Recently in Christopher Nolan Category

"I've not seen any recent comic book films, but I didn't particularly like the book 300. I had a lot of problems with it, and everything I heard or saw about the film tended to increase [those problems] rather than reduce them: [that] it was racist, it was homophobic, and above all it was sublimely stupid." As a companion to their Watchmen story, EW has a wide-ranging sit-down with Alan Moore, wherein he discusses Zack Snyder, 300, magic, the afterlife, DC Comics, and his favorite television show: "The absolute pinnacle of anything I've seen recently has got to be The Wire. It's the most stunning piece of television that has ever come out of America, possibly the most stunning piece of television full-stop...So yeah, everything else looks pretty lame next to The Wire."

Speaking of Moore's critique of Snyder, I felt a similar unease after reading Snyder's EW Q&A. Says Snyder of Watchmen: "Everyone says that about [Christopher Nolan's] Batman Begins. 'Batman's dark.' I'm like, okay, 'No, Batman's cool.' He gets to go to a Tibetan monastery and be trained by ninjas. Okay? I want to do that. But he doesn't, like, get raped in prison. That could happen in my movie. If you want to talk about dark, that's how that would go." Hrm. Ok. I'd have more faith in Snyder's Watchmen if he didn't persist in sounding like one of those "Totally Extreme!!" meathead whiteboys from Harold & Kumar.

Holy Catastrophic Wreck of a City, Batman! After two viewings, I'm happy to report Christopher Nolan's moody, sinister The Dark Knight was well worth the wait, and bears the high expectations set for it quite impressively. In fact, at two and a half hours (which zip along, and even feel somewhat truncated at times -- see below), this sprawling Gotham crime saga is almost too much movie to take in the first time around. To be sure, The Dark Knight isn't perfect -- It still has a few of the problems of Batman Begins: Once again, there's a lot of comic-book speechifyin' going on (Michael Caine's Alfred is particularly Yoda-ish at times), some leaps in logic are occasionally required, and the fight sequences can be hard to follow at first -- but all of these are readily forgivable given both the ambition and scope Nolan is working with here and the sheer entertainment value of the film.

Most importantly, if Begins, as I said in 2005, was "the Batman movie that fans of the Dark Knight have been waiting for," this is undoubtedly the Joker movie we've all been hoping for as its companion, particularly in light of Jack Nicholson's one-note grandstanding way back in 1989. Heath Ledger here is a true force of nature, embodying to a tee the malevolent, frighteningly insane jester of The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns -- He has to be considered a lock for Best Supporting Actor next year.

Some spoilers will likely follow in the paragraphs to come, so, if you want to go in completely fresh, I'll leave it at this: WALL-E is up there, but right now The Dark Knight is without a doubt the film of the year, and far and away the best superhero movie out since Spiderman 2 or The Incredibles. True, some might find this vision of Gotham too relentlessly downbeat for their taste. But, if like me, you take your Batman black, you're in for a real treat.

The Dark Knight begins with a taste of things to come -- Six masked clowns descend upon a downtown Gotham bank, owned by the mob and run by Heat's William Fichtner, and only one drives out, with $68 million in lucre and another boost for his burgeoning notoriety. We then are introduced to the three men leading the fight to take back Gotham City from the criminal hordes: Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), now running his own MCU; recently-elected DA and Kennedyesque "white knight" of Gotham Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), and of course, the Batman (Christian Bale), still striking fear in the hearts of Gotham's underworld...and inspiring a few copycats. With Gordon following the money, Dent handing down indictments, and the Batman enforcing the law (if sometimes by circumventing it), this trifecta of concerned citizens -- aided by ADA Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), caught in a McNulty-Daniels-Pearlman love triangle of sorts -- have put the squeeze to the remaining Mob factions, who've reorganized into their own version of the New Day Co-Op. (Yes, as this paragraph attests, this version of Gotham comes off very Wiry at times.)

But, in their desperation, the Mob goes Marlo one step further, and places their trust in the deranged madman in greasepaint who stole their money in the first reel. Handy with knives, pencils, motivational tactics, and The Anarchist Cookbook, this Joker is in effect the criminal countermeasure to the Batman...except, it turns out, he could pretty much care less about the Mob, their money, or really anything else. Rather, as Alfred puts it, he "just wants to watch the world burn," and before he's fully indulged his whims of fancy, all of Gotham's heroes -- and the city itself -- will face his devilishly inspired moral quandaries, no-win situations that will test their character...and, more often than not, destroy them.

