Batman Begins

Released: 2005

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, and language

Cast: Christian Bale, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Ken Watanabe, Morgan Freeman

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Runtime: 2 Hrs. 20 Mins.

Favorite Quotes: “Death does not wait for you to be ready! Death is not considerate, or fair! And make no mistake: here, you face Death.” “You must become more than just a man in the mind of your opponent.” “You start pretending to have fun, you might even have a little by accident.” “A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification. He can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can’t stop you, then you become something else entirely.”

Summary (from IMDB): Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight’s emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents’ murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.

The Bad Stuff:

-Katie Holmes isn’t very good. She could have done a lot more with her character. I am glad she isn’t in the next movie.

The Good Stuff:

-The script is very well written. After the last two movies, anything remotely better would seem like Shakespeare. This is infinately better than those two and better then the first two.

-The entire cast, excluding Holmes, gives fantastic performances. Bale is perfect for the role. He made Batman/Bruce Wayne something new and original. Murphy brought one of my favorite villians to life and didn’t disappoint. Neeson is a fantastic bad guy. Caine’s portrayal of Alfred is amazing. No one held back and made the movie all that more enjoyable.

-Christopher Nolan brought something exciting and real to the francise. The past movies turned more and more cartoony and lame as they went. This tore Batman out of blacklight filled alleys and threw him into the underbelly of a rotting city (which is exactly where he should be).

-This is the Batman that is very true to the comic. One that could be pushed over the edge at any minute. It is great to watch.

This movie brought a Batman that fans of the comic and the general public love and line up to see. It has a great story, great acting, and great direction. It brought the francise out of the toilet and made it better than ever. It should not be missed by anyone who loves Batman.

Batman and Robin

Released: 1997

Rated PG-13 for violence

Cast: George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, Uma Thurman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough

Rating: 3 out of 10

Runtime: 2 Hrs. 5 Mins.

Favorite Quotes: “There is no defeat in death, Master Bruce. Victory comes in defending what we know is right while we still live.” “I hate to disappoint you but my rubber lips are immune to your charms.” “You’re not sending ME to the COOLER!” “Why is it that all the beautiful ones are homicidal maniacs? Is it me?” “Ice to see you!” “What killed the dinosaurs? The Ice Age!” “In this universe, there’s only one absolute… everything freezes!” “If revenge is a dish best served cold, then put on your Sunday finest. It’s time to feast!” “Allow me to break the ice. My name is Freeze. Learn it well. For it’s the chilling sound of your doom” “The Ice Man cometh!”

Summary (from IMDB): Mr. Freeze plans on taking Gotham City hostage by freezing the town into a permanent winter. In the meantime, a new seductive villainous, Poison Ivy, has appeared to cause a rift in the partnership of Batman & Robin. While all this is happening, faithful butler Alfred is dying. Mr. Freeze holds the key to save his life. Enter Batgirl to help save the day.

The Bad Stuff (where to begin?):

- Nipples on the bat-suit? Really?

- They ruined the character of Bane. He is supposed to very well-spoken and charming. They turned him into a goliath that can only say his name.
- Poison Ivy is supposed to be hot, not Uma Thurman.
- Mr. Freeze has the same problem as Bane. He is supposed to be very smart, very well-spoken, and look like a scientist. Instead, they have Arnold.

- Clooney makes a terrible Batman.
- Not only had two main bad guys for Batman to fight, but they added another side villain on top of them.
- Joel Schumacher shouldn’t have been given another chance with a Batman movie.
- Alicia Silverstone sucks. Bad. Her line delivery of, “No, I’ve got you.” is awful, but unbelievably quotable.
- Robin is a huge tool. More in this one than the rest of the movies with Robin in them.

The Good Stuff:

- Michael Gough returned as Alfred.
- George Clooney made a great Bruce Wayne.
- On the IMDB message boards of this movie, someone started a thread entitled “1,000 things you learned from watching Batman and Robin”. It has some pretty funny stuff in it.

Overall, I say watch this movie to appreciate how good the others really are. It is really bad and you will get in a few cheap laughs.

Batman Forever

Released: 1995

Rated PG-13 for violence and language

Cast: Val Kilmer, Chris O’Donnell, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Michael Gough

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Runtime: 2 Hrs. 2 Mins.

Favorite Quotes: “Ah. Fortune smiles. Another day of wine and roses. Or, in your case, beer and pizza!” “Riddle me this, what sort of a man has bats on the brain?” “For if knowledge is power, then a GOD AM *I*! Was that over the top? I can never tell.” “By the way, do you have a first name, or do I just call you Bat?” “You have broken into our hideout. You have violated the sanctity of our lair. For this we should crush your bones into POWDER. However, you do pose a very interesting proposition: therefore, heads, we accept, and tails, we blow your damned head off!”

