Thoroughly enjoyed Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist.  It was hilarious, sweet, and just plain old fun to watch.  We watched a late showing on Thursday night with a really fun crowd that laughed as hard as we did.  I downloaded the soundtrack Friday morning and have been listening to it ever since.  The iTunes reviews were pretty annoying to read.  There are a lot of the snobby indie music listeners who are disturbed that the general masses are discovering their precious little bands.  They call the movie soundtrack a big sellout from the bands.  I think these people are more concerned about being an indie music guru than they are about the success of the band or enjoyment of the music.  I don’t keep up with the indie music scene (anymore?) and I welcome a soundtrack like this to show me the highlights — regardless of how old they are!

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The Cat Power concert was good last night.  Warehouse Live is a really cool venue.  People weren’t kidding about how clean they keep the place.  I was unsure whether they were going to let me bring in my D200 but after consulting the Yelp forums I decided it was worth a try.  As we approached the door I saw a girl with a dSLR camera slung over her shoulder.  The door guy let her in without a hitch so I breathed a sigh a relief.  When the door guy saw my camera bag, he asked to see what was inside and called over another guy to ask if my camera was okay.  The head security guy said that I had to put it back into my car and that I could take pictures with my cellphone if I wanted to.  So we walked back to the car.  I’ll admit that I was a little upset that the other girl got away with it.  Fortunately, as we were walking back to the door guys, we saw that the head security guy was escorting the girl with the camera out and telling her that she had to put her camera in her car.  Not that I wish misfortune on others — I just appreciate consistency in rules.  I’m not sure if that’s Warehouse Live’s policy or Cat Power’s policy.  She had her own camera guys taking photos of her during the show so I’m guessing it’s a Cat Power policy.

I had the same gripes last night that I always have about concerts.  Body odor, lack of personal space, obnoxious drunk girls (or just plain obnoxious underage girls as was the case last night), and all of the waiting!

I know everyone keeps talking about how our generation is all about instant gratification and people don’t know the value of waiting anymore.  I think the concert-going subculture is one of the remaining groups of patient people in the world.  With really long attention spans!  We waited in the studio for thirty minutes before they opened up the doors to let us into the ballroom.  (I’d really like to see someone in the studio in the future, the place is so intimate and cozy.)  Then we waited standing up near the stage for quite some time until the first act came on stage.  The opener was Appaloosa who played music from her Macbook (which was covered in stickers) and sang along to it.  Truth be told, it was actually pretty good music — but there was nothing to look at.  She did not have the star power or stage presence to really draw in the crowd.  She wore a strapless glittery red dress over blue jeans and cowboy boots which I guess was interesting.  Besides doing an awkward dance now and then and her constant readjusting of her dress so that her boobs wouldn’t fall out — there was nothing to see.  Then there was a LONG wait between the opener and Cat Power.  Stagehands came onstage to check the mics and the cords, tape setlists on the floor, place water bottles and towels around the stage, place a huge fan, etc… is this on purpose?  To create so much suspense and buildup that by the time the band comes on stage you’re delirious with happiness that it’s finally starting and you cheer so loud — slightly unsure if you’re cheering for the band or if you’re cheering that it’s finally starting.

Haha, I know I sound like I didn’t like the concert but I really did.  Chan Marshall is incredibly talented.  Her songs and her voice are both so emotional.  She was really in the zone for some of the songs.  I didn’t feel like she connected very well with the audience even though she did turn the fan towards us to cool us off, hand a girl in the audience her onstage cocktail, throw flowers out to the audience at the end of the concert.  Why is it that when musicians smile, it makes everyone watching want to smile back?  Musicians are mesmerizing.  I did feel that she was in her own world for a lot of the concert and she didn’t really say anything to us.  I have a suspicion that she was instructed not to talk during the concert to avoid a repeat of this.

Anyway.  This is a really disjointed post but it’s Saturday morning and I’m not used to being up on Saturday mornings.

