The Dark Knight (2008) Review

After successfully rebooting Batman with a serious origin in Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan had high expectations to meet with both critics and movie goers. Determined to go “bigger” in every way often  and by unleashing an unforgettable version of the Joker, Nolan created a masterpiece. Brilliant, beautiful, thrilling, and contemplative, The Dark Knight is film making at its best. It is also a twisted bromance for the ages.

A sequel to a popular film is a very tricky thing to make for recapturing lightning in a bottle is rare. When successful, it can result in a superior film under the right hands. The Dark Knight is not that. Instead it transcends its predecessor to become a work of art that stands on its own. What is even more amazing is that it became a box office record breaker, which is unusual for such an intellectual film which also turned out to be surprising commentary on the War on Terror.

Let us dig into the film and see how he did it.

Health 7-26-2012

The bout with Lyme Disease took more out of me than I thought and it has been hard to get going this week. Allergies are flaring, so they share at least a little of the blame. What has surprised me is how physically weak I have gotten and it looks like it will be awhile before I get my strength back. My always shaky hands are now erratic at times and I have been accidently knocking things due to the large tremors. Irritating.

On a positive note, I have been hiking up the driveway in hot and humid weather to get the mail with no ill effects. It is strange the stamina is recovering faster than the strength. Headaches are subsiding too, which is good since those combined with allergies is true misery. Still it is not the summer I was hoping for.

Life or Something Approximating It

The past week was busy by my standards and this week looks to begin that way. Saturday and Sunday combined to make for a marathon run of events, so I am not feeling terribly good today. Two D&D sessions in a row contributed mightily to that, but at least we had one TPW (Total Party Wipeout). I did try to get the party killed in the first session, but the level five party managed to survive a mummy lord thanks to me and defeat a young adult green dragon that I attacked. He did have it coming after torturing my character, I must say.

I was rather surprised to be given the Diablo III Book of Cain hardcover by my friends hosting the second session. While I cannot yet afford the game, I always enjoyed the lore and storyline contained in the series which this book covers. It looks like it will be a fun read.

The Dark Knight Rises Theater Review

Despite the horrific events in the early morning, I decided to go see the movie to spite the shooter’s desire to instill fear in people. I also did it so I could be a proxy for the people who waited with such fervent desire to see the film, but were permanently denied the chance to. So I dedicate this review to the victims in Aurora.

Super hero film series have a bad tendency to go south in the third installment for some strange reason. Batman Forever, Spider-Man 3, and X-3 all were terrible disappointments. So the question of whether Christopher Nolan could deliver was very valid to ask.

The good news is he delivered a worthy conclusion to the trilogy that is at once familiar, yet very different than the previous movies. Duality has been a theme throughout, so that is fitting. The Dark Knight Rises is a more emotion driven piece that explores how people handle things in a worst case scenario. While neither Batman Begins or The Dark Knight were cheerful, this is a story about losing hope and trying to find it again in an utterly grim setting.

14 Dead and 50 Wounded at The Dark Knight Rises Premiere

Having trouble sleeping thanks to a mouse running around (since dispatched), I got online to find out that a midnight showing in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, Colorado was attacked by a gunman wearing body armor and a gas mask. Just watched an interview here with a survivor who had friends in the specific theater and it sounds like the shooter used an AR-15 and at least one tear gas grenade. Also, the killer waited in the parking lot for the police to arrive and is in custody.

Speculation is rampant, but there is no given reason for the shooting yet. It could be terrorism, but it probably is a nutcase again. Since the theme of the movie is terrorism, it no surprise that people are thinking that. One thing is for sure, he wanted to be caught and get attention.

Hearsay is that a baby was shot and children are among the victims, including a little girl seen with bullet holes in her back.

It is horrific and sure to generate a lot of political blame all over the place, but I wish people would just leave that alone until we get the motives of the shooter.

Another local talked on camera that the theater was not considered one of the safest in the area and usually had three police officers in the lobby. With so many people dressing in costumes for the movie, how would anyone tell the threat was real at first?

It is the typical confusion and it will be awhile before a true picture emerges.

The irony of the movie being about a society disintegrating into violence and terrorism is profound, not to mention depressing. My fear is that we will see a lot more of this kind of thing once the economy collapses completely.

My prayers go out to the victims, their families, and their friends.

UPDATE

Things are still murky, but at least the death toll has been reduced to twelve. The baby has been verified as being three months old and being treated at a hospital and so is a six year old girl.

People commenting online are angering me greatly from both the left and the right. It may be my lack of sleep, but I wish I could slap them silly. Attempts to make it a racial or religious issue irks me no end. The area is mixed and so was the audience.

Name of suspect is James Holmes, 24, with only a traffic ticket for a record in Aurora.

UPDATE

The baby was uninjured, the parents were concerned and wanted the child checked out. Tear gas is confirmed and that was smart of them to do.

Supposedly the gunman entered the theater by kicking down an exit door by the screen during an on screen gun fight.

Mitt Romney is being dinged by idiots for saying 15 killed, for awhile the live coverage said that an additional person had died at a hospital raising it to that number. I know that because I was watching it and that tells me Mr. Romney was too. Non issue folks.

Likewise, the proximity of a large Muslim community to Aurora has nothing to do with what happened. It is like people want this to be worse than it already is so they can grind axes. Sigh.

UPDATE

Imagine surviving a crazed gunman on the rampage only to be killed by another six weeks later. This may turn out to be one of the most tragic stories out of the shootings. It is made even more poignant by her last tweet waiting for the movie to start.

Meanwhile, the media has decided to try to pin the killings on Rush Limbaugh and the Tea Party movement both. And they wonder why they only have a 26% approval rating with the American public.

Then there is one of Howard Stern's pranksters calling in and posing as cop with a local TV station. What slime.

After those last two items, I do not feel very motivated to keep up with the news.

Health 7-18-2012

Not the best day, but far from the worst of late. Either allergies have kicked into overdrive or I have gotten a cold. Given how bleary I am, it is probably the latter. Despite the sniffles, I did go out to eat with my father.

Now that the antibiotics are done, I am free to wander in sunlight again. The past two days I have hiked up to the mailbox in high heat without too much trouble, though today took a small eternity.

One lingering side effect from the bout with Lyme Disease has been bad headaches accompanied by swelling along the fissure lines of the skull. While this happens with very bad cycles of CFS for me, it is different in that it never completely subsides. I am hoping this fades in time, since it is making listening to music, watching movies, and playing video games painful.

Maybe things will be better tomorrow.

I am Now Officially a Weird Uncle

My sister gave birth to a healthy baby girl with an impressive set of lungs, I must note. So after years of aspiring to be an eccentric uncle, it is time to settle for being a weird one since I don’t have enough money to be eccentric.

Congratulations to my sister and her husband, may they one day get normal sleep again.