The Dark Knight

Holy Crap.

The Dark Knight is not a great "comic book movie," this is just a flat out great film. It felt more like a crime drama than a super-hero film. And it probably should have been rated R. Christian Bale is back as Batman, in Christopher Nolan's second helming of the franchise. And as everyone knows, the late Heath Ledger plays the Joker (uber-creepy performance, which should win him an Oscar, aside from the fact that he is gone). We also have Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman back. Maggie Gyllenhaal replaces Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes this time around, and we have Aaron Eckhart as the brash and idealistic new DA Harvey Dent. Bruce Wayne has been trying to hit Gotham's criminals where it hurts, financially. Thus, he has been taking out all the money launderers. He is getting pretty good at it. The new DA, Dent, has been putting his share of criminals away as well. It is not a good time to be on the wrong side of the law in Gotham. Then this Joker guy appears. He takes the mob's money, then tells them to pay him to kill Batman. And the game is afoot.

Ledger's Joker has to be one of the most fascinating villains of all-time. He is an animal, a dog who was let off the chain. His goal is anarchy. How do you understand a criminal who doesn't care about getting paid? We aren't given much background or any explanation as to why he is this way. Sometimes in this fallen world we are merely faced with unexplainable evil. So what can we do to stop those kind of people. At one point in the film Alfred relates a story of catching a thief who cared nothing about the jewels he stole. Bruce asks the question we all would, how do you catch a guy like that? Alfred's answer: "burn down the forest." To what lengths will we go to stop evil? What will we destroy along the way? Is it worth it? In stopping evil, what do we as "good guys" become? Evil ourselves? This question haunted Batman throughout the film. He was confronted with becoming something terrifying himself, and struggled with whether that was worth it. He also faced the fact that there were consequences that others would have to face through his choices. What would you do? What would Jesus do (the ever so popular question)? What should Batman do, to what depths should he stoop, to stop pure unabashed evil?

So let us examine this evil, this Joker. The Joker likes to turn people into something else, and in so doing prove that all men have evil inside, that all are fallen. Thus he gives people choices. One such choice was given to Batman. Joker was killing people, and stated that unless Batman turned himself in and revealed his identity, people would continue to die. Should Batman give in to a terrorist's demands? At one point in the film Batman is also faced with a decision, who should he save? Two people are strapped to explosives at different locations, and he only has time to save one. In effect, he is killing the other. How can he make that decision? Joker gives the every day person choices too. There is a mind-blowing scene in which two ferries are stuck in the middle of the river, each rigged to blow. Each vessel is given a trigger, and told that they must blow up the other boat before it blows them up, otherwise Joker will blow them both up. And oh yeah, one of them is filled with convicts. I won't give it away, but what a great scene! (In a great turn of events, we actually see people changed for the better instead of into the worse, as Joker would intend. Glimmers of redemption). Joker presents these choices to people to prove that even the best can be turned into the worst. This happens to one central character, creating another profound question: Should this public figure's perfect reputation be kept in tact to inspire people, even if it is a complete fabrication? Do we need a White Knight to inspire us all as common folk to do good in a bad world? And this White Knight contrasts sharply with the Dark Knight. What is the Dark Knight (besides being Batman)? He is the one who has a bad reputation, is seen as a vigilante. He is the one that goes outside the law to get things done. He is behind the scenes doing things (bad? at least shades of gray) in order to get good things done (for example, spying on 30 million people to find the Joker - hello Patriot Act). He is self-sacrificial in more ways than one. Is he what we need, the necessary hero for a fallen world?

The Joker had dogs with him throughout the film, further driving home the point that he represents our baser animal side. We are all torn between two people, between our flesh and our spirit. Joker is quite clear where he stands. Where do we stand? The Joker sees that we can all be controlled by our emotions, anger/rage/revenge/etc. Feelings are feelings, but when we choose to react in a negative way to those feelings, we are quickly sent down the path of bad decisions. We become animals. Yes Joker, we do have a dark side. We truly live in a fallen world, externally and internally.

Chance and Choice were juxtaposed in this film. Chance played a role in Harvey Dent's character. He made decisions by flipping a coin. He believed that chance was the only way to make fair decisions. What does that say about our world? Apparently in his mind, this place is so messed up that justice is a myth. There is no way to make things fair, it is all chaos, anarchy. Is that true? Is it really that bad?

The Dark Knight surpasses every other "super-hero" movie ever made, indeed it transcends the genre itself. I would not be surprised if this film gets a nomination for Best Picture, it is that good. The performances are stunning, especially Ledger. The themes are strong. Many times in film we have things shoved down our throat, the messages too obvious. There is no art to the delivery. Other times, the themes are shrouded with mystery, taking many viewings to unpack. I felt that this film laid it all out there, but in a perfect way. The themes were masterfully woven together. Also, near the end of blockbuster films, I get bored. Seriously, a whole bunch of movies needed to end half and hour before they did. The Dark Knight kept going, and I didn't want to get off the ride. It almost felt like two movies back to back. This film was beautifully directed, nearly flawless in every way. Truly a masterpiece. This is a watershed film going experience, turning "kid's stuff" into art.

In Bruges

In Bruges stars my look-a-like, Colin Farrell, along with Ray Feinnes and Brendan Gleeson. Farrell plays Ray, a killer who accidentally shot a boy during his first hit. So Ray's boss sends him and his colleague, Ken (Gleeson), to a small town in Belgium called Bruges, a very well preserved Medieval "wonderland." They are hiding out until things calm down and their boss Harry (Feinnes) figures out what to do.

The Medieval setting is quite apropos because the film centers around the idea of Purgatory. Purgatory, of course, is the Catholic idea of an in between after-life, one in which sinners can work off their sins and eventually enter into paradise (for further investigation, I highly recommend Dante's Purgatorio). Ray hates Bruges, he is stuck there and it's boring. Neither of these men can move on with their lives until Ray's sin of killing a child is worked off. But how should that happen?

*Spoiler warning* Harry decides that the best thing to do is have Ken kill Ray. So Ken is ready to go through with it but then sees Ray about to kill himself, and Ken has a conscience attack, stopping him. Ken now believes that Ray deserves a second chance. So Ken saves Ray and readies himself to face the wrath of Harry. Self-sacrifice becomes the means for Ray's possibility of redemption. But this sin must be worked off somehow before anyone can leave Bruges/Purgatory. Ray's salvation comes not at his own hands (working off his own sin) but at the sacrifice of another. Ken becomes Jesus figure and represents how we are truly saved. The idea of Purgatory is interesting and seems to make sense at first glance, but when compared to scripture it fails to impart the truth. Ephesians 2:8-9 states: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." In a way, Purgatory puts the responsibility on the sinner, not on the grace of God. We are completely and utterly unable to save ourselves in any way. Ray too was unable to save himself. He felt incredibly guilty for what he had done and decided that he deserved to die, and maybe he did. But he received a second chance, a new lease on life. He received redemption.

In Bruges does contain some strong religious undertones, yet at the same time it is a brutal dark comedy. It is quite funny at times, disturbing at others, and massively entertaining in that European kind of way. It is a journey of conscience, penance, and a life in between Heaven and Hell.