'The Daily Emma' is what I jokingly call the pop culture emails (film links, reviews, Doctor Who gossip etc) I get from my friend Emma, who up until last month lived in Geek Central with me.

This was too good not to post, she really should be working for Empire magazine.

"Let's get the Harry Knowles hyperbole out of the way right now, shall we? The Dark Knight is fucking awesome.

There, that is the succinct version of my opinion. I, however, thought I'd give you a little more detail on my views as it's Friday lunch-time, no-one else is in my office today and I can't do it over a takeaway because well, I don't live there anymore.

So, The Dark Knight. It's had the biggest ever opening day for a film in the US and it has gone straight to no1 in the IMDB chart of Greatest Movies Ever deposing The Godfather. It's had five star reviews in all the genre publications and tabloids plus four star reviews from most of the broadsheets. Nice going for a sequel to a movie that was only considered a moderate financial & critical success on release three years ago. There has been a significant amount of drama surrounding this film that has undoubtedly contributed to the box-office and press coverage but I'm not going to go into that as it's irrelevant to the quality of the film and frankly, it annoys me. For once, the financial success and hype of a blockbuster is justified (this is not Pirates 2 or, god forbid, Spiderman 3) and I will now tell you why!

Firstly, the script. The Dark Knight is penned by Chris and Jonathan Nolan rather than a comic book hack like David Goyer. These boys wrote Memento so an understanding of structure and character is naturally expected. What they deliver is an expertly structured movie that balances character moments and set pieces but never at the expense of telling an overall story. And it is a sprawling story typical of a comic book sequel but for once, it is one that is worth telling. It's not just a series of plot points that are there to get characters from one action sequence to the next. It's also a story that ties nicely into the previous film but isn't alienating to anyone who hasn't seen Batman Begins.

There is also a large cast of key players for the writers to contend with; characters played by A-list names. Luckily, everyone has a role to play and very much like Begins, none of the characters feel superfluous to the plot (a la Pirates 2). Conversely and, despite several recent reviews to contrary, no one character dominates the film; it neither belongs to Batman or The Joker and both characters are given equal focus. Consequently, the movie feels balanced and is in no way self indulgent unlike Burton's Batman. It is the same with the set pieces. They are perfectly paced and placed within the film and do not skimp on spectacle (a vehicle chase between Batman, the Joker and many others is one that is particularly jaw dropping) but more on that later.

Finally, the dialogue is cracking. People have proper conversations and while there are the typical comic book sound bites delivered with an utterly straight face (mostly by Batman it has to be said); it is all very cleverly written and doesn't feel silly or cheesy. The Joker does, of course, get some very choice lines but he by no means gets them all. 'The funny' is distributed evenly between the characters and there is no 'omic relief' as it were.

Onto direction. Firstly, this film may be dark in theme but it is certainly not on screen. There are night scenes but they are not the majority and most take place in broad daylight or the harsh halogens of a police cell. The most obvious comparison to make with the Dark Knight (and one that has been made numerous times already) is that it is very Michael Mann. It is a fair comparison with Gotham being a neon soaked cityscape of glass skyscrapers very reminiscent of the setting in Collateral. The opening sequence is also very Heat in its execution but that is no bad thing.

This is not to detract from Nolan's own distinct style or very obvious talent. Nolan is very controlled with the camera and unlike many comic book directors, isn't over-reliant on zooms or jump cuts to build tension or convey a race against time. In character scenes there are a lot of tracking and steady cam shots to capture the actors performances and make the audience feel part of the scene (characters are often followed or tracked by the camera as they walk for example). As for the set-pieces, they are magnificent. Again, there is no epilepsy inducing editing and the action is captured beautifully with gorgeous wide shots. It is fast paced but not confusingly so and the audience can always follow what is happening. The stunts are also very muscular and visceral and metal crunches and bones crack with as much realism as a comic book adaptation will allow. Lastly, the score is brilliant. While using the main themes from Begins to give continuity it builds in scale and grandeur to match the scope of the film. It is never bombastic, however, and never drowns out the audio track.

