If you've ever even been slightly curious about Tim Burton, that ultimate disconsolate son of suburbia who's been inviting us into his gleefully bent movie worlds for 27 years now, rest assured your interest will be sated by the show dedicated to the director at the Museum of Modern Art. Opening on November 22nd, it is an almost ludicrously complete assemblage of Burtoniana.

Just about everything one could think of has been matted and framed, up to and including the nascent director's adolescent doodles and prize-winning poster ideas. The director gave the museum curators the full run of his house and assorted papers; they turned up such early gems as a hand-written high school paper titled "Humor In America" ("Types of jokes I've heard and seen: Pollock [sic] jokes (ethnic jokes), Knock-knock jokes, Insults, Stories, One liners, Elephant jokes, Puns...") and this anti-litter poster, which adorned garbage collection trucks in Burton's native Burbank, California, after he won a Keep Burbank Beautiful competition.

A lot of the drawings on display date from the time Burton spent working at Disney, just after attending CalArts. Apparently, while animating such projects as The Fox And The Hound, Burton found he needed a less treacly creative outlet, and badly: most of the sketches from this period betray a mordant sense of humor and the same dark view of humankind that he would later explore in his feature films. Strangely, these images whipsaw between the grim and the twee. Men and women are portrayed as gothic grotesques, or the drawings hinge on kind of sweet little visual puns: a stringy-haired, football-headed woman tugging a string between both ears gets the caption MENTAL FLOSS, for example. Another drawing features two bunny rabbits with baskets of eggs, one saying to the other, "We've been telling the kids the story of Christ all these years...Well, I think they're old enough now to know what Easter's really all about."

The gallery is crammed with material. (Evidently the excavations of Burton's home proved fruitful.) In addition to the sketches and the high school coursework, there are sculptures — seven of which, in the museum courtyard, Burton made specially for the show — movie props, costumes, posters, Polaroids, and assorted notes such as would please the most dedicated connoisseur of arcana. In one corner, Burton's 1983 adaptation of Hansel and Gretel — screened by the Disney channel exactly once — plays. In it, a Japanese brother and sister outsmart a wicked witch with candy cane rhinoplasty who lives in a house that looks like a quivering, pink tongue. There's also a gingerbread man character who talks to Hansel even as he eats him up. "If you think I'm tasty, and you want my body, come on take another bite," taunts the pastry, to the rhythm of "If You Think I'm Sexy."

Visitors enter the exhibit through an immense mouth that hangs, red carpet-tongue extended; in the black-and-white striped corridor behind, Burton's animated shorts play on flat screens. (At the other end, presumably somewhere in the gallery's stomach, is a room lit by UV light, where Burton's blacklight paintings on velvet are displayed.) It is a curatorial choice that seems to cleave to the crowd-pleasing side of things. It's anyone's guess why the curators thought Burton's work needed such a loud proclamation of its difference from typical museum fare as a jagged-tooth orifice; it looks like the sort of thing one might encounter at an amusement park ride.

The man himself described the process of having his work turned out for display as "surreal" and "an out-of-body experience." He remembered to thank the exhibition sponsor, the ridiculously renamed SyFy — "I'm a sci-fi kinda guy" — only at the very last second.

The exhibit includes a life-sized statue of Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands, as well as this sketch of the character.

Artifacts from Beetlejuice include this sculpture, a yellowed copy of The Afterlife newspaper ("ECTOPLASM LEAK AT PLANT NUMBER 9" "EXORCISM RATE SOARS"), and Burton's own hand-written notes about the project, which compare it to that other well-known "extreme four character conflict," Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf. In the nearby Mars Attacks section, there are latex severed heads and a gigantic painting of Martian anatomy. Sweeney Todd has a wooden box and an engraved set of cutthroat razors.

Batman is represented by various latex cowls, and Batman Returns merits the inclusion of Michelle Pfeiffer's whipstitched catsuit.

In a class composition Burton completed on September 27, 1974, at the age of 16, he imbued an ordinary trip to the doctor for a checkup and a tetanus shot with a sense of heavy foreboding. "There was a ghoulish smile on his face," wrote Burton, "like he enjoyed sticking the needle in my arm."

Tim Burton has stuck the needle in the moviegoing public's arm for nearly 30 years — by the looks of this show, thoroughly enjoying himself in the process. Long may he continue.

