Alecc B. on "The Dark Knight"

When I first heard that Heath Ledger had been cast as the Joker in Christopher Nolan's sequel to Batman Begins, I can honestly say I would have never thought of him to take on that role. While Ledger was a gifted actor, playing the Joker looked to be quite the task. 

We all have had our vision of the Joker since 1989, with Jack Nicholson playing Batman's ultimate villain. Nicholson is a class act and his performance in Tim Burton's Batman is one for the books. But come Friday, Ol' Jack is going to have to make some room for Heath Ledger on the list for Best Film Villains Ever. Ledger gives us something so fresh in a film that shits on every other action film to have come out this year. The film I speak of is The Dark Knight!

PLOT

Batman has been doing his thing on the streets. Laying the smackdown on gangsters and Batman posers (Yeah, I'm bringing back "posers"! Do something!) His presence is felt all over Gotham City, pushing the crime syndicate into the shadows. Until a new face comes to town.

With the Joker causing all kinds of chaos and anarchy throughout the city, Batman must put an end to it with the help of Lt. James Gordon and the D.A. Harvey Dent.

ACTING

Christian Bale is one of the best actors of our generation. He adds depth to a character that can easily be bland. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Did this mutha fucka just call Batman bland?" No, I'm not. I'm talking about Bruce Wayne. Yeah, his character has been through some shit, but when he's not in the batsuit, you need a gifted actor to still keep your attention. Michael Keaton was great as both Wayne/Batman. We won't discuss Val Kilmer or George Clooney's contributions to the Bat-franchise. Back to Bale! This guy is totally comfortable in this role, with only one complaint coming from me. I really hate the way he deepens his voice when he's in the batsuit. I know he has to do it, but I just don't like how Bale sounds at times. It comes off silly a couple of times and that bothered me in Batman Begins as well. 

Aaron Eckhart is a welcome addition to the series as Harvey Dent, the man who wants to put an end to organized crime. Most people know where his story goes, and there are those few people that have been living under a rock their whole life and don't have a clue about what I'm talking about. For those people, I won't spoil something they should already know. What I will say is that his performance is top-notch from beginning to end.

Michael Caine returns as Alfred. He's one of the greats, just like Morgan Freeman, who also comes back as Lucius Fox. Both Caine and Freeman continue to piss excellence. Gary Oldman reprises his role as Lt. James Gordon. His accent slips here and there, but who cares?! IT'S GARY FUCKING OLDMAN! HE'S THE FUCKING MAN! IF YOU DON'T KNOW, RENT TRUE ROMANCE AND THEN COME TALK TO ME! Maggie Gyllenhaal replaces Katie Holmes in the role of Rachel Dawes. While not being nearly as cute as Holmes, Gyllenhaal has a ton of personality and talent, which actually makes her a little cute at times. 

Nestor Carbonell shows up with his distracting eyeliner as the Mayor of Gotham City. I like Carbonell, but he needs to do something about that make-up. Eric Roberts stopped collecting unemployment to play Salvatore Maroni, one of the gangsters. He's okay, nothing more, nothing less, as expected. Anhony Michael Hall, Nicky Katt, William Fichtner, and a familiar face from Begins also stops by to say hello!

Now, there has been a lot of talk about a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Heath Ledger. All of that talk is legit. As Joker, Ledger delivered his finest performance. Gay cowboy, shmay cowboy. Ledger's villain is what we're supposed to get when we go see summer spectacles like The Dark Knight. His performance is funny, scary, crazy, and all at once. He was a true talent, and his portrayal of the Joker will always be remembered.

WRITING & DIRECTING

Hats off to director Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan. The Dark Knight is a very heavy story for the comic book film genre, and also one of the best ever. I've said it from the time that I saw the trailers that this film didn't seem like Batman film. It looked like an epic crime drama, like The Godfather, and that's exactly what the final product felt like. If I had one gripe with the story, it would have to do with a subplot in the final act of the film. I would have liked to have seen just a little bit more put into it. 

Nolan directed the shit out of Knight, even shooting many scenes on IMAX film. I was fortunate enough to have seen this film on an IMAX screen, and let me tell you, it would be wise of you to see it the same way. There are action sequences and shots of the city that look amazing. The film will still look great at your local mutliplex, but IMAX is definitely the way to go if you have that option.

Back to the directing! Nolan tried to do as much of the action as he could the old-fashioned way, for real! Boy, does that make a difference. The action sequences here are the most entertaining I've seen this whole year. Yes, better than Iron Man, so everyone just calm the fuck down! Nolan's pacing is perfect too, making the two and a half-hour running time fly by. 

Even with Bale's weird Batman-voice and that last subplot lacking a little sumthin' sumthin', The Dark Knight is still a fantastic summer film, and already one of my favorite comic book films. 