Go horns!

****************The Dark Knight SPOILER ALERT***********************

Courtesy spoiler alert extended– but if you haven’t seen it yet, you probably are not going to or don’t care if the movie is spoiled.  In which case, keep reading.

So I promised a thematic review of The Dark Knight (TDK) in a previous post about TDK and even though no one was really holding their breath for it and even though most people have probably already long forgotten the plot of TDK, it makes a lot of sense to me to write about it right now.

I’ll admit that I’ve been putting this post off for awhile because I’m afraid I won’t do justice to it.  Even today, I came home from another hospital orientation (I’m pretty sick of orienting myself at this point, I just want to get started), I cooked myself dinner, and read through half of my RSS feeds and am only now finally starting to write.  I’m terribly tempted to upload, tag and organize photos on Flickr, load the dishwasher and organize my underwear and sock drawer before I go any further but the husband is coming home from his business trip in about three hours so I better make the most of a quiet house on a Friday night.

I do wish that I wrote this earlier today because most people surf here on Friday afternoons when things are slow at work but it’s too early to cut out for the weekend.  But I’m okay if you don’t get to reading this until Monday.

Alright, let’s jump in:

Evil vs. Less Evil Theme

This is the most basic theme in the story of Batman.  Unlike other superheroes, he doesn’t have superpowers and his drive is not quite as noble as that of Superman.  He is largely motivated by anger and vengeance and he has notably restrained himself from murdering any villain or criminal.  This can at times be frustrating because the villains rotate through the revolving doors of Arkham Asylum like clockwork.  But this theme is the reason why I like the story of Batman the most.  I relate to it the most.  I don’t believe people are naturally good and evil.  I think we are all naturally evil and sometimes we just act less evil than others.  I believe we all spend most of our lives trying to fight that evil — some through a faith in God, some for the promise of nirvana or rewards in an afterlife, some through spirituality, some through a contemporary version of karma, and others through a simple cultural work ethic.  The story of Batman gives me hope that a person with every right to be bitter and angry at the world and its darkness can somehow still work for the good.  As a social worker, I have seen and heard the stories of young people who have the odds stacked against them.  Stories about murder, rape, neglect, loneliness and all the ugliness and darkness of this world.  If I didn’t have hope that people who are victims of evil can turn their lives around and achieve great things and pursue goodness, I don’t think I would have the strength to do what I do.

Criminals/Villians are Usually the Product of our Society

At the same time, when Harvey Dent becomes Two-Face, it’s a difficult but necessary reminder that even if a person strives their hardest for goodness, the circumstances and incidents of reality can sometimes be heavy enough to bring that person down.  Our first reaction is to marvel at the fact that Harvey Dent, the upright and honest District Attorney, could be pushed to the point of kidnapping Commissioner Gordon’s family and wanting to murder innocent people.  That the symbol of integrity and justice in Gotham City could so quickly become a villain is alarming.  But it makes perfect sense to me.  The person with the most hope for justice usually has the greatest fall when he/she is confronted with the injustice of reality.  This is also why I think truly overcoming evil is only possible by nothing short of the grace of God.

Hey, the same thing happened to Michael Corleone in the Godfather trilogy, didn’t it?  Michael was different from his brothers.  He wanted to separate himself from the “family business.”  But circumstances sucked him in deeper than he would have ever predicted.  Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

A lot of people blame criminal behavior on mental illness but a lot less people are willing to blame criminal behavior on the circumstances of reality.  Whether it be lack of education, unemployment, economic deprivation, psychological stress, or a simple cost-benefit analysis that leads to crime– it is usually inaccurate to attribute crime to mental illness.  I really enjoyed the portrayal of the Joker in TDK, not just the acting performance, but the suggestion that perhaps The Joker is actually more aware and more lucid than the masses.  Did any of you feel that way?  That despite his gruesome gags and his chilling detachment from death, The Joker was the most real character in the entire movie.  He was the most tormented, for sure, but he was the most honest about his pain.

