Andy Online

I’m reminded of a story that Kevin Smith tells. He talks about a discussion he had with Ben Affleck and that Ben was telling him how much he enjoyed being in Chasing Amy. He enjoyed it so much that he keeps pressuring Kevin to write something else just like it. “Just write it and I’ll do it.” Then Kevin says, “Hey, Mother*%^&er, one of us won an Oscar for writing!”

That’s right, Ben Affleck is an Oscar award winner. Yes, the lead actor in such quality movies as Paycheck, Reindeer Games, Pearl Harbor, Gigli, Daredevil, Forces of Nature, Armageddon, and Phantoms won an Oscar. The shocker is that he didn’t win it for acting. This movie is proof that Ben Affleck should stay behind the camera. It’s so much better when he is creating the story rather than acting in it. If he continues to act he should at least get some tips from his brother Casey.

To me, this movie seems to be about good vs. evil. The struggle is to define who or what is good and who or what is evil. Is good following the letter of the law or is good breaking a few rules to better the situation. Is good getting what’s rightfully yours or is good getting what you deserve.

This film is a definite “must see”.

Overall Score: 4/5 stars.

I am sorry for the extreme untimeliness of this review. I have been meaning to see this film ever since opening night, but have been thwarted multiple times. Anyway…

Here’s what I didn’t like about the movie:

1. • It had completely ridiculous movie technology. There is a scene where Batman pulls a chunk out of a wall that has a bullet hole. He then scans it with some kind of computer modeling device using lasers. Then his computer is able to determine which parts of this 3d model are bullet fragments. The computer then is somehow able to reassemble the bullet virtually, complete with a fingerprint that would not only be underneath the shell casing but burned off by the bullet being fired. That is some AMAZING technology.

   • Another bit of incredible technology is that they are able to hack an ordinary cellphone to become a 3d modeler by using sonar. Right. Every phone has the speaker quality needed to transmit a inaudible sonar blib and a microphone good enough to pick up the inaudible sounds being bounced back with enough quality to build a 3d model. I hear the next big iPhone app is iSonar.
2. Christian Bale’s “Batman” voice. When he was Bruce Wayne, he sounded like the silky smooth, devonaire millionaire that he was. But as soon as he but on that Batsuit he immediately sounded like he was just force fed a cheese grater. Does the batsuit really have that much tracheal constriction? It was difficult to understand what he was saying in parts of the movie. Batman needs to add some Earl Grey to his utility belt.

On to the good.

The best thing about this film is that it has potential to knock Titanic out of it’s #1 spot as the highest domestic grossing film ever (James Cameron, if you are reading this, kindly kick yourself in the groin). I have been waiting for this for so long, I will be hoping against all hopes that it bitch-slaps Titanic down a peg.

I don’t want to sound like every other review and say that Heath Ledger is the greatest Joker of all time, blah, blah, blah. He was great and everyone knows it. Done. I want to talk about another great performance that was overshadowed by the whole “OMG Heath Ledger was great and now he’s dead” hype. I’m talking about Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Twoface. His performance took me by surprise. Added to this was the incredible special effects to create Twoface. It was reminiscent of the Mummy, only creepier. I couldn’t look away from his eyes, oh the eyes! They will haunt my dreams. Ok, not really, but they were haunting.

This was a great movie with a great cast and an amazing director. I highly recommend seeing it.

Overall Score: 4.5/5 stars.