DVD Collectors Online

The Dark Knight, a review by Rich

27/11

dark knIght



The follow-up to the action hit "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight" reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in his continuing war on crime.

With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as the Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces the Dark Knight ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante.

Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger ("Brokeback Mountain") stars as arch-villain The Joker, and Aaron Eckhart plays District Attorney Harvey Dent. Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast in the role of Rachel Dawes. Returning from "Batman Begins" are Gary Oldman as Lieutenant Jim Gordon; Oscar winner Michael Caine ("The Cider House Rules") as Alfred; and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman ("Million Dollar Baby") as Lucius Fox.

Went with friends to watch a special one-off showing at local cinema, and very impressed with what I believe is the best batman movie so far.
Needless to say, Ledgers Joker, a much more sinister, cruel and disturbed character, far outweighs Nicholsons attempt some years ago. The cast as a whole are excellent, not 'carried' as I had read before, and the best batman toys are on show in all their glory. The scene with the batbike through the tunnels chasing and then wrangling the lorry was breath-taking.
The pace of the film leaves you reeling, the scope of the storyline mature, complex and edgy, and the improvement over the self loving Batman Begins immense. This is as close to perfect for a superhero movie as I've seen so far, it is 2 1/2 hours long but you don't notice, and I whole-heartedly recommend this to your library.
 




(From November Alphabet Marathon - Discussion/Review Thread on November 28th, 2008)

The Ides of March, a review by Dragonfire

The Ides of March

I decided to go see this even though I really don't like politics.  The movie works overall as a decent thriller, though I do think that certain things about the story could have been handled better.  There are a few minor surprises, but things end up being predictable.  Despite that, I still enjoyed the movie overall.  It did move slower, and I did feel like it was longer than it really needed to be. 

The characters are sort of interesting, though most of them don't receive that much attention.  Steven Meyers, the guy working on the campaign who fully believes in his candidate is the most developed character.  The movie is really about him and certain things he comes to realize.  The acting is really good, though a few of the cast don't get enough to do.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie and think it is worth seeing.



I did get a review posted at Epinions.

The Ides of March


(From The Ides of March on October 28th, 2011)

"Due South" marathon, a review by Tom

4.07 Mountie Sings the Blues (1998-11-18)
Writer: Paul Haggis (Created By), Gail Collins (Writer), David Cole (Writer)
Director: Larry McLean
Cast: Paul Gross (Constable Benton Fraser), Callum Keith Rennie (Stanley "Ray" Kowalski), Beau Starr (Lt. Harding Welsh), Camilla Scott (Inspector Margaret Thatcher), Tony Craig (Detective Jack Huey), Tom Melissis (Detective Dewey), Ramona Milano (Francesca Vecchio), Gordon Pinsent (Fraser Sr.), Dean McDermott (Constable Turnbull), Michael Hogan (George), Ronnie Hawkins (Muddy Johnson), Shawn Doyle (Dwight Jones), David Keeley (Earl Jeffers), Dan Lett (Carver Dunn), Michelle Wright (Tracy Jenkins), Lynne Deragon (Desk Sergeant), Susan Hamann (MacAfferty), Jamie Williams (Mick), Brad Borbridge (Smith), Justine Campbell (Arlene), Reagan Pasternak (Waitress)

Now that was a fun episode. Also the Turnball courting Francesca is nice.
Even though Gordon Pinsent is in the opening credits, I don't remember seeing him once in this season so far. Though I remember him appearing a lot at the end of this series. So the best episodes should be coming up soon.

Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on January 1st, 2011)