War of the King Bat? Curious? Well, actually I am just combining the names of three movies I want to comment on.

BATMAN BEGINS

This movie was awesome. It is my favorite Batman movie so far. Even though I read a lot about how this movie had a lot at stake due to how bad the last one was, I liked the last one. It was corny, but I loved Arnold in it, and thought it captured the ‘comic book’ feeling of a cartoon comic with flambouyant characters and over the top action and corny one liners. I don’t think it is fair to compare the last one with Batman Begins, because the entire premise is drastically different. This Batman is a modern batman – it takes place in our world, in our day. There is a lot of screen time devoted to how Bruce Wayne learns his non-supernatural powers for fighting. It made the story believeable.

Best part: When Batman actually summons bats to his aid – that gave me goosebumps. (Not a spoiler, its in the trailer) The batmobile is pretty cool too. I think I could drive one of those.

Downside? Katie Holmes is cute, but felt out of place in this movie – way too young to be a powerful downtown DA – and (like Padme in EP3) totally unbelievable in her declarations of love. Go back to Dawson’s Creek girl, leave Gotham to the pros.

Best line: At one point in the movie Katie (forgot her character’s name) sees her true love trying to act as a billionaire playboy. He has two ‘babes’ on his arms and is driving a fancy car and is only playing the part of rich spoiled son of a billionaire at Alfred’s request (to remove any suspicion of him at maybe being the ‘Bat’) – she sees him and is hurt/disapproves. He wants to tell her this is all a front, but can’t as they are in public. He tries to say, ‘this, what you see, this isn’t me‘ but she replies something to the effect: “It’s not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you” unknowing of course, of the real actions he is taking at great personal risk. It is a good scene because you want her to know the truth – but her words cut in – it’s not what you say that counts, its what you DO that counts. And that is a line worth taking home from the theater.

WAR of the WORLDS

Just went to see War of the Worlds. In many ways I agree with my little bro’s anaylsis:

…it is a lot more intense and more visually stunning than its 1950s version. Spielberg sure knows how to create an intense scene. Besides Morgan Freeman’s narration — one of the coolest movie voices out there, along with James Earl Jones — there really is not a whole lot of explanation for anything……. there is a lack of a plot. That’s fine, though, because the movie was really in the spirit of the Wells novel. The tripods really looked like all the old classic artwork you’ve seen — not like the wimpy alien tripods constructed in the version 50 years ago….. the movie revolves around Cruise’s family and his quest to keep them together and reunite them in the end while massive alien machines obliterate the planet. Why the aliens come, you never really know, and how they eventually are taken down, is only loosely explained. But those two parts consist of just a brief intro/conclusion. It’s the middle part of the film where there is utter destruction and it’s all very well done. I was leaning forward and biting my nails for a good chunk of the film — especially in the scene that takes place in actor Tim Robbins’ basement. You’ll see what I’m talking about…..

Sara and I enjoyed it too, and I agree it is a Big Screen movie. There was some parts that were kinda gross, but the vast images of destruction were visually spectacular. It does bug me that in so many movies today, we root for the main characters, but seem numb or indifferent to those who die. (the ending narrative says that a billion people died.) Each of those billion had ’stories’ too – people they loved, homes, hopes, dreams… but we only see them as vaporized victims or bodies floating down a river. The fact that the main characters survive somehow still leaves me unsatisfied that so many others perish. While I enjoyed the suspense and the action, I did feel the movie just moved along without really building, and there never was a climax. I love movies like True Lies where you think you are at the climax and it just keeps getting more intense, the and actors’ situations keep getting more and more impossible, and yet you know somehow they will conquer this foe/challenge. Tom and family do nothing heroic, nothing daring, and in fact, make a lot of stupid decisions and should have died. The movie could have been titled “The Luckiest Family on Earth.” They stayed in the worst locations running with the masses instead of employing any survival strategy. I couldn’t find any reason to root for them, other than they were the only people in the movie we were introduced to. And the fact that he was a loser divorced dad really made me wonder why I was supposed to root for him over many other characters who were probably better people who were just wiped out. In the end, this movie was fun and thrilling but left me very unsatisfied. Independance Day may have been far fetched, but at least when it ended you had someting to cheer about.

KING KONG

OK, I know, this movie isn’t even out, but it was the first trailer in a long time that people cheered and clapped after. It is AWESOME and not just because the main characters name is Karl. (DOWNLOAD HERE) I thought Lion the Witch and Wardrobe was the movie I was most looking forward to, but now I am very conflicted. King Kong looks to be a bit scary for kids, but looks to me like what Jurassic Park was supposed to be.

Let me know what you thought of Batman or War of the Worlds via COMMENTS.