Review: ‘The Dark Knight’ DVD
The Dark Knight stunned movie audiences by taking the mature themes and tone of its predecessor, [[[Batman Begins]]], and amping things up by a factor of 10. The movie was hailed by critics for around the world and theatres packed in the crowds to the tune of $1 billion in box office (or thereabouts).
In rewatching the film on DVD, now out from Warner Bros., the film remains very strong thanks to terrific lighting, set design, and riveting performances from Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart. Yet, the story doesn’t hold together as well.
First of all, Gotham looks and feels different from the first film from director Christopher Nolan. The city had been a character all on its own, with the architecture and monorail but now it just looks like, you know, Chicago. We don’t know how long its been since the first film, but since it ends with the Joker’s calling card, it can’t have been that long for a remake, and yet Batman’s legend is such that people are already out there being bat-masked vigilantes.
We know [[[Batman]]] is a presence, so much so that the criminal operations are suffering. Enter, the Joker, a force of nature. The performance by Ledge is riveting because he makes you forget all about Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson and creates something totally fresh. His desire to spread chaos in opposition to Batman’s sense of order becomes the film’s spine.
But, once you examine what happens next, things take an odd turn.
As the UK’s [[[Guardian]]] put it, when they named the film as having the most ridiculous plot of the year: “Wait, so the Joker really orchestrated that big truck chase just so that he could get caught and go to prison, then he could kidnap that guard and grab his phone to make the call to set off the bomb he’d previously sewn inside the henchman in the next cell? That would kill the guy who stole the mobsters’ money, thus enabling him to … er, what? Heath Ledger’s Joker may have been a psychopath, but he had a nerdish capacity for forward planning.”

Bakugan Battle Brawlers has been optioned by Universal Studios and Stuber Productions according to
We celebrate our Big 300th Broadcast with another run through the comics and DVD Buy Me lists, and then some news on the future of ComicMix Radio , plus:
The November numbers are in and
Garth Franklin at
Following the pattern now employed by studios pushing ensemble films to geeks, Paramount Pictures has released the first four one-sheets for next August’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
ABC has been enjoying the growing success of its adaptation of the BBC’s Life on Mars. The original program, though, struggled to keep its stories going and wrapped the series after two seasons and 16 episodes. For a glimpse of what happen next, take a look at the BBC’s sequel Ashes to Ashes, which BBC America just picked up for domestic broadcast in March.
From the UGO list of Top 50 "WTF" moments in comics, discussing Speedy and his drug habit:
Marvel released the following teasers:
As dark times lie ahead for the Marvel U, a new age of all out Avengers action begins this December in the giant-sized Mighty Avengers #21! Join the superstar creative team of Dan Slott and Khoi Pham for the next exciting chapter in the lives of Earth’s mightiest heroes! After the events of Secret Invasion, the landscape of the Marvel U has forever changed – and with that, so comes a new team of Avengers! And one of the most popular Avengers of all time, makes her long awaited return! Get ready for all of the chaos and action you can handle in this special giant-sized issue! Guest starring: the New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Young Avengers and Classic Avengers!
