Very cool news bit on The Dark Knight from the Tribune's movie critic:

The new Batman picture, opening July 18 and already reviewed in dozens of print and online outlets, will be the biggest of the summer, the biggest of the year and one of the pop cinematic phenoms of the new century. Even if it wasn't very good, it’d be big. But it’s very good. It’s potent blockbuster filmmaking—grander and more unsettling than director Christopher Nolan’s previous entry in the franchise, “Batman Begins.”

Watch for a full review next week, but for now, two enticements:

1. Heath Ledger. He is a marvel, a one-man insane clown posse, with a Chicago accent through and through. Licking his chops as if he can’t get enough of the taste of blood, the actor—who died earlier this year of an accidental overdose at the age of 28—creates a malignant, terrifying spectre who, as Michael Caine’s Alfred explains to Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne, “just wants to watch the world burn.”

2. Our fair city. Director Nolan's location work in Chicago is splendid, and Gotham City has never looked more vivid and imposing. One of the standout sequences, involving a standoff between Batman (on the planet’s coolest motorcycle) and the Joker (at the wheel of a semi), makes the urban canyon that is LaSalle Street a menacing wonder. And a highly destructive chase scene makes the finest use of Lower Wacker Drive since Jake and Elwood took those cops for a spin in "The Blues Brothers."

Tuesday's IMAX Navy Pier screening, the first in Chicago, was hampered by erratic sound. Some of the dialogue struggled to be heard amid the mondo rumble of the bass speakers. But in general the film looked marvelous. "The Dark Knight" is the first dramatic feature shot using IMAX cameras, and about 20 minutes of the film's generous, admittedly attenuated 2 1/2-hour running time expands the screen size to take advantage of the full IMAX scale.

I'm looking forward to seeing it in a conventional theater to see how it works visually. I'm looking forward to seeing it again, period.

Excuse me while I drool in anticipation.

the finest use of Lower Wacker Drive since Jake and Elwood took those cops for a spin in "The Blues Brothers."

I may not rewatch the whole movie, but I'll always stop what I'm doing to watch The Chase Scene.

The speedometer in The Chase Scene is not exaggerating. They did an initial pass with nobody on the road to make sure that they could hit those speeds, and then put the stunt extras in place and turned the stunt driver loose.

I love that the city let the filmakers run rampant while making that movie.

The trivia from TBB is so very awesome. Like this bit: '

Before the falling-Pinto scene could be filmed, the filmmakers had to get an "Air UN-worthyness certificate" from the Federal Aviation Administration for the Pinto. This was done by conducting preliminary drop tests to ensure that it would not behave as an airfoil and drift from its target line, but would drop "like a brick" when dropped from a great height.

The speedometer in The Chase Scene is not exaggerating

Oh that's so neat. I will have to tell my 12 y.o. I just showed him that part of the movie and he loved it.

It's so much more fun when it's real and not CGI

I love TBB. I will stop whatever I'm doing and watch that friggin movie.

I especially love it if I can catch the movie before they go to Kokomo.

Blues Brothers & Midnight Run are probably my favorite crazy let's-watch-cars-flip movies.

Man, now I need to see Midnight Run again, it's been ages. Blues Brothers has the whole cult thing so it turns up every so often, but I feel like MR has sort of been forgotten.

MR is a great movie. TBS/TNT was having a run on the film a few months back.

Midnight Run is one of my all time favorite movies.