The Batman

What can I say that hasn't already been said? If you've read more than one review for The Dark Knight, then you'll have heard that it's far and away the greatest Batman movie ever made. You'll also have heard that it's one of the best crime dramas ever filmed, and that it's probably going to be easily identified as the best blockbuster 2008 has to offer, which is quite a statement next to films like Iron Man and WALL-E.

All of those things are true. The Dark Knight was one of the most complex, moving, powerful films I've ever seen. It was difficult in a way that no other comic book movie and few movies of any other genre have ever been, and far more rewarding because of it. If I was a crier, I would have wept for the pain and beauty of it all.

The Joker. Again, what new thing can I say? Heath Ledger's death was universally tragic because he was probably the most gifted and dedicated actor of my generation. I'll just tell you that his Joker is not a character. He is an overwhelming and unstoppable force of evil and chaos. Heath Ledger virtually disappeared behind the hideous makeup and a performance that will without question go down as one of the most riveting and revolutionary ever meted out on film. My greatest personal compliment is that he succeeded in making me fearful of his appearances on screen. You don't like this villain. He's entertaining…sort of. More, he's horrifying. Every time he stumbled into view, I cringed at what he might do, which was always unpredictable, and always terrible.

And Batman was always, always several steps behind him. Iron Man satisfied the desire to see a superhero kick butt. The Dark Knight does not. I won't give anything away, but no one is safe. Batman won't die, this we can rely on. Beyond that…the stakes have never been higher. This film will surprise you over and over and over again. There is no great twist at the end because the entire movie is comprised of twists and surprises—some of them, mercifully, quite wonderful. And, of course, some of them not.

I loved this film. I knew I would, but I couldn't know how very MUCH I would. The hype and anticipation were as high as they could possibly be. If this film had been anything less than spectacular, I would have been furious. But it's not. It's more.

I saw it in IMAX—it was worth it. But I'm going to see it again this week. Probably on Thursday, when I don't have work. I need to see this film again. The first time through, it exhausted me. I had to hang on for life as the story progressed and, when it was over, I had probably comprehended barely over half of the film. Only after the second run will I be able to feel I've seen the whole thing.

In summary, hyperbole ceases to have a definition in the context of films like this. No praise is too high, and my praises are not high enough. Thus, I am, in the end, left without words to describe my love for The Dark Knight.

Rambow

Whenever I sit down to start spilling the contents of my mind onto paper or a computer monitor, I have to be careful. I'm a storyteller at heart. I love stories. I have within me a bottomless well of endless passion for them. But a lot of the stories I want to tell have already been told, and well. This is natural, because when I hear or see a wonderful story wonderfully told, it ignites my passion for storytelling, and long after, I find myself seized with a desire to tell that story myself, or something very like unto it.

So of course, as a child, movies made their mark on me. The stories they told embedded themselves deep into my heart and mind, and I will be influenced by the movies I saw when I was younger more than any I see as an adult. Somehow, and by the very same magic that the film itself represents, Son of Rambow captured that idea perfectly.

Will is a timid dreamer who meets Lee, a child-demon who wreaks havoc on all things "mature" around him. Lee has aspirations to be a filmmaker, and to accomplish his dreams, he has a VHS video-camera. Did I mention they're in the 80's? Well, now I did. When Will ends up at Lee's house, he chances to see First Blood, and he...um...you could say he just sort of explodes. When Lee returns, he finds Will gone. It turns out that Will's comprehensively capable imagination has fashioned him into the son of Rambo, who turns out to be seeking his father's freedom from a terrifying, vicious captor (who turns out to be a creepy looking scarecrow.)

Shortly thereafter, Lee and Will have teamed up to create their film: Son of Rambow. As time goes by, the project accretes additional actors and crew, and becomes a strain on what has become a very meaningful friendship between Lee and Will.

I don't want to say anything else. Every minute of this film is absolutely wonderful. I was so completely, so deeply invested in all of the characters that I couldn't stop my eyes from periodically widening in a futile attempt to take it all in more fully. It was funny (very very funny), gripping, and sentimental in the best possible ways.

Everything about this film was great. I was blown away by the acting of every character, but most of all by Will and Lee--I have never seen better child acting. I believed these kids were real all the way to the end. And I adored them. Seriously, who knew that this kind of performance was possible from that age group? It's a special tribute to the director, who himself must be very well in-touch with his own inner-child.

I was also continually surprised by this film. Within the first fifteen minutes (probably much sooner than that, actually) I had learned not to try and guess what would happen next. Rambow intuitively embodied the unpredictability of the most entertaining children you know. I fell in love with it much the same way I sometimes fall in love with children I meet. In all of its innocent recklessness and unbridled passion for living, Son of Rambow is ultimately a simple but moving story about two friends discovering and then youthfully wielding the magic of filmmaking. How could I not adore this movie?