Tim Burton At MoMA [MoMA]

Hoping to become more of a superhero power player in Hollywood, Warner Bros. has been quietly reorganizing its comic arm, DC Comics, to focus its energies on blockbuster hits. They claim they've been working on this for months, but Disney's announcement that it was buying Marvel accelerated things a bit.

Warner had intended to announce details about its plans for DC Comics in January, as it begins a 75th anniversary celebration of the DC brand, Barry Meyer, chairman and chief executive of Warner, said in an interview.

But the Disney announcement resulted in so many questions about the possibly heightened competition "that it would have been disingenuous for us to suggest that we had not been thinking about it." He added that the Marvel-Disney announcement "reconfirmed in us our strong belief in how valuable DC really is."

That remains to be seen. While, yes, DC has the strong Batman franchise and, to a far lesser degree, a burgeoning Superman series, it's also unleashed a slew of stinkers, like Catwoman and Watchmen, which failed to live up to its potential. Marvel, meanwhile, had the X-Men trilogy, keeps rolling out Spider-Man flicks, made three Blade movies, Iron Man and will no doubt make a splash with the forthcoming Thor, Avengers and Wolverine 2 big screen adventures.

DC will have to look mighty hard for characters who can stand up to Marvel's icons. Our suggestion? Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Why, oh why, has that not been adapted?

Image via Madolan's flickr.

According to Variety, Nolan is determined to make a non-Bat film his next project, though at least WB has kept him in the family:

Warner Bros. is tying up a big deal with its "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan for a big-scale spec script titled "Inception" that Nolan wrote and will direct as his likely next film.

WB is aiming for a summer 2010 release; production begins this summer.

Given the reported size of Inception, it's likely that post-production and a worldwide press tour could tie Nolan up until the fall of 2010; even if his brother Jonathan has a script for the Dark Knight sequel ready to go at that point, a winter 2011 feels like the earliest release possible (though summer 2012 seems like a far better bet). It's possible that WB could move ahead quickly with a different helmer, but Nolan would have to sign off on the decision since WB seems intent on retaining its cozy relationship with him. Will Batmania ebb over the next several years? Perhaps, but at least it'll give Christian Bale time to work out his lifetime supply of expletives on someone else's set.

• Nolan tackles 'Inception' for WB [Variety]

On both the front and back of the DVD, the words "A Christopher Nolan Film" were marked out. We initially brushed off the matter (assuming some posthumous Joker vandalism) until another tipster wrote in today about his own censored screener. "I just wonder what's the rationale - conspiracy to cockblock Nolan from Oscar consideration?" asked the tipster. "Secret WB plan to put Ratner in the running for Batman 3: Egghead Takes Gotham?"

We called Warner Bros. to find out, and a helpful publicist sighed. "You must be WGA," she said. "It's because the guild won't accept a possessory credit for a director." Thus, a poor awards season intern must censor every DVD with black pen. We eagerly await the day that the WGA not only retains the services of the "Unimportant Defacers Team" to enact web-wide cleanup, but sends Patric Verrone into every Suncoast Video in Southern California to scrawl over the terribly offensive possessory credits awarded to Space Chimps. Way to pick your battles, WGA!

Frustrated over the superhero's incursion into his centuries-old city's cultural turf, mayor Hüseyin Kalkan's proposed lawsuit would nevertheless omit Batman creator Bob Kane, publisher DC Comics and film franchisee Warner Bros. as Nolan's co-defendants. Instead, it would hold the filmmaker himself singly responsible for the region's growing international reputation as a brooding, froggy-voiced world capital of mayhem — none of it in glorious IMAX:

“The royalty of the name ‘Batman’ belongs to us … There is only one Batman in the world. The American producers used the name of our city without informing us,” Kalkan told to the Doğan news agency.

Mayor Kalkan, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News and the Economic Review, said last year foreign media picked up on Batman and the city’s increasing suicide rates among women. He said a columnist asked why Batman’s mayor did not sue the movie Batman for royalties while struggling with economic problems. “We found this criticism right and started to look for legal possibilities of a case like that,” he said.

Naturally, we sympathize with the mayor's social crisis, not to mention the bind in which Batman natives have found themselves outside the country; one Turk in Germany told reporters that Warner Bros. issued a cease-and-desist from naming his two restaurants after his hometown. To be fair, however, Batman Grill, The Dark Bite™ and a spectrum of other eatery variations are in fact the fiercely protected province of Six Flags, and a lawyer in Istanbul noted that the Batman Municipality has already missed the periodduring which it could file an objection to Batman's trademark as a superhero.