So, yes, folks, despite all the quality actors on display here (special kudos to Eckhart and Oldman) and the titular Dark Knight, this is ultimately the Clown Prince of Crime's movie...and he's a real kick. As I noted above, Jack Nicholson's portrayal of "Jack Nicholson" playing the Joker was a disappointment to me even when I was fifteen years old. But this is the scary clown I've been looking to see. Lolling his tongue obscenely along the scars in his mouth, chirping about madness, mayhem, lepers and crooks in his grotesque singsong, laughing hilariously to himself about gags only he would find remotely funny, this Joker, "like a dog chasing a car," is note-perfect throughout. Ledger has so many great moments in this film that it'd be impossible to enumerate them all here. Suffice to say, he (and Nolan) got it: The Joker's knowing, even admiring co-dependence with Batman ("You complete me!), his shifty-cowardly fighting style (i.e. throw goons in the way and look for the occasional shiv), his taste for the theatrical murder (note, for example, those video interrogations)...Ledger delved right past all the campy cruft surrounding the character for years and burrowed right into the clown's dark heart. Every plaudit you've heard about him is fully deserved -- it's really an amazing performance.

Of course, the Joker isn't the only villain of the piece. Of the other main Rogues' Gallery entrant, I loved the slow build-up to his "origin" -- for once, Two-Face had real dramatic and even tragic heft on the screen. (I'm a fan of Tommy Lee Jones, but I hope he sees this movie somewhere and feels downright lousy.) That being said, it's hard to escape the slight feeling that he -- as a villain, anyway -- is shoehorned into the story somewhat. Given how fast they try to run through the Two-Face storyline near the end, it might've made more sense just to set him up for the next installment. (Speaking of which, given that Nolan rectified Tim Burton's horrendous error of killing the Joker this time (a cruel irony, in light of recent events), I'm of the opinion currently congealing in fanboy circles that Dent was unconscious in the last scene, and will be shipped off to Arkham under a fake name, by (secret) order of Gordon, should the series continue.)

And the other villain of The Dark Knight -- besides mobsters Eric Roberts and Michael Jai White, that is -- is the Batman himself, who contracts a passing case of the Dubyas as the film progresses (much to Morgan Freeman's consternation.) True, the warrantless wiretap incident also seems slightly shoehorned in to some extent, but I applaud the brothers Nolan for bringing in some post-9/11 deepthink into the equation. (Don't worry -- it's nowhere near as exploitative as Cloverfield.) As the Joker spreads fear through Gotham, by way of targeted bombings and bridge-and-tunnel threats, the authorities behave increasingly badly to keep up, from harsh interrogations to phone taps to ultimately, the murderous vigilantism of Two-Face. But, despite the occasional smoldering ruin and grieving firemen, the analogy is never cut-and-dried, and, eventually, we're all implicated. When fear runs your city, nobody's thinking too clearly. (Or, as the Joker puts it, "When the chips are down, these civilized people will eat each other." -- Note also his veiled war-in-Iraq commentary, about truckloads of dead soldiers being "all part of the plan.")

For all the upside of The Dark Knight, there are still problems here, to be sure. Perhaps I was sitting too close the first time, but some of the action sequences -- most notably the final one (needlessly enhanced by the video game sonar, even if the white eyes were a nice fanboy touch) were hard to follow the first time through. (Everything made more sense the second time.) For all its 152 minutes, The Dark Knight still feels weirdly truncated at times, particularly in the final act. (The Rangoon, "watch the world burn" scene in the middle going also seems haphazardly thrown into the mix.) And, perhaps most problematic, characters have a tendency throughout to just show up and/or disappear without explanation. Where did the Joker go after Batman leaves the fundraiser? How did Bruce know the Joker was coming in the first place? How did Batman find Dent when he's interrogating the Joker's goon? Why was Eric Roberts (standing on his own two legs, no less) just sorta hanging around outside you-know-who's hospital room? You could just chalk it up to comic-book pacing, I suppose, but these moments still felt entirely too convenient a lot of the time. (I guess one could also complain about the depth of the Jokers' ruses -- the shattered-bullet fingerprint and phone-"contusion" come to mind -- but that was a case where I figured comic book rules sufficed to explain things.)

