Completely Optimistic Batman Begins Anticipation Thread

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No doubting Thomas Waynes allowed.

― Huck, Thursday, 29 July 2004 19:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Speaking of which, does anyone else think it's kind of creepy that Batman and Superman's mothers both have the same first name?

― Huck, Thursday, 29 July 2004 19:02 (twenty-one years ago)

And it's the same first name of the first First Lady of the United States! SCANDALOUS!

Clicking through the photo gallery & seeing various members of the cast (Liam Neeson / Morgan Freeman / Michael Caine / Gary Oldman) made me grin. Also, hearing Christian Bale do the Batman voice.

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 29 July 2004 19:06 (twenty-one years ago)

I just wanna say again, how awesome and "right" this looks (Oldman as Jim Gordon).

http://batmanbegins.warnerbros.com/images/07.jpg

― Huck, Thursday, 29 July 2004 19:07 (twenty-one years ago)

thanks for the retreat, Huck. How is Ra's Al Ghul going to fit into this storyline, I wonder?

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Thursday, 29 July 2004 19:21 (twenty-one years ago)

When I clicked on the thread, the cookie request for Warner Bros popped up, and for a moment I thought, "the optimistic thread for Batman redirects to WB! That's clever!"

I don't know if I'm optimistic. I'm not pessimistic. And if Catwoman tanks completely, I think WB will shelve the movie rather than release it knowing it's bad -- it's already a tainted franchise, and they have actual competition from Marvel now.

But dude, when the Burton Batman came out, I waited in a line filled with Girl Scouts on a field trip from summer camp -- the loudest of whom complained Vicki Vale wasn't in the movie enough, and sat right behind me -- and still wasn't disappointed (except that Vicki Vale sucked). I had bought a copy of the script at a con, back before there was an internet for things like that to be leaked on, and didn't let myself read it until after I saw the movie, so I could compare the two. I wasn't even really a comic book geek -- I just really dug Batman.

And then after the first one, they took their sweet time revelling in the pleasure of pissing all over the franchise. They got some making up to do.

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 29 July 2004 19:23 (twenty-one years ago)

From IMDB: After disappearing to the East where he seeks counsel with the dangerous but honorable ninja cult leader known as Ra's Al-Ghul, he returns to his now decaying Gotham City overrun by organised crime and dangerous individuals manipulating the system whilst the company he inherited is slowly being pulled out from under him

I won't say anything, out of respect for the spirit of the thread.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 29 July 2004 19:24 (twenty-one years ago)

1) That synopsis sounds totally fine.

2) Offer a synopsis of a comic-book related flick (or any action flick) that doesn't stank like late August donkey poo.

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 29 July 2004 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

"Ninja cult leader" sounds a little ... not quite how I'd describe Ra's ... but that's fine. I mean, I guess it just sounds reductive, but summaries are like that.

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 29 July 2004 19:53 (twenty-one years ago)

As I said on the not-so-optimistic ILE thread there seems to be a Count of Monte Cristo vibe to this. actually I think Jocelyn said it first. She is awesome.

xpost

"League of Assassins leader" would sound worse (though he ain't really that either, but I assume he's part Ra's/part Sensei, just because there are so many redundancies when you have a character who has been appearing no less than twice a month for over 60 years)

― Huck, Thursday, 29 July 2004 19:55 (twenty-one years ago)

i kiss you.
Plus I think they're trying to stay away from the arabic sounding/terrorist associations of Al Ghul.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Thursday, 29 July 2004 19:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Was Ra's responsible for any of little Brucie's training in the comics?

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:00 (twenty-one years ago)

"Eco-terrorist" also invokes naked PETA girls rather than menacing eastern megalomaniacs.

xpost
no.

― Huck, Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:00 (twenty-one years ago)

In a not-just-limited-to-the-specifics-of-this-movie way, like more generally, bringing Ra's in is a very good idea. It gives a sense of Batman's world outside of Gotham, the whole passel of action movie/pulp hero type stuff he gets involved in when he leaves the city; it alludes to a Batman who isn't in the alleys and gutters but also isn't kicking the hackey sack with Apache Chief in the Hall of Justice or fighting the Joker of Jupiter in space. I'm all for including Ra's -- he's a pulp-style, or at least "pulp-appropriate," villain more than a supervillain. Guys like Mr Freeze don't work in a Batman story when it isn't a cartoon or comic, I think. (Even if Schwurzenmacher hadn't been involved.)

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Mr. Freeze was used quite nicely in Gotham Central...which is a comic, but not so much a superhero comic.

― Huck, Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Good point, Tep. I've always liked the International Batman of Batmystery type stories, and come to think of it they've almost always involved Ra's.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Oddly enough, I remember one of the Batman vs. Predator mini's having a very good Freeze portrayal.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Just as long as there's no Bat-Whirly-Gig

― Huck, Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, I can totally buy Mr Freeze outside of a live-action movie -- I liked the Batman cartoon with him, was it called Subzero? -- I think it's just the tendency of the live action movies to have low costume populations. Like, if Superman II had had the Toyman as a villain ... then you're sitting there thinking, okay, so the supervillains in this world are the not-super-at-all Lex Luthor, who's kind of a dweeb and has a dorky sidekick -- and THE TOYMAN? Whereas you can have a perfectly good issue of Action with the Toyman in it, because we're cool with the fact that there are 50 other bad guys out there.

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:10 (twenty-one years ago)

(This is maybe one of my problems with Batman Returns: the Penguin isn't a very compelling villain even outside of that particular version of him. I liked him in Contagion/Legacy, though, and he probably had a similar role in No Man's Land.)

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:11 (twenty-one years ago)

x-post
I think over-top-villians worked in Spiderman, because it had that very technicolor, insular feel to it, whereas with this Batman it seems like they're going for more of a political thriller/ "pulp" as Tep said, feel. And I think it may be what the film and WB need to counteract the Catwoman silliness.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Aha, now I see what you mean. And agree completely.
I think that's one of the reason's Superman movies will be hard, because after Luthor, who's Supes got? Brainiac? Puh-leeze. Mongul? Whatev! Doomsday? Wake me when it's over. Bizarro? Mxy-blah-blah? Are we 5 here?

― Huck, Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:15 (twenty-one years ago)

And the Spider-Man crew have been very careful -- maybe to a fault, but that's another issue and I will hear no ill spoken of Spidey! -- about giving the villains emotional connections to and emotional import for Spidey, which is something else the last three Batman movies lacked. It doesn't make them less over the top (help my robot arms are plotting against me!), but it makes them less out of place, I think.

It's harder to do that with Batman without jeopardizing the character's integrity, because he just doesn't have that kind of emotional vulnerability, whereas Spidey is almost defined by it.

Not that I'm calling Spidey emo.