Still, we think this is far from over, with the whole scenario prompting noted Oscar diplomacy expert Dave Karger to reconsider his controversial theory on "How Obama Helps Batman." This is NATO's jurisdiction all the way.

• Real life Batman faces super test [Hürriyet Daily News via Hollywood Newsroom]

GB: Watching "The Dark Knight," it’s very easy to imagine the Joker returning to Gotham, the way his fate remains unresolved. When you were writing the film, did you anticipate that the Joker would be back in the third film?

NOLAN: No, really and in truth, I only deal with one film at a time. I find myself sort of protesting this issue a lot. We’ve never attempted to save anything for a sequel or set up anything for a sequel.

...GB: Could you see actually yourself not making the third Batman film?

NOLAN: Well ... let me think how to put this. There are two things to be said. One is the emphasis on story. What’s the story? Is there a story that’s going to keep me emotionally invested for the couple of years that it will take to make another one? That’s the overriding question. On a more superficial level, I have to ask the question: How many good third movies in a franchise can people name? [Laughs.] At the same time, in taking on the second one, we had the challenge of trying to make a great second movie, and there haven't been too many of those either. It’s all about the story really. If the story is there, everything is possible. I hope that was a suitably slippery answer.

And we hope that Nolan is simply negotiating for a bigger payday, as a potential Batman sequel with Michael Bay or Brett Ratner at the helm is enough to make us commit seppuku via batarang. Sure, everyone wants to avoid a Godfather, Part III situation, but think of the fans! Think of Heath Ledger's legacy! Think of Brian Austin Green!

• Christopher Nolan on 'Dark Knight' and its box-office billion: 'It's mystifying to me' [LAT]

“No one has talked to me about it ever — never,” replied Hoffman. “It happened, like, five years ago, too. It was a rumor back then and it’s still a rumor. [laughs] It’s just in the press. It’s funny.”

...“I’m such a fan of those movies,” related Hoffman. “Comic book movies in general I look forward to — I am a real cheerleader for them. I want them to do well because those are terrific stories. As a kid I was a big comic book collector. What [Nolan]’s doing is taking it in a whole other exciting great place. I’m more a fan, so the interest of being in it isn’t that great. It’s more the interest in wanting to see the next one. It’s probably better that way.”

When further pressed for his level of interest in the role if Warner Bros. approached him about the role, Hoffman said, “I don’t know. I think I’m more interested in seeing someone else do it. I don’t know if I’d be a good Penguin to be quite honest. [laughs]”

Truth be told, we could never quite believe the rumors that placed both the Penguin and Catwoman in Christopher Nolan's next film — does he really want to remake Batman Returns? Similarly, we don't expect Johnny Depp as the Riddler, since that villain already toplined the third installment of the prior series. If, as he's said, Nolan intends to dip much deeper into Batman's rogues gallery, let's start the rumors right here, right now. Can we get an "amen" for Shia as Killer Croc?

[Photo Credit: AP]

• ‘Dark Knight’ Update: Philip Seymour Hoffman Responds To Casting Rumor, ‘I Don’t Know If I’d Be A Good Penguin’ [MTV]

A studio executive said: "Cher is Nolan's first choice to play Catwoman. He wants to her to portray her like a vamp in her twilight years.

"The new Catwoman will be the absolute opposite of Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry's purring creations."

Riddle us this, Daily Telegraph: can casting rumors really commence before Nolan has even turned in his first draft? The British paper claims The Caped Crusader will start shooting in Vancouver early next year, another unlikely idea since Nolan has so effectively staked his Gotham City in Chicago. Still, the idea of Cher as Catwoman sounds just wild enough to work; we can't wait for Christian Bale to begin talking in his husky Batman voice only to receive a slap from an angry Catwoman, snarling, "Snap out of it!"

• Cher 'to play Catwoman' in next Batman film [Telegraph]

1. Titanic — $1,842.9*
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King — $1,119.3
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest — $1,066.2
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone — $976.5
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End — $961.0
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix — $938.5
7. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers — $926.3
8. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace — $924.3
9. Shrek 2 — $919.8
10. Jurassic Park — $914.7
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire —$896.0
12. Spider-Man 3 — $890.9
13. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets — $879.0
14. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — $871.4
15. Finding Nemo — $864.6
16. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith — $849.0
17. Spider-Man — $821.7
18. Independence Day — $817.4
19. The Dark Knight — $800.1

(*Grosses in millions)

And this is after what's characterized as another strong frame for TDK at the international box office. But just in case the guy on the other side of the cubicle wall is trying to sway you with wagers with over-unders less than $1 billion from the No. 1 spot — it's a trick! Fire back with something involving a Roland Emmerich film in the Top 20; we wouldn't have believed it either, fancy house or not.

