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defamer instant reviews
Defamer Reviews 'The Dark Knight': Same Batman, Bleaker Bat Channel
After surviving months of Dark Knight hype, viral outreach and tastefully overblown praise for late co-star Heath Ledger, Defamer finally got its chance at a screening Tuesday to see what all the Bat-fuss was about. And as editor Seth Abramovitch and senior editor S.T. VanAirsdale discovered in their second installment of Defamer Instant Reviews, not everybody is ready to validate its Second Coming status quite yet. Is it good? Absolutely. Is it the best film of the summer? That's where things get complicated — on AIM, of course, because this watershed cultural moment deserves no less.
Follow the jump for their respective two cents — mostly spoiler-free for even the most casual followers of the film, and naturally among the finest criticism available anywhere online.
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batlash
First Negative 'The Dark Knight' Reviews Ding Impenetrable Bat-Armor
It's arguably the most anticipated movie of the last five summers—the second installment of a rare franchise resuscitation, helmed by a maverick suspense master with nary a misfire to a short but stellar career. Weak links would be replaced. Tragedy would strike. And then a lucky few got to see it, instantly dislodging an avalanche of superlatives. The Dark Knight has, until now, been enjoying the best advance word-of-mouth of any release in a surprisingly bountiful mind-candy season that included Iron Man and Wall-E. In fact, it's until only recently been coasting at an astonishing 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. What changed? Two Daves of note filed their pans: The New Yorker's David Denby (who just lavished his highest praise upon Hancock, so take that for what it's worth), and New York's Dave Edelstein. The cumulative effect of the Dave-naysaying? A sizable dent in the dark armor, with the movie's RT score tumbling to 88% at post time. As for our worst fears—that Ledger isn't posthumously Oscar-worthy, just hammy from the grave—Edelstein confirms every last one of them after the jump. We're seeing it tomorrow, after which we'll try to get our Defamer Instant Review up as quickly as possible, for those who are just dying to know how categorically good this movie is, in easy-to-digest IM format.
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hype city
'Dark Knight' Raves No Match For Michael Bay's Caped Crusader Who Never Was
After more than four months of hype, it's getting to feel like there's increasingly less to discover about The Dark Knight except whether or not it's good. Variety pretty much took care of that on Sunday, overriding David Letterman's early, spoilerrific review with a bit more textural rave. That was preceded in the LA Times by more Heath Ledger superlatives and requisite bleakness reinforcement from director Chris Nolan. But Anne Thompson has an even better showing at her blog, featuring expansive Nolan quotes from a recent screening/discussion and, far more impressively, a look at Michael Bay's little-known original stab at the Dark Knight screenplay:
EXT. A HIGHWAY — DAY ...More »The Batmobile races off into the distance. Finally, BATMAN catches up to the JOKER's zeppelin.
JOKER
Howdy, Batman. Got time for a little... prank?
everyones a critic
David Letterman Dares to Spoil Summer With Impromptu 'Dark Knight' Review
Don't believe for a second that David Letterman really broke any studio embargoes last night to tell you he loves The Dark Knight (he's not even the first to do so), but that doesn't mean the pseudo-spoilers contained herein are likely to compel you any less. In fact, the film Letterman describes may prove to be better than the finished product Warners has so ingloriously pimped for months now, right down to Batman's protective ears and the franchise-ending climax we've been hoping for. Of course, as far as we know Heath Ledger is still in the film, so maybe it's all devastatingly true. It's not like the cast hasn't been preparing us. [CBS]
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· If you are offended by the sight of Robert Downey in blackface in Tropic Thunder, wait til you get a load of an overweight Japanese guy in blackface pretending to be Stevie Wonder in this bizarre tribute to "We Are The World." [Gheorge: The Blog]
· In what will certainly go down as the worst atrocity to happen to the Batman franchise since Joel Schumacher got kicked to the curb, we are disappointed to report that The Dark Knight's got milk. [FilmDrunk]
· "Here’s a napkin someone wrote on for me: 'I will give you a blow job on your break, so sexy! Kim—714-XXX-XXXX.' I would also get offers from women in my ear: 'Anything you want, just find me.' I had a girl who had turned 18 the day before. She was with a high school group, and she wrote down her room number at the Downtown Disney hotel. I had a lady hump my leg one day in the park." Excerpts from Charlie Sheen's post-Denise diary? Nope. Just a day in the life of a Disneyland Jack Sparrow. [LA Mag]
· We're not quite sure exactly why every episode of Twin Peaks is available on CBS.com — considering the show aired on ABC — but that doesn't mean that we're not grateful. How's Annie? [CBS.com via Thighs Wide Shut]
From Chimpan-A To Chimpan-Z