Summary (from IMDB): Batman’s third film follows the practice of the second by giving him two villains to face, Two-Face and the Riddler. Two-Face blames Batman for his disfigurement and simply wishes him dead. The Riddler is a disgruntled inventor who worked for Wayne Enterprises and is terribly jealous of Wayne’s success and sophistication and uses his riddles to show his superiority over Wayne and Batman. Added to this mix are a sexy abnormal psychologist who is not only studying the criminals, but has a thing for Batman as well and Dick Grayson, is introduced. Gotham is still a dark and foreboding place in which Batman begins to come to grips with his own psychology as he relives the deaths of his parents in his dreams.

The Bad Stuff:

-Again, the whole two main bad guys thing. I am not a fan.
-They made The Riddler and Two-Face very cartoony villians. I understand that this was a very different approach from the previous two movies, but the majority of Batman villians are supposed to be a little scary. This made them goofy and light-hearted.
-Something that only fans of the comic or ’90s cartoon show would know: At one point, Two-Face is flipping a coin constantly to get the outcome that he wanted. He wouldn’t do this. He would see the result of the first flip and go with whatever it said.
-Val Kilmer makes an ok Batman, but a terrible Bruce Wayne.
-Robin is a tool. Again.
-The new suits aren’t as cool as the old ones.
-I didn’t know Gotham was filled with blacklights…
-The new Batmobile sucked.

The Good Stuff:

-Michael Gough is a great Alfred.
-There are some really cool action scenes.
-Nicole Kidman is really hot.

This definately is not as good as the previous two movies. However, it has its moments. This would be a good first Batman movie to younger kids who might get frightened by Nicholson’s Joker or DeVito’s Penguin.

Batman Returns

Released 1992

Rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing images.

Cast: Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Runtime: 2 Hrs. 6 Mins.

Favorite Quotes: “Well, that was very brief. Just like all the men in my life.” “I was their number one son, and they treated me like number two.” “Honey, I’m home. Oh, I forgot. I’m not married.” “You gotta admit I played this stinkin’ city like a harp from hell.” “You poor guys. Always confusing your pistols with your privates.”

Summary (from IMDB): …megalomaniac businessman Max Shreck sets a plot against Gotham City in motion. He is joined by Penguin, a deformed and rather deranged man abandoned at birth by respectable parents. Penguin, backed by hoodlums and real penguins, runs for mayor. The plot is further complicated by Selena, a wronged secretary who transforms into Catwoman, a villain with mixed motives.

The Bad Stuff:

-This one isn’t as good as the first movie. It is still good, but it is missing something that the first one had. I am not sure what it is, though.
-I am not a huge fan of the whole “Let’s put Batman up against 2 bad guys” thing. Catwoman could have a whole movie to herself, at least one that doesn’t suck. (Catwoman)

The Good Stuff:

-Danny DeVito makes a great Penguin.
-Michael Keaton is awesome, again.
-Again, the directing, acting, production design, and music really work together to make this a great movie.
-Michelle Pfeiffer is unbelievably hot.

While not being as good as the first, it holds its own in the series. Definately worth the watch.

Batman

Released: 1989

Rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing images.

Cast: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Michael Gough, Jack Palance, Tracey Walter, Pat Hingle

Rating: 9 out of 10

Runtime: 2 Hrs. 6 Mins.

Favorite Quotes: “Haven’t you ever heard of the healing power of laughter?” “I’ve recently had a tragedy in my life. Alicia…threw herself out of the window. But, you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs.” “Where does he get those wonderful toys?” “Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?” “You IDIOT! You made me. Remember? You dropped me into that vat of chemicals. That wasn’t easy to get over, and don’t think that I didn’t try.”

Summary (from IMDB): After a young boy witnesses his parents’ murder on the streets of Gotham City, he grows up to become the Batman - a mysterious figure in the eyes of Gotham’s citizens - who takes crime-fighting into his own hands. He first emerges out of the shadows when the Joker appears - a horribly disfigured individual who is out for revenge on his former employer and generally likes to have a good time.

The Bad Stuff:

- Kim Basinger isn’t very good. She looks pretty and screams. That is pretty much it.

The Good Stuff:

- This movie is awesome. It set the bar very high for all Batman movies to live up to.
- Michael Keaton makes a great Batman and Bruce Wayne. In some of the later movies, the actors are either a good Wayne or a good Batman. I will talk about those movies when I get to them.
- The combination of Danny Elfman’s music and Prince’s is great.
- Jack Nicholson is a fantastic Joker.

