Please. you have to watch this…

The Dark Knight (2008) REVIEW. (Sorry its so long…:))

What is the The Dark Knight? Well apparently its only one of the biggest blockbuster film out there, making over one billion dollars and receiving eight Academy Award nominations, winning two for Best Sound Editing and Best Supporting Actor. But seriously, what on earth is this Dark Knight nonsense I keep hearing about? Alright I’m only pulling your legs obviously because if you really haven’t watched or even heard someone or something talk about the 2008 The Dark Knight, you honestly have been living a rock. Maybe you are some sort of plankton possibly? Jokes aside, it’s literally no brainer why this film has received so much fame and recognition commercially and critically worldwide. If you don’t know much about the movie, here is a brief background information and summary:

The Dark Knight was released on July 18th 2008, as an American superhero film directed, produced, and co-written by Christopher Nolan. It’s based on the DC Comics character, the Batman, and is a sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins (which was also a huge success). Christian Bale reprises his role as Bruce Wayne the billionaire and as Batman, with the returning cast of Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce’s butler and closest friend; Gary Oldman as James Gordon, the head police officer of Gotham city; and Morgan Freedman as Lucius Fox, Bruce’s business manager. The film introduces Harvey Dent played by Aaron Eckhart, who is a newly elected District Attorney and the coworker of Bruce’s childhood friend, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhall), who joins Batman and the Gotham police to combat against the new uprising of a cynical criminal calling himself the “Joker” (Heath Ledger).

This movie has got to be one of the best action/superhero movies out there! When I first watched this movie back in 2009, I don’t think I truly understood how awesome this film was. Not only is it shot beautifully but it has a nice thick underlining of psychological chaos and thrill that makes it so good. I really admire Christopher Nolan’s directing in this because it’s not like many comic-book-turns-to-a-movie sort of thing. The whole style of dingy and dark lighting throughout the whole film gives the movie a sense of true reality. It’s not like the old batman movies where the Joker was comical and funny looking with its perfect makeup, but this version is truly remarkable for stepping out of the boundaries of the cartoon look and making it look like art. The stunts, the music, the special effects, the makeup, the writing, the script, and the acting… Just amazing. Come on, who couldn’t feel a rush of adrenaline when Joker and Batman have their duel on the deserted street, as the Joker keeps laughing and yelling “come get me”? The gun shots as well as the fire in the background just topped it all off for me.

I think that everyone agrees with me that main reason for The Dark Knight’s huge success was not only for the directing and etc, but for Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker. As I mentioned before, the Joker in previous films were portrayed in a way that was comical. In no doubt, Jack Nicholson did a fantastic job in portraying the Joker in a fun, colourful, and murderous ways but I think the reason why many people like Heath Ledger’s portrayal is because his Joker was unpredictable. He describes his Joker to be “psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy”. You can clearly see that as the movie continues, he becomes more determined than ever to bring batman down to his knees.

It’s sort of strange to see the relationship between batman and the Joker as well. Some may say that they have this weird love/hate thing that’s going on and I’m not going to lie, I can see it… Sort of. It’s not like they love each other, but they are each other’s biggest challenge. The Joker in a way really appreciates the fact that Batman is there to make his goals more difficult, because in a way it’s really fun for him. It gives him a sense of rush where no other pawns gave him. He even says it himself in the movie:

“Kill you? I don’t want to kill you.
What would I do without you? Go back to ripping off Mob dealers? No you… You. Complete. Me”.

You don’t see that kind of crazy and strange relationship as much in the old Batman movies. It’s no wonder why people would rather wear Heath Ledger’s Joker makeup look for Halloween than the vintage Jack Nicholson version. People like the unpredictable… It gives them a sense of fear that is entertaining to watch and to anticipate what the Joker will next. Funny thing is, this character is really smart. That’s what people say right? Psychopaths are usually really intelligent with what they enjoy doing, and that’s killing and setting up bombs for the Joker.

I really thought the acting in this movie was great! I especially enjoyed Aaron Eckhart’s performance as Harvey Dent, Batman’s hope to one day replace him as the new hero of Gotham. There’s something about Eckhart’s performance that’s chilling and frightening. A great man who really puts his life out there just completely breaks down and turns into a bloodthirsty madman. He kills people, but they aren’t good guys… So technically he himself isn’t a bad guy.  A good guy gone sort of bad perhaps? Or even The White Knight with a tainted heart. Overall, I loved Eckhart’s interpretation of Harvey Dent/Two Face. However with all these great performances from Eckhart, Ledger, and the others, Christian Bale’s voice for the Batman was pretty funny and annoying because it sounded like a really heavy smoker trying to get phlegm out of his throat.

The Dark Knight comprises roles of many great actors with a great mix of directing, sound editing, special effects, and writing. It’s one of those movies that can truly be called a “blockbuster” film. Full of action and great dialogue, it’s a must see. I rate this film a solid 9.5/10. If you love comic books, enjoy movies packed with action, tied with awesome cinematography, rent this movie as soon as possible. Watch it once or two more times if you’d like and you’d be just as excited as I am for the new The Dark Knight Rises, released this July!

Ghosts of Rwanda (2004)

Another documentary about the genocide that occurred in Rwanda back in 1994. It depicts the ten year anniversary of the horrible tragedy that broke out on one cloudy night. This is a great documentary that fills in large gaps about the genocide that Shake Hands with the Devil (film) and Hotel Rwanda just couldn’t cover. It documents what the UN and America was doing or at least tried to do when the genocide was happening, as well as  the UN military and their attempt to to protect and save as many Rwandans as possible. Additionally, it talks about what individuals who went out of their way to save the innocent and people’s first hand experience and reaction to the lack of help from America.

One thing that truly irked me about this documentary was what the officials of the UN and America said to cover their tracks in order to save their reputation. They constantly repeat how they really didn’t understand what was happening in Rwanda and there was no way that they could convince enough people to support them. Who really knows what kind of situation they were in, but I believe that they could have done something to lower the number of murders, or at least do something to help out Dallaire and his men.

Its a great documentary that is full of information and new insight about the Rwandan genocide. I really enjoyed it and would recommended it to anyone who is really interested in learning more about the history.

Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire (2005)

This is a documentary about Roméo Dallaire and his gut-wrenching journey who was in charge of the UN peace keeping force during the 1994 Rwanda genocide, where 800 000 Tusi and moderate Hutus were murdered by their own people. Dallaire goes back to Rwanda after ten years, and he reminiscences about the hell that occurred on the same ground he stepped backed on and exactly remembers the murdered bodies on the ground, the atmosphere, and the smell.

It was truly amazing to watch Dallaire go back to the place where he feared most, where he jumps back into the chaos that followed him once getting back home. Dallaire has this look of seriousness and sadness in his eyes throughout the whole documentary while he walks around Kigali, where he specifically points out what happened where. Through Dallaire, the viewers gets a real sense of what it really was like during the times of real darkness and craziness. Amongst the killings, and literally a failure of humanity, here was Dallaire, a single man who really tried his best to do what he can to save the Rwandans from getting slaughtered. To this day, he refuses to believe that he is a hero and thinks that he has failed in his mission.

It’s a great documentary to watch if you really want to get a good understanding on a first person reaction towards the genocide.