Sunday – 20 July 2008
It’s been a great weekend.

SaraRules got into town Friday night, a little after 10:00. I skipped post-coffee dinner with the Clitorati crew to come home and hang out with her. I also discovered the joys of screw-top (as opposed to cork-topped) wine bottles. Same great taste, less hassle.

Saturday morning, we got up and ran errands before getting on to the fun parts of the day. I stopped at Dr. Volt’s to pick up my copy of the new Fantastic Four HeroClix Starter Set… and a box of Batman: Alpha HeroClix. I wanted an Oracle figure so, I figured that I’d pick up a box a go for broke. Not only did the box have an Oracle, but I got an Alfred figure – which I’d also wanted – as well. Win-Win. We also popped next door to C.K. Cummings for chocolate (…and Swedish fish!). Talk about confection overload.

After leaving Dr. V’s we headed up to see SaraRules’ family. They were doing well.

Next stop: Larryland for a trip to Gotham City. And… I saw the Watchmen trailer in big screen glory. Wow. That was nice. Most of the other trailers were rather forgettable, though. Then… The Dark Knight. The movie was well done and a lot of fun to watch. For a movie that was two hours and forty-two minutes long, it certainly didn’t feel like it. The script was solid. The cinematography was top notch. The whole thing was a joy to watch.

The leads seemed comfortable in their roles, even the newcomers:

  • Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batman was believable both as a man with a secret and a man whose inner demons drive his unrelenting passion.
  • Michael Caine’s Alfred was equal parts confidante, assistant… and protector – exactly what you would expect from Bruce Wayne’s manservant and best friend.
  • Morgan Freeman, once again, did an excellent turn as Lucius Fox. I appreciate the fact that the script portrays him as a man who is willing to push the envelope, in the name of the greater good, but not push it so far as to compromise his principles and morals.
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal’s performance as Rachel Dawes actually made me wonder “WHO did this role in the first movie?” She was solid as the flickering light at the end of Bruce Wayne’s tunnel.
  • Gary Oldman. ‘Nuff said.
  • Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent/Two-Face was an interesting character. I didn’t mind the twist that they put in his origin. But, his descent into madness, while seemingly fast, was believable.
  • And Heath Ledger’s Joker was spot-on. I know that there were many questions as to whether or not he would be up to the performance or if he could stand up to the Jokers of the past. To that, I counter with a paraphrase of a repeated line from the movie: “He was the Joker that the film needed.” This isn’t to diminish the performances of other actors in the role. To the contrary, I think that each person who has become The Joker has been exactly what the role demanded: Cesar Romero. Jack Nicholson. Mark Hamill. And when the torch was passed to the late Mr. Ledger, he bore the mantle admirably. It’s a shame that we won’t get a chance to see him reprise the role.

All-in-all, I give the movie an enthusiastic thumbs-up with a couple of batarangs on the side.

After the movie, SaraRules and I split up: She headed to her folks’ place, while I went to Chris and Mary’s for our Dark Heresy game. We didn’t get very far (at least, not while I was there – I left early), but it was fun. I headed up to meet SaraRules and visit with her family again… and then back home.

This morning was a lazy, lie about kind of morning. Then came breakfast (sauteed spaghetti!) and coffee. I’m not entirely sure what, if anything, we’re up to before Ms. SaraRules heads back to Aspen, but I’m heading over to Perry and Kate’s later to enjoy the last of the Double XP Weekend… and get my Rikti Monkey!

Namaste.