Day Two of Time Off
Started my morning early again. Got up and as soon as we had some light I took Nokes on a walk.
Then from 8:30-12:30 I worked on Rotheblog. Mostly ironing out smaller details, but the main detail was deciding on how to make the sidebar work. I couldn’t find a plugin that let me customize what showed up there, as well as allowed me to have drop down lists. So, as much as it pains me, I made it manually. That let me customize it all I want, and although it isn’t dynamic, all of my posts still are. I don’t mind maintaining one portion of my site for a little while. Eventually I will come across a plugin or something that will do what I need.
I had some lunch, and then spent some time making some changes to DSW. Then just after 2, I headed down to the comic store. I haven’t been there in about 4 months, man it has been awhile. The fact that we don’t lift down there anymore doesn’t help. Said hi to Rob, picked up my books, but didn’t stay long. I came home and read for awhile, and thought, you know, I might be over buying comic books. My main book, Batman, hasn’t been good in about a year now, and that is all I buy anymore. I could really just save that 20-40 bucks a year for something else.
At about 4:30 I met Dave at the gym to lift. I was a very bad husband, I was supposed to bring clothes for Sarah, but I forgot them. She got all the way there and I realized it, and felt terrible. She said she was going to go shopping since she was already there, so at least it wasn’t a total loss.
I got back and we had some dinner. Sarah ran out the door to go to a candle party at a friend from Church and was gone until about 9 pm.
I was supposed to have a guy come over and buy the Space Invaders Deluxe around 7:30. He didn’t end up arriving until about 8:30. While I was waiting I took out the Jr. Pac-man marquee and started to scan what I could. I think my Canon scanner is officially dead, so I installed the printer / scanner combo Christine gave me and used that where possible. Only problem, the control panel on it is raised, so as long as you only scan items around 8.5 x 11, you should be fine. That, doesn’t work for me at all.
By the time I got the Space Invaders out, it was late, and it had been a long day already. Sarah and I talked and chilled a little bit before heading to bed. We knew tomorrow morning would be an early one.
TMNT Pinball
I know I eventually want a pinball in my personal arcade. I just don’t know what.
I have played Austin Powers, and I liked the gameplay of that. I didn’t like the backglass artwork illustration though.
I have thought that a Batman or Batman Forever pin might be a good idea, and I have seen that there is a Mario Bros out there too. I have seen Stargate at an auction here in Indy, but it wasn’t playable. I saw today that there is a TMNT pinball. Looks like fun, but the artwork also looks a little weird to me personally.
There is also always a Baby Pac, which I still haven’t tried, only seen one in person, non-working. It is a little harder to see and try these games out, they seem harder to come by. I don’t know why that is, if I am not running in those circles yet or what it might be, but maybe this October at the auction I will see a cool pinball or two I might be interested.
Final Day Off
Sarah found out in the morning that she didn’t have to go into Wheeler, and much like me, she was pretty excited about being able to be at home to do whatever she wanted. She spent most of the day cleaning around the house, but that made her feel good so more power to her.
I spent my early morning getting ready for a lunch meeting. I organized files on my laptop and get some other materials together. We met at 11:30 with a friend from church and talked about a website for her father and his fish fry. We had some of the food, very good, especially the corn hush puppies.
On the way back we ran a couple of errands, including up to the vacuum store to get a replacement belt for the cleaner. The guy there said you should change the belt every 9 months, we don’t think it has ever been changed, so probably a good reason why it was stretched 25% larger than it should be. We also hope it starts to clean better now as a result.
When we got back, I took a couple of hours to writeup my proposal for the website since I knew I didn’t want to have to worry about it later on during the weekend. It was then just after 5, and I sat down to try to finish the tracing on the Mr. Do Bezel that I had been putting off all week.
Sarah made some dinner, so I took a short break. Around 7:45 Jeff and Sarah arrived and Patrick and Katie right after.
Of course, we weren’t ready. Always embarrassing. So, we gathered up drinks, chairs and popcorn, and all carpooled over to the Drive In’s. On the way over, Sarah realized she left a candle burning, so she came all the way back to blow it out and barely made it back in time for the opening.
We saw The Bourne Ultimatum, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Bourne was very good, Chuck and Larry just so so. I laughed at some parts, but there was a lot of humor that was trying too hard.
During intermission I went and played the Austin Powers pinball in the concession stand. I enjoyed that one quite a bit, and may like to own it. I didn’t care for the color pencil illustration on the backglass though. The gameplay was fun, there were some characters and the whole machine was very colorful. I like the theme, but I am a stickler for artwork, so I don’t know if I could get it just for that backglass. I need to try to find someone who owns a Batman pinball close by and try that.
