Heath Ledger’s last complete movie, “The Dark Knight,” should draw large crowds to theaters when it opens this summer. Sadly, many will go just to satisfy their morbid curiosity.
Ledger died shortly after finishing work on “Knight,” the latest installment of the Batman saga. He played the Joker, a character that has been personified by the likes of Cesar Romero and Jack Nickolson. However, this version of the character is much darker and draws heavily on the fact that Joker is a mass murderer.
The trailers have been stunning, thanks in large part to Ledger’s bombastic performance. The Joker is menacing every moment he is on the screen, and I can only imagine how enthralling and terrifying it will be when it hits the big screen.
Christian Bale returns as Batman, and we can expect another top-notch performance from him. The co-stars include Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman as Wayne’s butler Alfred, Lucius Fox and Inspector James Gordon respectively. New additions to the cast include Maggie Gyllenhaal as Batman’s love interest, Rachel Dawes, and Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent (also listed as Two-Face, another Batman villain).
This is a powerhouse cast and seems to be setting up a sequel with Eckhart as the big foe next time around.
On top or that, the visuals last time around were stunning and, if the trailers are to be believed, this film’s will be equally so if not better.
I’m really looking forward to this film.
CosPlay Unlimited
Speaking of people in costumes, Comics Unlimited in Harlingen will host a CosPlay event Saturday.
CosPlay is when fans dress in costumes based on characters they dig. The themes for events like this are generally comics and anime characters. That’s not to say that if you show up as Lara Croft you’ll be turned away — unless you look like the comic book guy from “The Simpsons” and you show up as Croft. Then again, you may be welcomed with open arms.
Signup is at 3 p.m. and a costume contest takes place at 7 p.m.
The show is happening as a prelude to the Shimakon Anime Convention, so you can think of it as a warm up for that event.
Comics Unlimited is located at 1418 E. Tyler Avenue in Harlingen. For information, call 956-412-7808 or visit www.myspace.com/ComicsUnlimitedGuy.
Next week I’ll bring you a 2008-2009 comic book movie roundup.
Shawn Munguia does graphics and layout for the Valley Morning Star. He also maintains a blog about cartoons and comics at http://toontalk.freedomblogging.com/. Munguia can be reached at 956-421-9870 or you can e-mail him at shawnm@valleystar.com.
