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Rottenwatch: THE DARK KNIGHT

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Of course TDK will do more than BB - thats box office 101. Theres no way that TDK doesnt do at least $100M more than BB. TDK will hit $300M. Only question is how far it goes beyond that. Im still sticking with my prediction of it performing like Iron Man, which is to say that Im thinking around $315M.
 
I'm pretty stumped by this film and how it will perform.

- Batman Begins made $205 million with not much advertising, good reviews, and strong word of mouth.

- The Dark Knight has heavy advertising, strong word of mouth, Heath Ledger's final complete film, Oscar buzz crowd, a variety of actors to different demographics, those same actors actually doing the talk show circuit this time around, a viral campaign that has brought in a few fans interested in the fun of the game, and excellent reviews from the fanboy reviewers and regular critics alike. All this as well as being one of the biggest films in advance ticket sales history.

Alot of things point towards huge numbers. I'm still wary but this has the potential to rake in major money.
 
Christopher said:
Ledger sealed his own fate.

How the fuck can you judge Ledger for the minute you actually see him in the prologue...
Yeah, I know, it's a dumb thought perhaps, but just a gut feeling I had, I dunno.
As for the question, I've seen him in trailers also and read enough to have an idea at least.
 
James Power said:
Come on, this is getting suspicious. Where are the bad reviews?


Anyone who posts a negative review is going to be hated by the board. Hype is so high for this movie on GAF that even withholding judgement until its actually out is seen as "hating"
 
Teh Hamburglar said:
Anyone who posts a negative review is going to be hated by the board. Hype is so high for this movie on GAF that even withholding judgement until its actually out is seen as "hating"
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irfan said:
How about a bet? If it opens at 70 and closes at 180, I'll never do a BO prediction. If it does more, then you dont.


I take your bet, man. If I lose, no more bo predictions for me and if I win, same for you

do we have a margin? :D
 
To those who are curious the film right now is tracking to open between 100 million and 110 million as of sunday. Tracking tends to go up during the final week, I say based on the tracking we can expect a 120 million dollar opening without much worry.

Low end is 110 mil I say, high end is 150 million for opening weekend. My prediction would be 125 mil opening, with 330 mil in total.
 
I think people have unrealistic expectations for TDK's box office. It's not exactly kid-friendly and the movie has a pretty long running time which will limit the amount of possible showings.
 
Blader5489 said:
No way this movie will make $150 million its opening weekend. A third movie could.
It won't. It will make over 100 mil though. Both Iron Man and Indiana Jones made over 100 million opening weekend and Indiana Jones before a friday unlike TDK.
 
:lol :lol :lol Battle of the journalists


First Negative Dark Knight Review - And Why It's Bullsh*t
from FirstShowing.net by Alex Billington
First Negative Dark Knight Review

If you haven't already noticed, The Dark Knight currently has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, which falls right in line with my own initial reaction to the film. Although I was hoping it would remain one of the best reviewed films of the year, the first negative review has shown its ugly head courtesy of David Edelstein at New York Magazine. The so-called critic chimes on the morbid elements of the film, calling it "noisy, jumbled, and sadistic." I wanted to wait to address this, because I'm on my way to see The Dark Knight for my second time right now, but alas it's become the talk of the web and I can't help but address it before other critics get their chance to see it this morning as well. If you care to still stay spoiler free, I'd suggest you walk away now, but for those who want to see how bad film criticism has become, read on.

I'm not going to spend too much time addressing Edelstein's review, because it's easier for everyone to simply read it for themselves (unless you want to stay spoiler free). This isn't just a matter of complaining about a critic who didn't like a film that I loved, this guy really doesn't get the movie. It seems like he's just attacking its more brilliant aspects just to spite its otherwise perfect rating. "It's a shock—and very effective—to see a comic-book villain come on like a Quentin Tarantino reservoir dog. But then the novelty wears off and the lack of imagination, visual and otherwise, turns into a drag." Are you kidding?! The film's "novelty" never wears off, in fact, it keeps escalating all the way through to the end - that's what really made the story stand out so much! At least he "got" how amazing the Joker was as a villain.