• Time Warner's `Dark Knight' Nears No. 2 All-Time Film [Bloomberg]
• All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses [Box Office Mojo]

Not that he’s thought it so far ahead that he actually knows what he’d want to do with the Riddler, however.

“That’s impossible to answer now,” Green said. “That would take years of preparation."

We eagerly await the reel that the erstwhile David Silver will put together to convince Chris Nolan's casting office that he's the man for the job. Though Green may not yet know in which direction he wants to take his Riddler performance, might we suggest that he start from this terrifying, Roger Rabbit-ing base and work outwards?

[Photo Credit: AP]

• From 90210 To Gotham City? Brian Austin Green Makes Pitch For Riddler Casting [MTV]

The clumsy action sequences. "The Dark Knight" is best when it's blowing stuff up, and in the film, warehouses, hospitals, and cars all go boom real good. The other action scenes aren't quite as coherent. Batman's hand-to-hand combat scenes are something of a mess: He's there, punching people, but it's hard to quite make out what's going on on-screen... Look, I don't expect to understand everything Batman does — he's Batman, for chrissakes — but I feel it's the director's job to at least attempt to make sense of some of what's going on, and I feel like Christopher Nolan has a real problem bringing narrative clarity to his action sequences.

...The guy threatening to expose Batman's identity. A Wayne Enterprises worker bee figures out that Batman and Bruce Wayne are one in the same, and after getting smacked down by Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox for trying to extort Wayne Enterprises for millions, he goes on TV to expose Batman's identity on a "Larry King"-type show hosted by Anthony Michael Hall (which is a whole can of worms I'm not even going to get into). The interview is on TV for several minutes, and the whistle-blower still hasn't given up the goods, and then the Joker ends up interrupting the show before the secret gets out. So... what did they discuss the first few minutes of the show? Was this interview like "American Idol," where they weren't going to get to the good stuff until the final minutes of the show?

In response, Bat director Christopher Nolan clapped his hands, immediately dispatching a legion of fanboys to blow up the Detroit News. Finished with such trifling matters, Nolan turned his attention to that most serious of questions: Clayface or Killer Croc for Batman 3?

• 10 things that bothered me about 'The Dark Knight' [Detroit News]

• The Dark Knight Mistakes, Goofs and Bloopers [Movie Mistakes]

Some go no deeper than "Fag!"; some are actually amusing — "Keep your head in Little Women and Suffrage texts you pansy" — but others are downright ugly. On Rotten Tomatoes, someone felt it would be beneficial to post as many personal details about Jürgen that they could find, while another likened his crime to Joan of Arc's:

"This guy is a terd [sic], let him rot. Lets [sic] burn him at the stake!"

The comments left for Keith are even more vile, particularly this one, which the author later claimed was written while channeling his inner Joker. Yikes. (All [sic]):

"You know, some people have been so enraged by your little opinion piece that they want you to kill yourself. Please DON'T!!! You know why, because I am going to have so much fun killing you myself! I promise, it WON'T be painless. I am going to carve a smile in your face. And then I am going to carve you stomach. And you know why? Because i just want my phone call. You're my bitch now! I am going to track you down through your IP address and then I am going to f@#%!%* kill you!!!"

Daaammmn. Worried as we are for Mssrs. Fauth and Uhlich, really: You've got to see this in IMAX. Michael Caine will be campaigning for these guys' Oscar nominations by Monday.

• Hell Hath No Fury Like a Fanboy Scorned [Filmbrain]

2 tix: The Dark Knight on IMAX @ The Bridge - $60

I have 2 tickets for "The Dark Knight" at THE BRIDGE CINEMA DE LUX for this Friday (7/25) at 6:45. Please e-mail me if you are interested. Pick up only.

Or, if a romantic transaction is more your style, follow the jump for a sampling of the DK Personals Marketplace:

come see the "Dark Knight" with me, 4:45 today - m4m - 30 (West LA, Santa Monica, hollywood, LA)

hey guys, I'm looking for someone around my age (22 - 36) to go watch "The Dark Knight" wtih me over at the Arclight in "the Dome"....one of my friends flaked (big surprise) and I have an extra ticket I don't want to go to waste...I'm going either way...but I'd rather have someone come join me.

