IMAX cameras, which use 70mm film, are much larger and heavier than a traditional 35mm machine. Among the plethora of changes to accommodate IMAX, technicians reinforced gyrostabled remote control camera cranes, crafted sturdier rigs to be mounted on cars, and forced one poor cameraman to actually carry the damn thing on his shoulders in an especially tense S.W.A.T. Team sequence.

When you're done checking the video out, head over to Wired (if you haven't already) for even more information on Christopher Nolan's methods and madness. Helicopters, wrangling with the Chinese government; the making of this movie could be its own movie. [Popular Mechanics]

(I'm going to try and get through this review without spoilers.)

First off, the gadgets. The Batmobile is back, and so is Batman's upgraded fighting suit. He's not residing in Wayne Manor anymore after the events of the Batman Begins, so he has to make do with hiding his Bat-gear inside Wayne Towers and various locales around the city. Batman makes do. He's a hero in exile, a thread that continues through to the end of the movie and on to the next.

There's a very good minor plot device that centers around cellphones that would be pretty damn awesome if it we could get our hands on it in real life. Who knows...maybe the government's already using it now. Plus there's are great scenes in the air, both with a plane and "without". He's really earning that "Bat" part of his name.

As good as Christian Bale is as Bats, the real stars of THIS movie are the Joker and Harvey Dent. If there is ever a character that is the complete opposite of the Dark Detective—cold, calculating, and completely logical—it's the Joker. He's simultaneously insane and extremely insane, taking apart bit by bit the fragile peace that Batman has strived to build since the first movie. There is so little logic to the joker that he's probably the one person whose moves Batman can't predict.

What's great about this movie isn't just the writing and the special effects (though they both are still stellar), it's that everything FEELS exactly like you'd imagine Batman and his villains to be in real life. There's even traces of realistic crime flicks like Heat going on throughout, which lends more to making guys as ludicrous on paper as Batman and the Joker believable. How would you portray a man whose sole intent, as Alfred says, is to watch the world burn? This is how. Gone is affable clownish uncle figure that Jack Nicholson played in the 1989 Batman, and in his place is a character that if you saw on the street, you should run away from as fast as you fucking can. Us gadget fans relate more towards with Batman's logic than Joker's lunacy, which is why he's going to be the best villain you'll ever seen in a superhero flick.

See this movie. Go buy this ticket right now and print it out at your office. We didn't get to see it in IMAX, but a good 20 minutes of the film was shot in the format, so we're definitely going to go back and catch it again. In fact, we've been trying to wrap our heads around all the different themes and nuances that Chris Nolan crammed in; ideas that are even more subtle than they were in the first. A second viewing would do us good.

(You'll notice we didn't mention much about Harvey Dent/Two Face in this review. We'll leave that bit of plot for you to discover yourselves.)

But one thing I wanted to highlight was a particularly interesting segment from Wally Pfister, the film's director of photography. He explains the relevance of using huge Imax film stock in the days of 1080p televisions and digital compression.

It's more of a visceral thing. You can see something way off on the horizon. You can see a little glint of light, a reflection in Batman's eye. You can't see it in a conventional theater. And you definitely can't see it on a plasma screen at home.

Only a handful of the Dark Knight's scenes were shot with Imax film and cameras, but I'm looking forward to them all the same.

Now read it all over at Wired. Or I swear I'll blockquote the whole thing. [Wired]

Verizon Wireless and Nokia team up to fight for Gotham City with the new Nokia 6205 phone

Verizon Wireless Exclusive: Phone Debuts with Limited “The Dark Knight” Edition Inspired by one of the Summer’s Most Highly-Anticipated Movies

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Verizon Wireless, builder and operator of the nation’s most reliable wireless network, and Nokia (NYSE: NOK), the world leader in mobility, today announced the availability of the Nokia 6205 The Dark Knight edition mobile phone. Celebrating the upcoming July 18 theatrical release of “The Dark Knight,” the Nokia 6205 The Dark Knight edition will be available exclusively online at www.verizonwireless.com beginning, Sunday, June 15.

Clad in a mysterious black color and embellished with a subtle The Dark Knight emblem, this themed-edition flip phone comes pre-loaded with wallpapers, voice tones, animated screensavers inspired by the film, and a full movie trailer.