Edelstein also mentions that "Nolan appears to have no clue how to stage or shoot action." This is completely subjective, but considering the visuals (in IMAX), which included extensive fight scenes, were part of what made my jaw drop, I can say he's very far from being accurate on this one. It simply sounds like another complaint from a critic who didn't know that you shouldn't sit in the front row of the IMAX theater. And as for the morbid aspect, Edelstein says that "it could only be darker if Batman died." While it is a very dark film, that edginess is what gave the film more depth and intensity than any other comic book movie before it. He even goes as far as to compare it to Tim Burton's Batman - negatively. "When Burton's Batman came out, some prominent critics griped that the film was too violent for kids. Wait'll they get a load of this."

Yes, we will wait until those critics get a load of this. So far they've said things like if "Batman Begins, the 2005 film that launched Nolan's series, was a mere five-finger exercise… This is the full symphony." (via Time) Hopefully this hasn't put a damper on anyone's day, because it's a review that can easily be looked past. And when the film finally arrives on Friday, you'll all be able to see for yourselves just how wrong Edelstein actually is. Until then, it may be best to skip reviews this bad, or else his ignorance may even frustrate you. We knew this was coming, someone had to give it a bad review, but we just didn't think it would be someone who wasn't able to comprehend what Christopher Nolan has brought us.

Discover More: Editorials, Hype, Opinions


Vs.




SPOILERS ARE IN THIS ARTICLE WATCH OUT
Why The Hyper Praise For The Dark Knight Is Bullshit
from The Movie Blog by john@themovieblog.com (John Campea)

Dark-Knight-Bullshit


The Short Version

* The Dark Knight is a great movie
* It’s not even close to being the “darkest” or “Grittiest” or “violent” or “best crime drama” movie ever
* It’s ok to love a movie without the need to make up fake praises and to admit its shortcomings

The Full Version

We’re now just a few short days away from the opening of one of the most anticipated movies of the year. The Dark Knight (the sequel to Batman Begins) and huge swells of movie going patrons will storm theaters this weekend… the wait is over. But dear international friends… as your friend I feel the need to warn you in advance. IGNORE THE BLOG FANBOY CRITICS (like myself) who are hailing this Batman flick as: “The darkest”, “the grittiest”, “the revolutionary”, “the masterpiece”, “The Ultra Violent”, “The instant Crame drama classic” film that some of them are making it out to be, because you’ll be disappointed.

Let’s get something straight. I loved The Dark Knight. I gave the movie an 8.5 out of 10. It’s fantastic on many levels. Very fun movie… yadda yadda yadda. But it seems like some guys had so pre-invensted themselves into believing the movie would be awesome long before they ever saw it, that when the movie turned out to be really good, they praised it like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. It’s not.

Now, if you’ll allow me to play a little Penn and Teller, here are a couple of false praises the film gets, and why they’re bullshit:

1) The Dark Knight Is One Of the Darkest (Or Grittiest) Films I’ve Ever Seen
This statement (or some variation of it) is one of the staples in the blog fanboy quotes you’ll see in most Dark Knight reviews. When I read those quotes all I can wonder to myself is “what the fuck movie were they watching and what made them think it was Batman?”

Bullshit: Let’s get the straight. The Dark Knight isn’t really all that Dark and it isn’t really all that gritty. Oh it’s dark and gritty for a COMIC BOOK MOVIE. Sure, I’ll agree with that. Compare this film to X-Men and you can call it dark and gritty. Compare it to Spider-Man and you can call it dark and gritty. But don’t even pretend like The Dark Knight is even in the same league as Apocalypse Now or American Psycho (also featuring Christian Bale coincidentally) or The Killer. The Dark Knight looks like a G rated family film next to real “dark” films. Dark and gritty for a comic book movie, sure… but just leave it at that.

