Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!

I'm thrilled any time a Harry Potter movie comes out, but it just feels right when they premiere in the fall. It's the perfect time for a flagon of pumpkin juice and a return to Hogwarts. HP and the Half-Blood Prince will be out this November and I. Can't. Wait!

Thanks to the internet, I can easily find people who are just as nerdy as me who obsess over details in the new trailer. The nice people over at MTV posted this second by second anaylis.

Did you hear about them there podcasts?

Maybe I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I just got to know podcasts. Here, I'll detail what Lost podcasts I like. I started off small with The Offical Lost Podcast. It often has interviews with producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (including the occasional banjo solo), the actors, and some interesting behind the scenes stuff like how the freighter set was built.

But why listen to one Lost podcast when you can have three? From there, I quickly moved on to two which are fan-created. First, The Transmission, which is recorded in Hawaii by married couple Ryan and Jen. Thanks to their proximity to the Lost set, they often have fun spoilery news items to share. They just returned from ComiCon and to the delight of fans everywhere, have posted the audio from the huge Lost panel. And finally, I also listen to The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack. I think they are a step-father/son combo and have a very entertaining banter going on. While I don't always listen to the entirety of each episode, it's enlightening to hear both shows parse out Lost details and make predictions.

Why So Serious?

Since my last post was about The Dark Knight, it only seems right that my first one in almost, oh, three months should be about the same movie.

I saw The Dark Knight this past Sunday night. Even though it had already been out for just over a week, the theater was absolutely packed for the 7:45 show, and this was still with quite a few other showings in the same theater. As luck would have it, I couldn't find a parking space and got inside so late that the only seats left were in the very first row, which is just about as bad as it can get. During the previews, I sat there fuming that the one movie I was dying to see would be ruined by neck cramping. (Does that make me kind of geeky? Afraid so.)

As it turns out, The Dark Knight rocks sufficiently to make any thoughts of neck cramping disappear like bats on a summer's night. (Get it? Oh, ha ha ha.) Christian Bale is back again as the brooding Batman who makes good use of his daytime identity as billionaire Bruce Wayne, pretending to be a shallow dillettante so no one suspects his crime-fighting nocturnal activities. Maggie Gyllenhaal assumes the role of his love interest Rachel Dawes, and Aaron Eckhart is introduced as newly elected Gotham city DA Harvey Dent (and the future Two-Face). Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Michael Caine as Alfred round out the cast as Batman's indispensible right hand men.

The most exciting presence on screen, though, is Heath Ledger as the Joker. He steals every scene he's in, you can't stop watching him. His portrayal is a departure from Jack Nicholson's more gentlemanly take back in the Tim Burton version, and I have to say, it's phenomenal. He's charming, funny, sadistic, unpredictable, and thoroughly scary. I loved it.

The Dark Knight: New Trailer!

Thanks to my brother, I saw this new trailer for The Dark Night yesterday. While I was never a huge comic book fan, I've loved Tim Burton ever since seeing his interpretation of "Batman" when I was 12, which remains one of my all-time favorite movies to this day. So because of that, Batman is also my favorite super hero.

Why do I love Batman? For starters, he's the coolest. Super-Man can be too much of a corn-fed Iowa sweetheart, and we know Spidey is a huge nerd. Batman is dark, he's brooding, he has a kick-ass mansion with the coolest gadgets, Alfred is always there to back him up, and most importantly (and most cool of all), Batman has no super powers. He becomes Batman through sheer force of will and determination.

I absolutely loved Christopher Nolan's rebooting of the Batman franchise -- its only misstep was having Katie Holmes in it, as far as I'm concerned -- and now that Maggie Gyllenhaal has taken over the role of Rachel Dawes, there is nothing to worry about.

Of course, this movie is also highly-anticipated because it is the last complete performance from Heath Ledger. Just seeing the little bits and pieces of his performance in the trailer reminds me afresh of what a talented actor he was.