An example that hits a lot closer to home is the creation of terrorists and international criminals.  Countries where living conditions and economic opportunities are poor are typically fertile breeding grounds for fundamentalist terrorist groups.  Syriana portrayed this dynamic in a compelling way.  I sometimes wonder if the tragedy of the Holocaust would still have occurred if the people of Germany weren’t as economically devastated and low in morale as they were after WWI.  It’s easier for us to dismiss terrorists as mentally ill than to consider that perhaps they are ordinary humans pushed to their limits without an ounce of hope outside of the violence or the twisted fundamentalist belief.  It’s frightening to consider that the human mind and heart could be so fragile.

The Masses

This is always a difficult theme for me in movies.  I am absolutely terrified of the masses.  I shudder when I read historical accounts of mob mentality.  Whether it be Nazi Germany, the genocide in Darfur, city riots, soccer stadium stampedes, or even the Salem Witch Trials, I am chilled to the bone to think of the vulnerability of groups of people to powerful ideas– or rather, the vulnerability of people to the ideas of power.  There are countless global conflicts that follow the formulaic story of an oppressed group organized by a charismatic leader to brutally oppress their former oppressors.  The drastic power shifts that can take place in a politically unstable country are really disturbing.  Even more disturbing are the power shifts that can sometimes take place in a seemingly non-war, non-political environment such as a business meeting or a church.  Some readers will probably argue that business meetings and churches as just as political as any other venue.  But you get the idea.  I think my fear of the mindless masses is part of the reason why the Olympic Opening Ceremonies in Beijing creeped me out so much.

So I haven’t really figured out what I think about this theme in the movie.  The movie portrays the masses as simple minded people who are influenced and essentially controlled by a handful of men behind closed doors.  This is why this post is relevant right now.  After watching my country approach the presidential election, I keep getting the sinking feeling that this is all just a charade to influence and control the masses.  Don’t get me wrong, I believe there are informed voters and die hard theorists and economists that are voting in accordance with their well-thought out beliefs, but then there are just as many voters who are swayed by the propaganda, the media (whether it be CNN or Fox News) and their friends.  This bothers me to no end.  I really want to believe that individuals are more autonomous and more intelligent than this dismal diagnosis.  But I’m not so sure.

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So, are you tired of reading?  Cause I’m tired of writing.

The Masses Need a Leader that Fits Their Needs

The Masses Need a Scapegoat that Fits Their Needs

Those are the last two themes I outlined when I first set out to write this post.  I think they are pretty self-explanatory.  Of course I could write a hefty paragraph or two for each theme (don’t doubt me) but I’ll spare you.  Depending on which camp you are in, ObamaBiden, McCainPalin and BushCheney could easily make appearances in either paragraph.

In summary, I think the movie was pretty good as a movie but its true greatness lies in its ability to be a launchpad for exploring life themes.

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In unrelated news, this personal email written by Anne Kilkenny, Alaskan housewife, has been getting a lot of press (heard the story on NPR this afternoon).  Of course, it’s just a personal email without substantiated numbers but it’s definitely an interesting read.  And I think it’s fun to see just how accessible information is these days.  In the NPR interview, Anne admits that she’s not quite sure what a blog is and that she is still on a dial-up connection.

History is full of great speeches.  Some of the most influential speeches in my life are:

• Jesus Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.
• Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech:
• Robert F. Kennedy’s “Mindless Menace of Violence” speech after MLK’s assassination:
• J.K. Rowling’s Harvard University Commencement Speech

And now, after watching Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, I am adding it to my short list of life-influencing speeches. If you missed Obama’s speech last night, please take the time to watch it.

Not that reality is all about rhetoric and great speechmaking, but I do believe that the masses need to be inspired to hope for and work towards progress.

While I’m on the topic of Obama, here’s a great NYT article that Lawrence linked me to about Obama’s stance on economics.

