The Dark Knight (2008)

"Here's my card..."

At a glance:
That which does not kill you will only make you stranger. Stranger still is how Christopher Nolan managed to better the already formidable Batman Begins (2005), what with how tricky the franchise is. In the past 10 years or so, blockbuster adaptations of comic book superheroes have rarely touched the greatness, nor captured the essence, of the character at hand, perhaps with the exception of Iron Man (2008). Between Bruce Wayne and the Batman however, there's already enough character struggle to perish all thoughts of any Catwomen cleavage needed for blockbuster appeal. Rarely does an overtly mainstream picture discuss power, justice, due process and the rule of law so accessibly for the regular moviegoer. Bruce Wayne is billionaire playboy and expert criminologist at the same time - yet story is filled with legal themes, almost academic even. I ain't even at The Joker yet.
Bad news on the doorstep:

Maggie Gyllenhaal.

The pre-release sudden death of Aussie star Heath Ledger - to which Warner played a good hand with - a marketin strategy that mustn't be insensitive to the late actor. Perhaps it's fittin then that he delivered his best ever performance as the maniacal Joker, the kind of precision in actin that occurs to an actor maybe once or twice in his or her entire lifetime. Don't think it's out of order to say that Joker drew from Ledger as much as Ledger from Joker. The Chelsea grin carved across the jester's face already goes some way towards tellin the tale of an entirely believable anarchist whose twisted appetite for destruction shines brighter than all the Batman beacons Commissioner Gordon could ever assemble on Gotham's rooftops.
Perennial wonderment:

Like a mad dog.

How Christian Bale is always upstaged in all his movies, to good result. You seen Terminator Salvation (2008)?
Watch out for:

Never start with the head. The victim gets all fuzzy.

The pencil-disappearin magic trick, courtesy of The Joker. Nice.
Most memorable line:
Alfred: "Some men can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with - they just want to watch the world burn."
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
★★★★★ Can't wait for the next instalment. Surely Two Face will have more screen time?

You wanna know how I got these scars?
My father, was a drinker, and a fiend.
And one night, he goes off crazier than usual.
Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that.
Not. One. Bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it.
He turns to me and says, "Why so serious?" Comes at me with the knife.
"WHY SO SERIOUS?"
He sticks the blade in my mouth... "Let's put a smile on that face."
Why so serious?

Sniper (2009) @ 神枪手

At a glance:
Dante Lam's long sidelined sniper flick starrin that man Edison Chen as a rookie shooter caught between his loyalty to the team leader (a 60% sterner Richie Ren) and an outlawed ex-cop (Mainland poster boy Huang Xiao Ming) who was once top marksman. Accessorisin chicks like Mango Lam and Michelle Ye only an afterthought to the story.
Bad news on the doorstep:
Bullet in the mail for Edison Chen, can't go nowhere to promote the movie. This movie was my first non-local world premiere. I was sneaked in for the after-party and even met Dante himself. Wish I were more prepared, couldda asked him some stuff. Ah nevermind, the free Heine was good.
Watch out for:
The silly ass CG scene of a sniper bullet splittin a coin. What balls.
Most memorable line:
"S4 - confirmed". Watch the movie to find out about the only part of the movie which was excitin.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
At least they kept it short. ★★ 1/2