The Brain Dump

I tried to post this last night, but much to my consternation I found that the internet at my apartment is down. I called RCN, the company that provides it, and it took them thirty-eight minutes to say, "Yes, we know about the problem. We're working on it." Awesome.

Speaking of awesome, though not sarcastically, I saw The Dark Knight yet again--this time in a regular theatre. I gotta say, I think the regular theatre was a better experience of the film. I say this for two reasons: 1) watching a movie on a screen six stories tall can have a very dizzying effect--and, in the case of one scene in particular (involving Batman, two SWAT teams, the Joker's gang, and a sonar-like device), "dizzying" can be read quite literally; 2) the music was manageable. That is, it didn't threaten to deafen me or drown out the dialogue when things started getting dramatic. There were a couple of lines in particular that I hadn't been able to make out in the IMAX theatre that I heard clearly in the regular one. So, there you are; size (conversely) matters.

The movie still kicked ass, only more-so for the above reasons. And I thought I would leave you this week (or, thanks to RCN, begin this week) with a special Batman moment I think we can all enjoy:

A great burden has been lifted from my shoulders. But we'll get to that in a second.

Hello, readers! So it's been over a month since my last post and for that I am sorry. I've been packing up and getting rid of all my earthly possessions (I'm down to books, DVDs, a couple instruments, and my bed) and Christina and I have been trying to do as much as possible in Chicago before we leave. She, however, has found the time to update her blog and even make a pretty design for it, so I thought I should pick up the slack as well.

Our departure date draws ever-closer, though not as close as you might think. Unfortunately, due to the Olympics, China is restricting the number of people it is allowing inside the country, which means Christina and I will be going there in the middle of September now--not August as originally planned. Alas, our leases are still up come August 1st, which means we will now be spending six weeks--not two--at our respective parents' houses (hers in Minnesota, mine in Texas).

So that blows.

However.

All is not gloomy in the Land of Chris, for, as I stated earlier, a great burden has been lifted from my shoulders. You see, ever since nerding it up with Batman graphic novels, I have grown ever-more dissatisfied with the Dark Knight's portrayal on that silverest of screens. Yes, Burton's was good--great, even--but it was also cartoony and lacking the depth that many of the better graphic novels have achieved. And so, I resolved myself (I'll say, around the release of Batman Forever) to writing the Batman I wanted to see on film. This even went so far (and I am sadly serious) as to sketching out a prologue and loose plot structure for said film.

Then Christopher Nolan started making them. I remember walking into the theatre for Batman Begins and knowing (having never seen the movie) that it would be the best Batman movie ever made. Similarly, I remember this past Tuesday, walking into the IMAX theatre at Navy Pier, and knowing (having never seen the movie) that The Dark Knight would be the best Batman movie ever made.

I was right. On both counts.

The Dark Knight is literally everything I have ever wanted in a Batman movie. So much so, that I can't imagine any other movie (even one made by Nolan) doing anything more to top it. They understood, on a fundamental level, the relationship between Batman and the Joker. They understood Harvey Dent. And they didn't pull any punches. Oh, the spoilers I could sing!

Heath Ledger is as good as everyone is saying. His Joker erases all others from existence. It is incredible how scary and funny--he's really, really funny--he is able to be.

I also had the pleasure of seeing the film on a screen six stories tall. That certainly added something to the experience.

I love this movie. I no longer have to write my own Batman movie--one that does justice to all of the character's potential--because Christopher Nolan did it first. And better than I could have ever possibly hoped.

See this movie. Seriously. See it twice. You will want to.