One month off and the Summer Movie Season in Review

Part I: Personal Stuff (the year in review)

This has been quite the busy year for me. I know that I have not been sharing a lot regarding my personal life (boring as it is), but my buddy Aaron was remarking on how many changes I experienced over the last year, and the list is amazing. Here is the year in review:

1. I completed law school. This was the last degree I will ever get. Really. It is. Honest Injun. No fooling. I am NOT going for my MBA. Nope. Not even for the executive program on weekends. Law school was an interesting exercise. I was able to live like a 25 year old for three more years, and I did not even come close to pulling THAT off. Finishing law school is the beginning of my real life. No more will I wander into a classroom to learn something for the sake of a test. When I first entered law school, I had doubts as to whether I could pull it off. I mean, it had been a good 10 years since my last written exam, and now I would be pitted against a group of students who were well versed in test taking as a result of their recent pasts in college. I felt that I was at a distinct disadvantage, but when the dust settled, I graduated with honors. This is something that would not have been possible without the care and support of my friends and family (you all know who you are, and the list is long but distinguished).

2. I took the Illinois State Bar Exam. Um...my mind is still in shock over the sheer difficulty of this most heinous of hazing rituals. The preparation for this test made for the single worst summer of my life. If I failed, at least the next time I take it will be in the dead of winter, and I will have a study buddy in HASWOE.

3. I took (and passed) the Examination for Admission to Pratice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the Patent Bar). Yes, I took this exam and passed it. Unlike the Illinois Bar exam, the USPTO test is taken at a computer testing site, and you are immediately told whether or not you passed. I took the test the second week of May, and I passed. This was one of the hurdles I needed to leap over in order to realize my goal of becoming a patent attorney. I was also the first person in my firm's entering class to pass it. At least I will not have to study for it while working! Please let there be no more tests!!!

4. My apartment was broken into. Many of you longtime readers are already aware of this, but my place was broken into while I was out of town for a weekend. I must take this opportunity to give a shout out to State Farm insurance, for they made my claim process painless and quick, and I was almost whole again (in terms of items that were missing) within a month. Wow. This, of course, was a major stressor in my life.

5. I purchased my first home. The closing is this Friday, and I am extremely excited about it. Of course, for the sake of sanity, I really should have thought better of undergoing two of the most stressful events that one can experience all at the same time (bar exam and home purchase), but the timing seemed right, and I fell in love with my new condo. I expect to move a week from Monday, and all of my friends (especially AH, Daisy, and HASWOE) have been extremely helpful with decorating and logistics suggestions concerning the new place. The housewarming should be a lot of fun.

6. I start a brand new job the day after Labor Day. The job market is not too kind out there for recently graduated attorneys, so I consider myself lucky to have a position at a good firm. I am not so naive as to believe that my PhD had nothing to do with my procuring a position, but I suppose this is a benefit for having taken my lumps in getting my degree. And here I thought the 90s were a complete waste :-)


Whew! What a list! And most of these things only happened within the last 7 months! I still have a good 5 months of the year to go, and I anticipate that (for better or for worse), October 1 will be a banner date . This is the date that the results of the bar are announced. At least I can pretend that I passed for another 2 months. I know that, on that date, I will be checking the website, my heart beating through my chest in full on tachycardia. Good times.

I must mention that NONE of this would have been possible without the support of all of my friends here in Chicago (and some who are NOW in Chicago). The list includes Xander, Daisy, AH, Scuba Steve, Eddie, HASWOE, Missy, Ricedogg and wife of Ricedogg, Funniestthing and Julie, my brother, his fiance, and, most of all, my parents. You all are the best, and there were so many times during this last year where you did something that, while you might not have known it at the time, made a HUGE deal of difference in my life. Thank you.

Part II: The Summer Movie Season.

As I write this entry, "The Dark Knight" is a few million away from passing the $400 million barrier and I am basking in the glow of a really enjoyable summer movie season. I still remember the horrible movie season of 2006, a season that spilled over into 2007 with the yawn-inspiring releases of "Spider-Man 3", "Shrek 3", and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." And then, the summer picked up with the releases of "Order of the Phoenix", "Live Free or Die Hard", "The Bourne Ultimatum", and "The Simpsons Movie". This summer, there were relatively few clunkers. I think that I was able to avoid a lot of them simply by reading the ratings at rottentomatoes.com before making my movie going decisions. As for the rankings of the list, the list merely reflects my own feelings as to which films I believe really succeeded (for me) this summer. Of the top 5, 3 have been the subject of multiple viewings. I have not yet watched "Stepbrothers", "The Clone Wars", or "Death Race", but I will be seeing them soon enough. For the moment, here is my list of the top films of the summer.

1. "The Dark Knight": No surprise here. Director Christopher Nolan picked up where he left off with "Batman Begins" and created a comic book movie that was one in the truest sense of the word. The Nolan brothers crafted a story that perfectly captured the nuances of the Batman universe while grounding it in reality. Much was made of how movie goers were motivated to see the film because of the death of Heath Ledger, but I believe a lot of the excitement surrounding this film was the crossover appeal from their first film. This film had it all (dark humor, angst, a gripping storyline, twists and turns, and respect for the underlying mythology). I loved it. #1 with a bullet.

2. "Wall-E": Now, this film has been a controversial topic of conversation for my friends and I. I noticed something quite amusing. When I discussed the film with my married or "coupled" friends, they seemed to focus on the environmental message and the problem with Pixar's failure at even attempting subtlety. When I discussed the film with my single friends, they marveled at the romantic aspects of the film, the throwback nature of Wall-E and Eve's romance that harkened back to a more innocent time. What does that say about the existence of romance where people are already coupled? Maybe nothing, but it was an interesting phenomenon nonetheless. I stand by my earlier review in which I stated that "Wall-E" is my favorite Pixar film. Time will tell; maybe "The Incredibles" will regain the top spot. Who knows.

3. "Iron Man": What do you get when you combine a top notch director, an Academy Award-winning cast, and a faithful comics adaptation updated for the 00s? You get "Iron Man", the best pure popcorn film of the summer. There was nothing particularly deep about "Iron Man", but it did have a minimal level of the requisite seriousness required to inspire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) into acting for the good of all. With this film, Jon Favreau cemented his reputation as a versatile director who is as at home with comedy ("Elf") as he is with a big budget studio summer tentpole film. I only hope that Marvel Films can keep the same cast and crew together for "Iron Man 2". "Iron Man" also wins the award for the best post-credit sequence of the summer.

4. tie-"Wanted" and "The Incredible Hulk": First, "Wanted". I am rarely surprised by action films anymore. I think it is because most stories within the general action genre are rather hackneyed and poorly executed. "Wanted" changed the rules for action films. Rather than the Michael Bay meets Tony Scott look of 90s action films, "Wanted" takes the lessons learned from films such as "The Matrix" (stories and stunts) and marries them to the fun vibe from 80s action films. I cannot wait for the sequel. As for "The Incredible Hulk", I only know of one person who enjoyed Ang Lee's travesty from a few years ago (Eddie, how can you actually LIKE that piece of tripe?). Marvel Films got it right this time and created a "Hulk" film that marries the best of the comics with the nostalgia of the television show from the late 1970s. The action sequences are fun to watch and the story is grounded in the romance between Betty and Bruce. Ed Norton and Liv Tyler have the chemistry so sorely missing from the Jennifer Connelly-Eric Bana coupling from the earlier film. A lot of you never gave this film a chance in the theaters. Please do so when it comes to video. It deserves to be seen (maybe as a double feature with "Iron Man", goven Robert Downey Jr.'s cameo as Tony Stark in "Hulk").

5. "Sex and the City": Now, I know that a lot of people (women and men alike) might disagree with this ranking, but I stand by it. Although I enjoyed it as a good sequel to the television series of the same name, there was nothing in the film that could not have been done for the small screen. Michael Patrick King fell into the trap of most small screen directors in failing to take advantage of the big screen. I expected New York to "pop", and I expected something more than just another good story about Samantha, Charlotte, Carrie, and Miranda. That is not to say that I did not enjoy the story. It is just that, in a summer of great films, this was just adequate. It is exactly what it should have been-but nothing more. That having been said, I would see another "SATC" film. There...I said it.

6. "Hellboy: The Golden Army": Wow-"Hellboy" is kinda low, huh? I suppose this comes from the little known factor of the forgettable film-those films that are good and enjoyable when you watch them but then fall away from your memory the minute you leave the theater. I felt this way about "Hellboy" and "Get Smart". "Hellboy" had wonderful visuals, a great story, and wonderful acting. With all that having been said, I did not really give the film a second thought upon leaving the theater. I would recommend it for a fun evening, but my thoughts following "Hellboy" were a far cry from my thoughts after my first screening of "The Dark Knight." When I left "The Dark Knight", the film was in my thoughts for hours. Indeed, I had numerous phone calls from people who accompanied me to that film just so they could discuss the film...hours after the fact. "Hellboy"? Not so much.

7. "Get Smart": I thoroughly enjoyed this film, but like "Hellboy", this is a film that just fell away from me after I left the theater. I loved the story, I loved the fact that Max was not an incompetent boob, I LOVE Anne Hathaway (seriously...I love her), and I appreciated the various homages the film paid to its inspiration-the Mel Brooks-Buck Henry-Don Adams series of the 1960s. With this having been said, this could just as easily been a rental.

8. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull": I must admit to being a bit surprised myself with how low I ranked this film. At the time of my earlier review, I was still reeling from the horrible experience of "Speed Racer", so perhaps my mood upon watching the film was simply one of relief for seeing something familiar. However, familiar just doesn't cut it when you are up against some truly good films. As the summer went on, Dr. Henry Jones' latest adventure just does not measure up. It just seemed like lazy filmmaking where the writer (in this case, George Lucas) was playing it safe and not taking any chances. Sometimes that can work, and Harrison Ford ably recaptured his glory days with his performance. Unfortunately, in the end, that simply was not enough. I had the distinct impression that I had seen it all before. Whereas this film would have been a blockbuster in the 1980s, a small part of me would prefer to believe that we were still more sophisticated than THAT...but then I remember how much I enjoyed "Rocky IV" and I cringe.

I will not rank the other film I saw this summer. That would be "Speed Racer". The less said about that travesty the better. Let's hope that the Wachowskis find their way...and soon.

So I did not see "The Happening", "Kung Fu Panda", "Prince Caspian", and "Hancock." Maybe that is why I enjoyed the summer as much as I did. I still have high (heh) hopes for "Pineapple Express" and "Tropic Thunder" as well as "Stepbrothers", but the real big films of the summer have come and gone. It was a good summer, and next summer looks to be pretty good as well if for no other reason than I will NOT be studying for the bar exam.

The rest of the year still looks to be fun, with "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", "Righteous Kill", and "Quantum of Solace" coming in the fall. Stay tuned for more reviews, and let me know what else you might want me to write about.

Batman Week Concludes: The Dark Knight Returns

So the big day finally arrived! The biggest movie of the summer! In IMAX, no less. I had a group 20 people (organized by yours truly) there to watch the film and experience it with me (yes, Daisy, AH, and Scuba Steve were there and Eddie, in spirit if not in fact). The screening started with a brief teaser for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" in IMAX 3-D (yes-going to be there opening weekend...next...) and then the trailer for Zack Snyder's "Watchmen" film, based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. I will be writing a column on "Watchmen" (one of the best works of fiction ever written, by the way) in the future. And then...the main event....

The deep base from Zimmer and Newton Howard's soundtrack started, and the Warner Brothers and DC Comics emblems flashed on the screen and disappeared. From the distinctive opening notes of the soundtrack that announced this as a Batman film, the music shifted to the eerie strains of "Why So Serious", a track that reflected the tonal shift that this film would represent versus the previous film. We see a group of gangsters dressed in clown mask...and a solitary figure standing on the street corner, his scraggly green (GREEN!!!!) hair blowing gently in the wind, his back to us, holding, with his left hand by his side, a similar clown mask. The mayhem begins as the Joker is introduced to the audience, representative of all of the chaos that is sure to follow. This was no villainous R'as Al Ghul or Scarecrow-level of lower tier villain. The Joker represented chaos in all of its glory. Did I mention this sequence was shot completely in IMAX (taking up the vast expanse of the IMAX screen? WOW. We track Batman to a parking garage fighting off Russian mobsters, a gang of Batman-inspired vigilantes, and the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy reprising his role in a nice little cameo). The movie then begins in earnest, and we learn that new cops and a new DA have restored hope to Gotham, a hope that remains so long as Batman is serving as guardian over the city. In their efforts to halt organized crime in Gotham, they have driven the criminal underworld to the brink, and the Joker is there with an offer for them-an offer to kill Batman. While this is occurring, Gordon, DA Harvey Dent, and Batman are showing just how far they will take their "ends justify the means" approach to cleaning up Gotham by working covertly to kidnap a Chinese national (the mob banker of Gotham) and return him to Gotham. This is a little unsettling; gone is the clear cut line between what was right and what was wrong that seemed so apparent in the first film. How can there be a clear cut line when chaos is just around the corner? Even though Batman has the mantle of the bat to protect those that he loves, it is not enough to protect those who fearlessly are out in front without the benefit of such disguises. All of these parties pay dearly not only for their own moral transgressions but also for daring to hope in a city that could give birth to a creature such as the Joker.

It is extremely difficult to speak of different aspects of the film without going into specific plot points. I must warn that the following will be one of my patented "favorite moments from the film" bullet point list, and it WILL be full of spoilers, so read on at your own peril.








Still reading?






OK-here I go:

1) The establishing shot of Gotham through the lens of an IMAX camera was astonishing to behold. Everything was crystal clear, and the shot provided an amazing sense of perspective from the skies of the city.

2) The introduction of the Joker and the performance of the late Heath Ledger throughout the film. Wow. At times, I forgot that I was watching an actor. Ledger inhabited the role of the Joker to an amazing level. He created an unforgettable character and was faithful enough to the comics versions of the Joker to satisfy even the most die hard of Batman fans (such as myself). From his voice innotations to the way he wielded his daggers, the Joker was a living unpredictable force of mayhem in an arena (a comic book film) where such things should not exist. In point of fact, one could almost sense the palpable tension that gripped the movie audience whenever the Joker was on the screen, as no one could predict what he would do next. While I marveled at the performance, I am also saddened by the knowledge that we will never see this actor in another new film. This was a performance for the ages.

3) The action sequences over Hong Kong were amazing (also shot in IMAX). Batman's assault on the skyscraper and his amazing escape with his hostage were truly amazing to behold. If I have not mentioned this before, let me say that this film needs to be experienced in IMAX.

4) The capture of the Joker: round one. The chase sequences were breathtaking and the last minute rescue of the Dark Knight by an unforeseen participant was a joy to behold. The interrogation scene between Batman and the Joker was hard to watch. After all, Batman is one of the good guys. He was played by Adam West, for gosh sakes! Here, he mercilessly pummels the Joker while demanding information, and, even more disturbingly, the Joker lets him know that there is nothing Batman can do to him. He just does not care. The tragic sequence of events that unfolds soon after this...well, even though I could spoil it for you, there are some things that need to be experienced. The interrogation scene also held a special place for me because of its eerie resemblance to a similar scene at the beginning of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's graphic novel "The Killing Joke." This was a great way to pay homage to this excellent story.



5) Speaking of "The Killing Joke", I also loved how the Joker HAD no origin. He just simply seemed to...just...be. I was taken with how the Nolans chose to purposefully keep the origin of the Joker a mystery, and the fact that the Joker used as his henchmen many of the escapees of Arkham from the first film made his anarchaic tendencies all that more chilling. There have been many Joker origin stories, but the Nolans' approach (there IS no origin) is, by far, the best of them all.

6) The Nolans seemed to borrow from a lot of Batman graphic novels. The look-alike Batman vigilante echoed the Mutant gang/Sons of Batman from Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns", and the tragic rise and fall of Harvey Dent owed a lot to Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's maxi-series "Batman: The Long Halloween". The slogan "I believe in Harvey Dent", the character of Maroni (portrayed by Eric Roberts),the decision of the mob to "go to the freaks" to deal with Batman, and even the scenes with Dent and Gordon all seemed to be lifted directly from "The Long Halloween". In the film, Dent's transformation to Two-Face was tragic and affecting, and the excellent CGI work that was used to give actor Aaron Eckhart the gruesome visage of Two-Face deserves special attention. Finally, the devil's choice that the Joker gave the citizens of Gotham at the climax of the film mirrored the Joker's feelings from "The Killing Joke"-namely, the feeling that everyone has the capability to feel (or not feel) as the Joker does and all it takes is something to push them over-was wonderfully realized as the expected response does not materialize at all. Confused? Trust me, see the film and it will all make sense.



7) The supporting cast. From Morgan Freeman's quiet humor in light situations and his gravity in serious situations to Michael Caine's similar approach, Lucius Fox and Alfred continued to be indispensable parts of Bruce Wayne's fight for Gotham. I particularly loved a scene between Alfred and Bruce that mirrored one from the first film. The scene in the first film was where Bruce, after the funeral, breaks down as he believes the death of his parents to be his fault. Something similar is at work here, and Alfred, as always, knows what to say.

8) The final face-off between the Joker and Batman, where the Joker intones how Batman will not kill him and how their fates will forever be intertwined. Now, because their fates have been intertwined for almost 70 years in the comics, this particular bit of dialogue rang true and also reflected a similar conversation between Batman and Joker in "The Killing Joke", but in that story, Batman was giving this same bit of reasoning to the Joker.



9) The ambiguous ending. Sure, most of the good guys were standing at the end, but at what cost? The city has been put through the ringer yet again, and every single person has lost something. The final voice over montage delivered by Gordon was eloquent. In the hands of an actor other than Gary Oldman, the monologue might have seemed cheesy. Here, it seemed sad, as Gordon informs his child of how Batman is to be hunted and to be viewed as an outlaw for the good of the city.


There is SO MUCH more that I could write about the film, and I will probably re-visit it when it comes out on home video. For now, all I can say is that Hollywood saved the best of the summer for last. Bravo!

Batman Week Part 3 of 4: "Batman Begins"

(We continue our discussion of Batman's film and TV history here. Yesterday, I left off with the anticipation and angst felt by fanboys everywhere over the direction that the Batman franchise would take in the post-Joel Schumacher era.)

