Sep 18
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and 
. (whew, that’s alot)Aug 28
Deciding who the best Joker was in various comic based films and television shows is no easy task. We recently posted the “Top Five Joker Quotes From ‘Batman: The Dark Knight’” which included the debate of Nicholson vs. Ledger in the comments. This time we want to make it official and poll the readers with the question “who was the best Joker?”
[poll id="3"]
Cesar Romero
Cesar Romero was the Joker of the 1960s, playing the role in 18 episodes of the television series. He also reprised the role in the 1966 film.
Aug 25
There hasn’t been a lot going on in the comic world lately, but ‘Fresh Ink Online’ recently reviewed Batman RIP, Urban Myths, Anna Mercury, and Uncanny X-Men. If you are interested in the topics here, G4 has some interesting forum discussions going on.
Aug 08
I’ve been talking about how terrible Batman’s voice was in the Dark Knight for a while now and I’m glad to see that people out there are finally making parody clips about it. The following YouTube video is actually one guy playing 2 roles. He’s basically making a parody of the interrogation scene from the Dark Knight. It’s wonderful that others are seeing how moronic Bale’s gravelly voice was. Some may claim it was clever and realistic, but was the lisp and growl filled voice really necessary? Check out the following clip if you want a good laugh…
Jul 30
Batman’s New arch-LEGO-nemesis makes his way into LEGO Batman coming this Fall 2008.
PLATFORMS: Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™, PlayStation®2 and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and Windows PC.
RELEASE DATE: Fall 2008
PUBLISHER: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
DEVELOPER: Traveller’s Tales
ESRB RATING: Expected - Everyone 10+
GENRE: Action-Adventure
Although many characters are appearing in the game, expect to see ‘The Dark Knight’s Batmobile to make an appearance in LEGO Batman: The Video Game. You’ll also see Batman is his old school light grey suit, same goes for Robin’s suit. The Dark Knight’s release will help the popularity of the LEGO series, but at this point the LEGO Series has done quite well making games after very succesful movies.
List of Characters
Heroes
- Batman
- Bruce Wayne
- Robin
- Nightwing
- Alfred Pennyworth
- Commissioner James Gordon
- Nighthawk
Villains
- The Joker
- Catwoman
- The Penguin
- The Riddler
- Two-Face
- Mr. Freeze
- Harley Quinn
- The Scarecrow
- Poison Ivy
- Bane
- Killer Croc
- The Mad Hatter
- Clayface
- Man-Bat
- Killer Moth
Jul 29
[Editor's note: due to the extensive use of the word "fantastic", it should be noted that the word is not intended to be interpreted as a synonym to "amazing", but rather "extraordinary" and something non-realistic.]
About halfway through The Dark Knight, I realized what was going on and why it looked the way it does. This is perhaps the cleanest looking film I’ve ever seen. When games nowadays try to be graphically gritty to merit the buzzword (Mass Effects applies a “film grain” filter to make the experience more cinematic), The Dark Knight thrives in cleanliness. It is, however, realistic cleanliness. The film is gritty, but not in the visual sense. Nor is it completely realistic. It is a world very much grounded in Chicago as it is in Gotham City, and as such it becomes a fantastic, realistic world.
What I realized was that this film is a realistic depiction of a fantasy world. The grittiness comes through the plot. From the first minute to the last 152nd, Christopher Nolan fleshes out the events of so many plot lines that could merit films on their own, that it is not for nothing some might find the film exhausting. The Dark Knight resembles perhaps more Infernal Affairs (subsequently The Departed) and Heat than Batman Begins, and this is what I found troubling at first. What Nolan does with this film, however, plot wise, visually and musically, is introducing an incredible suspense throughout the first hour and 45 minutes that ascends The Dark Knight into being something short of a masterpiece, if not for all of its, sometimes, fatal flaws.
The Dark Knight’s two color palettes in symbiotic relation
The problem, however, isn’t that the film is long. It is what happens in the last 45 minutes or so that sends the plot into turmoil. Usual for films of this length is spending more time on developing themes and discussions about said themes. Here, the themes and moral dilemmas are so deeply crafted into the plot that it makes it almost eerie. Some questionable executions on key plot moments, unfortunately, no matter how well they fit in the grander scheme of things, make the latter quarter of the film feel rushed and, honestly, laughable. Why so serious, then?
Well, and this is the conundrum of the film, Heath Ledger’s Joker is as much a work of the screenplay, make-up artists and overall visual design of the villain, as it is Ledgers. Being cast to play the madman puts you in the spotlight and any good actor will make that character stand out no matter what. Unlike Will Snizek, I do not think Jack Nicholson’s version was more realistic. On the contrary, this film depicts fantastic realism in every sense of the way; least of all the star of the show, the Joker. So, being that 21st century poster boy for commercial punk that Ledger’s performance as the Joker has become, he actually excels at portraying a psychopathic maniac with all that fantastic realism the film is grounded in. He is simply perfect.
Part of this conundrum, also, is that the performances of the rest of the cast stand in the shadow of Ledger, no matter how great they may be. We all find the Harvey Dent we’ve wanted on the silver screen with Aaron Eckhart, who tries his hardest to bring sense to the latter half of the film as Nolan begin to solve too many plot elements at the same time. Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne is in constant agony. His love for Rachel Dawes, moral dilemmas about who he really needs to be, puts Batman almost in a sense of teenage angst. Bale’s performance gets shamefully lost in the Harvey Dent’s and the Joker’s of Gotham.
