So I’ve got a new obsession.

No surprise there, really. From watching the first promo for this show on german tv I kinda knew I would end up liking it. And after I actually saw the first 2 episodes I knew I would have to get my hands on all the available ones in english.

I have watched them all pretty much straight through in 2 days (yes, I have no life). And now I am chomping at the bit to get to see more and pissed off that it will take until June (June!! WTF?) for the series to return to american television.

Why do I always have to stumble on a great new show when they are either on hiatus or on the verge of getting cancelled (or both)? I mean, I am all for german tv picking up current shows (like they did with Castle) and not waiting, like they used to, for years to actually show them (like they did with Firefly, which aired in Germany more than 5 years after its cancellation). In some cases I’d just like to find a show only after there are already 4 full seasons available, because then the catching up is so much more fun.

Anyway, at least I know that I can look forward to 12 new episodes of Lie To Me and I can still hold out a bit of hope that there will actually be a third season next year, even though it doesn’t look too good right now.

So, why am I so fascinated by this show?

Well, it’s actually 2 things:

Firstly, it’s a show about lying and about how to spot liars and the tagline of it might just as well be “Everybody Lies”, if that one wasn’t already taken. It’s just fascinating to watch how the team exposes all kinds of lies in other people, but at the same time some of them (namely Lightman himself) get away with the most preposterous lies, because they just know how to lie better.

It’s also interesting to know that most of the stuff they use in the show is based on actual scientific research and the character of Cal Lightman ist based on the real scientist Paul Ekman. Of course, a lot of it is dumbed down for the general audience, but it’s still close enough to the truth to be fascinating.

And speaking of fascinating, my second reason is of course Tim Roth. Since I watch a lot of movies I had obviously heard the name before, but I had never consciously noticed him in anything before, even though I do know some of the movies he was in.

From where I stand now I am absolutely flabbergasted how this guy could not pop up on my radar for so long. To say that I find him brilliant would be pretty much the understatement of the year. You know how I always rave about Hugh Laurie being one of my most adored actors ever? Well, Tim Roth is now standing right beside Hugh on that pedestal in my mind. Considering that the characters of Cal Lightman and Greg House share a lot of traits that’s probably fitting.

The upside is, now I can look forward to watch (or in some cases re-watch) dozens of movies Tim was in, which should be a treat. Maybe that will tide me over until June.

One other thing I love about Lie To Me is that Tim was allowed to keep his adorable english accent. It is so refreshing seeing a british actor on an american tv show actually walking around calling everybody “luv” and “mate”. I wish Hugh Laurie would have been allowed to do that on House as well.

But of course the show does not exclusively revolve around Cal Lightman (not that I would mind). There is also the rest of his team:

Dr. Gillian Foster, Cal’s business partner and closest friend. She has a tendency to mother other people, especially Cal, which can sometimes be a bit grating. But she’s also very much on his level, professionally, so there is a lot of mutual respect between the two of them. In season 1 she and Cal were strictly friends, because Gillian was married, but since she got divorced in season 2, the writers do seem to think about starting a relationship between them. I hope they don’t, because I liked their friendship so much more.

Ria Torres, the newbie on the team and a natural when it comes to spotting lies (whereas the rest of the team had to actually study to achieve their kind of insightfulness). She definitely has some issues and still has to learn not to constantly overstep boundaries, but her clashes with Lighhtman are always entertaining to watch.

Eli Loker, one of the younger scientists in the Lightman Group. He starts out as a compulsive truth teller in season 1, but pretty soon gets derailed by real life and ends up having to choose between getting fired or staying on as an unpaid intern. Not really sure if I like the direction they have taken him in, but I do still like the character.

Ben Reynolds, a new addition to the team at the end of season 1. He is an FBI agent and was introduced as somebody who can liaise with the law enforcment when it’s necessary. He’s also good to have around when things get dangerous, because the scientists are all not exactly well-equipped to deal with things like that (which I find hilarious).

