Review: The Dark Knight - believe the hype ***No Spoilers***

I was lucky enough to go and see a preview of Christopher Nolan's latest Batman film last night, The Dark Knight (it opens in the UK tomorrow). There has been so much buzz about this film that, surely, it could live up to the high expectations: I think it exceeded them.

This is The Godfather of superhero films. The Hamlet. To even call it a superhero film seems to cheapen it - it is more a film about crime and corruption, like some of the great, gritty, dirty, intelligent movies of the seventies. Or the tussle between De Niro and Pacino in Heat. The twists and turns of The Usual Suspects. Yes, I'm naming a number of my favourite ever movies, It really is that good. I have to see it again to fully understand it's intelligent complexities. Thankfully there was very little CGI, which is another thing that makes it believable, though some are obviously far fetched, sequences are give a realism rarely seen in an action movie, let alone a superhero movie.

Yes, it's about a billionaire playboy with a tortured past who dons a rubber suit to act vigilante in a decaying city. Yes, it's main villain is the "Clown Prince of Crime", the psychotic war painted Joker. But it is the first film that lifts their motivations from that of the comic book characters. Bruce Wayne himself questions what the hell he is doing, wanting to pass the mantle of Gotham City's saviour over to idealistic District Attorney, Harvey Dent (a brilliant Aaron Eckhardt) It is as much Dent's film, who's character arc from incorruptible golden boy to the hideous Two Face, is not only believable, but totally understandable and tragic.

The way Nolan handles the film (he was also co-writer) is noting short of brilliant. I'm not going to give any spoilers other than what is already common knowledge, in this review but his introduction of the Joker is unforgettable. His reason for his madness and truly petrifying look is brilliant. He is no longer a camp, wise-cracking cartoon, he is one of the most frightening, convincing and dangerous movie villains of all time.

Much talk has been about Heath Ledger's performance, especially after his untimely death in January. Premature calls for an Oscar nomination have turned out to be justified, his crazy, twitching, (but honest and charasmatic, just like the character) almost lizard like performance as the personification if chaos is nothing short of immense. But it's not just Ledger's show. Christian Bale's Batman ying to the Joker's yang had to stand up to the performance and is brilliantly played, his anguish, conflicted loyalties and even jealousies as both Batman and Bruce Wayne flesh out a character that in the past just seemed like a moody teenager with a troubled past.

Roles that could have been consigned to bit parts in a lesser movie were integral and weighted perfectly. Gary Oldman's Captain (Commisioner) Gordon is the perfect foil to Batman's bending of the law for the greater good. A major part of the plot rather than the character who Batman saves the day for, Gordon is a fully fleshed out character.

The realism of the story is helped by two more supporting characters, Wayne's butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and tech specialist and Wayne's right hand businessman Lucious Fox (Morgan Freeman). A problem I always had was (despite being a billionaire) Bruce Wayne could create all his gadgetry without detection (even this is handled as a major plot twist). Batman couldn't be a one man team, Alfred and Fox make this possible. Taking over from lightweight Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, Maggie Gyllenhaal has a tough job as the only main female role but brings out subtleties in lover Dent and ex-flame Wayne (she knows he's Batman).

The film even takes Batman out of Gotham, expanding the notion that the web of greed and corruption extends far beyond the streets, jails and loonies in Arkham Asylum. With Dent's passion for the same outcome as Batman and Gordon - of cleaning up the streets -overshadowed by the Joker's reign of chaos, the outcome is almost inevitable. Can their plans really succeed when they have a conscience and what they are fighting has none?

It's very difficult to write a review without giving away any of the delights of this film. It has it's brilliant action scenes but what stayed with me was the personal battles, the crime thriller plotting. Forget everything you expect from a superhero film, The Dark Knight has rewritten the rule book. The comic book movies can now be taken seriously.

A posthumous Oscar for Ledger? Absolutely, but also for best film, best director and best screenplay.

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This post was a slight deviation from the normal list formula of this blog but I couldn't let the event pass without mentioning it. So here's a quick Dark Knight related list:

:: Today the film smashed the box office record after reaching the $200m (£100m) mark worldwide in just five days (former record was held by three movies, Spider-Man 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, which passed the mark in eight days).

:: Taken more than $203m around the globe.

:: In less than a week it has made number 84 on the all time 100 blockbusters list

:: Already taken more than the last Batman movie, Batman Begins

:: Biggest US box office opening day ever ($67m)

:: Biggest opening weekend ever ($158m).

:: Set a weekend box-office record for IMAX venues with $6.2 mil. Previous record Spider-Man 3.

:: Record midnight showings with $18.5 million. Former record Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

Review: Once

Good old Orange Wednesdays. Two-for-one tickets when you book via an Orange mobile phone. There was nothing that really grabbed us this week. Being Halloween it was all blood and gore. I persuaded Sally that John Carney's Once was worth a try because of the reviews it's had. I'm glad she agreed because we both loved it. My film of the year.


Now, trying to sell this film on it's premise is not doing it justice: Irish musical about a vacuum cleaner repairman busker , or as he sings "a broken-hearted Hoover fixer sucker guy" (Glen Hansard) meets Big Issue selling Czech immigrant pianist (Marketa Irglova) and they start writing songs. Now, describing it as a musical seems wrong too. Rather than a musical (which just conjures up images of schmaltz and dancing in the streets) it's more a film with lots of music that helps move the story on, reflects the characters moods and situations and tells without force-feeding. It's really like nothing else I've ever seen. It's so naturalist and moving. It's like you're a voyeur in real situations, sharing, not intruding.