Iron Man Kicks Off Summer

Oh yeah, summer is coming and that means one thing: goodbye brain, hello blockbuster!

I kid. I kid because I love. I love sitting down in a dark movie theater on a hot summer day and seeing what big fat spectacle is about to light up the screen. Just because something is geared to the big crowds, like Spider-Man, doesn't mean it's without a soul. I'm hoping Iron Man achieves that enjoyable mixture of pure pop fun which goes beyond the disposable.

My affection for Robert Downey, Jr. goes back to his very charming performance in Chances Are. You can see the trailer on YouTube here. So yes, maybe it is pretty gross that he plays a man who dies before his daughter is born, and then years later comes back reincarnated as a hot young Yale grad who romances her, while snagging a sweet reporting gig for The Washington Post. It came out when I was 12, he's adorable and funny in it, and so there.

I have never read an Iron Man comic in my life and only now do I know anything about the character, but I'm going to see that movie because of my twelve-year old self's love for Robert Downey, Jr. and because I think it's awesome how he's gotten past his drug problems and can now be known for being the gifted actor he is. The New York Times profiles him here.

OMFG - Gossip Girl is Back!

Just watched the return episode of Gossip Girl and damn if it wasn't refreshing like a warm bath. Yay, indulgently fabulously over-the-topishly scripted TV is back! I'm not alone in my love. New York Magazine shares my obsession and goes it one better with this awesome cover story.

Ed Norton comments on "Hulk" Controversy

Edward Norton issued his first public statement on the behind-the-scenes drama of The Incredible Hulk. Read Entertainment Weekly's article by clicking on the link to this post above, but here is Mr. Norton's statement:

"Like so many people I've loved the story of The Hulk since I was a kid, so it was thrilling when Marvel asked me to write and help produce an altogether new screen incarnation, as well as play Bruce Banner. I grew up reading Marvel Comics and always loved the mythic dimension and contemporary themes in the stories, and I’m proud of the script I wrote. In every phase of production, including the editing, working with Louis Leterrier has been wonderful...I've never had a better partner, and the collaboration with all the rest of the creative team has been terrific. Every good movie gets forged through collaboration, and different ideas among people who are all committed and respect the validity of each other's opinions is the heart of filmmaking. Regrettably, our healthy process, which is and should be a private matter, was misrepresented publicly as a 'dispute,' seized on by people looking for a good story, and has been distorted to such a degree that it risks distracting from the film itself, which Marvel, Universal and I refuse to let happen. It has always been my firm conviction that films should speak for themselves and that knowing too much about how they are made diminishes the magic of watching them. All of us believe The Incredible Hulk will excite old fans and create new ones and be a huge hit...our focus has always been to deliver the Hulk that people have been waiting for and keep the worldwide love affair with the big green guy going strong.''

In large part I agree with the guy, although obviously I love knowing what goes on with the making of a movie because I write this blog and read about the entertainment industry almost compulsively. For me, knowing the backstage struggles often makes the end result even more magical.

For instance, recently EW ran an article about the making of The Graduate. Anne Bancroft was often hung over or bed-ridden with crippling menstrual cramps. But I'd never have guessed that when watching the film. Her Mrs. Robinson is complex, sexy, provocative...an absolutely iconic role. Knowing the difficulties Ms. Bancroft deal with makes me even more impressed with her work.

Other times, knowing backstage drama can produce disappointment. One of my all-time favorite directors is Billy Wilder, and one of my all-time favorite actresses is Marilyn Monroe. Natuarally, I love Some Like it Hot and The Seven Year Itch. But knowing that Ms. Monroe struggled with her lines and miscarried a baby during filming on Some Like it Hot, as she began the steady decline that resulted in her untimely death, is terribly sad, and I can never watch it without thinking of those things. I suppose there is no way you can create a film with all the scores of people needed to collaborate on it, and maintain complete secrecy.