But, minor quibbling aside, The Dark Knight is an exemplary sequel, and easily the best of the seven Batfilm incarnations thus far. Which begs the question: After the dastardly depths of Ledger's Joker, where could Nolan & co. possibly go next? Everyone's signed for three films, and -- of the main villains -- we still have the Penguin (Ray Winstone? Phillip Seymour Hoffman?), the Riddler (Guy Pearce? Paul Bettany?), and the Catwoman (Shannyn Sossamon? Jessica Biel?), the first two of which don't seem to fit the Nolanverse particularly well. (Neither, for that matter, does Robin.) I suppose the Joker could return, but that obviously opens up a huge can of worms now. (Perhaps Joseph Gordon-Leavitt? He looks eerily like Ledger anyway.) My first thought when the cliffhanger of a sort was set up was this (probably because I'd just seen Dr. Manhattan doing the Feds' dirty work), but I'm sure that's way too out there for the franchise.

In any case, here's hoping they figure it out. But, even if they don't, The Dark Knight will stand tall in the annals of the caped crusader. Near the end, the Joker tells Batman, "You and I could do this forever." That's how I like to think of this incarnation of the Clown and the Bat, now forever locked in their eternal dance. Even if we'll never see it, I know Ledger's Joker will continue to break out of Arkham, terrorize Gotham, and haunt its winged guardian for years and decades to come. Long after the actor's death, his masterful creation will continue to get the last laugh.

"I've been thinking lately. About you and me. About what's going to happen to us, in the end. We're going to kill each other, aren't we?" The WP's Hank Steuver offers a brief history of the Joker, from Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs to Heath Ledger tomorrow night. If you're headed to TDK absolutely spoiler-free, I'd skip this one -- quite a few plot details herein.

In its most recent installment, Gotham Tonight's Mike Engel (Anthony Michael Hall) scores an exclusive interview with new Gotham DA Harvey Dent, one that seems to be occurring right at the start of The Dark Knight (which, you may have heard, opens this Thursday at midnight.) In related news, the Joker -- after defacing all the online viral sites -- kindly handed out free IMAX preview passes to (some of) those playing along.

However the movie ends up turning out (and with a 94 on Metafilter and 100 on Rotten Tomatoes at the moment, I'm optimistic), kudos to the viral marketing gurus...it's been a fun ride.

"Does it depress you...how alone you really are? You had plans...look where that got ya!" Yes, even more news on the Dark Knight front: Domino's has a fun site up with an exclusive variant trailer...and be sure to play 3-Card Monte with the Joker before you go. (If that site's bogged down, low-quality versions have popped up on Youtube here and here.)

Update: Another exemplary new poster, and -- just in case the deal isn't closed yet -- it looks like the teaser for Zack Snyder's Watchmen will open the show. It's safe to say I'm reaching LotR-levels of anticipation at this point.

Update 2: Gotham Tonight Episode 3 (crime in the city) and Episode 4 (Jim Gordon profile) are now up. Looks like Bal'more's New Day Co-Op and MCU have both made it to Batman's town.

"Introduce a little anarchy, upset the established order, and eVEryoNe lOseS thEir mIndS!" If, like me, you're devouring all things Dark Knight-related between now and July 18, three more TV spots hit the tubes, and Gotham Tonight is on its second episode. (Careful out there, tho'. The film seems to have now screened, and spoilers are flyin'.) Says Peter Travers: "The haunting and visionary Dark Knight soars on the wings of untamed imagination. It's full of surprises you don't see coming. And just try to get it out of your dreams."

Update: "It's not about money...it's about sending a message." Ugh, temptation everywhere...12 brief clips from the film pop up on the grid. And, don't forget, tix for those 7/17 midnight shows are now on sale.

"Dent...Jesus, I thought you was dead." Party 'til he's cute? In case you missed it below, the "prize" for today's most recent viral marketing for Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight (originally shown at Comic-Con last August) is well worth checking out...

"When the chips are down, these civilized people will eat each other. You'll see...I'll show you." So, did you vote? Gotham City elections closed yesterday, and the winner will soon be announced on Gotham Tonight with Mike Engel, a.k.a. Anthony Michael Hall, his identity now disclosed. (I voted Harvey Dent, natch.) Of course, it's Friday the 13th, and the Joker has threatened another round of viral shenanigans as well...which I suspect will lead to this new alternate Dark Knight trailer. Enjoy it before WB takes it down.

Update: Dent wins! But he he doesn't seem too happy about it...

For the completist: A little over a month out from the film's release, Comcast creates a promotional site for Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight, with a few glimpses of new footage here and there. (See, for example, the IMAX featurette.)