And finally, onto the performances. First up is Christian Bale as the titular Knight (or is he...?) He is, of course, brilliant as usual. Physical, intense but not completely po-faced, he expands on the Wayne (and Batman) he showed us in Begins. He may be just as conflicted as Bruce Wayne (and in his relationship with Rachel) but he is more settled as Batman and the role he has to play in Gotham. It is only the introduction of The Joker that brings him doubt about what Batman has to do to save his city and Bale portrays this destabilisation with subtlety and presence. He is also surprisingly humorous playing the Himbo Playboy to perfection whenever Wayne needs to distance himself from Batman. Heath Ledger is equally brilliant as The Joker. Full of ticks and quirks he is the embodiment of insanity but he never mugs or 'performs'. He is charismatic and terrifying in equal measure and in a brilliant move by the writers, he remains completely unknowable. He is also very witty rather than being funny and is all the better for it. Then there is Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent who is the beating heart of the movie. I can't say too much about him without spoiling the plot but his story arc is the most complete out of all the characters and he is heartbreaking to watch. The supporting players (Caine, Freeman and Gyllenhall) are all uniformly excellent as usual and it's great to see Maggie showing us how it should be done. There is also a lovely little cameo that almost made me 'woo-hoo' out loud in the cinema so look out for that.

So, overall The Dark Knight is, in my opinion, the best comic book film ever made. It's probably one of the best blockbusters ever made and definitely the best film of the summer. Will it rank as high on IMDB once the hype had died down? I doubt it. There are minor plot holes and couple of visuals are over the top and it is, in the end, a comic book movie. It really doesn't rival The Godfather or The Shawshank Redemption. It is, however, an undoubted creative success."

So there you go. Apparently it's not bad.

Vero wrote a really good piece today about the relationship between bloggers and PRs. It was mainly in regards to technology journalism, but the points are valid across everything and the comments bring up really interesting points from both sides.

I don't think it comes as a surprise that the PR / blogger relationship can be strained, and the fault lies on both sides.

I have friends in PR, I have friends who blog and I have friends who work in print media. All of us are battling it out for our little piece of the pie, and we all have to remember one thing about each other. It's my motto for life, which I repeat to myself whenever things don't work out how I planned.

They're Just Doing Their Job.

For every PR that sends me info on a security tether after contacting me about a shoe website (this actually happened and she got very hostile when I said it wasn't relevant) there's one who couriers over a lipstick last minute so I can fill a gap in my video. For every PR who won't return my phonecall when I ask for information on a product, there's another who takes me to Nobu for dinner to talk about their new clients.

Similarly, for every PR who calls me to check what I'm working on so (s)he can send me relevant press releases or samples, there's one who tells my colleague they won't send anything to Catwalk Queen (even images) because they're 'not doing online'.

[name and shame removed because, ironically, they have now invited me to something. No idea if it was after seeing this - I doubt it - but if it was, thanks for listening!]

By nature, bloggers write opinions, they're honest and they don't hold back. The freedom of blogging vs print media is what appealed to me in the first place. I know we're a bit scary because we won't pander to people quite so easily. We're also a bit contradictory. We want to be treated with the same respect as press, but at the same time, we don't want to be treated like press. We want to be recognised for what we are. A new breed of writers who bring together old skills and new ideas in order to deliver content in a new way.

But those 'weaknesses' are also our strengths. If a product is good, blogger buzz can really sell it. Plenty of people have now realised the power of 'underground' buzz from new influentials (argh, jargon-speak) and witnessing the PR about turn has been really fantastic for me. All I've ever asked is that PRs show some kind of interest in understanding bloggers, and that definitely seems to be the case (as a whole) now. So for those who're out there flying the flag for good PR practice, thanks. Those who aren't...go to your clients, tell them about blogs and get them to invest some money in targeting them.

Contrary to popular belief, we're not just in it for the freebies.

I dream of one day having a house big enough to store all the things I wish I had. I collect a few things already; shot glasses, hair accessories, Escada perfume bottles, sunglasses and things with butterflies on. But there are so many things I wish I could hoard alongside those. Las Vegas memorabilia, vintage movie posters, Varga girl prints, vintage sewing patterns...and the latest, limited edition Barbies.

