This past weekend, two films opened that allowed views to choose between their amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Those who wanted to react could watch Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and relish the ceaseless action and those who wished to reflect could screen Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and revisit the intrigue of the Cold War. There is nothing wrong with explosions and fisticuffs but I wanted conspiracies and mysteries so I chose the latter. I was happy with my choice but others in the theatre were not, believing that there was not sufficient violence for their liking. Based on the 1974 novel …
The Dark Knight and The Graduate
Over the weekend I watched two films, The Dark Knight in IMAX and The Graduate on DVD. Directors Christopher Nolan and Mike Nichols created two excellent films but only one of the two is truly an all-time great (despite what IMDB’s All-Time Ratings indicate at the moment). On the six-storey IMAX screen, The Dark Knight is spectacular. Panoramic shots are crystal clear and one can appreciate the scale of Gotham City. The monologues and dialogues are even more intense; the size of the presentation does great justice to the performances of Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, and Aaron Eckhart. But the …