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:17 (twenty-one years ago)

The whole emo-spidey thing is intriguing, because surely he does strike that chord with his audience. How do people idenitify with Batman?

― Huck, Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:19 (twenty-one years ago)

But he is.

Gary Gordon = excellent.

― R.I.M.A. (Barima), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Bizarro is the best bet, I think, depending on who the villain is in the first movie (it wouldn't have to be Luthor!) -- but you could do Bizarro well, because he's a villain who can exist because of Superman, so you could have a sequel that didn't seem like a lot of sequel elements patchworked together.

Mxyzptlk, well, I'd like to see him, but they'd probably get Jamie Kennedy to play him or something, and that would suck.

xpost; people identify with Batman in a Bernhard Goetz sort of way, a Death Wish way, only toned down -- he's the guy getting revenge, but without getting out of line.

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:20 (twenty-one years ago)

(That's just a random guess or one possible identification.)

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I love Spidey too, and I know what you're talking about-the very personal decisions in Spiderman are what makes his character compelling, Batman's a badass. Christian Bale would not be a good Spiderman.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Mxyzptlk = John Leguizamo, duh.

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Batman = expresses the turmoil of his childhood through righteous violence = massive appeal for adolescent males.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 29 July 2004 20:58 (twenty-one years ago)

It's not a coincidence, I think, that the three superheroes we've talked about in terms of successful (and ghetto-escaping) movies are Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman. The first two are the tragedy guys -- "criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot"/revenge vs "with great power comes great responsibility"/guilt -- and Superman is based on the same "I'm actually special!" power fantasy that fuels Buffy and Alias.

(Likewise, I think a lot of Unbreakable's inability to really become a smash came down to the fact that Bruce Willis wasn't playing a superhero in the sense those three are superheroes. He was playing a guy with super powers. There's nothing wrong with that, but the powers aren't enough to trip all the resonance triggers successful superhero stories trip. Lifting A Lot Of Heavy Stuff isn't enough of a fantasy to vicariously groove to.)

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 29 July 2004 21:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm gonna be the lone Complete Pessimist, but that trailer shows waaay too much Tibet (which is pretty and all) and not enough Batman (like any.) I'm hoping that Bats will be in the movie for more than fifteen minutes, but am not holding my breath.

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Thursday, 29 July 2004 21:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't seen the trailer yet (I'm not going to go out of my way to see it, it'll hit me when it hits me), but in the spirit of optimism, that could be just to focus on the ways this movie is different from the Schlockmacher. It's still just a teaser, isn't it?

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 29 July 2004 21:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Entirely possible that it's part of their strategy to generate buzz by not doing a big reveal of the Batman and all, but the indications that I've gotten is that it's BY FAR more Bruce Wayne than Batman, which is a little worrying.

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Thursday, 29 July 2004 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Having Batman is the centerpiece didn't necessarily help the last two (four?) movies. I.e. Bruce Wayne = can't hurt.

― The Dreaded Rear Admiral (Leee), Thursday, 29 July 2004 22:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Batman's appeal is based upon the fact that he is cool. A total badass. Superman's appeal is based on the fact that he is a God. Spidey's is based on the fact that hes a geek, just like us. Lets face it, Bruce Wayne and Kal El would have been jocks in High School, tragic childhoods not having gotten in the way. Parker would have been geek all the wayyy.

The whole Ras Al Ghul as Ninja cult leader seems to suggest more Daredevil/Elektra and the Hand than Batman to me, but I like the epic feel suggested by the teaser. And from an interview with goyer I read, theres plenty of Batman in the second hour of his script - hardcore Batman fights ninja stuff...

― David N (David N.), Thursday, 29 July 2004 23:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Nothing could help the last two movies, Lee. Not even the presence of the entire JLA. Flawed outings from the onset.

Batman should be the centerpiece of a Batman movie. Just sayin'.

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Thursday, 29 July 2004 23:22 (twenty-one years ago)

The whole Ras Al Ghul as Ninja cult leader seems to suggest more Daredevil/Elektra and the Hand

Exactly what I thought. I just like how artfully ostentatious it looks (rather than the neon cheese of yore).

Matt -- if what you're talking about is akin to the One/Same Monster in the Hellboy movie, then agreed.

― The Dreaded Rear Admiral (Leee), Thursday, 29 July 2004 23:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't seen Hellboy yet, Lee. Was considering watching it tonight, as I picked it up on a whim from Costco yesterday.

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Thursday, 29 July 2004 23:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm all for treating Batman like the alien (in _Alien_).

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 30 July 2004 01:29 (twenty-one years ago)

If Bat-Mite pops out of ANYONE's chest, I'm leavin.

― Tep (ktepi), Friday, 30 July 2004 01:33 (twenty-one years ago)

What if he comes out the back door after a meal of Taco Bell?

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 30 July 2004 01:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Leaving and buying new socks.

― Tep (ktepi), Friday, 30 July 2004 01:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I actually bought Wizard today (for the GL: Rebirth preview) and they have a little tiny blurb where Bale compares to the movie to a bunch of other movies, including Serpico. REmember, this is Batman Begins so he doesn't have to put on the cowl until the last frame of the movie. They wouldn't sell many happy meals like that, but I'd be impressed (if it was well done).
One that does worry me is that everything, the batmobile, the batsuit, etc, is supposed to be WayneTech prototype, which like, hello, that's a pretty direct connection from BW to BM.

― Huck, Friday, 30 July 2004 06:24 (twenty-one years ago)

...that's not optimism, Huck...

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 30 July 2004 12:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm, uh, optimistically worried? I'm worried it will be so great it will blow my mind?

― Huck, Friday, 30 July 2004 13:59 (twenty-one years ago)

For Chicago folks, perhaps
http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/cst-nws-batman30.html

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Friday, 30 July 2004 15:51 (twenty-one years ago)

the train scene in Spider-Man 2 was really in Chicago???? OMG, I hate NY now.

― Huk-El (Horace Mann), Friday, 30 July 2004 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

One of my friends was an extra on a train in Chicago for Spider-Man 2, but it was done by a secondary camera crew out filming location footage (I think there's another term for it that I can't remember)before the main shoot even started. I wonder if he's in the movie (oh no! I let slip that I haven't seen SM2 yet!).

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 30 July 2004 16:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Dude, see it! Assuming you liked the first one, anyway.

― Tep (ktepi), Friday, 30 July 2004 16:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Dude, if you liked the 1st one, you will make sloppy drunken lust-drenched booty love to the 2nd.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 30 July 2004 16:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, S-M2 will make you weak in the knees. Or rather, since we're all nerds here, even weaker in the knees in a surprisingly delightful, slightly non-arthritic way.

― Huk-El (Horace Mann), Friday, 30 July 2004 16:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, I will. I've got to conquer my girlfriend's Kirsten Dunst loathing though. Maybe tonight.

