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Reviews
The Dark Knight (2008)
On an epistemological level, it's bogus
Like the great Shakespeare wrote: "Those with empty heads shall nothing say, and so remain like stones 'til Earth's last day". This is how I would describe Christopher Nolan's "THE DARK KNIGHT".
I have duly noted its infamous popularity, which I can only attribute to a lack of understanding regarding, first of all, the art of aesthetics; and second, philosophy. This needs perhaps some elaboration.
As Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a famous nihilist, notes, a man like the Joker can only exist given certain ontological realities, one being the de facto existence of pure probability rather than a fixed set of Platonic universals. This demonstrates an alleged entanglement with quantum physics: A simulacrum of the nothingness onto which the concept of meaning is applied can, it seems, take us further into the kind of world-view dominated by the struggle for understanding. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle seems apparent here, especially given that the philosophy of quantum mechanics now shows us that there are, in fact, cats that can live multiple lives at once under certain conditions monitored by the sort of pluviophilic entities hinted at before - there is in fact nothing certain at all, and we are left wondering if there is even such a thing as reality. The apparent flatus voicis we can derive from this pandemonium, this godless hell, is, I take it, the main concern and theme of "THE DARK KNIGHT", embodied in the positivistic antihero The Joker.
Why does the film not deliver on these seemingly apparent premises? In the words of famous French philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, there simply cannot exist a set of ontological realities without a de facto set of morals; without morals, there cannot even be reality. Epistemology would dictate that we cannot be sure even of that very uncertainty Planck detected in his discovery of quantum leaps during the 1950s. The same phenomena apply to art as well, hence my entanglement of the two into an amalgam. But as ought to be apparent by now, these morals are left to wither in a helix of inconsistency. This is, in conclusion, what is thoroughly wrong with "THE DARK KNIGHT".
This does not say, however, that the movie lacks any value of entertainment. You can watch it, if you choose to turn your brain off for its faulty epistemology.
****/10
Hobgoblins (1988)
An inspired statement on the dangers of inner desires
At first a held certain reservations against watching a film with what appears to be a no-brainer title for a film about the very same beasts, but sometimes the direct option is the best.
Starring Tom Bartlett as Kevin, a young and brave assistant security guard, and Jeffrey Culver as McCreedy, the wizened old security guard who has seen too much, "HOBGOBLINS" takes us on a horrifying journey to the realm of the darker aspects of human consciousness made flesh. After a lengthy but suspenseful tour through the corridors of a mysterious storage facility, a group of frightening creatures known as 'hobgoblins' are released from a wicked bank vault within the facility. These demonic beings posses the ability to take the lives of humans by making their innermost wishes come true, hover at human shoulder height at will, and drive golf carts. What follows is a twisted ride into the psyche, as a gang of hormone-laden teenagers witness the horror of the hobgoblins, and their own inner selves.
Writer/Director/Director of Photography/Editor/Producer Rick Sloane allows the audience no pause from the terror of the sickening creatures, and the atmosphere and execution is overall spot on. Forgivably Freudian, the movie posits that when the primitive urges of the id infect the aspirations of the superego, what wishes we hope to fulfill will inevitably doom the self, but through the use of rationality and technology, even the most misguided soul can be retrieved from apparent demise.
Unfortunately, the film is held back from inducing true insight in its audience due to some unfortunate use of prosthetic eyebrows on Mr. Culver. This distracting little mishap did cost the film one star in this review.
In the end, "HOBGOBLINS" left me with an optimistic view of humanity. For if we can successfully survive the onslaught of such abominations that attempt to let our darker selves consume us, what else is there that could truly destroy us? I found the title ultimately an impeccable choice, since as we all know: hobgoblins are more introspective than regular goblins.
*********/10 stars.