DVD OF THE WEEK

THE DARK KNIGHT *****
Dir: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine

Perhaps the most eagerly-awaited comic book movie ever was the sequel to Christopher Nolan's groundbreaking Batman Begins and, in producing an epic of absolute seriousness the director has once again raised the genre to another level.
In fact, this is probably the first comic book adaptation that doesn't even feel like a comic book movie. It is a huge dark cauldron of seething corruption, exemplified by the first image – an oppressive blue fire, all consuming and oppressive. From this we get the grimmest Batman yet and a film that really tries to come to grips with the whole role of the vigilante 'superhero” and how much a society causes its own ills.
Two things stand out here (amongst many). The first is the credo of making the film real. Batman Begins did this in great style. Who would have believed that a guy in a bat-suit and even the batmobile could be believable real world things? Here that continues with the zippy batpod and a new suit, designed to be even more practical (and possible).
The second is Heath Ledger's Joker, a turn so brave, strong and striking that it leaves Jack Nicholson's take on the character in the dust. Here the Joker is a malignant violent manifestation of pure id, destroying Gotham for the pure pleasure of destruction. He has no history, no backstory, he is simply a living nightmare. Brilliant stuff.
The action is exemplary and – again – grounded in the real world, using real physical stunts and models rather than the depressingly fake CGI recently highlighted in the likes of Indiana Jones. The only possible mis-step is a sequence set in Hong Kong. Something jars at placing Batman in a – literally – real-world setting, however realistic everything else is.
Bottom line though, this is fantastic stuff. Too long and dark for kids but creating a whole new frontier for comic book adaptations.

If it were not for Batman then I would happily have made The King of Kong (****) my pick of the week. Following the recent trend of docos about obsessive competitors, whether they be playing Scrabble or competing in spelling contests, this tracks the world champions of that largely forgotten arcade game phenomenon Donkey Kong, and proves once again that there are fascinating stories lurking in the strangest places. It charts the battle between the rather dubious world champion Billy Mitchell and new pretender Steve Wiebe, as Mitchell uses every underhand tactic at his disposal to scare off the challenger. It is an eye-opening story, both very funny and, at times, tense and exciting. I've never touched a Donkey Kong machine, but I loved the film.

There has also been a rash of dysfunctional family drama/comedy/romances with literary heroes, be it The Squid and the Whale, A Door in the Floor or Wonderboys. Latest is Smart People (****), with Dennis Quaid as a grouchy literature prof, Thomas Hayden Church as his ne'er-do-well brother and Sarah Jessica Parker as the potential love interest. The script is smart, the performances are good, and the tone never slips into sentimentality. Ellen Page repeats her acid-tongued teen from Juno as the professor's right wing daughter.

Only occasionally do films centre on mathematics or mathematicians. Fermat's Room (***) does, but it's pretty much a straight thriller with puzzles. In it four mathematicians are invited to a secret soirée but instead find themselves trapped in an ever-shrinking room that will soon crush them. To slow this process they must answer various brain-teasers and figure out who's trying to kill them. It's actually a lot of fun.

No fun, however, is director Brian de Palma's latest, Redacted (*), which takes place in Iraq and tells basically the same story as his previous Casualties of War. In it a group of GIs take revenge on an Iraqi family for the death of a comrade. The tale is told solely through surveillance means, be it home video or security cameras. This gimmick may be a departure for the director but it is used so badly that it completely fails to convince (especially those CCTV monitors with sound!) and it robs de Palma of his greatest strength – his brilliant mis-en-scene and fantastic eye for elaborate camera set-ups. Avoid.