Great seats...so just be into comic movies and come out and have a good time, maybe we'll grab dinner after.

The Dark Knight - w4m

I am off today, who wants to see the movie "The Dark Knight"

Looking for someone to watch "The Dark Knight" with. - m4w - 27 (South Gate)

title says it all. let me know if interested.

Meanwhile, the eBay market has cooled down considerably since Friday; we're relieved to see that one Universal City seller's $499.99 offer went unbid-upon. And adjusted for inflation, of course, that'll probably be a steal by the time scalpers everywhere are honing their pitches for Iron Man 2. We'll take our chances.

• 'The Dark Knight' - Personals [Craigslist]

1. All-Time Greatest Film on IMDB: Fanboys continue to make their voices heard this morning as nearly 50,000 voters pushed The Dark Knight to the top of IMDB's definitive list of international classics. Better even than The Shawshank Redemption, though? Well, these viewers have seen everything, so... congratulations, Christopher Nolan!

2. Backlash Begins (Critical Edition): Bad reviews (and the revolt that followed them) were one thing. But even DK admirers like us couldn't help but nod along as haters started poking the bubble:

FIlm critics were just as jazzed as the film's makers and its boyish fans, even proud to consider themselves part of the film's creation, in a way. "I think it's the critic's duty to tell people how awesome this movie is," said Insert-Pullquote Pete, of the Toulane Tribune. "Thank God there's finally a movie that audiences and critics can agree on, cause it makes our job so much easier."

3. Backlash Begins (Box-Office Edition): Citing figures that are in part "too clean," David Poland challenges the numbers and their historical importance. Not to be outdone, Variety this morning bumped the figure to $158 million just for the hell of it.

4. Oscar Hype Redux: Terry Gilliam be damned, Tom O'Neil is just doing his job this morning by recalculating DK's Oscar odds after its massive weekend: Only six the top 20 highest-grossing films of all time were nominated for Best Picture. "[T]hree won," writes O'Neil. "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Titanic and Forrest Gump — and three got skunked: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, E.T. and Star Wars." For what it's worth, none were reviewed as consistently favorably as The Dark Knight. And certainly none of them are IMDB's Greatest! Film! Ever!

5. Christopher Nolan is the New Peter Jackson. A 38-year-old guy who started out making $40,000 neo-noirs over a year's worth of weekends off is now the anchor of the hottest franchise in town. Just part of the plan, notes The Hollywood Reporter, which today features a good look at how he did it (not to mention the hell of following up — The Prisoner, Chris? Really?).

6. Mamma Mia! Gets Buried: The stage adaptation's $27.6 million opening was the best ever for a musical. IMDB Top 250 spot: Not ranked. Care much? Us neither.

Not that "gay Batman'' isn't redundant. We've had our suspicions about the Dark Knight's proclivities since the heyday of Fredric Wertham. The latest iteration keeps Robin locked away in Batman's closet (who do you think is, ahem, redecorating Wayne Manor?) and Katie Holmes isn't around doing beard duty this time. But you'd have be in pretty deep denial not to pick up on the homoerotic hints. "You complete me,'' the Joker coos to the Dark Knight. ...

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne does a lot of eyelash batting at his gushing new BFF Harvey ("you sure know how to throw a party!'') Dent, even teasing Harvey about his after-hours activities: "ballet?'' (Somewhere, Adam West is smiling). Why is the mayor of Gotham City wearing so much eyeliner? And who are we kidding, aren't Alfred and Lucius clearly a pair of old queens fussing over dressing up their leather-clad protege? Holy Aunt Harriet! Mamma Mia! is no less gay, but at least it's more or less out and proud. What do you think?

We think you're full of shit, actually, but we appreciate the effort! Next up: Space Chimps as homoerotic experimentation fantasy. Discuss! Or... not.

• Which is Gayer, 'Dark Knight' or 'Mamma Mia!' ? It's Pretty Close [NYP]

Follow the jump for their respective two cents — mostly spoiler-free for even the most casual followers of the film, and naturally among the finest criticism available anywhere online.

