Monday, August 4, 2008

Summer Films


This has been quite the summer for movies. My personal favorite is The Dark Knight, followed by Iron Man. I know, two comic book movies. But if you have seen either one, you must admit that both films have several things in common:

1. They both have a great cast. Look at the caliber of actors in both films. Iron Man: Robert Downey, Jr., Gweneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges. The Dark Knight: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Morgan Freeman (I hope he receveres from that car accident), Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyldenhall, Michael Caine. Many of these actors have either academy awards or nominations behind their work, and I thinks some of them will receive at least another nomination from these films.

2. They both took their characters seriously. Iron Man could have turned ridiculous, however, the director decided to tell a serious story about a flawed character trying to make peace with himself and the world around him. I don't think The Dark Knight could get any more serious that it already is. But what a brilliant plot.

3. Both films, whether the directors intended them to be or not, are conservative. Iron Man showed a character that wanted to do what was right and realized that he had to do it through strength. The Dark Knight faced terrorism and refused to give in to the terrorist's demands. He chose to do the hard thing and is willing to be hated for it. Kinda reminds me of a certain president...

This fall/winter promises some great movies as well: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Quantum of Solace (the new James Bond film), and, of course, Madagascar 2!

1 comment:

kylesmom said...

We saw The Dark Knight on IMAX on my birthday. Our babysitter cancelled that morning because she had strep - but in the end last minute we found a babysitter - the young woman who runs the hyperbaric chamber at Kyle's chiropractor's office! The kids love her.
The movie was great on the huge screen. I think it should have been rated R though. Too many lazy/cheap moms brought their young kids. I hope the 3 and 4 year old in our row don't have any nightmares.