I saw this with some friends at a birthday party, and it was pretty decent. It was certainly entertaining, although I'm told not as good as the various Harry Potter movies.

I'd say if you've got some 12 year olds and some time to kill, this is a good way to spend a couple hours. There's no foul language, no sex, and the only real violence is implied. And involves a giant star-nosed mole.

I found the plot pretty interesting, although it (purposely) lacks background. This is the first in a trilogy (based off kids books, of course), so presumably the next two movies will explain this Disaster thing.

Action, frustrated love, vengeance, and the world's best disappearing-pencil trick.

That's right, this movie has it all.

I'm extremely happy that they're sticking with the gritty, dark, dare I say it realistic format for the new Batman movies. I was getting really tired of superheroes made of neon, and the ridiculous batman "sculpted ab-shaped body armor" batman of the nineties. This has fewer ridiculous contraptions, and thus seems very real to me - it could (maybe) happen. And that just makes the whole experience that much better.

Heath Ledger's performance was absolutely flawless. The Joker in this movie is less goofy-ha ha; he's a thoroughly sadistic, chaotic-neutral genius. He's consistently one step ahead of everyone else, which helps to string along the plot for a long long time. Not that it ever felt strung along - this is an excellent movie that keeps you interested to the end.

Hell, I've got a free pass to a theatre. I'm thinking of seeing it again in the the theater, just cause most TVs won't do it justice.

And apparently it was filmed in IMAX, so that version of it is probably worth checking out...

Turns out, he was his father the whole damn time.