Worth watching for the Joker's Rorschachian "Hrm" alone, another Dark Knight TV spot is out. (The last two are here.) Y'know, much as I'm fond of Henry Jones, Jr., Ph.D, it really wouldn't bother me if this movie (July 18) and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (next Friday) just switched release dates. Update: Also, a new poster, above.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We're tonight's entertainment!" Two new TV spots for The Dark Knight pop up here and here. They're mostly the trailer rearranged, but there's a bit of new footage in each. (What's going on at 0:26 in the first one? Creepy.)

Several stills from the Coens' next, Burn after Reading, appear online, along with a brief synopsis: "Burn centers on Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich), who has hit a bit of rough patch. He was recently fired from the CIA and decides to write his memoirs, naturally documenting government secrets along the way. His wife (Tilda Swinton) decides to steal the material to use in their upcoming divorce proceedings, but the CD mistakenly ends up in the hands of two doltish gym employees, Chad (Brad Pitt) and Linda (Frances McDormand). In response to Linda and Chad conspiring to sell the material to help pay for Linda's plastic surgery, the CIA dispatches Harry (George Clooney) to sort it all out at whatever the cost." And, if that doesn't sound like Coen comedy territory, check out Brad Pitt's hair.

Also in the image department, enterprising fanboys have rifled through the new Dark Knight trailer and kindly chopped it up into high-rez stills. The money shot of the trailer is this one, of course (unless you're Patrick Leahy), but I still want to see more of the Clown Prince of Crime...

Eat your heart out, Nicholson. Update: For the more Two-Face-minded, some purported concept art leaks. (Not for the squeamish.)

In the weekend trailer bin, Will Smith is legend, whether we like it or not, in the full trailer for Peter Berg's Hancock, also with Jason Bateman & Charlize Theron. And last week's Indy boot goes legit: Behold the trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. (I dunno...Is it just me, or does Cate Blanchett seem hammier than a drunken Anthony Hopkins?) Also, The Dark Knight trailer follows suit tomorrow.

Update: The Dark Knight trailer is now up. Also, Aaron Eckhart seems to let slip a pretty major plot point in an interview with the LA Times. If you're staying spoiler-free, don't read this one (or Moriarty's telegraphing of the same here.)

Along with a slew of new posters (see also the snazzy 9/11ish one at Quiddity), The Dark Knight begins its trailer rollout today with -- of course -- another worldwide Joker-run scavenger hunt. (I for one am loving the confluence of my interests that is Jokerized dead-presidents.) In any case, once we budding fanboy detectives run the info through the Batcomputer and get to the bottom of it all, I'll post the new trailer here...

Update: After the scavenger hunt and some anagram work and duck-shooting, it seems the trailer will be here...next Sunday. (Presumably, it premieres before Iron Man on Friday.) Sunday? Now, that wasn't very nice.

Update 2: "This city deserves a better class of criminal, and I'm going to give it to them." In pure Joker fashion, it's been Kramerized and Youtubed regardless. Extremely poor quality, but this'll do until the trouble gets here. (I could do without the post-title goofiness, to be honest, but Heath's Joker still seems scarily spot-on.) Update 3: While bootlegs of the clip keep getting shut down (if you haven't caught it yet, it's still up here at io9), the "Jokerized" version of the trailer, handed out to raffle winners in the viral game, is nevertheless now on the tubes.

In the trailer bin of late, veteran comic writer Frank Miller (possibly soon of Hardboiled) jumps to the silver screen in the new trailer for Sin City...uh, The Spirit. And Steve Coogan spreads the Gospel of Sexy Jesus in the recent redband trailer for Hamlet 2, i.e. one of the South Park guys' take on Waiting for Guffman. This looks like it might try too hard, but I'll probably see it for Coogan (and that scene with the cat.)

Also up as of the weekend, courtesy of NY Comiccon: lots of spoilers for Indy 4 and a description of the next Dark Knight trailer. (I'm trying to avoid them both, although I may have snuck a peek at the latter.)

"RUMOR: Dent Will Withdraw From Race Tomorrow... Developing." With two months to go until election day, is Harvey Dent done? The Gotham cops swift-boating seems to have killed him in the polls (he's pulling only 9% in the three-way race against Garcetti and Worthington), and now even random clowns are sticking a fork in him. At this point, I'd say Dent's political future is at best a coin-toss.