The Drive-In was packed, I was pretty surprised. The commercial at intermission said they are planning on continuing to operate, even though they don’t make much money off ticket prices. They make most of their money off of concessions, and we brought everything in. But seriously, again, way too expensive for one night out if you ask me if you do concessions too, so I don’t know where I fall in that grey area of saving the theater and paying too much.
Batman Beyond Return of the Joker (2000)
What a great movie this is. I think that if you have any interest in the Batman mythos, this is a such a great story, dark, pathological and possible inside of a world ruled by a man dressed like a bat with a rogues cast of villains twice as psychotic.
Batman Beyond is set in the future, Bruce Wayne is very old, and has not been Batman for a number of years. Along comes Terry McGinnis, his father is murdered, he is smart, stumbles on Wayne’s secret, and wala, you have the typical story for any new Batman supporting cast member.
But this particular story isn’t reliant on you accepting this new kid as Batman, and this new futuristic cast of villains. Instead, this mixes history with the future, and brings back the Joker in a style only he could pull off.
The story goes, that one day, while on patrol, Tim Drake (Robin) turns up missing. After a number of agonizing days turn into weeks, an invitation is sent to Batman, to return to old Arkham. There in the ruins, Joker and Harley Quinn have tortured robin for all of this time, turning him basically into a little Joker with the creepy smile and laugh. In the end Batman rescues Tim, Harley Quinn falls off a cliff, and Tim shoots Joker.
After a year of therapy, Tim is back to some semblance of normal. Now in the future, the Joker seems to have reappeared and all ties point back to Tim Drake. Soon enough it is revealed (that although hard to believe, suspend it for a bit) Joker has implanted Tim with a chip that basically has slowly let him return in Tim’s body, taking it over.
The best part is, Tim Drake is a communications expert. So no laughing gas or Joker fish. This time it is a piece of machinery for defense satellite jamming that allows him to blast Gotham city with a 400 foot wide beam.
In the end, Batman wins, beats the Joker at his own game, frys the chip in Tim Drake, and things return back to normal. But what a cool and original idea.
If you like Batman, and the cartoons, this is for you. That is probably a narrow audience, but anyone who appreciated the darker cartoons from the early to mid 90’s, would love this one.
Batman (1989)
The original, and what would be natural to say next, “the best”. But after Batman Begins this summer, this one is a classic, but isn’t necessarily a better story, if you minus any special effects evaluations.
I love this movie. A lot of my childhood and teenage years are tied to it. Superhero movies were not as easy to pull off at this time, and it really needed to be a cool story for it to work. Tim Burton directed the first two, and he did an excellent job. But, one thing that I did notice that he didn’t pull off quite as well as Chris Nolan tonight, a small detail, a large city feel to Gotham. Nolan gave it a modern feel, that isn’t what I am talking about, I am talking about the sheer mass of people in a city that is supposed to be as big as New York. Burton’s Gotham is more like a small city with huge buildings.
I will love Burton’s movie more for the quirkiness and gritty feel it had. From the crazy surgeon who worked on Jack Nicolson’s face, to Michael Keaton’s performance as the true eccentric that is Bruce Wayne. Keaton did place this aspect a little better than Bale, or maybe differently. Thinking that Keaton up to this point had been known as an oft kilter slap stick actor, who then channeled that into Wayne’s personality as well as being convincingly driven and focused, is pretty amazing in itself.
I liked the translation of Jack Napier as figure who killed Bruce’s parents. But looking back, I think maybe it was a touch too easy to kill as many people as Batman did in the first movie, and how much he used guns. That was a huge thing in the comics, and Nolan’s explanation of how Wayne comes into all of his toys is perfect.
I think though, the best part of this movie is, going back to the beginning, is Burton’s twist. Only his direction in color and camera angles made it a perfect fit with the entrance of the Joker. Especially in the utter calm scene where Wayne is shot by Napier in Vicki’s Vale apartment, to the weird painting of the paintings in the museum scene, to the Joker and his men parading with balloons through Gotham.
This seems a little dated to me. But looking through un-biased eyes, this is a great movie, and only falls a half star short of Batman Begins because the newer movie is that much more true to the original story in every detail and a great story at the same time. But this is what kicked it all of, thanks to Burton to a classic that everyone should see.
Batman Begins (2005)
AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!
Awesome!
The reviews are out there, and most of the critics are saying, “This is the Batman film we have all been waiting for.” That seems to be the battle cry, and I couldn’t have said it any better myself.
What does this movie hold for you? What if you aren’t a Batman fan, especially after the horrid Joel Schumacher films? Well, this story, stands alone. The story is self sufficient, and, oh, it happens to be a superhero.