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 30 July 2004 17:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Kirstin is really not too bad in this one. My friends couldn't handle the fact that I found Alfred Molina kinda attractive.
x-post
One of my friends was supposed to be an extra in Spidey 2 as well, but it was -20 (windchill) the day of filming and her health has been poor. She knew who the villian was, and couldn't tell anyone.
(Why can't my dad be working on upper Wacker Drive anymore? Why did you have to change jobs, dad?)

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Friday, 30 July 2004 17:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe Molina would make a good Rorshach!

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 30 July 2004 17:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Too stocky.

― Huk-El (Horace Mann), Friday, 30 July 2004 17:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Comedian?

(Sooner or later, everything comes back to Watchmen, don't it?)

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 30 July 2004 17:19 (twenty-one years ago)

If they would have done a decent LXG movie, he would have been a great Mycroft Holmes.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Friday, 30 July 2004 17:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Do you guys remember him as Indiana Jones's ill-fated and greedy guide in Raiders?

― Huk-El (Horace Mann), Friday, 30 July 2004 17:33 (twenty-one years ago)

YES! I just saw that last weekend, and was geeked to see him in the cast! Too bad about that booby trap, tho.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 30 July 2004 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I seem to remember him being great as Gary Oldman's jealous lover in "Prick up your ears" (an underated movie I haven't seen for years)

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Friday, 30 July 2004 17:44 (twenty-one years ago)

He's also the best part of uh, that Stanley Tucci/Oliver Platt faux-Laurel/Hardy movie.

― Huk-El (Horace Mann), Friday, 30 July 2004 17:50 (twenty-one years ago)

That whole movie is great, you crackhead! (Best part for me = reversed subtitles in the mirror.) (Or Campbell Scott's accent.)

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 30 July 2004 18:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Damn, I saw the Batman trailer after all, they ran it before The Village. I was hoping to avoid it until at least the year the movie comes out. It's definitely the kind of teaser trailer where you wouldn't have Batman in it until the end, though.

― Tep (ktepi), Friday, 30 July 2004 19:09 (twenty-one years ago)

bat-overload...(the 3-part-finale of superfriends, er Justice League re-airs tomorrow!)

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0407/30/bat0th.jpg

― Huck, Friday, 30 July 2004 19:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Remember that quote I mentioned upthread from ChrstnBl? Here it is:
"It's a cross between Serpico and The French Connection mixed with a really f---ing cool samurai, kung fu movie, and there's like some really strong 70s conspiracy movie vibes in there, too!"

this is good, no?

― Huck, Saturday, 31 July 2004 22:05 (twenty-one years ago)

They are apparently filming around Chicago right now. I should go be annoying.

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Is good!

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:51 (twenty-one years ago)

St. Nick, if I was a rich man, I'd offer to post your bail if you would dress up in the homeliest of made up supervillain costumes, like a colander on yr head, and pink rubber gloves and jockey shorts over sweatpants and disturb production, threatening to steal the dreamstuff of the fair citizens of Gotham unless you get the Batman's head on a platter, with fries and gravy. and coleslaw.

― Huck, Monday, 2 August 2004 18:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I hadn't even heard of this new flick, and I'm not a big Batman fan myself, but damn that's one impressive cast! Besides Bale, Caine, Freeman, Oldman and Watanabe they've got Rutger Hauer and Linus Roache too! How did the producers manage to gather such an amount of "serious" actors? Wasn't the last Batman flick a flop? I guess they're just riding the current superhero movie wave.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 09:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Whoa, Tom Wilkinson is in it too! And Katie Holmes! Okay, perhaps that's not so impressive... But still, Dafoe and Molina in the Spidey flicks, McKellen in X-men, and now this. Is it some secret desire of all character actors to appear in superhero flicks? I guess the relative two-dimensionality and caricature feel of supervillains and other superhero comic characters gives them a wonderful chance to go over the top (see the guy who played J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man, for example).

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 09:43 (twenty-one years ago)

JK Simmons is an American treasure. I want a JJJ spin-off movie franchise.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 12:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Tuomas, another reason might be that it's directed by Christopher Nolan who made Memento, which lead him to directing Al "A-list" Pacino and Robin Williams in the Insomnia remake.
Once you've directed Pacino, you can have anyone, it's SAG rules. Once you directed Robin Williams however, you have to put Katie Holms in your next movie. So, win some, lose some.

― Huck, Tuesday, 3 August 2004 13:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Plz to define how having to cast Katie Holmes qualifies as a "loss"?

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 14:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Make me.

― Huck, Tuesday, 3 August 2004 14:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Don't make me whip out my Festivus pole.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 14:27 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't like Katie Holmes and I probably never will.

― Huck, Tuesday, 3 August 2004 14:37 (twenty-one years ago)

The airing of grievances will soon commence. Then we WRASSLE!

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 14:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Optimistic ah-hem.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 14:45 (twenty-one years ago)

How you mean? Wrasslin' is the most optimistic of all the professional athletic entertainments, outside of curling and bathroom cleaning!

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 14:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I am optimistic that Batman Begins will be the greatest thing that ever happened to me in a dark room despite the presence of Katie Holmes.

― Huck, Tuesday, 3 August 2004 14:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Is Katie Holmes supposed to be Bruce Wayne's romantic interest, then? Did the comic Bruce Wayne ever even have a proper girlfriend?

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 18:05 (twenty-one years ago)

He's had a few, Vicki Vale, Silver St. Cloud (who Basigner's VV was sorta based on)...the fantastically named victim of the Bruce Wayne Murderer/Fugitive storyline...

― Huck, Tuesday, 3 August 2004 18:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Vesper Fairchild.

Oh, there's also Talia, Ra's Al Ghul's daughter, to whom Batman was wed.

― Huck, Tuesday, 3 August 2004 18:16 (twenty-one years ago)

*trying to resist mentioning his youthful wards...and failing*

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 18:25 (twenty-one years ago)

We have vale, cloud, vesper, talia (dew), selena (moon). Is there a story behind this? And, uh, Rachel in the film.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 18:28 (twenty-one years ago)

The story = BB scriptwriter David Goyer didn't notice the connection between Batman's previous paramours, and just picked a name for the heck of it.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 18:31 (twenty-one years ago)

What about Kathy Kane, the original (and only?) Batwoman?

― Huck, Tuesday, 3 August 2004 19:24 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.sanspo.com/geino/top/gt200408/image/04080303kenMT204802.jpg

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Bale is short.

― Huck, Wednesday, 4 August 2004 16:27 (twenty-one years ago)

(remember the thread title)...but not on talent!

