Oh, I hope jilli gets one too!

That would totally rock.

Which it *had* to be to tell that story (which I maintain was really Harvey Dent's story all along, just as Batman Begins was Jim Gordon's story),

Lemme ask you though, Tep-- did you buy Harvey's complete fall from grace? This idea that he had been the "uncorruptable one?" That was kind of my one quibble with it-- that I saw glimmers of Harvey's dark side and I didn't completely buy him as the White Knight character that he's supposed to be, to make the fall into darkness that much more a victory for the Joker.

Mind you, I haven't seen it since I saw it in the theatre back in July and Lewis just bought it on Blu-Ray (he hasn't see it yet) so I expect we'll be watching it in the next couple of weeks. Maybe my mind will have changed by then.

that I saw glimmers of Harvey's dark side

But isn't that why he had the nickname of two-face before he got it burned off? Everybody saw glimmers of Harvey's dark side.

Yeah, but he got the name two-faced because he was trying to catch dirty cops. It's the kind of phrase you use to try and tar someone with the same brush, when you're actually the one in the wrong.

Like I said, I have to see it again, but I thought one of the biggest themes throughout this particular film adaptation was the idea that Harvey was absolutely uncorruptable and that's why he was such a tempting target for the Joker.

I don't think it was that he was uncorruptable. Or actually, I don't really think he was corrupted. He was pretty much driven mad by what happened, and he pursued revenge with the same fervor that he'd pursued justice.

If Jilli got one of those boxes, we'd hear the squeeing from the East Coast, no need for B.Org or LJ to carry the news.

Good assessment.

I too was impressed all to hell by TDK. It was gutting, though, on a number of levels. Brilliant stuff.

(And, randomly, I remember being struck at one point by how bloody many unAmericans were in the movie. Well, okay, I was thinking Brits, but then there's Heath too... really, it would serve me right if the next Doctor Who were played by an American. Or Claudia Black. Because Bruce Wayne is being played by a Welshman. Fair play.)

Meanwhile, I've just been to see Inkheart, and I enjoyed it immensely. It's a couple of years since I read the book, so I didn't have that whole jarring-comparison-with-text thing going on; afaic, it was a cracking adaptation. I have a considerable fondness for Brendan Fraser, but it was a splendid cast, and I think that I may need shirtless!firejuggling!Paul Bettany to be shown every Christmas. Farid was terribly disarming, although it's a shame they couldn't find anyone remotely Arabic to play him. Still, pretty, and I'm shallow. (Also, I think that I need Dustfinger/Farid slash. Stat. And then some.) And Jennifer Connolly played Paul Bettany's character's love interest! Which was sweet, I thought. Bless. And Andy Serkis! OMG, I love him SO MUCH! With his lovely pretty eyes and his fabulous delivery and his INTENSITY, God he's good. He's really, really bloody good, and I'm always delighted to see him on screen. And this time he was all bald, and I kept thinking: "Gollum! It's Gollum!" And wanting to hug him and squeeze him and call him George. Bless.

Ahem. In conclusion: fun movie. Good cast. Pretty scenery. Hit a number of my kink buttons. (Reading, writing, ink letters scrawled on skin, shirtless Paul Bettany being angsty and bonding with a pretty boy... Er - that last bit's a new kink button. Well, the Bettanyness of it is, at any rate.)

I'm so glad to hear good things about Inkheart.

shirtless Paul Bettany being angsty and bonding with a pretty boy... Er - that last bit's a new kink button. Well, the Bettanyness of it is, at any rate.

Are you saying you haven't seen A Knight's Tale ? Granted the pretty-boy bonding-ness of it is rather subtle but Bettany goes way beyond shirtless.

"Gollum! It's Gollum!"

I kept feeling this way last night watching Monster House.

Which it *had* to be to tell that story (which I maintain was really Harvey Dent's story all along, just as Batman Begins was Jim Gordon's story),

Lemme ask you though, Tep-- did you buy Harvey's complete fall from grace? This idea that he had been the "uncorruptable one?" That was kind of my one quibble with it-- that I saw glimmers of Harvey's dark side and I didn't completely buy him as the White Knight character that he's supposed to be, to make the fall into darkness that much more a victory for the Joker.

I don't think Harvey was ever uncorruptable. That's the thing about Gotham -- no one, not even Jim Gordon, is a White Night.

Obviously, Harvey was set up as Batman/Bruce's "shadow" self, and vice versa. Which is why, as the movie proceeds, we see that Harvey -- without a mask -- could be what Batman had to do under cover of night. Which led Bruce to think, for just a moment, that he could quit the vigilante gig and let Harvey do it through official channels.

[NB: In the comics, the backstory is that Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent were friends for a long time before Harvey became Two-Face.]

We see right away that Harvey is ruthless, and willing to lie and obfuscate to achieve his ends -- he's not a White Night; he's just the daytime version of Batman. But that's the point of the Batman story in general -- ultimately, it's NOT possible to do in the light of day, through proper channels, what Batman does under cover of night and Scary Voice.

Bruce wouldn't be Batman if there were any other way to get it done. (Or, I should say, within these 2 films [Batman Begins and TDK], Bruce is still really torn between being Bruce and being Batman. The films use Rachel as a device to show us why Bruce would want to quit the Batman gig -- he could have a normal life, etc. In the comics, Batman is all about The Mission. He says, often, that Bruce is the mask and Batman is the real person. In these films, he's not yet at that point, but I think TDK has him positioned to get there.)

Anyway. Back to Harvey. I agree with Dana -- he wasn't really corrupted, as much as driven mad by Rachel getting blown up (as a result of his own plan to draw out the Joker).

My first comment after the movie ended was, "Oh my god. This entire movie was about a girl." And I mean it. Without the Harvey-Rachel-Bruce triangle, so much would have gone differently.