The Dark Knight

-by Kim Yonick

Do you know how I got these scars? This is the question throughout the movie, The Joker uses while his victims are squirming for freedom.

"The Dark Knight" follows the storyline of a terrorizing, mentally unstable villian, The Joker (Heath Ledger), taking over the mob in Gotham. Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) battle the unstable character's twisted plots while recruiting the police department's officers. Wayne's love Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) has fallen in love with Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and work together taking down the mob legally. The movie has Wayne and Dent on the same side of the law, but in the end their is a change of heart and one of them is not working on the right side.

New talent was introduced to the film with some of the same players. Some of the returning players in the film were Christian Bale, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) brought it once again. These characters made the film come alive just like they did in "Batman Begins." There were some new players in the film such as Ledger, Gyllenhall and Eckhart. These actors fit in perfect and didn't miss a beat. This cast was brilliant.

"The Dark Knight" is the second Batman movie Christopher Nolan directed. He included fast action and dark coloration in the fight scenes to add suspense. Nolan has also been known for his other twisted movies such as "The Prestige" "Insomnia" and "Memento."

This movie had suspense and kept the viewers on their toes with the crazy, demented tactics of The Joker. It is a movie that will keep viewers guessing and has an added surprise in the end.

Vantage Point

-by Kim Yonick

"Vantage Point" shows how terrorists attempted to assassinate the American President, however the plot line of the movie isn't revealed until the end. Each character has a different perspective on the assassination giving the story a different point of view and having viewers piece together the plot.

The movie starts off with one character and then freezes, rewinding itself to the beginning where another character steps up and reveals their storyline. This work was done by Pete Travis.

The cast of the movie was full of well known actors and actresses. Dennis Quad is a body guard for the American President. He plays Thomas Barnes. Quad's character took a bullet for the President and was returning to the unit. Quad works well being in the serious, action packed movie. Lost actor Kent Taylor plays one of Quad's co-workers. His character adds a twist to the movie's plot. Forest Whitaker plays an American tourist, videotaping the whole event to show his children when he returns home. The whole cast worked well together.

This is Pete Travis's first movie he's directed. He has done television series such as "Cold Feet" and "Other People's Children." Travis is currently working on two movies, one that is due in 2010 and the other in post production for 2008.

"Vantage Point" is a movie that will have you putting the pieces together. It is fascinating watching the different perspectives of each character, but the repetitive editing can get boring. This film is fun to watch, but the amount of character's views could have been cut down.

Get Smart

-by Kim Yonick

Don't under estimate the power of surprise.'Well movie goers were surprised by the hilarious comedy taken from the television series "Get Smart."

"Get Smart" tells a story about an analysis, working for Control Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) who wants to become a field agent. Smart trains and takes the exam for the promotion, but is denied the chance by his Chief (Alan Arkin). Though, he is quite upset, he returns back to Control and it has been broken into. Smart meets up with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) and the rest of the agents. The Chief realizes that all the agents identities are known and only two people can save the world, Agent 99 and Smart. From here Smart is now known as Agent 86 and works with Agent 99. The movie is a comedy with a plot twist that will have viewers shocked.

"Get Smart" was a television series in 1965 created by Mel Brooks. Director Peter Segal took the television series and created a brilliant motion picture with the help of Brooks. Brooks helped contribute to the movie and viewers can see where Brooks stepped in.

The cast was excellent and everyone worked well together. Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart was hilarious. Viewers who saw the original television series can see the same mannerisms that Don Adams used. Anne Hathaway never missed a beat when responding to Carell's lines. Agent 23, Dwayne Johnson, portrays the pretty boy agent well. Lastly Alan Arkin is on top of his game by improvising certain lines in the movie, but they never seemed out of place.

Peter Segal is also famous for his other comedies such as "50 First Dates" and "The Longest Yard" both which have actor Adam Sandler, but "Get Smart" takes on a different comedian.

The movie is great for those who have or never seen the television series. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants a great laugh and enjoys high-tech gadgets.