― Huck, Wednesday, 4 August 2004 16:35 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.sanspo.com/geino/top/gt200408/image/04080303badmanMT205802.jpg

― Huck, Wednesday, 4 August 2004 18:57 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.sanspo.com/geino/top/gt200408/image/04080303kenMT203802.jpg

― Huck, Wednesday, 4 August 2004 18:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Apparently the filming done in Chicago so far hasn't involved any of the stars, just the Batmobile and stuntment. Though Katie Holmes has been spotted around town.

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 19:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I won't tell Sarah.

― Huck, Wednesday, 4 August 2004 19:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know what I won't tell her, but nonetheless, my lips are sealed.

― Huck, Wednesday, 4 August 2004 19:35 (twenty-one years ago)

on a scale of 1-10, this movie is gonna be TOTALLY SWEET

― Ade (Adrian Langston), Thursday, 5 August 2004 12:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, am I the only who's a little concerned that the Bat-Suit and the Bat-Mobile are both Wayne Enterprises prototypes, meaning that anyone who ever worked for WayneTech will recognize them and easily deduce Batman's I.D.?

― Huck, Monday, 16 August 2004 15:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Nah, he'll show up at the parade on his batglider and blow up the WayneTech board of directors with an exploding batarang, man. And if there's a God in DC heaven, he'll get Macy Gray while he's at it.

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 16 August 2004 15:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Or maybe he'll have his butler dress up in an inflatable Batman suit and show up at Wayne Foundation Charity Event so as to dispel any rumours.
I think it's in the Ra's Al Ghul collection of Batman stories from the 70s, Robin wears an inflatable batsuit, so as to look as large as Batman.

― Huck, Monday, 16 August 2004 15:34 (twenty-one years ago)

He needs to pull a Tony -- "Oh, yeah, Batman, see, he's a Wayne Tech employee. He's my bodyguard. I pay him in JUSTICE. Pass me a bottle of whiskey, please."

Didn't the Adam West TV show pull the Alfred-dressed-as-Batman trick a lot?

(I just picked up the Adam West Batman movie on DVD for $5 at wal-Mart -- commentary by West & Ward! I forgot how much fun this movie is.)

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 16 August 2004 15:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I will never watch the commentary because it cannot be as good as I imagine it to be.
West: Lee Merriwether could slide down my batpole any day.
Ward: Mine too.
West: She'd have to wait for Cesar Romero to get off it first, chum.

― Huck, Monday, 16 August 2004 16:10 (twenty-one years ago)

You're really not far off! (Next time I watch it I'll post some quotes.)

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 16 August 2004 16:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe that scares me more.

― Huck, Monday, 16 August 2004 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

the trailer is up at the site: http://batmanbegins.warnerbros.com/

― Vermont Girl (Vermont Girl), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 11:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I love that Adam West Batman movie. I loved it as a kid because it was Batman, but I think it may have been my first fumbling appreciation of irony/camp. There's an interview from last week's Onion with Robert Smigel where he talks about how amazingly funny Adam West is in that movie, and how he's never been able to decide how in on the joke he is.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 13:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Commissioner Gordon: It could be any one of them... But which one? Which ones?
Batman: Pretty *fishy* what happened to me on that ladder...
Commissioner Gordon: You mean where there's a fish there could be a penguin?
Robin: But wait! It happened at sea... Sea. C for Catwoman!
Batman: Yet, an exploding shark *was* pulling my leg...
Commissioner Gordon: The Joker!
Chief O'Hara: All adds up to a sinister riddle... Riddle-R. Riddler!
Commissioner Gordon: A thought strikes me... So dreadful I scarcely dare give it utterance...
Batman: The four of them... Their forces combined...
Robin: Holy nightmare!

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 13:30 (twenty-one years ago)

That was after the villains made a holographic project of a stolen boat in order to lure Batman & Robin into the clutches of an *exploding shark* BUT DON'T WORRY they roll with NOT only Bat-shark repellent but Bat-Manta Ray Repellent, Bat-Giant Squid Repellent, Bat-Shrimp Repellent, Bat-Mahi Mahi Repellent, etc.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 13:35 (twenty-one years ago)

I wish, I wish, I wish that someone would write a scene that good in a Batman comic. I'd like to personally take Denny O'Neil's "Bat Bible" and burn it in front of his eyes before forcing him to write about a Rainbow Batman going to the charity police ball and foiling King Tut.

― Vic Fluro, Tuesday, 17 August 2004 14:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Yet, an exploding shark *was* pulling my leg...

― Huck, Tuesday, 17 August 2004 14:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Vic, the stories are there! No need to spoil the fun for post-DK angst-riddled zombies (like me)! Besides, DK2 has some love for you (I think)!

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 16:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Vic, also seek out in dollar or quarter or used bins some of the Zero Hour Batman crossovers.
I picked up one last week where the original, tubby Alfred showed up.

― Huck, Tuesday, 17 August 2004 17:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I remember that story and he just wasn't tubby enough. No, there's enough cheap archives, greatest hits collections etc to satisfy my camp cravings... what I'm really after is something a bit groovy, like when Bats was zipping all over the globe solving strange crimes of mystery with James Bond-style bat-gadgets.

Did that ever happen, or did I dream it?

― Vic Fluro, Tuesday, 17 August 2004 22:12 (twenty-one years ago)

There's the Batman in the Fifties collection. It's pretty cool.
http://www.tcomics.com/showcase/trades/b/batm/in_fifties.jpg

― Huck, Wednesday, 18 August 2004 13:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe some of the early Ra's Al Ghul stuff from the 70s. Not a whole lot of bat-gadgets, but some cool international espionage and LOTS OF DISGUISES!!!
http://www.hillcity-comics.com/graphic_novels/bat/tales_of_the_demon.jpg

― Huck, Wednesday, 18 August 2004 13:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah, but wasn't it Denny O'Neil who wrote most of the Ra's Al Ghul stuff from the 70s?

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 19 August 2004 02:11 (twenty-one years ago)

When he moans about people putting a teleporter in the batcave it's pretty clear he's gone over to the side of wrong.

― Vic Fluro, Thursday, 19 August 2004 02:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Early Denny O'Neil stuff is great, when the line between dark and camp wasn't so distinct. Esp. his GL/GA stuff, but you'd expect me to say that. But it's really what I love about comics in general, you can totally immerse yourself in their logic and rituals and mythologies, and then you can step back and giggle.

― Huck, Thursday, 19 August 2004 04:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Is this close, Vic?
ihttp://admin.comics.org/graphics/covers/3366/400/3366_4_16.jpg

― Huck, Thursday, 19 August 2004 17:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Ha! Actually that's one of my favourite JLA stories. It's definitely in the ballpark, yes.