If you'll remember, I posted last week that viral promotion for The Dark Knight would bring back the Clown Prince of Crime for April Fool's Day. Well, whatever happens tomorrow -- and word is it might be the final trailer, although, again, it's April Fool's, so who knows -- it seems the Joker has set up shop here, at the "Clown Travel Agency." Tune in tomorrow, folks. Same bat-time, same bat-channel.

Update: Apparently, DA candidate Harvey Dent has been swiftboated by the "Concerned Citizens for a Better Gotham" (a.k.a. some disgruntled cops), and he'll be holding a press conference tomorrow at 3pm to address the charges made in the ad. This sounds like a prime moment for Joker/trailer-related shenanigans.

Update 2: Never mind tomorrow: The trailer seems to have leaked, and it's a beaut. (Ok, sorry. I couldn't help myself...just getting in the April Fool's mood a day early.) At any rate, more Dark Knight info as it comes.

Update 3: And they're off: Looks like Step 1 is a worldwide scavenger hunt...apparently to acquire Joker bowling balls and cellphones. The bowling balls have phone numbers and code words attached -- presumably that's Phase 2. Update 4: With all the balls doled out around the globe, the next stop is this Acme Security Systems site...where everyone's getting "server is too busy" screens of death. April Fool's! Update 5: For those who did manage to get through, they got a call from Commissioner Gordon, but no obvious link to a trailer or anything. (You can hear it here.) No more updates here unless something big happens (but, if you wanted to play along, this wiki overview of the growing Dark Knight ARG is a good place to start, and most of the spinoff sites have been found via The Gotham Times or the Jokerfied version.)

Update 6: Some spoilerish stills of the Joker appear at a French site. Check 'em out before they disappear.

"Encouragingly, Peter and Fran Walsh have told me they couldn't imagine The Hobbit without their original Gandalf. Their confidence hasn't yet been confirmed by the director Guillermo del Toro but I am keeping my diary free for 2009!" Grey Havens be damned, Ian McKellen reports he's likely returning as Gandalf for The Hobbit (well, if he and producer Peter Jackson have anything to say about it, and they probably will.) Update: More good news: Composer Howard Shore is back as well.

Also in movie news, the viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight is picking up again. As you may remember, a slew of new Gotham-related sites appeared last December. Now, more have arrived, of a distinctly Harvey Dent bent: A new edition of The Gotham Times, Dana Worthington for DA (a.k.a. Harvey Dent's opposition), Maiden Avenue Report (Gotham's Drudge, it seems), Citizens for Batman, St. Swithuns Church, and Gotham Cable News are all now online, along with the Dent campaign site linked to the other day. Also, apparently the original marketing plan was always to shift from the Joker to Harvey Dent, so this rollout hasn't necessarily been affected by the loss of Ledger. (That being said, viral text messages seem to indicate the Clown Prince of Crime will pop up yet again before April Fool's Day.)

"Gotham City is collapsing from a runaway crime wave and Harvey Dent can save it. But he has to run for District Attorney first, and the only way he'll run is if he sees an outpouring of public support. So, let's all get out there and show Harvey Dent he's got support to take back Gotham!" I know I've been doing a lousy job of following down-ticket races thus far this cycle. Still, in case anyone's interested and by way of Quiddity, Harvey Dent's campaign for Gotham DA has hit the road. (Alas, it seems I've already missed his NYC stops.) Also, no doubt aware of Sen. Obama's prodigious coattails, he seems to be plugging for an endorsement: "Be creative. Harvey Dent wants to see that we want change -- and that we are ready to work for change. Harvey wants to see that people are ready to throw out the old, to break out of habits, to really do something new and different! Because that's what taking back Gotham will take."

I'll say this for him, he has a honest face. By the way, it should be noted: Harvey Dent also somewhat disproves the Gerry Ferraro thesis, as he's managed to get elected the District Attorney of Gotham City as both a white and black man.

"In a political context this would politely be called an 'unintended consequence.' (Gotham as Baghdad, anyone?) Mr. Nolan doesn’t deny the overtones. 'As we looked through the comics, there was this fascinating idea that Batman’s presence in Gotham actually attracts criminals to Gotham, attracts lunacy,' he said. 'When you’re dealing with questionable notions like people taking the law into their own hands, you have to really ask, where does that lead? That’s what makes the character so dark, because he expresses a vengeful desire.'" The NYT checks in with Chris Nolan on The Dark Knight.