Where do I start, I was sweating in the theater. The detail, the explanation, to realism, the action, and the suspense, articulate and well planned, Batman Begins has been worth the 8 years we’ve been waiting. A good script by an oft kilter director, Chris Nolan (Momento), makes a nearly perfect film.
Warning! I am going to include everything, down to spoilers. Don’t read on if you don’t want to know.
Batman is my favorite. Here is a mix of fantasy, but it is dependently intertwined with the idea that this is a real man. A man who is angry and his only super power is his amazing wealth and knowledge, and the drive to make himself better than the rest. I loved Batman, and seem to be the only person on the planet who liked Batman Returns the best (to date) because it was so dark and violent. Batman isn’t shiny kids, he isn’t a laughing, “Oh, I’m so unsure and poor” Spiderman type. This is real, this is dark, and it is as close as a reflection of real like and apathy that a movie goer can expect in a movie of the genre.
So, not to take away from Tim Burton. Michael Keaton, nails the quirkiness and the demeanor in the Batsuit. However, does not have the stature to be intimidating, and doesn’t play the handsome womanizing version of Bruce Wayne the shell well at all. Come on, Keaton? Hot? Christian Bale. Nails every aspect. Great looking great stature, anger and rage boiling at the surface, and can pull of humor and intelligence that the shallow Bruce Wayne facade needs to cover up his nightly activities.
The rest of the cast is sublime. Michael Caine plays the part of Alfred so well, and has deeper, richer things to say because of such a great script. Lucious Fox, Bruce Wayne’s right hand financial man in the comics. In this movie, has a scientific background as well as a corporate knowledge of the Wayne Enterprises. This was a satisfactory divergence from the story, like everything else, it makes sense.
Carmine Falcone played by Tom Wilkinson, eh, not so much. Seemed hardly believable, but not terrible. Ken Wantabe and actually, (Spoiler) Liam Neelson as Ra’s Al Ghul, a great translation. Ra’s Al Ghul is not a well know character, but he is Batman’s equal. In the beginning you believe that he dies, and as a fan, you are furious. It shouldn’t have been that easy. Bale is training in some remote location in the mountains, with ninjas and shadow warriors, but when his ideals cross with theirs, his extradition is sudden and logical and we believe Ghul is a casualty. But we find out later, that he is just as intelligent as the comics, and things are not what they seem. Bale pulls out his mentor in his training, Neelson, only to find out he is really Ghul later in the story. But again, a logical translation from the sinister mind that lives in the mountains, older than time that is kept alive by boiling lava pits called “The Lazarus Pits”. Insane but highly skilled, he knew Batman’s secret and could match him in every way. So, smart mentor of the shadow people, good translation.
We are to the villain. Everyone complains about how the focus was on the villains in the other movies. Well, that is not the case in this one. Cillian Murphy, perfect, actually, the second best casting in the movie only to Bale. The piercing murderous eyes, and the unforgiving and unrelenting nature that allows his natural revealing of his dark side the Scarecrow in the blink of an eye.
Jonathan Crane, a psychologist and scientist in the comics, was also hard for me to understand how he would translate. I think that Nolan kept scenes with him out of the previews for a reason. For all the geeks, this was the best part. Crane was a villain with the power that he deserved, without so much as a flinch, nearly killing an inexperienced Batman in one of the opening scenes. How? By lighting him on fire. And oh, well, scaring the crap out of him and the whole theater. What a perfect translation of his fear toxin. An weaponized hallucinogenic found in a rare plant in the same mountains where Batman trained. You will be scared in how they did the sequences here, some of the nice complimenting CG work that is done in the film. But not to worry. It is just the toxin and a cloth mask that most victims seem maggots crawling through. It isn’t the cheesy, outdated scarecrow like costume that we find in the books.
Gary Oldman does a perfect James Gordon, but Katie Holmes, well, she’s just there. I have read that people think he lines are forced and awkward, I didn’t see that too much. She does a nice job of being an intelligent entity, not like these other girls that take the whole movie to realize, oh crap, he’s Batman and can never be had / be too close too / has too many demons blah blah blah. But still, he performance, not so moving.
The overall theme of this movie, and why it stands on it’s own, is the relative realism. In a day and age where movie goers need to relate to their films, this one is set in a realistic modern city, a necessary translation from the gothic dark Gotham of old. Every one of Bruce Wayne’s actions, emotions, and tools is explained. Nothing is left to chance. We empathize with the pain he bears of losing his parents, the lengths he guest to train himself to understand a criminal, and rid himself of fear. Nolan goes through great lengths to help us understand all of his gadgetry, his costume, even how he orders it without anyone knowing.