This is a great introduction to the Batman franchise. Tim Burton’s vision fit perfectly. The acting, art design, direction, casting, and music all worked together very well. It has a great blend of comedy, action, and drama. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes Batman or a good action flick.

Batman

Released: 1966

Rated PG for violence.

Cast: Adam West, Burt Ward, Lee Meriwether, Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin

Rating: 8 out of 10 for pure nostalgia

Runtime: 1 Hr 45 Mins

Favorite Quotes: “Penguin, Joker, Riddler… and Catwoman, too! The sum of the angles of that rectangle is too monstrous to contemplate!” “The Riddler is loose to plague us with his criminal conundrums.” “They may be drinkers, Robin, but they’re still human beings.” “Some days, you just can’t git rid of a bomb.”

Summary (from IMDB): When Batman and Robin are called out to rescue Commodore Schmidlapp, they are unaware that they are actually being fooled and the real Schmidlapp is being kidnapped by four of Batman’s most feared enemies. The Catwoman, The Joker, The Penguin and The Riddler are working together to try and take over the world once and for all.

The Bad Stuff:

- There is no bad stuff, if you don’t take this movie seriously. If you do, you will find a lot of things that are wrong or stupid. If you don’t, you can sit back and get lost in the obsurdity of it.
- Actually, there is one bad thing. Robin is a tool.

The Good Stuff:

- This is easily one of the most quotable movies ever. The lines themselves (and the deliveries by the actors) are classic.
- Meriwether (Kitka/Catwoman) is hot.
- If you liked the old TV show, you will love this movie. It has everything that the show had, including the “Pow!” and “Whack!” anytime someone gets hit.

- This movie has everything. Including, but not limited to: dehydrated pirates that get rehydrated, a bomb that is in shark which is biting Batman’s leg, a submarine that is painted to look like a penguin, the best aliases ever (P. N. Guin for example), the longest stare directly down the lense of the camera ever, drawn on eyebrows and nose, and so much more.

I think I might be a little biased towards this movie because I was raised on it. I don’t know how many times I watched it, rewound it, and watched it again. It is a classic that will never die.

In addition to reviewing all the previous films we plan to break down the differences between them all such as the various actors who have played Batman and compare and contrast the best of the best and the worst of the worst. Something I look forward to is a comparison to what each director has given to ‘the bat.’ Christopher Nolan has done some amazing things with the newer Batman movies but it is hard too look past the dark and twisted feel that Tim Burton had in his films. Joel Schumacher definitely brought his own style to the Batman movies (read: suckiness).

ChubbyHands will also be doing a retrospective of Batman with drawings depicting various versions of Batman from the stubby-eared classic costume to a dark and twisted interpretation. So sit back and enjoy the ride and be sure to voice your opinions on the franchise, the characters, the actors and anything Batman. The staff can’t wait for The Dark Knight to come out. You can bet that we will all be in line on opening night.

With the numbers that Sony has just released the questions that were around before the system was released have re-surfaced. Is Sony selling the Playstation 3 too cheap? I am a big Playstation 3/Sony fan and being that I think gives me the opportunity to give a look into that question and others that most people can not give. “Was The Playstation 3 Worth It?”: The Good will be the first part to my three part article. This part, entitled The Good, will talk about the things that make the Playstation 3 worth the amount of money the Sony has spent in order to make the system.

After seeing the amount of money Sony has lost due to the Playstation 3 a couple of questions come to mind. Should Sony have used 6 or even 5 cell processors instead of 7? Does a home gaming system really need wireless internet? Did Sony choose correctly when they decided to charge nothing for online capabilities for each system?

My quick and dirty answer to all those questions is No. But, here is my long answer:

Sony has dominated the gaming universe for almost 15 years. During its reign of domination, Sony has learned what it takes for a gaming system to succeed. The Playstation was the pinnacle of home gaming systems when it was released in 1994, and continued its domination until Sony decided to make its replacement, the Playstation 2. Even when the Playstation 2 was only half way through its life, it had already claimed the title of the best gaming system to ever be created. Now with the Playstation 2 getting old and towards the end of its life, Sony has given the gaming world the beast that is known as the Playstation 3. With a track record like Sony’s does the question, “Was the Playstation 3 worth the cost?”, really need to be asked?