― Vic Fluro, Thursday, 19 August 2004 18:14 (twenty-one years ago)

wtf!

http://www.superherohype.com/batman/index.php?id=1911

― Huck, Monday, 30 August 2004 18:53 (twenty-one years ago)

also, coolness~

http://kidswb.warnerbros.com/files/kidswb/us/zp-424/545/BTM_GAL01_EP001_PIC01.jpg

― Huck, Monday, 30 August 2004 19:01 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2004/08/28/bfbat28.xml&sSheet=/arts/2004/08/28/ixtop.html
More coolness, albeit from the Torygraph. But some nice pictures!

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Monday, 30 August 2004 20:13 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

from comicbookresources.com:

According to Moviehole, there will be two new batches of photos uploaded to the official site in the next week. On Friday, October 15th you'll be able to see Linus Roache, Tom WIlkinson and Ken Watanabe as Ra's al Ghul. On Tuesday, October 26th there will be photos of Cillian Murphy (possibly in costume), Rutger Hauer and Katie Holmes.

Meanwhile, actor Christian Bale spoke to Sci Fi Wire about getting into character for the Christopher Nolan-helmed Bat flick. "[We explore] how he got to be this nutcase that runs around dressed as a bat. The first couple of times wearing the mask was great, because it really helps you to [understand] how to play it. I always found it kind of laughable: The guy thinks he's going to be scary by walking around dressed as a bat. I'd look at him and go, 'What kind of nutcase are you? Get out of my face.' I thought, 'How can he really have this rage and this focus on despising criminals and this promise that he makes to rid the city of them?' I saw that it's really difficult to make a promise to yourself and then keep that clarity of thought that you had at that lucid moment and maintaining that intensity. Adopting this different persona helps him to maintain that kind of intensity. In donning the suit and everything, I no longer wanted to present this as Bruce Wayne dressed as a bat. He becomes a different creature, partly out of necessity of disguise, but also out of necessity to keep himself sane in his own life. It really helped me. Once I put [the suit] on, I felt like if I don't play it this a certain way, then I'm just going to feel like an idiot standing in a bat suit the whole time."

Finally, writer David Goyer spoke to Dreamwatch magazine (as noted by Superhero Hype) and considers the film an original take on the property. "There are definitely segments of our film that have never been addressed, even in the comic books, so we are sort of in uncharted territory," said Goyer. "I felt very strongly that we should use characters that hadn't been depicted in the films before. I think Ra's Al Ghul is unique as a Batman villain because of his goals. Although his goals are somewhat perverted, he is more realistic as a character than some of the other villains. And using the Scarecrow gave us the opportunity to depict a villain that was truly scary and frightening. If Bruce Wayne was going to wear a suit, what would he need to do in it and what would his suit require? Our general rule was that it had to feature either existing technology that was going to be thrown into the market place in the next 10 years or so. Without giving too much away, the film lends itself to a sequel."

― Huk-L, Thursday, 14 October 2004 17:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Ra's Al Ghul!

http://batmanbegins.warnerbros.com/images/10.jpg

― Huk-L, Monday, 18 October 2004 16:57 (twenty-one years ago)

http://movies.warnerbros.com/wbnewsletter/photos/photo3.html

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 26 October 2004 18:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Look out, Batman, it's the Hitcher! The French fry is a finger! Don't eat the French fry!

― Tep (ktepi), Tuesday, 26 October 2004 19:38 (twenty-one years ago)

I can't believe I signed up for the WB newsletter for THAT.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 26 October 2004 19:46 (twenty-one years ago)

According to Comingsoon.net: Neeson wasn't too surprised by the success of the director's Spider-Man movie, because he thought that 'Darkman' was almost a 'shot for shot' template for it.

Wtf? Has Liam Neeson even SEEN Darkman?

― Huk-L, Monday, 1 November 2004 15:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Take out those vertiginous close-ups, and he's sort of right.

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 1 November 2004 15:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, I haven't seen Darkman in years.

― Huk-L, Monday, 1 November 2004 15:15 (twenty-one years ago)

OMG YOU'RE LIAM NEESON!

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 1 November 2004 15:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Even if he's right about the similarity, that's like saying "I'm not surprised Lord of the Rings was huge, it's so much like that box-office smash Heavenly Creatures!" Cause you know, remember all those Darkman lunch boxes and twin-bed sheet sets, and the action figures and MTV cartoon?

No you fucking don't, Mr Neeson. Sit down.

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 1 November 2004 16:36 (twenty-one years ago)

(Also, Mr. Neeson, please continue to smolder & glower.)

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 1 November 2004 16:46 (twenty-one years ago)

(And sign this agreement never to make Nell 2.)

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 1 November 2004 16:48 (twenty-one years ago)

(And thanks for being part of the only cool part of the StarWars prequels--i.e. where you died)

― Huk-L, Monday, 1 November 2004 16:53 (twenty-one years ago)

OMG NELL 2 WOULD BE THE MOST USELESS MOVIE EVER

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 1 November 2004 19:44 (twenty-one years ago)

That sounds like a CHALLENGE.

Sleeping With The Enemies.

Dying Youngish.

Reality Bites Back!

Daredevil: The "Every Shot is From Murdock's POV, and He's Blind, See" Cut (with Described Video secondary audio)

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 1 November 2004 19:49 (twenty-one years ago)

(And on topic: Batman and Robin)

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 1 November 2004 19:50 (twenty-one years ago)

The Okay Gatsby

― Huk-L, Monday, 1 November 2004 19:50 (twenty-one years ago)

When A Man Still Loves A Woman
AI 2

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 1 November 2004 19:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Betterfellas

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 1 November 2004 19:54 (twenty-one years ago)

When Harry Forgot Sally
No Really, How Green Was My Valley?
Sleeping In In Seattle
The Other Sure Thing
The Shaggy D.E.A.

― Huk-L, Monday, 1 November 2004 19:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Starsky and Hooch

You Got Served 2: It's On!

Leslie Nielsen in The Zucker Brothers' South Park Parody

Ferris Bueller's Busy Day

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 1 November 2004 19:58 (twenty-one years ago)

An American Werewolf In Des Moines
Hardware 2: Hardwarier
The Omega Chi Delta Man (starring Pauly Shore)
The Killing of a Chinese Beekeeper

― Huk-L, Monday, 1 November 2004 19:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Re-eraser
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2: The Quickening

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 1 November 2004 20:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Farenheit 452: Too Hot For TV!