Overall Review: ***1/2 stars

Best Lines:

Ledger: Let's not blow this out of proportion.

Ledger: (To Eckhart) Hiiii.

DiVad's Clip of the Week:"THE DARK KNIGHT" Chase Clip

Alecc B. on "Hancock"

Will Smith is back! And he's taking over the July 4th weekend again! Smith has found much success over this holiday weekend, and he looks to continue that trend this year with Hancock. 

In a summer full of familiar comic book heroes such as Iron Man, Hulk, and Batman, Hancock looks to stand out as the superhero story that wasn't told first in a comic book. This is in fact an original screenplay that has been floating around Hollywood for the past decade, originally titled Tonight, He Comes. Go ahead...laugh.

I'm not sure how much has changed about the story beyond the title, but I will say that the premise is more interesting than what ended up on the big screen.

PLOT

Hancock is not your average superhero. He drinks, his language is foul, and he really doesn't care about anyone but himself. It seems like he fights crime out of boredom, but there is more to Hancock that most people don't see. That is until he saves the life of a publicist who aims to pay back Hancock by giving him an image makeover so he can be more people friendly.

ACTING

Will Smith is an entertaining actor to watch. He's rarely boring and here, as Hancock, he gets to cut loose a little with a character that's very care-free. Smith delivers in the comedic scenes and holds his own during some of the more dramatic scenes later on in the film. Jason Bateman plays Ray, the publicist that aims to change Hancock's life. Bateman steals most of the scenes he is in. His timing is perfect and it's great to see him in bigger films like this. Charlize Theron shows up as Ray's wife Mary and once again proves to be a distracting presence on-screen. Dammit this woman is gorgeous! Yes, she's a great actress too, but let's not deny the beauty on display. Theron's character doesn't really have much to do until the second half of the film, and she does what she can with what she's given. Jae Head plays Ray and Mary's son, Aaron. His scenes are minimal so he doesn't get a chance to be the "annoying kid". Eddie Marsan, David Mattey, and Maetrix Fitten play the so-called villains. I say "so-called" because their characters and acting were not all that and a bag of poh-tay-toe chips.

WRITING & DIRECTING

As mentioned above, the premise for Hancock is great. Imagine a superhero with the gifts of Superman but not his manners. This is a hero who feels cursed more than anything. There are many different routes you could have went with that idea, and screenwriters Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan decided to go two routes. 

The first half of the film works great with the comedic element. The cast has plenty to chew on during those funny scenes and they all look kind of lost when the film enters the second half. That's because Hancock switches gears, turning into an almost entirely different film. Now, I don't mind when filmmakers throw you a curve ball, but you need to execute that change well. The fact that the film is only 92 minutes hurts it. I think a longer film would have allowed that transition to be much smoother and not look and feel as sloppy as it does. 

This is probably the weakest film to come from director Peter Berg, who directed last year's fantastic The Kingdom. Hancock's action scenes are shot well and the scenes in between are clean, but it looks like there was a lot of studio tampering involved. I also heard that the film had to go to the cutting room a few times to achieve a PG-13 rating. Maybe we'll see an unrated version on DVD.

While not a terrible film, Hancock leaves you a little unfulfilled. It's one of those times where the best scenes were in the trailer.

Overall Review: ** stars

Best Lines:

Smith: Well, you should sue McDonald's, because they fucked you up.

Smith: I've been drinking bitch!

(BELOW IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE BEST LINE THIS WHOLE YEAR. I WILL GIVE THIS MOVIE THAT CREDIT.)

Smith: I will break my foot off in yo ass woman. 

Alecc B. on "WALL-E"

Visions of the future have always varied throughout the history of film. We've had the bright and happy visions like in The Fifth Element. We've also seen the dreary side in films such as Blade Runner, Children Of Men, and The Matrix. 

Disney and Pixar have now brought us their own creative image of the future with their latest work of art, WALL-E. While a joy to watch, this film is also very bleak at times, which is a surprise coming from the family-friendly studios. I will say that it is a welcome surprise.

PLOT

Hundreds and hundreds of years into the future, humans have left Earth, a planet that is no longer a place to live. The land is a desert, a wasteland of nothing but garbage and robots that have been powered off, except for one. WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter, E-Class) was not turned off before the humans evacuated, so he's been tending to his daily duties all alone for about 700 years. 

His lonely days end when a spaceship arrives, bringing Eve, an advanced robot who has come to survey the land and report back to the humans. But, both Eve and WALL-E get more than they bargained for when they meet. 

