I knew that Batman: The Dark Knight was an ass kicker of a movie, but I had no idea that it would do it at the box office. I absolutely loved this film, but the records that this movie has shattered are remarkable. Take a look:
1. Biggest Theatrical Release: 4,366 theaters
2. Biggest Midnight Debut: $18.4 mil
3. Biggest Opening Day: $67.2 mil
4. Biggest Friday: $67.2 mil
5. Biggest Sunday: $43.5 mil
6. Biggest Summer Opening: $158.4 mil
7. Biggest PG-13 Opening: $158.4 mil
8. Biggest All-Time Opening: $158.4 mil
9. Biggest July Opener: $158.4 mil
10. Biggest IMAX Debut: $6.2 mil
11. Fastest to $100 Million: 2 Days
12. Fastest to $200 Million: 5 Days ($203.8 mil)
13. Fastest to $300 Million: 10 Days ($314.2 mil)
The Dark Knight pulled in over this weekend 75.6 million in its second week of release. Most movies would love to have those numbers in their first week of release.
I rarely take the time to write movie reviews especially on this blog mainly because I feel it’s redundant.Most people have already read or heard reviews about a movie, and adding my opinion isn’t going to help you decide if you want to see it or not. But I’m breaking form this one time because some movies crosses onto our geek side and shines like no other movie of its kind. Batman: The Dark Knight is such a movie.
As much as I loved Batman Begins, The Dark Knight takes Batman to another level. Most comic book movies are poo pooed by most critics and The Academy of Motion Picture, but this film simply cannot be ignored by them.The movie has a brilliant cast of power houses such as Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman , Michael Caine, and Aaron Eckhart. But as I’m sure you’ve all heard, the film is owned by Heath Ledger’s rendition of the Joker, and he is masterful. Ledger somehow manages to convey the creepiness, lunacy, and bizarre humor of the Joker like no other actor before him. He is not over the top in his portrayal of the evil clown prince, he is very brilliant in how he deliveries his insanity so subtlety. The only other character that I can compare him to is Hannibal Lecter, with Ledger delivering a performance that is worthy of an Oscar (and not because of a sympathy vote).
Of course when you think of Batman, you think of cool gadgets. But the one thing that I loved about this version of Batman is that the gadgets are not just for show. They’re actually practical and necessary for the movie to move forward. As strange as this may sound, this is the most realistic comic book movie that I’ve ever seen. And what I mean by this is that the film doesn’t ask you to suspend your disbelief very much. The CGI in this movie is not over done, or unneeded to tell the story. And it asks the question in a very realistic way: could a brilliantly twisted sociopath inflict this type of death and chaos upon a city?
Each one of the characters in the movie is used to move the film forward. So many times we see romances forced into a film simply to give the main character depth, but this isn’t the case here. Maggie Gyllenhaal who plays Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes is a necessary cog in the wheel of this movie, as is Aaron Eckhart’s portrayal of Harvey Dent. The love triangle that exists between these characters and Bruce Wayne is formidable because of the decisions (and choices) that are made by them.
The Dark Knight asks us to examine the moral choices that we would make in similar positions, and some of the answers that you might come up with might scare you.The Dark Knight stands not as a comic book film, but just as a fantastically written and acted movie that should be considered for best movie of the year.It has set the bar so high for any other film of its kind that I’m not sure that it can be reached. It is the film that all other comic book movies will forever (and unfairly) be compared to. It is the film that fans of Batman and of movies in general were truly hoping for, but up until now had never seen.
With the new Batman: The Dark Knight movie just around the corner, some reviews have already started to come through. And I have to say that I have not heard one bad one at all, with some calling for an Oscar for Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker. Richard Roeper from Ebert & Roeper called it the greatest super hero film ever made, and Ledger’s performance the best in over a decade. Check out what Massawyrm from ‘Ain’t it Cool’ news had to say about the film:
“This film is brilliant and has no equal in the realm of comic book movies. It is a film so good that I almost don’t want to see a third because I know there is almost no way it could live up to its predecessor. It will give children nightmares and redefine the way we look at The Joker, the Batman and comic book movies in general. This is the Godfather of superhero movies. The Empire Strikes Back. It is a film that may never find an equal, a film that will have you staring jaw agape with your hand planted in front of your face in disbelief at how far it is ready to go. It is what we always thought a Batman film could be, but never seemed to happen. Yes. It is the real deal. It is the greatest Batman story ever told.”
