46 replies to this topic

[slayerone76]

I just read on the net that Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment this afternoon. Cause of death is unknown, but a drug overdose rumor is spreading. What a loss. He was one of my more favorite, not-so-big celebrities and I was hoping TDK would make him huger than he already was.

[pickard]

Sad news.

[TheHSBR]

Its just another sad reminder that fame and fortune isnt what makes life great. Its sad that the movie industry allows the rampant drug use/abuse to continue. With all the talk of drugs in sports, its only a matter of time before hollywood gets looked at a little closer. This really is a big loss because as stated before he was on the verge of being a big star if he wasnt already.

[Cpt. Phil T. Berns]

Click on the picture.

[The_Donster]

Thanks Berns, I nearly pissed my pants

[Cpt. Phil T. Berns]

You're welcome.

[slayerone76]

Nice! Mattel has shown the prototype for the Heath Ledger inspired Joker action figure! See it HERE! I wonder if he will be hard to find with Ledger's death and all.

[slayerone76]

Ok, I just got back from seeing TDK and I am at a loss for words to describe how amazing this movie was. It was, as expected, much darker and grittier than any of the others before it. In fact, there were times I couldn't believe they were doing what they were doing. There are so many twists and turn-arounds in the story itself that you never know what to expect next. Bale was excellent. I wasn't exactly sold on his conflict, but as an obsessed vigilante, he had it down. I won't lie when I say I am a bit bias when it comes to Heath Ledger, but this man REALLY does deserve accolades for his work on the Joker. He is darker and more psychopathic than any of the reports/previews lead me to believe. Ledger was born to play this role the way it appeared on screen, and if the Academy will pull their heads out of places, they will see that putting himself into the role of a believable, psychotic, anarchist deserves an award ... really. Aaron Eckhert was amazing too. Somehow, though, I feel as if his parts had been cut. We didn't get to see as much of the obsession that would lead him to his demise as I would have liked. Considering, though, he played Dent/Two-face to perfection.

If you haven't gotten around to seeing it yet, you won't be disappointed.

[JMW326]

I saw it yesterday. It was a realy good movie. I wouldnt say it was the best movie of the year but it was realy good. Ironman still holds the number one spot for me. TDK was a lot darker than Batman Begins and very twisted in places. It was also very very violent. Not just comic book violence but real world twisted violence. Ledger did an unbelievably great job. Bale was great as usual. And the rest of the cast did an amazing job. Although I didnt real care for Gilenhal's performance as Rachel Dawes. I thought she had a pretty generic performance. My only other complaint about the movie is that it was a little to long. Some things kind of drug out to long and I felt it had a little to much going on at one time. The Dent/Two face stuff should have either been scaled down and put at the end to set up the third movie or maybe it should have been saved for its own movie alltogether. I thought it was at least as good as Batman Begins.

[Wildcard]

"This movie was amazing" doesn't even begin to describe the magnitude of this film. As someone who's dabbled in the theatre and knows what "method actors" go through to prepare for certain roles I can PERFECTLY see why Heath was having a hard time sleeping during filming of this movie. The Joker was played to perfection and to see the level of detail that Mr. Ledger gave this character disturbs me more than I can describe to anyone who's not an actor or even understands the acting process.

If you haven't seen it, GO SEE IT!! (And Wall-E too LOL).

[Sybeck1]

Too bad Tom Cruize talked Katie out of another Batman movie, she's a fox compared to that girl they got.

[slayerone76]

Katie Holmes only has beauty working for her. She was awful in Begins. I disagree with JMW about Rachel Dawes in this one. I actually began to like her as she was played well. Gyllenhal did a much better job.

[Wildcard]

^I'm sort of split on the opinion myself. I LIKED Holmes in Begins, and Gyllenhal didn't do a bad job, but she didn't really sell Rachel to me either. I DO like the character and wish she would be used again. Wouldn't THAT be a twist if she didn't actually die?! But instead is a prisoner somewhere?And I do think Gyllenhal had some much better written scenes/dialogue to deal with than what Holmes had.

[JMW326]

See I thought Gyllenhal did "OK" acting wise. It is her voice and mannerisms when she talks that realy bothered me. Not to mention that she looked kind of like a Basset Hound through most of the movie. So I feel that if there is going to be a character played by an actress that can not realy act I would at least like something nice to look at while they are doing it. So in that case I prefered Katie Holmes. The rest of the cast more than made up for that particular character though. They were all great.