The acting seems improvised and very realistic. It's not sharply scripted but has all the faults and repetitions, pauses and silences that real conversations have. The handheld camerawork is the same, this isn't a beautiful looking film. That's not a fault: It doesn't glamourise and it's not a Hollywood "Oyerland" on display, but Ireland as a real place.

The music itself is beautiful, much of it sung and played on-set and written and performed by the leads. I guess it would help if you like the singer/songwriter acoustic style of music but I'm sure it would be just as affecting a film if you didn't. The girl (the characters aren't named) hears the guy busking in the street and loves his original compositions. She asks who they are written for and their relationship is kick started through a love of music and how it can express their feelings. When they start playing and writing together their thoughts and feelings are reflected in the lyrics and mood of the melancholy melodies. It's strange that the movie seems so downbeat but is extremely uplifting. It also ends in a completely un-Hollywood but completely satisfying way.


Once has been a huge success in Hollywood, without any fanfare of the usual big budget extravaganza . It's gained some very famous fans, Speilberg, Bob Dylan, Salma Hayek, Jennifer Aniston, James Spader, the list is endless, and it won the audience prize at the Sundance Film Festival. With word-of-mouth like that it's doing someting right.

If you only go to the cinema once this autumn/winter, make sure it's to see Once.

Once trailer

The Police - live at Twickenham Stadium 08/09/07

I didn't make any posts yesterday because Sally had bought me tickets, as an early birthday present, to see the reformed The Police in concert, at Twickenham Stadium in London and I can tell you IT WAS THE BEST GIG I HAVE EVER BEEN TO! The following is an approximation of the set list (they definitely played all these, not necessarily in this order, but it's close!):

• Message in a Bottle
• Synchronicity II
• Walking on the Moon
• Voice Inside My Head
• When the World is Running Down You Make The Best of What's Still Around
• Don't Stand So Close To Me
• Driven to Tears
• Hole in my Life
• Truth Hits Everybody
• Every Little Thing She Is Magic
• Wrapped Around Your Finger
• De Do Do Do De Da Da Da
• Invisible Sun
• Walking in Your Footsteps
• I Can't Stand Losing You
• Roxanne
• (Encore) King of Pain
• So Lonely
• Every Breath You Take
• Next to You

As a huge Police fan as a kid I was a bit worried that my childhood's favourite band would come back with a washed out middle of the road reworking of all their classics. When I've seen a solo Sting play the groups classics he's always reinterpreted them depending on his backing band and style of music he's playing at the time. I needn't have worried. Although Sting's voice is fuller and more mature this was classic Police. Yes, there were slight reworkings but it was more of an extra Andy Summers guitar noodling or Stewart Copeland having a manic session on his extra percussion cymbals, tubular bells and massive gong.

From the lights going down to a huge cheer and them fading up to the riff from Message in a Bottle we all know we were in for a rocking night. All the classics were played and it seemed like it was just for the fans. The 55,000 that made it to west London must have had the average age of 45+ and they re-lived their youth (much in the way the three men on stage were) and sang and dance along to every song. It was electric.

The stage and lighting was deceptively simple, with the music doing the talking but the huge lighting/video screens enhanced the show with the famous yellow, blue and red paint stripes wiping across the screens to Synchronicity II and a huge 3D brontosaurus skeleton tramping across the stage to Walking in Your Footsteps. Sting has been accused in the past of preaching but the closest it got to that was the images of Third World Children staring from the screens during Invisible Sun. (Much of the political slant of The Police and especially Sting in his solo career has become mainstream these days anyway - remember this comes from an era pre-Live Aid).

And there's nothing like a concert where it looks like the band themselves are having as good a time as the crowd. Whatever the differences between the band in the past, there's no denying they "make beautiful music together". During So Lonely, Sting even sang in different verses "Welcome to the Andy Summers/Stewart Copeland show" (instead of "one man show").

They're such tight musicians, each were given a chance to shine. I still don't understand how Stewart's flailing arms and poly-rhythmic beats actually fit the songs like they do and Andy's guitar work is stunning. Sting's voice sounds better than ever and live you really notice just how integral his bass playing is. They are back performing together because it so much fun.

With the encore seeming to end on Every Breath You Take before a final flurry of All I Want is to Be Next to You Stewart summed it up as he left the stage when they left the stage: "This is our town - London. I'm American but this is where we come from, right here." It was a special homecoming. Sting had earlier announced it had been 23 years since they last played. Now old enough (or there abouts) to have bus passes they showed us that not all reunions have to be staid, purely cynical money making exercises but can be thrilling events that are done just cos everyone involved is just so damn good at it.

The Police were supported by Sting's son Joe's band Fiction Plane and Maximo Park. Fiction Plane were superb and I will certainly be checking out their CD. It was more than nepotism that made them worthy of taking the stage, it's rare that a band will grab my attention when I know none of their music previously. Joe certainly has his Dad's looks and his voice certainly has the Sting sound every now and then but they had their own sound and they rocked the few who had turned up early enough. Those who decided to watch the England football match on TV missed out.

It's a shame the same can't be said about Maximo Park. Very disappointing. Having caught part of their set at Glastonbury Festival I expected more but was just left feeling that it wasn't difficult to chose their singles, as they were the songs that had a melody of sorts. I can't see them returning in 23 years time to such a reception as the headlining act.