I first went through this phase about five years ago, when I wrote a feature on the evolution of Barbie as part of my final University project. Jenni bought me a book full of collectors (ie adult) Barbie dolls and I became obsessed. I used to search ebay on a daily basis trying to find the doll I still maintain will be the basis of my collection. The rule was I couldn't buy any more until I had this one. It's Barbie dressed in the Dior 'New Look' suit from 1947. The Ultimate Fashion Moment in miniature, if you will. Who cares if Babs is genetically impossible and so busty she'll fall over. She looks good in couture.

Yep, even I sometimes worry that I am becoming a parody of myself.

Anyway, if anyone knows how I can get hold of it, that'd be lovely. It's my birthday in a couple of weeks...

ps. Dear eBay sellers, those '40s style tea dresses' you're selling as vintage for upwards of a tenner? We know they're from BHS in the early 90s. They're still ugly.

Fact: Digressica's post about London knife crime says everything I want to say about London knife crime, but in a much funnier way. If I address the subject, I am likely to lapse into a long rambling post about my knife / blade phobia, which will involve me saying things like 'but I don't have problems buttering my toast'. Nobody wants that.

So, onto something a little more fluffy, because that's what is expected of me. I have a question. I'm slowly becoming an old lady, so I figured it was time to embrace that. I knit. I sew. I buy cider so I can put it in Somerset pork casserole, rather than so I can get ratted mid-week.

Next up, I figure I need to hone my ballroom dancing skills. That seems like the logical next step, no?

I'm ok with latin. I did a fair interpretation of the Cha Cha Cha with my dad at a dance a few weeks ago (no, you really did just read that right) so I'm ready to move up in the world. Where can I learn to do the American Smooth? I want to be like Kelly Brook (left), all Ava Gardner curls and Marilyn curves and amazing frocks.

I will need a partner, of course. Preferably someone who looks like William Holden and dances like Fred Astaire.

Email me if you can help...

A few things to talk about that have happened recently...

Firstly, last Saturday I went to Hard Rock Calling, the most unfortunately named London 'festival' ever. You can read about that here.

I also went to Nobu, the fantastically overpriced but wonderful Japanese restaurant at the Metropolitan Hotel. You can read all about that here.

This weekend, I've mostly been playing my beloved Nintendo Wii and anticipating Doctor Who. The Who anticipation wasn't really worth it since I predicted what was going to happen almost to the letter, but,in usual RTD style, it was a very neat and tidy, emotional finale that ticked all the fangirl boxes while successfully pissing off anyone who wants any kind of scientific backing to support all the 'wibbly wobbly timey wimey' stuff.

Ironically, that's a quote from a Steven Moffat episode.

And then there's the Wii. Ah, the Wii. I've only had it for about a month and already I'm on my third galaxy on Mario Galaxy, I'm halfway through Guitar Hero on hard (that orange fret button will be the end of me) and I've just added Lego Indiana Jones and The Sims 2 Castaway to my games collection.

I can't buy anything else, ever.

I'm a bit concerned I'm not going to like the Lego game. I should probably have tried Star Wars first before throwing away £30 on this, but I think it'll grow on me. I can always flog it on eBay if I don't like it, I suppose.

Now I'm just trying to convince myself that buying a Wii fit is a complete waste of money when I have a gym membership I never use.

I keep getting emails from a certain pair of friends relating to Doctor Who. The last one didn't even have a message body, it just said 'why isn't it Saturday yet?!'

It's finally dawned on me that going to the RSC to see Hamlet in August with the pair of them probably wasn't the best idea. Now, I'm as big a David Tennant fan as your next hot-blooded, geeky female. But those two take it to another level entirely. There is bouncing involved.

At the RSC at the moment they're using a smaller, temporary theatre. Mom was there recently to see A Midsummer Night's Dream and apparently it's amazing. We're sat in the third row. For this...


Did I mention Patrick Stewart is also in it? It's going to be geek city. Mon dieu!