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What is the difference between art and entertainment? There is, obviously, some overlap: Not all art entertains (though some does); not all entertainment is art (though some is). At bottom, it seems, the difference is one of intent - the artist seeks to connect us with larger meanings, larger truths about the world, about ourselves. The primary focus of art is therefore to illuminate, with any entertainment had in the process merely a bonus. The goal of the entertainer, on the other hand, is perhaps less sublime, though no less worthy - to distract, to tickle, to stimulate the fancy....

HOLLYWOOD: Heath Ledger's posthumous Oscar underscored the tragedy of the actor's death, which in the words of director Christopher Nolan "ripped a hole in the future of cinema." By the time of his death in 2008 at the age of 28 after accidentally taking a lethal combination of prescription drugs, Ledger had already earned comparisons with Marlon Brando following his heart-wrenching Oscar-nominated performance in Ang Lee's gay cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain." Yet it was as Batman's cackling arch-enemy the Joker in "The Dark Knight," his final film role, that Ledger received an Academy Award, becoming the first actor to win...

Again and again we see Mr. Ledger's Joker pulling off the most fantastically conceived acts of evil which, in real life, would require a virtual army of assistants, many of whom would have to be almost as clever as he is. Yet the movie shows us not even one. We do see the Joker lording it over some fellow criminals on a couple of occasions -- not the best way to gain their cooperation, one might have thought. And, in the bank robbery with which the film opens, he casually murders all his assistants, which is even less likely to...

I wasn’t going to comment on Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, which I saw over the weekend, but the level of cooing and gushing among reviewers has been so extraordinary a note of dissent seems in order. Having been led to expect a work of profound genius and “one of the year’s most haunting cinematic experiences,” I was puzzled to find a serviceable popcorn movie, albeit one with pretensions and a serious lack of focus. There are, of course, some great set pieces, most notably one involving cables, improbable physics and a somersaulting truck. And the scene with Heath Ledger’s...

The most striking thing about the new Batman movie, now smashing the all-time box office records, is its emphasis on sado-masochism as the animating element in American culture these days. It must appeal to the many angry people in our land who want to hurt others, even while they themselves feel deserving of the grossest punishments. In other words, the picture reflects the extreme depravity of the current American sensibility. Seeing it all laid out there must be very validating to the emotionally confused audience, and hence pleasurable, in all its painfulness. The rich symbolism in this spectacle represents the...

Can you imagine if The Dark Knight was the last Batman film for actor Christian Bale? Clearly no person plays more into the monumental equation of a trilogy starring him than director Christopher Nolan. Bale recently spoke with EW about a second sequel to Batman Begins, or as the odd interviewer incorrectly called it, Batman “film number six”(I counted seven, Peter counted eight with the Adam West film)… Interviewer: So do you think there will be a part 3 of Batman? Christian Bale: Um, look, let’s wait and see… Interviewer: Or, I guess it’d be part 6. Christian Bale: No,...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Here is Brian in Battle Creek, Michigan. Brian, thank you for waiting and welcome to the EIB Network. CALLER: Yeah, thank you. RUSH: Go right ahead, sir. CALLER: Megadittos. RUSH: Thank you very much. CALLER: I've got two here. First, I had to go to your website to find a phone number and now I finally understand when you say the Messi-uh, what you actually are getting at with the uhs that he says. RUSH: Right. The Messi-uh. CALLER: Very clever. The other thing is I was wondering if you had a chance to see the new...

At least one reviewer has noticed the symbolism that compares Batman to President Bush in the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight". As one who has greatly admired the understanding and foresight that President Bush has shown in comprehending the threat to free societies everywhere presented by Islamofascism and its record of murderous terrorism, and also admired the courage he has shown in the face of unbelievable threats, obstruction and vitriolics from the left-wing cowards and ostriches who can't and won't understand this threat, I am greatly encouraged that President Bush's great character and steadfastness is being recognized in a...

A cry for help goes out from a city beleaguered by violence and fear: A beam of light flashed into the night sky, the dark symbol of a bat projected onto the surface of the racing clouds . . . Oh, wait a minute. That's not a bat, actually. In fact, when you trace the outline with your finger, it looks kind of like . . . a "W." There seems to me no question that the Batman film "The Dark Knight," currently breaking every box office record in history, is at some level a paean of praise to the...

