Wow! And Disappointment

First the Wow! Dark Knight would have knocked my socks off had I been wearing any. Very dark, very disturbing. Without going into spoilage territory for the handful of people who haven't seen it yet, it's about choices and where a person draws the line and then what would make them cross that line if anything. Add the additional layer of a tour de force performance by Heath Ledger and the obvious thought of what he might have been able to do as he matured even more as an actor and it gets darker and more disturbing. Great performances by all, with maybe the exception of Maggie Gyllenhall who seemed to be trying for a Katie Holmes impersonation.

Now for the disappointment. Not total, but enough. As promised, I picked up my copy of Breaking Dawn, the final installment of the Twilight series, on Saturday morning and dove in. All seven hundred and fifty-four pages of it. Even with it being the longest book in the series, it didn't seem to have the bloat the other three did. One of the things I like about the books is the humor--particularly from Edward and his brother Emmett and that's in brilliant evidence. And I have a feeling that the teenage readers will be thrilled with it. Let me just say before the break that I think Meyer copped out. And that makes me want to retract what I wrote about the first 3 books. To rate them lower than I did on first reading. Not the way you want fans to react.

Again, I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but I would say that if you plan to read the series yourself, STOP HERE--POTENTIAL BREAKING DAWN SPOILERS AHEAD (highlight with cursor if you want to read it):

Early on there is a choice one of the main characters has to make. It should be a difficult and scary choice that at least takes into consideration another character's opinion. There is no hesitation nor consideration. Just, done. There could be dire consequences, but no. Meyer's religious bias is apparent. I wouldn't have had a problem with the choice, if there had been some deliveration at least. And throughout the book there is not one bit of sacrifice on the part of the main character. None. Gets everything without losing anything. Makes it sort of hollow. And sad in a way.

So a fifty-fifty weekend. Although I devoted a lot more time to consuming Breaking Dawn, I have and will spend much more time thinking about Dark Knight.