The Fourth Kind (2009)

Fact-based thriller involving an ongoing unsolved mystery in Alaska, where one town has seen an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances during the past 40 years and there are accusations of a federal cover up. -IMDB.com

     First of all, this is not a fact-based movie. The marketing on this film took its cue from The Blair Witch Project and other such similar "documentaries" to such an extreme that Nome, Alaska went up in arms against the deceptive ads. I myself being somewhat a believer in alien encounters, was fooled for a while until I did more research and realized it was all just a way to promote the movie. Moving on from that however, the movie was quite fascinating.

    Because the director had access to "real" footage of interviews and such, the split screen technique was used often, one side portraying the real person with the actor miming the actual events. It was an unusual move and definitely gave the film an amateur, real-life feel (it was appropriate this was released around the same time as Paranormal Activity, a movie essentially filmed like a youtube video). The movie cut between the plot and the director's interview with our victim of the alien encounter. Honestly, she was the creepiest out of any of the movie's characters, human or alien. There was a lot of talk about owls in the movie, and when I first saw her, she reminded me very much of an owl, with her hollow, shadow-rimmed eyes and creepily whispery voice. There are several scenes where she cries, and it was quite possibly the most haunting sound I've heard in my life.

     I like the plot. It's fast, gripping, and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. It has plenty of gotcha! moments, so much that a girl in my theater screamed during an intense spontaneous levitation scene. It's not an uplifting movie however, shedding little hope to the traumatic experience of alien abduction. However, like District 9, it moves away from traditional alien movies and employs psychological horror instead of special effects - you never see the aliens, only shadows - and since the similar made Paranormal Activity profited so much, I anticipate more movies that stray away from tradition and turn classic movie food into something unique. 

The Dark Knight

Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker. Written by Peteagassi (imdb.com)

I watched The Dark Knight this week. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. I got to watch it in IMAX, so it was even more incredible. The movie was beautifully complex and used every moment to deepen the layers. This new Batman series seems to pride itself on character development (remember how long it took the first movie to even introduce Bruce Wayne's "Batman"?), and so this time around the focus fell on Heath Ledger's "Joker." I hate to sound like a cliche of essentially everyone in the world, but he was brilliant. It's not easy to follow Jack Nicholson's Joker (who I never liked) since he defined the character for so long, but Ledger managed to craft a unique villain steeped in evil. There was no trace of Heath Ledger, he WAS the Joker. Every actor was very good. They were all intense. Christian Bale stood strong even when paired with the scene-stealing Joker. I wouldn't call Batman a superhero, but he is a hero in every sense of the word - strength, bravery and sacrifice. He is a solid symbol.

I love the new Batman series. There's a trueness to it that the old franchises lacked. No more cartoonish characters and cinematography; Batman is now dark and gritty and real. The whole movie is shrouded in the blackness of Gotham City, but characters like Gordon and Batman stand out as fully good. It's kinda like our world: there's so much evil and corruption, and so many people fail and fall, but there are those who don't. There are those who never will.

In a nutshell, this movie is perfect. It's dark and painful and victorious. It shows the deepest, darkest places in humanity, but also the brilliance. One of my favorite scenes takes place on two ferryboats. If you see it, you'll understand why.

*Note
Seeing it the second time, it was too long. Could've edited a few fight sequences.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pljIBkl56I