In Contention

‘Knight’ falls in L.A. tomorrow (and Travers jumps the gun)

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FYI.  Keep those lids peeled for reviews coming form tomorrow’s Los Angeles screening.

In the meantime, Peter Travers has the first official review up at Rolling Stone.  Here’s a taste:

Heads up: a thunderbolt is about to rip into the blanket of bland we call summer movies. The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan’s absolute stunner of a follow-up to 2005’s Batman Begins, is a potent provocation decked out as a comic-book movie. Feverish action? Check. Dazzling spectacle? Check. Devilish fun? Check. But Nolan is just warming up. There’s something raw and elemental at work in this artfully imagined universe.

And praise for Ledger, as if we weren’t expecting it:

I can only speak superlatives of Ledger, who is mad-crazy-blazing brilliant as the Joker. Miles from Jack Nicholson’s broadly funny take on the role in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, Ledger takes the role to the shadows, where even what’s comic is hardly a relief…It’s typical of Ledger’s total commitment to films as diverse as Brokeback Mountain and I’m Not There that he does nothing out of vanity or the need to be liked. If there’s a movement to get him the first posthumous Oscar since Peter Finch won for 1976’s Network, sign me up.

The rest.

Comments

3 responses to “‘Knight’ falls in L.A. tomorrow (and Travers jumps the gun)”

  1. Blake Rutherford Avatar
    Blake Rutherford

    Wow.

  2. Jonathan Spuij Avatar
    Jonathan Spuij

    Finally. The first blockbuster in a long time that really delivers.

    Oh btw, I finally saw Prince Caspian last night and I loved it. Best summer flick of the year thus far.

    Gonna see the Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D tomorrow but ain’t expecting too much of that.

  3. Joel Avatar
    Joel

    I disagree on Prince Caspian, Jonathan. I liked it but I didn’t love it.

    Overall, magnificent review. I always love reading Travers’s stuff, but I somehow missed this one. Thanks, Kris. Now I can’t wait even more. :(