The Dark Knight (2008)

 I don’t know why I was so excited to see this film since, apart from Momento, I don’t care for Chris Nolan films. Christian Bale didn’t do much for me as Batman in Batman Begins. I suppose the Joker or more precisely Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the character intrigued me to the point I was determined to see the sequel on opening day.

 Before the film, we got the trailers for Watchmen, X Files I Want to Believe, Terminator Salvation, and Righteous Kill. Most I already saw online but was interested in seeing on the Big Screen as well.

 The Dark Knight was certainly different from the previous Batman film as the first was the origin segment of the arc and this is the villain’s journey. Trailers always worry me because I’m afraid they are misleading and don’t represent the film correctly. The mood, the story, and the characters were all prefectly represented by the trailer.

The Wackness (2008)

The Wackness is a small indie coming of age films, usually one of my favorite sub-genres, that stars a young man I am familiar with from the Nickelodeon show Drake and Josh. I was excited to see the movie when I realized Josh Peck was in it. The kid is funny.

The movie also stars Sir Ben Kingsley, Juno’s Olivia Thrilby and Famke Janssen as a family trying to stay together in 1990’s New York City. The movie covers the first summer out of high school of socially awkward and burned out drug dealer Luke Shapiro. Basically that’s it. There’s not much here to say about this film. It lacks heart as well as story.

Billy Elliot (2000)

Billy Elliot is an eleven year old growing up in a Northern England coal mining town in the mid-eighties. His mother is deceased, his grandmother who lives with the family is occasionally senile, and his father and brother are distracted with the strike that’s currently taking place in the background of the movie. Jackie Elliot typically has dreams of his son being a great boxer or athlete. Billy doesn’t seem to possess any athleticism and is more interested in the ballet class taking place at the other end of the gymnasium. Billy has to prove to his father he’s not a “poof” but a genuine talent.

Sir Elton John was in attendance on the opening night of the film at the Cannes Film Festival. The father/son element of the story struck a chord with him to the point he began a conversation with the filmmakers to craft a stage play based on the movie. It has become a huge hit in the West End and is now coming to Broadway this Fall.