A New Kind of Criminal

I have always been a HUGE Batman fan. Of all the superheros he has been my favorite. Mainly because unlike Superman, Spiderman, and the characters from X-Men, Batman is completely human, and very much a mortal being. No super strength, no x-ray vision, no incredible sense of balance or metal knives implanted in his hands. He is 100% man.

More importantly, I was always fascinated by the villians that batman had to face. My favorite being the Joker. A deranged and psychopathic serial killer with no conscience. Jack Nicholson did a great job of playing this villian. BUT, in the newest batman movie Heath Ledger redefined the term psycho.

Heath Ledger has been one of my favorite actors for years. His ability to completely immerse himself into character has always left me speechless. He literally becomes the character he is portraying. After watching The Dark Knight, it is understandable why Heath become so psychologically disturbed before his death, and therefore sought out medication. The Dark Knight takes Batman and his villians to a whole new level. It is a pity that Heath died so young, because after watching this movie it is clear that his career was just headed to new levels.

I will be very surprised if Heath does not win an Academy Award for his performance as the diabolical sosiopath. Here are some of his lines from the movie:

"I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger."

"Come on, I want you do it, I want you to do it. Come on, hit me. *Hit me!* "

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We are tonight's entertainment!"

"You know, you remind of my father.....I hated my father!"

"And I thought my jokes were bad... "

"Kill you? I don't want to kill you! What would I do without you? Go back to ripping off mob dealers? No, no, you... you complete me."

"Now, let's not *blow* things out of proportion here...You know what? You let me know when you start taking things a bit more seriously. Here's my card."

"Let's turn the clocks back. A year ago, these cops and lawyers wouldn't dare cross any of you. I mean, what happened? Did your - did your balls drop off? Hmm?"

"It's the schemers that put you where you are. You were a schemer. You had plans and, uh, look where that got you."

"Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair."

"Well, hello, beautiful. You must be Harvey's squeeze, hmm? And you *are* beautiful."

" You look nervous. Is it the scars? You want to know how I got 'em? Come here. Hey! Look at me. So I had a wife, beautiful, like you, who tells me I worry too much. Who tells me I ought to smile more. Who gambles and gets in deep with the sharks... look at me! One day, they carve her face. And we have no money for surgeries. She can't take it. I just want to see her smile again, hmm? I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars. So... I stick a razor in my mouth and do this......to myself. And you know what? She can't stand the sight of me! She leaves. Now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling!"

"Do you wanna know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the...little..emotions. And..you see..in their last moments...people show you who they really are. So, in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards? "

"I took Gotham's white knight, and brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard. Y'see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little...push."

"Now, our operation is small but there is a lot of potential for 'aggressive' expansion. So which one of you fine gentlemen would like to join our team? Oh, there's only one spot open right now so we're gonna have tryouts."

"Never start with the head, the victim gets all fuzzy."

"Those mob fools want you gone so they can get back to the way things were. But I know the truth: there's no going back. You've changed things ... forever. "

"You have all these rules and you think they'll save you. Then that's the rule you'll have to break to know the truth. The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules. And tonight you're gonna break your one rule. No, there's only minutes left, so you're gonna have to play my little game if you want to save one of them. "

"You see, nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even if the plan is horrifying. If I told people that a gangbanger was going to get shot, or a busload of soldiers was going to get blown up, nobody would panic. Because it's all part of the plan. But tell people that one tiny little mayor is going to die and everyone loses their minds!"

"If you're good at something, never do it for free."

"Tonight you are all going to be part of a *social experiment*."

"Ooohhh. You want to play. Come on!"

"You have nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to do with all your strength."

"You just couldn't let me go could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness, and I won't kill you, because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever."

Batman: "You'll be in a padded cell forever. "
"Maybe we can share one. Then we'll be doubling up the rate this city's inhabitants are losing their minds. "

"You didn't think I'd risk losing the battle for Gotham's soul in a fistfight with you, did you?"

"We really should stop fighting, we'll miss the fireworks!"

"The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules!"

"See, I'm not a monster...I'm just ahead of the curve."

"See, I'm a man of simple tastes. I like gunpowder...and dynamite...and gasoline! Do you know what all of these things have in common? They're cheap! "

"Wanna know how I got these scars? My father was....a drinker. And a fiend. And one night he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. Turns to me and he says "Why so serious?" Comes at me with the knife,"Why so serious?" He sticks the blade in my mouth. "Let’s put a smile on that face!" And..... Why so serious?"

"You'll see, I'll show you, that when the chips are down, these uh... civilized people, they'll eat each other."

"People will die. Starting tonight. I'm a man of my word."

"I had a vision, of a world without Batman. The mob ground out a little profit and the police tried to shut them down, one block at a time. And it was so... boring. I've had a change of heart. I don't want Mr.Reese spoiling everything, but why should I have all the fun? Let's give someone else a chance. If Coleman Reese isn't dead in sixty minutes then I blow up a hospital."

"This town deserves a better class of criminal... and I'm gonna give it to them. Tell your men they work for me now. This is *my* city."

"Why don't we cut you up into little pieces and feed you to your pooches? Hmm? And then we'll see how loyal a hungry dog really is. It's not about money... it's about... sending a message. Everything burns."

"Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do if I caught it. You know, I just *do* things. The mob has plans, the cops have plans, Gordon's got plans, you know. They're schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds. I am not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are. So when I say... ah, come here...When I say that you and your girlfriend was nothing personal, you know that I'm telling the truth."

I hope that through this blog I have shown the true genius in Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker. I know Heath didn't write the lines, but he made them come to life on the screen. And his facial expressions and body language had me convinced that he was a psychopath. However, it brought tears to my eyes knowing that the next batman movie would not feature Heath as the Joker. They did not kill the character but if the writers and producers know what is good for them, they will not even attempt a recast.

I have always been a movie person. Anyone who really knows me, understands how deep my obsession goes. Rarely am I impressed by new movies....however, Batman The Dark Knight more than impressed me. It thrilled me. It has officially topped my list as my favorite movie. And the day it comes out on DVD, It will be mine!!!