The Dark Knight
Yet another comic book movie for summer's silly season arriveth, but boy will
you like this one. Batman (Christian Bale) battles the far from silly Joker,
played by the late Heath Ledger, who died in January. Aided by a kazillion
star turns, it is the first feature film to be shot partly in the costly
IMAX format, allowing scenes like The Joker's entrance to be as grand as
possible, while the movie lives up to its name, as shady as the underworld.
Ledger described his character as being a, "psychopathic, mass murdering,
schizophrenic clown with zero empathy" and drew inspiration from A Clockwork
Orange for the role – succeeding with his aim to frighten the audience.
Even before Ledger's untimely death, the hype on this movie was buzzing,
but it is guaranteed to be a blockbuster now.
Verdict: The Knight may be dark, but the film is a sparkler
Get Smart
Remember the 1960s Mel Brooks TV spy drama Get Smart? It was a vintage comic
gem inspired by the likes of The Man from U.N.C.L.E that won many an Emmy Award
and was later parodied by Austin Powers. This big screen adaptation stars Steve
Carrell as the accident-prone special agent, Max Smart, working for top secret
government agency CONTROL. The action-comedy plot sees the inexperienced yet
over-eager analyst Smart getting promoted to agent ready to battle the evil forces
of chief adversaries, the KAOS organisation, with only a few special spy gadgets
and Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) to aid him. He botches, he bungles but somehow in
the end, he wins. Carrell was made for this role; unfortunately he can't make
up for the failings of the script or the crap jokes.
Verdict: Not as smart as it thinks it is
Susie Wild has the pick of the popcorn