Then there’s Emily Lightman, Cal’s teenage daughter. Surprisingly (considering I don’t really care much for children and teenies on tv) she has developed into the second really likeable and completely not-annoying teens on tv (the other one is Alexis Castle on Castle). I love the relationship she has with her father.

You really wouldn’t wanna play poker with these guys.

It’s nice to have a show where I like pretty much the whole cast. On most shows there are at least one or two characters that totally get on my nerves. But of course the main draw for me is Tim Roth.

Cal Lightman is such a delightful character to watch. He is not quite as intentionally rude as Greg House, but still has a tendency to be very direct and not care the least bit if he pisses people off. And he can lie like nobody’s business, which is a trait I always admired.

Another thing that I find adorable is probably less Cal and more Tim. Look at that promo pic:

It’s probably not the best example, but it’s the best picture I have to make my point. Notice how everyone stands or sits in a really artificial posture? Except Cal. He slouches.

The character does that a lot in the show, but I also noticed Tim doing it in interviews and such. Now, there’s nothing inherently sexy in having a bad posture. But I love the fact that he is so incredibly comfortable in his own skin and just doesn’t give a damn about what it looks like to other people. Besides, I do the exact same thing all the time – only I wouldn’t be self-confident enough to do it while I’m on camera.

I finally made it to the cinema to see the new Terminator movie. I have been very cross when I noticed that both our local cinema and the ones in the next bigger towns are only showing the film dubbed in german. I hate that.  Last year I was so happy that some of our cinemas seemed to have picked up the habit of showing most of the bigger blockbusters in the original (=english) version. But apparently I was the only one loving that and it didn’t bring in enough money so they don’t do that anymore, or at least not with movies I want to see.

Well, I had been looking forward to this film for quite a while now, so I decided I just had to see it on a big screen instead of waiting for the DVD. Unfortunately, even though the film has been out for more than a week now, the cinema was still packed with lots of crisps-munching, on their cellphone talking, giggling, coughing and otherwise annoying people. Did I mention I hate to share a cinema with anybody?

At least the movie itself wasn’t quite the disappointment I had feared it would be after reading some reviews.Ok, so the storyline wasn’t all that surprising – if you had seen the trailers you pretty much knew what was going to happen. But at least Chris Bale was a believable John Connor, Sam Worthington I didn’t mind either, but the best thing – again – was Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese. I loved the boy in Star Wars and he was great in this one as well. I hope to see a lot more of him in the future. Bryce Dallas Howard, on the other hand, was totally wasted – she just had nothing whatsoever to do, I wondered why they bothered putting her in at all.

As to the storyline: I had a few pronlems with the believability of certain things, but then again, this was a summer blockbuster movie, not The Sarah Connor Chronicles, so I didn’t really expect the same level of philosophical content. The only thing that ticked me off was the ending, which seemed like complete and utter crap to me. But of course, that’s due to the fact that there are 2 more sequels planned. Sometimes I hate Hollywood and their damn obsession with business. There used to be a time when it was the story that counted most, not the franchise opportunities. Long ago, I guess.

Most of all I will miss Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, mainly because it is almost certain that we won’t get a third season of it. Which sucks because not only do I miss Summer Glau, but the show got really, really great towards the end of season 2 and it ended with a major twist that opens up so many new directions it could have gone into. Alas, we’ll probably never get to see it. Damn. (And no, the movie, however much I am looking forward to it, is no consolation whatsoever in this regard.)

The finale of House, on the other hand, left me completely cold. Which is a surprise, because I used to love that show. But after 5 seasons with no real emotional development in the good doctor I am slowly but surely getting fed up with the show and for most of this season I kept thinking “enough already, we’ve seen that all dozens of times before”. Of course, when it inevitably returns in fall I will keep on watching, because my loyalty to Hugh Laurie will never waver, but secretly I wouldn’t be sad at all if this would have been the last season.

I haven’t even watched the full episode of the Bones finale yet, and I am not sure I will bother at all. I watched the first 5 minutes, figured it was all a hallucination, watched the last 2 minutes and found out I was right and promptly stopped caring. This episode was completely superfluous. They should have ended on last week’s tear-jerker instead.