Some comic-book cautionary tales for the day: Rorschach sets fire to a would-be pursuer in a new still from Zach Snyder's Watchmen, which has wrapped shooting. And Dark Horizons offers a first glimpse at how Aaron Eckhart will look as Harvey Dent...after the incident.

"'Harvey Dent is a tragic figure, and his story is the backbone of this film,' says Christopher Nolan...'The Joker, he sort of cuts through the film -- he's got no story arc, he's just a force of nature tearing through. Heath has given an amazing performance in the role, it's really extraordinary.'" With the next Democratic debate tonight at 9pm EST on MSNBC, one that will hopefully help defuse the tone of the past few days, now seems as good a time as any to check on the big box office rivalry of the summer, Batman v. Indy. (Well, and the forgotten man, Iron Man.) Last we checked, the Jones camp had suggested Bruce Wayne was too wealthy and privileged to understand ordinary people's concerns, while Batman surrogate Alfred told The Daily Planet's Clark Kent that Jones was too "pointy-headed and academic" to save anyone but upscale, overeducated professionals. (The missed rejoinder: The Batman camp is calling people pointy-headed?) Also, scurrilous rumors abound that Shia LaBoeuf was added to the Indy ticket merely to siphon the youth vote away from Batman's running mate, Dick Grayson...Yep, it's getting ugly, folks.

Anyway, as the quote above attests, Dark Knight director Chris Nolan recently checked in briefly with the L.A. Times about his two main villains: "Don't expect a lot laughs in this summer's return to the cave. 'It's a dark and complex story,' Nolan said, 'and the villains are dark and complex as well.'" Meanwhile, on the Spielberg side of things, we have this new still from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls. (Note Ray Winstone lurking in the corner.)

Update 5: Hello all. Since this is one of the more popular entries on the site: My review of The Dark Knight is here, the Batman archives are here, and the main page is here. Welcome, and good hunting.

"You've changed things...forever. There's no going back. You see, to them, you're just a freak...Like me!" Ok, between this amazing new poster (the one in the middle, although all three are grand) and this leaked, really busted version of The Dark Knight trailer (also here and here, and the real thing appears online here Sunday), I am currently geeking out like a twelve-year-old. (Berk's wondering why the heck I'm giggling like the Joker right now.) Honestly, this thing hits at the fanboy-gut level, and is just about the coolest darned thing I've seen in ages. Explosions, Batbike, and Michael Caine pep speech aside...how about that clown? I think I'm gonna watch it again.

Update: "I believe whatever doesn't kill us...simply makes us stranger." Also, in front of I am Legend on IMAX, the first six minutes of The Dark Knight, featuring a Joker-planned heist of a mob-run bank in downtown Gotham City. It was clever enough, and features a good slow build-up to Heath Ledger saying hello. But it's not nearly as visceral a thrill as the trailer (which, for some reason, wasn't shown with the IMAX prologue...ah well. Sunday, then.) Update 2: The first six minutes (in Kramervision, of course) have leaked. Get 'em while you can.

Update 3: While we all await the official trailer release this evening, yet another really creepy Joker poster appears online, in the same vein as the earlier glass one. (It's been added above.) This might be my favorite of the lot. Update 4: And it's up, in splendiferous hi-def.

The promotional machine for Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight continues to ramp up. As you may have noticed below, I've been posting several additional new photos of Heath Ledger's Joker to the entry of a few days ago. Also, the online viral marketing has continued apace: First an edition of the Gotham Times was released, and, in keeping with the Dark Detective meme, that's led to all kinds of spinoff sister sites and more municipal tangents than The Wire (Gotham Police Dept. (and Internal Affairs), Gotham National Bank, Gotham School District, Gotham's DA hotline, Gotham City Rail, Gotham Cab, Acme Security Systems, Gotham Victim Advocate Organization, Remembering Gina, and a Jokerized version of the paper.) Whatsmore, at the original viral Joker site, you can now take a personality profile or try to open a vault for further clues. (Set your clock for 7:38am to do so.) Finally, both the trailer and the first seven minutes of the film will be released on December 14, before the IMAX version of Will Smith's Omega Man-update I Am Legend. To the IMAXcave, Robin! Update: Another countdown, set for noon on Tuesday. The trailer, perhaps? Update 2: Nope. After some shenanigans involving local bakeries (the NYC ones were over in Yorktown), it's a new one-sheet.

