The Dark Knight.

Haven't seen it yet? Maybe you should come back to this later. I might inadvertently spoil something for you.

Amazing movie. There's so much going on...so many layers of things going on at once. Issues of duality (White Knight of Gotham/Dark Knight of Gotham, Batman/Joker) that ultimately lead up to the embodiment of duality in the Batman universe: Two-Face. Powerful imagery throughout.

And of course, a gleefully unrestrained performance by Heath Ledger. Everybody who flipped out when it was announced that Chris Nolan had cast Ledger should send Nolan an engraved apology. There has been talk of a posthumous Oscar nod for him. Screw that. The posthumous, while tragic, is circumstantial. This performance flat deserves to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Jack Nicholson was Jack in clown makeup. Ledger is The Clown Prince of Gotham. A completely impulsive driven entity that leaves scorched earth in his wake. Two of his lines stick out for me: "Do I look like a man with a plan?" and "I'm like a dog chasing cars! I wouldn't know what to do if I ever caught it!"

And as usual, the entire cast is superb. Bale is the best Batman we've had. I know some take issue with his "Batman voice" but I love that. Caine and Freeman are still wonderfully understated, and Oldman was almost born to play Lt/Commissioner Gordon. Gyllenhall is a definite upgrade over Mrs. Cruise, and Aaron Eckhart takes a relatively thankless role of Harvey Dent and makes it the lynchpin of the entire movie. Even Anthony Michael Hall turns up as a news anchor.

By the way, was anybody wondering if the casting of Nestor Carbonell as the Mayor of Gotham was a subtle inside joke...Carbonell played "Batmanuel" in the live action Tick.

Anyway...I highly recommend it. They've set the new bar...I don't know if they'll be able to top it.