· There is no denying that chimpanzees have a proud tradition of cinematic excellence. From BJ And The Bear to Project X, the little rapscallions have earned their place as our favorite animal actors (especially since the bear species has proven themselves to be less than reliable). But as rad as it was when those chimps drove airplanes with Matty Broderick, it doesn't hold a candle to the utter domination of this little chimp playing Jenga on Japanese television. Yes, we said Jenga! [YouTube via AOTS]· If you are offended by the sight of Robert Downey in blackface in Tropic Thunder, wait til you get a load of an overweight Japanese guy in blackface pretending to be Stevie Wonder in this bizarre tribute to "We Are The World." [Gheorge: The Blog]
· In what will certainly go down as the worst atrocity to happen to the Batman franchise since Joel Schumacher got kicked to the curb, we are disappointed to report that The Dark Knight's got milk. [FilmDrunk]
· "Here’s a napkin someone wrote on for me: 'I will give you a blow job on your break, so sexy! Kim—714-XXX-XXXX.' I would also get offers from women in my ear: 'Anything you want, just find me.' I had a girl who had turned 18 the day before. She was with a high school group, and she wrote down her room number at the Downtown Disney hotel. I had a lady hump my leg one day in the park." Excerpts from Charlie Sheen's post-Denise diary? Nope. Just a day in the life of a Disneyland Jack Sparrow. [LA Mag]
· We're not quite sure exactly why every episode of Twin Peaks is available on CBS.com — considering the show aired on ABC — but that doesn't mean that we're not grateful. How's Annie? [CBS.com via Thighs Wide Shut]
clips
Consciously Or Not, 'The Dark Knight' Pays Homage To Tim Burton
A clever mashup from CollegeHumor.com suggests Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight—the hotly anticipated, second chapter of his radical re-envisioning of the Batman franchise for Warner Bros.—might be less of a radical re-envisioning than we might have been led to believe. Frankly, they could prove the entire thing was lifted frame-by-frame from an NYU film school thesis project, we wouldn't be any less excited about it. Dark Knight! Whooo! Movie of the summer! The side-by-side "trailers" are after the jump:
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going once, going twice
If You Have The Means, Michael Keaton's Sweaty 'Batman' Codpiece Can Be Yours
Got an extra six grand lying around with nothing to consume? Well, the folks at Guernsey's Auction House will be happy to solve your fiscal problem. What could possibly be more fulfilling than spending those benjamins on a previously worn wife-beater with holes in it, coupled with silk purple and maroon pants? Not buying it? Well, what if we told you said ensemble was worn by Jim Carrey in the legendary bird-calling scene from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. And if you roll higher than that, say with 100 grand taking up space in your wife's shoe closet, get your ass to Vegas on March 15th because Michael Keaton's likely-sweat-drenched Batman Returns costume awaits. What else will the Pugliese Pop Culture Collection feature? More offerings, prices and images follow after the jump.
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viral marketing
Batman Nemesis Doubles Average Fanboy Correspondence
In a savvy bit of viral marketing set to reclaim Warner Bros.' Dark Knight campaign from the near-disaster of votive-and-flower-ready Why So Serious? multiplex displays, Batman fans are encouraged to stopwhatthey'redoingRIGHTNOW and allay their post-Ledger apprehensions at IBelieveinHarveyDent.com. There, Gotham City district attorney Harvey Dent — a/k/a eventual Caped Crusader nemesis Two Face — exhorts visitors to join his campaign to "join the fight for Gotham."
marketing
Two-Face Ready For His 'Dark Knight' Close-Up; Prefers You Shoot Him From The Right
Many, including us, have been wondering out loud how Warner Bros. plans on addressing the unique (and thankfully so) marketing problem currently facing The Dark Knight: Namely, what to do about a campaign that took fiendish pleasure in showcasing Heath Ledger's singularly bleak and twisted take on iconic Batman villain the Joker. Slate now reports that the studio's plan, in place since the beginning but perhaps being ushered in more hastily since the actor's death, is to shift the focus over to the film's other featured villain:
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marketing
Warner Bros. Left With A Major 'Dark Knight' Marketing Problem
And so, with two days to let the devastating news sink in, Variety now asks the inevitable question of what's to be done with Heath Ledger's final projects—the wrapped The Dark Knight, and Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Morbidly running through the history of productions faced with surprise cast deaths during shooting (apparently CGI has now taken over for stunt doubles and very low lighting as the re-animating technique of choice), the report then addresses the issue of how such misfortune might cast marketing campaigns in an unpleasant new light. As we pointed out on Tuesday, The Dark Knight's focuses squarely and gruesomely on Ledger's chillingly effective performance as The Joker, providing an unwelcome creative predicament for WB's marketing czar:
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heath ledger
Breaking: Heath Ledger is Dead. OMFG.