Criminal Minds and NCIS were equally not-interesting, but both of them have been less-than-stellar for a while for me. I still watch them for the eye-candy, but I really don’t care too much about what happens anymore.

I gave up on 24 after they killed off Bill Buchanan in such a stupid, insulting manner. What a waste of a great character. For all I care they should have killed off Jack Bauer, because Kiefer irritates the hell out of me. And from what I am hearing they made Tony turn into a baddie now, after bringing him back from the dead and then not using him for almost half the season. Talk about jumping the fucking shark. This is definitely a show that will go on without me as a viewer next season.

The only one of my shows I haven’t quite kept up with is LOST. The last episode I saw was 5×10. Which is a good thing, because it gives me at least something to look forward to in the next 2 weeks or so. Unless, of course, the remaining eps are so friggin’ fantastic that I can’t stop watching after one.

One show I can’t wait to see more of is definitely Castle. Out of all the shows I have watched this season this one was the most fun. It’s not deep and twisted, it doesn’t really require all that much concentration (except if you try not to miss all the subtle Firefly-references Nathan throws in), it’s just pure, light-hearted fun. I love it.

The one show that I never really fell in love with, no matter how many chances I gave it, is sadly Dollhouse. I kept watching it faithfully every week, because I am a fan of Joss Whedon’s work. I liked some parts of it from the start (mainly the scenes with a shirtless Tahmoh Penikett), some characters kind of grew on me (mainly Topher), other parts bored the living daylights out of me and the rest was just meh. The show seemed to take forever to find its footing and I stayed patient until after the fabled 6th episode, when all was supposed to finally turn into something awesome. Well, it didn’t. I still don’t know why I should care about any of these characters, I still find Eliza’s acting very hit-and-miss, I’m totally not interested in the whole moral debate about the dolls and I still miss Joss’ trademark humor in this show. Oh, and the finale? Sucked to high heavens. I love Alan Tudyk, but what they did to the Alpha character was so unbelievably lame that I wish I had never watched this episode. It’s still undecided if the show will get renewed, but I for one wouldn’t mind if FOX just let’s it die.

In addition to my regular shows I also found some new ones to watch recently, which is good, because I have some catching up to do with them, so that could maybe tide me over the long and boring summer.

The first one of these is Rescue Me. Five whole seasons to catch up on. I am still only at the first one, but I like all the swearing and the sex and the fact that this is the first show ever to depict men really realistically, what with the cock-measuring-contest and all that hilarious stuff.

Another show I started watching only recently after I re-discovered my liking of Neil Patrick Harris is How I Met Your Mother. Jesus Fucking Christ, why did nobody ever tell me how frikkin’ funny this show is? Well, maybe somebody did and I just wasn’t listening (in which case I deserve to be slapped by Marshall – hard). I really don’t know what took me so long to give the show a chance, but since I watched the first 3 seasons more or less in one go last week, I am officially in love with it. This show is everything Friends tried and failed to be. It’s awesome. And of course, Barney is my favorite character. Legen…wait for it…dary!

Another new favorite of mine is Life. Needless to say, it just got cancelled a couple of weeks after I heard of it and fell in love with it (or, rather, with Damian Lewis). Figures. They always cancel the stuff that I love and keep on crap like ER or the myriad incarnations on Law&Order or CSI long past their due date. Anyways, at least we got 2 seasons of Life – 32 glorious episodes of Charlie Crews, sprouting Zen-nuggets like “you don’t have to understand here to be here”.

My new-found love for Damian Lewis even brought me to watching Band of Brothers, a 10-episode series about a group of soldiers in WWII, which must be about the most depressing stuff I have watched in quite a while. But it reinforced my commitment to watch everything Mr. Lewis ever appeared in, because he is just THAT GOOD. And easy on the eyes, too.

But once I am through with all this it will be reruns for me all summer. Or, worse still, going out and having a so-called “real life”. What a bummer.