So now there was a completed script from David Goyer, and the fanboys were guardedly optimistic. The thing about Goyer's screenplay that was new and exciting was the reverence it displayed to the source material. There was no need to kowtow to the demands of the suits in command at WB; the story of Batman, properly told, had everything: murder, intrigue, action, romance, complexity, and, most important, fully developed characters. Goyer's script returned Batman to his role of a detective, fully trained in the deadly arts with a brain that matched his physique and bank accounts. This was the story of the genesis of Batman. It had never before been shown on screen, and in truth, had never before been so wonderfully realized even in comics form.

I had the opportunity to read Goyer's screenplay before Warners made their casting and crew announcements, and I remember the experience as being distinct from the feeling I had when I first read the 3rd draft of Sam Hamm's "Batman" script in mid 1989. Whereas Hamm's script could easily be identified as the perfect summer popcorn flick, Goyer's screenplay had nuances that were more akin to a crime drama than a superhero film. The action sequences that punctuated the story beats grew out of necessity rather than out of a baseless need for spectacle (more on this later). However, even as I was marveling at the job Goyer had done, I knew that there was a long way to go before this script would become reality. There would, no doubt, be a few more bumps in the road. My fears that Warners would drop the the ball, however, were soon assuaged with their announcement of their hiring of a director, Christopher Nolan. This was an inspired choice. Unlike Burton and Schumacher before him, Nolan was not known as a "visual" director but as an "actor's" director. Where Burton and Schumacher placed a much higher emphasis on visual splendor and effects, Nolan's works up to that point ("Memento" and "Insomnia") were quieter pieces that both focused in on the fragility of the human condition (witness Guy Pearce's character from "Memento" and Al Pacino's from "Insomnia".) With the hiring of Nolan, I started to become guardedly optimistic. After all, history has shown us that it is far easier for an actor's director to become a visual director than the other way around (see Bryan Singer's move from "The Usual Suspects" to the "X-Men" franchise and Jon Favreau moving from small films like "Swingers", "Made", and "Elf" to the home run that was "Iron Man."). Maybe actor's directors more easily accept the suggestions made to them as they pertain to visual cues on screen. I don't know. All I know is that Nolan would be responsible for not only saving the Batman franchise but also for raising it to heights never before seen for ANY superhero film.

I am sure that many of those at Warners were nervous about these developments. After all, "Spider-Man" had become one of the top grossing films of all time, and the story was a relatively happy one with bright colors and young adults. This was a film with a brooding main character in a corrupt city surrounded by homicidal criminals. How could they EVER put THAT on a lunch box? Thankfully, their fears did not derail the production. Nolan immersed himself in Batman lore and found his hook: the tortuous childhood of Bruce Wayne, his need (and ultimate failure to achieve) vengeance, and his dedication to his role as the savior of Gotham. Nolan was intimately involved in every detail of the production. For example, his meetings with composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard resulted in an AMAZING cinematic soundtrack that, though completely different from the efforts of Danny Elfman and Elliot Goldenthal, accurately reflected the theme of duality within the life and persona of Bruce Wayne. Nolan's casting decisions were spot on, with Morgan Freeman taking on the role of Lucius Fox, Michael Caine taking on the role of Alfred, and Gary Oldman in the role of the young Captain Gordon. Tom Wilkinson, Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson rounded out what would be a stellar cast (the less said about Katie Holmes, the better). The actors themselves refused to approach their roles in a movie about a comic book hero with the same disdain that thespians such as Kevin Spacey and Uma Thurman (with Uma, I use the term "thespian" lightly) embraced similar roles (in "Superman Returns" and "Batman and Robin", respectively). Indeed, all of the actors did NOT overact and treated their roles as they would if the film were a Scorsese crime drama. The most inspired casting decision was that of Christian Bale in the title role. Bale was not a Hollywood superstar nor was he viewed as a vacuous pretty boy. He had honed his acting chops as a young man in Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun" and had been a steady working actor ever since. Bale LOOKED the part of Bruce Wayne, and after his manic performance in "American Psycho", it was easy to see that he could pull off the duality of nature required for the role of Batman.

For the most part, production of "Batman Begins" occurred under the radar. After all, the general public had moved on beyond "Batman." After the debacle that was "Batman and Robin", no one was particularly looking forward to another Batman film. Only the fanboys (myself included) held out any hope, but even our hopes were guarded. We had been let down by Hollywood to many times. In addition, this was to be the summer of "Revenge of the Sith", the last of the Star Wars prequels. Fox was releasing a "Fantastic Four" film that looked pretty darned good (at the time it did, but the less said about THAT flaming pile of crap the better). The new Harry Potter movie and the first Narnia film were to be released in the fall. There was also a movie that looked to be pretty darned funny; it was called "Wedding Crashers." Even Spielberg had something out that summer: his version of "War of the Worlds." With all of the attention being paid to these films, Nolan was able to toil in obscurity. The crew took over some London soundstages and set to work.

I distinctly remember seeing the first trailer for the film. At the beginning of the trailer, I had no idea it was a film about Batman. It was a scene between Liam Neeson's character Ducard and Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne fighting with swords on an ice lake in the mountains. Neeson is taunting Bruce, and with the strains of Zimmer and Newton Howard's track "Eptesicus" in the background, Ducard taunted Bruce "Your parents' death was not your fault." Bruce starts. Ducard continues: "It was your father's." Bruce, enraged, rushed Ducard who promptly taught him a lesson in the importance of controlling one's emotions when in combat. It was a powerful scene, and I was dumfounded. This was a studio film about Batman????? HOLY S--T!!!

Still, though, I was worried. Studios had a tendency to put their best stuff out in the trailers, and I was thinking that there was no way the entire film could fulfill the promise of that scene. Boy was I wrong. The weekend it was released, I went to an early morning show of the film. I enjoy morning shows, as they are usually less crowded with annoying personalities and I usually have no problems finding a seat that I like. As the lights went down, the deep, resonating purcussion of the score started playing over the speakers, the DC emblem and WB emblems came and went, and a flurry of bats flew across the screen. Barely visible within that flurry was the iconic emblem of the bat...and then we were off and running with a young Bruce and a young Rachel on the grounds of Wayne Manor. We see Bruce fall through the old rotted boards covering a dried out well and we see him fall. We also se his horror as his impact has disturbed the bats that nested in the cave adjacent to the well, and the bats swarm all around the Bruce. The action then takes us to Bruce Wayne in a Chinese prison, where he meets Ducard. Ducard has an offer for him, an offer to provide Bruce with the gifts he needs to combat evil. All along, we, the audience, are treated to glimpses of Bruce's childhood and the events that led Bruce to be incarcerated in China. What follows is my list of sequences that are immediately unforgettable.

1) The image of Thomas Wayne coming down via rope, reaching out to his son, and intoning "It's all right, Bruce, you are safe."

2) The death scene of the Waynes. It was wonderfully shot (pardon the pun) and realized from Frank Miller's graphic novel "Batman: Year One." I also thought Thomas's dying request of Bruce that he not "be afraid" was extremely touching. Nolan and Goyer successfully illustrated the reason why Bruce was SO devoted to his parents and their memory.





3) Young Bruce and Alfred after the funeral of the Waynes, where Bruce breaks down because he believes that he was the cause of his parents' death. Michael Caine did an AMAZING job in this scene as Alfred. I also enjoyed this as it was a continuing reminder of the relationship young Bruce had with his parents. Nolan and Goyer successfully humanized Bruce with scenes depicting loving family scenes with the Waynes, and it was these scenes that served to give the film its heart.

4) Alfred's admonishing of Bruce when Bruce intones that he would rather Wayne Manor were torn down. This scene was followed by Bruce reminiscing about he and his father and how his father allowed him to play with his stethoscope. I smiled when I saw this on screen, as my own father, a physician, did the same with me when I was a child.

5) Bruce throwing away the gun that he had intended to use to kill Joe Chill.

6) Bruce's rediscovery of the Batcave. The image of the bats swirling about his stationary figure in the space that was to become the Batcave is an indelible image. The music in this scene is AMAZING, and I loved how Nolan pulled the camera's back to give the audience a greater sense of perspective.

7) Bruce and Alfred in preparation for Batman. I loved seeing how Bruce was making each of his "throwing bats" and his explanation to Alfred concerning the symbolism of the bat.

8) Batman's first battle. When the thug screams in fear "Where are you???" and Batman whispers "Here", that was the moment Bale became Batman for me.

9) Batman's call for "back-up" in Arkham Asylum, a scene lifted directly from Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One."

10) The flight of the batmobile and the cops communication therein. Once again, the music MADE this sequence.

11) The final fight sequence. Wow.

12) The coda to the film and the introduction of the Batsignal. Gordon's warning of escalation was perfect for it set the stage for the creation, over time, of what (hopefully) will become Batman's Rogues Gallery. With one final scene lifted from "Batman: Year One", Nolan left no doubt as to where he would go in the sequel:

Gordon: What about escalation

Batman: Escalation?

Gordon: We start carrying semi-automatics, they buy automatics. We start wearing Kevlar, they buy armor-piercing rounds.

Batman: And?

Gordon: And *you're* wearing a mask and jumping off rooftops. Now, take this guy: armed robbery, double homicide. Got a taste for theatrical, like you. Leaves a calling card.
[Gordon presents Batman with a clear plastic evidence bag containing what appears to be a single playing card; Batman turns it over to reveal a "Joker"]




Batman: I'll look into it.

