This weekend, the BATMAN BEGINS sequel “The Dark Knight” is opening. (You probably already knew that…it would be hard to not have seen or heard something about it.)

In fact, it premieres with sold-out midnight showings on Thursday night/Friday morning. Locally, some of those midnight showings sold out early and theatres ADDED 3AM screenings!

Wow!

Batman is gonna be big. A co-worker, special IndyChannel.com Entertainment Blog coorespondent Seth Keever hit the midnight show. Here is his review:

We just returned from the midnight showing of The Dark Knight. While we didn’t see it in its IMAX glory, we definitely got to the heart of the film, if only in a “regular” theater.

Not that much time has passed in Gotham City when we meet the Caped Crusader again (yes, all of the nicknames are in play this time). Look for some cameos from the past and a few nods towards the future. Batman is with it, right off the top.

The favorites are all there (Alfred and Lucius), but look for bigger parts from Commissioner Loeb and key scenes with the Mayor of Gotham.

But the part you really care about is the Joker. Heath Ledger is downright frightening. As Alfred says, “some men just want to watch the world burn.” There is no logic behind the Joker’s actions, he thrives for chaos. Complete and total anarchy. Ledger’s performance is chilling; I’m sure it’s Oscar-worthy, but I don’t know if it’s worthy of snubbing all other films. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll be thinking about the Joker all night, and it was a stellar job. There are moments where you’ll laugh out loud at him, but this is a very dark character. And you should expect the movie to take you to some very dark places. There is a big philosophical discussion happening throughout the movie about the essence of justice (read “balance” and “fair”) and Batman’s never-ending battle against evildoers.

Aaron Eckhart definitely makes a name for Harvey Dent in this movie. You really get behind Gotham’s new D.A. and his war on crime. We all know the inevitable ending for Harvey Dent, though. And you’ll get a lot more than you bargained for in this film.

If you appreciated the humor of Batman Begins, then this will be right up your alley. A few little asides, some puns here and there, but nothing like the over-the-top junk we saw in those Schumacher-travesties. Some of the gadgets are a little out there, but we don’t get anywhere near the Adam West days.

Fans of Chicago will love the locations used in the movie. That semi you see in the trailer flipping end-over-end? They really did that. Right in the middle of LaSalle Street. Breathtaking scene. Also, the building they level? They really leveled it. There’s a nice little slideshow on Fandango.com (of all places), that shows where they shot the key scenes.

But, be prepared. At nearly two and half hours, make sure you take a bathroom break ahead of time.

Oh, and there’s nothing after the credits, so don’t sit around for the extra 7 minutes.

On the Sandwich Scale, I’m personally giving this movie a 10 (I plan on seeing it for a second time in IMAX). There are those I know who won’t like this one, or expect it to be just like the first. So for everyone else, I’m giving it a 9.

Thanks for the overnight reporting Seth!

This one is gonna be special. Many sequences were shot in IMAX format (the BIG SCREEN) so I’m gonna hit a Saturday showing at the new Hamilton County IMAX…if I can still get a seat!  

The Batman series was relaunched a couple a years ago when writer/director Christopher Nolan re-booted the movie with a new lead (Christian Bale) and a new serious attitude. I just re-watched “Batman Begins” to get myself in the spirit of the sequel. It was even better than I remember. Boy, I can’t wait!

*****

I love the folks at Jib Jab. Remember the 2004 Election cartoon they did called “This Land is Your Land” featuring George Bush and John Kerry?

It’s a new election year and they’ve got John McCain, Barack Obama, the White House and lots of familiar political faces in this new version called “It’s Time for Campaigning!”

Hilarious.

Cool part? You can put yourself into the video and easily send it to friends!

Click here to see it.

*****

Earlier this week I did a post about “Wipeout.” ABC announced they will be ordering more episodes of the  summer game show hit.

“I think there’s no question it’s going to go forward,” ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson said Wednesday at the network’s TCA press tour presentation. He’s also going to try to resist burning it out. (Remember, ABC and many night’s of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”)

McPherson cited NBC’s “American Gladiators” as a way of what NOT to do with a hit show.

