The View From Here

So, the weekend has finally come and gone and I have seen the movie I have been anticipating for a long while.  If all you read is the first couple lines of this blog post, know this, The Dark Knight delivers in a huge way.  Also know that it is a marathon of a movie.  What I mean by that is it is long (two and a half hours without previews), it is intense, it is dark, and it is awesome.

Let the record show that I really enjoy long movies when all the elements come together.  I really enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies.  They were well done.  They were epic.  The acting was great.  The story was wonderful.  The writing was superb.  And the director knew what to do with these elements.   The same can be said of The Dark Knight in every instance.  And all of this from a superhero flick.  You expect the flash, bang, and boom of special effects but not a movie that I would consider one of the best I have seen.

Long movies also allow for deep character development.  With the origin story out of the way we can delve deeper into the Batman mythos.  We get to see Bruce Wayne/Batman deal with choosing the moral thing despite what people think of him.  We get to see the rise and fall of another Gotham hero.  We get to see more of Gordon’s character and interaction with Batman.  And, yes, we get to see a lot of the much-talked-about Joker.  And since the movie is a long one it gives the director (Christopher Nolan) time to allow us to get to know this place and these characters in a deeper way.

Speaking of characters, let me talk for a moment about the actors in this film.  I did not see a weak link in the casting.  Every major character really stepped up and made the role theirs.  Heath Ledger, the most talked about for sure, brought the Joker to the screen in a phenomenal way.  When you watched him, you saw the character and not the actor.  He was funny in a very demented way and is probably the best villain I can recall seeing in a movie.  His character didn’t seem to have a weakness (other than to assume that others were like him).  Christian Bale was solid again.  Gary Oldman was allowed more screen time which allowed him to flesh out Gordon even more.  Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were both great and added a little (lighter) humor that the film needed.  Maggie Gyllenhaal was a great replacement for Katie Holmes.

Without good writing the actors would have had a much harder time pulling this movie off but that was not a problem.  The writing was superb.  I am hard pressed to think of a sequence that didn’t work because of the dialogue.  The story twists and turns and keeps the audience on their toes wondering what will come next.  Several story elements were even unexpected.  The story was not shallow.  There was depth, complexity, and imminent peril present constantly.

With all the good that can be said of this movie, like anything else, it’s not perfect.  If you a concerned about spoilers then don’t read this paragraph until after you have seen the movie.  The transformation of Harvey Dent into Two Face seemed a little rushed.  The events that led him to this transformation were tragic enough to push someone over the edge but it just happened too fast.  Even with that said, the Two Face character was a perfect mirror with his twisted sense of justice to the Harvey Dent character.  The only other issue I had was with a plot element.  Somehow, we end up with two ferries on the river, one with normal people and one with convicts which set up the climactic showdown.  How did this just happen?  These were supposed to be people trying to flee the Joker’s “game”.  It just seemed a bit contrived and scripted.  I think it could have been just as compelling if both ferries were filled with normal people.  I know, I am nitpicking here.  Both of these items are  small in comparison to the overall greatness of this movie.

The Dark Knight broke through many of the boundaries that usually typify movies from this genre.  It became something more than a superhero movie.  It was a fantastic movie worth all the hype it has received.  The Dark Knight delivers on it’s promise.  It’s the total package.  Need I say more?  Go see it.

Brian

As with many other people, I have been greatly anticipating the next Pixar movie.  Well, I have seen it and it is great.  In fact WALL*E is one of my favorite Pixar movies.  As I make that statement I realize that I could say that about pretty much any Pixar movie.  It is quite amazing that one studio has made nine (if I am counting correctly) movies that I can honestly say are all great.  I would think that most people would agree.  If only other movie studios would take note and take the time to make the majority of their movies great.  Unfortunately, they tend to just throw junk out the door counting on the fact that the American public is used to the junk and will stomach it.  It is rare to see a movie that seems to stand up out of the rabble, refusing to be average, and truly be outstanding.  Pixar does this on a consistent basis and WALL*E is no exception.

To those of you who have heard that this movie preaches environmentalism I would ask you to read this interview with the writer/director.  I have read several interviews that he has given and in every on he says that he did not write this movie to preach.  In fact he came up with the idea in 1994 long before the green hype.  What I took from it is something I already agreed with: God has given this world to us and we need to take care of it.  Do yourself a favor and go see this movie whatever you may have heard.

One of the things that stands out in my mind about this movie is the lack of dialogue but the fantastic story telling through character interaction and visuals.  It is a marvel to behold.

Pixar taught me a lesson with Cars.  I remember seeing the trailers for it and wondering how it would be a good movie.  When I did see it it was wonderful just like the movies that had come before.  It is hard for me to doubt this animation studio.

