I should’ve posted something earlier, but yes, that’s right: the banner at the top of this site is no longer true. I did manage — like seemingly 92-95% of the entire country — to see The Dark Knight.

This film has some real problems, so I don’t necessarily see where the Best Movie Of All Time Ever love is coming from if you’re older than, say, 18. But I do concur that the film is something that’s sadly a very rare thing these days: a big, interesting, smart Hollywood entertainment that is worth going to see. But then again so was Tropic Thunder. So…

Anyway, I think at the very least we should thank the maker or whomever that it wasn’t this redux:

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With people wildly predicting a $200m weekend, a $1 billion gross, Oscars, and giving it four/five star reviews all over the place, I think it’s safe to say that The Dark Knight is officially the most overhyped and already overrated film of the year, which has to be some kind of record. Kudos to the folks at Warner Brothers marketing. This was a very well played campaign. One of the best we’ve seen in a long time, actually. Some people over there deserve a raise/bonus/something or other for getting this event all up in our collective grills 24-7.

I legitimately hope this flick is good, but, let’s be honest, how could this possibly live up to people’s expectations at this point?

Seriously, after scouring just a tiny corner of the net, here are just a few of the things people are predicting The Dark Knight will accomplish — well, accomplish beyond making a bunch of people enormously rich:

• cure cancer, AIDS, blindness, Alzheimer’s, and herpes
• discover an alternative energy source
• travel through time to assassinate baby Hitler
• build the first terraforming colony on Mars
• lead the human race towards spiritual nirvana
• reverse the spin of the Earth and undo all natural disasters from the last decade
• help underprivileged orphans skip to the front of the iPhone lines
• raise Atlantis, solve the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, defeat the Yeti, and find Amelia Earheart
• call back to Earth our extraterrestrial forefathers who will evolve the human race to the next step of existence
• improve the original Coca-Cola recipe
• erase the Star Wars prequels from our collective pop culture memory

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One of the most aggressively (and successfully) online marketed films in recent memory has to be Frank Miller’s The Spirit, which bows in theaters this Christmas and is sure to consternate Will Eisner die hards everywhere.

Either way, the movie has a spiffy new website that includes a whole bunch of goodies, including a somewhat random co-promotion with the EMA…? Check it out.

And while I’m at it, hey DC, how about a 2nd Best of the Spirit volume? The first one was actually really well done. Thanks.

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Remember when last month’s new (and perfectly ok) Hulk movie was the great, green hope? Had The Fans bonering over its return to “core Hulk values” as opposed to the hilariously detested (and deeply flawed but interesting, dammit…) Ang Lee version? That it was the next step after Iron Man for Marvel pop cultural global world dominance and the sign that everyone couldn’t wait for an Avengers movie?

Hey, turns out no one really cared again.

“We’re happy with the financial results, even if they (only) reach the first film’s levels,” a Marvel insider insisted. “Having a sequel is not the definition of success.”

That’s fortunate, as even outpacing the first film’s worldwide haul by 10% looks optimistic at this point, and that’s not likely to stoke enthusiasm for a franchise follow-up anytime soon.

After four weekends, the Louis Leterrier-directed “The Incredible Hulk” has earned $125 million, the same as what “Hulk” had pulled in at the same time in its run. “Hulk” finished with $132 million, and its successor is unlikely to do much better.

Its foreign rollout is still in progress, with comics-friendly Japan among the territories the remake has yet to bow, but it appears likely that the Edward Norton starrer will struggle to reach $130 million internationally. The first film tallied $113.2 million overseas.

Not really sure what this proves or shows, though. Maybe the Hulk just isn’t meant for box office success? Although my favorite part of the article is easily this analysis:

What the shit does that mean? Is that even English for chrissakes? That’s the f*&king dumbest load of transparent ass crap I’ve ever read. It doesn’t even mean anything!

And what does it mean that both FF movies, two of the worst films ever made, out-grossed or matched a legitimately decent big summer movie?

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We haven’t seen the movie yet – hoping to make a trip this weekend. But that doesn’t mean The Kid isn’t already in love with WALL-E. So, when I saw the Little Golden Book, I scooped it up to mix into the reading line-up. I have to say, the art is amazing, so incredibly lush and beautiful, it makes me wish Pixar would animate an entire film in a similar style. The neatest part of the book, however, is the inclusion of Oswald the Rabbit on one of the pages, in a role that would normally go to Mickey. I’m not sure why, but for some reason I’m really getting a kick out of the idea of Disney producing Oswald cartoons.

Scan of the entire page, after the jump.
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I was originally in the $60m-$80m range, but wow, now people are talking round-the-clock screenings for Dark Knight. What the hell? When was the last time this happened? One of them Star Wars prequels? And this looks leagues better than those disasters… Would this craziness have happened if Heath Ledger were still alive?

In a frenzy, fans have bought so many late-night tickets for the July 18 opening of the next Batman movie that theaters in places like San Diego, Chicago, and even Eagan, Minn., are scheduling 6 a.m. screenings for those who can’t get in at midnight or 3 in the morning.

Movie theaters have sometimes opened their doors at odd hours for their most highly anticipated films, say, an entry in the “Star Wars� series, and midnight shows have become part of the summer blockbuster ritual.

But all-night sellouts far in advance of an opening have come only with the near ubiquity of online ticket sales. Fandango.com, for instance, reports well over 1,500 wee-hour showings for “The Dark Knight� in theaters that typically do not open their doors before about 10 a.m.

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Thought the upcoming animated Star Wars flick was just a relatively minor Lucasfilm effort meant for die-hards and to spark interest in an animated TV series? Because it sure looks like it. But think again! This puppy’s getting the full-court press.

Starting this week, Toys “R� Us is mounting digital clocks in all 585 of its stores that will count down to July 26, when more than 225 of those stores will open at midnight to begin selling toys from the latest “Star Wars� film, “The Clone Wars,� an animated movie that opens in the United States on Aug. 15. Two of the retailer’s flagship outlets, in Mission Bay in San Diego and in Times Square, will hold costume and trivia contests that night as well, and will give away limited-edition “Star Wars� toys with every purchase.

This time, even McDonald’s is getting involved, with its first ever Happy Meal promotion for a “Star Wars� movie.

Perhaps the most telling line in the article:

“Sometimes George works in strange ways,� said Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing.

Uh…

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