Nolan had accomplished the impossible. He had successfully revived a dead franchise and made it relevant in the minds of movie goers everywhere. I remember walking out of the theater later that day, mesmerized by what I had watched. That next weekend, I told my brother about it, and he purchased IMAX tickets for the film. It was even better the second time around. My enthusiasm for the film has not diminished even after several screenings. It is simply that good.

When the film was released, it grossed just north of $50 million during its opening weekend. While that was respectable, it was no where near the blockbuster neighborhood of the opening weekend grosses of the "Spider-Man" films. And then a funny thing happened. Word of mouth started to spread, and "Batman Begins", against all odds, became one of the highest grossing films of the year. With a worldwide gross in excess of $377 million, a sequel was inevitable.

Now, after 3 years, it is upon us. Advance word on the film has been stellar, and "The Dark Knight", unlike its predecessor, has become THE event film of the summer. Will it live up to the hype? My expectations for it are pretty high. Check back here on Sunday evening to find out!

Batman Week Continues: the 90s until 2005..

There is simply too much to write in 3 posts; therefore, I have decided to extend Batman Week to 4 posts. Keep reading!!!

During the late 1990s, the “Batman” franchise was in dire straits. The comic book speculation market that had driven the popularity of comics to insane heights imploded, and comic shops across the country started to shutter their doors. The creativity of comics was also stifled, as publishers self-destructed in their neverending quest for huge EVENT stories that crossed over multiple titles and forced the comic buyer to purchase numerous issues just to follow the story. At the same time, the price of comic books started to skyrocket. When I first started collecting comics, the price was 65 cents. The introduction of the Prestige Format from DC comics (also known as “bookshelf format”) was a then-hefty $1.95. In fact, Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns” was the first limited series to be published in the Prestige Format.

Amid all of these problems in the comics, Batman was struggling as well. One of the major stories (occurring shortly after the infamous “Death of Superman” event) was the breaking of Batman at the hands of the villain Bane. This storyling, called “Knightfall”, resulted in Bruce Wayne giving up the mantle of the bat while taking some time to heal. He handed over the reigns of Batman to Jean-Paul Valley, a member of a sacred order of knights known for their harsh treatment of law breakers. The result of all of these storylines was that, in the comics, Bruce Wayne was not Batman for many long stretches of time. This signaled the loss of connection between the writers of the “Batman” books and their audience, a connection that would be tenuous until the arrival of Greg Rucka.

So the comics world of Batman was in shambles. The motion picture world was not much better. As I mentioned yesterday, Joel Schumacher’s “Batman and Robin” signaled the death knell for the character in the movies for the rest of the 90s and the first half of the 00s. The one success story for the character was the Warner Brother’s animated series. “Batman: The Animated Series” was a revolutionary work from the minds of Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Alan Burnett. With a throwback look reminiscent of the classic Fleischer Superman cartoons of the 1940s, “B:TAS” captured the imagination of young and old alike. With its action and colorful array of villains, children of all ages were enthralled with the show. Adults in particular gravitated to the more mature themes and complex character storylines. For the first time, many of the villains in Batman’s rogue’s gallery were given the proper treatment. Richard Moll, more famously known as Bull Shannon from the 1980s situation comedy “Night Court” gave an amazingly nuanced performance as Harvey Dent, the DA who would become the villainous Two-Face. Mark Hamill returned the menace to the Joker’s reputation, and Michael Ansara portrayed the tragic character of Victor Fries with a heartrending honesty; the episode “Heart of Ice” remains my favorite among all of the episodes from the series. The gothic nourish look to the series was also a great success. To highlight the darkness of Gotham City, Timm decided to have all of the backgrounds painted onto black paper instead of white paper. The result was a truly unique look that served to highlight the shadowy world for Gotham City. “B:TAS” was such a success that Timm and Co. were tapped to created “Superman: TAS” and then “Batman Beyond.” Originally a show beyond the comics continuity of Batman, “Batman Beyond” was the story of Terry McGuinness, a young high schooler and street tough who becomes the mentee for an elderly, decrepit and bitter Bruce Wayne. The show was nothing short of amazing, and it remains a personal favorite of mine.

The success of the animated adventures of Batman did not go unnoticed at either DC Comics or by its parent company, Warner Communications (AOL Time Warner at the time). Rather than dismissing Batman out of hand, like so many critics had, as a character whose time had come and gone, the powers that be commissioned numerous scripts and invited numerous filmmakers to pitch their visions for Batman films. The WB brain trust realized that they needed to get back to basics, and the scripts that they commissioned reflected this fact. Frank Miller adapted his comic series “Batman: Year One,” with Darren Aronofsky attached to direct, but WB, rightfully, rejected the idea as being too dark for the movie going masses. Trust me, I have read the script. When you introduce Selina Kyle, the woman who would be Catwoman, as a madam and prostitute, you are getting into VERY dark territory. The second script commissioned by Warner Brothers was an adaptation of “Batman Beyond”, written by Paul Dini (one of the creators of the T show) to be directed by Boaz Yachin. Warners shelved the project, and while I personally was disappointed by that development, I felt heartened knowing that they were trying to find the right script. Warners had learned from their experience with “Batman Forever” and “Batman and Robin,” Warners was not going to proceed until they had the right script.

Enter David Goyer. Goyer had long toiled in obscurity in Hollywood, but his script for the film that would eventually become “Batman Begins” captivated the WB braintrust. Goyer went back to the basics of the origin, picking and choosing key elements from the varied sources and utilizing sequences from stories as diverse as Bob Kane’s original “Batman” origin story, Len Wein’s 1980s-era “The Untold Legend of Batman”, Denny O’Neill’s “The Man Who Falls” and, most importantly, Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One”. After Goyer’s script started to make the rounds, comic fans maintained a tenuous state of excitement. After all, the script made use of 2 obscure villains from the Batman rogues gallery, Ra’s Al G’hul and Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow. Also included was the villainous Carmine Falcone from “Batman: Year One” and Joe Chill, the murderer of Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne from Bob Kane’s original “Batman” origin story. Who would they get to direct it? Who would be Batman? Who would play the villains? Would Warner’s drop the ball again and get a director who had NO IDEA how to make a character-driven story of the tortured existence of a man haunted by an unimaginable childhood trauma? Would the director embrace the duality of Batman/Bruce Wayne by doing justice to the wonderful script or would he inject “songs by Prince”? Would they ask Val Kilmer or George Clooney back (OH NO! THE HORROR!!!). Comics fans everywhere waited on pins and needles. With the announcement that was to come (as well as the FILM that was to come), we were about to be rewarded for our perseverance.

Batman Week is HERE!!! Part 1 of 4

Hello faithful readers. Welcome to my 3 part Batman special. This week, in honor of the release of “The Dark Knight” my blog entries will be about all things Batman. Now, there is WAY too much Batman history for me to fit everything within these humble entries. I will try to do it justice from my own perspective, however. Part One consists of general background and jumbled thoughts from my head concerning my fanboy like of Batman. Part Two will be my official review of “Batman Begins” (I started this blog after that film came out, but I recently revisited it on Blu-ray disc). Part 3 will be available Sunday evening, following a screening of the new film, “The Dark Knight.” Check back often, as these entries will not be static. Ready? Let us begin…

There is a certain hierarchy regarding my list of favorite superheroes. As those in the comics world might tell you, there are 3 distinct classes of comics fans. There are “DC” fans, “Marvel” fans, and “Independent” fans. Based purely on sales, most comics fans apparently fall within one of the first 2 categories. I have always considered myself a DC fan, and I think that this has something to do with the influence that a certain DC character had on me from a very young age.

As a youngster, I was a fan of Batman comics. As I read the comics, I realized that the world of Batman was not all fun and games as it was on the campy 1960s TV show. I remember reading and re-reading the few issues of Batman comics my parents purchased for me. These issues sustained me for 8 years, for when I turned 13, the comics bug bit me hard. It was a great time to be a comics fan. Much of the detritus of the 1970s era DC comics was starting to fall away, and in 1985, the DC universe changed forever with the introduction of the miniseries “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, a series that “ret-conned” much of DC’s comics history up to that point. During the next few years, DC started cleaning up the origin stories of many of their heroes, starting with Superman in the miniseries “the Man of Steel.” Among all of the ret-conning, however, the powers-at-be refrained from resorting to wholesale changes to the origin of their then-second (now first) most popular character, Batman. There was simple reason for this: the origin worked. There was little about the origin of Batman that did not continue to resonate 50 years after the creation of the character. Young Bruce Wayne watched his parents’ murder at the hands of a nameless, faceless thief. He dedicated his life to his parents’ memory, forsaking a normal life out of a desire for vengeance. This was not the typical “happy” origin of a comic book hero (Oooh! Some chemicals spilled on me and I am fast! I am the Flash!). When one compares the duality of Bruce and Batman to that of Clark Kent and Superman, the symbolism of “light and dark” becomes even more apparent. With regard to Superman, he is really Clark Kent. Superman is the alter ego through which he does so much good and is the mask he wears, but his true persona is that of a Kansas farmboy who had all of the benefits of a happy childhood. With regard to Batman, on the other hand, Bruce Wayne is a mask worn by Batman to hide HIS true alter ego, an avenging and driven force against evil. It is the Wayne mask that Batman chooses to treat so contemptuously, and in his heart of hearts, Bruce always asks himself whether his parents would approve.