(I suppose this is turning into as much of a review of Pixar as it is of WALL*E.  I feel that if they made the movie I will see it.)

Not to be forgotten is the animated short that comes before the movie.  Again, wonderful!  I highly recommend this movie to you.  Go see it!

Brian

I didn’t take me very long to finish the second book of the Mistborn trilogy.  If you read these books you will see why.  They are highly engaging, entertaining, and they will keep you guessing.  The hardest part about reading The Well of Ascension is knowing that I will have to wait until October for the final book in the trilogy to come out.  Fantastic book!

One of my favorite things the first book does so well is tell an angle of a story that many don’t.  The Well of Ascension keeps this going strong. “…And they lived happilly ever after” is a common (often assumed) theme at the end of a story.  What happens after the characters get their happily ever after?  Is it really as happy as most stories allude?  This book explores that idea. 

Book two starts out a little slower than the first one did but allows for more in depth characterization.  We get to see more view points on what is happening.  The story develops quickly through this and the ending is fast and furious.  Come to think of it, every book by Brandon Sanderson has had a great ending with unforeseen twists.  I was guessing what would happen up until the last chapter.  From what I have read alpha readers of the third book are saying that it is just as great as the first two.

I am trying to expand the authors and genres that I read so if you have a book or author that you really enjoy let me know who or what it is.

Brian

Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe I have found my new favorite author!  I have now read Brandon Sanderson’s first two published works and both of them were absolutely amazing.  You can see what I thought of his first book here.  Mistborn: The Final Empire is the first book of a trilogy of which the first two books are already on the shelves.  The final installment will be out in October of this year.  This means that I won’t have to wait very long to finish the story.

The story told in this book is amazing and one of the best I have ever read.  The action is well balanced with political intrigue and character development.  The world that Sanderson builds for us is so engaging and it draws you into it immediately.  The basic story premise, without giving too much away, is about a group of thieves in a world where an oppressive immortal ruler keeps a large portion of the populace down-trodden and subservient.  It has been this way for one thousand years.  The goal is to free the people from their state by overthrowing the government and it’s ruler.  The problem is, the Lord Ruler as he is called, is immortal and attempts to kill him have failed every time.  The magic system that is woven into the story is very unique and intricate.

One of my favorite things about this author is his ability to keep you guessing throughout the entire book.  You think that either option one or option two could happen and you a pretty sure it is option one.  In reality it is option three, that you never saw coming, that happens.  The foreshadowing is there for everything but it is still hard to guess what is going to happen.  Personally, I like this so much about the books I read that I really don’t try to figure it out too much.  I like for the story to unfold on it’s own.

Another thing I am enjoying about Mr. Sanderson is that he seems to have a moral sensibility about him.  I have read books that their authors seem to think that cursing and sex makes the story more real and believable.  Sanderson apparently doesn’t agree with this philosophy but his books have just as real and gritty a feel as books that have this content.  I know that there are people who won’t wait for marriage to have sex but there are people out there who would wait so it is just as believable to me if characters do wait.  Reading is just one more avenue that we as Christians have to be discerning as to what we dwell on and put into our minds.  I haven’t had to decide whether to put a book by Sanderson down based on my pursuit of holiness yet.  That makes me happy.

If you enjoy a good fantasy novel then this book is definitely one you should pick up.  If his first two books are this good, I am excited to see what his future books hold.  If you have never read fantasy then try out his first book, Elantris.  It is a stand alone novel so you wouldn’t be committing yourself to more than one book.  I love immersing myself into another world for a little while.  It helps me deal with the real world better.  From what I have read so far, Brandon Sanderson is an author that I can do this with and be very satisfied.

Brian

I love a good board game.  I guess it is because of all of the interaction you get to have with the people with which you play.  I particularly like a good strategy game.  I found a game a while back called Settlers of Catan and it became an immediate favorite for me, my wife and many of our friends.  Catan Histories is a very fresh take on the Catan-style games.  Add in a bit of history and you’ve got me hooked.

In this game you play as barbarian tribes invading the collapsing Roman Empire.  You go through two stages in the game: first plundering, then conquering.  Many of the mechanics still exist from Settlers that make it recognizable but there are many new additions as well making it a great new experience with a mix of elements you are familiar with.  We finished our first game of Catan Histories last night with some friends.  This first full play through took quite a bit of time as we were still ironing out the rules as we went but Settlers was the same way.  I expect that the more we play it the shorter the games will get.

If you enjoyed Settlers of Catan you just like a good strategy game you should try this one out.  If you are looking for a good place to purchase board games that you might not find in a local retail store, you should try out Fun Again Games.  They have the largest selection I have found.  Amazon.com would be another spot to check. Occasionally they have better prices than FunAgain.  Happy gaming!

Brian