The Dark Knight
July 25, 2008There are 20 kids playing on a set of railroad tracks and you’re the driver of a train about to pass through it. At some point in between your running train and the kids, the track forks out to two paths: The old lane that has long been unused, and a newer set of tracks where the train has been regularly passing.
Now 19 of these kids are playing on the new set of tracks while one kid is playing alone on the old path. You see these kids and there is still time to pull the lever and switch lanes. If you continue on course, 19 kids are going to die. If you pull the lever, one life is lost. There’s no stopping. You have a choice: Many or one?
What do you do?
I really wanted to put off writing this entry until I’ve seen The Dark Knight for the second time (on IMAX, hopefully). However, I just have too many thoughts to remember until that time comes. Knowing me and my god-forsaken memory, I’d probably forget a lot of what I want to write. I’ve probably already forgotten things since I saw the film.
The thoughts are just racing through my head, especially now that I’ve just finished Batman: The Killing Joke, and I’ve started reading Watchmen. But basically, everything just revolves around a certain theme: That timeless struggle between good and evil. (Note though: Watchmen has nothing to do with Batman, but it’s a great graphic novel)
Going back to that scenario at the start of this entry… what would you do? The simplest and most impulsive answer would be to save the 19 lives of course. No contest, right? 19 lives or 1 life - and 19 is greater than 1. But I would think that most of us understand that a lot of things aren’t really as simple as they look.
If you think about it, the 19 kids are knowingly on the wrong part of the tracks, and only that one other kid is on the right track. Taking it to a broader view, it’s like asking if you should save the 19 people who are on the wrong side of the law or the one noble, law-abiding citizen on the other side.
I don’t have an answer. I’m just thinking things through. There’s a very thick human element and a sticky web of raw emotions involved, and these are the types of dilemmas that the characters have to face in The Dark Knight… and The Killing Joke… and The Watchmen. It’s what makes them so engrossing - that sense that the conflict we’re seeing can very well happen in real life. Not that there’s a hero in a batsuit or a criminal posing as a clown or a group of superheroes out to serve justice. It’s that these characters we’re bearing witness to are also so genuinely human that we can relate to the struggle inside them.
That timeless struggle between good and evil… I guess that’s why Batman has started to rise above the pack as my favorite superhero as of late. I never really had a favorite superhero. I couldn’t find anything in anyone before that I could take as something special that separates that hero from the rest. But Batman… Batman has proven to be different…
I’m not disillusioned that Batman is a superhero. He’s far from perfect. He doesn’t have any superpowers. He’s human. He breaks. He gets hurt inside and out. To be honest, I don’t even think that the hero is what makes the Batman story. To quote something that I read somewhere on the www: “The villains make batman. A lot of them are mirror images of him or what he could have become if he didn’t decide to take his personal tragedy and make something good out of it.”
I couldn’t have said it better. And no one in the realm of the Batman universe is a more glaring example of this than The Joker.
I’m going to comment on the movie now: It’s great, really. Is it the greatest film of all time? No. (although the members over at IMDB seem to think so) Is it the greatest Batman movie ever? IMHO, yes. And a BIG part of that is Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker. Heath played him so perfectly that it makes Jack’s joker look like a watered-down, cartoony, kiddie version of what the Joker should be. Posthumous Oscar? I’m all for it, and anything less than a nomination would be a travesty.
The Joker in The Dark Knight really isn’t a complex character. What you see is what you get: He wrecks havoc. He disrupts the peace. He goes against the system. He kills people and blows up things. He’s chaos incarnate. But that’s basically it. It’s not like in The Killing Joke where Joker has an origin/backstory. In TDK, The joker is simply an agent of madness. The portrayal of the character is what makes it so fantastic. I think it really doesn’t matter in the context of the film where The Joker originated. The point is that he’s a psycho. As he himself said in The Killing Joke: “If I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice,” … “My point is that I went crazy!”
As for the story, conflict and theme of the film… that’s where Batman and Harvey Dent come in: As a couple of good men thrust into the forefront of an evil society. Harvey Dent as “The White Knight” - the hero that Gotham needs, and Batman as “The Dark Knight” - the hero that Gotham deserves. For the dark knight though, the burden to bear is greater since he makes the sacrifices and decisions that no one else would make. And in turn, this makes him the vigilante; shunned by society and living it its shadows.