The whole film is just real. There isn’t a high gloss to things. All of the equipment is homemade for Batman. Heck, the lighted symbol is just thrown together and is blurry in the sky. The buildings look like a modern metropolis, down to the Batmobile, and that is a whole other paragraph.
Other than other little things I saw in previews, I was most nervous about the Batmobile. I really liked the mobile from the Burton universe, and hated the one from Schumacher. (Why did he even change it? To be more gay?) But, all I kept hearing was, the whole story is a translation of Year One and The Dark Knight Returns. The Batmobile is from “Returns”. I was like, ok, but does it fit that story because otherwise, who cares. It does, hands down. Why have a pretty crime fighting car, when you can have a car that is military in style, drive over anything, and get busted the hell up. He needs to get the job done, and we never see any sort of intense scene with the Batmobile, unless you count when it gets taken over in “Returns”.
I am jumping all over the place, but there is so much to talk about. This movie is about Batman and his elemental essence. He does some quips, but he shouldn’t be talking too much. He is a hero of action. But Bale is scary, and does a nice growl in his voice. It is an adjustment, Keaton may have had the best voice but it isn’t corny or cheesy like I read around the internet. There is a scene with a corrupt cop hanging from the building that apart from the dropping him 20 stories, I would have been scared enough talking to him to let the cat out of the bag.
I also have read a lot about the action sequences being unclear. I don’t really get this. To me, Batman works efficiently. He gets guys in the shadows, takes them out silently, uses the dark to his advantage as well as the fear. The fighting does that just fine. It doesn’t seem scripted like the last two did, and even though the fighting isn’t street, it isn’t highly polished nin-jitsu either. It is the stuff to get it done.
Like I said earlier, the movie escalates. You have the first half of the movie being the build up back story with the shiny city, and then the second half you have dirty Gotham, with the steam and the homeless people in their rundown buildings. The end sequence in most fitting, as Gotham’s water supply is contaminated with fear toxins and is being vaporized by a microwave military weapon, the whole atmosphere is dark and eerie. The citizens of Gotham are running scared on fear gas, and there is this demonic feel, fear at every turn.
What can I say. I can’t logically review this movie. This is what is has in bullet points;
- Great Translation of the classic characters
- Nearly perfect Casting
- Great script, lines, story, and plot
- Realism and Empathy
- Real time action with a nice mix of CG
- Emotion
But in the end, will it appeal to everyone. I hope so. We need it to do well, and to keep Bale and Nolan together for a whole bunch more of these with the same dedication that Sam Raimi has to the Spiderman franchise. I don’t think that everyone will quite get it, and not nearly in this way.
But what I would say is, don’t be scared off by the old versions. This is worth your money and should start to erase bad memories. It is a great story, and it happens to be about Batman. Everyone should give it a try.
Awesome Awesome movie. Thank you Chris Nolan.
And Chip. I hope you like this when you see it. I know I hated the gloss and corniness that was Spiderman 1, and I don’t know about “Show not Tell” but I think this movie did a good job of showing more than telling. I just hope you really appreciate this movie for how great it is.
Batman: Bruce Wayne Murderer?
Show of hands – who wants a Batman Review? You DO? Hmmm…you may want check out another blog. How many reviewers do you know who always get off track & criminally abuse the words: Like, Totally, Actually, So, Okay & Well?
I DO actually (see there I go!) have a minor in “Comp Lit” from IU. That’s where they hid the film studies program back in the day when I went there. I got a certificate & everything. *giggle* I guess that makes me a certified critic – of movies at least.
But I’m keenly aware that I’m no expert – I still have truckloads of things to learn about comics. And I struggle to do REAL critical writing – I’m just too yakkity. I swear if I had a super power I would be “Easily Distracted Girl”.
So if you want a professional in-depth review, you are going to have to go somewhere else. If you want fun feedback from an honest-to-goodness happy fan – welcome to my world.
Oh! And that, of course, is the last line in the inaugural Batman Beyond. It’s a killer closing tag line to be sure. Got me all ready for more… However nothing can beat the original Batman: The Animated Series from the 90’s though. The girls & I are watching that on DVD right now. I’d forgotten how innovative & superbly done that show was. Mark Hamill is the BEST Joker!
Sorry!!! Do you think if I draw you a roadmap we can find our way back to the original topic?
Let’s talk about Batman: Bruce Wayne Murderer?
If you want to make a case for waiting for the reprint in trade rather than trying to get all the issues – this is a good example. This story arc was covered in, like, what? 10 different titles? Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but point made. The story just wouldn’t have the same impact if told out of sequence or with parts missing.