But I digress. Although the origin story of Batman is well known, it has seldom been depicted in cartoons and motion pictures. The reasons for this are pretty obvious. I mean, Batman is considered a super hero, but his parents were murdered at gunpoint. What cartoon or movie aimed at children would allow such a traumatic and disturbing act to be shown on screen? Comics remained the only medium through which the story of the origin could be given the proper treatment. No where was this more apparent than upon the publication of the 4 issue “Batman: Year One”, a harsh and unyielding look at the birth of the Batman written by Frank Miller. Miller updated the origin and brought his trademark grittiness to the story. The story recounts the first year of Bruce Wayne’s crusade on crime and his battles against the corrupt Gotham police force. We learn of Bruce’s early failures as a street vigilante, for what hardened criminal would be frightened of a dude dressed in a black sweatshirt? The symbolism of the bat was rampant throughout the graphic novel, and the story marked a return to the gritty realism and noir-ish storytelling that had been a hallmark of the earliest Batman stories. Miller’s story, coming so soon on the heels of his visionary run on Marvel’s Daredevil comic with his story “Born Again” as well as Miller’s OTHER seminal Batman work, “The Dark Knight Returns,” secured Miller a place in the pantheon of great comic writers.

Yes, for a while, it seemed as if Batman was undergoing a renaissance. There was talk of a feature film, something that Warner Brothers had been trying to get off the ground for 8 years. Script after script was rejected until Sam Hamm, a young writer and a graduate of the University of Virginia, produced a screenplay that satisfied the powers-that-be at Warner Brothers. With Tim Burton tapped to direct and the late Anton Furst signed on as production designer (and, along with Bob Ringwood, costume designer), the film was destined to have a unique look. If one were to flash back to 1988, there was a dearth of superhero product in the multimedia marketplace. The only place to go for a superhero story was your local comic store. There were no cartoons (save for old reruns of “Superfriends” or “Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends”). There was no market for superhero films. CGI technology was in its infancy. The movie going marketplace was looking for something new, a franchise that would be a summer event film. Enter Tim Burton’s “Batman.”

Now, when “Batman” was released in the theaters, I had just graduated high school. I had a summer job managing a comics store 2 days a week and working in a clothing store 3 days a week. It was probably the best summer of my life. “Batman” was HUGE and a big movie in a summer full of big movies. Its opening weekend gross surpassed anything else up until that time. There was so much to see that summer. “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, “Parenthood”, “License to Kill”, “Lethal Weapon 2”, “Batman”…the hits just kept on coming. Batman, however, was the king that summer. I think that I saw it something like 10 times in the theater. I could not get enough. There was Danny Elfman’s music, Ringwood’s costume design that made skinny Michael Keaton look as if he had muscles, Anton Furst’s visionary image of Gotham. I loved it. I thought: “Superhero movies can’t get any better…” Now, recently, I had the opportunity to revisit the original “Batman.”

Umm…yikes. Where do I begin? Jack Nicholson’s performance, which was hailed as “visionary” at the time, now looks like the template for all of the overacting villains to follow. The “timeless” feel of the film called attention to itself as the schizophrenic sense of style was constantly shifting between the 1940s and the 1980s. Keaton was WAY OFF as Bruce Wayne. Music by Prince? Really? Prince? There was so much not to like about this film, and it was only going to get worse. “Batman Returns” started the death knell (except for the single bright spot of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman), and Joel Schumacher and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (he of "Hancock" fame) killed the franchise with “Batman Forever” and “Batman and Robin”. Nipples on the batsuits? Really? Wow.

Out of all of the problems (and there were many) that were typified by these earlier films, none was more glaring to me than the issue of the origin of the Dark Knight. In Tim Burton’s “Batman,” a young Jack Napier, the man who would be the Joker, is seen as the murderer of Batman’s parents. Why? This was completely unnecessary and made for one of the more confusing parts of the film (“I made you, you made me first”). Huh? I always thought that one of the most resonant aspects of the origin was the fact that the Waynes were killed by a faceless “everyman” killer. It was not some sort of crazed weirdo; a thug with a gun killed the Waynes. The wholesale change to the origin of “Batman” was really jarring to me, a real fan. The other thing that the first film failed to do was offer any sort of origin for Batman. He just . . . was. There was no hint of motivation other than a pretty good scene (taken straight from the comics) of Bruce’s yearly visit to Crime Alley to visit the place where it all began. Other than that and the brief flash of Napier killing the Waynes, however, nothing was explained about the origins of Batman.

There was one sole bright spot in all of this. Warner Brothers Animation commissioned the creation of the visionary “Batman: the Animated Series”, a very mature and faithful adaptation of the Batman mythos. Other than that, however, at the time I feared that Batman would forever be remembered for Batnipples and Arnold Schwarzenegger intoning “Eye will kill you, BAHT-MUN!” *shudder*. Thankfully, however, I was wrong. Who knows? Without the debacle that was “Batman and Robin”, we might never have had the ultimate superhero masterpiece of “Batman Begins.” But that is a story for tomorrow, I think…

2nd Post in 2 days-"Wall-E"

So I am trying to catch up on my movie reviews. Most of my days are spent at the library and at Starbucks' preparing for the bar exam, but I decided early on that I would not sacrifice my enjoyment of the summer movie season. After all, we all need SOMETHING to keep our sanity. As I mentioned in the last post, I have been very impressed with the summer movie season so far. It is a far cry from the horrible season of 2 years ago, and it did not fall victim to having a weak start a la "Spider-Man 3" and "Shrek the Third" last year. This year, the variety of offerings from Hollywood from week to week has been a joy to experience. With the exception of "Speed Racer" and (I hear) "The Happening", Hollywood has been hitting it out of the park. Now, this past Friday, I faced a bit of a conundrum. Two very disparate films were being released. Would I see "Wanted" or would I see "Wall-E"? The solution? See both! I had not taken in a double feature in years, but when I went to buy my tickets, I looked for movie times that were spread out enough for me to go to one and then the other. I then purchased my tickets (yes, I bought tickets for both of my movies as going from one movie to another in a multiplex while paying for only one is something called STEALING). "Wanted" was first on the agenda, and as you may have read here, it was a joy to behold. With 15 minutes to spare, I made my way out of the theater showing "Wanted" and walked 2 theaters down for that screen's showing of "Wall-E". There were a lot of families there, but as is usually the case with Pixar offerings, there were also scores of adults. Pixar has supplanted Disney as the purveyor of perfect animated films. While many other studios view computer animation as a means to an end ("lets put in loads of sight gags and pop culture references with funny animals and make a ton on opening weekend and dvd"), Pixar's artisans craft their stories carefully. The opening stirrings of artistry for any Pixar film are most easily found in the computers of the writers and not the animators. Pixar films all possess "heart", that certain something that touches the emotional cores of the movie going public. This has been evidence mostly in past Pixar successes as the "Toy Story" films, "Monsters, Inc.", and "The Incredibles" (the film that, up until yesterday, was my favorite Pixar film). Yes, I said was, for the crown is now worn by "Wall-E."

So what makes "Wall-E" a special film? I will admit that when I first heard that Pixar was making a film where there would be a relative dearth of dialogue, I was skeptical. It seemed as if Pixar was going to make an arthouse animation film, and I was worried that their track record (already on shaky ground after such lesser efforts as "Cars" and to a lesser extent, "Ratatouille"), would be forever tarnished by some inane glory project from Andrew Stanton. I should have had more faith in Pixar, and I could not have been happier to be wrong. "Wall-E" was a true joy to experience. Yes, I said EXPERIENCE. Within 5 minutes of being introduced to the star of the film, the Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth Class, I was rooting for the little guy. HIs life was one of solitude for 700 years, with his only companion of late being an intrepid cockroach (similar to the cricket from Disney's "Mulan"). Wall-E has a heart and is a sentient robot cheerfully finding beauty in the mundane and carefully living his life. The animators gave him a heart and gave moviegoers someone to cheer for. Wall-E's happy solitary existence comes to an end when the Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator (Eve) comes to the planet. For Wall-E, a fan of the classic musical, "Hello, Dolly," it was love at first sight. Seeing the robot courtship was exceedingly sweet. Who knew that watching animated robots fall in love would be so effecting? About halfway through the film, I realized that I was watching something truly special. I am, at heart, a romantic who has been feeling a bit jaded lately. When one turns on the television or goes to the movies, cinematic depictions of love have slowly given way to cinematic depictions of lust. Where has the romance gone? Apparently, the folks at Pixar went on a quest and discovered its hiding place. The simplest expression of affection, 2 beings in love holding hands, is the be-all/end-all for poor Wall-E. He looks after Eve when she needs it, follows her on a grand adventure to a ship holding the rest of humanity, and changes everything for the better, having an effect on everyone and everything he encounters. Halfway through the film, there was a moment that could have belonged in any Astaire/Rogers or Gene Kelly musical. In that instant, I recognized that I was watching a modern romance classic. I was then wishing that I had gone to the film with a date. Now, there is much about the plot (the deterioration of man, man's trashing of the planet Earth with the help of a global Wal-Mart-type conglomerate, and the lessons that the robots teach the humans) that I could get into, but in the end, it is a wonderful love story. I will also cop to getting teary-eyed a couple of times during the film. I remember thinking "where the heck is this coming from?" And when I realized how much I cared for the characters and how much I was rooting for Wall-E and Eve (who reciprocates in a big way later in the film), I knew that the film had me in its grasp. The film had its share of Apple and "2001: A Space Odyssey" in-jokes, but the heart of the story was Wall-E and Eve's relationship.

