Encounters at the End of the World & The Dark Knight
I will share a few (and because of time constraints I mean a few) words about two very different films that I saw today.
The first one is Werner Herzog's beautiful and amazing Encounters at the End of the World. Herzog gives a glimpse of Antarctica that very few of us has seen. He is stationed in McMurdo, which is the main center of the action. He describes McMurdo as ugly and seems to be surprised that it has clubs and even a bowling alley. One of the most interesting things about the film is the interviews with the various people who live there. These range from scientists to full time travelers. None of them are your average Joes or Janes. Also, the scenery is spectacular. We see the cold sea as well as the icy earth. And there is the question of human survival. Herzog seems to think that we are doomed and so do I. The lone penquin going off to its fate says it all. I highly recommend this film to all of you who love planet Earth and are sad to see what is happening to it.
I have seen every one of Christopher Nolan's films from Following to his most recent efforts. There is no doubt that he is a good director. But I must say that I have been very suspicious about all of the hype surrounding his new film The Dark Knight.
And after seeing it I will say that I liked most of it but I certainly don't think that it is one of the greatest films ever made. For one thing, it is too long. After a half an hour I was getting a bit bored. But after the hour mark it started to kick in. As usual, Batman (alias Bruce Wayne played by Christian Bale) is fighting evil in Gotham City. This time it is in the form of The Joker (the late Heath Ledger). And as in any summer blockbuster there are car chases, blowups and lots of special effects. But there is also some fine acting. Ledger is very good as The Joker. His performance is very cartoonish but there is a good chance he will get an Oscar nomination. Equally as good but not getting enough attention is Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. And Bale is good but I didn't see his role as that challenging. Add to the mix Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman,etc. and you have quite a cast. And there is some moral lessons in the film as well. The Dark Knight is basically a good film. It's just not the greatest thing since sliced bread. And the fact that it is number one on imdb makes me wonder just who votes on that site.
The first one is Werner Herzog's beautiful and amazing Encounters at the End of the World. Herzog gives a glimpse of Antarctica that very few of us has seen. He is stationed in McMurdo, which is the main center of the action. He describes McMurdo as ugly and seems to be surprised that it has clubs and even a bowling alley. One of the most interesting things about the film is the interviews with the various people who live there. These range from scientists to full time travelers. None of them are your average Joes or Janes. Also, the scenery is spectacular. We see the cold sea as well as the icy earth. And there is the question of human survival. Herzog seems to think that we are doomed and so do I. The lone penquin going off to its fate says it all. I highly recommend this film to all of you who love planet Earth and are sad to see what is happening to it.
I have seen every one of Christopher Nolan's films from Following to his most recent efforts. There is no doubt that he is a good director. But I must say that I have been very suspicious about all of the hype surrounding his new film The Dark Knight.
And after seeing it I will say that I liked most of it but I certainly don't think that it is one of the greatest films ever made. For one thing, it is too long. After a half an hour I was getting a bit bored. But after the hour mark it started to kick in. As usual, Batman (alias Bruce Wayne played by Christian Bale) is fighting evil in Gotham City. This time it is in the form of The Joker (the late Heath Ledger). And as in any summer blockbuster there are car chases, blowups and lots of special effects. But there is also some fine acting. Ledger is very good as The Joker. His performance is very cartoonish but there is a good chance he will get an Oscar nomination. Equally as good but not getting enough attention is Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. And Bale is good but I didn't see his role as that challenging. Add to the mix Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman,etc. and you have quite a cast. And there is some moral lessons in the film as well. The Dark Knight is basically a good film. It's just not the greatest thing since sliced bread. And the fact that it is number one on imdb makes me wonder just who votes on that site.
posted by Film Fanatic | 7:02 PM
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