Fresh Loaf

CL’s Chanté LaGon and Curt Holman chat about how superhero movies are making a splash at the box office (The Dark Knight and the upcoming Watchmen, for example). Holman discusses how superheroes also are transitioning well in animated form, even without all the over-the-top CGI special effects. Case in point: Wonder Woman.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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WING NUT: Heath Ledger (front) as the Joker and Christian Bale as Batman in 'The Dark Knight'

Genre entertainments invariably rake in more money than heavyweight film dramas — that’s what they’re made for. The striking thing about 2008 wasn’t just that the popcorn movies had more explosions and sight gags, but that they had more to say than the theoretically more substantial films. Movies about monsters, robots and caped crusaders seemed more engaged with present-day issues than the work of such celebrated filmmakers as Ron Howard, Sam Mendes, Clint Eastwood and the Coen Brothers.

Iron Man and The Dark Knight both depicted costumed zillionaires fighting injustice, but also contained pertinent metaphors for the duties of the individual in the face of urban and global problems. In the bright, frequently funny Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. offered a playful but revelatory turn as a weapons-building industrialist reassessing his company’s — and, implicitly, his country’s — influence in the world. The Dark Knight’s knotty, expansive crime story became an increasingly fraught exploration of the risks of imposing civic order, unleashing chaos and taking responsibility for collateral damage. The film’s tragic dimensions were only heightened by the late Heath Ledger’s compelling portrayal of the Joker as an anarchic psycho. (more…)

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The Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA), whose members include Creative Loafing Atlanta’s Curt Holman and former critic Felicia Feaster as well as Creative Loafing Charlotte’s Matt Brunson, yesterday named Milk the Best Picture of 2008 in its 17th annual voting. Director Gus Van Sant’s powerful look at slain activist Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold public office in the nation, earned a total of three awards, with its other victories coming in the categories of Best Actor (Sean Penn, pictured) and Best Original Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black).

The uplifting drama Slumdog Millionaire proved to be the only other film snagging more than one prize, as it copped awards for Best Director (Danny Boyle) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy, adapting Vikas Swarup’s novel Q&A).

In the closest contest of the day, Anne Hathaway received the Best Actress award for her performance as a recovering addict in Rachel Getting Married; she beat The Reader’s Kate Winslet by two points. Winslet also earned multiple votes for her work in Revolutionary Road. (The Reader and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button open in Atlanta on Dec. 25. Other strong contenders such as Revolutionary Road and The Wrestler open in early January.)

The late Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor for his mesmerizing take on The Joker in the summer blockbuster The Dark Knight, while Penelope Cruz earned Best Supporting Actress kudos for her turn as a feisty free spirit in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

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Batman soared more like Superman over the weekend when The Dark Knight earned an estimated $155.4 million. The sequel to Batman Begins broke most of the records that can be broken, including biggest opening weekend and, according to The Vulture:

the records for biggest single-day gross ($67 million on Saturday), largest number of opening theaters (4,366 nationally), biggest midnight gross ($18.5 million on Thursday night), best-ever July opening (beating Pirates of the Caribbean 2’s measly $136 million in 2006).

Final numbers will be in later today, so it’s possible Spider-man 3’s previous record could stand. It’s likely that Spider-man 3 sold more total tickets, with the higher ticket prices giving The Dark Knight the edge.

Apparently nobody saw it coming, either. The Dark Knight was generally expected to break $100 million (like Iron Man or better), but not to have one of the most successful weekends in film history. Most hugely successful movies tend to be brighter, flashier and more fun, and The Dark Knight was accurately perceived as being dark to point of despair, as the above image from someecards suggests.

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The Dark Knight opens Friday, and the sequel to Batman Begins has practically everything: awesome action movie set pieces, a romantic triangle, terrifying, Oscar-caliber performance by the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, a thrilling soundtrack and enough sturm und drang for 10 moody operas.

Perhaps the film’s biggest surprise, however, is the revelation that Gary Oldman’s Lt. Gordon (left), better known as Commissioner Gordon to Bat-fans, is the long-lost twin brother of the late Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist and humorist Lewis Grizzard (right):

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