In addition to the previously mentioned scene (look for a scene where Wall-E and Eve are in space outside of the Axiom), 2 other scenes grabbed me by the throat. The first scene was when Eve was reviewing her security camera logs while she was indisposed while waiting for pick up. She sees how Wall-E looked out for her and suffered for her, and Eve responds to the videos. It was a beautiful sequence. The final scene that just pushed me over the edge was Eve's panic near the end. I will not share more because to do so might ruin the film for those of you who will see it (and that should be EVERYONE, folks), but the way the scene resolves itself had the audience in my theater cheering and clapping. I kid you not. What a great film. This is, so far, my favorite film of the year. Bravo, Pixar.

This is a perfect date film. Do not see this movie without one!

Movie Review Catch-up: Wanted

Hi All:

I have been remiss in my movie reviews. I still have to write my review of "Get Smart", and I will have a review of "Wall-E" posted tomorrow, but today I thought that I would regale you with a review of "Wanted."

There is something special about assassin films-those films that feature, at their heart, a cold blooded gun for hire who is an expert at what he or she does. There have been the good ("Casino Royale", "The Day of the Jackal", "The Manchurian Candidate (original)", "In the Line of Fire", and the "Bourne" films), the bad (any film where Stallone is an assassin-see "Assassins" and "The Specialist"), and the ugly (any film where Antonio Banderas is an assassin-see "Assassins" -actually, DON'T see "Assassins" and the deplorable "Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever.") Heck, I was even a sucker for "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", but that had more to do with the way Angelina Jolie kicked ass while wearing heels. At the same time, most assassin films are rather pedestrian and predictable. The scripts consist of cat and mouse games (good assassin vs. bad assassin, cop vs assassin, etc), and the action occurs in the various face-offs between the parties involved. There really has not been a quantum leap in action films since the time of John Woo's great heroic bloodshed films from his Hong Kong years and "The Matrix", which introduced us to the amazing "wire-fu" work of Hong Kong special effects maestro Yuen Woo Ping. The action films of the 80s forced us to leave our brains at the door in order to catch the latest film where Arnold said "I'll be back" (Dude, he said "I'll be back!" Awesome-our expectations were low). With the introduction of John Woo's HK films and the Wachowski Brothers, the action films of the late 90s and early 00s have definitely taken on an "Eastern" sort of flare. "Batman Begins", "Kill Bill", and even the last "Lethal Weapon" film borrowed heavily from the action films of Hong Kong. With each film, however, the law of diminishing returns seemed to be in effect. How can a writer and a director convince an audience of the intensity of an action scene where audience s have become adept at picking out CGI? That is easy. EMPHASIZE THE STORY. I am happy to say that story is making a comeback. Don't believe me? Witness the riches of this summer movie season. I have now watched "Iron Man", "The Incredible Hulk", "Sex and the City", "Get Smart", "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", "Wall-E", and "Wanted." The thing that marked all of them (except, surprisingly, the Indiana Jones film) is how the story is the thing and how the special effects and action sequences are truly in service to the story. As the audiences become more and more sophisticated, the filmmakers are finally rising to the occasion and treating their audiences to amazing spectacle rooted in engrossing story telling. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to adapt a story from another medium. Comic books are a great source because the story starts out storyboarded for the screenwriters and the filmmakers. Of course, choosing the right property is the key.

Enter Mark Millar. Now, many of you may not be familiar with this comics writer, but if you have seen "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk", his imprint is everywhere. The stories he has crafted for Marvel's Ultimate universe form the backbone for the greater Marvel Universe that has been created in their 2 films this summer. Millar's third property for the summer is an entirely original creation from Millar's demented mind. Millar treats his comics audience with derision. He loves to mess with sacred cows and give the proverbial finger to comics fans everywhere, but the fanboys always tend to eat it up. Nowhere was this more apparent than in his graphic novel for "Wanted." Of course, the overall story of "Wanted" was indeed intriguing. As the trailers tell us, "Wanted" is the story of an everyman stuck in a dreary existence who, one day, learns that his father was a member of a centuries-old brotherhood of assassins named the Fraternity. The members are marked by a physical condition that allows them to, for short periods of time, accelerate their heart rates, create more adrenaline, and actively control their bodies in ways that ordinary men cannot. Seeking meaning in his meaningless existence, the young man embraces his new lifestyle with vigor, seeking to avenge the murder of his predecessor, who also happens to be his father.

Now, up until this point, the story seems very predictable, right? I mean, one can almost see that the assassin will train and kill up until the point where the climax of the film is a mano-e- mano showdown with the villain who killed his Dad.

Strangely, something happened on the way to predictability. After taking us through the opening story arc with breakneck speed, dazzling stunts (real stunts married with CGI), and an engrossing, if predictable, story. the film's story changed 2/3 of the way through the film. It was as if the director, who had led us into a false sense of complacency, decided to pull the rug out from under the audience and lead it into a completely new direction. The result was a thrill ride with an amazing action set piece near the end and a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.

I loved it.

Now, this is definitely one of those films that follows comic book science. This means that one should not try to reconcile the physics of reality with the physics within this film's universe. The actors were all top notch, especially the big 3 of Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, and James McAvoy. The action was spread out throughout the film and was in service to the story. More importantly, we see people getting hurt and injured, with scars to show for it. I loved the global feel of the film as well. Though the f ilm was based in Chicago, we get to see the home of the Fraternity in Europe and an AMAZING train wreck/action sequence. I would also be remiss if I did not mention the wonderful soundtrack. Until now, Danny Elfman's work always seemed rather pedestrian, with instantly recognizable musical cues spread out through all of his work with Tim Burton and others. I was, therefore, shocked when I saw Elfman's name in the credits. Elfman not only created the orchestral music for the film; the former Oingo Boingo singer also contributed an original song for the soundtrack, the instantly memorable "The Little Things." Throw in a perfect Nine Inch Nails song played over the films coda ("Every Day is Exactly the Same") and you get a soundtrack that is instantly memorable. This was a fun thrill ride, and I cannot wait for the blu-ray to come out. I think that I will be revisiting the universe of "Wanted" for many years to come. I am still stunned with how the film ended. Having watched so many films over the years, it is not often that a film can surprise me. When films succeed in this, they deserve special mention. A lot has been made with how the film "borrows heavily" from "Fight Club" and "The Matrix." FALSE-such accusations are the work of lazy reviewers. If you are in the mood for a thrill ride with great action and a story replete with twists and turns, then "Wanted" is the film for you.

What a fun movie!

A Scary Glimpse of What Might Have Been

I think that deep down, most of us have a personality aspect that can best be described as "the a-hole." The a-hole is the side of us that we keep hidden for the most part, but when we become angry, outraged, bitchy, whiny, tired, stressed, irritated, hurt, confused, and lost, the a-hole comes roaring to the surface. Most of us are able to "quell the beast within us" (sounds like the Hulk, huh?); however, there are a certain few who can be counted on to be the a-hole at the party, the person so narcissistic that every comment he makes is a cutting one about someone in the company. You all know this guy. In addition to being an a-hole, this guy is a pompous know-it-all who is driven to know more about everything than anyone could EVER know. This is the guy who ruins your time with your friends, for while you are in his presence, all you can think about doing is getting as far away as possible.

Now, truth be told, I used to be that guy. It all started as a defensive mechanism that grew out of a betrayal by my best friend in high school. Soon, I became quite adept at a-hole behavior; after all, if you cause everyone to dislike you, the possibility of betrayal is minimal, right? What started out as a defensive mechanism turned into full blown a-hole performances by college. It was only due to an intervention of sorts by my college roommate that I was able to recognize the person I was becoming. I looked in the mirror, and I did not like what I saw. That day, I swore that I would bury that persona as deep as I could, only releasing him during those moments where his presence was necessary. For the most part, I'd like to think that I have succeeded. Of course, whenever I am stressed, depressed, or worried about something, a-hole sometimes pokes his head up in all of his fury. I have endeavored to tell my friends to call me on it whenever that persona rears its ugly head. Two of my fellow bloggers have seen this persona. Legal Lucy's first experience interacting with me was when I was in full on a-hole mode due to a stressful meeting of scholarship kids at law school. To her credit (and because she is an awesome person), she gave me another chance, and I was able to show her the kind of person I really am. I would like to think that, since then, Lucy has been spared exposure to the a-hole persona of the Artful Blogger (how about it, Lucy?). The person who has seen the a-hole the most is Missy, and this has nothing to do with her personally. Missy is my oldest (well, longest term, at least) Chicago friend. For the most part, I tend to be guarded around most people, but I can always be honest around Missy. I think that she was a bit confused early on by what she perceived as an almost schizophrenic personality on my part. Sometimes she would get the real Artful and sometimes she would not even recognize me. I realized that, as Missy was my close friend, I tended to go to her whenever I was stressed about something. After she called me on it, I told her to give me a verbal slap whenever I was in this mode. Of all of my friends, Missy is least deserving of this ugly persona of mine. Kudos to both Missy and Lucy for hanging in there and being my friends. I know it has not always been easy! As I said, however, I have endeavored to control this persona, but I have always wondered what kind of person I would have been without the timely intervention of my college roommate and the patience of my friends since then. Last night, I came face to face with "Dr. A-hole". There but for the grace of God go I...