[JulesLuvsShinzon]

^^^Katie Holmes looks like she flips the top of her head open every night and tweezers her brain onto a mobile phone charger just so she can remember the layout of her and Tom's house the following day. Gyllenhal was absolutely fine and believable in the role, and seemed to make the most of what is basically a love interest role. She at least looks like she has something spontaneous happening between her ears and I for one very much appreciated seeing an actress on screen who wasn't "conventionally hot", and I think this widens out the appeal of this movie considerably. For goodness sake chaps, she isn't exactly a munter! I also like it that her characters fate wasn't stereotypical, but I won't post a spoiler and say why!

This movie has absolutely lived up to the hype, and in fact has transcended it. While I believe that a posthumous Oscar nod for Ledger may be somewhat over-the-top and maybe a wee bit premature in terms of performances from other actors we have yet to see, I do believe that he at least deserves a nomination. I think he's more likely to garner a posthumous Golden Globe, and watching him as the Joker really does bring home how his untimely death robbed us of a great talent. He totally inhabited the role and even managed to give me the curious impression that somewhere inside was a nice guy trying to get out and his antics were actually one ginormous cry for help to save him from himself.

I have always said (and this goes DOUBLE for ST09) that you can throw money at a movie and pack it full of FX, but it's the acting that rises a blockbuster above the humdrum, and the acting in this movie was of a quality you'd normally expect to see in some kind of sure-fire Best Oscar worthy issue movie. Everybody looked like they were earning their cash and taking their characters seriously.

I loved the gritty feel of the movie, the shocks, and how it tooks some serious risks in not delivering the usual happy end. It seems to be in a different universe from the days when my dad and I used to roll around the floor wetting ourselves with laughter over the movie antics of Adam West, and it's all the better for that. The moral message was definitely more complex than most movies of its type. First class!

[TheHSBR]

I too joined the ranks tonight and saw it for the first time. I thought the storytelling was superb and the visuals even better but outside of Ledger I thought the acting was a bit stale. Bale was just there and gave no emotion in contrast to the way in portrayed bruce in the first film. I would honestly say that Ledgers portrayal of the Joker really made this film what it was. If it wasnt for him Im confident that there would be no way I could sit through 2.5 hours of the film. Im with JMW and still going with Iron Man as my top flick of the summer. I think its a fine movie, i think ledger deserves some type of award, but to say like some that this is the best film or is deserving of the top spot among box office smashes is going a bit far for me.

[JulesLuvsShinzon]

I haven't seen Iron Man so I can't comment on that, but I have to say that Gary Oldman so completely threw himself into the part of Commisioner Gordon that I didn't even recognise him! I've got to disgree about the other actors in the Dark Knight, I think they all worked to make what us after all a comic strip as "believable" as possible, and I thought that Bale was nicely understated in what is effectively a dual-role.

[TheHSBR]

I did like Gordon but looking back i really cant rmemeber any scenes that really stood out where im like wow what a great performance. the low talking bale/batman was just annoying after a while. I also just remember how good bale was in the first film especially the dinner party scene trying to convince the guests to leave. once agin this movie i cant even think of scene where i thought he was really good. after having slept on it, i really think ledger deserves at the very least a nod by the academy if not an actual statue. i am rmembering the last scene with him hanging upside down and discussing his reasons for why he does what he does and it just blows me away. for me this is the definitive Joker that matches to the comics. nicholson was good but this was great.

[slayerone76]

Well the problem with having so many dynamic characters, and I agree some fell slightly short, is that some have to suffer so the others shine. In creating a character as deep and realistic as the Joker, it was hard for some of the others to make their mark. I still love Bale as Batman, and the low speaking, gritty voice sends shivers down my spine. He gets major kudos for doing that the whole movie. Its like I said in my first post, some of the others conflicts seemed rushed. I didn't feel Wayne develop his conflict over Dent and his own duality as Batman. I didn't feel Dent obsessed enough to become two-face. Its not that they weren't believable in their roles, its just through the story-telling that I didn't see it happening.

Maybe by deciding not to cut Ledger's parts, they diminished the other characters a bit.

I will be seeing it again on Friday and can't wait.

[JMW326]

I loved Bale in this one. In the first he played a young Bruce Wayne just starting out and everything was so new and exciting. In this one they had him play it where he had been Batman it and was doubting if he should keep on doing it becuase it seemed as though he was making things worse instead of better. He was kind of down and brooding which is one of the many ways Batman has been written over the years. I also agree that Oldman did a realy good job. I thought that the cast (with the one exception) did a great job in making a sequel that was not just a rehash of the first but still stayed true to what was started with the first.