Movie Review: The Dark Knight

We used to be such movie buffs. I wish we could find a way to fit more movies into our lives again. Although even when we watched a ton of movies, they were generally rentals. It takes something BIG to drag me out of the house and sit among a mass of annoying people in a crowded theater when in a few weeks, I can watch it in the comfort of my own home. The Dark Knight is one of those movies.

I'll reiterate that this is not a genre of movies I typically watch or enjoy. And even putting aside the bias from my fondness of Heath Ledger, this is a fantastic movie. I loved every second of it (and there were a lot of them although they passed very quickly) and would go see it again -- IN THE THEATER -- in a heartbeat. This not only lived up to its hype, it exceeded it. And Heath Ledger as the Joker? PHENOMENAL. I went into the movie thinking, "Okay, I know there is posthumous Oscar talk, but c'mon, this is not a movie any actor is winning an Oscar for." He very much deserves to be in the running. His character is so creepily psychotic, he literally made my skin crawl. Absolutely brilliant talent.

The only minor annoyance to me was Maggie Gyllenhaal, and I am generally a fan of hers. I just didn't think she was at all suited for the role of Rachel, which was played better (am I actually admitting this??) in Batman Begins by Katie Holmes. I think someone else could have done a better job than both, although I'm not sure who that person is. Maybe Claire Danes? Or Reiko Aylesworth? Regardless, petty criticism on my part that didn't detract all that much from the movie.

I'm giving it two very enthusiastic thumbs up.