Clearly this is going to be great, and I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a movie in a long time. I’ve already got my IMAX theater tickets, and I can’t wait.
Fans who braved 100-degree heat in Los Angeles on June 22 learned a bit more about the upcoming top-secret sequel film The X-Files: I Want to Believe. (Spoilers ahead!)
Fans screened footage from the upcoming film and asked questions of star David Duchovny, director Chris Carter and co-writer Frank Spotnitz in the presentation, part of the Los Angeles Film Festival, in the Majestic Crest Theatre in the Westwood section of L.A.
Among the revelations:
--"Shippers will be happy," Spotnitz said, referring to fans who favor the romantic relationship between Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder (Duchovny).
--A few unanswered questions will be addressed, Carter said, though he remained coy about major plot points.
--A light-hearted Duchovny admitted a few conflicts with Anderson about their characters. "There are always conflicts," he said with a smile. "That keeps it interesting. We do our own thing."
The footage showed a few new things as well:
--Mulder insists that after all this time he is still looking for his long lost sister Samantha and doesn't think she is dead.
--Mulder and Scully argue; she says, "This isn't my life anymore." He walks away from her, muttering, "I'm trying to ignore you."
--Scottish actor Billy Connolly plays a religious man named Father Joe who helps the agents in their quest, which takes place, in part, in a snowfield.
Amanda Peet and rapper Xzibit also star in the movie. The X Files: I Want to Believe opens July 24. --
If you're looking for some details about the upcoming 'Batman: The Dark Knight' movie, we're here for you. But I have to warn you that it is major spoiler stuff, so if you don't want to know anything about the movie, please stop reading right now.
Ok, here we go.
Talk has come out on how the Joker is introduced in the new movie, and here it is:
"The Dark Knight begins with the Joker robbing a huge bank (we’ve seen photos of this everywhere). The bank is where the mob and all the gangs in Gotham keep all of their money. The Joker takes this money and holds it “ransom”. The Joker then says to the mob and the gangs of Gotham, “If you help me take down Batman, you’ll get your money back. If not, I’m going to burn it all.” This is how the Joker assembles his army to take down Batman."
That's a pretty good way to intro him. I think this movie is good to kick all forms of ass!!!
In what has turned out to be a dismal showing (number wise) at the theater this week, the vampire sci-fi/horror movie "30 Days of Night" took the number one spot with 16 million. The last few weeks have been bad for the box office, but with Halloween coming up, I expected a better turn out.
Alright my friends, I'm finally done with two soul sucking all day meetings that were mandatory, so now I can get back to what's really important, geek stuff.
It looks like J.J. Abrams has rounded out the crew of the Enterprise for the next Star Trek movie. And it looks like Chris Pine will play young James T. Kirk for the reboot movie of this franchise. So the cast as of today is:
Zachary Quinto-Young Spock
Leonard Nimoy- Old Spock
Eric Bana-Nero
Simon Pegg-Young Scotty
Anton Yelchin-Young Chekov
Zoe Saldana-Young Uhura
John Cho-Young Sulu
Rumor of Karl Urban playing "Young Bones" is still unconfirmed. Star Trek is due in theaters on Christmas day 2008.
Lets all face it, the last "Terminator" movie sucked big time. So when word of another "Terminator" movie was under production, I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the thought of old ass Arnold trying to reprise a roll he created 23 years ago. Well Warner Bros. at least is thinking the same thing, as they are looking to start another trilogy set in the future world of the Terminator universe. "Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins" is the new title of the upcoming movie.
John Brancato and Michael Ferris who wrote T3, has an approved scripted that will focus on a new character that fights along side of John and Kate Brewster (last played by Nick Stahl and Claire Danes).
Moritz Borman who is the Executive producer said "The third film was really the conclusion of what happened in the 'now.' You will find the most-loved characters, but the intention here is to present a fresh new world and have this be the first of a trilogy."
"Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins" is scheduled to hit theaters summer of 2009. [Mania]
JJ Abrams is rounding out his cast for the next installment of the Star Trek movie franchise, this time casting the villain who will face off with the younger version of Captain Kirk. Eric Bana of "Hulk" and "Troy" fame will play Nero, which rumor has that he may be a romulan.
Bana will join the cast Zachary Quinto (Young Spock), Zoe Saldana(Young Uhura) and Leonard Nimoy(Old Spock), and Anton Yelchin (Chekov). No word on who will play Kirk and Scotty, but production is scheduled for November.
