The Dark Knight Videos

According to estimates over at Variety, The Twilight Saga: New Moon failed to top The Dark Knight's three-day opening weekend record of $158 million, bringing what I'm sure will be a huge sigh of relief to all those folks (and there's lots of them) who felt the film was in no way deserving of these historic milestones. Instead, after clinching the Best Midnight Opening record and Best Opening Day record, New Moon will have to settle for third on the Best Opening Weekend list after walking away with a pretty astonishing $130 $140 million when it was all said and done. If that number holds up (and it should), the film will replace Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End for third place on the list of all-time best opening weekends (domestic), and will settle in behind only Spider-Man 3 (second) and The Dark Knight (first). Still, with $130 $140 million, New Moon more than doubled Twilight's opening weekend ($69 million) -- in addition to taking in the largest domestic weekend gross of the year -- so if the franchise remains on that pace there's a good chance The Twilight Saga: Eclipse will indeed snatch the opening weekend record from The Dark Knight when it hits theaters on June 30th ... that is, unless Iron Man 2 doesn't get to it first.Filed under: Box Office, Fandom, Newsstand Permalink | Email this | Comments

Everyone loves a good seasonal discount, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing some insane discounts this particular holiday season, especially when it comes to DVDs. Case in point: If you're one of the seven people who don't currently own The Dark Knight on DVD, make sure to head over to Target because they'll be selling the film -- which was released in 2008, mind you -- with a bargain-basement price tag of $3.99. The move comes not long after it was announced that Target, Walmart and Amazon were at war with one another -- hacking and slashing their DVD prices in an attempt to win the most holiday shoppers. While all three retailers were originally planning to sell popular upcoming titles like Star Trek, Night at the Museum 2 and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for only $10, Target has now upped the ante by offering The Dark Knight for a measly $3.99 ... and, reportedly, the Blu-ray for $12.99. Other 2008 films Target plans to sell for $3.99 include Sex and the City and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Personally, I can't wait to see how far these guys go while trying to one up the other. If Target will sell The Dark Knight for $3.99, will Walmart give it to you for two bucks? Or maybe Amazon will send a Batman and Joker performer to your house to re-enact the entire film live in person for, like, a dollar? That'd be cool. Definitely keep your eyes peeled on some of these deep DVD discounts and let us know what the best buys are in the comments section. UPDATE: It's important to note that this is indeed part of a two-day Black Friday sale beginning on November 27th at 5am. For more details, head here. [via ICv2, Comics Alliance]Filed under: Fandom, Home Entertainment Permalink | Email this | Comments

If you've been watching playoff baseball these past few weeks, you've probably come across the Tommy Boy DirecTV commercial about, say, 176,000 times. About a week after it began airing, the satellite television company came under fire for a second time for airing parody commercials featuring actors or actresses who died tragically at a young age. The first was a commercial featuring Poltergeist actress Heather O'Rourke, and now folks are really pissed DirecTV is using Chris Farley in a commercial that stars David Spade (who reprises his character from Tommy Boy in a parody of the "Fat Guy in a Little Coat" scene). If you want my personal opinion, I think DirecTV does this sort of stuff on purpose -- claiming to be "celebrating" the life of a dead celebrity, though what they're really hoping for is that people like us (and several other sites) will give them a bunch of free publicity by writing attacks on their ads. But back to my original point: The folks over at Landline TV have put together a spoof of the DirecTV dead celebrity spoofs -- this time including folks like Heath Ledger, John F. Kennedy and Jesus Christ. Honestly, I'm surprised Michael Jackson hasn't made an appearance yet ... or, heck, how long before DirecTV butchers a scene from Dirty Dancing and craps all over Patrick Swayze? What do you think about these commercials? Yes, they're annoying (believe us we know), but are they in the wrong for featuring dead celebrities? Or what about celebrities who died tragic deaths at an early age? Is there a difference? Anyone canceling their DirecTV service because of this? Chime in below, and watch the video after the jump.Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Trailers and ClipsContinue reading Wait, Now Heath Ledger Has a DirecTV Commercial? Permalink | Email this | Comments

