Let me begin by saying I loved The Dark Knight Rises. I went to the premiere for my birthday last night, and had a blast. The line wasn't horrendous, and we got to the theater with enough time to go to the pub next door and have a beer. I can't honestly say whether The Avengers or The Dark Knight Rises was better, but they were different kinds of awesome. The Avengers was written and directed by Joss Whedon, so it had an inherent sense of humor, and even in the somber moments the audience was never "brought down". The Dark Knight Rises - and in fact, the entire Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy - is such a dark interpretation of the comics (and rightly so - there is a reason Batman is called the Dark Knight) that it was intense and dark, with funny moments, but was missing the levity of Whedon's Avengers. I have to admit the first words I said as the credits began to roll were, "That was beautiful." Without spoilers, the ending was the perfect blend of a trilogy wrap-up (Nolan has repeatedly stated this is the last of his Batman movies) and loose ends waiting for someone else to pick up and tie together. I don't mean that it was a cliffhanger ending, but it definitely left openings for subsequent movies. Needless to say, my friends and I had a blast.
Then we woke up this afternoon, and checked Facebook/daily news outlets. Undoubtedly you have heard of the tragic Aurora, CO shooting by now, which authorities have named "the largest shooting massacre in American history" with 59 injured and 12 dead. I'm currently living with my grandmother while I find a job and an apartment, and we spent three and a half hours watching CNN cover the devastating tragedy this afternoon. When we finally switched the channel, they were still not speculating on a motive, but we knew that he had enough premeditation that he wore full ballistic blacks including a gas mask and set up a diversion in his booby-trapped apartment. He was a 24-year-old PhD candidate in neuroscience, and showed no evidence of being a mass murdering psychopath. I can't even begin to fathom what could have driven him to commit this horrifying act, but my heart goes out to the families and loved ones of those affected.
He could have been in any theater in the country, he just happened to be in Colorado. It makes you realize just how lucky we each are to be alive right now, and how with a tiny little twist of fate somewhere down the line you or I could have been in that theater. Appreciate your loved ones while you can, and go call your parents/kids.
Also, this guy was a crappy nerd - CNN was saying that he had dyed his hair red, and was claiming he was the Joker. THE JOKER'S HAIR IS BRIGHT FRACKING GREEN.
...rant over.
No comments:
Post a Comment