Sony is a business above anything else, and the goal of any business is to make a profit. If Sony did not think that the Playstation 3 would make them profit, they would have not spent all this money in research and development, advertising and marketing. In order for a business to make a profit, the business first has to spend money, and possibly incur a loss during the beginning in order to experience a profit. Sony is expecting the Playstation 3 to have a life of 10 years, and in just two years, it has experienced the amount of the loss dwindle by $1 billion. So lets do some math. If Sony’s losses due to the Playstation 3 never get any more than what they were in 2007, $2.16 billion, and lessens by $1 billion per year, then in a year and a half, starting now, Sony will actually be making profit on the Playstation 3.

These numbers represent profit from the Playstation 3. 2007 = -$2.16 billion, 2008 = -$1.16 billion, 2009 = -$.16 billion (-$160,000,000), 2010 = $.84 ($840,000,000)

That is right, by 2010 Sony could experience a profit off the Playstation 3 of $840 million. By 2010 Sony would incur a total of a $3.48 billion loss, but by 2013 Sony would realize a total profit of $3.84 billion year over year. Since the Playstation 3 was released at the end of 2006, its 10 years would be over in November of 2016. So from 2014 to 2016 Sony would be making profit off the system. As anyone can see though, there are many things that could change with my math. As the years go by, technology will advance and it will become cheaper for Sony to produce a Playstation 3. As the world moves into the Hi-Def era, Blu-ray players will become more necessary which will increase sales for the Playstation 3. With not just the USA economy experiencing a slowdown, but the whole world experiencing the same thing, the amount of disposable income that people will have will decrease which will take away the money that someone could use to buy a Playstation 3. With the 10 year life that Sony is expecting from the Playstation 3, the competition could put out a better system within 5 years slowing down the sell of the Playstation 3.

The Playstation 3 is a video game behemoth, there is no doubting that. It was built to usher in a new age of gaming the world has only dreamed about. To achieve the “next-gen” gaming experience, Sony decked the Playstation 3 with everything it would need to achieve that goal. Built-in hard drive, which can be upgraded, to store all of your saved game data and the things you download off the Playstation Store. Blu-ray optical eye to read the Blu-ray disks (currently 50 GB) that will eventually take over DVD as the main format. Blu-tooth to give the clearest and crispest connection available. Sixaxis in each controller to give a gaming experience like no other. HDMI output to show games in the highest resolution on the planet, 1080p. Free online access for everyone because playing with friends should be free. The ground breaking Nvidia RSX GPU to render graphics that have never been seen before. Not just one, but seven of IBM’s powerful Cell Processors to preform tasks only dreamed of before. But the Playstation 3 was not made solely for video games.

Along with the goal of making the best video gaming system Sony had another goal, to make the Playstation 3 the center of the owner’s entertainment world. Sony wants people to use their Playstation 3 not just to watch Blu-ray movies and play video games, but they want everything to revolve around the system. In order for the Playstation 3 to be used as a person’s center of their entertainment world at their house they needed to include certain elements that would meet all the needs of the owner.

One of the ways Sony tried to achieve that goal was the inclusion of the ability for the Playstation 3 to connect to the owner’s computer through a network and share files between the two. With this feature, the Playstation 3 has the capabilities of streaming music straight off the owner’s computer, saving hard drive space on the Playstation 3 for other things. Although, if the owner really loves a CD, the Playstation 3 can copy music from the computer or from an actual CD to its hard drive. On the XMB (Cross Media Bar) next to the Music icon, there is an icon for Photos. Sony knows that people love to show off their photos. They decided to add this feature in to give people a chance to display their pictures on the biggest frame in the house, the TV. The Photo section of the Playstation 3 acts a lot like the Music section, photos can be viewed through the Playstation 3 that are on a computer when connected to a network. If the owner wants one of their photos that is on their computer to be saved to their Playstation 3, there is an option to copy the image to the hard drive.

If that was not enough to give the Playstation 3 the power it needed to become the center of a person’s entertainment world, what else could Sony add to help it become that? Sony gave the Playstation 3 the ability to log on to the internet. It is the actual internet, not the cell phone version, or even a limited version, but the real internet. Everything works as it would if you were actually on a computer. You are able to open up to seven different windows, each with their own pages, and they are updated in real-time.

Tired of having to get out of your favorite chair in order to go on to your computer? Well the Playstation 3 can be your computer. Sony included the option to set aside part of the Playstation 3’s hard drive for use with an operating system. A few companies have came out with Playstation 3 exclusive operating systems, i.e. Linux. The Playstation 3 is able to connect wirelessly to any printer, so someone can print anything saved to the Playstation 3 hard drive. With the USB ports on the front of the Playstation 3, it gives easy access to a keyboard and mouse.