It could be just me, but when DC & Marvel do these mega-gi-normous crossovers I have a heck of a time getting all the issues, and then getting them in the right order. I know they are trying to promote readership of other titles, but to me, it’s just a big hassle. Does that make me a bad fan? Or just a complete moron?
Nah, I think it just means I have a full & rich life outside of comics (I’m sure I’ll have more to say on THAT someday). I DO love my single issues, but there are times I want my continuity & I don’t want to hunt, gather & forage month to month for it.
When all the pieces are pulled together in paperback form – “Bruce Wayne Murderer?” makes for one gripping murder-mystery.
Anyway…..on to the story… The tale takes place a while after Gotham went to heck-in-a-hand-basket in No Man’s Land. Batman is patrolling with bodyguard turned crime fighting partner Sasha Bordeaux. Upon returning home one night they discover the savaged body of Bruce Wayne ex-girlfriend, Vesper Fairchild.
The frame is flawless – police arrive just in time to catch the scene at its most incriminating. Bruce & Sasha are immediately arrested. And that’s really all I want to say about the plot. As you might suspect the rest of the voyage is about finding out what REALLY happened at Wayne Manor that evening & what happens to Bruce & Sasha. So I’m going to jump into what I think makes this a top-notch story.
First off – throw aside the notion of this being a comic, this is just a good mystery period. It’s got it all – A brutal, despicable crime, the loyal unwavering gal pal, our dark hero, friend turning on friend as the clues are revealed. It’s juicy!
There were two aspects of the story that intrigued me – one, Bruce & Sasha’s stay in prison & how it affects them & two, how solving the mystery unbalances Bruce’s protégés (current & prior).
First – Bruce in jail. This just killed me! WE know he’s Batman – HE knows he’s Batman, but caged & with the world watching his every move – he is utterly TRAPPED as Bruce Wayne (which totally sets the stage for how this particular trade ends – but I’m not telling-nyah!).
What an interesting psychological dilemma for a man so driven to control the situation around him. This is a guy who’s bent on never again being a victim. The extreme effort it takes for him to maintain self-control & show restraint is so palpable it practically jumps out of the book. Man! I think I wanted Bruce to go all Batman on folks as much as he did.
And Sasha’s frustration was JUST as tangible for me. Not only did she have the same survival issues as Bruce, but layer into that her struggle against an encroaching sense of abandonment.
Her devotion is absolute. But isolated in prison her loyalty exists in a vacuum. For a long time she has NOTHING to cling to but her own visceral belief that this man is not a killer. She relates that at some point every bodyguard must decide if they can “take a bullet” for those they have chosen to protect. And, though beaten down physically & emotionally on all fronts, she stands firm.
Now compare her attitude with what’s going on outside the prison walls. Take the people close to Batman – Barbara, Dick, Alfred, Tim et al….individuals groomed by a master detective – and provide them with facts & clues that are pretty darn incriminating. It is fascinating to see not only WHO has doubts but the shades & degrees of doubt that creep into Bruce’s comrades.
Dick served as an excellent focal point for a lot of the great discussions in the book. His heart to heart with Barbara, the impassioned wrestling of loyalty between to the former & current Robin & the ultimate throw-down between Nightwing & Batman all contribute to making this a substantial story.
Here’s the catch – the story in this book ends without finding out whodunit. ACK!
Jeff & Sarah got this book for me as a gift (Thank you guys! XOXO) I brought this for reading during my daughter’s basketball tournament (lots of sitting around between games you know). When I got to the end & realized the pages were over but the story wasn’t I darn near called Jeff on the spot to curse him for getting me hooked on this great mystery.
I showed some restraint (I waited until I got HOME to call *smile*) & found out there was more to the story. If you prefer not to hunt down the single issues – and my hat’s off to those of you who do fancy the hunt – you can pick up the trail in “The Fugitive” which tells the rest of the saga in three parts. (The Rothes got me THOSE books for my birthday – aren’t they too good to me?)
I am soooo glad I read the rest, but I’ll throw on a tiny disclaimer. When you set up a mystery that well; when you build a frame that tight – it is nearly impossible to come up with a TOTALLY satisfactory way to explain everything.
But ultimately the pleasure of this read for me was the journey, not the destination (I think I just stole that from an 80’s rock ballad – Oh No Wait! It’s Aerosmith, right?). The first part is totally worth the read. As for the rest – I guess that’s up to you….
Thanks for listening!
Later!
COMING SOON! I went to a small con in Chicago with the gang this weekend – hope to have something written about our adventures soon. We had a great time as always!
