The Dark Knight

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Monique Curnen, Cillian Murphy, Eric Roberts, Anthony Michael Hall
Running Time: 2h 32min

The Dark Knight gets everything right. From top to bottom, it is cinematic bliss, comic book eye candy that thrills, chills, and promises to make a Batman lover out of you! Structured and tailored like a crime movie, yet thematically rich in the sense of the original comic books, Nolan has delivered what could very well be the untopable film of the franchise.

Slightly attached to its predecessor, Batman Begins, but very much its own film, The Dark Knight dives right into the action and never lets the audience look back. Free from the unnecessary need of retelling origins, the script is very tight and well layered, to please fans of the character, and fans of thought provoking films. The war allegories are apparent, and nicely thread into the myths surrounding Batman and his conflicting status as hero or vigilante, crime fighter or crime agitator.

Utilizing the Joker and Harvey Dent/Two-Face as the main protagonists enables the aforementioned theme of good and evil, justice and anarchy, to be fully played out throughout the cast. Casting two fine actors like Ledger and Eckhart only adds to the phenomenal cast from the first film, (Oldman, Caine, Freeman), who surprisingly get a lot more screen time and more fully fleshed characters. Oldman is especially amazing as the most down to earth, everyman hero in the film, Gordon, who is heroic in his family ideals and lieutenant role. Caine nails the wisdom and sauciness that is Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred, and Freeman does great work, almost like Q from the Bond films, in his disapproving manner of Wayne's way with toys and gadgetry. Another big plus is the casting of Gyllenhaal in place of Katie Holmes from the previous film, as she is much more convincing as a love interest/legal eagle than Holmes could ever hope to be.

Still, the film belongs to Ledger and Eckhart, who embody their premier rogues gallery villains to a tee. Eckhart has enough charisma and menace to form the dual personality of Two-Face, while Ledger turns in a career performance, crafting a Joker that is unlike any psychotic we've seen on film. His mannerisms, tics, and vocal styling are unnerving and frightening, yet he still manages to find the sick humour and fearlessness that makes the Joker so enjoyably dangerous. Just when you think he's down, he gets back up, and his unpredictable nature is what makes him such a match for the Bat.

Now all this and nary a mention of the dark knight himself, which was cause for alarm as the first run of films fell into the trap of the ever decreasing Bat part. However, Nolan knows to keep the Batman at the center of it all, developing him as he rethinks his reason for existence, and keeps his intelligence featured as his greatest weapon. Sure, all the toys he has make for an amazing amount of stunts and chases (the batmobile/motorcycle is a wicked machine) but his cunning and puzzle solving remain key, just as they are in the comic books.

The beauty of the film is that it packs a powerful amount of visual excitement, while staying true to the essence of the characters. It comes across as a well crafted film, that just happens to be about a guy in a bat suit. There's plot twists and surprises, great lines and tense moments, and gorgeous camera work, but underneath it all is a brilliant script that has comic book elements, but plays like a psychological thriller, in the vein of Nolan's already great resume of films. Though it seems to run long, there isn't a moment that isn't worth the wait. Prepare to be blown away, because pop culture icons have never been this good on film.

Grade: A+

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Directed by: Eric Brevig
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem, Seth Meyers, Kaniehtiio Horn
Running Time: 1h 32min

Brendan Fraser must be crowned the new king of goofy fun, if he hasn't been crowned already. He established himself as a dashing leading man, with a little Harrison Ford wink, in the the Mummy series (which he returns to this month) and can't help but be liked in this similar B-movie effects film, Journey to the Center of the Earth. Note, this film is available in 3-D, a trend which is being revived as of late.

Based on the Jules Verne novel, but cleverly not an outright adaptation of the text, the movie begins with Fraser's scientist character agreeing to have his deceased brother's son come visit for awhile, just as his laboratory is being shut down due to minimal results coming out of his seismic activity research. Thankfully, the film doesn't bog us down in too much back story, or too much scientific hoo-ha, and just lets it rip right into the journey at the center of the film.

Soon the uncle nephew team find themselves in Iceland with a young guide that they both claim "dibs" on. This silliness continues throughout the film, and it's a good thing that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The three discover the same hole in the earth that Fraser's brother must have a decade ago, and chaos ensues. The imagery from Verne's book is used as a guide and the audience is treated to mutated life form after another, all in eye popping grand visual effects. Unfortunately, the theatre i saw this in did not have 3-D capabilities, but the shot selection made it pretty apparent what glasses wearing audiences would be in for. And it's a whole lot of fun.

Sure, the movie is a throwback to another era of film making. This could very well have been made in the late fifties/early sixties and you wouldn't know it from the script. But the modern effects and stunts make it an enjoyable ride, as it briskly moves from scene to scene, and the three leads are neither too irritating nor too interesting to make you care either way. They mostly get out of the way or react fervently to the wild surroundings. Pure cheese, and a tasty one at that, Journey to the Center of the Earth is worth the time, as long as you check your brain at the door and dive right in.

Grade: B

WALL-E

Directed by: Andrew Stanton

Starring: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver

Running Time: 1h 43min

Pixar has become synonymous with excellence, so one comes to expect nothing less when it comes to their first foray into space, with the futuristic tale of WALL-E. Rather different in tone than typical Pixar fare, WALL-E starts out almost in a silent film style, with the small titular robot cleaning up an uninhabited Earth. Sight gags pepper the start while we are fed a brief explanation for what has happened to our planet, and the human race. These are quickly done through old video footage and contain some clever and funny comments about our society, as all good science fiction pieces do.

What amazes me the most about Pixar's films is how they realistically and stunningly recreate new worlds with each successive film. The animation is incredible, in the way that Finding Nemo captured the colours of the ocean, and A Bug's Life looked as lush as the green scenery it was set in. Pixar's animators have made a spectacular depiction of outer space, while remaining true to realistic properties of robotic development as we know it today. They sure do dream at Pixar, but they are always conscious of realism and context.

WALL-E is a prototypical Disney lead. Cute, fumbling, and prone to mischief, the tiny robot spends his days on Earth alone, save for a cockroach companion, and has gathered an extensive collection of oddities from his garbage collecting/sorting. His robot functions allow for only so much original behaviour, and once he meets the sleek, Mac inspired sex tech of a robot, EVE, he is in love at first byte (sorry, couldn't resist). This unlikely relationship drives WALL-E to new heights, and the film begins to whiz along at an incredible rate, packing in a lot of robot mishaps and shenanigans that are classic comedy routines, lovingly played out in a new forum.

Tonally, the movie is a little darker than you'd expect, but the slapstick and childlike behaviour of WALL-E nicely keeps the film on target for the younger audience. A little bit Johnny 5, and a little bit the lovestruck Buster Keaton, WALL-E is set in the future but feels like a film from the past. Building on themes and scenes we've seen before, the animation takes us places we haven't been, and crafts a tale of caution, romance, friendship and fun. Though not as entertaining or enjoyable as recent fare like Kung Fu Panda, or previous Pixar achievements like Ratatouille or Monsters, Inc., WALL-E can proudly sit upon the same shelf of high standards that Pixar continues to aspire to.

Grade: A-