Holy fucking shit—this just in: Heath Ledger is dead. From PageSix.com: More »
It's probably too early for Warner Bros. to start rolling out the promotional stunts, but we can think of worse ways to build buzz for Dark Knight than by releasing swarms of actual bats around the city. And even better if they're bold enough to do it indoors. [Curbed LA]
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· This is easily the best role Ben Affleck's had since The Sum of All Fears.
· Zachary Quinto may be close to signing on as the the token Vulcan aboard the bridge of JJ Abrams' Enterprise.
· And it looks like Iron Man has added yet another Oscar-winner to its star-studded cast, even if just for a supposedly top-secret cameo. We smell a big-time comeback on its way.
· Katie Holmes Dark Knight replacement Maggie Gyllenhaal doesn't seem all that concerned about filling the shoes her predecessor wore to sleepwalk through her role in Batman Begins.
· Goya's Ghost star Natalie Portman still frustratingly anti-nudity. (second item)
Ben Affleck's Big, Corn-Suited Comeback
· This is easily the best role Ben Affleck's had since The Sum of All Fears.
· Zachary Quinto may be close to signing on as the the token Vulcan aboard the bridge of JJ Abrams' Enterprise.
· And it looks like Iron Man has added yet another Oscar-winner to its star-studded cast, even if just for a supposedly top-secret cameo. We smell a big-time comeback on its way.
· Katie Holmes Dark Knight replacement Maggie Gyllenhaal doesn't seem all that concerned about filling the shoes her predecessor wore to sleepwalk through her role in Batman Begins.
· Goya's Ghost star Natalie Portman still frustratingly anti-nudity. (second item)
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Mmmm...Fertility-God-Defiling Penis Donut
· Not only do we now have video to better illustrate yesterday's Homer vs. Ancient Fertility God post, we also have a link to this delightful animated image of what he was planning on doing with that donut. [via BoingBoing]
· Like, in the Batman movies, maybe Two-Face will actually be an evil manifestation of Harvey Dent's repressed homosexuality? [Laughs] Now, that's interesting. Sure, maybe so.
· But as far as we know, no one's yet had a chance to confront Heath Ledger about the Joker as evil manifestation of repressed homosexuality.
· We take back what we said the other day, because now Courtney Love has never looked better.
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· In other of Father's Day, we present our candidate for Dad of the Year. That kid is going to grow up strong.
· Even after a second opportunity to design the bat suit, The Dark Knight's Christopher Nolan still refuses to succumb to the rubber nipple temptation that destroyed a lesser director.
· Is The Thing about to give Invisible Girl a brick-headed Bronsky? We think he is.
· Archaeologists uncover oldest petrified Mickey Mouse popsicle on record.
· Isaiah Washington-related silences are now being broken at an incredible pace.
Father Of The Year
· In other of Father's Day, we present our candidate for Dad of the Year. That kid is going to grow up strong.
· Even after a second opportunity to design the bat suit, The Dark Knight's Christopher Nolan still refuses to succumb to the rubber nipple temptation that destroyed a lesser director.
· Is The Thing about to give Invisible Girl a brick-headed Bronsky? We think he is.
· Archaeologists uncover oldest petrified Mickey Mouse popsicle on record.
· Isaiah Washington-related silences are now being broken at an incredible pace.
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Batman Begins...Viral Marketing
· We're not going to do Warner Bros.' job for them, but if you go here, here (do a Ctrl-A on that one), here, and then here, you can figure out what the above picture is all about. Congratulations, you've successfully completed a viral marketing campaign.
· Only five felonies? Sizemore's totally losing his edge.
· Polanski throws a tantrum at Cannes, disappointed that the lapdog press didn't whip up some more challenging questions about hot-tube rape.
· "Tripping over a chihuahua" is the new "took two months' worth of prescription painkillers."
· If you plan on ever getting another good night's sleep, don't watch this.
handsy superheroes
Handsy, Drunken Captain America Found Guilty Of SuperJunk-Enhancement
Continuing the proud tradition established by the Hollywood Walk of Fame's own Head-Butting Chewbacca and Picketer-Baiting Batman, Melbourne, Florida's Genital-Touching Captain America has taken a place of honor in the Fake Superhero Justice League with his recent arrest, detailed by The Smoking Gun, on counts of drunken handsiness, marijuana possession, and third-degree package misrepresentation for his stuffing of a burrito into his tights during a costumed pub-crawl. TSG also has video of the booking, in which the disgraced defender of America is subjected to a humiliating, symbolic surrender of his crimefighting uniform's cowl and red boots. More »