2) The Dark Knight Transcends Being A Comic Book Movie And Becomes An Instant Crime Drama Classic
Good grief, reading this statement in a couple of fanboy reviews is what really convinced me some people were just making up ways to praise this film (that’s good enough that it doesn’t need people making up fake things to say about it).

Bullshit: Instant crime drama classic? If I ever smoked drugs, I’d want some of what these guys are having, because in my opinion, that statement is nothing short of absurd. Godfather, Goodfellas, The Usual Suspects… these are crime drama classics, Dark Knight is not, nor does it try to be. I’m sorry, but aside from Heath Ledger, the “criminals” in The Dark Knight (including Eric Roberts, whom I normal love) were terrible and acted like they came straight out of… well… out of a comic book. Please don’t tell me The Dark Knight is a new Crime Drama classic with a straight face when a copy of Reservoir Dogs and The French Connection are sitting on the shelf behind us.

3) The Dark Knight Is Ultra Violent
Again, I don’t know what movie these people are watching. Reading one of the blog fanboy reviews would lead you to believe that Heath Ledger walks around slitting the throats of women and children at the local Dairy Queen just to pass the time while waiting for his Blizzard.

Bullshit: I’ll go back to what I said about the dark and gritty point. Yes, for a COMIC BOOK MOVIE this film is quite violent. I’ve said before that this movie is not for little kids, but to call the stuff on screen in The Dark Knight “intense violence” is quite frankly laughable. Big spoiler here folks… the Joker shoots some people. There’s another scene where he does something pretty cool to a guy… but we don’t even see it really. Come on… phrases like “intense brutal violence” are for movies that have… you know… intense brutal violence. Films like Aliens, Hostel, Battle Royale, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance… these are intense brutal violence movies. Dear heavens Dark Knight doesn’t even come close to being a part of the discussion.


IT’S OK TO LOVE A MOVIE AND ADMIT ITS FAULTS AT THE SAME TIME

Regular Movie Blog readers know how much I loved Transformers. I bloody flipped my lid for that movie beyond all reasonable limits. I said it was the most fun summer flick I’d ever seen and I said it was the best visual effects I’d ever seen. However, if you read my stuff, or if you listened to the Transformers DVD commentary that we did, you’ll know that I openly talk about the many weaknesses of the movie. The painful dialog in places, the poor choice in certain characters they used, the horrible lack of dialog between the decepticons (how can you have a transformers movie and only have 1 single line between Megatron and Starscream?!?!)

Just because I acknowledges the film had a lot of flaws didn’t mean I couldn’t still love it

Also, I praised the film for what it was (fun, great VFX). Even though I loved the movie, I never felt the need to say it had the best acting, or the best story, or the best comedy or the most “intense brutal violence”. That would have been just making shit up to artificially justify my love for the movie… when I don’t need to justify my love for a movie. None of us do.

The Dark Knight never tries to be a Crime drama. It doesn’t try to be one of film history’s most dark and gritty movies. It doesn’t try to be ultra violent. It is what it is… and it’s damn good at it! There’s no need to reach up our collective asses to pull out false praises that the film doesn’t even qualify for. It’s good enough on it’s own without all the hyperbole.

Please be clear, this is not a “hate on The Dark Knight” post. I LOVE the movie… I love the movie enough to let it stand on its own actual merits without the need for the internet’s collective hyper exaggerated praises about it. It’s a wonderful movie and I think you’ll love it… just be very very very cautious of the bullshit some people are spraying in advance.

Anyway, just my grumpy subjective opinion written at 7am when I haven’t been to bed yet.

As a side note, another good read on the Hyperbole (he actually uses that word in his title) over the new Dark Knight movie, check out Devin’s (who I think it probably the best pure writer in the movie websphere even though I often disagree with him) post over at CHUD.
 
That second article is actually really good. It totally explains how I feel about movies like this, when it has source material that I adore, I overlook more things.
 