Is the Joker the personification of a Gotham City turned so on its head that it is floating toward its own demise? This is one of the few questions one can ask oneself, because almost nothing is left to chance when you start deciphering the different dilemmas and themes Christopher Nolan sometimes fall a little too much in love with. Alfred and Lucious Fox exists more for the viewers sake than for Batman’s, because nothing gets to be interpreted individually with The Dark Knight. Nolan has a script and a point and doesn’t shy away from hammering those bullet points in the audience’s head over and over again.
However, no matter which way you try nitpicking the film’s flaws, you simply cannot get around the tone of The Dark Knight. It is simply eerie, beautiful and suspenseful. It is a film that challenges the concept of comic book movies, and grounds itself in clean realism that cannot help but resonate with western people of all backgrounds and subcultures. Wanting a fantastic, Burton-esque Batman will grant you disappointment. The Dark Knight is a crime drama with fantastic characters, not a fantasy tale with glorious CG.
I’d argue that The Dark Knight not only transcends the comic book movie formula, but transcends itself above the term and actually becomes something completely different. Comparisons to other films can and will be made in spades, but The Dark Knight still remains something entirely of its own.
Jul 25
I was one of the millions who went to watch the slightly above mediocrity which is “The Dark Knight” this past weekend. I’m not here to bash the movie, or claim it’s the worst but people out there HAVE to come to their senses. The Dark Knight (TDK) is NOT the best movie of all time, and that’s the truth!!!
Heath Ledger had his best performance on the silver screen, with his portrayal of ‘The Joker’ Everyone loved his performance, which I thought any other actor acting like a psycho would have done. Not that difficult, you put some make-up on and read lines which professional writers give you - done!
Now the real talent was with Harvey Dent / Two-Face played by Aaron Eckhart. His performance as the District Attorney was stellar and when he transformed into Two-Face he was that much better. There is no doubt Eckhart’s performance out did Tommy Lee Joness’, but I’m also going out on the limb here to say he was the best actor on screen.
I actually forgot the plot of the movie was supposed to be around this guy, umm… Batman. Christian Bale was really trying to throw more than his voice, his “angry” Batman lines were actually amusing. A better movie would have been ‘Two-Faced Joker’, and skip this nippleless suit crime fighter.
Onto the IMDB debate
When I looked to see where “The Dark Knight” matched up against other Action movies, I was stunned. Comparing TDK to other great titles is just plain and simply idiotic. Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, and Star Wars: Empire Strikes back are fantastic films. I see TDK in the upper crust, but more of a 7 than a 9.4. Here are my pro’s and cons on TDK.
Pros:
- Harvey Dent / Two Face
- The Joker’s quotes
- Batman’s motorcycle
Cons:
- Batman’s voice
- Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes
- 152 minute run-time
Tell me who you think was the best actor on screen.
Jul 24
The Dark Knight exceeded most of my expectations and that’s primarily due to the awesome performance by Heath Ledger as “The Joker”. The rest of the cast was “so-so” in my opinion, but it was certainly a much better film than “Begins” was. Was Ledger a better Joker than Jack Nicholson? I’d still say “no” but he was certainly creepier. Nicholson was more realistic, yet Ledger was certainly crazier and more diabolical. In the end, I’d have to say both performances were awesome. Without Ledger as the Joker, ‘The Dark Knight’ would have been a boring film to watch. Did anyone happen to notice Batman had a lisp while in costume, but no lisp when he was parading around as Bruce Wayne? I’m not sure what difference it makes, but Christian Bale’s performance was total rubbish. I’d probably rate his performances as Batman somewhere in the George Clooney category. Fortunately we saw an incredible performance by Ledger that saved the film. He will certainly be missed.
Jul 22
In tribute of “The Dark Knight”, we’ve decided to create ‘LEGO Batman’ action shots, with our bucket of Lego pieces. After 5 minutes of looking for that damn bucket, we decided to show you this trailer instead.
Joining the LEGO series, LEGO Batman is the latest installment of the franchise. If you’ve ever played any previous LEGO games before, you’ll know what to expect. For those who haven’t here are some features of the game.
LEGO Batman: The Videogame brings the one-and-only Caped Crusader to life in a completely original storyline. Players will take control of the Dynamic Duo, Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Robin, as well as bonus hero Nightwing to fight Gotham City’s most notorious criminals including The Joker, The Penguin, Catwoman, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, The Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Harley Quinn, Two Face, Bane, Clayface, Poison Ivy and many more. The criminals have broken out of Arkham Asylum and are set to wreak havoc on the city.
Jul 08
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[Editor’s Note: Walking down the aisles of your favorite retailer you’ll see movies that you’ve never heard of. Even if you’d like to know how they fare no one cares enough to review them! That’s where “Movie Watch” comes in…oh, and we’ll try to cover movies on Xbox Live from time to time. Because if you’re gonna spend those confusing Microsoft points on something other than games, it better be worth it, right?]
“Batman - Gotham Knight” ditches the cheesy Saturday morning cartoon demeanor and goes for a much darker and, consequently, deeper story spread out in different anime-inspired episodes that serves as the middleman between “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight.” Is it worth the price of admission?
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