My 2 Cents on Batman

Well, I haven't posted in a while. One, because packing makes me grumpy, and two, because I don't really feel like there is much to write about. So I'm just going to write about some random Batman stuff that is not consequential at all.

[SPOILER ALERT-IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE, SKIP PAST THE PICTURE OF THE JOKER BECAUSE I DONT FEEL LIKE HOLDING ANYTHING BACK.]

It is really good. Really good. As I'm sure you heard, Heath Ledger is amazing as the Joker. But is makes my heart hurt, believe it or not. Why did he have to die? People really love his performance, and he's not here to enjoy it himself (I'm weird, I know). And from the way the movie ended, it kind of seemed like they were planning on Heath playing Joker in the future too. The last scene with him in it is him just hanging there from the building--he didn't die or wasn't even shown getting put in prison. They left it really open--a little too open, for my taste. (They BETTER make a third movie, in my opinion). And what was with Two-Face dying--or did he die really? I kind of thought Two-Face would be the villain in the third installment, considering he wasn't in this movie for long. Who knows? Finally--Batman's voice? Did he have laryngitis? It was a little too raspy for my taste. Mr. Bale was in fine form though. Between him and Aaron Eckhart, the movie is worth seeing just for the eye candy (ha ha).

[This is not a spoiler.] This is my opinion on the Joker, for those of you who are afraid to see the movie because of him. When I saw previews I fully expected him to be terrifying and give me nightmares and haunt my waking hours. But he didn't. Ledger is amazing. How he portrays the Joker is amazing. But he is funny. He makes you laugh, even if it is in the sickest of ways. Toward the end, you feel like you understand him--and you even see its like he respects Batman, he needs Batman. Its interesting. Its fascinating. That's why Ledger is amazing at this part--because the Joker is so human and so not-human at the same time. The Joker is not as scary as you think he's going to be, he's better than scary--but he is still creepy, so I wouldn't suggest making a Family Home Evening outing out of the movie.

As for Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent)--did you know he grew up LDS? He served a mission in France and Switzerland and attended BYU. Interesting, huh? I found an interview he gave a couple years ago:

It's not Amish and the City, exactly. But A Mormon in Hollywood would likely describe the life of the faith-inspired leading man of Suspect Zero, who is, or was, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"Ah, let me see. I think you're always Mormon," said Aaron Eckhart with a small smile when the Straight recently asked him for clarification of his religious status. "But I'm, you know, in and out. I'm vulnerable and mean at the same time."

"I look at a painter; how does he know what he's going to paint? Any great person in their field, from athletics to art to mathematics, receives inspiration."

Does Eckhart pray?
"Do I pray?"
I'm serious.
"No, I'm serious too. I pray that this movie's a big hit." He grinned. Then stopped. "I believe in God. I'll just say that."

And another one:

His ideas for the future sound equally out of the ordinary. Eckhart, who was raised Mormon, is one of the few actors in Hollywood who will publicly admit to being ''spiritually grounded,'' and he says he wants to make more movies ''that show the good side of people.'' The ''charming, happy-go-lucky, opera-singing, pancake-flinging guy'' in Martha seems to fit the bill.
Don't assume you got the guy pegged as a softie, though. There's still a devilish glint about him. He doesn't drink anymore — ''It was getting in the way'' — but he likes to date. ''I'm dating as many people as I possibly can, but nobody seriously,'' he says, after bursting into wicked laughter. ''No, dating isn't the right word. I'm hanging out with as many people as I possibly can.''
So he's a complicated guy! ''I'm certainly not a deacon, I'm not a priest,'' he explains. ''I'm sure people think I'm a Mormon, but I don't know that I'm a Mormon anymore, you know? To be honest, to be perfectly clear, I'd be a hypocrite if I did say that I was, just because I haven't lived that lifestyle for so many years.''
''I don't drink, I don't smoke, I go to bed early, I get up early, I'm ready to go,'' he insists, talking fast. ''I wanna chew it up, I wanna work every day. It's like when you're on stage. I wanna be on stage every minute of every second the play's going. Because that's where the fire is. That's what people come to see. That's where the gold is. The gold's not backstage, the gold isn't in your trailer, it's right there in front of the camera.''

I don't really know my point here--I just thought it was interesting. 'Any great person receives revelation'? No drinking or smoking? Early to bed, early to rise? Seems like he got some good training, just got lost in the mix of things! That's all. I'm not trying to make any kind of statement that he is evil or anything. I just thought it was interesting.

He could have contributed some cute Mormon kids to the cause, though, don't you think?

Well, there you go. Go see Batman if you have any desire at all. Its really quite good and worth the money (I still recommend Ironman, for those of you looking for something a little less dark).

Now I'm going to go pack--again.