Between those two, I think I’d like to be the dark knight type… making the hard decision and fading into the darkness…
The Eraserheads Are Back
July 21, 2008It’s been all over the pinoynet for the past couple of weeks now: The Eraserheads are back.
No, they haven’t exactly reunited. They’re back apparently for one night only. One concert.
Rumor is that Marlboro is sponsoring the concert, which is going to take place on August 30, 2008.
Rumor is that 10,000,000 pesos is involved in the deal - whether that is the amount to be paid to each member of that band or kung yan ang paghahatian nila is not clear.
My teenage life has greatly been shaped by the music of the Eraserheads. To say that they are a major influence in my current state of being is a huge understatement. The first record I ever bought was Circus. I eventually owned their entire discography and all of those albums absorbed so much wear and tear that I’m amazed they’re still playable up to this day.
I sensed the animosity between the band members long before they broke up. When I was in grade school, the Eraserheads were there to play a set in our auditorium during our annual fair. As I was roaming around the campus amidst all the stalls and rides and kiosks put up, I found myself at one point standing beside Buddy and Raimund. We were all there looking at some computer setup that was amazing at that point in time. My disillusion then was that being in the most popular band in the land, the four members of the Eraserheads were probably bestfriends with each other. I started to wonder where Ely and Marcus were. I figured they were doing their own roaming, but I found it weird that the band wasn’t together.
Anyway, fast forward a few years and the Eraserheads are still playing live shows, guesting on variety shows and daytime talk shows. I remember them guesting on A.S.A.P. and Kris Aquino’s show then. And I remember telling myself that they really don’t look like they like each other very much. I don’t know… I’m just like that… I get a lot of “gut feels” a lot of times, and everytime I saw the Eraserheads before, I just had this feeling that there was a lot of animosity between them.
So eventually, when the rumors started to brew that there was trouble within the band, I wasn’t really shocked or surprised. When they broke up, I was more relieved that disappointed. It was just a feeling that it was time and they had to move on. We all had to move on.
But apparently, the animosity ran a lot deeper than I thought. Even after the breakup, stories of the bad blood between Ely and Raimund kept on popping up like wild mushrooms every now and then. Of course, everyone wanted a reunion, but it seemed more and more unlikely as time passed. As for me, I never really stopped hoping. As people say… time heals all wounds. And I thought that with enough time, these guys would give their defunct band another chance.
And now we find ourselves here. A month or so before the biggest concert of the decade. But do we really want it? Do we really want it like this?
I don’t know the whole story yet. I don’t know how the guys are with each other. But if it’s just the money that’s bringing them together, sana hindi nalang sila nag-reunion. Really. I’d want the Eraserheads to reunite - even for one night only - because they missed playing their music together. Because they want to play the old Eraserheads songs as The Eraserheads, and that the money was just a big bonus. But hey, on the flipside, The E-Heads were supposedly shortchanged for all the music they created that are now pillars of pinoy rock… so if this servers as their big payday, I guess I’m all for it…
Maybe I’m still a disillusioned little kid after all, but I still want to believe that once upon a time… Raimund, Buddy, Marcus and Ely were really good friends who made really good music…
Hopefully that can still happen.
Mamma Mia!… Hancock… and expectations for The Dark Knight
July 18, 2008Mamma Mia! - OMG disappointment. The entire film felt like a grade-school theater production. When they sing “me” in the lyrics, they point or motion to themselves; when they sing “you”, they point or motion to the other person; when they sing “here”, they point or motion to where they’re standing; when they sing “there”… … …well, you get the point. The mood and music is fun, sure… but a lot of it feels forced. But like I tell a lot of people, for all its shortcomings, the film is still musical fun. Not that anyone in the cast is Broadway material… but they’ll do.(IMDB: 7.4/10, Rottentomatoes: 48%, Me: 4/10)
Hancock - I’ve heard so much bashing on Hancock already, and I don’t subscribe to it. It’s fun. Not “cringe-worthy, but fun” like Mamma Mia! It really is pure fun and entertainment. Good combination of Will Smith’s charisma… Charlize Theron’s acting chops (and eye-candy)… plus Jason Bateman serving as the glue that holds it all together. Very good cast and performances. The failure here are gaps and loopholes within the story, which were even magnified by the flimsy execution/directing. From midway through the film and onwards, the film felt like it should have been funny when it was serious or vice versa. Sometimes, the film just felt it wasn’t as funny or serious as it should have been.
