“The Dark Knight,” 9 August 2008, theater. With B and b at camp, I went to this violence festival with Dan Stone. Why is this rated PG-13? The whole rating system is horrifyingly screwed up. And why would parents bring their much littler kids to this? There were 8-11 year olds there in abundance. I just don’t get it at all. Very disturbing. And to pay $10.25 for a movie just freaked me out completely! I’m so out of touch. That said, this is a very grand vision of the darkest recesses of Batman’s mind and soul. Excellent acting and presentation. Christian Bale continues to excel as the twisted crusader bounded by his only rule: he can’t murder people. He is also, as the Joker says, a tormented freak. Michael Caine remains fine as Alfred,. Morgan Freeman is fun as Lucius Fox, as is Gary Oldman as Lt Gordon. I was less moved by Maggie Gyllenhall in this, but that’s a minor quibble. Aaron Eckhardt is excellent as Harvey Dent, aka “Two-Face,” a boy DA, well meaning crime fighter whose inner rage is touched after a tragic and horrifyingly gruesome death/accident. But the film belongs to the late Heath Ledger as the Joker. No Nicholson pratfalls here, this one’s the real deal and the role could certainly eat him up. He’s remarkable. The technology is dizzying throughout the film, the script is dense and sometimes the story line is complex. . The human despair is profoundly disturbing. See it but be advised, this is a very, very violent and disturbing movie, a very dark city, and a nasty vision of our world.