In all fairness, as independents, the husband and I will be tuning into the Republican National Convention next week.  This brings a whole new meaning to “tough act to follow.”

EDIT:  I am adding Barack Obama’s Call to Renewal speech about religion and politics and Barack Obama’s Yes We Can speech.

My absence is pretty hard to explain.  I’ve had more time in the past two weeks than I’ve had in a long time.  And I’m about to start a crazy year of working at the hospital and finishing my last year of classes.  I’ve been enjoying a random assortment of things so in no particular order, here goes:

I purchased these hiking shoes (Women’s Vasque Breeze, no GoreTex) last week on sale for $80 as well as a pair of REI Merino Wool Light Hiking Socks.  They are pretty comfortable and not as heavy as the leather hiking boots that are out there.  Most of the reviews I’ve read say that they don’t require a break-in period so I’m glad about that since we are headed to Rocky Mountain National Park this weekend.

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I spend most of my web surfing time reading through my Google Reader.  Especially with the convenience of Firefox’s Google Reader extension that has the option to load the website inside the reader, there’s really no reason to leave my Google Reader (except to read the Freakonomics blog which strangely doesn’t work inside the reader).  I really like the Google Reader iPhone app although I wish there was an option to “expand all” so that I don’t have to click into each feed to read it.

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I discovered this CD (Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone) on IMEEM and I’ve been enjoying it ever since.  The sound of a sorrowful cello is beautiful.

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I’ve been also trying to incorporate Evernote into my life.  I’ve been using it for school and also for brainstorming for future ideas.  I used to carry around a little yellow notepad to jot down ideas and books I wanted to remember to pick up or artists to check out.  Now that I have the iPhone Evernote app, I’ve ditched the little yellow notepad.

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This is the first time I’ve watched a political convention and I’ve really been enjoying it.  I wish CNN would show more of it instead of some of its pointless commentary but otherwise it’s been pretty good.  It still bothers me when the crowd starts booing or chanting in response to the speeches — and the speeches can get kind of hokey sometimes but most of the time I am inspired and encouraged by what I’ve been hearing.  I’m looking forward to Obama’s speech tonight although I might not be home to catch it– thank God for YouTube!

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Ever since Barcamp I have been using Twitter.  I noticed that I don’t twitter very much when I’m out of town.  We’ll see if that changes.  I wonder if there’s a correlation with being able to twitter and not feeling the need to write blogposts as frequently.

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I’ve been asked to join the Yelp Elite Squad!  I’ve been on a Yelping hiatus but now I’m back in full force! This is probably why they ask people to join the Elite Squad.  The main perks of being elite are that I get invitations to their parties, special deals and discounts, a free t-shirt, and pride!  This is kind of like when the husband and I got Gold status at Dave & Busters.  Too bad we don’t really go there anymore.

Okay, I’m ready to write about it now.

SPOILER ALERT***************SPOILER ALERT*******************SPOILER ALERT

(All those asterisks make this post look like spam.  Or a really old RPG game.)

Please stop reading if you haven’t seen the movie. Unless you don’t plan on watching it.

I think the best way for me to talk about this is to split up my analysis of The Dark Knight (TDK) in separate categories: entertainment and themes.

The comments in this post will solely be about the movie as entertainment.

Action sequences were delightful.

It makes me wonder why more action movies don’t gamble on the IMAX.  I loved the opening heist.  I loved the great car chase scene at the end.  I loved soaring over the cityscapes.  Staying in line with the first movie, sound and suggestion were used powerfully to create Batman’s presence instead of relying on actual hand to hand combat (like scenes from The Bourne Identity)– great movie trickery at its best.

Plot development was probably this movie’s greatest strength.

