CINEMA: The Dark Knight

It’s hard in this day and age to review any kind of film without it already having some form of expectation or hype fluttering behind it.

Marketing is an enormous element of any film’s success these days and with that in mind it’s often difficult to enter the foyer of the cinema without some kind of inbuilt expectation or delusion as to what to expect. We may only be seven months into 2008, but already we have seen hopes built up and then defecated upon, and with a number of films still to come back from the dead in 2008, you have to wonder if The Dark Knight, the second of Christopher Nolan’s reborn Batman franchise, can deliver the goods its been hyped to.

Well, let us sum the entire review up this way: this is not a Batman film. This is a cinematic masterpiece.

Perhaps a further explanation is required. For years and years, Batman films were known for their over the top campery. Memories of Adam West in latex still haunt some men to this day, and the villains in the films were often criminal genii who would have been better placed in the Beano than in Gotham City. Even Tim Burton’s gothic interpretation of the Caped Crusader had seriously camp or laughable elements, designed to keep fans of the original 1960s TV programme happy while also trying to cater for the hardcore comic-book lovers out there. This snowballed until we came to the ‘interesting’ Batman and Robin film of 1997, which gave Christopher Nolan carte blanche to reinvent the franchise with the darker, but still slightly camp, Batman Begins in 2005.

In comparison, The Dark Knight is completely out of left field. Unlike some of the previous manifestations, this is the film that comic-book nerds have been praying to the DC gods for since Bat-time began. Two and a half hours of action, violence and bitterness served with a dash of twisted humour. If anything, the clue was there in the title: “Dark”.

Plotwise, the story focuses on three main characters: The Joker, a psychotic evil criminal genius who is tearing up Gotham City left right and centre; Harvey Dent, the new District Attorney for Gotham City who is trying to clear the streets of criminals and mob activity; and Batman (no surprises there, it is his film after all!). Each one is out to get the other, and if you can imagine the movie Heat, only 10 times better and with more facepaint, you would get something like The Dark Knight. At every turn there are explosions, plot twists and action sequences, while the characters – especially the Joker – have some of the best dialogue you will have heard for a long time.

Now, it was around here that we were planning to say something along the lines of ‘despite excellent performances by Heath Ledger and Christian Bale, the star of the film has to be X, Y or indeed Z’. Alas, this is just not possible. Not because the other actors (including Z) weren’t great, but because Heath Ledger is (and let me make this clear, we wouldn’t even consider muttering this if we didn’t wholeheartedly mean it) absolutely 100 per cent totally breathtaking as the Joker. People who have seen previews of this film have been commenting left, right and centre that the now sadly deceased Ledger should get an Oscar for this performance. While we won’t go into it too much, there is no doubt in our minds that he deserves a nomination for some award as he makes Jack Nicholson’s Joker look like Krusty the Clown. To be fair, Aaron Eckhart comes very close to taking Heath’s nomination with his portrayal of Harvey Dent (and he’s still alive, which makes it a bit easier for the Oscar bods), but this film is Heath Ledger’s, pure and simple. Bale doesn’t even get a sniff.

Like all films, especially ones from the comic-book genre, The Dark Knight has some bad elements to it, although unlike some ghost-written celebrity film hacks with a history of praising rubbish films simply to get their name on the poster, we wouldn’t dare to label a film this good as ‘boring’. However, despite minor quibbles which will be argued in the pub for several hours, it is fair to say that Nolan has pulled this film out of the bag and created an epic movie which surpasses every Batman film before it. Plus, as an added geeky bonus to filmgoers everywhere (well, where there is an IMAX) over 20 minutes has been specially filmed for IMAX cinemas, meaning that should you decide to pay the extra money and travel to your nearest enormo-screen, you get to see the key action scenes in enormous size and detail.

Go see this film, and find you will inevitably find yourself leaving the cinema saying “Holy Cinematic Experience, that was amazing!” looking for a shop to buy some white facepaint and wearing a large, manic smile while pondering just why everything is ‘so serious?’      Tom Canning

The Dark Knight is out at cinemas and IMAX now. As a bit of a treat for you lucky Batreaders, click here, here and here for some exclusive clips from the film. Pow!