As many of you may know, my brother is getting married in August. In celebration, one of his groomsmen arranged a dinner for all of the groom's party in Chicago. He made reservations at Spiaggia, a very nice (and expensive) Italian restaurant off of Michigan Avenue in Chicago. One of the other members of the party and I are not exactly in the best of financial situations right now. When compared to the rest of the party (4 doctors and the head of a large IT company), we were definitely on the low end of the income pool. However, we figured that we would have enough if we watched the amount of wine that was ordered and were careful about our own orders. Everyone met at the world famous Drake Hotel, as some of the party wanted to have cocktails before dinner. I met everyone there, and it was there that the organizer (the aforementioned Dr. A-hole) started in on me and everyone else in the party. I was taken aback. I mean, I am not above giving my buddies grief and accepting grief in turn from said buddies because we know each other pretty well. I had no such connection with Dr. A-hole. I mean, what made him think that he had the right to joke with me in such a demeaning manner? He had not earned the right, and I had given him no cause to be so vicious. During the course of the evening, in rapid fire succession, Dr. A-hole proceeded to attack 1) my education/degrees/longevity in school, 2) my appearance, 3) my age, and 4) my knowledge. Of course, as I mentioned, the other members of the party were not spared either. I was, at that time, still calm, however. I figured that he would probably calm down at dinner. After all, he could not be so shallow as to take attention away from my brother, the real guest of honor, right? Who would be so obtuse?

Dr. A-hole, that's who! He proceeded to attack my brother's ex-wife as being too "manly", make derogatory comments about my sexual orientation because I am not married or engaged, the business acumen of said IT CEO, and everyone else's taste in food or wine (save his own, of course). Dr. A-hole, upon being seated, proceeded to order wine for the table without checking with the other members of the party first to see if we were willing to entrust him with this task or to see if we were willing to pay for lots of wine. Dr. A-hole proceeded, unknown to us, to order a $300 bottle of wine. Of course, when the bill arrived, Dr. A-hole was silent as to his own responsibility. During dinner, I mostly ignored him. He was trying to instigate something between the two of us, and for the life of me I could not figure out why. Was he jealous of the fact that I was my brother's brother and not him? Was he jealous of me? Was he just that insecure? I ignored him, for he was being an ignoramus and that was the most logical course of action. Internally, however, I found myself amused by his assertions on the proper way to raise children (he and his wife have none). I amused myself by texting various other members of the table with my observations on Dr. A-hole. Was that rude of me? You bet it was, and I do regret my juvenile behavior. At the same time, the texting proved to be a valuable safety valve for me, as I was close to losing my temper at the table. This was my brother's night, however, and I was determined not to let Dr. A-hole ruin it. I mean it. I am not a violent person by nature, but Dr. A-hole will never know how close he came to receiving a bloody nose at a 5 star Chicago restaurant. Yup.

The strangest part of the evening was when he started in on my brother's ex wife. His comments on her made me the most irritated. She and I never really got along, but I understood her. She was a woman in the male dominated field of orthopedic surgery. She, unfairly, had to be better than her male counterparts in order to be considered equal. As I remember it, she was able to balance that drive for excellence with a liberal dose of feminine elegance. For a time, she was a good wife and partner for my brother. Dr. A-hole did not know her that well, yet he proceeded to attack her as being " too manly." The irony here is that Dr. A-hole's wife is extremely manly-to the point where we were all thinking, for a time, that she might have been a "beard" of sorts for Dr. A-hole. And now he was attacking my brother's ex? My brother is still friendly with his ex, and I could tell that Dr. A-hole's comments were irritating my brother, but to his credit, he said nothing.

After dinner, I cut the evening short. Because I am studying for the bar, I have precious little free time, and I had no intention of letting Dr. A-hole ruin what little free time I had. When I returned home, I reflected on Dr. A-hole and how much he reminded me of the person I used to be. I was such a little brat, and I will forever be grateful to my college roommate and, to a certain extent, my big bro for straightening me out. I saw a lot of the OLD Artful in Dr. A-hole, and I shudder to think of what I might have become without the support and understanding of my friends. So for all of you out there, I invite you to join in and call me out when you see me manifest tendencies of Dr. A-hole. I promise that I will not get mad. I see it as a part of my journey to be a better person. It is far better for me to deal with the brief embarrassment of being called out rather than being thought of as a person like the inimitable Dr. A-hole.

My Current Playlist-what does this say about me?

Hello all:

While sitting here studying for the bar, I have compiled various playlists to listen to while studying for each subject. Today's playlist is for Illinois and Federal Civil Procedure:

1. I Think I'm Paranoid; Garbage (I am in love with Shirley Manson)
2. Hysteria; Def Leppard (Classic British hair rock from the 80s; gotta have one monster ballad!
3. Knockin' on Heaven's Door; Bob Dylan (great version of a classic tune)
4. Something; the Beatles (one of their best songs)
5. Kickstart My Heart; Motley Crue (my favorite song by the Crue)
6. You Know My Name; Chris Cornell (a great tune that was the theme for the last Bond film)
7. More than a Feeling; Boston (Guitar Hero reintroduced me to this classic Boston tune)
8. Like a Stone; Audioslave (really smooth song of unrequited love)
9. Hey Jude; The Beatles (nothing really neeeds to be said, now does it?)
10. The Heart of the Matter; Don Henley (Up there with The Boys of Summer; where has he gone?
11. Boulevard of Broken Dreams; Green Day (great tune from a modern classic album)
12. Animal; Def Leppard (cheesy tune, but great riffs orchestrated by Mutt Lange)
13. Photograph; Def Leppard (their first #1; more great riffs)
14. A Day in the Life; The Beatles (I love the schizophrenic nature of this song)
15. She Sells Sanctuary; The Cult (a great tune from their "Love" album)
16. Rebel Yell; Billy Idol (great treadmill song or song to play when I am getting tired)

What do you think?

The Experience AKA the SATC Movie with Daisy

So today, I took a brief respite from the rigors of bar review to FINALLY take in the Sex and the City motion picture. The timing seemed perfect, as the throngs of teary eyed and sighing women (well, most of them...more on that later) had taken their turns in the days close to the release. An afternoon showing seemed like the perfect option, as that would leave the rest of the day free for studying. On Sunday, Daisy informed me that she had purchased tickets for us to see the film. Now, Daisy is my usual movie going buddy during the summers. Sometimes, Daisy's reactions are, in truth, much better than what might be happening on the screen. She has also been a bit miffed at my numerous movie going adventures this summer without her; to her credit, rather than sitting back and waiting for me to plan (I have not been very good at that lately), she took control, purchased the tickets and away we went. We were accompanied by PAG and Xander, so the male to female ratio was not as skewed as that of many of the other groups in the theater (OK, so the other groups were groups of women and teenagers, but still). The four of us reached the theater just as the films were starting, and Xander and I immediately started rolling our eyes at the target trailers that assailed out senses. "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2"...umm, no, don't think so. "The Women"...amazing female cast, but noooo..don't think so. "Mamma Mia"...ok, now that has potential. I am still a sucker for well done musicals, so we will see. And the main event then began...

First of all, for those of you who may not be aware of my personal familiarity of SATC, you should read or re-read my earlier post on the subject here. Back again? Good. Writer/director and former showrunner Michael Patrick King did a wonderful job establishing the recent histories of the characters within the opening credits themselves. One of the major problems of cinematic adaptions of television works is the danger of the audience lacking the background knowledge of the history of what has gone on before. Some shows would just not lend themselves to the kind of catch up that King deftly provided in the opening (I cannot imagine David Chase successfully accomplishing this feat if he ever decides to bring "The Sopranos" to the screen). We were then launched straight into the story. Big and Carrie looking for a new place, Steve and Miranda having problems, Charlotte just being happy, and Samantha struggling with a selfless existence. The wedding sequence and all that followed really seemed true to the characters that King established. In the end, he wisely avoided the GIANT BIG SCREEN STORY and focused on the aspects of the characters that made them icons for women everywhere. The reactions to the characters to the various twists and turns of the story seemed honest, and King did a great job in insuring that the actresses (and Chris Noth's Big) never overplayed the emotional content. the whitty banter among the women (sans the frequent f-bombs that were the hallmark of the series) was there, and so was the same chemistry the women enjoyed for so many years on HBO. The lone leading female newcomer, Jennifer Hudson, served more as a reminder of what NYC must have been like for Carrie and the rest when they were in their 20s. Now, even with the focus on character,that is not to say that King avoided the frosting on the cake, namely the designers and the places and events that make New York the ultimate 5th member of the SATC crew.

So how was the movie experience with Daisy? Well, she gasped at the sheer number of designer labels that were front and center in the film. All of the air in the auditorium was taken up by her sudden inhale upon viewing Big's new closet for Carrie. Finally, later in the film, Daisy was wracked with tears during a seemingly endless series of emotional final beats to the film, with each beat upping the ante for the one that would follow. I don't know HOW she could not have been out of breath and exhausted after her experience. Then again, perhaps I reacted the same way during both of my viewings of "Iron Man" (yes, I did see it twice).

