The Dark Knight— Ledger's Haunting Performance Edited? by Bridget Petrella
Christian Bale once again embodies the brooding man behind the mask in "The Dark Knight." The film reunites Bale with director Christopher Nolan and takes Batman across the world in his quest to fight a growing criminal threat. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman has been making headway against local crime...until a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) unleashes a fresh reign of total chaos across Gotham City. To stop this devious new menace— Batman's most personal and vicious enemy yet— he will have to use every high-tech weapon in his arsenal and confront everything he believes in. "To me, the Joker is an absolute. There are no shades of gray to him— maybe some deep shades of purple." explains Knight Director Christopher Nolan. I have to tell you folks— I was NEVER a fan of Tim Burton's Batman films. In fact, let me go so far as to say I was never a big fan of Tim Burton's. But that was before he raped and pillaged the entire Batman franchise until all that was left was a higher end, still emotionally vacant version of the incredibly pathetic 1960's television show version. George Clooney as Batman? I was as shocked as anyone with a...

21 MIT— The "Real" Genius Behind Vegas Flick by Christina Morgan
Card counting is a plus-minus counting technique developed in the 1960's and mastered by Edward Thorp in his book Beat the Dealer. If you haven't heard of this form of legal, intelligent strategy yet, trust us, you soon will. During the 1990's, a team of MIT students hit casinos nationwide with a plan to use the card counting technique at various blackjack tables… and in Ben Mezrich's 2003 book Bringing Down the House, six of these students were finally exposed. On March 28th, the film 21 hit the theaters, ensuring that more people will soon become intrigued by the methods of card counting and their payoffs. The MIT blackjack team, in which the film is based off of, could run from the public eye now that they are getting more attention. As it turns out, however, they are looking to take the publicity...

Actor Heath Ledger— A Tribute by John Mundazio
Less than three short months ago, Heath Ledger meticulously described his sleepless nights and mental exhaustion as he wrestled with his role as the "psychopathic schizophrenic" Joker in the upcoming Batman film. One night he took the sleeping pill, Ambien, to little effect. He took a second, slept for an hour, but then woke, his mind racing. "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger told The New York Times. "I just couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going," he said, while openly admitting he also "stressed out a little too much" about his role in the Bob Dylan film I'm Not There. Yesterday, the 28-year-old Australian film star was found dead, face-down and naked at the foot of his bed in his rented SoHo apartment in Manhattan. There were prescription drugs, including sleeping pills, by his bed. Only hours earlier, his Australian co-star in I'm Not There, Cate Blanchett, was nominated for two Academy Awards. Despite wide...

Paramount's ‘Iron Man’— Heating Up The Summer by Bridget Petrella
Since 1998, Marvel films have easily grossed over $4.9 billion worldwide at the box office, firmly establishing itself as one of the top entertainment brands in Hollywood. David Maisel, CEO of Marvel Studios, explains why Marvel has been so successful in adapting its comic book characters to the silver screen. “Our films are as much about the man as the superhero. We cast great actors who will appeal to both kids and adults. We set our films up to appeal to everyone. Over the past seven or eight years we have had great luck in combining unique and original talent with our spectacular world-renowned characters. We've been very fortunate that with the Marvel brand, we have been able to attract talented filmmakers as well as the best technicians, visual effect supervisors, cinematographers and visual effects companies in the world, which has resulted, we believe, in the best kind of genre mega-event summer...

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