It is a sad, but well-known phenomenon that many movies that are based on books turn out plain sucky. That’s why it is usually advisable, if possible, to first watch the movie and only read the book afterwards so as to avoid the disappointment.

But there are, now and again, a couple of films that get it right. They manage to translate the story from the pages of the books onto the screen in a manner that even avid fans of the books can live with.

Here are the ones that worked for me:

1. Harold and Maude

imdb-summary:

The self-destructive and needy wealthy teenager Harold is obsessed by death and spends his leisure time attending funerals, watching the demolishing of buildings, visiting junkyards, simulating suicides trying to get attention from his indifferent, snobbish and egocentric mother, and having sessions with his psychologist. When Harold meets the anarchist seventy-nine-year-old Maude at a funeral, they become friends and the old lady discloses other perspectives of the cycle of life for him. Meanwhile, his mother enlists him in a dating service and tries to force Harold to join the army. On the day of Maude’s eightieth birthday, Harold proposes to her but he finds the truth about life at the end of hers.

This movie is old – older than me, in fact. But even though it has aged, it is still a lovely story. I loved the book already and was not even interested in watching the movie, but for once was pleasantly surprised when I recently stumbled upon it on t.v.

Besides, is it bad that I would literally kill to have this car? I have a thing for hearses anyway, but this Jaguar is just the cutest thing automobile-wise that I’ve ever laid eyes on.

2. Girl With a Pearl Earring

imdb-summray:

This film, adapted from a work of fiction by author Tracy Chevalier, tells a story about the events surrounding the creation of the painting “Girl With A Pearl Earring” by 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. Little is known about the girl in the painting, it is speculated that she was a maid who lived in the house of the painter along with his family and other servants, though there is no historical evidence . This masterful film attempts to recreate the mysterious girl’s life. Griet, played by Scarlett Johansson, is a maid in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer, played by British actor Colin Firth. Vermeer’s wealthy patron and sole means of support, Van Ruijven, commissions him to paint Griet with the intent that he will have her for himself before it is finished. She must somehow secretly pose for the crucial painting without the knowledge of Vermeer’s wife, avoid Van Ruijven’s grasp, and protect herself from the cruel gossip of the world of a 17th century servant.

I think the movie managed perfectly to translate the mood from the book to the screen. Plus, every film with Colin Firth in it automatically gets a benevolent treatment from me.

3. Lord of the Rings

I don’t think I have to post a summary for this one, do I? Whoever doesn’t know what these 3 films are about must have lived in a cave or something for the last 10 years or so.

The book is one of my all-time favorites and I was actually quite convinced that it just wasn’t humanly possible to translate the sweeping grandeur of the story on to the screen. Peter Jackson proved me wrong and I gladly bow to his genius. Those movies deserved every single Oscar they won, and then some.

4. Cider House Rules

imdb-summary:

Homer is an orphan in remote St. Cloud, Maine. Never adopted, he becomes the favorite of orphanage director Dr. Larch, who imparts his full medical knowledge on Homer, who becomes a skilled, albeit unlicensed, physician. But Homer yearns for a self-chosen life outside the orphanage. When Wally and pregnant Candy visit the orphanage Dr. Larch provides medically safe, albeit illegal, abortions Homer leaves with them to work on Wally’s family apple farm. Wally goes off to war, leaving Homer and Candy alone together. What will Homer learn about life and love in the cider house? What of the destiny that Dr. Larch has planned for him?

John Irving is among my favorite writers and “The Cider House Rules” is one of my favorite books by him (THE favorite is “A Prayer for Owen Meany”). I’m not much of a fan of Tobey Maguire, although I don’t mind him much either. But Michael Caine is the real reason why I love to watch this film again from time to time.

5. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight

Yes, I am aware that these are not exactly “book adaptions” in the strictest sense. But I count graphical novels, a.k.a. comics, as books here anyway. I can hardly leave two of the most amazing movies of the last couple of years off this list.

