Is THE DARK KNIGHT really that good? Will it hold up? With it's re-release on the horizon, I see it only making maybe an additional $20-30M tops, falling well short of TITANIC's record. Really, it's not "well short," I know. But those keeping tabs get the gap. I've watched it twice now, and I still think it's solid - really good even - but its current aura as best movie ever will die down.
Better question: Will this earn Oscar nominations? I think so, especially for Ledger and the technical categories. As for the rest of the big ones, I see a possible screenplay nod and maybe a director nod for Nolan, but that'll be a bit of a stretch for the Academy I think.
Does it deserve these nominations? At this point, sure. Ledger deserves it, as does Wally Pfister. But I'm still not on the all-out, gung-ho, balls-to-the-wall, hype train. It's an awesome time at the movies. A long, awesome time.
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MOVIE-RELATED, I assure you:
Did everyone see the premiere of SOUTH PARK? They went after Spielberg and Lucas, and thank God for it. I've been saying it since it came out, but I don't have the forum those two do. The movie really does blow. Hard. It's really bad. I'll watch it again on DVD when it's out next week, but I have a good memory of last summer. There isn't much merit at all. If it takes an image of Spielberg raping Indiana Jones to remind you, then so be it. But the episode, no matter how hilarious, just reminds you how disappointing it all was.
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I'm in the middle of Steven Soderbergh's fascinating HBO series K-STREET, which aired a few years ago. It's about James Carville and his wife's fictional lobbying firm and it's dealings with Washington D.C. insiders during the presidential primary (so far; I'm not sure if it goes further down, say months). It's wild to me that this is all fiction. In the first episode, former presidential candidate Howard Dean (as himself, of course) gets a nice chunk of screentime along with Carville and Paul Begala (who, if this was acting, is quite good). I'm three episodes in with seven to go. Looking forward to it. It's fun to see Soderbergh play around.
Speaking of that guy, I finally saw some footage of this CHE epic. The trailer for the first film, THE ARGENTINE, is up around YouTube. Just type the title, Soderbergh, Benicio Del Toro and trailer, and it'll pop up. At first glance, it looks great, maybe on the level of TRAFFIC, which Soderbergh hasn't quite reached since (although most of what he's done has been excellent - BUBBLE, OCEAN'S trilogy, etc.) He's a workaholic, which means good things for us.
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I will be seeing BODY OF LIES tonight or tomorrow. Whenever this weekend, so long as I see it. It looks awesome, I think. Two guaranteed, solid actors with a proven (if inconsistent at times) director in a William Monahan script (dude wrote THE DEPARTED; this is kind of like that, just set in the Middle-East). Trailers all look dynamite. I'm only building myself up for disappointment. But this shouldn't, right? Too many good tools and parts to fudge it all up. If they do, Hollywood's got to re-think just who has the most authentic chops. Monahan can overdo it, even with THE DEPARTED. His KINGDOM OF HEAVEN was a bit much most of the time. Safe to say I prefer the Scorsese teaming. Still, looking forward to this one. BANG!
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On DVD, I've got THE HUSTLER, BRUBAKER (Robert Redford prison movie), Sidney Lumet's crime epic PRINCE OF THE CITY and one my dad recommended several years ago that turned up at my public library, WESTWORLD (with Yul Brenner). Hope to get these watched this weekend.
Watched THE FOOT FIST WAY this week. All it's cracked up to be by its distributors Will Ferrell and Adam McKay? No. Those are two dudes who thought it was funny. Lately, I've wondered just how funny they actually are. But for Danny McBride purists, it's a must-must. Overall, it's very funny. Sometimes it just can't get over how low budgeted it is. At times, that can give a movie a certain charm. Here, it kind of hurts the experience. I'm not sure how much more money they really needed for that story, though.
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Show remains on extended hiatus. Radio station refuses to fix its on-air recorder, therefore we can't produce podcasts. No recorder, no show. Stay tuned.
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