movie mood: Beginning with Batman

Something that's in touch with being cool and solitary.

Dark and brooding.

Figuring out what you want to do with your life.

Atmospheric...

Evoked by the soundtrack...

A choice between Batman Begins and Ghost World.

Chose Batman Begins, owing to the fact that the latter's more of a small-scale situational drama.

Requires a visual to see what's going on.

Where as Begins is slightly more epic in scale and has a soundtrack that really compliments, and helps to create that visual (whilst doing stuff online).

10:39pm

Comparisons to The Dark Knight

There's a light-heartedness about the movie- makes it quite fun to watch!

(Notably, Alfred's attempt to get Rachel back into the car)

Especially compared to the more serious Dark Knight.

Also quite a few references to Batman of the past, though miniscule and peppered into the script. For example, the confusion as to the existence of Batman as a 'creature', within the Police department, reminds me of Knox's amusing speculations in Burton's Batman. And Batman's rescue of Rachel Dawes to the batcave is also reminiscent of Kim Basinger's rescue in the 1989 version. The gas and ensuing chaos in the streets is also visual echo of the same film, when the Joker unleashes toxin.

Opinion

Really think it would have been good if Katie Holmes reprised her role, though Maggie Gyllenhall did a great job (I found her initially quite grating, irritating and annoying, but has grown on me over multiple viewings). Tom Wilkinson's a superior mob boss to Eric Roberts, though the latter definitely adds some b-movie gravitas/colour to the cast. Helps the main protagonists to shine more. Good casting, actually. One misgiving is the role of Ken Wantanabe, who in my opinion was used as a carricature, wasn't wholly believable. Definitely could have been used more effectively. Fight scenes could have been more visual rather than implied through flashes, not sure if that was a comic book idea: you literally see stills of action on paper, maybe that's what Nolan was going for...

11:02pm

The police-car-thrashing Tumbler scene is easily the best set-piece of the movie!

Exhilarating.

A list of set-pieces?

11:32pm

Like the way the recycling of dialogue is emphasised to make a point!

"You never did learn to mind your surroundings"

"Theatricality and deception"

"It's not who you are that matters, it's what you do that defines you"

"You've never given up on me, Alfred" "Never"

"Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up again".