The Nokia 6205 The Dark Knight edition has a generous set of features designed to enhance the mobile lifestyle. Touch-sensitive external music keys make it simple to access tracks purchased from Verizon Wireless’ V CAST Music service, while the crisp two-inch display that supports up to 262,000 colors, makes watching news, sports and entertainment content from V CAST Video more enjoyable. In addition, the Nokia 6205 The Dark Knight edition includes:

o 1.3 megapixel camera with flash and 4x digital zoom
o 58 MB internal memory; expandable up to an additional 4 GB with an optional microSD™ memory card
o Support for text, picture and video messaging
o Get It Now®-capable for downloading games, ringtones, wallpapers and other mobile content
o VZ NavigatorSM-compatible for audible turn-by-turn directions and location information
o Mobile Web for access to the latest news, sports, weather and more
o Voice dialing and voice commands for touch-free phone operation
o Built-in speakerphone
o Bluetooth®-enabled for wireless headset support

Like the phone, the unique packaging of the Nokia 6205 The Dark Knight edition is also sure to be a hit with fans, featuring iconic images drawn straight from Gotham City. Verizon Wireless customers will also find a Joker playing card with a code and a link to the www.fightforgothamcity.com Web site. Once on the Web site, customers can instantly find out if they have won The Joker’s “bag of cash” containing $10,000, play games to win more The Dark Knight-themed prizes, and download exclusive The Dark Knight content from Verizon Wireless’

V CAST service.

The Nokia 6205 The Dark Knight edition will be available online for $69.99 after a $50 online instant rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Following the premiere release of The Dark Knight edition, the standard edition of the Nokia 6205 phone – containing all of the same features and a striking metallic blue and silver color scheme – will be available both online and at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores next month.

For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

Iron Man : Yeah, He Can Fly

Iron Man may already be out, but that doesn't mean we should just forget about it. With the great flight scenes, cutting edge tech and the fact that it is just an excellent film, I plan to use any and all excuses to keep talking about the best superhero movie ever made (as well as the sequel).

Wall-E : Don't (or Do) Watch While Dropping Acid

Wall-E is probably the movie I'm most excited for this summer. From the gadget/robot factor, to the CG eye candy, I get hyped just thinking about it (especially with the righteous toys and promo gear). And did I mention Jonathan Ive helped design one of the robots? In any case, with films such as Toy Story, Monsters, Inc. and Ratatouille under their belt, I find it hard to believe Pixar would miss the mark with Wall-E (Cars never happened).

The Dark Knight : Ambien's New Corporate Slogan
For all its positive transformation in Batman Begins, the Batman franchise just hasn't really held up too well on the gadget front. While you shouldn't expect to see any sonic batarangs or batnet guns in The Dark Knight, fans and other, less intentionally strange people have been picking up the slack. If I want to (and I do) I could go out right now and get myself, for example, a Batman MP3 player. I could use it to listen to the old Batman theme while I'm driving the original Tim Burton Batmobile. I might pull up at a stoplight next to nice young lady driving a much flatter, much more street legal Batmobile. I could even ask her out to see the premiere of The Dark Knight. Most importantly, If all goes well (or if she tries to escape) I could finally try out a pair of Batcuffs. Theoretically speaking.

The Incredible Hulk : Suck On That Eric Bana. And Everything Else, Too
The Hulk doesn't give a shit about gadgets. He's not all like "HULK FINGER TOO BIG FOR UMPC, HULK DEMAND EXTERNAL KEYBOARD," mainly because that'd be stupid. If that stupid green Luddite could calm down for five minutes he might realize that just because he's apparently given up electronics, they haven't given up on him. Any of those items would provide Mr. Hulk with a sizable increase in daily productivity.

For a little fun he could always play Hulk Operation, but there's always the risk that if he buzzed he'd flip out, get huge and ruin everyone's family night with another of his obnoxious tantrums. He could do with a pair of carthartic Hulk Gloves, so he could punch some of that energy out every now and then. But I wouldn't watch that movie half as hard as I was going to watch The Incredible Hulk.

Well, that's the summer lineup, and I personally plan on seeing all these films. Also, if you're interested in my two cents, Iron Man kicks way more ass than Batman.

(The Dark Knight and The Incredible Hulk roundups by John Herrman)

This rendition of The Joker needs to get some kind of award for Ledger for being the best villain in recent memory. The Joker doesn't need gadgets to kill Batman. He relies on pure insanity. The new suit, on the other hand, seems even more souped up and gadgety than the first. We'll have to wait for the movie to see what crazy ass stuff they shoved in. [Why So Serious]

This effort makes our previous favorite Batcave look like a tragic mess, and although we are so excited, we are, at present, spontaneously generating 2.5A of electric current from our toes, we are also saddened immensely. Why so? Well, the chances of us ever having the Batcave home theater are slimmer then us falling asleep, waking up as Will Smith and then filming The Pursuit of Happyness only to have it trash talked by film critics the world over. The chances are very slim. Oh, the torment. [Elite HTS (click through to gallery), via Slippery Brick]

Oh, and disregard anything you see happening to the Joker's ride. It's all part of his plan, I'm sure. [atasteforthetheatrical]

Hotness. Hit that link above for the HD version.

Oh, don't worry about our friend and hero, the Joker. He's just on his back waiting to pounce. [georgeaye flickr]

The side reads "Slaughter is the best medicine," and the front looks like it's been scrapped together with every rusty, sharp object in Gotham (hope Bruce Wayne is up on his tetanus shot). I can't wait until the Joker plows through Batman's dinky motorcycle in this thing. Now we know what happened to his BatHummer...it pissed itself and drove away.