He ain't heavy, he's my Batman

First things first. I previously wrote that Wall-E was the best movie of the year.
Let's me quickly qualify: Best Romantic Comedy.
Best Cartoon Romantic Comedy.
Best Futristic Cartoon Romantic Comedy.
Whatever. It's still great. 5 stars.

Now.

This
is
the
best
movie
of
the
summer.

I saw the 12:01AM show last night. Credits rolled at 2:45AM. I would have gone another screening right then.

This movie is MAGNIFICENTLY crafted. This movie is so good that it will make people stop wanting to make movies because so much prefect is on screen, it clearly can't be topped.
But, god willing, Christoper Nolan will in another 3 years.

I won't go into a plot synopsis, because I never do. But also because it is a disservice to the viewer of the movie. You know it's Batman vs the Joker. But what is amazing about the writing of this story is all that isn't put on screen. There is no Joker origin story. In fact there is a running dialogue gag, referring to that. And every event in the plot feels like a spoiler because every event pushes Bruce Wayne along his journey into right vs wrong and where this movie starts is not where it ends up. And I want everyone to see it fresh for themselves..

The Joker is an absolute force that only wants one thing: chaos. And that is a truly beautful thing.
He wants chaos in all aspects of Gotham. Even in the heart of the Batman. And that is where the writing really takes off. And I am not really sure of where the Joker's brillance is derived, the script or the actor. Surely the writing is always the jumping off point, but what Heath Ledger puts on screen is a treat. It is a perfect performance of a (now) perfect character that is a horribly flawed man. Heath Ledger will receive an Oscar nomination. Sadly, it may because Hollywood "feels they should" but, he really, really deserves it. It is mindblowing.

My mind has been blown.

Christian Bale, again, delivers a Bruce Wayne that we want to see. We want to know how he ticks and what he'll do next. My only problem with Batman in this series is this, he's sometimes hard to hear. Bruce Wayne puts on a gravelly voice when caped-up as to further hide his identity. Sometimes that voice is actully difficult to understand when there is alot of background city noise. But that is my only (stupid) criticism. Bale delivers on all fronts and I know my wife will, yet agian, be hot for him when we go to our Saturday screening.

Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are two wonderfully cast actors that serve as Wayne's mentors and moral sounding boards. Thank god they were cast originally and Chris Nolan has a vision that he is unwavering from. I don't know that I would have thought of them but we are better off since he did.

Aaron Eckhart is a choice I would have never thought of. And, again, it is inspired and amazing. Harvey Dent's stroy arc is familiar to the fans of the Batman in all his incarnations. But his story here really has you rooting for him and feeling bad all the while since you know what his inevitble outcome is. And the most amazing part is how far they take his story in this movie. It's almost like we get a bonus movie inside this one.

Like you would expect, the stunts are amazing, the gadgets kick ass, the sets are expansive... this is huge and only going to get bigger. And it almost didn't get made. Warner was skeptical after Batman Begins because, though it did well, it didn't blow the doors down. And truly, honestly, unfortunatley, maybe the best thing that happened to this movie was Ledger's death. People really do want to see what he did. And they will be satisfied. But they will get a fantastic movie for the price of admission.

I can't give enough praise to this film.

Silence is golden, Wall-E is priceless.

Wall-E is the best movie of the year.

That's it.

Maybe some more. Wall-E is the most sensitive, heartwarming, tear jerking, inspiring, thought provoking movie this year. Maybe this decade, I can't remember what's come out.
Pixar has out done themselves again.
This little square robot has you following his every move with excitement and anticipation. He is so well written, that I could have watched a 1:45 movie where EVE hadn't even gotten there yet.
The heart that went into Wall-E (figuritively, it's not a cyborg movie) makes you love him right off the bat. But when he starts interacting with EVE (a female scout robot) and then the humans in space, you can't help but want to be like him. He affects every life he touches. And though, curiously at first, sometimes, always for the best. Granted, it's a kids movie. But why should that fact denegrate the idea of being kind to all those around you and curious about everything? If anything, we need to be more like Wall-E.

Some people I know told us that we shouldn't take our kids to see this. Their reasoning (besides the fact that they are 26 year old single people) was that the movie was too quiet and not a lot of talking happens for the first 20 minutes. They're sweet. And naive.

Movies started being made a long time ago. Then after they had been around a while, people started thinking about how to add sound. Originally, sound was on a record that was synched up to the film. It's kinda why film has a countdown with beeps, so you can line it up. But even before sound, people went to movies. And the best part about a movie like this and little kids, the kids get it. Emotional beeps and boops convey all the information that needs to be heard. And Wall-E being a robot, allows over gestured reactions and faces that put the point home even faster. KIds who don't talk yet, like mine, communicate through babble and gestures. They get Wall-E too well. My son thought one of his boops was so hilarious, he mimicked it 5 or 6 times, right there at full volume (3pm matinee with 400 other kids and at least a few were doing the same, and I was reminding him of inside voices. I'm not that guy).

This movie has a myriad of things going for it, even a vicious plot to keep the humans from returning to Earth. There are plenty of reasons to take your kids to see this movie or go alone, but my god, see this movie. You can't help but be moved by it.