ACTING

I usually just list the actors who gave the cartoon characters a voice, but I have to note how Pixar easily manages to make us forget that we're watching a cartoon. You invest in every character even more than most live action films that come out these days. Here is the cast, including one actor who was actually live and in person on-screen:

WALL-E: Ben Burtt
Eve: Elissa Knight
Captain: Jeff Garlin
Shelby Forthright: Fred Willard (Live Action)
John: John Ratzenberger
Mary: Kathy Najimy
Ship's Computer: Sigourney Weaver
WRITING & DIRECTING

Andrew Stanton, the man behind Finding Nemo, impresses once again as the man behind the pen and vision. I'll go as far as to say that WALL-E is the E.T. of Pixar films. The story is simple but engages you with it's subject matter and adorable main character. There is very little dialogue throughout the film, and that works just fine with this project.

Visually, Pixar always pleases. The animation on display is beyond amazing, it's unbelievable how, uh, believable everything looks. Except for the humans in space. That might be the only problem I had with WALL-E. I didn't like how the humans evolved from real people to fat cartoon characters. I get what they were trying to do and it was amusing for a minute or so, but I would have preferred that the entire film stayed animated. That is a very minor problem, though, compared to how fantastic the rest of the film is.

Everything, including the excellent music provided by Thomas Newman, was pretty much flawless in execution. My favorite scene is the dance in space with Eve and WALL-E. The end credits continue the Pixar tradition of enjoying their films literally from beginning to end.

WALL-E is easily the best film to have come out this summer, if not the whole year. That looks to change in a couple of weeks when The Dark Knight comes out. Until then, we can take comfort in the fact that there are still studios in the film industry, like Pixar, that are capable of making us forget about our problems for a couple of hours.

Overall Review: ***1/2 stars

Best Line:

Burtt: EVE-AH! EVE-AH!

Alecc B. on "The Incredible Hulk"

Let me start this off by saying that I didn't completely hate Ang Lee's Hulk. I thought it was decent up until Nick Nolte turned into that electric cloud or whatever the fuck it was. That pretty much ruined it. 

Now, only a few years later, Marvel has decided to try again with The Incredible Hulk, the second film to be fully financed by Marvel Studios. The first film was this summer's Iron Man. Both movies follow a similar formula, which is to give you a simple, basic story set-up and let the actors and director entertain you with good performances and solid action. Both of these films succeed on that level.

PLOT

Bruce Banner has been in hiding for quite some time after he was exposed to large amounts of gamma radiation. While Banner is trying to find a cure, the military is searching for him so they can take what he has and use it as a weapon. But that shit ain't cool! HULK SMASH MUTHA FUCKAS!

ACTING

Edward Norton slips into the role of Banner very comfortably. But we all knew that was going to happen. Norton is one of the most gifted actors out there. I was a little shocked that he starred in a big Hollywood movie like this but he definitely molded the material to work for him. Liv Tyler plays Banner's one and only love, Betty Ross. Tyler is okay here. She always seems kind of lost to me, almost a little clueless, but she's pretty good in this flick. Tim Roth eats it up as Emil Blonksy, the soldier in charge of bringing Banner down! Roth has a good time here, but he doesn't go overboard with his performance either. William Hurt plays General Ross, the man hellbent on getting Banner's power. I'm not a big Hurt fan. I always feel like he's just reading lines and not bringing anything to the characters he plays. I felt the same way watching him in this flick as well.

WRITING & DIRECTING

Zak Penn is the only credited writer for The Incredible Hulk, but if you've been following this film like I have, you'd know that Norton had a huge part in the final screenplay. Norton is notorious for trying to have too much creative control, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing if it helps make the film better. Like I said earlier, the set-up for this flick is as simple as it gets. Even the explanation of how Banner became the Hulk is only shown through the opening credits. That's it! But it works for this movie.

Oh...oh...before I forget! This version of the Hulk finally got something right. When Banner transforms from the Hulk back to his normal self, his pants are stretched and no longer fit him. I was like, "Thank you for addressing that issue!"

I was a little worried when I saw that Louis Leterrier, the man behind the Transporter films, was directing Hulk. The first Transporter was a decent, disposable film, but the sequel was among one of the worst movies ever made. After seeing this new Hulk, though, I have changed my mind about Leterrier. He keeps the film moving and directs the action sequences like a pro.

While we're talking about the action, let me say that everyone needs to see this film in a theatre that is sure to be ridiculously loud. All of the action scenes are nice and long and full of destruction. I don't know about you guys, but I love me some destruction. From a rooftop chase through the slums of Brazil to Hulk fighting another monster in the streets of New York, you will not be disappointed with the action in this film.

Ang Lee's Hulk, once again, wasn't a total failure in my eyes, but The Incredible Hulk is far more enjoyable and worth the price of admission.

Overall Review: *** stars

Best Line:

Norton: (In Portuguese) You don't want to see me when I'm hungry.
             (Back in English) Wait, that's not right.