So, in the end, SATC was exactly what it was supposed to be. As much as Xander and I might have wanted to make fun of the phenomenon, we could not. King wrote an engaging story that captured the attention of and pleased devoted fans and newcomers alike. There really seemed to be nothing that was missing.

OK. The "Carrie" necklace. That was missing. Maybe next time.

2 For 2: Marvel's INCREDIBLE HULK continues a stellar summer movie season

Has it really been almost 3 weeks since my last post? Wow..I apologize. Between bar review and the basic life of a student in Chicago, I have had very little time to indulge in my other love, the cinema. Many of the high profile summer releases have, thus far, passed me by, and my "work" seems to be piling up. No, I have yet to see "Caspian" (though in this, I have a lot of company), "Sex and the City" (really not my fault, for women want to see it with each and most straight men, me and Eddie excepted, simply do not want to willingly go to the film), "Kung Fu Panda" (I hear it is very good), and "Zohan" (I hear it is typical Sandler-not necessarily a bad thing). However, with the release of Marvel Films' second big release of the summer after "Iron Man", I was bound and determined to make the time to see it. As you all know, I thoroughly enjoyed "Iron Man", and based on my experience with THAT film, my expectations for "The Incredible Hulk" were heightened.




But before I proceed, I must take this opportunity to remark upon "Hulk", the horrible Ang Lee film from 5 years ago. "Hulk" starred Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliot and Nick Nolte. "Hulk" was more of a psychological drama with some action sequences thrown in for good measure, an analysis of the far reaching consequences of the most severe case of child abuse ever. Ang Lee shot a beautiful film, but it was NOT a "Hulk" film. Truth be told, Lee would have been better served remaking "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." I daresay that "Hulk" was his "Hunchback," but no one ever accused Victor Hugo of being the writer of comic books (interesting aside: Kenneth Johnson, the creator of the "Hulk" TV show of the late 80s, modeled the story on "Les Miserables", with Banner in the role of Jean Val Jean and Jack McGee in the role of Javert. Maybe there IS a Hugo connection after all). The comics fans and others who drove "Hulk" to an opening weekend gross of over $60 million rapidly deserted the film, and the total domestic gross topped out at just $123 million, not bad but nowhere in line with expectations for the film. Predictably, critics around the country began their usual death knell for comic films as they, per their usual habit, equated a badly made comic film with their false perception of an audience that was tiring of superhero spectacles. Only the comics fans understood what going on. While fans had to give Marvel and Lee props for trying to inject a certain arthouse gravitas to what had primarily been a popcorn genre, Lee's film only served as a reminder that, at their hearts, comics films have to be crowdpleasers filled with action sequences, albeit with special effects that are in service of the plot. Dismayed with the response to "Hulk", Marvel waited until the option for future Hulk films from Universal Films had lapsed and the rights had reverted back to Marvel.

Upon receiving the rights, they immediately commissioned Zak Penn to write a treatment. Boy did he deliver. Marvel then tapped Louis Leterrier, the director of "The Transporter" films. Well, that was all well and good for the action sequences, but did his experiences mean that he would be able to tell a story with the depth of feeling that "Hulk" required (more on this later). Would he disregard the rich history of the Hulk and take the film in an all action/no plot direction? Ah yee of little faith, Leterrier was one of the proteges of the great French filmmaker, Luc Besson (he of "the Professional" and, one of my favorite action/suspense films of all time, "Le Femme Nikita"). I had hope that he would do right by the character. So with the writer and director in place, Marvel set about with casting. Their final selections were perfect. Edward Norton made a much more believable Bruce Banner than did Bana. Bana did a perfectly passable impression of a scientist, but he was too much of a "pretty boy" to be believable as a nebbish scientist. Bana is a big guy, and some of the Hulk transformational impact was lost in translation. In addition to being a top notch, Academy Award nominated actor, Norton brought his skills as a script doctor to the project. Now, there were 4 eyes on the story (not necessarily a bad thing after the mess that was the Lee film). Liv Tyler, William Hurt, and Tim Roth all rounded out the cast, and this cast could not have been better.

So why should making a Hulk film be so difficult. With the right cast, screenplay, and director, it should be pretty easy, right? Well, in any normal situation, this may be the case, but when a studio is dealing with a character that has over 40 years of publication history behind it, the studio must take into account the verisimilitude that the screen story must have with regard to said comics history. A balance of too much on the side of the comic fan and the average movie goer will be shut out. A shift that is too far away from the comics and the result is Lee's "Hulk" film, a film of a type that pleases few. I am pleased to say that, like "Iron Man" before it, Marvel Films' adaptation of the Hulk character successfully walks that fine line.

The story breaks away from conventional comic book films by dispensing with the origin story within the opening credits. By the time the story itself begins, the viewer has an understanding of the origins of the Hulk and why Banner was running. The action picks up very quickly, and the film is punctuated by 3 very intense action sequences. Will action fans be pleased by this film? The answer is a resounding YES! This is the Hulk we have been waiting for, a monster who is a hero. In Blonsky, the Hulk also has a formidable opponent upon which to unleash all of his rage in all of its glory. Without a story, however, action can fall flat, and it is here where Zak Penn and Ed Norton really did their homework. As David Koepp realized with Spider-Man, the story of the Hulk is about a guy and a girl. The guy has a special problem and the girl loves him in spite of it and wants to help him. In truth, some of my favorite scenes in the film involve quiet moments between Bruce and Betty. The chemistry between the main actors was strong, and 2 scenes really stuck out for me. The first is when Betty believes she sees Bruce in the kitchen of the pizza place where she is dining. She runs off in pursuit, calling his name. We see her running into an alley calling out for him, and we see Bruce cowering behind a dumpster, pain on his face, as we see his desire to go to her and his resolve not to do so (for what he believes is her own good). This was a wonderful scene. The second scene was another quiet scene with Bruce and Betty in a hotel while they are on the run. Norton and Tyler's chemistry was such that nothing had to be said in many of their scenes; the audience understood the tortured past and present of their relationship and the value both found in quiet moments together.

As a comic fan, I loved the references to Marvel Comics' rich comics history and the groundwork that was being laid for sequels and spinoffs without calling too much attention to the fact. Some great examples of this:

1. The mention of the "super soldier serum" in the film by Emile Blonsky set the groundwork for the introduction of Captain America. Indeed, when General Ross enters the cold room where the super solder serum is stored in liquid nitrogen cryovials, the name of the scientist who stored the cryovials is clearly visible: Reinstein, the same scientist named by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby when they created Captain America during WWII. Was it necessary for Marvel to pay such homage to Marvel's history? No, but it was a nice touch.

2. Betty's love interest at the time Bruce enters her live is Doc Samson. In the comics, Samson tries to help Bruce deal with his Hulk side and even has his own minor exposure to radiation. In the film, he is sympathetic to Bruce's plight even as Bruce and Betty become fugitives from General Ross. Again, this was a very nice touch that hinted at stories to come.

3. The introduction of Samuel Sterns, the man who, in the comics, will become the gamma powered supervillain called the Leader. We get a glimpse of his origin and nothing more. Sometimes, less is truly more.

4. Emile Blonsky as The Abomination, a name that is mentioned only once in the film, but in a way that calls attention to Blonsky's fate.

5. The correspondence between Mr. Blue and Mr. Green hearkens back to Bruce Jones' wonderful run as a writer on the comic book "The Incredible Hulk." His run was marked by an almost X-Files conspiracy as Bruce was looking for a cure and traveling around the country with just his laptop computer with him. When you see the film, you will recognize the similarities.

6. The nod to the more modern "Ultimates" origin of the Hulk, where Bruce was working on the super soldier serum for Shield before becoming infected. One of the best moments in the comics was when Shield dropped Bruce from a helicopter in the middle of New York, ground zero for an alien invasion. What was the result? "Hulk Smash!!!!"

7. The numerous nods to the TV series, from the forlorn figure of Bruce hitchhiking in the rain to the haunting strains of the famous "walking away" piano music, a musical piece appropriately named "The Lonely Man", from the 1970s series and on to the cameos of the late Bill Bixby and the still very much alive Lou Ferrigno (a wonderful cameo there!). Even the images from the origin sequence in the opening credits of the TV series were played over in the opening credits of the film (the blinking "Danger" sign, the green bullseye on Banner's forehead while Banner is strapped into the mechanized chair, and the subsequent accident). Finally, the introduction of Jack McGee ("Mr. McGee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry") brought the TV series within the full universe of the Hulk. Once again, none of this struck one over the head; it was all rather subtle. I daresay that even those people who have no knowledge of the TV show will enjoy the bits that were seamlessly incorporated. How appropriate that, by the end of the film, Bruce is going by his TV alias, David Banner.

8. The purple pants from the comics. You have to see the subtle nod to this to believe it!

9. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. No, this is not an "Iron Man" review. Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark shows up in "The Incredible Hulk" as well. YES!!!

In the end, even without all of the above mentioned Easter eggs, I cannot recommend "The Incredible Hulk" enough. It is a crowd pleasing action film that has, at its heart, a very real story of the fragility of the human condition. This summer, Marvel batted 2 for 2, and I am looking forward to their next project. I know that I will not be disappointed.

By the way, unlike "Iron Man", there is no need to wait until the end credits have run. There is nothing extra at the end.