You see, the thing is, I am not even a big fan of comics. I am trying to develop a taste for them, because I certainly do admire the artistry, but in many cases – Batman comics being among them – they are just a little bit unsatisfying, because they are over too quickly and I am left craving more story, more character development, more descriptions – basically more of everything.

And that’s exactly why I have to include those two movies in this list. Because only after watching those movies do I actually understand that there is more to the Batman comics than just pretty pictures of a guy in a cape and with cool gadgets. These movies had everything I missed in the original comics.

6. Stardust

imdb-summary:

In the 1800’s, the clumsy teenager Tristan Thorn crosses the wall in the border of his town to the magic realm of Stormhold to bring a fallen star to his beloved Victoria, a spoiled girl that does not love him but has promised to marry him if he accomplishes his promise. In the fantasy kingdom, he meets the star Yvaine and imprisons her with a magic rope, promising to release her after meeting Victoria. Yvaine was hit by the magic ruby of the evil King of Stormhold that has promised his throne to the son that could find the stone. Meanwhile, three evil witches led by Lamia seek Yvaine to eat her heart and make them young again, and the two sons of the dead king also search Ivaine because she wears the necklace with the powerful ruby.

Again, falling in love with this movie totally surprised me. I adore Neil Gaiman’s books, but since there are so many magical elements in them I always have a hard time believing they are translatable to film. This one especially with its fairytale story could have gone horribly wrong. But luckily it turned out fantastic, not least because of all the great actors involved. Claire Danes especially was gorgeous as the fallen star Yvaine. And not to forget Robert DeNiro in a fantastic role as Captain Shakespeare. Bloody hilarious.

7. A Boy and His Dog

imdb-summary:

A post-apocalyptic tale based on a novella by Harlan Ellison. A boy communicates telepathically with his dog as they scavenge for food and sex, and they stumble into an underground society where the old society is preserved. The daughter of one of the leaders of the community seduces and lures him below, where the citizens have become unable to reproduce because of being underground so long. They use him for impregnation purposes, and then plan to be rid of him.

Another oldie. Apparently, there are several versions of this film. I watched the one from 1975 (the year I was born), starring a very young Don Johnson. Normally I rarely bother to watch such old movies, because I usually end up hating them anyway. The cheesy special effects, the overblown acting style and all that normally is just not my cup of tea.

The reason I watched this one was my love for dystopian fiction and the fact that I couldn’t manage to get my hands on the original story by Harlan Ellison. I fully expected to hate the film, but surprisingly I quite enjoyed it. It is certainly one of the stranger films I have ever seen, and I wouldn’t exactly go as far as saying it’s a good one. But it is certainly entertaining, in a twisted kind of way. But then again, maybe that’s just me.

8. I Am Legend

imdb-summary:

Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague — The Infected — lurk in the shadows… watching Neville’s every move… waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind’s last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered… and quickly running out of time.

Again, this is the remake of the remake of the adaption of a shortstory. And for once I think the movie is way better than the original story – or would be, if it wasn’t for the botched ending. I didn’t like the original story at all when I read it after watching the movie, but I have to admit that the ending of the story does make a lot more sense in the light of the title.

9. The Shining

imdb-summary:

A man, his son and wife become the winter caretakers of an isolated hotel where Danny, the son, sees disturbing visions of the hotel’s past using a telepathic gift known as “The Shining”. The father, Jack Torrance, is underway in a writing project when he slowly slips into insanity as a result of cabin fever and former guests of the hotels ghost’s. After being convinced by a waiter’s ghost to “correct” the family, Jack goes completely insane. The only thing that can save Danny and his mother is “The Shining”.

One thing you have to know about me: I don’t have nightmares. Ever. Or maybe I have them and then just don’t remember them when I wake up, who cares. The point is, even though I can be scared shitless when I’m awake, I don’t lose sleep over scary movies or books.

