Those rabbit bastards ate the leaves off of my sunflowers.

Batman Begins

Ten reasons why 'Batman Begins' is the best of all the Batman Movies (In no particular order)



1. Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't in it.
2. I can actually buy Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne. (Sorry Keaton, you were much to one-sided, Clooney-too short, Kilmer-too pussy....There's no crying in Batman.)
3. Gotham doesn't look like a perma-frost wasteland (Burton), Nor a Las Vegas casino (Schumacker). It achieved a feel for Gotham that made it seem like it's own living-breathing character. Though comics and movies can't always have a 100% translation, the comic books provided a very good template for gotham on which to work from; Burton and Schumacker ignored it. They treated the city and the characters as if their original substance meant nothing, as if what made them good comic book characters (and settings) meant absolutely nothing to the big screen.
4. The story was actually about Batman. In the first 4 Batman movies, the stories were about zany villains and Batman figuring out the best way to beat 'em up. In 'Batman Begins', Ra's Ah-Guhl was infused in the story of Batman's origin, that progressed into a story about Bruce Wayne finding a way to save his city.
5. No unnecessary villains (for the sake of cramming in as much crap as possible). In Batman Begins, there are actually 3 villains, and yet their stories are intertwined (Not just "Lets join forces to kill the bat").
6. Doesn't rely on a corny love story to tell a personal story about Bruce Wayne; Yes we get it, it's hard to have a love life and be Batman at the same time, (or in the case of Batman and Robin, a corny story about Alfred dying meant to squeeze a tear from my eye). Yes, Katie Holmes is in it, and there is some attraction between her and Bruce Wayne, but her character is mostly there to connect Batman with the city's legal community(She plays an A.D.A).
7. No ridiculous Batman "Theme" music. It was scored appropriately to fit the mood, not to let us know when Batman (or the Riddler, or Mr. Freeze) is on the screen.
8. No chest-armor nipples (at least that I could see).
9. Gags kept to a minimum. (Although I disliked Gordon saying "I gotta get me one of those" in reference to this movie's "bat"-mobile; which by the way is nothing more than a suped up streamlined futuristic army tank painted black)
10. Takes a more in-depth look at Bruce Wayne's family, which of course, is the driving force behind his character. Earlier films glossed over this (at best) in favor of more outlandish action sequences.

All these things are not to say that I hated previous batman movies, in fact, when it came out, batman forever had been my favorite to date. Mind you, I was 12 at the time, and was 8 when Tim Burtons first Batman was released. I'm almost happy for the 8 year gap from the last movie in order that I may take a more mature look at the current film and the franchise as a whole. I suspect that 1989 was too early of a time in cinematic development (special effects, filmographic techniques, what-have-you) for a batman movie. And though no disrespect to fans of the original Superman series of movies, I feel it was too early for those as well. Up until recently, directors have taken too many liberties with comic book characters, changing or ignoring core elements of the characters that made them popular in the first place. I don't even feel this was intentional, just a side-effect of the immaturity of the super-hero movie genre. Though I hate to admit it (because I'm not a huge huge fan...) Sam Raimi's Spider-Man was what raised the bar. I feel it was the first super-hero flick to understand that it was the character, not the costume, that made the comics popular.

While I'm writing about Batman, I should probably mention another Brilliant movie that came out recently; Layer Cake. I would write an in-depth review on it, but frankly, I wasn't able to fallow everything that happened. It's going to take a second viewing for me.

The Downing Street Memo

Assossiated Press - Downing Street Memo

The press is calling this "The Smoking Gun". I'm calling it "Another Smoking Gun".

PBS and NPR

The fallowing is an email that's been circulation from moveon.org:
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Hi,

You know that email petition that keeps circulating about how Congress is slashing funding for NPR and PBS? Well, now it's actually true. (Really. Check at the bottom if you don't believe me.)

Sign the petition telling Congress to save NPR and PBS:

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

A House panel has voted to eliminate all public funding for NPR and PBS, starting with "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow," and other commercial-free children's shows. If approved, this would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting, threatening to pull the plug on Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch.

The cuts would slash 25% of the federal funding this year—$100 million—and end funding altogether within two years. The loss could kill beloved children's shows like "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Arthur," and "Postcards from Buster." Rural stations and those serving low-income communities might not survive. Other stations would have to increase corporate sponsorships.

Already, 300,000 people have signed the petition. Can you help us reach 400,000 signatures today?

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

Thanks!

P.S. Read the Washington Post report on the threat to NPR and PBS at:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=745
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This next little bit is the comments I made in my letter to my senetors and representative upon signing the petition:
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If you are against the proposed cuts, I applaud you in your wisdom. If however, you are in favor of this monumental mistake, I urge you to ponder the fallowing words carefully:

I know conservative leadership has never been a fan of NPR and PBS citing its liberal slant. In light of these new developments I am no longer keeping a tight-lipped, polite stance on the matter. I propose that they do not have a "liberal slant" but an "informed slant"; an "educated slant". I have my personal theories, however I don't have the time or energy to study the conservative mindset to understand why being educated is being demonized in modern America. I don't have the energy for that, but I do have the time and energy to do everything in my meager power to fight for, and spread the word about this issue.
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By the way, the initial letter says 300,000 have joined the petition, the number is actually past 700,000 now. So if you think this is some half-baked campaigne that's going nowhere, think again. Go to the site, fill it out, and though it is optional, I urge you to write in a personal comment.

The older I get, the more I realize how much more immature older people are than younger ones. I experience things, and Ashley tells me things about people at her work that no child I've ever known would do. Next time you tell a child to grow up, look in the mirror first.

I'm having a most frustrating week. I'm getting to the point where work is causing stress. Not only that, I can't sleep right now and I itch all over. Also, I have spent the last week fighting tooth and nail with my electronics and computers.

Someone tried to sell me drugs at 45 miles an hour on Fort Street yesterday. What has the world come to when you can't even wait for a red light to try to sell drugs.

If the new Star Wars trilogy had come out before the original trilogy, these idiots would be going on and on about how episodes 4,5,6 sucked and how 1,2,3 were genious. Shut up assholes, you don't like the new ones because they're new, not because there's anything seriously wrong with them. You would have gotten your tighty whities in a twist no matter what Lucas did with the new movies.