Christina and I are seeing The Dark Knight at the Monaco at 6:45 on Friday. I am up for eating beforehand. Some place near Bridge Street would be optimal for us, but not required.

If you haven't already bought tickets, you should. When I bought them this past Saturday (a week in advance) the 6:45 Prive showing had 61% remaining.

Yeah, I wanted to try and nail down a time so we could buy tickets in advance. Would 4-4:30pm be a good time to meet for dinner? There are quite a few good restaurants in that area.

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"Don't blow this, Gene!"

I will see if Kristian would like to go out on Friday. I was planning on seeing the movie this weekend at some point. That Mexican restaurant is awesome, as P.F.Changs :)

Only 9:30 PM and later shows remain at Monaco. as of 9 AM on Wednesday.

I was afraid of that... lame. Well, we can still go to dinner, and then the guys and I, and whoever else wants to come, can go to the Rave. I'll make sure we pre-order tickets.
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"Don't blow this, Gene!"

I just checked Midnight, and the non-Privè screens still have openings at 6:45 as of 9:45 Wednesday

I've got plans to watch this with someone else, so I can't make it.

I'm all for get-togethers, but I've already got plans Friday.

Mintz, you are right. When I visited the page at 9 AM The Dark Knight was the only movie listed and there were no showtimes before 9:30.

They must be hammered, and something went haywire in the database. I'm surprised how much demand there is for this movie. It's never been necessary for me to preorder a movie ticket more than a few hours in advance.

So the guys and I are going to the Rave at 9pm. I think we are all up for dinner beforehand though. Jeff, do you or Christina have a preference as to where we eat?
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"Don't blow this, Gene!"

Slayer, I really don't have a location preference, but I do have a time preference. I need to be able to get to Bridge Street by 6:30. In order for Christina and I to be included, I think we'll need to meet for dinner around 5 PM. That's not realistic for some, so if you guys can't support that then let me know and we'll branch off. Of course, closer to Bridge Street makes it easier for us to make our movie, but more of a drive for you guys. If we ate somewhere in Bridge Street then we could meet as late as 5:30 and be OK. Just let me know which option you guys prefer, or if our plans just don't mesh.

Mintz, Monaco's web pre-ordering and seat selection interface appears to be the changing factor in this case. If I know early in the week that I plan to see a movie on the weekend (yes, almost a week in advance, I'm nutso) then I'm motivated to ensure I get the best seats by ordering early online. I can give my seat numbers to friends for reference if they would like to buy tickets for the same show. Monaco's seat selection interface coupled with pre-ordering is the best thing that's happened to Christina and I for our trips to the theater.

Honestly, I tried to pre-order tickets to The Dark Knight in late June. They weren't offered yet, so I figured out how often in advance Monaco offers pre-ordering (7-10 days, it seems to change) and then bought tickets as soon as they were offered.

Five is fine for me... I was already planning for around 4:30. I think Cyneater is the only one who can't come, but that was expected due to his new job.

I will talk to the Foulbrethren and see if they will be able to come.
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"Don't blow this, Gene!"

You guys keep moving that dinner time up and I'll meet you there tomorrow for lunch.

...it's actually moved back 30 mins, from 4:30 to 5pm.

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"Don't blow this, Gene!"

I enjoy the deeper, more adult themes that this reinvention of the Batman series has explored. From a few of the reviews I've read, it appears this sequel continues that fine tradition. I hope I'm not disappointed, because I'm expecting a lot.

I saw the film this afternoon; thumbs up from me.

It goes above and beyond your normal everyday comic book movie. The moral dilemmas, the haunting tragedy; it stands more in a caliber of great crime dramas like "Heat" or "The Departed", than what you'd expect from a so called comic book movie.

I really liked this movie. Heath Ledger did a really good job.

That movie kicked a lot of ass. Heath Ledger sent chills down my spine at certain parts of the movie. I really liked the length, as well; it was long, but it didn't waste my time.

Holy cow... that was a good movie.
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"Don't blow this, Gene!"

Was a good movie. I thought it was a little long, but at least the story was tight from beginning to end. Without Ledger this movie would have been a disappointment for me.

Yes, very good movie. As Jason pointed out, its themes and moral dilemmas were very interesting to explore. I too don't see this as a traditional super hero or comic book movie. It's more of an action/crime drama with a superhero as the main character. Heath Ledger also did an outstanding job. Whether he had died or not, I would agree his performance is Oscar nomination worthy. Some of the more violent scenes (Batman's interrogation of Joker comes to mind) created feelings that I rarely experience in movies. I don't know how to describe it, but I was truly uneasy, similar to when you witness violence in real life (that you're uninvolved with). Strange.

I will admit that a few minor things keep it from being "perfect" in my book.

1. Damn these new directors and their constantly rotating camera angles
2. I don't know if this was the fault of the Monaco or the film itself (going for dramatic effect), but brightness was too low. I could not see any detail in shadows and had trouble distinguishing figures that weren't on center. Dialog audio was also too low while explosions were adequate (very loud).
3. Pacing. Starts a little slow, glued to the screen for the next hour, little slow for 20 minutes, glued to the screen for the last 30 minutes.

It will take another viewing for me to render my final opinion, but right now I agree with Yahoo users: A. It's definitely going to be one of the best movies of the year. ...so who wants to see a magic trick?

Sounds like the video and audio quality was Monaco's problem. I did not notice anything like that at the Rave. Brightness seemed fine, I didn't have a problem distinguishing people. However, there are some simply dark parts of that movie.

