Java Journal® Movie Morsels by Mary Morgan - August 2008

Advertise with Java Journal and Save! The Goplacez Deal - Advertise with the Java Journal! Goplacez.com offers Java Journal advertisers a 10% discount. View goplacez Rates

by Mary K. Morgan - member of the St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association.

The Dark Knight (PG-13)
Crime in Gotham City is on the rise and although the identity of their resident superhero, Batman (Christian Bale), is not compromised, his reputation may soon be irreparably tarnished. Walking the fine line between vigilante and hero, the masked crusader is continually fighting to keep his beloved city from succumbing to the ills of a degenerating society. As the film opens, he is losing the battle. His wealthy, playboy, secret identity, Bruce Wayne, is still the toast of the town, but the town is not what it used to be. Now it is a very dark and dangerous place.
            Gotham City is under siege by a maniacal sociopath known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) who has no other motive for his evil deeds than to wreak chaos on the city. Only Batman and his inner circle, consisting of his butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), his technological expert, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), and police officer, Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), are continuing to fight the wave of crime that is engulfing their society.
            The Dark Knight character is alluded to in the pulp novel by Frank Miller, Batman: The Dark Knight, and this screen version of the superhero as envisioned by director Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins) is very dark indeed. However, no one in the film comes close to being as morally bankrupt as The Joker, the ultimate villain. He is the degradation of society personified. “Some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” That “somebody” is The Joker.
            Cost was not a limiting factor in creating The Dark Knight. A running time of slightly over two and a half hours, a budget of $180-million, dozens of impressive action scenes, a superb cast and the ultimate luxury of being filmed with a 65-millimeter Imax camera make this the biggest summer blockbuster to date. The tragic death of Heath Ledger before the film’s release adds an aura of sadness and mystery to his chilling, disturbing interpretation of The Joker.  Rating:  4

Wanted (R)
            The Russian series Night Watch is a proven success story and Wanted is part of that celebrated saga. Based on Mark Miller’s graphic novel and directed under the watchful eye of Timur Bekmambetov, this latest tale in the collection introduces us to young Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), a human so at odds with his own being and environment that we want to scream out in agony on his behalf. His doormat personality and exploitable self-loathing defines him until he meets a beautiful, mysterious woman named Fox (Angelina Jolie) who literally rocks his world. She convinces Wesley that his estranged father’s murder must be avenged. Slyly, she seduces him and then recruits him into a secret, ancient society of avengers known as The Fraternity.          
            Wesley’s training as administered by The Fraternity members takes up the bulk of the film, but that’s not to say the footage is wasted. Plenty of excitement and painful-looking exercises in extreme fighting and weaponry prove to be integral to the story. As a recruit, he becomes both mentally and physically strong, extremely dangerous and capable of performing acts of extreme violence as he learns the mystical ways of the Society under the watchful eye of its leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman). It is when Wesley uncovers the ultimate secret behind The Fraternity that his true destiny is revealed.  Rating:  3

WALL*E (G)
            Centuries ago, Earth became inundated by rubbish. Its inhabitants were forced to evacuate the planet by space ship and seek refuge in a space station. In their rush to leave, they forgot something — a trash compacting robot named Wall*E who still takes his job very seriously. Since the great exodus, Wall*E has continued to clean up the debris the humans left behind, compacting it into neat, stackable cubes. As he goes about his daily rounds, he saves a few items of interest and takes them home with him where they are proudly displayed on revolving shelves.
            Wall*E’s only pal is a cockroach who trails him like a dog as he goes about his daily clean-up routine. So lonely is Wall*E that he spends hours watching old VCR tapes of happy, up-beat musicals, rescued from the trash. One day, his whole existence changes when a ship lands and an egg-shaped she-robot named EVE pops out. Her mission soon becomes obvious to Wall*E, but by then he is thoroughly smitten and must travel through time and space to catch-up with the girl robot of his dreams. In doing so, he might just save the world.
Director/ writer Andrew Stanton drew on the techniques of silent films and he manages to interpret emotions without using dialogue. Ask anyone who has seen the film to tell you the story and they will not hesitate, yet most of it is “told” without using any words at all. Note: Sigourney Weaver does a wonderful job as the ship’s throaty voice.  Rating: 3

Journey to the Center of the Earth (PG)
            If my memory serves me correctly, in Jules Verne’s novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth, the characters spent a considerable amount of time just getting down there. This 2008 film version of the tale concentrates on the perils that lurk far below the Earth’s surface rather than on the journey itself. Scientist Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) has a very personal reason for seeking the portal to the fabled lost world at the center of the Earth. On an expedition to Iceland, Trevor and his nephew, Sean (Josh Hutcherson), find the passage in and wander into a world where danger takes on another dimension, literally, the third dimension. Once in this strange, new place, the story takes off and extreme perils lurk around every corner.
            Journey to the Center of the Earth director Eric Brevig is an award-winning special effects master best known for his work on Total Recall and Pearl Harbor. His extraordinary talents showcased in this exciting film depict a world filled with frightening creatures that seem to jump right off the screen and put the audience directly in harm’s way. With the most sophisticated 3-D effects displayed on the big screen to date, its dazzling visuals considerably outshine the weak plot of the film.  Rating:  3