Stephen King’s book “The Shining” was mildly scary when I read it as a teenager, but it didn’t impress me all that much in the end. But watching Jack Nicholson lose it in this movie? Scared the shit out of me. This was actually the first time that I was afraid to close my eyes at night for fear of nightmares. (Incidentally, it was also the last time, since I slept like a baby anyway and just figured worrying about nightmares is a waste of time for me.) From that point on Jack Nicholson to me was the definition of a very scary deranged guy. Until Heath Ledger came along and completely upstaged him in “The Dark Knight”.

10. Pet Sematary

imdb-summary:

The Creeds have just moved to a new house in the countryside. Their house is perfect, except for two things: the semi-trailers that roar past on the narrow road, and the mysterious cemetary in the woods behind the house. The Creed’s neighbours are reluctant to talk about the cemetary, and for good reason too.

“Pet Sematary” was the first book by Stephen King that I ever read. I must have been in my early teens and I clearly remember finding it scary and fun. Entertaining enough to turn me into a devoted King-fan.

Now, everybody knows that adaptions of King’s books more often than not end up being total crap. One could argue that “Pet Sematary” falls into the same category. It is noticably different from the book in some regards, mainly in that it is way funnier. I’m not quite sure if that was intentional, but I certainly laughed out loud a couple of times, especially when Victor, the dead guy, turns up. Even though he deoesn’t look too pretty with his brains being all smashed up and running down the side of his head, I nevertheless had a huge crush on the guy when I saw the movie for the first time. What can I say, I have strange taste in men.

11. Chocolat

imdb-summary:

Vianne Rocher and her young daughter are drifters who are met with skepticism and resistance when they move to a conservative town in rural France and open a chocolate shop during Lent. As Vianne begins to work her magic and help those around her, the townspeople are soon won-over by her exuberance and her delicious chocolates – except for the mayor, who is determined to shut her down. When a group of river drifters visit the town, Vianne teaches the townspeople something about acceptance, and finds love for herself along the way.

This is an adaption of one of Joanne Harris’ books, it’s about chocolate, and it has got Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche and Judi Dench in it. What more could a movie need? Nothing, as far as I am concerned.

Again, the story in the movie is altered from the book – and I really wonder why they always have to do that – but in this case the deviation is not too bothersome. The story still flows. Defnitely a film to be watched repeatedly, curled up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate.

13. Nobody’s Fool

imdb-summary:

Sully is a rascally ne’er-do-well approaching retirement age. While he is pressing a worker’s compensation suit for a bad knee, he secretly works for his nemesis, Carl, and flirts with Carl’s young wife Toby. Sully’s long- forgotten son and family have moved back to town, so Sully faces unfamiliar family responsibilities. Meanwhile, Sully’s landlady’s banker son plots to push through a new development and evict Sully from his mother’s life.

Richard Russo’s books are full of lovable loser characters and this one of no different. Sully is certainly not exactly a role-model for how one should live his life, but I would definitely get along with him fantastically. That he is portrayed by the phenomenal Paul Newman doesn’t hurt either. How could this guy be still this hot at his age? Must be the blue eyes. Very entertaining movie in any case.

12. Empire Falls

imdb-summary:

A story about the intricacies of small town, blue-collar American life, centered around the misadventures of one, Miles Roby, manager of the Empire Grill. Trapped within the confines of Empire Falls, Maine since the death of his mother, Miles has been unable to sever his many ties to his dilapidated hometown, including his reformed brother, his lay-about father, his soon-to-be-ex-wife, and their intelligent, if awkward daughter, Tick.

All right, this one is not a movie, but a 4-part t.v. series. But it is still a book adaption, so I feel free to include it here. Again, the book was written by Richard Russo, and again Paul Newman is in it. 11 years older, but still as charming as hell. It’s a quiet little film about normal people – no superheroes here, nor big action scenes or the like – but that’s exactly what makes it so remarkable and rewatchable.

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So much from me. What are your favorite book adaptions? I’m always happy about good tips.

Oh, one more thing: I made some new T13 headers and reorganized my header collection. Have a look around and tell me what you think, if you have time.

