The show hasn't abandoned the pure torture of its characters entirely: it was depressing and sort of appropriate that we found out Pam's ex-fiance Roy now works at the Vitamin Store — but come on, you should see his employee discount. And yes, the developing chemistry between Michael Scott and his HR rep makes a place deep inside of us cry out in pain.

But it's time the show's writers got back to doing what it is they do best: really screwing with these people until the viewer can no longer comfortably watch what occurs. The coming blessing of Angela and Andy's wedding website should hopefully signal a return to that form:

A Thanksgiving Day wedding date does have a certain charm. Here's the full teaser for NBC's Halloween Thursday:

Downey also explained, "My whole thing is that that I saw The Dark Knight. I feel like I'm dumb because I feel like I don't get how many things that are so smart. It's like a Ferrari engine of storytelling and script writing and I'm like, 'That's not my idea of what I want to see in a movie.' I loved The Prestige but didn't understand The Dark Knight."

And don't bother warning him about possible reprisals for such loose talk. "You know, you're never too old to burn your bridges because I believe I have offended everyone. I think I've got a couple more. 'I'll burn that bridge when I come to it' is my favourite phrase I've ever coined." [via OhNoTheyDidn't]

As we all know, Heath Ledger, who plays the Joker in the film, died in January from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills and other medication. It was a fluke accident that swiftly stopped his sure-to-be meteoric rise to fame in its tracks. Some claimed that Ledger had been in a dark place after wrapping the film, having gone too deep into his crazed, anarchist character. But was that really it? Isn't that what every actor does? Could it have been a curse?

Christian Bale, who plays the rough and (annoyingly) growling Caped Crusader recently had a row with his mother and sister, right before the film's London premiere. It led to an arrest on an assault charge, though Bale denies any real wrongdoing. He is said to have had a deeply troubled childhood, which could be the reason for his violent outburst. Or... could it be a hex?

And then, sadly, we get to Freeman's auto accident. The actor, who plays Lucius Fox in the film, was driving in Mississippi last night when his car skipped the road and rolled down an embankment. He's said to be in "serious condition." There have been no reports of alcohol or substance abuse or any of that unseemly (like this post) stuff, so maybe it was, in fact, the dark shadow force that bewitched and doomed him.

Also, a crewman died while filming one of the movie's epic action sequences. (But he wasn't famous, so, boo!, apparently.) The film's other actors have so far not reported any ghostly occurrences or freak accidents, and the producers are definitely happy and swimming in piles of money. But could this just be the deceiving prelude to the awfulness that's yet to befall them? Could they spiral into addiction, spurned by an overabundance of wealth and an unseen malevolent force? More importantly, what could have provoked this curse? Supposedly the Poltergeist jinx was brought about when real skeletons were used for the film's opening scene. Did some such malfeasance take place on the Dark Knight set? I mean, other than the oily, meaty presence of Eric Roberts.

"The BBFC should realize there are scenes of gratuitous violence in 'The Dark Knight' to which I would certainly not take my 11-year-old daughter," Vaz said of the movie's 12A certificate, which means it is suitable for those age 12 and above. "It should be a 15 classification."

The board has acknowledged it came close to restricting the movie to those 15 and older. It also details the film's violent nature on its Web site.

The Times notes "Knight" received a PG-13 rating, while in Ireland and Scandinavia it was given a 15 rating in order to keep those 14 years and younger from seeing it without supervision. [UPI]

1) Quality's In
The damn thing got a lot of good reviews, plus had monumentally good word-of-mouth ever since Christian Bale flipped over that Joker card at the end of Batman Begins. Christopher Nolan is a smart director, with wholly entertaining, if moody and grim, sensibilities. Bryan Singer's two X-Men movies were similarly literate (well, for superhero movies) treats that thrilled fans and impressed critics (especially the second one.) Both of these directors had strong indie backgrounds before they made the leap to big budget fantasias, and it shows in nearly every frame. I mean, look at the execrable mess that was Brett Ratner's X-Men: The Last Stand. It may have barreled through the box offices successfully enough, but that particularly hacky hack's ruining of the trilogy will never be one for the books. It's already forgotten. People can recognize quality. Good is good.

2) The Joker & The Dead Gay Cowboy
Yes, Heath Ledger is in the movie. Yes he's wonderfully good in it. Yes he is also dead. And the Joker is one of America's favorite villains—funny, menacing, very macabre. Ledger's performance is a grim triumph, and his untimely death only emboldened his Joker's lurching creepiness. It was almost like watching a zombie. A terrifically talented actor zombie. And c'mon, who isn't curious to run out and see that on opening weekend? Whether your curiosity was morbid or artistic or some combination of both (which I suspect it was for most of us), it was a must-see performance, especially this first weekend. You just had to form your own opinion so you could herald it to friends and neighbors, didn't you? God knows I did!

3) Dark Indeed!
Frankly, people like a little dark meat once in a while. Look at the apocalyptic angst of Wall-E or the shaky-camera personal emotion of Hancock. People have been gravitating toward murkier fare this summer. And in the case of a comic book movie, darker is usually better because, well, nerds think it's cooler. Who the hell wanted to see Speed Racer this spring, with all its bright candy colors and clapping monkeys? Even the Hulk couldn't get past his inherent cheesiness to make much of a dent in the summer season. Really, in terms of chatter and impact, only Iron Man and TDK were bona fide smashes this season. Iron Man because of the way it mitigates its inherent darkness (gun running! the Middle East!) with stark (heh heh) humor, and TDK for how it embraced the darkness wholly and sort of fell into a pit with it (albeit a glorious, zippy pit). These are dark times, blah blah, etc etc.

OK, so that's that. Big movie. We'll see if it has a major Cloverfield-style second weekend drop-off, or if it will blunder on, crushing The X-Files and other sorry, misguided pieces of August detritus that lie in its path. Either way, can we stop talking about it now?

The essential problem here is not one of taste or decorum, it's one of practicality and basic fucking humanity. People die. Sometimes, when people are lucky, it's at an advanced old age and one shuffles off surrounded by a wealth of memory and progeny's progeny, and it's merely like closing a book softly, having loved it to the last word. Other times it's quick and messy and ugly and brief, as was the case with Mr. Ledger. But to pussyfoot around, to be so scared to acknowledge death and dying, to wring our hands and say "oh no, what sacred and protected decency will we be violating if we acknowledge this fact" is stupid and obtuse. Frankly, I'm surprised Warner Bros. didn't market this movie as the chance to see Heath Ledger's Last, Greatest Performance. I mean, in essence they have, but in a respectably subtle way. I know that they stand to make a gargantuan sum of cheddar on this chamber piece of a superhero movie, but I think the most important thing is that Ledger's memory is being honored in the biggest, most laudatory way an actor could hope for. The wise and sexy Christian Bale (Santa Fe!) says of the whole foofaraw:

This is a celebration of what he did best - entertain people. Why would any actor not want that to be appreciated? I know he would have. The bottom line is it would be totally rude not to. Respect the man. This is what he did. This is what he wanted to do.

And I think that's the issue boiled down to its simplest and plainest truth. Here is a great thing that someone did once. It's not exploitation, in any way, to recognize that. Sure Warner Bros. may be coolly counting their millions, like business folks do, but they'll be grateful. They are people. Maybe they'll even applaud.

So hush up naysayers and Stevie Sensitivies. Why so serious indeed.

[College Humor]