Why recast the relatively small role of a doctor in a thriller? Michael Mann's Manhunter was an excellent thriller, featuring Brian Cox in a small role as the imprisoned, chillingly cold cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecktor. When the time came to adapt another one of Thomas Harris' bestsellers, Jonathan Demme went in a different direction, casting Anthony Hopkins as the good doctor. The character's family name was restored (Lecter, not Lecktor) and a whole new set of tics and tricks were placed on display. Hopkins may have been the only actor alive who could have hammed it up to such extreme levels and yet, somehow, made Lector creepy rather than campy, unnerving rather than unbelievable. For his memorable efforts in The Silence of the Lambs, Hopkins won an Academy Award. Recasting villains is a tricky business. Everyone needs to love, identify with, and cheer the hero or heroine, but if the villain doesn't provide the requisite level of opposition, the picture runs the risk of becoming unbalanced, leaving a gaping hole that cannot be filled in with special effects. And if an actor has established the character in the public's mind, it's difficult for anyone else to measure up. So Dylan Walsh has an advantage in The Stepfather, which opens tomorrow. Terry O'Quinn originated the title role in the 1987 original, and was a truly memorable monster. Yet the film is not steeped in the public consciousness to a high degree, and O'Quinn has become much better known from playing John Locke in Lost. Walsh's fame, such as it is, comes from the lesser-seen TV series Nip/Tuck. Walsh has a shot of creating his own distinct brand of villain.Filed under: Drama, Horror, Critical Thought, FandomContinue reading Villains: The Highs and Lows of Recasting Permalink | Email this | Comments

These are adventures into the land of reviewing with Radical Dreamer. His only companion is Webbie, a creature from his childhood with the ability to show the world his innermost thoughts without tact or warning. Be afraid, be very afraid. This time we cover Infamous.

I'll admit that when it comes to Batman, I'm a bit of a novice (I'll just take a moment to let you finish yelling at your monitor). Granted, I've been taking steps to remedy that situation over the past couple of years, but I'm still a long way from an expert. The reason I mention this is because I'm not steeped in Batman lore and I never really found The Joker to be all that scary. But because of Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger, I now understand what was so creepy about that clown thanks to the interrogation scene in The Dark Knight. It's one thing to hear someone say they have nothing to lose, but it's a hell of a lot more frightening to watch that philosophy in action. What makes this scene so memorable is that in under five minutes the Joker sums up everything about the Batman/Joker relationship that makes it one of the most fascinating in comic book history -- it's an interesting idea that the person who is supposed to save you might not be able to because of his moral code. Batman's adherence to the law is his Achilles' heel, and no matter how many times I have seen this movie, I can't help but crack a smile at Ledger's gleeful maniac turning the knife on our Caped Crusader with "You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to do with all your strength." And the scary thing is ... he's right. After the jump: "I'm not a monster, I'm just ahead of the curve..." Filed under: Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Trailers and Clips, Scenes We LoveContinue reading Scenes We Love: The Dark Knight Permalink | Email this | Comments

Earlier today we brought you Rotten Tomatoes' list of the 100 worst reviewed films of the decade. Now, though it might be a little premature (considering that we still have a little while to go before we hit our next decade), the good folks over at I Heart Chaos have decided to get the ball rolling on those end-of-decade lists by shoveling out what they believe are the Top 50 Movies of the 2000's. Usually these kinds of things start to gain in popularity towards the end of the year, but I guess the early bird does get the worm, so let's get right to the chase and find out who made the cut. When you've got a a list of 50, there is plenty of wiggle room, and it's a pretty comprehensive list that manages to find room for cult faves and foreign flicks. But I'll admit, even though Chaos has put together a solid list, I was a little surprised that the #1 film for this decade is Quentin Tarantino's Samurai/Cowboy epic, Kill Bill -- though that's the beauty of a list, everyone wants to have a little friendly debate, I guess. You can read the entire list over at Chaos, but rounding out the top five are The Dark Knight, No Country for Old Men, and Kinji Fukasaku's adaptation of Battle Royale. The great thing about a long list like Chaos' is that it makes room for all kinds of movies that sometimes you just don't have room for in streamlined lists of five or ten entries. But I love a challenge, so I decided to put together a list of my top films of the 2000s ... although I've cheated just a little. After the jump: my nominations for the top films of the 2000s...Filed under: Fandom, Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Lists, Trailers and ClipsContinue reading Now It's the 50 Best Movies of the Decade! Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sal Abbinanti returns to Around Comics with his usual wit and charm as he, Chris and Tom talk about the upcoming Windy City Comicon, foreign comic creators and unicorns. David Steinberger joins the conversation to tell us all about Comixology and their new COMICS app for the iPhone. We take the opportunity to thank Brion Salazar for all he's done to make Around Comics what it is. So long and thanks for all the fish Sal! Featured Music by The Reverend Horton Heat

Windy City Comicon was amazing. Thank you to everyone who attended. It's time for a small break as we catch up on some reading and recharge as we approach the end of 2009.

Genuine Nerd Toby Radloff takes a look at Heath Ledger's swan song performance in THE DARK KNIGHT!

Some simple DIY remedies for fixing stuck HDTV pixels. The Top 5 Best Car Chase Scenes in HD Movies. Cheapie Big Screen Monitors that aren't crap! When 720p makes more sense than 1080p. Not all rear surround sound speakers are the same: dipole, bipole, or direct.

*Add at the end of the url if the HD stream is too choppy* Action vid featuring V, The Joker and Eric Draven