I think the new posters released for The Dark Knight are great. They are dark, foreboding and very well designed.

This should come as no surprise considering that everything from the trailers to the unconventional viral marketing stunts that Warner Bros. has put together have been very effective from day one. In a typically competitive summer, I think that Warner Bros. is easily backing this flick with the best marketing blitz of the bunch. This could obviously make a huge difference in the end. After all, there's a certain pride that comes with being dubbed the most successful movie of the summer.

I'm rooting for this movie in a lot of ways. After the untimely death of Heath Ledger I want to see The Dark Knight become a cultural phenomenon to the point that Ledger is given a posthumous Oscar nod for Supporting Actor. Ledger's legacy was cut short before it had the chance to fully blossom and I think it would mean a lot to his family, friends and loyal fans if his final full performance gets a lot of attention.

Warner Bros. also deserves a lot of credit for not exploiting his death. Having Christopher Nolan talk to The New York Times in March about Ledger's death was the classy thing to do. They could have easily thrown Nolan on Oprah or something and gotten more mileage out of the situation.

Plus, the latest trailer for the film (which leaked on YouTube and was promptly taken down) featured Ledger as much as it did Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. No need to play up Ledger in order to build buzz. Warner Bros. played it straight.

So as we quickly approach the beginning of the summer season with the opening of Iron Man this weekend, here's hoping that The Dark Knight comes out on top and lives up to expectations.