― Huk-L, Monday, 1 November 2004 20:09 (twenty-one years ago)

That Was Spinal Tap
Jabberwockiest
The Chronicles of Riddick
THX 1139
Jingle Some Of The Way And Then Hum
Nine Hundred Ninety-Nine Thousand Nine Hundred And Ninety-Nine Years B.C.
Ranma 3/5
The Lion The Following Spring
Enter The Dragon 2: Make Yourself At Home The Dragon

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 1 November 2004 20:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Romeo Must Die Again
The Odd Octet
Radio 2: The Quickening

― Huk-L, Monday, 1 November 2004 20:18 (twenty-one years ago)

The Burning Bed 2: Serta's Revenge
Krush Groove 2: Electric Boogaloo

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 1 November 2004 20:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Saving Private Ryan Again, the lunk
Shakespeare in Indifference of Sorts

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Monday, 1 November 2004 21:06 (twenty-one years ago)

American Psycho 2: All American Girl

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Monday, 1 November 2004 21:08 (twenty-one years ago)

X-Men 3: Citizens on Patrol

― Huk-L, Monday, 1 November 2004 21:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Anaconda3

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 1 November 2004 21:12 (twenty-one years ago)

(boo to the blocking of the SUP tag)

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 1 November 2004 21:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Radio 2: The Quickening HAHAAH!

Gallipoli: the Prequel
Son of Charley: There and Back Again Again
Christine 2: Hell is a Hyundai Scorned
Dinner with Andre and his Brother Ken, The Long-Winded One That Prattles On And On
Mindrun (if you've seen Mindwalk)
Friday the 13th Part ... never mind.

― Chris Hill (Chris Hill), Monday, 1 November 2004 21:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Would the sequel to Powder be called Cold Cream?

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 1 November 2004 21:22 (twenty-one years ago)

That was the afterparty.

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 1 November 2004 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

(That punchline requires that you know the writer-director was a convicted pedophile. See you next time on Explaining The Joke!)

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 1 November 2004 21:29 (twenty-one years ago)

8ight

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 1 November 2004 21:36 (twenty-one years ago)

There WAS an American Psycho 2 made, y'know. Starring Mila Kunis & SHATNER. I spent a New Year's Eve watching it. I am content in knowing that no matter what happens from that point forward in my life, no New Year's Eve I experience can top the abject sad-sack shittiness of that one.

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 1 November 2004 21:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Jocelyn was either talking about the real one or psychic -- she got the subtitle right. (The sad thing is that I know both this and that Geraint Wyn Davies of Forever Knight was also in it. But I didn't watch it on NYE.)

I really want a book made about everything that happened between American Psycho coming out and American Psycho 2 being made, explaining just how something that bizarre goes on. Not just because the movie was bad -- I've seen worse -- but because it's such an oddball choice of a sequel, and has basically nothing in common with the first one, and it's not like American Psycho is a big enough brand name that it was worth cashing in on. (Mila Kunis probably sold more tickets than the first half of the title did.)

Granted, it's no Nell 2.

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 1 November 2004 22:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Howard the Duck 2: Quackers in Bed

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 1 November 2004 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

(If that blocking of the SUP tag hadn't happened, we would have gotten the next logical Anaconda movie title if you continue to follow the Alien naming convention. BOO)

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 1 November 2004 22:31 (twenty-one years ago)

(It wasn't next week yet! But I got what you were going for.)

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 1 November 2004 22:51 (twenty-one years ago)

The Small Heat
LiveEasy
Zelig Goes to Hollywood
Ben 2: Oh Rats!
Thelma, Lousie, Bob, Carol, Ted & Alice
Carnal Knowledge II: Chaste Ignorance

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 1 November 2004 22:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Anaconda Resurrection
City Slickers 3: Daniel Stern Has A Cable Bill

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 1 November 2004 22:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Harry Potter and the Nocturnal Emission

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 1 November 2004 22:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Romeo is Still Bleeding
Nearer to Dark Than the Last Time
De-Animator
The Pausing Dude
Noon Saunter
Psycho: A New Shower
The Private Practice of Dr. Morneau
Rob Schneider's Hero
The 6th Day One Week From Tomorrow, Next February
Recount
2nd House on the Right, Past the Convenience Store, But Before the Strip Mall, You Can't Miss It
James Bond: The Erotic Awakening of Q

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 1 November 2004 23:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Dracula Eats Garlic
Ghost World II: Seymour's New Job
The Seventh Sense: I See Living People
The Naturally Supernatural Natural
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid Go Bananas
Willy Wonka & the Iran-Contra Affair
South Park LIVE!
Sixty Candles
Ugly in Mauve
Plan 10 from Tora Bora

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 1 November 2004 23:06 (twenty-one years ago)

The AniForget Paris

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 2 November 2004 12:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Ghosts of Jupiter
Twister 2: Let's Twist Again (Like we did last summer)
Gladiatrix
(How could we forget that they did make a sequel to Darkman? Darkman 2: Die Darkman Die)

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 2 November 2004 13:36 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.nostalgia.com/large/69722.JPG

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 2 November 2004 13:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Chatterbox 2: Here, Kitty Kitty

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 2 November 2004 14:13 (twenty-one years ago)

More American Splendor
In the Cool of the Morning
Slow Times at Ridgemont Retirement Condos
The Second Greatest Story Ever Told (thank you Readers' Digest)

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 2 November 2004 14:45 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

THIS (lousy, but not surprising news--I mean, we have to dismiss the Prince thing as a fluke) JUST IN FROM CBR:
Superhero Hype has some more tidbits about the Christopher Nolan-helmed DC adaptation. First, looking at the composition of the soundtrack: "In addition to the three songs from Green Day (the two newly recorded tracks, and 'Boulevard Of Broken Dreams,' the theme to the film), newly recorded tracks from The Cure, Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver, Audioslave, Pearl Jam, Dave Navarro, Chevelle, and Metallica. Making for a total of 11 songs."

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 1 February 2005 15:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Soylent Green II: Freezer Burn
EuroJurassic Park
Mrs. Hamlet
40 Days and 40 Nights II: Don Juan DeMarco (starring Colin Farrell)

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 15:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Troys (on the Alien/Anaconda tip)
The Perfectly Credibles
I Dream of Jean Reno
Sky Captain at Epcot Centre
Save The Second Last Dance For Your Friend's Hot Mom
Harold and Maude Go To White Castle

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 1 February 2005 15:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Boxing Day (from John Carpenter, of course)
The Mewling
Bayview Terrace
Twine
Hortence
There Is Not One God-Damned Thing About Mary
The Osmonds: Some Kind of Monster
Losing Nemo Like a Bad Habit
Selena II: Muerto y Muy Caliente
A Daydream on Lollipop Lane
Heavengirl

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 16:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Reginald, The Arranged Marriage Hummer

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 16:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Wild At Heart, Moderate In Deed
My Best Friend's Second Wedding
How Stella Claimed To Have Lost Her Groove Again So That She Could Go Back To Jamaica And Get Some More Action
Barbershop 3: Shave 'Em Dry

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 1 February 2005 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, save The Cure, why does this soundtrack appear to be from 1995? Did no one else want to contribute songs to the movie? Why couldn't they have stuck with a composed score instead?

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 16:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Hooray! It's the first clear sign the film will be completely rubbish.

