The Dark Knight

I took my youngest son Will (turning 13 on August 5th) to see The Dark Knight. Don't worry; I'm not going to spoil the film for you. First off, it was a great movie, and we had a great time...

But... we saw the movie in a little podunk theatre, and let's just say the quality of the presentation was... flawed.

First, after sitting through an eternity of PowerPoint ads, just as the previews were coming up, the lamp in the projector blew. After the movie was already about 10 minutes late, the manager came in and informed us we would have to move to another theatre.

After a herd of people ambled across the mall to settle into a new theatre, she came back in to say it was a lengthy process to unload the old projector and then load the new one, and that it would be another 15 minutes at least before the movie would start. She offered us all free popcorn if we were staying, but also told us we could have our money back if we wanted.

I know a couple people left, but not many. Finally after the rush job of unloading/loading, the previews started and then the movie, 40 minutes late. Maybe due to the rush, I'm not sure, the movie wasn't quite in focus. It was mainly noticeable with titles on the screen (especially at the end with the credits), but the picture just wasn't as sharp as it should have been. And the sound wasn't right. That was the worst part. It sounded like the characters were speaking from another room, or maybe had their heads in barrels. As long as dialog was full volume, I could understand it, but if individuals were talking in hushed tones, or if there was music playing, fogeddaboudit!

Still (and this is the part I find captivating), of those of us who stayed (probably about 98% of the audience), not a single person complained. The movie was that good!

And by the way, Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker made my skin crawl. He was most definitely the star of this movie. With many others I'm predicting a posthumous Oscar. And believe me, when I speak, Hollyood listens. Wink, wink.