I just found something funny on Vimeo: a fantastic shortfilm from Pixar about a little robot called Burn-E. Poor little guy had a really bad day, which naturally made me laugh like the maniac that I am. So cute (him, not me).

I guess, it’s really only funny if you’ve seen Wall-E before. Which you should have, because it’s a cute movie – even if you don’t have kids as an excuse to watch kiddie movies.

Can’t wait for the new trailer, much less for the whole movie…

But never mind those little details. The film itself is definitely worth watching. Not only because it is made in New Zealand (always reason enough for me to like something), but because it is just funny and touching and utterly lovely – and it would be so, even if not every single person spoke in the cutest kiwi accent imaginable.

It’s basically a story about a couple of losers. Lily is a cashier at a fast food restaurant who has a crush from afar on Jarrod, a slightly mad geek who works in a video game store. The film follows their courtship, if that’s the right word (well, it’s mostly Lily who’s doing the courting, while Jarrod is quite an asshole most of the time), which is sometimes cringeworthy, but mostly quite endearing to watch. Watch the trailer and you will see what I mean (sorry, I just didn’t manage to get it embedded here).

The appeal of the film is hard to explain – it just has to be seen. But apart from making you laugh out loud a couple of times, it will definitely leave you with a smile on your face. I think “heartwarming” is the fitting description.

My enjoyment of the film derived to a big part also from the New Zealand setting. It was so great watching normal Kiwis doing completely normal stuff in a completely normal setting. Families bickering, people strolling along almost deserted streets, riding a bus overland, cars driving on the left side of the road (I still miss that in Germany). It was almost like going home again for a while.

If I had a rating system, this film would get 5 out of 5 stars from me.

Why isn’t it December yet? I want my Dark Knight DVD!

(via)

Season 3 of Dexter starts today. I missed you, sweetheart!

(I would love to give credit for the photo, but I forgot where I found it)

There aren’t enough hours in the day to discuss The Dark Knight’s finer points. … The Dark Knight is filled with so many moments of sheer glee that one watch will not be enough to appreciate it. There are flaws, as there are in any film. … But these tiny blips shouldn’t register on your radar: if you’re unable to enjoy this film then sorry friend, God help you.

It’s not just the best Batman film ever. It’s not just the best ’superhero’ movie ever. It’s more than just a money-spinner, a franchise, a comic-book cash-in. The Dark Knight is a stunning piece of work that deserves every word of praise spoken about it – consummate filmmaking in every respect. It’s the best film of the year so far and the Batman film fans have been waiting their whole lives for. See it, love it, see it again. The excitement for part III begins here, but Holy Hell it’ll have to be good to top this.

Yep, that about covers it. And tellingly, my heroes over at Pajiba were of much the same opinion:

As a director, Nolan takes the story seriously, and that makes all the
difference, transforming his films from good to great. They’re the best
superhero movies ever made because they embrace the character on a gut
level and not as some pop artifact. The Dark Knight is a
harrowing, frightening, uncompromising, flat-out great superhero movie,
wonderful in sad ways, hitting the perfect mix of characterization and
humor, bouncing between phenomenal action set pieces and the brutally
human moments that place the film in a recognizable world even as it
soars into comic book fantasy. Put simply, Nolan just gets it. He’s a
believer, and he’ll make one out of you, too.

If they praise a movie it has to be fucking spectacular. Also, they always find angles and meanings that completely escaped me on first viewing. This review is just one more reason to watch the movie again and watch out for all the little (and sometimes not so little) things that I missed out on the first time around.

Yeah, I know, as if I needed yet another reason beside my growing obsession…

One more quote from the above review:

The Dark Knight is all about what it means to fight a losing battle knowing the outcome in advance, and why. For Bruce Wayne and Christopher Nolan, the answer’s simple: Because you believe in it.

In this respect it resembles The Lord of the Rings in my eyes. And this is the best explanation for why people who don’t give either of those movies a chance, putting them down saying they are “just superhero/fantasy movies”, make me so angry. I pity and scorn you, because you have no idea what you’re missing out on.

Just kidding, I don’t pity you.