(IMDB: 6.9/10, Rottentomatoes: 37%, Me: 6/10)
The Dark Knight - No, I haven’t seen it yet. We’re gonna see it tonight (YAY!!!) and I’m pumped. It’s an almost universal consensus that Ledger’s performance as The Joker totally pwns Jack’s version. Ledger’s Joker is now supposedly the seminal film Joker. And thank god Tom knocked-up Katie because now, she’s been replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal (actually I’m not sure if that’s really the reason, but I don’t care. Katie’s out and Maggie’s in is all that matters =p). I’m not too excited about Christian Bale because he’s not really the type of actor that people should be excited about. He’s the subtle kind. He’s always good. He’s solid and consistent. Actually, if I were an actor, that’s the type of actor I wanna be: A Christian Bale.
Now, the movie as a whole has received thrilling universal acclaim. The general consensus is that the film works perfectly not only as a superhero movie, but also as an epic crime drama. It’s been compared to the best of films by Scorsese and de Palma; usually mentioned with the likes of “The Untouchables”, with Batman as Eliot Ness and The Joker as Al Capone.
As for the handful of reviewers that gave TDK negative reviews… they have that right. But when they criticize a film like The Dark Knight for being too dark, frantic and over-the-top… I wouldn’t worry too much about them. What I’m worried more about is that the film might have been so insanely hyped up already to the point that I would be disappointed even it turned out to be a masterpiece.
Still… pumped up \m/
(IMDB: 9.7/10, Rottentomatoes: 94%, Me: OMGWTFBBQ-PUMPED!!!!)
Lady Macbeth
July 13, 2008We humans really are very weird creatures
(spoilers ahead)
I’ve been watching Battlestar Galactica (the “re-imagined” 2004 series) for a while now; and in the show, there is this “Lady MacBeth”-like character. Her name is Ellen Tigh… and just like Lady MacBeth, she’s married to a man who is in the line of command, but who doesn’t want the top job (in the show, this man would be Saul Tigh, the XO if Battlestar Galactica). She uses a combination of insult, flattery, and sexual temptation to get her husband in the game, arranges the murder of others, and even makes alcohol one of her most potent weapons. Tigh and MacBeth are ladies who are masters at manipulation, and that is what makes the audience loathe them to the very core.
Ellen Tigh was a force of nature, she was a survivor, she was cunning and she would simply not play by the rules and be the good wife. She had a completely fucked up marriage, nevertheless a marriage that worked. From the first time that she appeared on the show, I just wanted her to be killed off. She was nothing but trouble.She would get Saul drunk and fuck up his job as XO. She was the tragic flaw in Saul Tigh’s life.
So why oh why did I feel that her death sequence on the 37th episode of BSG was probably the most heart-wrenching thing that I have seen on the show thus far?? She was a tragic flaw and I wanted her to be killed off. Then the moment I realize that it was going to happen, I started to brace for impact. And after I happened, I just felt so bad that I wanted her back…
She was a big pain in the ass. But I guess the bottomline is that Colonel Saul Tigh… the hardnosed XO of Battlestar Galactica… he loved her. And inspite of all of Ellen’s promiscuity, screw-ups and character flaws, she really did love him and would do anything for him. When the shit hit the fan and all hell broke loose, she tried to do the very best she could in the way she knew how. Of course what she did caused trouble, like she always does… but her consequential death had a certain kind of nobility and honor to it.
The death scene was just magnificent. It’s an amazing piece of acting by two actors who play Saul and Ellen and it will probably be able to move me every time I see it. It’s just a weird feeling to have when you see one of the characters that you saw as an antagonist… someone you wanted to die… get killed off. And then at that very moment, you feel so moved by her death. Especially during the scene where Saul Tigh is weeping after he kills his wife… you realize that as fucked up as Ellen is and as fucked up their marriage is… there really is no one more perfect for both of them than each other. And for this viewer, it’s sad that that realization had to come via her death.