COMPETITION: The Mummy

The Mummy, The Mummy Returns and the special edition of the original 1932 version of The Mummy have all been re-released on DVD, and we’ve been given some sweet gear to give away.

Furthermore, if you buy The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, The Mummy 1 & 2 boxset or The Mummy 1932 Special Edition and reveal the ancient inscription, you can then go to www.themummy3movie.co.uk/competition and claim your prize.

The prize draw includes a trip to Universal Orlando Resort, monster truck rides, a beach buggy, JVC home entertainment systems and a whole load of other cool stuff.

Plus, everyone who enters will win something!

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Anyway – to enter our competition to win Mummy t-shirts, tattoo sets and kites (which all seem a bit rubbish when you compare them to beach buggies and trips to Orlando, but whatever) just answer this question:

Who directed The Mummy Returns?

Send your answers to competitions@the-void.co.uk by August 30.

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Scroll down to take a look at the lovely stuff we’re giving away.

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CINEMA: The Fox and the Child

Luc Jacquet, director of the highly acclaimed March of the Penguins that did so much for the profile of the hardy antarctic survivors, has returned with a bizarre crossover between fairytale and nature doc. Can this mix of two so different genres work?

You’d think not, but Jacquet has actually pulled this off with some real artistic flair. The story is a simple one: a child is out walking one summer when she sees a fox hunting for food. She approaches slowly and is completely enraptured by the creature, amazed by how close she can come to it. Spellbound, she tries incessantly to forge a bond with the creature. Whatever the season, whatever the weather, she goes in search of her fox and as she does so she becomes closer and closer to nature, and after some tough lessons she finally learns her own place within it.

Although it is a fairytale, something we’re constantly made aware of by the incessant and somewhat hammed-up narration by Kate Winslet as well as some fanciful shots of nature (badgers playing in the day, wolves trying to knock their prey down from a tree etc), the core of the film is the lovingly composed and beautifully shot imagery of the French countryside and its inhabitants.

From spiders spinning their webs to birds of prey swooping for their dinner, the animals which populate this film all add a touch of magic which is all the more powerful for its tangible existence outside of the big screen. It is this combination that allows the core message – a warning about the potential to confuse love with possession – to come across effectively, honestly and without even a hint of the pontification usually attached to such moral warnings.       Mike Edwards

CINEMA: Baby Mama

Oh no! Yet another film about babies? Has Hollywood got maternal madness? And with such a crummy title, what are we to think? Well, the obvious conclusions are that this film is some marshmallowy chick-flick with not very much to say. Well, yes, the plot is pretty much as standard, except from perhaps, a different point of view; 37-year-old career woman decides she wants children, find out she is infertile and decides to go down the surrogacy route. Surrogate turns out to be a rough diamond and hilarity ensues.

Er … except it does. Really. There are lots, and I mean lots, of laugh-out-loud moments in this film, all tied together by the great performances from Amy Poehler who plays Angie, the cute surrogate redneck and Tina Fey who is the perfect contrast as cool brunette career woman Kate. Their relationship, as you would expect, is fraught with tension, tears and tantrums, and without trying to give away the plot, has enough twists and turns to keep you riveted; 99 minutes flies by.

The film is punctuated by hilarious cameo caricature performances from Steve Martin as Kate’s holistic lifestyle boss, and Sigourney Weaver as the surprisingly fertile surrogate agent Chaffee Bicknell. And of course there is the ‘lovable doorman’ character (somehow reminiscent of the hotel manager in Pretty Woman) who ties the whole plot together, played by Romany Malco, and who gives the film its name.

It is a truly entertaining, funny and light-hearted take on what may be an overdone story, but with a great script and great performances, it easily steps over most of the recent ‘baby’ films and settles in happily underneath Juno. Okay, you don’t expect this film or its performances will warrant Oscars, but if you think that the true essence of the film industry is to entertain, then this film certainly does that.       Lynne Malkin

CINEMA: CSNY Deja Vu

Musicians using their songs as a political platform is nothing new, in fact Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young have been doing it since their heyday in the late 1960s. Now their leading light, Neil Young, has found a new political agenda to write songs about – the war in Iraq — and this documentary follows the now decidedly decrepit quartet as they take their message around the USA with their Freedom of Speech 2006 tour.