When Heath Ledger died, aside from the fact that it was just sad and tragic, I didn't really think of it as being much of a loss as far is the cinema goes. I hadn't seen him in many movies and I wasn't terribly impressed with him. However, after seeing this movie, it really made me disappointed that he won't be back for another role, Joker or otherwise. He was amazing! In fact, he was pretty much the star of this movie.
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"Don't blow this, Gene!"

Finally saw it tonight. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have to mildly disagree w/ the Ledger reviews, though. He was good, but Oscar material? Not in my opinion. And the star? Again, not my opinion. W/out him, the film wouldn't have been as good, for sure, but w/out Bale, the movie wouldn't have continued the transformation started in Batman Begins. All that said, I really liked his character. I doubt anyone else could have done better in that capacity, but I think we subconsciously hype it up b/c of his recent death.

Critiques (2 cheesy ones first, serious ones after):

1. Chase scene through the underpass tunnels w/ Harvey in the back of the SWAT truck, and the guy sitting shotgun says to the driver, "We gotta get out in the open, we need air support!" Come on, who says that half-way through a thoroughly planned out high-risk prisoner transport?! They would not have taken him through the tunnels and under-pass system to begin with. Yes, the scene added to the movie, but that line certainly didn't.

2. BAMF motorcycle w/ 25" wide tires pops out from the Batmobile. OK, I'll buy it, for the sake of the movie. Sure it's cool. But then Batman does a wheelie on it?! Come on...

3. Give us more character development for Harvey Dent. Where did he come from? All of a sudden, he's DA, and the notion that he was Batman seems plausible to Gotham citizens. And hours later he's dead. I really liked how he transitioned into Two Face, the moral dilemmas he faced, his interaction w/ Burce/Batman, and how he dealt w/ Rachel's death, I just wanted a little more background. Shame they killed him. I would have liked to see him in a sequel.

4. Maggie Gyllenhaal didn't really elicit the same feelings I had for her character, that what's-her-name from the first movie did. I guess what's-her-name couldn't return for this one.

5. The lighting was too dark at the Rave, as well. There were some details I know I missed due to this, esp. high-motion scenes that I was not able to appreciate as much as I could have w/ better lighting. I guess it is titled The DARK Knight, though...

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Batman wannabes! Whoever decided to add that is a genius. Very clever way to weave in some plausibility and humor into the movie. And who knew that it would come back later to play on some of the moral dilemmas, when one of the clones gets whacked by the Joker?

2. Any lack of character development for Dent was made up for by the character himself. Eckhart did a good job. He made me forget about Gylenhaal's disappointing performance.

3. The skyscraper scene near the end where hostages had on clown masks. Batman and Lucious Fox use their cell phone sonar triangulation technology. I was so distracted by how cool (albeit unrealistic) that was, that I forgot he was using it to incapacitate the incoming SWAT teams, who were unknowingly targeting hostages. More in the moral dilemma dept., with some actions that undoubtedly would carry some repercussions. It's almost as if you could see his face through his mask, and the grimace he must have had, knowing he was causing harm to "good guys" (SWAT team), in order to save innocent lives. And all during an action scene. I was impressed.

4. The hero/guardian argument they created for Batman. It was present throughout the entire film, without detracting from what went on.

All in all, with a few minor details aside, this was the best movie I've seen in a really long time. I feel they stayed true to what they accomplished in Batman Begins, and that is the transition from a kids movie to a more realistic, complex series of movies for mature audiences. I'll have to see it again before I can say if I liked it better than Batman Begins, though...

Josh, are you saying you preferred Katie Holmes' performance in Batman Begins to Maggie Gyllenhaal's in The Dark Knight? While I think Gyllenhaal's performance was only good (not incredible), Holmes' was abysmal! I think Holmes was the one and only weak point of Batman Begins. I am very happy she was replaced.

I also felt that Harvey Dent came and went a little quickly.

I haven't read anything on this forum about the movie yet, since I have not seen this flick. I plan to go sometime this week after work, hopefully it won't be too many with the same plan :)

I don't think Holmes is a good actor, but I would have preferred her over Gyllenhaal for that particular character. Rachel Dawes changed too much for me. Little of what transpired in the first movie between her character and Bale's carried over to this one. And what little that did, didn't hit home with me like it could have with more consistency. Had Holmes returned, I think they could have done more with the "love triangle" between her and Dent and her and Wayne. I didn't really like her chemistry w/ Bale in the first one, but actually thought she and Eckhart would have been more believable than what it was with Gyllenhaal.

That's really the only reason I prefer Holmes. If Gyllenhaal had played Dawes in the first one, then I wouldn't have an issue with it. The term "disappointing performance" wasn't really accurate, on my part. Her performance was not disappointing, she did as well as I expected. I guess the replacement is what disappointed me.

It's only a small detail, though. It certainly didn't ruin the movie for me.

Maggie Gyllenhall looks like Kirsten Dunst. I thought she WAS Kirsten Dunst at some points.

I understand what you mean. However, I was rooting for Holmes to get replaced. I really disliked her performance in Batman Begins and hoped from day 1 that the sequel didn't have her playing Rachel Dawes.

They could've replaced her with Kirsten Dunst!

I thought it was excellent. I found myself realizing that I didn't rally give a flip about Heath Ledger's death until after this movie ended.

http://www.ibelieveinharveydent.com/
http://gothamelectionboard.com/

http://www.whysoserious.com/