An immensely forgettable movie despite a brilliant cast - Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, Aaron Eckhart, Val Kilmer. An estranged father (Tommy Lee Jones) finds a perfect situation to make peace with his daughter, as her eldest daughter is kidnapped by some hooligan Indians. Yes, its TLJ in familiar country but with a plot thinner than his shoe lace.
The Dark Knight continues the fine tradition started by Batman Begins. Akin to how Frank Miller made Batman relevant again in the graphic novel arena, Christopher Nolan has given the brooding hero a breath of fresh intense air on the big screen. In print sometimes a certain character takes over the whole book and somehow enthralls the reader holding him in a vice like grip. Heath Ledger does exactly that in his role of the Joker. The film heralds the arrival of the laughing madman in the life of Batman and shows us the tip of the titanic struggle that will enshroud the rest of their existence. But with the passing of Ledger, one wonders who can replicate his panache and screen presence as the Joker...
Rating: * * *
From the master of some classic gangster movies, Brian De Palma brings this fictional take on a true incident - the unsolved murder of a young nothing in Hollywood. But somehow, I found the movie a victim of trying to be very stylish - fastly packed first hour or so, with no real buildup. Unlike the Zodiac for instance, which I liked for its very deliberate plot. Worth a watch though for a reasonable thriller - Scarlett Johansson comes out the strongest I think, while Hilary Swank somehow doesnt fit playing an evil one. Blame it on stereotyping.
A hilarious take on the world of 'spin' and its impact on modern day. Nicely made, and with a fine performance from Aaron Eckhart as the unscrupulous spokesperson for the Academy of Tobacco Studies - an outfit put in place by the big tobacco firms to research the links between smoking cigarettes and health. He is here to defend the smokers rights and in the process offends everyone. A good watch.
