Review of Dark Knight

WARNING SPOILERS BELOW

I have seen all the Batman movies. I have seen many of the animated shows. The first Batman with Micheal Keaton was good. However the second was not so good. Then with three and four we really had some problems. They started shoving in every villain they could find in that hope that one would work. Well they did not.

Dark Knight is the best Batman movie to date. It had a great villain. This time the villain really made the movie. Heath Ledger did a great job as the Joker. He captured what and who the Joker is. He was funny, creepy, and terrifying all rolled into one. The de-evolution of Harvey Dent into Two-Face was real. You could understand how a guy would be broken under those circumstances. Then to see him turn evil, just sends shivers up my spine.

What really makes this movie great is the roles the characters play. Batman is our classic protagonist. He is the focus of the movie. Then we have the Joker who plays the contagonist. We see this in his attempts to pull the other characters down by putting them in impossible situations. The antagonist of the movie is Batman's doubt that society needs him. We see him struggle to keep fighting as copy cats become violent imitations of him. When the Joker starts killing to get Batman to reveal himself, he finally decides to call it quits and let Harvey be the cities new defender. Harvey is the emotion character. He sees is emotional about everything in his life. It is part of the reason we like him. He is so passionate about stopping crime. Unfortunately the Joker twists him and turns him into a killer. Gordon would have to be Logic. He does what he has to do to stop the Joker and protect his family. Faking his own death shows that he can do what he has too without emotion getting in the way. The role of the Guardian is played by more than one character. Lucius Fox and Alfred both acts as guides to Bruce Wayne leading him along his path.

This was a great movie.

10 out of 10 talons

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I really want to just love it. I wanted it to be the pinnacle of a terrific collection of movies, but for me it was not. I enjoyed it nearly every step of the way even after I realized that the crystal skull was definitely alien in origin. I was going to be okay with that. I really enjoyed the scene where Mutt and Indiana are fighting the two guys guarding the tomb of the Spanish explorer, and Indiana blows a dart in the crazy tunnel guy's throat. When Mutt asks, "You're a teacher?" the way Harrison Ford shrugs and says, "Part time." it was a great scene and just what I expect from an Indiana Jones movie.

Now to the parts that hurt the movie. The scene where Mutt is swinging through the jungle with a group of monkeys just broke my suspension of disbelief. There comes a point where I just cannot believe it. For me it was another example of Lucas putting a scene into his movie just to show off his special effects. The scene did not add anything to the movie for me. Then the sacrifice of the guys who has been out for himself the entire time was weird for me. I just could not buy it that the guy would give himself up like that. Then the spaceship flies off into the sky. The lesson about the pursuit of power was a good one, and there were some elements that I enjoyed, but it was not the final movie I hoped it would be.

7 talons out of 10

Optimal Timing

Finally, is all I can say. I have wanted to see a well done Transformers movie. If the previews are any indication it will be good. Transformers have always represented to my honor, hope, and the virtues of doing the right thing. The Autobots always represented what was good and prevailed. The Decepticons represented treachery and in the end never prevailed. Their examples of sacrifice still inspire me.