Like Knight and Really Bright Day

I've been eager to see "The Dark Knight" ever since...well, ever since the end of "Batman Begins," really. When the first trailer came out from the movie, I was even more eager, and by July 17th, I had convinced myself to go on opening day, and I was even contemplating seeing the midnight show. Luckily, a few of my friends went along with the idea, and we obtained tickets to the movie theater near my house.

The theater was showing the movie on 9 screens, and it was also showing "Mamma Mia," but "The Dark Knight" is much more an event movie, and it seems that plenty of theaters were selling out their midnight screenings, since the take for that showtime nationwide was more than $18 milion alone. My goodness. I'd never seen the lines to the concessions stands there be so long, nor had I seen such inefficiency. There was a sign at the stands that said that due to the Gotham curfew, concessions would stop selling at 12:20 a.m., but patrons could come back for refills. They must have been banking on the fact that not only are their cups already huge, but nobody would probably want to leave such an exciting movie. Not that soda costs them more than a nickel anyway.

So on with my thoughts about "The Dark Knight":

• Christian Bale is Drool-worthy. YUM. Again. He's even drool-worthy when he's all bruised up.
• Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker has got to be the best-played villain EVER. He scared me, he made me laugh, he kept me in suspense, he just outright...killed.
• Loved that motorcycle-thing that came out of Batman's self-destructed vehicle, and loved the wheelie/180 it popped up against that wall.
• Maggie Gyllenhall was a nice recast after Katie Holmes' Rachel. I liked that they kept the character to be strong, instead of just the regular damsel-in-distress.
• If anyone ever tells me that they're going to do a magic trick with a pencil, I'm going to stay the hell away from that person until after they've said their "Ta Da!"
• Aaron Eckhart did a good job as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. That other half of his face was icky, though. I know that it was supposed to be, but I wish that he had at least agreed to a LITTLE bit of skin grafting. Sheesh.
• I love the way that Alfred watches after Bruce.
• Likewise with Lucius.
• Liked seeing Anthony Michael Hall make a return to the movies.
• I definitely want to see this movie on the big screen again...maybe on IMAX next time, since some scenes were shot particularly for that format.
• I really wonder how the sequel would be had Heath lived to portray his character again, even if only in a cameo. The performance, and the movie, sure lived up to the hype.
• Nana nana nana nana nana nana nana nana na! BATMAN!!!! Thanks, Christopher Nolan, for enabling my continued love for the Bat. The movie was well worth only getting 2 hours of sleep before going back to work.

So as if I hadn't spent enough time with my friends in a darkened room that day, I agreed to see "Mamma Mia" with them later that same night. Most people, of course, were still going to see "The Dark Knight" since it was still opening day, but the theater screening "Mamma Mia" was quite full as well. I had seen the stage play at the Ahmanson Theater in L.A., and I enjoy ABBA's music, so I knew that I was in for a treat.

• Meryl Streep seemed to have a great time making this movie. At times, she went overboard, but I enjoyed watching her giddiness.
• Pierce Brosnan can't really sing well, but I still like watching Remington/Bond/Gorgeous-British-accent man in just about anything.
• Amanda Seyfried has a BEAUTIFUL voice! I love hearing someone sing that pretty and making a career out of it. Her voice is the reason that I want to get the soundtrack.
• The scenery was gorgeous. It really made me want to go to Greece, not that I'd never wanted to do so before.
• All of the supporting characters were a hoot: "Dot! Dot! Dot!" and the bit with the hairdryer, and the guys spending the day with Sophie made the movie all the more something that one should see with friends, especially if it's a bunch of girlfriends.
• Loved the spandex and the curtain call.
• What a happy, happy movie!
• "Thank You For The Music" is my song. Thanks, Amanda, for keeping it pretty.

So I watched two VERY different types of movies on the 18th. I had a great time at both, and am now looking forward to watching a beloved movie from my high school years later this week.

Shall we play a game? OHHHHH, YEAH!!!!