Summer Blockbusters
Zoinks! It's been a while wince I updated this puppy. While working freelance onsite and having some time to kill I figured I'd finish the quick movie rundown I started more than a month ago.
One of the annual rites of the summer is the inevitable summer blockbuster. Now admittedly I have not seen everything, but everything I have seen has been of pretty high quality. With roughly half the summer still left (I started typing this on July 16) I doubt I will see a movie as entertaining, gripping and powerful as The Dark Knight.
In terms of comic book movies, as strong and smart as Iron Man was, as action packed as the Hulk was... this movie outpaces both, by a lot. The only movie that comes close to the quality level of Christopher Nolan's Bat epic is Pixar's Wall-E, which I also thought was excellent. Not only Wall-E and Dark Knight are the best 2 movies I've seen this summer, in fact they are the 2 best movies I've seen this year. Of course the fall movie season and the winter awards season push will provide plenty of fodder for my best of the year list.
Getting back to the Dark Knight though, I must say Christian Bale is perfect as Bruce Wayne. I do find his Batman to be a bit annoying with the way he's combed the depths of his lower register to try and give himself a gravelly tough guy voice. He sounds more ridiculous than he does tough. What more can be said about Heath Ledger's performance. Truly one of the most captivating movie villains to ever hit the big screen. His was the most chilling portrayal ever of the Joker, either in print or on screen... ever. Aaron Eckhart's transformation from DA to grotesque villain seemed a bit rushed but provided the backbone for the entire film. If the Joker could turn this top law man into a twisted villain he could do it to anyone. Maggie Gylenhal was also a pleasant upgrade over the lovely Katie Holmes. Her death providing the tipping point for Eckharts Dent. All in all a perfect film (note I didn't classify it as a comic film... with a film this good, no classification is necessary).
Here are some of the other notable films I saw so far this summer: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (yeah that was late April, but in my opinion it started my summer as I was laid off shortly after watching this film), Iron Man (3rd fave of the summer), Indiana Jones (dug it, felt like it belonged in the Indy family), Kung Fu Panda (much more enjoyable than I anticipated, great fighting scenes), The Incredible Hulk (better than the first, Ed Norton a plus), Wall-E (close 2nd best film of the year) Step Brothers (funny, funny, funny), Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (well told Del Torro tale. Solid second act to this character) Star Wars: The Clone Wars (aimed at kids, I dug it, would have been better received had the main characters not been so bratty)... more to come, as I plan on catching Tropic Thunder, and Pineapple Express very soon as well.
One of the annual rites of the summer is the inevitable summer blockbuster. Now admittedly I have not seen everything, but everything I have seen has been of pretty high quality. With roughly half the summer still left (I started typing this on July 16) I doubt I will see a movie as entertaining, gripping and powerful as The Dark Knight.
In terms of comic book movies, as strong and smart as Iron Man was, as action packed as the Hulk was... this movie outpaces both, by a lot. The only movie that comes close to the quality level of Christopher Nolan's Bat epic is Pixar's Wall-E, which I also thought was excellent. Not only Wall-E and Dark Knight are the best 2 movies I've seen this summer, in fact they are the 2 best movies I've seen this year. Of course the fall movie season and the winter awards season push will provide plenty of fodder for my best of the year list.
Getting back to the Dark Knight though, I must say Christian Bale is perfect as Bruce Wayne. I do find his Batman to be a bit annoying with the way he's combed the depths of his lower register to try and give himself a gravelly tough guy voice. He sounds more ridiculous than he does tough. What more can be said about Heath Ledger's performance. Truly one of the most captivating movie villains to ever hit the big screen. His was the most chilling portrayal ever of the Joker, either in print or on screen... ever. Aaron Eckhart's transformation from DA to grotesque villain seemed a bit rushed but provided the backbone for the entire film. If the Joker could turn this top law man into a twisted villain he could do it to anyone. Maggie Gylenhal was also a pleasant upgrade over the lovely Katie Holmes. Her death providing the tipping point for Eckharts Dent. All in all a perfect film (note I didn't classify it as a comic film... with a film this good, no classification is necessary).
Here are some of the other notable films I saw so far this summer: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (yeah that was late April, but in my opinion it started my summer as I was laid off shortly after watching this film), Iron Man (3rd fave of the summer), Indiana Jones (dug it, felt like it belonged in the Indy family), Kung Fu Panda (much more enjoyable than I anticipated, great fighting scenes), The Incredible Hulk (better than the first, Ed Norton a plus), Wall-E (close 2nd best film of the year) Step Brothers (funny, funny, funny), Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (well told Del Torro tale. Solid second act to this character) Star Wars: The Clone Wars (aimed at kids, I dug it, would have been better received had the main characters not been so bratty)... more to come, as I plan on catching Tropic Thunder, and Pineapple Express very soon as well.
Labels: movies
posted by LEV at
9:47 PM
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