Fumarama

David Edelstein in his review in New York magazine better articulated my thoughts on Batman. He uses the word sadistic to describe the movie and it is the perfect word that I could not think of yesterday. Watching it, I felt like somone was torturing me. This happens a lot when I am watching a really violent or upsetting movie, but there was no release! (as I mentioned yesterday in my no happy ending remark.) It was torture that just ends. Even in Greek and Shakespearean, after everyone dies, there is someone who comes in and returns some sort of order to the play's universe. Here...nothing.

But also the Joker was in many way such an incoherent villain. I don't mean the whole not having a motivation thing, the movie addresses that. How does he pull off the pranks he pulls? To be able to rig two large boats to explode just hours after he rigged a hospital the night after he made two warehouses and a jail explodes, he must have a small army working for him. It is impossible to do all this alone. Where does he get all him minions? He is not charismatic. The movie covers that. And while he has money, he must have developed a reputation by that point of killing his henchmen. Plus, he is really really creepy, there are easier ways of making money, like selling drugs for the mob family.

Also, I felt this overwhelming need to wash the joker's hair. I think as someone who knows what it is like to have to deal with long curly hair, I felt the need to help, perhaps offer him some product.

Finally, what superhero movie is so dark that they kill the girl? They never kill the girl.

God, that was so creepy. About an hour in, I started thinking about how much I wanted to walk out. I was not enjoying myself ,I was so terrified, it was like was a horror movie. But I didn't, I wanted to save face with my friends. But aren't superhero movies supposed to be fun? And also, aren't all the characters in Batman supposed to have human alter egos and then they turn into supercharacters at night? I really wanted to see Heath Ledger without the make-up, just so I would have one last movie memory of him. I need to watch 10 things I hate about you.

Also, with all these sequels, there are no more happy endings. I mean I may have been ok with all the violence and horrible joker scenes if there was some sort of happy ending. But the movie ends with the joker still alive and Batman being chased by dogs. I wish there had been a parade. And that Batman got the girl. Ok, maybe Batman getting the girl is too much, but that Harvey stayed good and he saved gotham and got the girl. But instead, they have to set it up for the next Batman. But unlike, say a trilogy where you know, Hans Solo may be frozen and the galaxy in danger now, but wait two years and there will be ewoks and love, there is never going to be a happy ending, because there can always be another Batman movie.

On a side note, ahhhh...Christian Bale is so....sigh worthy.