― Chuck Tatum (Chuck Tatum), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 16:48 (twenty-one years ago)

I like the way the report made sure to announce the total number of songs.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 1 February 2005 16:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Given Nolan's other flicks, I don't think the songs on the HEY KIDS! soundtrack are going to be overwhelming - they'll be playing out of cars, playing from distant radios, playing in a bar when Bats goes to work, but not soundtracking important drama scenes (I hope).

Complete Optimism ahoy!

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 16:55 (twenty-one years ago)

None of his other films had mega-merchandising either, though. I don't recall the ridiculously shitty soundtrack being too obstructive to either Spider-Man movie, so fingers cross'd.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 1 February 2005 16:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Excepting that WTF? Macy Gray guest appearance.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 17:28 (twenty-one years ago)

See, I'd forgotten about that. I was thinking more of the Nickelback solo shit-ballad thing.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 1 February 2005 17:51 (twenty-one years ago)

The theme song is by *Green Day*? How does this fit in with the "darkness" hinted by the trailer? Anyway, from what I've read it sounds like this could be more fun than expected; no to Year One realism, yes to supervillain shenanigans!

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 16:20 (twenty-one years ago)

The theme song is by *Green Day*? How does this fit in with the "darkness" hinted by the trailer?

Duh, lead singer Billy Joe has been wearing a lot of dark eye shadow lately.

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 16:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Because Batman's the epitome of walking these empty streets, down the boulevard of broken dreams. Or something.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I know that the last Batman movie was a travesty all around, but I am so impressed with the new poster that I saw at the theatre last week, as opposed to candy-colored Bats 4.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0790732912.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
vs.
http://www.dtheatre.com/story_images/batmanbeginsposter.jpg

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Friday, 11 February 2005 21:16 (twenty-one years ago)

That's a very cool poster.

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 11 February 2005 22:02 (twenty-one years ago)

There could've been more black.

(It also looks like an upside down, B&W version of the Constantine poster, which itself reminds me of the Chinatown poster.)

― Leeeter van den Hoogenband (Leee), Friday, 11 February 2005 22:06 (twenty-one years ago)

I think I see Keanu in the right rockface.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 11 February 2005 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

Homina, homina, homina, tv spots:
http://www.worldofkj.com/batmanbeginsTVa.php

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 15:41 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...

CREEEEEEPY SCARECROW:
http://img43.exs.cx/img43/1153/batman_begins_scarecrow1_1097175512.jpg

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 19 April 2005 18:04 (twenty years ago)

It's gonna be great! < /completely optimistic>

I'll see it 3 times!

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 18:05 (twenty years ago)

three weeks pass...

Have we mentioned the fire-breathing horses yet?

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/batman_begins/trailer4/large.html

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

I'm feel a geek-out coming! Well, everything that hasn't to do with the stupid, nu-metal Batmobile, and everything to do with Ms. H3rp3s H01m3s.

― Lee (Leee), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:26 (twenty years ago)

I'm actually cool with the Bat-Mo-Sheen, cuz it's sorta like the thing Batman drives in DKR.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:41 (twenty years ago)

So. Damn. Excited.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:50 (twenty years ago)

Point; but I'm afraid that it'll only underscore the macho tackiness of the chase scenes (judging by the trailer).

But another good in its favor: Brucey opening the closet with the COWL looking back at him and the shadows oboy!

― Lee (Leee), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:52 (twenty years ago)

OPTIMOTHERF*CKINGMATISM AHOYHOY

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:02 (twenty years ago)

macho tackiness, you realize this is Batman we're talking about, right?

Aside from the whole K8E H01m3s rides the subway business, this movie seems to be ALL ABOUT man-man relationships and Bruce's actual quest, not for justice, but for a father figure.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:11 (twenty years ago)

Which completely reconciles his need for youthful wards!

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:14 (twenty years ago)

But Batman is REALLY about taco matchiness!

― Le (Leee), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 19:23 (twenty years ago)

I am beginning think L1am Neeson is now doomed to play wise old teachers of hot young protogees in fantasy/historical epics for the rest of his career. Which would be a waste.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 19:58 (twenty years ago)

I was thinking just the other day that he's what actually gave TPM a bit of class. Also that he must have watched Sanjuro a few times beforehand.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 12:17 (twenty years ago)

I'd love for this to pave the way for a Nightwing movie. Partly because Robin, even the Teen Wonder version, seems to disinterest the more auteristic Bat-directors.

― The Irrelevant Man (Negativa) (Barima), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 12:27 (twenty years ago)

BLUDHAVEN: DENIED!

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 12:40 (twenty years ago)

The Batman Adventures: The Missing Years is probably the best Robin -> Nightwing story ever, despite the terrible, terrible hair.

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 11 May 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

Not to get to off-topic (by raising doubts), but am I the only one who suspects David Goyer might be a big of a, um, how do I say this diplomatically, douchebag?

In the June issue of Premiere magazine there is a very interesting article along with new photos. The article is about Batman Begins being a restart, and has new information from Goyer, Nolan, and Bale. Also, the magazine has some exclusive information about future Bat-Films.

Writer David Goyer talks about possible sequels and says (spoilers ahead) [THAT'S SPOILERS A-COMIN', FOLKS - MOD.], "The next one would have Batman enlisting the aid of Gordon and [Harvey] Dent [aka Two-Face] in bringing down the Joker... but not killing him, which is a mistake they made in the first one." The article then says that "In the third, the Joker would go on trial, scarring Dent in the process."

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 11 May 2005 19:36 (twenty years ago)

Er, BIG = BIT.

And "douchebag" is too strong. I'm just not sure I like the idea of him as the official usher of all comics to movies ever.

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 11 May 2005 19:37 (twenty years ago)

I'm just preparing myself for the day that Chr!stian B@le is on every single magazine cover in the world this June. Which wouldn't have been bad when I was 14 and knew all the songs and dances in Newsies, but now I just feel bad for this as he seems to shy away from publicity a lot.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 20:11 (twenty years ago)

i generally hate comic book/superhero bullshit but im looking forward to this actually.

― latebloomer: B Minus Time Traveler (latebloomer), Thursday, 19 May 2005 17:22 (twenty years ago)

HOLY SHIT, some serious hardcore nerdery going on...http://imdb.com/title/tt0372784/fullcredits

scroll down and you'll see: Tim Booth .... Victor Zsasz

which is the birth name of Vic Sage, crusading TV journalist who sheds his identity by night to fight crime as the faceless QUESTION!!!

― Huk-L, Thursday, 19 May 2005 19:53 (twenty years ago)

What the hell is the lead singer of James doing on a IMDB thread?

