NYC Diary - Day 10

Okay, I know I got excited about this on Day 5, but today really is BATMAN DAY!!! We bought tickets at the weekend, and we were still lucky to get them – it was the only IMAX screening available this week! So I had to drag Johanna out of bed at 8:30 to make sure we’d get there in time for the 10am screening. We got a cab up to 68^th, and got into the IMAX screen by about 9:10. At this point, Johanna was baffled as to why on earth we’d come into an empty screen so early, but it rapidly became clear. Unbelievably, people were still wandering in at five to ten, and then complaining that they couldn’t get decent seats. Hello? Sold out performance? Dark Knight? Get here early, bell-end.

Anyway, as if my excitement levels weren’t already at bursting point, the opening trailer was for Watchmen. Watchmen is, without a doubt, the greatest graphic novel of all time – hell, I’d class it as one of the greatest books of all time, let’s not limit it to a small sub-genre. Now, I’ve been pretty wary of a film version for as long as they’ve been talking about it; it’s a very hard adaptation to make. From the trailer though, it looks like Zak Snyder has nailed it, bringing the same faithfulness to it as he did to 300. It’s not out until next March, and I’m trying to figure out an excuse to get us back here then so we can see it on the IMAX screen. My friend Max is still actually convinced that the whole wedding – honeymoon thing was just a plot to make sure I was in New York for the Dark Knight release. I, however, couldn’t possibly comment on that issue.

So anyway, it was then on to the main course; The Dark Knight itself. I’m not going to post any spoilers or anything here, so I’ll keep it brief and surprise free. First off, all that praise over Heath Ledger? Entirely justified. People are already starting to say he wouldn’t be getting such accolades if it wasn’t for his death. I say piss off. His performance is astounding, dead or not. When it was first announced that The Joker would be returning, I immediately dismissed it as a bad idea; who could possibly do The Joker better than Jack Nicholson? Well, it turns out Ledger could. He’s an absolute revelation; an utterly terrifying turn as chaos embodied.

That’s not to detract, however, from both Bale’s performance and Nolan’s direction. Bale is, as always, stunning, bringing humanity and subtlety to what essentially is a summer blockbuster. And as for Nolan – he’s crafted one of the darkest, most twisted and bleakest films Hollywood has ever seen, and he must be applauded for it. I can’t recommend it enough. Go and see it. Now. Oh, you can’t until tomorrow. Ha ha ha.

I have to say, I did feel like that guy off The IT Crowd - Roy’s friend Dominator. I was texting all my friends after the film like a proper little geek. ‘I HAVE ALREADY SEEN IT!’

After the film, we headed to an Italian restaurant just down the road for a bite to eat. Well, it was intended to be a bite – the portions were so huge they could have fed a family of four (or Tom). I had a lasagne, which was seriously as big as the ones we’d make at home to last a couple of days. I managed to eat three quarters of it, which I was proud of; even the waiter was impressed. Especially when I managed to shove some profiteroles down my gob afterwards.

So then, sated, we rolled back home to lay in the hotel room, like snakes trying to digest the one huge meal that will keep them going all day, only venturing out later on that night to do some last-minute shopping.