America being America, there are plenty of CSNY fans who don’t like the message and so the film more than anything else documents the tensions between those for and those against these songs of protest. This is all grist to the mill for the cantankerous Young who just loves a bit of controversy, but the most telling sequences are actually of the other band members who have reluctantly followed his lead (albeit with plenty of bust ups) for over four decades.

There is probably a little bit too much footage of the actual concerts on the tour for non-CSNY fans, but there’s something very uplifting about watching four balding, ageing hippies taking to the stage and still having the will and passion to protest in front of a bunch of predominantly wrinkly fans. More power to them I say, them and their Zimmer frame.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Donkey Punch

One of the best ever ‘horror on a boat’ films was Dead Calm, which managed to invoke a feeling of utter dread and claustrophobia with just three cast members and minimal locations onboard a sailboat. Donkey Punch tries to emulate the stifling claustrophobia of that film but rather shoots itself in the foot from the outset by setting the action on a huge, luxury motorboat and extending the cast to six (some of whom are so interchangeable you may struggle to distinguish between them).

While on holiday in the Med three goodtime girls (Jaime Winstone, Nichola Burley and Sian Breckin) meet up with three middle-class boys (Jay Taylor, Tom Burke, Julian Morris) who just happen to be looking after said motorboat. Alcohol is drunk, drugs are imbibed, sex is had and before you know it one of the girls is dead and there’s mutiny in the air.

As the characters descend ever further into drug-induced paranoia the plot simply jumps overboard leaving the boat and its inhabitants to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, they’re really not up to the challenge and the movie resorts to every cliché in the book in an effort to save itself from drowning. Even the stonking soundtrack can’t revive a movie, and by the time it’s utterly preposterous climax washes ashore, the whole affair is dead in the water.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Wall-E

Time to reach out and give those wonderful people at Pixar a hug, for in Wall-E they have extended the reach of the animated feature to young and old, furry animal lovers and sci fi buffs, and each and every person in between. Forget this film is about an abandoned robot living on a devastated Earth where he picks up the trash, for more than anything else, Wall-E is a love story, a simple little romance that will melt your heart.

Once humans have ruined the eplanet with all their trash and waste, they don’t hang around to clean up. Instead they head off into space to find somewhere else to pollute while leaving behind Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth-Class robots (Wall-E for short) to do the dirty work for them. The centuries pass, the humans forget how to use their legs, and the robots break down until only one Wall-E is left.

Yes, he’s lonely, but he’s also a dedicated worker, and with his faithful pet cockroach at his side, he keeps sifting through the rubbish looking for treasures such as Rubik’s Cubes, flowerpots and a much-played tape of Hello, Dolly!. But then, one day he hits the motherlode; he finds a green shoot on the barren land. This turns out to be his extra-special lucky day because his discovery brings a sophisticated search-robot called EVE to earth and Wall-E is immediately smitten.

From hereonin the enchantment just takes over as Wall-E tries to impress EVE with his ‘treasures’ (like every sensible woman she fails to be impressed) and show her the wonders of his world, while she’s in a hurry to get the evidence that life has returned back to Earth to the waiting humans. The action then moves to the mother spaceship and Wall-E embarks on all sorts of adventures in order to win the heart of his ladylove.

This is movie-making and storytelling of superlative quality – it’s not soppy and cutesy, nor is it knowing and snide. Instead we get a hero who is exactly that – heroic – even though he does resemble a battered can on caterpillar tracks. But he’s honourable and brave and even rather silly in his besotted state. Meanwhile, the sleek EVE starts out as an old-fashioned damsel in distress, only to show her mettle (and a knack for emergency robot repair) when needed.