STV: We should probably go into this acknowledging that the film is review-proof and completely saturated with things too interesting to spoil.
STV: That said, I just thought it was pretty good.
SA: I thought it was excellent!
STV: Yeah, yeah, fine. It's fitfully brilliant, but so heavy-handed. Did I miss something?
SA: Nope. This was the summer 2008 superhero movie for people who enjoy feeling awful, and thinking about feeling awful, and expressing what makes feeling awful so gosh darn wonderful.
STV: Iron Man this is not.
SA: It's misanthropy porn. It's also the bluest superhero movie I've ever seen, in every sense of the word.
STV: Right. From the start, too — those billowing blue flames, the Hong Kong horizons, Gotham at night.
STV: And yeah, everyone's depressed as hell.
SA: But that said, I don't think a single scene passed by that I didnt feel worked. And it was a long movie.
STV: What about the story? I was lost.
SA: The story was fine. Corrupt city government. Crime infested streets.
SA: It was sort of The Departed with bat-gadgets.
STV: But the Joker shows up wanting a piece of Teflon goombah Eric Roberts, the Russians, the blacks, and a Hong Kong money-laundering syndicate.
SA: Its the Mafia Olympics!
STV: Even if Gotham City is totally corrupt, it's the most equal-opportunity corruption in history, which I guess should be commended.
SA: Speaking of the Joker, what did you think of Heath?
STV: Heath was annoying.
STV: It's not his fault. Nolan couldn't rein him in.
SA: I was prepared for him to be annoying, but I actually really enjoyed him.
SA: I mean, its The Joker! This isn't a portrait in subtlety. You want hyena cackles!
STV: But look — and this is my problem with the whole movie: The audience is overwhelmed with moralizing.
SA: Yes, I'll agree it got bogged down in speechifying.
STV: The Joker is the default "Man, this world is fucked" mouthpiece, but his actions — just his very look — defy the monologues, the hamminess.
STV: He needs an origin story like the Burton Joker, right? Who the hell is this guy?
SA: Yeah — their not committing to his backstory was a strong choice, but I'm not sure it really helped them.
SA: But I think they were trying to say, "What does it matter where he came from?" Like, what does it matter where any psychopath comes from? He's chaos. But then you have no psychological in, so he's less interesting.
STV: Alfred the Butler touches on it: "Some people just want to watch the world burn."
SA: Yeah, but that doesn't satisfy dramatically.
STV: Even that was kind of overbearing.
SA: Nolan was reaching high with this. He obviously wanted the monologues.
STV: He's a great director, though, right? I mean, this film looks, feels, sounds amazing.
SA: That's why your quibbles don't bother me. This is his ride, and it's spectacular, and if he wants his speeches about human nature, I'll listen to them.
SA: He chose great actors to deliver them.
STV: But he's so much better at subterranean truck chases and high-altitude kidnappings. I want overturned big rigs!
SA: Well, luckily there's tons of those. And 180-degree, wall-flipping Bad Pods.
STV: And the Bat-Blobile. What was that? The Batmobile was a hulking blob of scrap on wheels.
SA: It was batass.
STV: OK, give me one-line summaries of the following actors' performances: Christian Bale.
SA: Obscene caller voice.
STV: Aaron Eckhart.
SA: Boringly delicious!
STV: Maggie Gyllenhaal.
SA: Made the most of the whiny token female.
STV: Michael Caine.
SA: Should have let him out of the fluorescent Batchamber more.
STV: He's basically a cockney Jiminy Cricket serving breakfast. How about Morgan Freeman?
SA: If God and Q had a kid.
STV: Gary Oldman.
SA: He gets swallowed up in it. He's one of the best actors ever.
STV: I think he's the best thing about it.
SA: Is he?
STV: He's a guy pulled 15 different ways, very flawed, vulnerable, and at his best when things are out of his control. He gets to work when shit hits the fan, while everyone else just sort of... talks.
SA: What did you think of Batman's voice?
STV: I didn't quite get it.
SA: Me neither. It was silly.
STV: He never closes his mouth when he talks, either! It lets all the air out of the big, portentous balloon.
STV: Is Heath Oscar-worthy?
SA: He'll definitely get a nomination.
SA: I sort of think the movie itself deserves a Best Picture nomination. It's just so ambitious and epic and so expensive-looking.
STV: This movie is going to make a fortune, right? I'm calling $140 million for the weekend plus $2 billion in damage caused by rioting fans worldwide.
STV: And I am a believer in IMAX.
SA: Oh, definitely. Those scenes were so cool.
STV: Bad format for preachy screenwriter moralizing, excellent format for hospital implosions and 10-minute chase sequences.
SA: OMG — that hospital. Yeah, I really loved this movie.
STV: It's not bad. I'll stick with Iron Man.
SA: Iron Man was fun; this was a nice compliment.
STV: The Dark Knight: Nihilism for the whole family.