Reviews

Movie and book reviews

Batman Begins review

I went to see the new movie, “Batman Begins” with middle-son this evening, and was pleasantly surprised to find it suffered none of the defects of the others.

The first couple Batman movies (the ones done by Tim Burton) were just so-so, which is inexcusable with such good source material.  I’ve only seen a few minutes each of the others and they were simply pathetic.  Into the dustbin with them, then.

For those of you who only remember the campy 1960’s TV series, Kane’s original concept for Batman was a pretty dark character.  Young “Bruce Wayne” saw both his parents murdered, and then, obsessed with revenge and justice (and not always clear on the difference), he became the world’s greatest detective/vigilante.

To see Batman rendered just about right, rent some episodes of “Batman, the animated series.” Although written for kids, each of the characters was correctly scripted and balanced as Kane had envisioned them.  Adults watching the series could see the undercurrent of pathos while kids just enjoyed the excellent storytelling.

Now along comes this movie.  It opens with Bruce Wayne in a Chinese prison.  He has been living among criminals, trying to understand the criminal mind.  He is released from the prison by a meglomaniac Ninja leader who tries to train him as an apprentice.  The relationship breaks down when Wayne refuses to behead a murderer as part of a test.

The Ninja leader resurfaces later, using Scarecrow as a pawn in a plot to ...  oh, but that would be telling.  Suffice it to say, make sure your insurance - all different kinds - is paid up if you live in Gotham (which is rendered amazingly well.)

All along they did a good job capturing Wayne’s struggle to live within two emerging identities, and the connection between the technology Batman needs and the money that Wayne has.  One of the better features of the movie is that Wayne himself is in uncharted waters, and without Alfred and Lucius Fox he would have self-destructed many times.  Wayne needs Sgt. Gordon, too.  Batman is not all that self-sufficient.

There are a few plot items that don’t match the story plays out in the DC canon, but I don’t care about that. Bottom line: if you were disappointed by the earlier Batman movies, you will very likely like this one.

Posted by George on 07/02/05 at 11:06 PM
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Catch up on your reading, and everyone else’s too

Want to build a really impressive library, really fast?  You’re not particular as to author, period, subject?  Got eight thousand bucks and shelf space for nearly 1,100 books? 

Penguin is putting their entire “Classic Books” collection out as an item on Amazon.com.  Just click the picture…

Posted by George on 07/02/05 at 07:25 AM
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Greatest 100 Americans’ List is baloney

I normally try not to look at lists like this because they just upset me.  But there I was, with 25 minutes ahead of me on the stairmaster, sweat dripping off my forehead, and a choice of Bill O’Reilley, some cop show about pedophiles, and the results of a Discovery Channel poll to say who are the greatest 100 Americans.  I could watch them all by flipping the audio from one channel to the next.

There were a few good ones, but some of the choices just blew my mind:  Tom Cruise?  Ellen DeGeneres?  Hugh Hefner? Lucille Ball?  Madonna? DR. PHIL?!!

("Hey, is that guy over there on the stairmaster having a heart attack?  It looks like he’s having trouble breathing!")

OK, they had Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Alexander Hamilton (breathing a little better now), George Washington Carver… deep breaths now, sloooow deep breaths…

It is painfully obvious from this list that Americans who responded to the survey really liked celebrities.  The only sense in which Dr. Phil belongs on any list with Benjamin Franklin is that they are both names someone might have heard somewhere.

Yeesh…

Continued...

Posted by George on 06/09/05 at 08:44 PM
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Oscar shorts and an old car battery

We dashed out of the house, having let time get away from us, and dashed from my van to the historic Normal Theater.  It was the 2005 collection of Oscar Shorts, and those are always interesting, sometimes deeply moving.  Here are my notes:

The films Gopher Broke, Two Cars - One Night, and 7:35 in the morning were pretty forgettable, so I’ll dismiss them all in a single sentence.

Little Terrorist was quite funny, terrifying, and touching and sad.  A little Pakistani boy stumbles through a minefield to find himself pursued by soldiers in India.  Religious and cultural barriers make it difficult for a Hindu schoolmaster to help him return to his home.

Birthday Boy visits the solitary play of a Korean child in 1951 - and the tragedy he can’t comprehend. 

Ryan just blew my mind, and was worth the price of admission all by itself.  The 14-minute Canadian animated film portrays a once-brilliant animator interviewed as an addict on skid row. What’s striking about the piece is the visual conceptualization of both the interviewer and animator’s psychic injuries, and what remains of them.  The images rang completely true for me.  You just have to see it to believe it.

Wasp is a live-action portrayal of a really, really bad mother in London.  Hardened social workers will probably find this familiar turf, but many viewers exiting the theater found it rather shocking.  Perhaps they don’t read newspapers.

The final lesson of the evening is: the 8-year-old battery in my van has the power to (a: ) keep the headlights burning for two hours while we’re in the theater, or (b: ) start the engine, but not (c: ) both of the above. 

Posted by George on 05/14/05 at 09:39 PM
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Meeting God

OK, here’s the setup: you’re a really smart guy, you’re laid off from work, you’re a popular blogger, it’s the middle of the night, and you sit down to write a short story about meeting God…

Tom was confused. He had expected to feel a massive impact along with the horrible screeching of twisted metal as the SUV plowed into the driver’s door of his smaller car. He had clenched his jaw and shut his eyes at the last second when he realized what was about to happen and it was as if he had squeezed the whole of reality out of existence in doing so. No lurching feeling as the car was shoved sideways by the truck. No pelting of his face and hands by small bits of safety glass from the side window. No blaring of horns.