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 19 May 2005 19:54 (twenty years ago)

AND I just noticed that it's Tim Booth, from James! WTF!?!?!?!?!?!

also, there's a "Barbara Gordon" playing a nameless Gotham Cop.

xpost

― Huk-L, Thursday, 19 May 2005 19:55 (twenty years ago)

Isn't Zsasz also some sort of serial killer notches on his arm guy, or am I thinking of someone else?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 19 May 2005 20:04 (twenty years ago)

Is that Zsazs or Szasz?

(yes, such a dude exists)

― Huk-L, Thursday, 19 May 2005 20:06 (twenty years ago)

Internet says:

Victor Zsasz = serial killer

Charles Victor Szasz = Vic Sage

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 19 May 2005 20:10 (twenty years ago)

I was just about to post the same thing. So I guess James-Man will be a badguy, and not a plug for the upcoming Objectivist Superhero Masterpiece: THE QUESTION!

dang.

― Huk-L, Thursday, 19 May 2005 20:11 (twenty years ago)

http://www.slushfactory.com/news/newspics/111802-M27__Zsasz.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/batmanonfilm/bofimagesbofimages/timbooth1.jpg

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 19 May 2005 20:14 (twenty years ago)

He's competing with Jarvis Cocker's upcoming role in Harry Potter IV.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Thursday, 19 May 2005 20:19 (twenty years ago)

OH MY EYES!!!
there's a supposed Batman Begins leak out there in the filesharingverse, but it is NOT, repeat NOT Batman Begins. It is dirty porn of the the worst legal kind.

― Huk, Monday, 30 May 2005 06:23 (twenty years ago)

On a more postive note, advance review:
http://www.buzzscope.com/features.php?id=985

― Huk-L, Monday, 30 May 2005 14:54 (twenty years ago)

I've got tickets for an advance screening on the 6th. It's free, so even if the movie's crap I can't really complain.

― Leon Federline (Ex Leon), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

Oh, cool. Do report back, but mind the spoilers. After my porn fiasco, I've decided that God wants me to see this movie virginally.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 14:10 (twenty years ago)

five star BBC review

i want to believe.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 09:11 (twenty years ago)

This is going to be completely humourless, isn't it?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 09:43 (twenty years ago)

Yes, because there is nothing funny about a man dressing up as a bat.

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 09:44 (twenty years ago)

well, apparently Oldham is playing Gordon in a slapstick, Sellers/Clouseau fashion, as a counterpoint to the darkness of Bale's Batman. they were worried that the film would just come off as totally po-faced, so Nolan decided to use Gordon to inject the needed humour.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 11:20 (twenty years ago)

TS Humorless vs.
http://img201.echo.cx/img201/3692/batshark9wi.gif

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 12:18 (twenty years ago)

I loved it! Mind you, I have never read the Batman comics so most of my knowledge of Batman comes from the movies and Batman: the animated series. So I don't know if someone who's a fan of the comics will like it as much as I did, but I thought it was a lot of fun. Even though it's about two hours long it doesn't drag on the way, say, Revenge of the Sith did. I will probably even go see it again.

― Leon hearts Crazy Frog (Ex Leon), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 12:38 (twenty years ago)

To be honest even though I like shark-fighting Batman and think it's about time to give Miller a rest, I am looking forward to this.

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 12:46 (twenty years ago)

Bad new yorker review, but denby doesn't count:
www.newyorker.com/critics/cinema/articles/050613crci_cinema

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 13:48 (twenty years ago)

That's the whole Bat-Truth, though, isn't it, Tom?
The very key to the character's longevity is his adaptability. There's this arch-rockist mindset that Miller-Bat is "Batman done right", but that's a complete load of bullshit. If Batman hadn't fought giant orange koalas from the Ninth Dimension in the 50s, and veered towards true romance under Carmine Infantino in the 60s, he would have gone the way of...um, nearly every other superhero who was around in 1951.
And even Miller's Batman, for all his snarling masculinity, has moments of High Camp. Especially in The Dark Knight Returns--Year One was basically Taxi Driver in tights--and, fuck, what was The Dark Knight Strikes Again if not a stunning failure to reconcile Adam West with, um, moody-Bats?

Christopher Nolan is crime thriller director, so he's made THAT kind of Batman movie. There's no reason why someone couldn't make a wonderful Bat-Farce.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 7 June 2005 13:49 (twenty years ago)

I'm fine with BroodyBats as a character who other, more rounded characters react to (as in Gotham Central) but as the focus of a story he gets on my nerves.

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, there's nowhere to go characterwise, with that, unless you actually allow Batman to deal with some of his issues, and if he could deal with his issues, he wouldn't be Batman, so it's a no-win situation if you wanna do character work with Batman.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 7 June 2005 14:06 (twenty years ago)

Christian Bale backs me up here (not really):

Actor Christian Bale showed off his comics prowess at Sci Fi Wire, saying ""I liked the artwork of Alex Ross, but my favorites were the Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale stories. I've read a damn lot of them, all that DC sent me. I don't feel like Batman's ever really been defined in any portrayal, so I felt like this was an opportunity to finally do that, in regards to way that Bob Kane originally intended it when he wrote it in 1939. He intended it as being a dark and terrifying and intimidating character. It's kind of ended up being spoofed more. And then there's great material in the newer graphic novels of Frank Miller and Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. So the source material is right there, and I just don't think it was ever taken advantage of until now. With 'Superman,' you can really look at Christopher Reeve and the way that he played it, and he's become the defining Superman. Whoever's playing him in the next one has got a really tough job to come up against him. I don't feel like that ever happened with 'Batman' before, so I felt like I had an opportunity to expand and bring something new to it."

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 7 June 2005 14:20 (twenty years ago)

I liked the artwork of Alex Ross

― Leeeeee (Leee), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 15:17 (twenty years ago)

but my favorites were the Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale stories

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 7 June 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

Hey, at least he read some comics.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 15:33 (twenty years ago)

If only he had read "The PLAYA On The Other Side!"

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 7 June 2005 15:34 (twenty years ago)

There's no reason why someone couldn't make a wonderful Bat-Farce.

-- Huk-L (handsomishbo...), June 7th, 2005.

um, http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0790732912.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

― latebloomer: Pain Don't Hurt (latebloomer), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 16:44 (twenty years ago)

KEYWORD: WONDERFUL

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 7 June 2005 16:47 (twenty years ago)

ICE TO MEET YOU

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 17:18 (twenty years ago)

Sorry - the previous post should be:

PROGNOSIS: NEGATIVE

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 17:19 (twenty years ago)

Seriously, check this shit out: http://www.radiolovers.com/pages/batman.htm

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 7 June 2005 17:22 (twenty years ago)

way that Bob Kane originally intended it when he wrote it

― kit brash (kit brash), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 21:40 (twenty years ago)

THE HEART! THE HEART is in the right place, and that's what matters! Details schmetails.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 22:01 (twenty years ago)

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