The Dark Knight has no use for FISA By Sharon McGovern This is not a review, though I submit The Dark Knight kicks a** so very hard. Instead, this will be a brief look at themes employed in TDK; a sequel to Batman is a NeoCon. If you haven’t already contributed to the movie’s astonishing opening weekend take, you might want to decide right now if you want to read something that gives away a number of its plot points. The Dark Knight begins with “the bat man� having become a fixture in Gotham. He inspires resentment for the toll...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- He may be known to many children as a comic book friend, but a Purdue University professor warns the new "Dark Knight" Batman is a much more violent reincarnation of the classic character. Glenn Sparks, a professor of communication, studies the effects of scary movies, particularly on children. "The danger with a film like this is its history in the Batman comic book series and cartoons. People think of this hero as fun and entertaining, so parents may even take very young children to see what they believe is a family film. Instead, they may be...

By Chris Irvine Last Updated: 2:12PM BST 22 Jul 2008 Bale, 34, attended a police station after it was reported his mother and sister had reported him to police. The alleged incident was believed to have taken place on Sunday night at Park Lane's Dorchester Hotel where Bale is staying. His mother Jenny, 61, and sister Sharon, 40, are said to have gone to a police station in Hampshire to make the allegation, which was subsequently referred to the Metropolitan Police. A Met Police spokesman said: "A 34-year-old man attended a London Police Station on Tuesday by appointment and was...

The Dark Knight Review There has never been a movie quite like “The Dark Knight,” Christopher Nolan’s much-anticipated sequel to his reboot of the Batman franchise, “Batman Begins.” While that first film was certainly a great picture, this movie may forever change the genre. It is nothing like the hoards of generic comic book movies that come out this time of year. And unlike so many typical comic book films, it actually produces something for everybody. Spectacular action sequences? Check. A gripping storyline? Check. Heartbreaking romance? Check. Oscar-worthy acting by an A-list cast? Check. Gorgeous visuals and cinematography? Check. Bottom...

It's not a comic book movie. That's the first thing you should know when your kids ask to see "The Dark Knight," this summer's biggest blockbuster. The film is vastly more true to Frank Miller's famous alternative view of The Batman than to the zap-pow camp of Adam West's TV portrayal and sanitized DC comics that filled our childhood. So how do you answer? Should your children see "The Dark Knight?" We turned first to our resident film fanatic and visual designer, Chuck Kim, the first of the Yahoo! Kids team to see the box office smash. "I would not...

A 23-year-old father was booked into jail under suspicion of second-degree child abuse after leaving his son in his car while he watched the midnight showing of "The Dark Knight." David Farnham of Salt Lake City left his 2-year-old son inside his car in the parking lot of the Century 16 Theaters at 125 E. 3300 South on Saturday night. An onlooker walking by the car at 1:22 a.m. on Sunday saw the baby inside the vehicle crying and sweating profusely, said detective Gary Keller with the South Salt Lake City Police Department. Farnham rolled the windows up in the...

Ok, after all the hype and reviews, I went to see Dark Knight yesterday. I go to the movies to be entertained and, like Ghoshbusters, I'm probably the only person out there who wasn't as entertained as all the hype suggested. The movie was too long and too intense. Too much needless violence. The movie should have ended when Two-Faced was revealed (and the coin flip thing grew old pretty quickly) but instead it went on for another 30 or 40 minutes. Bottom line, the Jason Bourne flicks still out do this one. Share your thoughts if you've seen the...

KAPOW! The new Batman movie "The Dark Knight" smashed the weekend record set by "Spider-Man 3" last year, selling an estimated $155.3 million worth of tickets during its first three days of release across the United States and Canada, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said on Sunday. The hotly anticipated film, co-starring late actor Heath Ledger as the anarchic Joker, surpassed the $151.1 million haul for "Spider-Man 3" during its first weekend in May 2007.

I think St. Paul would have approved of Batman: The Dark Knight. The story is chock-full of christology and soteriology. That is, Batman represents salvation by faith and grace, succeeding in redeeming Gotham where the law failed. The Queen Consort saw it as good versus evil and therefore representative of all religions, but I disagreed vehemently (in a rare moment of self-control, though, I didn’t escalate the argument). Christianity is alone in having not just a way in which man is saved, nor in having a generic messiah who effects our salvation, but in ascribing our redemption to a particular...

Holy blockbuster, Batman! The Dark Knight grossed a behemoth $155.3 million from Friday through Sunday, according to early estimates, to score the biggest three-day opening in box-office history, while leading the way on a weekend for the record books. The second Batman movie from star Christian Bale and director Christopher Nolan finished at No. 1 (as anticipated, duh!), and, assuming the early estimates hold, it set new standards in just about every category imaginable. It scored the biggest three-day opening weekend of all time (beating Spider-Man 3's $151.1 mil bow). It achieved the best opening day and single day in...