As anyone can see, Sony has pulled out all the stops in creating the Playstation 3, but was it worth it? Only time will tell if Sony made the right decision in putting so much money into the Playstation 3.

Look for the second part of my opinion on “Was The Playstation 3 Worth It?” coming soon.

The long awaited Playstation 3 video download service might be closer than expected. Kotaku.com recently found some information from the Sony mid-term company strategy meeting that shows the service might be hitting the Playstation 3 sometime in the summer of 08. The service will not only be a Playstation 3 thing, but it looks like the PSP will be getting the video download service around the same time. Sony is planning on bring this service to all its products through out the next couple of years, hoping to have everything incorporated into this by 2010.

Kotaku.com on Thursday reported about a new feature coming to the Playstation 3, “Life with Playstation”. The new feature will enable Playstation 3 users to check news and weather of any city in the world. When Life it loaded, a 3D representation of the Earth will be shown, giving the user the option of picking any city in the world and see what the headlines are there. While surfing the endless amounts of news articles the users will be able to load music to play in the background off their hard drive.

Hollow Man

Released: 2000

Rated R for strong violence, language and some sexuality/nudity.

Cast: Kevin Bacon, Elisabeth Shue, Josh Brolin, Kim Dickens, Greg Grunberg, Joey Slotnick

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Runtime: 1 Hr. 52 Mins.

Favorite Quotes: “You know what, Matt? It’s amazing what you can do… when you don’t have to look at yourself in the mirror any more.” “You don’t make history by following the rules, you make it by seizing the moment.”

Summary (from IMDB): After years of experimentation, brilliant but arrogant scientist Sebastian Caine has discovered a way to make matter invisible. Determined to achieve the ultimate breakthrough, Caine pushes his team to move to the next phase - using himself as the subject. The test is a success, but when the process can’t be reversed and Caine seems doomed to future without flesh, he begins to show some unexpected side effects of his extraordinary condition.

The Bad Stuff:

- This movie started out with a lot of potential, but quickly turns into an above average slasher movie.
- Shue’s character is an idiot. I blame the writing and directing. (Possible Spoiler Below)

She gets trapped in a freezer. The has a giant metal bar with her and a guy with a puncture wound. She gives him a quick fix and tries to figure out how to get out. After a few minutes of trying to get out, she gives up and starts crying. Hey! You have a giant metal bar! Beat the crap out of the cooling system. Once that goes, you will be able to think more clearly and won’t freeze. You didn’t even try to stop the fans blowing the cold air. I thought you were a scientist. Scientists should be smart and not idiots who I don’t care about.

- The bad guy is the person who I identified with the most. I wanted him to get away with everything that he was doing. All of the good guys, I could not care less about. They are lame and stupid. You are supposed to care about them, but I hoped that they would die.

The Good Stuff:

- Kevin Bacon gives a great performance. The amount of info that he gives with his tone of voice is amazing.
- The CG was way ahead of its time.

This movie isn’t the best. It was entertaining at the time, but the more I think about it, the more I don’t like the main “good guys” of the story. It is worth watching for the CG effects, Kevin Bacon’s performance, and the concept that it started with. After it turns into a slasher movie, it is laughable and predictable, but kinda fun.

The Ghost and the Darkness

Released: 1996

Rated R for some violence and gore involving animal attacks.

Cast: Val Kilmer, Michael Douglas, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Runtime: 1 Hr. 49 Mins.

Favorite Quotes: “Darling… you know how God invented liquor so the Irish wouldn’t rule the world. Well, I think he may have invented being stubborn so we can be the best at something.” “What better job in all the world than build a bridge? Bring land over water. Bring worlds together.” “I’m a monster. My only pleasure is tormenting those people who work for me.”

Summary (from IMDB): Set in 1898, this movie is based on the true story of two lions in Africa that killed 130 people over a nine month period, while a bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter try to kill them.

The Bad Stuff:

- Val Kilmer’s Irish accent comes and goes through the whole movie. While doing a great job with the character, the accent distracted a lot from a great performance.

- There are parts of the movie that didn’t actually happen. I hate it when movies add things to spice up the story, when they really aren’t needed.

- The acting is ok. Tom Wilkinson definitely gives the best performance, but isn’t in the movie much.

The Good Stuff:

- Michael Douglas’ character is great. He is probably the most interesting person in the movie. The only bad part is the fact that his character was added into the movie to help it sell.

- The tension is held very well from beginning to end.

- The lions were amazing.

Overall, this is a good movie. While not being the best, it tells an interesting and captivating story. There are parts that could have been done a bit better, but it is definately worth the watch.