“I’d love to have a summer asset … a show that comes back in the summer the way CBS has ‘Big Brother,’” he said. “We’ll have to see how the schedule lays out this year and where it goes. But I think we all have to try to resist the temptation to just burn things out.”

How can anyone get tired of watching people trying to leap across giant inflatable balls?

*****

 I’ll post my “Dark Knight” thoughts over the weekend. See you back here same Bat-time, same Bat-channel. Have a great weekend!   

UPDATED REVIEW: FRIDAY NIGHT 

Well, I saw “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” on Friday.

It was a fun way to start a long holiday weekend.

Like my buddy Bryon (see his review below) who saw the movie at a midnight showing on Wednesday, I would rate the movie and “8″ on the Sandwich Scale. (See the previous post for the rating details.) 

It’s just fun to see Harrison Ford in the Indy gear again.

But the movie has its flaws. The script is a little confusing, there is a lull in the middle of the movie and as a friend who saw the movie remarked, the new and secondary characters in this movie just don’t measure up well or feel as well worn as the iconic Indiana Jones.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I won’t get into too much detail on what I perceive to be some basic issues with the script. That’s for another post sometime down the road.

My biggest disappointment is that I expected more from the villian in the piece played by Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett. I had heard she was supposed to be the baddie that would make Indy feel he had met his match.

Not even close.

Go back to the character of renegade archeologist Belloq, played by Paul Freeman in the first “Raiders of the Lost Ark” to find a worthy opponent for Indiana Jones. Belloq was Indy’s match. Because he was smarter than Indy.

It’s nice to see Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) again too. I just wish she drove the storyline more (again, an issue with the script.) 

The homages and nods to the earlier Indy films, even a little salute to George Lucas’ “American Graffiti” and a line right out of the Star Wars movies are entertaining. 

Ultimately, if you’re an Indiana Jones fan, you gotta see this movie. The effects, the fights and the creepy bugs (this time it’s ants!) help turn this into b-movie fun.

Enjoy it!

******

I hoped to go see “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” at a midnight showing on Wednesday night. I wanted to…but the prospect of getting only a couple hours of sleep then going to work convinced my otherwise.

Far as I’m concerned, this is the first movie in a long time that I’m really excited to see!

Fortunately, my good friend and blogging correspondent, Bryon did see stay up late/early to see it! I’m even more excited to see it as he has given it an EIGHT on the “Sandwich” scale. (If you are not familiar with this blog’s “Sandwich Scale” please see the previous post!)

I’m gonna see “Indy” this weekend. I’ll post my review then! Until then enjoy and have a safe and happy Memorial Day Weekend!

My son, Ryan and I went to the Muncie midnight premiere of Indy 4. While the show wasn’t sold out, there was a packed house. I might have been the oldest person there. Ryan was quite possibly the youngest (13) in attendance. Ya, I’m a bad parent. Sue me.

On to the film-

Using the now-famous Sandwich Scale:

* If you’ve never seen an Indy film and had no idea who Henry Jones is, I give it a seven as a stand-alone movie.
* As part of the Indiana Jones series, some might give it an eight.

Portions of the movie seemed to be just going through the motions, yet there was plenty of action and some darn fine special effects. I won’t release any major spoilers, but there were nods to Sean Connery- who as I understand it- passed on the film and to Denholm Elliott who also passed…away.

It was good to see Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood Williams.
Shia LaBeuf more than handled his role as Mutt Williams, the “Rebel Without A Fedora”.

I had a few problems with Cate Blanchett’s tired Russian accent. But that’s just me.

My son and I both enjoyed the movie. It’s definitely worth a look. Especially if you’ve seen the rest of the Indy movies. We both agreed on this ranking- best to worst:
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The best part of Indy 4?

No Kate Capshaw.

Thanks Bryon. Gotta comment or review of “Indiana Jones?” Use the “Sandwich Scale” to review it and I’ll post it.