James Lao

The Dark Knight - Review

Not another comic book movie! No, this isn’t just another comic book movie adaptation. The Dark Knight is truly fantastic. The actors are well cast and the plot is darkly immersing. I thought Iron man was good, but The Dark Knight blows it out of the water.

The movie starts with a bank robbery that takes an unexpected turn and the story takes off from there on an epic adventure that will keep you wondering what The Joker’s next “social experiment” is. It’s brutally violent and dark, but that’s why it’s called The Dark Knight.

Perhaps most notable is Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker. The internets had been clamoring about how terrific he is as The Joker, but I was skeptical before seeing the movie. I could not see how the guy who had girls gushing over him in A Knights Tale and 10 Things I Hate About You could take on such an evil persona. But damn was I wrong. Ledger takes The Joker to a whole new level and perfectly embodies the words of Alfred (played by Michael Caine).

Some men aren’t looking for anything logical. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

What I find most remarkable about Ledger’s performance though is his ability to make the audience laugh at even the most brutal acts of violence–most notably the disappearing pencil trick. I’m not sure anyone else could have made that, or blowing up a hospital, funny in a comical way.

Some say that Ledger’s performance would not have garnered this much applause had he not died an unfortunate death, but I disagree. Many of my friends, including myself, who were not in love with his acting, agree that Ledger is the best Joker to hit the silverscreen.

The plot is much darker and has more depth than any comic book movie I’ve ever seen and probably rivals that of some Oscar films. You just never know what to expect with The Joker running loose in Gotham and even when he’s locked behind bars, he comes back to surprise you with something even more twisted.

The Dark Knight is superb. Although it’s technically about Batman, Ledger steals the spotlight. Everyone should go see it. If you can, see the IMAX version and prepared to get blown away by the amazingness of 70mm film.

Posted on July 22, 2008 in Entertainment, Reviews

Minutes To Midnight

Linkin Park released their first new album in three years a few days ago—four years if you don’t count Collision Course. Minutes To Midnight is different from anything Linkin Park has done in the past I think. A lot of the new songs like “In Between” and “The Little Pieces Give You Away” are less “angry” and seem more “In The End”-esque. Although there is still the fast paced “Bleed It Out” which I’ve listened to far too many times in the past couple days.

I thought I wouldn’t like it, but its beginning to grow on me. There is more focus on the lyrics and its easy to listen to. Overall I think Minutes To Midnight is a great album; I just hope it won’t take as long to make the next one.

Posted on May 19, 2007 in Entertainment

300

I finally gave in and saw 300 yesterday. I think it might be one of the goriest movies I have seen in a long time, but it rocked. It wasn’t overly gory considering how far they could have taken it and I think it was at just the right level. Sure, there were more than a few body parts flying across the screen and several decapitations, but nothing this generation can’t handle.

Despite the amount of blood flying across the screen, they managed to slip in some humor to lighten the tone a bit. My favorite part is when the King Leonidas says “There’s no reason we can’t be civil” as the Spartan captain proceeds to finish off a Persian warrior with his spear. It’s nice to see a movie like 300 able to have humor and still be serious.

300 is a great movie and I enjoyed every second of it. It reminded me of Gladiator except with ten times more violence and 300 hulking Spartans. I left the theater satisfied and I can see why it made an estimated $70 million in one weekend. Now only if they would hurry it up on the sequel…

Posted on March 24, 2007 in Entertainment