(Don't worry. There are no spoilers in this review.)I sat down scared that I had hyped this movie too much, that there was no way that it could be as good as I thought it was going to be. I was right. It was better. The movie takes place after Batman has been operating for a while, and Harvey Dent, along with Jim Gordon have been cleaning up the streets. Things are going the law's way for once. Then comes The Joker.

FR Reviews? The critics seem to like it.

Heads up: a thunderbolt is about to rip into the blanket of bland we call summer movies. The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan's absolute stunner of a follow-up to 2005's Batman Begins, is a potent provocation decked out as a comic-book movie. Feverish action? Check. Dazzling spectacle? Check. Devilish fun? Check. But Nolan is just warming up. There's something raw and elemental at work in this artfully imagined universe. Striking out from his Batman origin story, Nolan cuts through to a deeper dimension. Huh? Wha? How can a conflicted guy in a bat suit and a villain with a cracked,...

(Click "Download Now" if the page seems confusing). http://www.whysoserious.com/happytrails You can also see the new trailer on the official website, which has finally been updated. http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/ This trailer is awe-inspiring; even moreso than the last one (which I also thought was spectacular).

LONDON (Reuters) - Bad news for Coco and Blinko -- children don't like clowns and even older kids are scared of them. The news that will no doubt have clowns shedding tears was revealed in a poll of youngsters by researchers from the University of Sheffield who were examining how to improve the decor of hospital children's wards. The study, reported in the Nursing Standard magazine, found all the 250 patients aged between four and 16 they quizzed disliked the use of clowns, with even the older ones finding them scary. "As adults we make assumptions about what works for...

Sweet poster, IMO. Clever way of conveying both Batman and the Joker in one image.Also, the big story going around is that last night, the much anticipated 6-minute IMAX prologue for the "Batman Begins" sequel premiered in New York, with a personal introduction by Chris Nolan.Here's an article from MTV.com, but I'm going to give you a big spoiler warning; don't click unless you don't mind a few spoilers.But here are some good excerpts:'Dark Knight' Opening Scenes Reveal 'Radical' New Joker"NEW YORK — If the opening frames of "The Dark Knight" are any indication, Batman will have his hands full...

Batman's arrival ruffles Hong Kong politicians Friday September 21 7:14 PM ET The arrival of Batman in Hong Kong this November for filming of the latest Hollywood sequel has ruffled local politicians who say the masked hero could disrupt traffic and cause noise pollution, reports said on Friday. In "The Dark Knight" due for release next July, the Caped Crusader will leave Gotham City for Hong Kong to fight his enemies, Hong Kong's Standard newspaper reported. But local politicians who met the film's producers on Thursday reportedly expressed concerns at the inconvenience and "traffic chaos," Batman might cause during the...

Batman Sequel Title & Casting Confirmed! Source: Warner Bros. Pictures August 1, 2006 As a follow up to last year's blockbuster Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan is set to direct Warner Bros. Pictures' The Dark Knight, written by Jonathan Nolan, based on a story by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer. The film will be produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan. Additionally, Christian Bale will resume his role as Bruce Wayne and Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger has been cast as The Joker. The announcements were made today by Jeff Robinov, President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures. Christopher Nolan...

New Batman Joker Is… Heath Ledger!? Batman Dark Knight Joker Heath LedgerOf all the recent superhero movies, Batman Begins was probably the most complete, offering a gritty, realistic background to the Batman story. Forget all that for the sequel, though, because Batman's going Brokeback. For the sequel to Batman Begins, entitled The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan has ditched any idea that The Joker should be played by an actor so wildly charismatic that he's able to blow everyone else off the screen, like Jack Nicholson did. Instead, for The Dark Knight, Nolan has chosen to cast Heath Ledger -...

...*SNIP*... CB:My understanding is that your next major graphic novel is probably going to be the most overtly political of your works. Frank Miller: Yeah. CB: Tell me about it. Miller: My next graphic novel, I’ve inked about 120 pages of it, so it’s a work in progress, and will probably be about 200 pages long – is called “Holy Terror, Batman!” [audience applauds] Miller: And not to put too fine a point on it, it is a piece of propaganda. Batman kicks al-Qaeda’s ass. [audience applauds] CB: Alright – so in calling it propaganda, how do you want your...