batman: the dark knight

i couldn't stand the new batman. i know that puts me in the vast minority of humankind, but there you have it. it was too dark, too violent, too disturbing, too long... plus they hid heath ledger's gorgeous face. they could at least have given me that.

basically it's the joker (working alone as an agent of anarchy, good at blowing stuff up but otherwise unskilled) vs. batman (strict personal ethics, has two assistants and vast resources, plus all the latest gadgets). it's a fair fight, since the joker always has the element of surprise on his side (no one ever knows what he's going to do next) and he doesn't have to worry about a secret identity, a self-enforced code of conduct, or hurting other people. but batman is batman.

there's a subplot about how batman can never be the hero gotham needs because he wears a mask, blah blah blah. without it, harvey dent couldn't have been in the movie, but that doesn't really redeem it. allegedly the politician can be a hero that the people of gotham can really look up to and so on and so forth... it all seemed really abstract for a movie about guys killing each other.

i can't deny that it's an excellent film. it's incredibly well crafted. i normally never notice camerawork, but the skill in this movie was obvious. the script was good, the acting superb... the whole thing was fantastic, except that i didn't like it. i like artful violence (think crouching tiger hidden dragon) and this was just brutality.

so if you like being startled, scared, bored and shocked in turns, this is the movie for you. but not me.

but if you're looking for reasons to see it, here are three:
or if those three aren't your cup of tea:
but, if you're like me, this will be the image that makes you happy: