A Knight's Tale

As expected, my first actual (read: non-introductory) post is a movie review. While I concur that my movie of choice is not exactly the freshest one to hit theaters, I still would like to put my two cents in (you can opt not to read anyway if you don't wanna). :)

Let me just reiterate that I really did not expect greatness from The Dark Knight (TDK) but I was nonetheless blown away. It was not a movie I anticipated to watch in SATC fashion since I'm not really a Batman fan (I'm more a Superman or X-men kinda girl). I wanted to watch it for one reason, and one reason alone: Heath Ledger's final performance as The Joker. I'm one of those people who was saddened by his death because he truly is a talented actor. He had me since the time he sang Can't Take My Eyes off You in 10 Things, and never really lost me even when he kissed another guy in Brokeback. Of course, the free movie tickets were enticing too (thanks SCB!).

While TDK is technically a superhero movie, it stands out because it's nothing like the ones we've been accustomed to seeing. It doesn't warm you up inside or make kids jump up and down wanting to be a superhero. In fact, it is not a movie for kids at all. It actually deals with sad, sad realities and ironies in life in a way that makes you ponder long after you've left the cinema. While to some this just seems downright taxing, I think it was precisely the right kind of approach to take. After seeing one too many superhero movies, even Batman movies for that matter, it's time to try a different strategy. Because realistically speaking, how can Batman in his standard black suit (yet again) give Iron Man (in full ostentatious grandeur and cockiness) a run for his money? The answer? He doesn't. His story can always take a different route. One that tells us viewers that we are cerebral and mature enough to handle our espresso with no milk in it.

And while Batman is the superhero, TDK is not so much his movie but The Joker's. As far as villains go, The Joker is, after all, the most disturbing kind. His motives are complex and unintelligible, which also makes him utterly unpredictable and unstoppable. He may not have any uncanny powers that could render him invincible, but that is what makes him all the more realistically bothersome. And Heath Ledger was utterly convincing in his performance as The Joker - funny yet disturbing, and every inch true to form. I really hope he wins an Oscar for his performance because he was without a doubt, the star of the movie (sorry Christian Bale... for what it's worth I think you look hotter now than before, save for when you speak in your raspy Batman voice :D)

All in all, TDK is one of those movies absolutely worth watching in 2008. It is absolutely worth watching, period. However, watch when you're chirpy, positive and rested because it is a thinking movie tainted with gloom. Some scenes are quite stressful to watch and the movie is rather lengthy. I actually thought it ends with the emergence of another popular Batman nemesis but in retrospect, I was glad it didn't. Bittersweet as TDK is, no superhero movie is quite like it.

First Crack

I have finally succumbed to the ultimate pressure and put up a blog! Yes, a blog. For real (or so it seems now)! So I can publicly give some color on whatever matter suits my fancy. Hell, I even entitled this blog after one of my favorite books, Paolo Coelho's Veronika Decides to Die. More than having some time in my hands, I decided to do so in efforts to prove to myself that my prose can still go beyond the textbook-ish kinda stuff that forms an integral part of what I actually do for a living. Hahaha. After all, I used to wanna be a features writer/actress/overall-glamorous-person when I grow up. A weird, weird ambition, I know, but when you're young and naive and oh so idealistic, don't they say you believe you can be anything you wanna be? Haha. I can be such a cynic sometimes (sometimes being the operative word). Besides, I'm feeling the need to publish more than my incessant status message updates, wall posts and photo comments in Facebook.

I'm still wondering about what my blog will actually contain. It'll probably consist mostly of reviews - books, TV, movies... maybe sports and pets (as if!). Knowing how much I opt to use humor to diffuse almost everything lately, I don't think I'll be blogging about serious stuff (I'm not shallow, I'm really just a very private person). Save for maybe a few passive-aggressive jabs here and there (now this is starting to look like fun!). But then again, who knows what my Drama Queen tendencies can drive me to do? I just might go all dramatic in my blog. Hmmm... maybe it's time to say, "Please don't read anything I write." Or at least read it and under no circumstances will you mock me after.

Well, I really hope this doesn't turn out to be just another Multiply that I rarely update. :) Maybe for starters I can gun for one post a week until I get sooo addicted to blogging that I actually neglect my product manuals for my posts. Well, for my sake, I hope I do not get THAT carried away.