Quite a few new movie images popping up on the grid today...Then again, it's that time of year, when the mags roll out the 2008 previews. Here, it appears to be Take Your Son (Shia LaBoeuf) to Work Day for Henry Jones, Jr., PhD (Harrison Ford). Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull is slated to arrive May 22, 2008, and it, like The Dark Knight, should have a trailer kicking around relatively soon. (A few more pics of Indy looking suitably grizzled are over here at AICN.)

What do Berkeley and the fanboy nation have in common this week? They both get really excited about socks...Empire Magazine makes a game of their slow reveal of their Heath Ledger Joker cover. Update: As you can now see, the cover's been leaked. Update 2: And another, from the cover of Wizard. Looking better and better. Update 3: And yet a few more, from what look to be merchandising proofs. I don't like these nearly as much, but then again it's hard to sell anything comic-booky with a stark white background.

"Let me be the way I'm not in interviews. I'm furious. I'm furious...They never asked me about a sequel with the Joker. I know how to do that! Nobody ever asked me." Strangely enough, apparently Jack Nicholson wanted another run at the Joker for Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. "Well, the Joker comes from my childhood. That's how I got involved with it in the first place. It's a part I always thought I should play." Well, maybe so, but even back in 1989 Nicholson seemed like stunt casting, and his performance hasn't aged well. Here's to a new take on the character.

Happy Halloween, everyone. While my Shaun of the Dead costume got favorable reviews last October, I've been entertaining vague notions of dressing up as Heath Ledger's Joker this year. (And, as for Berk, my sister Tessa suggested something along the lines of this, which he'd probably prefer to Yoda again.) But, as it turns out, neither Berk nor I have any costume-oriented festivities on the social calendar, so we'll just be sitting home in plainclothes doling out sweets. Still, if you're up for it, the viral marketers at Warner Brothers have initiated a second round of Jokerish shenanigans (a la Comic-Con) over at whysoserious.com, which involves a photo scavenger hunt across several major cities. If you play along, watch out for Bats. Update: As per the norm, that didn't take long. The hidden message, give or take a few letters, reads: "The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules." So, what happens next? Update 2: Guess I should've made that costume after all. After revealing this new pic, the new site (http://www.rorysdeathkiss.com) asks for people to dress as the clown in question and take a pic in front of a famous landmark. Have fun with it, y'all.

Several trailers of note over the past week: Aragorn continues his History of Violence and returns to the unsettling world of Cronenberg in the new trailer for Eastern Promises, also with Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, and Armin Mueller-Stahl. Shopgirl Natalie Portman looks adorable facing up against stiff-suit Jason Bateman in the otherwise cloying trailer for Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, also with Dustin Hoffman as Willy Wonka, uh, Magorium. Nicole Kidman tries to stop her sister (Jennifer Jason-Leigh) from marrying Jack Black in this look at Noah Baumbach's Margot at the Wedding. (Not usually my bag, and Jason-Leigh can be a huge red flag, but Baumbach has earned a look after Squid & the Whale.) A bit-player in the Russian mob and a recent emigre to Liberty City (you) tries to move up the ranks of his organization in two new trailers for Rockstar's eagerly-awaited Grand Theft Auto IV. (I may have to break down and get a 360, just for this game.) And, finally, a Kramerfied, really poor quality version of may very well be the teaser for Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight has emerged online. (I'll reserve judgment until a higher quality version emerges, but for now I like the laugh.)

I'd be more excited to see Heath Ledger's Joker in action, but for now on The Dark Knight front, we'll have to content ourselves with pics and video of Batman's goofy new trike (the "Batpod") and Flickr-ized shots of Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart as Katie Holmes and Harvey Dent respectively. Hmm, ok.

Also via AICN, and the new issue of Entertainment Weekly: Bruce Wayne shows off his new Bat-duds for Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight...now with kung-fu, head-swiveling action! (Accessories not included.)

"I always say, you never know what a man is truly made of until you peel the skin off his face one piece at a time..." Christopher Nolan and co. are up to some very funky viral marketing for The Dark Knight at the moment. You may or may not have seen this political ad for possible Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent make the Internet rounds over the past few days. Well, it seems the Clown Prince of Crime has taken issue with the campaign, and is now revealing himself to Gotham's denizens -- with your help -- one pixel at a time. Get to it, fanboy nation! Update: After a weekend of work, Heath Ledger's Joker is revealed. (Ouch, that had to hurt.)

You know what the next Batman movie needs? That certain straight-to-video je-ne-sais-quoi...Eric Roberts joins the cast of Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight, as "a Mafia kingpin."

It's official: Maggie Gyllenhaal takes Katie Holmes' place in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. And, with Tobey Maguire appearing to beg off any future webslinger installments after Spidey 3, the door is now wide open for Maggie's brother Jake...

As rumored a few weeks ago and in a bit of inspired casting, Aaron Eckhart looks set to join Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight as Harvey Dent, a.k.a. Two-Face. And, also in fanboy casting news, the cast of James Cameron's Avatar fills out, with Wes Studi, Sigourney Weaver, and others joining Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana for the 3D-epic.

The Power of the Dark Crystal, the sequel to the 1982 muppet fantasy announced last year, has officially been put on hiatus. (Sorry, Gelflings.) And Latino Review, breakers of the Heath Ledger Joker casting, says Thank You for Smoking's Aaron Eckhart is now in line to play Harvey Dent (a.k.a. Two-Face) in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Great choice. (Also, apparently Katie Holmes has been kicked off the Batman Begins sequel -- word is she'll be replaced by Emily Blunt, Rachel McAdams, or Maggie Gyllenhaal.)

Well, there are still a number of flicks I haven't yet seen -- David Lynch's Inland Empire, for example, which I hope to hit up this weekend. But as the Oscar nods were announced today, and as the few remaining forlorn Christmas trees are finally being picked up off the sidewalk, now seems the last appropriate time to crank out my much belated end-of-2006 film list (originally put off to give me time to make up for my New Zealand sojourn.) To be honest, I might've written this list a few weeks earlier, had it not happened that I ended up seeing the best film of 2005 in mid-January of last year, thus rendering the 2005 list almost immediately obsolescent. But, we'll get to that -- As it stands, 2006 was a decent year in movies (in fact a better year in film than it was in life, the midterms notwithstanding), with a crop of memorable genre flicks and a few surprisingly worthy comebacks. And, for what it's worth, I thought the best film released in 2006 was...

1. United 93: A movie I originally had no interest in seeing, Paul Greengrass's harrowing docudrama of the fourth flight on September 11 captured the visceral shock of that dark day without once veering into exploitation or sentimentality (the latter the curse of Oliver Stone's much inferior World Trade Center.) While 9/11 films of the future might offer more perspective on the origins and politics of those horrible hours, it's hard to imagine a more gripping or humane film emerging anytime soon about the day's immediate events. A tragic triumph, United 93 is an unforgettable piece of filmmaking.

[1.] The New World (2005): A movie which seemed to divide audiences strongly, Terence Malick's The New World was, to my mind, a masterpiece. I found it transporting in ways films seldom are these days, and Jamestown a much richer canvas for Malick's unique gifts than, say, Guadalcanal. As the director's best reimagining yet of the fall of Eden, The New World marvelously captured the stark beauty and sublime strangeness of two worlds -- be they empires, enemies, or lovers -- colliding, before any middle ground can be established. For its languid images of Virginia woodlands as much as moments like Wes Studi awestruck by the rigid dominion over nature inherent in English gardens, The New World goes down as a much-overlooked cinematic marvel, and (sorry, Syriana) the best film of 2005.

2. Letters from Iwo Jima: Having thought less of Flags of our Fathers and the woeful Million Dollar Baby than most people, I was almost completely thrown by the dismal grandeur and relentless gloom of Eastwood's work here. To some extent the Unforgiven of war movies, Iwo Jima is a bleakly rendered siege film that trafficks in few of the usual tropes of the genre. (Don't worry -- I suspect we'll get those in spades in two months in 300.) Instead of glorious Alamo-style platitudes, we're left only with the sight of young men -- all avowed enemies of America, no less -- swallowed up and crushed in the maelstrom of modern combat. From Ken Watanabe's commanding performance as a captain going down with the ship to Eastwood's melancholy score, Letters -- as other critics have pointed out -- works to reveal one fundamental, haunting truth: Tyrants may be toppled, nations may be liberated, and Pvt. Ryans may be saved, but even "good wars" are ultimately Hell on earth for those expected to do the fighting.

3. Children of Men: In the weeks since I first saw this film, my irritation with the last fifteen minutes or so has diminished, and Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men has emerged for what it is -- one of the most resonant "near-future" dystopias to come down the pike in a very long while, perhaps since (the still significantly better) Brazil. Crammed with excellent performances by Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor and others, Children is perhaps a loosely-connected grab bag of contemporary anxieties and afflictions (terrorism, detainment camps, pharmaceutical ads, celebrity culture).