Even though Batman is my favorite comic, it’s been a long time since I’ve read them and I felt a little rusty.  Batman Begins deviated quite a bit from Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One but it was so enjoyable that I didn’t mind.  I readily accepted the new twists.  The same happened for TDK.  I only wish they didn’t kill Two-Face.  I mean, I understand that they needed to in order to explore the depth of their themes, but I wish that they could have explored his complex character in future sequels (there will be sequels, right?).  I enjoyed The Joker’s antics, especially the ferry sinking quandary and his constant mockery of the mob.  One of the best scenes of the movie was when The Joker showed up for the fund-raising cocktail party for Harvey Dent at Wayne manor.  It was such an arresting and horrifying moment to mix the faceless and vulnerable elite of Gotham with one of its worst villians.  It seems like usually the crimes are committed in dark, sketchy neighborhoods in abandoned warehouses and factories.  It was jarring to see The Joker in a ballroom underneath sparkling chandeliers.  This was fantastically symbolic of the eventual inability to keep the two things separate if untamed.

Casting was exemplary for the most part.

Never in a million years would I have picked Heath Ledger as The Joker but what incredible vision it was to see how that would end up being one of the greatest casting choices.  Maggie Gyllenhaal was a terrible choice for Rachel Dawes.  Anytime a movie or television show changes actors for a particular role, they better make sure that they make the audience fall in love with the new actor or it is usually a disaster.  Casino Royale is a prime example of how to succeed at this.  People love Daniel Craig and I didn’t hear a single person wishing for Pierce Brosnan’s return.

Romantic interest was weak.

Really weak.  I know the romantic interest isn’t the most important relationship in a superhero movie, but it’s kind of critical in this one.  It bothers me when people half-ass this aspect.  It was weak in Ironman and it was even weaker here.  And no, it’s not because Maggie’s not a knockout.  There’s more to it then that.  They just had no chemistry together.  I really had to use my imagination on this one.  I mean, if Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner can have chemistry in The Bodyguard (to the point where I would reference it here, so many years later), then it’s fair to expect that “one of the greatest movies of all time” would have great chemistry between the superhero and love interest.

Character development was a bit shallow.

I wonder how many people watched TDK as a standalone without having first watched Batman Begins.  I think this movie relied a little too heavy on the prequel for character development.  The physical discipline showcased in the Batman Begins barely trickled into the TDK and there wasn’t a concentrated effort to develop as deep of a respect for his character in the audience.  There was a general admiration but not as much awe for what he was trying to accomplish.  This was worsened by his cheesy Batman voice.  I had to fight the urge to giggle sometimes.  I think Aaron Eckhart did a fine job as Harvey Dent.  But his character didn’t require as much depth.  The Joker’s character development was the most profound.  While I do think Heath should win an Oscar for his performance, I think the screenwriting deserves a lot of the credit.  Actors can only do so much with the roles they are given.  I absolutely love the scene when Batman is barreling down on The Joker on his Batpod (super motorcycle) and The Joker stands facing the Batman bracing himself wishing for death.  That was brilliant.

TDK Gadgetry was not too impressive for me.

I enjoyed the Batpod but it wasn’t really that cutting edge.  According to WIRED, “The Bat-Pod’s forward-swooping design allows the rider to steer with his shoulders. Currently only one stuntman in the world has the skills to drive it.”  Oh and I thought the cellphone sonar technology was pretty lame.  I mean, the idea is cool, but the setup looked like a bad ripoff of The Matrix.  I think I was most amazed by Christian Bale’s physique.  My goodness.  Not in a drooling kind of way but a very objective assessment and appreciation kind of way, of course.

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So, in conclusion, I really enjoyed the movie.  I just don’t think it’s the “best movie evar!!!” or anything silly like that.  I told the husband that I don’t think we’ll be referencing this movie when we’re 40 years old.  And I think that’s the true test of a good movie (and other things): time.

On a side note, one of the trailers they showed before TDK was for Watchmen.  I’ve been meaning to pick this one up for awhile now and am finally getting around to it.  I ordered it off of Amazon and will let you know my thoughts.  I’m excited about how thick it is.

I’ll write a followup post soon to discuss my comments on TDK’s themes and ideas.