Nothing.

Just an unnerving silence and…

Plan on twenty minutes to read the whole thing, which I really recommend.  It’s good stuff:  “Meeting God,” by Les jenkins

By the way, money’s getting pretty tight for Les, being out of work and all.  If you appreciate the great content he creates for all of us to ponder, click here to read how you can help.  Think of it as tossing a buck in the hat.

Posted by George on 04/19/05 at 08:47 PM
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Sam Harris

...Moderates in every faith are obliged to loosely interpret (or simply ignore) much of their canons in the interests of living in the modern world. No doubt an obscure truth of economics is at work here: societies appear to become considerably less productive whenever large numbers of people stop making widgets and begin killing their customers and creditors for heresy...
Read more from Sam Harris’ “End Of Faith”

I may have to get this book, if only to see if he really does understand the faithful.  I suspect he does not.

Via RA

Posted by George on 03/15/05 at 08:16 AM
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James Randi every Friday

You’ll find a particularly good example of James Randi’s weekly column at the James Randi Educational Foundation.  This week he opens several examples to look into the human capacity for self-delusion and the reasons why someone might want to believe something they know is not true. Each week he wrestles examples of credulity and bunkum out into the light of day, and flays them for all to see.

Between Randi’s column and What’s New, Friday afternoon has a couple treats that I can look forward to.

Hey!  I just noticed that “James Randi Every Friday” makes the letters of his foundation: JREF.  It must be some kind of psychic message in my blog… wink

Posted by George on 03/04/05 at 04:27 PM
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Laughing off the end of the world

Instead of watching the Oscars (boring speeches) I went to the Historic Normal Theater and watched Kubrik’s classic, Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb, starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, James Earl Jones, et. al.

What a roar that movie is.  And full of Kubrik’s trademark detail and perfection.  You can’t help but admire the competence and sheer heroism of the bomber crew, and you root for them even though you know that if they reach their target, the whole world will be destroyed. 

Sellers, Hayden, Scott and Pickens are absolute genius.  How can I recommend this movie enough?  OK, it isn’t as cheerful as My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins which both came out the same year, but I like dark humor.

Note to self: rent The Mouse That Roared from 1959.  I barely remember it but I do recall that it was very funny and starred Peter Sellers.  A small country declares war on the US hoping to surrender and then reap a Marshall Plan-style rebuilding.  (Except… one of their scientists spoils their plan by inventing a superweapon, hilariously named the “Q-bomb” and shaped like a football...)

Posted by George on 02/27/05 at 08:56 PM
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Hellfighters great g-rated fun

Back in 1968 when I first saw John Wayne’s Hellfighters in the theater, I really liked it.  My enjoyment was piqued by the fact that the movie is more or less factual, based on the life of legendary oil-well fighter Red Adair (who was a technical consultant on the movie.) The story was exciting and fun and I never forgot it.  A few years ago I tried to rent a copy to show my own kids, but none of the video stores had it.

Then last week I saw a copy on my boss’ desk and asked to borrow it.  I do believe I actually enjoyed it more the second time than the first.  Here’s a few points from the movie…

Continued...

Posted by George on 02/19/05 at 10:01 PM
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Way better than Coke

We get this Sangria-flavored soda from our friendly Mexican-food store. 

The brand is “Sangria Senorial” and it is a product of Mexico.  It is a spicy soda flavored like sangria wine, but has no alcohol.  You may not be able to find it in your local mini-mart or vending machine, but it is definitely worth the search.  Try pre-chilling the glass in the freezer.

I like it with tacos, which are a favorite in our house.  MrsDOF makes up the spicy meat and beans, and I fry the corn tortilla shells on a griddle, plus cheddar cheese, fresh salsa, lettuce, and sour cream.  Mmmmmmm!

Another treat I like from that store is their ice-cream bars - real pieces of fruit in them - but it’s January and colder’n the dickens out there.  So ice cream bars will have to wait for warmer weather.

Posted by George on 01/23/05 at 08:37 PM
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Movie review: The Incredibles

I really liked Brad Bird’s 1999 The Iron Giant, a quirky animated tale about a boy and his giant robot.  When I first saw it at the historic Normal theater, I had no idea that Warner Brothers had botched the release, shutting out Bird from his labor of love.  But most likely now, WB is eating crow 3 meals a day as Bird’s Pixar film, The Incredibles mops up a well-deserved victory at the box-office. 

If you don’t normally go see animated movies, make an exception for this one.  Here’s the setup: after meeting every villain and hazard, the world’s superheroes are finally defeated and forced into obscurity by a barrage of lawsuits.  Somehow, that is so believable…

Mr. Incredible (who is married to Elasti-girl) whiles away his life as an insurance adjuster, a job he hates.  No superheroing is allowed anywhere.  It is an oppressive and suffocating premise that sets up the movie’s subtext of society’s “celebration of mediocrity.” Again; believable because it is so familiar.

I’m not going to bore you with a bunch of details and irrelevant history: you can click on the links I’ve provided for that.  Just go see the movie!  After The Iron Giant I could easily have been let down but this movie lifted me up.  If you like smart, fun movies, it will lift you up, too.

Posted by George on 11/26/04 at 09:46 PM
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