It was Independence Day running on A&E, Smith’s second outing as a lead in a major motion picture (Bad Boys came out the year before).

I’m a big fan of brain rot. The movie was on, I didn’t feel like flipping or checking what we had recorded on the DVR. But it wasn’t complete brain rot because we learned that Commander, now Colonel, Casey (Adam Baldwin from Chuck and Firefly) had a major role as a Major in Independence Day. I didn’t even remember that!

Anyway, there’s a scene where Jeff Goldblum is drunk inside a basement lab at Area 51. He’s complaining about how we’re all going to die because of these aliens. Talk about a pity party (and a sure Buzz Killington). So Goldblum’s yelling at Judd Hirsch about all of this, then trips over a bunch of equipment. We’re probably supposed to the infer the crates are to hold top secret equipment, yet they look like field cases for cameras. Movie magic.

Wait. That might actually be a case to the camera and the gear from the people producing the movie.

Want to know where I got that from?

When he falls, that trash can he knocked over? It says “ART DEPT” on the bottom. For some reason I don’t think Area 51 has an Art Department.

Courtesy: Warner Brothers

We just returned from the midnight showing of The Dark Knight. While we didn’t see it in its IMAX glory, we definitely got to the heart of the film, if only in a “regular” theater.

Not that much time has passed in Gotham City when we meet the Caped Crusader again (yes, all of the nicknames are in play this time). Look for some cameos from the past and a few nods towards the future. Batman is with it, right off the top.

The favorites are all there (Alfred and Lucius), but look for bigger parts from Commissioner Loeb and key scenes with the Mayor of Gotham.

But the part you really care about is the Joker. Heath Ledger is downright frightening. As Alfred says, “some men just want to watch the world burn.” There is no logic behind the Joker’s actions, he thrives for chaos. Complete and total anarchy. Ledger’s performance is chilling; I’m sure it’s Oscar-worthy, but I don’t know if it’s worthy of snubbing all other films. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll be thinking about the Joker all night, and it was a stellar job. There are moments where you’ll laugh out loud at him, but this is a very dark character. And you should expect the movie to take you to some very dark places. There is a big philosophical discussion happening throughout the movie about the essence of justice (read “balance” and “fair”) and Batman’s never-ending battle against evildoers.

Aaron Eckhart definitely makes a name for Harvey Dent in this movie. You really get behind Gotham’s new D.A. and his war on crime. We all know the inevitable ending for Harvey Dent, though. And you’ll get a lot more than you bargained for in this film.

If you appreciated the humor of Batman Begins, then this will be right up your alley. A few little asides, some puns here and there, but nothing like the over-the-top junk we saw in those Schumacher-travesties. Some of the gadgets are a little out there, but we don’t get anywhere near the Adam West days.

Fans of Chicago will love the locations used in the movie. That semi you see in the trailer flipping end-over-end? They really did that. Right in the middle of LaSalle Street. Breathtaking scene. Also, the building they level? They really leveled it. There’s a nice little slideshow on Fandango.com (of all places), that shows where they shot the key scenes.

But, be prepared. At nearly two and half hours, make sure you take a bathroom break ahead of time.

Oh, and there’s nothing after the credits, so don’t sit around for the extra 7 minutes.

On the Sandwich Scale, I’m personally giving this movie a 10 (I plan on seeing it for a second time in IMAX). There are those I know who won’t like this one, or expect it to be just like the first. So for everyone else, I’m giving it a 9.