With a supporting cast of misfit robots and waddling humans who are too fat to actually walk, this is a film that has a little bit of something for everyone of every age, and works on so many levels (you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll go all gooey) you may want to return to the cinema immediately after the first viewing to watch all that magic over again.      Dee Pilgrim

MOVIEBLAH: Ouija Bored

More rumours surrounding Dark Shadows have made their way to the surface. The movie adaptation of the gothic supernatural soap from the 1960s has had Johnny Depp’s name attached to it since day one and whispers that Scissorhands himself will be starring as Barnabus Collins have been giving excited fans restless nights. But now, two more names have been connected to the project: writer John August and director Tim Burton.

If Depp is appearing in the film, it would make sense that Burton directs, especially when you consider the tone of the project – no one does gothic better than Burton and the director has a crew that he seems to take with him from project to project.

In fact, we could probably figure out the whole credits right now. Danny Elfman will be taking care of the soundtrack, and Helena Bonham Carter will be shoehorned into a completely inappropriate leading role.

Although best known on this side of the world for being a daft game played by drunk teenagers, Ouija Board is actually a massively popular board game in the States, and Michael Bay is planning to turn the supernatural con into a feature for Universal Pictures later this year.

The game has sold millions of copies since the 1960s, and this sort of film definitely has an audience, but it’s hard to see the appeal of 90 minutes of kids drinking a dodgy bottle of stuff their folks brought back from Tenerife, and asking an upside down glass: “Does Scott love me?/When will I die?/Are you really Heath Ledger?” before the whole thing descends into a fight because that bitch Sarah was definitely pushing it cos you could see the pressure marks on her fingers etc… sigh.

If this film takes off, The Void has already copyrighted screenplays for Mousetrap – Escape from BeadleClaw and KerPlunk: The Movie.

Enough is enough. Buoyed by the fact that his reprise as Indiana Jones wasn’t mocked universally, Harrison Ford is considering returning to the Jack Ryan franchise because the character is one of the few he’s played that would be worth exploring again.

And now Sigourney Weaver is talking about about reprising her role as Ripley in yet another Alien sequel. Jesus. The woman’s pushing 60. Imagine your mum. In a vest. Running. Not pretty is it?

It’s great that Ford still wants to make movies, but he needs to realise Indy was a fluke and that people aren’t going to buy into him as an action hero for much longer. “[Jack Ryan] is a character that I think you could revisit acknowledging the passage of time and his increasing age,” says Ford.

Maybe so, but you can say that for anything or anyone. Coming soon: Peter O’Toole as Bond, where 007 falls asleep during a fight, shits himself on the bus, dribbles toffee all over a naked Russian girl and then accidentally shoots himself in the face with a tranquiliser dart.

CINEMA: Origin – Spirits of the Past

Anime has never looked better than this truly beautiful film with a strong ecological message, although even diehard lovers of sci-fi may struggle to make head or tail out of the storyline.

Three hundred years from now the earth has suffered catastrophic ecological meltdown and the few people who still survive live in an uncomfortable alliance with the ‘sentient’ forest they now share the planet with. Water has become an incredibly precious commodity guarded by ‘druids’ who are the keepers of the forest, but when young Agito, venturing into a prohibited area, accidentally discovers a cryogenic chamber from before the apocalypse and awakens its occupant – a young girl called Toola – the uneasy truce between man and nature is broken and mankind faces total extinction.

How this situation is resolved is both complex and confusing but the look of the film – a mix of 3D CGI and traditional 2D animation – is gorgeously lush and detailed throughout.       Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Savage Grace

The trouble with films that concentrate on the troubled lives of beautiful, bored, rich people is the fact that you never really sympathise with them – they’re bored and rich and you just wish they’d go away. So this tale of bored, rich, spoiled, would-be socialite Barbara Daly (Julianne Moore) and her stiflingly close and wholly inappropriate relationship with her equally bored, rich and spoiled son Tony (Eddie Redmayne) fails to grab the viewer either intellectually or emotionally.

As the pair flit around the Med, New York and London, staying in one grand house after another, their lives are as empty and vacuous as the film itself, while Moore gives a strangely stilted and mannered performance as if Barbara is a mannequin and not entirely human, before descending into mommy from hell mode.

Even the great supporting cast of Stephen Dillane and Hugh Dancy can’t lift the aura of ennui that settles on proceedings, which seem to last an eternity rather than the actual 94 minute running time.      Dee Pilgrim