... have they forgotten that there's an obvious draw in BL for Avengers fans?

When we saw the trailer for BL, Tim leaned over and said, "Well, there's at least HALF of a Hawkeye-and-Black-Widow-Shoot-Things-For-Two-Hours movie."

Fair point, indeed.

Interesting. The Bourne Legacy article I linked to earlier said it was to move it clear of Batman.

Wait--that's what this quotes too.

But they sum it up to mean they said Avengers. I'm confused.

I just went back to look at what I thought after seeing Dark Knight the first time. I enjoyed it, but had quibbles, and kinda thought the plot was sacrificed to the themes. And I thought it might improve on a second viewing, but I wasn't confident that it would.

Since then I've seen it, I dunno, a dozen times, maybe more? So obviously it did improve for me. I still have quibbles, but they're things like, "this bullet-reconstruction scene sure is goofy."

I am curious why it seems bleak. I mean... it's pretty strongly in favor of sacrifice and altruism and, well, not murdering bad guys even if you've got plenty of reason to do so.

I feel Batman's pain. But also the necessity of his pain. I like his pain. He has GREAT pain. It's a mixed bag.

Man, Emma Stone is the entire reason I want to see Spider-Man. I'm reading her IO9 interview, and massive girlcrush. She's just so...she's the prettiest.

I don't know that bleak is really the right work for my feelings about TDK. I just don't think the movie has much in the way of fun, which is too bad. I don't emerge from it depressed, just with no hint of a smile. And I don't think it really connects very well to my vision of anything in the real world, either. Gotham itself is so bleak. Batman is trying to make it better, but it's the fact that it's that bad to begin with that makes it feel so non-happy. Why would anybody stay there? Ever?

ION, Emma Stone IS the prettiest.

I probably have a bleak view of the real world, so that could be a factor. But in terms of corruption I figure Gotham is similar to Moscow in the 90s.

Now I'm kinda curious if the movies are popular in Russia, actually. Hm.

Saw Magic Mike tonight (won tix to a preview). I'd call it a solid "B". Spoiler for ita ! Matthew McConaughey's iliac crests? Dayum. I mean, who knew? But really, just, dayum.)

Rumors that Viggo Mortensen may be cast in the role of ship's captain in the Dracula-related movie The Voyage of the Demeter.

I'll be seeing DKR in the theaters. The question of Gotham and why people would stay there (low taxes? surely the ginormous insurance premiums would eat any possible gain) was sort of answered in one of the previews, what with the exploding bridges and all, and that "aha" moment may be the most joyful emotional moment the movie provides. But the grim in Batman is very satisfying to me in a way that other grim media (Game of Thrones, Ethan Frome, etc.) just isn't.

There are so many real world cities and real world circumstance that are miserable that, of course people would live in a place like Gotham. There is a laundry list of reasons people stay in "sub-optimal" communities. And there's no reason to assume that those who could might not have availed themselves of this opportunity before the movie even begins.