Teh Hamburglar said:
OMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I KNOE RITE!?

lol, im just happy cause I didnt even get the print ticket screen but it said I registered so I emailed the viral company (42 entertainment) and they hooked me up :)
 
Two negative reviews from two New York magazines....I'M MOVING OUT OF THIS SHITTY CITY! :P
 
Matrix said:
Two negative reviews from two New York magazines....I'M MOVING OUT OF THIS SHITTY CITY! :P

Is the Star Magazine reviewer in New York? He said The Love Guru was the best comedy of the summer. Your city sucks! Your people ruined Spider-Man 1, now this!
 
DMczaf said:
Is the Star Magazine reviewer in New York? He said The Love Guru was the best comedy of the summer. Your city sucks! Your people ruined Spider-Man 1, now this!


Not sure about the Star Magazine review,but yea this city sucks...just remember I was born in Houston!
 
Matrix said:
Two negative reviews from two New York magazines....I'M MOVING OUT OF THIS SHITTY CITY! :P

Movies these reviewers liked.

MARSHALL FINE
-PayCheque

DAVID EDELSTEIN
You Don't Mess with the Zohan

and he hated

David Denby
-Batman Begins



their opinions dont count :D
 
Why The Hyper Praise For The Dark Knight Is Bullshit
from The Movie Blog by john@themovieblog.com (John Campea)

Dark-Knight-Bullshit


The Short Version

* The Dark Knight is a great movie
* It’s not even close to being the “darkest” or “Grittiest” or “violent” or “best crime drama” movie ever
* It’s ok to love a movie without the need to make up fake praises and to admit its shortcomings
When did not being the darkest, grittiest, violent or best crime drama become a shortcoming? Talk about having overblown standards...
 
Are we allowed to bring a guest to the prescreening my ticket says "This is an invitaion only for you to see The Dark Knight as a guest of Warner Bros."
 
Darko said:
Are we allowed to bring a guest to the prescreening my ticket says "This is an invitaion only for you to see The Dark Knight as a guest of Warner Bros."


"This is an invitaion only for you to see The Dark Knight as a guest of Warner Bros.


My crystal ball says "no".


Look to the left. Says "Admit Two"

wait a sec, some space dust on my crystal ball "Yes"
 
Darko said:
I KNOE RITE!?

lol, im just happy cause I didnt even get the print ticket screen but it said I registered so I emailed the viral company (42 entertainment) and they hooked me up :)

Hey, dude, tell Spinnington what you did, because he's been trying to get tickets for the Indy show. Help a brother out.
 
Darko said:
Are we allowed to bring a guest to the prescreening my ticket says "This is an invitaion only for you to see The Dark Knight as a guest of Warner Bros."
Look to the left. Says "Admit Two"

edit:

also, from whysoserious

"Tickets are "non-transferable" and may not be copied, sold, bartered or otherwise given to anyone else. An Offical Government issued Photo I.D will be required for admittance. The ticket is an invitation only for you and one friend to see The Dark Knight as a guest of Warner Bros. Please do NOT bring any recording devices, cell phones, computers, PDAs or digital cameras to these screenings. Leave them in your cars prior to approaching the Imax Theaters, as "they" and you will not be allowed in the theater."
 
woxel1 said:
When did not being the darkest, grittiest, violent or best crime drama become a shortcoming? Talk about having overblown standards...

When did anyone ever say it was the darkest, grittiest, most violent movie ever? :lol

Or who said it was the best crime drama ever?

What an overraction.
 
DMczaf said:
When did anyone ever say it was the darkest, grittiest, most violent movie ever? :lol

Or who said it was the best crime drama ever?

What an overraction.

:lol

Hell it's PG-13,I don't know wtf that guy is talking about.
 
Darko said:
email: humanresources@whysoserious.com
with the info you signed up with, but since its tommorow you might wana try calling them

http://www.42entertainment.com/contact.html
no answer on the telephone, so i shot them an email

thanks skip for the heads up. i don't expect to have nearly the luck darko did ; /
Mecha_Infantry said:
A dude from Superhero Hype wearing a costume to the premiere :lol :lol
::pics::
which one is he going to? i may have changed my mind just now
 
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