Batman, Inc. Vol. 2 #8 & Requiem for Robin

The whole death of Damian Wayne feels forced.

How might one bring Damian Wayne back from the dead? How would one bring the child of Bruce Wayne and Tali al Ghul back from the dead? Hmmmm... Oh, yeah! Lazarus Pit!

One might assume that Talia has either additional Bruce Wayne...genetic material in the deep freeze. She probably also has a clone of Damian in reserve. You can't tell me that Talia didn't have a contingency plan in place in case Damian left her to work with his father. For that matter, they probably had extra Damian clones for Ra's al Ghul to eventually move his brain into.

There are too many ways to bring this character back. Grant Morrison even talks about that they could bring him back after he leaves the Batman universe. It's inevitable. I think in the time being, DC is wanting to honor Morrison's desire to have the character die at his hands and they want to give Harper Row a time to shine. That or they're just screwing with us on Harper Row.

Just my 2 cents.

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises (BTDKR) is the perfect conclusion to the story that Chris and Jonathan Nolan started in 2004’s Batman Begins.

To be clear, I wasn’t excited about seeing this film. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first two. They are both excellent films, but this was not my Batman. I didn’t even plan on seeing it in the theatre. We didn’t have the kids for the weekend and I had taken a nap and woke up and decided it would be a good time to go to the movies. What’s playing? BTDKR was the closest to anything I wanted to see that was playing locally.

While BTDKR is the third film in the trilogy, it is really the sequel to Batman Begins. If you haven’t seen Batman: The Dark Knight, you could read the wikipedia article and be prepared for BTDKR. Then again, you can pick up both Batman Begins and Batman: The Dark Knight for $10 in Blu Ray each or somewhere around $6 in DVD.

There were a number of pleasant and unexpected twists. They play the Ra’s Al Ghul elements really well. Tom Hardy is very Banelike. He’s huge, skilled, and incredibly intelligent. The developments at Wayne Enterprises were full of intrigue and were handled well.

There is very much a Hero’s Journey angle to the story.  They very much break Bruce Wayne and he has to rebuild himself as he has many times in the comics. There is another character who also goes through his own Hero’s Journey. John Blake while a hero throughout the movie is resisting a call to action. He goes through the whole cycle by the end of the movie.

Points in Favor

• This is the closest to the Batman of the comics that Chris Nolan has gotten. This time he got it completely right and made a great Chris Nolan film at the same time.
• Anne Hathaway makes a great Catwoman. Hathaway brings the right balance of sex appeal and
• Tom Hardy makes a great Bane.
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a great job in the role of John Blake. I can’t say too much about his role, but in many ways this film is John Blake’s story. It’s about the man he has become and the man he has yet to be.
• After seeing Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon for the third time, I’m not sure I ever want to see any  one else in the role. For me he is Jim Gordon.
• The plot twists. There are so many potential spoilery elements it’s difficult to write a decent review without giving them away. Like most Chris Nolan films BTDKR is full of twists and turns that you don’t see coming.
• The new Batmobile, or rather The Bat, which is Batman’s flying Batmobile. I love that they did a possible Batmobile that flies.

Points Against

• It is difficult to hear some of the dialogue. From Bane speaking from behind his mask to Christian Bale talking like he has laryngitis while in the Batman costume to Jim Gordon mumbling everything he says while in the hospital, they really seemed to go out of the way to make you try to hear what was said.
• Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. To do the things she was doing, she really should have been a more athletically built woman. It’s again not a huge issue, but it bothered me a little.
• They chose to go with the origin of Catwoman from Batman: Year One. While I don’t like that version of her origin, it provides an interesting motivation for the character.

Recommended Reading:

Read them before or after. It really depends on what you want your movie viewing experience to be like.

• Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
• Bane vs Batman
• Batman: The Son of the Demon
• Batman: Year One
• Batman: Knightfall

Recommendation: HOT BUY! It’s definitely worth seeing. It’s both a great Batman film and a great Chris Nolan film. They definitely got it right with this one. And even better, it’s not in 3D.

Sidebar: Due to the tragic event in Colorado at the premiere, they had law enforcement officers at the entrance to the theatre. I had my messenger bag with me. I don’t like to leave my iPad in my truck. One of the officers came over and asked to look in my bag. I opened it and he asked what that was. I told him it was my iPad. He thanked me and went back to his post. The ironic thing is there were two other pockets that could have contained something that they wouldn’t want me to bring into a theatre. Also he didn’t look in or at the case I keep my bluetooth keyboard in. The case could have very easily concealed a weapon. I didn’t have a problem with them looking in my bag. I don’t use my bag to sneak snacks into the theatre. It’s just that the illusion of security is worse than no security.

With Just One Glance

I never really have posted any music, but I had to on this one.   I can NOT get enough of this song.   The mixes, on Sirius Chill, are awesome.   They just need to play it a tad bit more.

No, this is not part of my geekiness; however, for this song, it just might change for a bit.

SyFy "Eats Up" the Summer

What can I say, I had a bit of a bump between my last post and this post.  Doesn't mean that I had given up on my enjoyment of "B-Movies."   To be honest, some of them don't even deserve a "B-Movie" Rating. 

Just last night, I was laying down to catch up my kingdom (in "Kingdom Age") on my iPad, when WA-LA - there was "Piranhaconda!"

I had to watch!

While not the campy gore of Sharktopus, Piranhaconda offered a semi-serious story of screaming botoxed women.  Men are usually not botoxed on SyFy.  Prinhaconda offered plenty of gore, but in some cases, the people were consumed "way too fast." 

I'm certain that it will be replaying; however, next week is "Arachnoquake".  Some how, I'm not 100% certain about this one.   2-Headed Shark, Sharktopus, and Prianhaconda.  Those are worthy creatures. 

Like the 2-Headed Shark, I am debating Piranha 3DD.   The trailer is too funny!   I fail to see how a straight guy would not watch the show.   LOL

2 Heads. 1 Shark.

Movie Review:  2 Headed Shark Attack.
Okay, I lied.  This isn't a movie review.   I wish that I could do a review, but I have been banned from renting the movie.  Even when there is nothing else on TV or PPV, I have been told that I could not spend the $6 of such a preordained classic. 

Yes, yes.  I have tried to explain the significance of "2 HEADS 1 SHARK"; however, Jamie does not seem to grasp the sheer brilliant concept behind the movie. 

I already know what I am renting, as it is akin to the now classic, "Sharktopus".   

For those of you who have not seen the trailer and/or realize the classic concept behind the movie, I would recommend you take a moment to watch and enjoy.   If you happen to rent the movie, please do not rub it in.  

Wow, What a Summer of Movies!

The 2012 Summer Movie line-up looks awesome!  I can't believe how many movies I actually want to see.   I can't believe how many movies I am considering seeing, and of course, I can't believe how many movies I will eventually catch on Pay-Per-View.  Soooooo.....

Movies that I want to see:

• Avengers
• Dark Shadows
• MIB III
• Prometheus
• Brave
• The Dark Knight Rises
• The Bourne Legacy

Movies that I am considering:

• Battleship
• Snow White and the Huntsman
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
• The Amazing Spider-Man
• Total Recall
• ParaNorman

Movies that I will catch on Pay-Per-View:

• Hunger Games
• The Pirates
• Chernobyl Diaries
• G.I. Joe: Retaliation
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Now, I could have provided all of you with links to each one of them, but that is a sheer waste of my time.  I also could have provided you with a more exhaustive list; however, I have movies to see!