M

Run, Fatboy, Run

Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg, Hot Fuzz, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People) first started running from his fears when he left his pregnant fiance at the alter. Five years later he is overweight, out of shape, and just barely scraping up his rent by working as a lingerie store security guard. He spends much of his time playing poker with his sleazy friends and wishing he had gone through with his marriage. When he discovers that his gorgeous ex Libby (Thandie Newton) has a new love interest in her life, Dennis knows that this is his last chance to turn his life around. In a desperate attempt to win back Libby’s affection and respect, he signs up to run in the same charity marathon as her current boyfriend. Little does Dennis realize the physical trauma that such a race will put him through. Lucky for him, his not-so-virtuous best pal Gordon (Dylan Moran) has bet money on Dennis’ victory, and is determined to get him in shape for the marathon. Together, the two start an arduous training program that will finally find Dennis running towards something, rather than away from it.

Originally, this film didn’t appeal to me in the least. Its title sounded immature and stupid, and I fully expected the movie to have the same qualities. Indeed, as I sat down to watch Run, Fatboy, Run I was prepared for an hour and forty-seven minutes of crude jokes, unintelligent lines and disgusting humour. What I actually saw surprised me. Not only were the jokes more sophisticated than I had expected, but more often than not they made me laugh rather than cringe. Admittedly, some of it was a bit coarse, but overall I found the movie to be quite clever. It retained the basic dryness of British humour that I love so much.

The movie’s plot was also unexpectedly good. It was remarkably well set-up. The characters were quite appealing, and I found myself being drawn into their predicaments. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Dennis, as he struggled to overcome his fear of committing to anything. It was touching to see the way he interacted with and cared about his son. There were also some good scenes dealing with Dennis and Libby’s relationship. I was amazed that a movie titled Run, Fatboy, Run could have so much depth in its storyline.

Director David Schwimmer did an excellent job with this film. It is suitable for a wide range of audiences. The movie is crudely funny in some cases, while being very witty in others. There is a moral to be found in the story, yet the deliverance of this moral is not cheesy. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Run, Fatboy, Run was a clever, cute and thoroughly enjoyable movie.

~ Dora

Be Kind Rewind

Be Kind Rewind  ★★☆☆☆ 2/5 Stars

 

 

          A small VHS video store faces foreclosure in a poor community. While watching the store for the owner, a clumsy employee’s friend accidentally erases all of the tapes. In order to keep the blunder from becoming apparent, the duo of Mos Def and Jack Black begin remaking the films themselves using homemade special effects and outdated filming techniques.

This movie is clever plot-wise and creative, but I think the way the directors showed it was a bit sloppy. The dialogue and the acting weren’t the best either, though their home-made movies were pretty funny.

 Overall, the movie is not the best. Don’t waste your time watching this if you get bored easily, or have no patience with lame movies.

 

       -Shanna.