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NEWS 549 - 95 Comments
From: Ross Entered on: July 15, 2008 1:10 PM
This is one of my favorite parts: The biggest unreal part of the way Batman's portrayed is the nature of his injuries. Most of the time, in the comics and in the movies, even when he wins, he usually winds up taking a pretty good beating. There's a real failure to show the cumulative effect of that. The next day he's shown out there doing the same thing again. He'd likely be quite tired and injured. I was just mentioning this fact to Heather the other day as we watched Batman Begins.  The trouble is, people just never fully heal from many types of injuries.  It wouldn't take long before Batman would have aged himself 20 years just from injuries alone.
From: BigFatty Entered on: July 16, 2008 7:32 AM
Batman certainly does Crossfit.  Plus they have the combat training scenarios to help a Battie out.  I watched one and realised that this traning certainly improves a violent situation.  You got to know what to do when dudes are swinging hard and  fast.  e l Man this sleeping pill as gotten me high,  The keyuboards are moving around some, makin typing strange.  The keys schange shap and they move.  The is a grauy collor was like on that Aha video,.  But the screen i smoving back kand foirth in cpntroll of a disqusting pile of fillllllllllllllllllllllllllll,   the keys are dtull mofing and slow potentiallllllllllllllllllllllllhhhh I is falling aparat, llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllFattysso
From: Bunky Entered on: July 16, 2008 1:09 AM
Swerb, when are you seeing The Dark Knight? I need a Swerb-Sweet report.
From: Swerb Entered on: July 16, 2008 7:03 AM
The Dark Knight: Saw it Tuesday night... Bells and Zilla and Bert have already heard me say how I've avoided reading all of the reviews and miscellaneous internet scuttlebutt... but just hearing people talking about the hype had me hyped up. Here's the sweet part: I think it pretty much lives up to that hype. Has Christopher Nolan improved his directorial skills? Yes, but probably not to the extent Bert and I would have liked. The car-chasey stuff is quite good (and is amazing to watch on IMAX - the group of gamer nerds (!) who attended the screening I was at cheered during some of this), but I get the feeling Bert is going to dislike some of the hand-to-hand fighting. Yet I contend it's better than Batman Begins in this respect. Is Heath Ledger as good as everyone says he is? Unequivocably, yes. It's stunning how entertaining he is. You know how everyone talked like Borat for six months? Well, everyone's going to be imitating Ledger's Joker... By no means is it a perfect movie, though... I have a couple of quibbles with it, but for the most part, the writing is excellent, and really dense and complicated. On a whole, the movie gave me a Michael Mann-type vibe, which is a very good thing. Needless to say, I can't wait to see it again... of course, further discussion pending, thereby preventing spoilers (Zilla!).
From: NickNick Entered on: July 16, 2008 7:36 AM
I'll definitely have to see it.  I can probably talk Megan in to going to see it with me. Swerb, on a completely different note since we can't talk about Batman.  Have you seen "The Fountain."???  Wondering what you thought about it.  Wondering what anyone else thought about it actually.  I'm kind of on the fence.  I think the artsy take on the colors and the camera work was a little overdone.  I thought it was a cool overall concept.  I also thought it was a little heavy in Hugh Jackman.
From: John Entered on: July 16, 2008 9:35 AM
Dudes, I can't wait! I'm going to K-Zoo with Swerb to see Step Brothers tonight, mostly to hang with Swerb, not for the movie. I'll have to get the Swerb report in person and see what I think. BTW, saw Hellboy 2 and liked it. It was entertaining with sweet visuals. I found it to be better than the first and all in all a fun movie.
From: Ross Entered on: July 16, 2008 11:04 AM
Saw Hellboy as well and agree... Better than the first, fun overall.
From: BigFatty Entered on: July 16, 2008 4:24 PM
Dudes.....  not to take away from Batman.... Which will be my first movie in theaters since 300.... but, man... my earlier post was for real!  That is some scary shit.  I took a sleeping pill 1/2 hour before bed and wanted to hit JA before then.  I can't believe how much F'ed up it made me.  That shit was no playing.. I typed shit has it was happening, and you can see, I lost coherency quickly.  I barely remembered it the next morning until I read it again. Bunkz... ask your husband... does a sleeping pill make you that much F'ed up??  It is perscription... Stilnox (EU Brand)... but it is different than anything else I have taken.
From: Bunky Entered on: July 16, 2008 5:34 PM
Stilnox is the EU brand name of Ambien.  The drug name is Zolpidem. Did you take 5mg, 10mg, or the CR? The side effects profile of Zolpidem are drowsiness, dizziness, and a "drugged" feeling. Other side effects may include include confusion, insomnia, euphoria, ataxia (balance problems), and visual changes. There have been reports sleep driving,  sleep walking, and carrying on usual daily routines without any recall of it happening. There have been several reports of this in the UK and Australia. The drug is under review in Australia and may undergo a label change to include this in the warnings. You also have to be careful if you are taking any other medications. It should only be used short term to regulate sleep patterns. If you have not slept for 7-8 hours after taking the med, you will have that drugged or hungover feeling. It is a powerful sleeping pill. It also has a quick onset and a half life of 2-3 hours. Molecularly, is different from a benzo, but has the same type of hypnotic effect. So yes, it can get Fatty whoooooooo f'd up.
From: jeurge Entered on: July 16, 2008 6:04 PM
And Fatty you should not drink alcohol with this med, I now that is sometimes your other sleep aide. But if I remeber correctly you have used Ambien before haven't you?
From: Bunky Entered on: July 16, 2008 6:25 PM
Yeah, alcohol is a big no-no.
From: Swerb Entered on: July 16, 2008 10:28 PM
Bunky said:   The side effects profile of Zolpidem are drowsiness, dizziness, and a "drugged" feeling. Other side effects may include include confusion, insomnia, euphoria, ataxia (balance problems), and visual changes... Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.
From: The Bone Entered on: July 16, 2008 11:12 PM
Nick Nick - I saw The Fountain and it's one of those movies where I really wasn't sure if I like it or not. It was intriguing and boring at the same time.   Bunky - I had a conversation with someone today who says Pharmacuetical sales is a morally and ethically bankrupt industry and the salespeople are push shit they know fucks people up and log calls on Doctors that they haven't even seen. Is this all true?
From: Swerb Entered on: July 16, 2008 11:38 PM
The Fountain: I enjoyed it quite a bit... especially the unique visual aesthetics. I'd agree, it feels longer than it is, but I got swept up in the tragic-love-story stuff and its contemplative tone. It's underrated, in my opinion. I'm also a fan of Aronofsky and Rachel Weisz, so there's my bias...
From: Bunky Entered on: July 16, 2008 11:52 PM
Bone, yes it is all true. There are some f'd up reps out there that completely milk the system. I hate pharma sales. I have been called by several recruiters and be offered alot more money, but morally could not promote the products. There are different types of reps. The Biotech and Medical Device sales are the higher level jobs. Primary Care sales sucks and I would never do it. Alot of the drugs are entry level sales and you have all the crap that everyone else has. Celebrex, Vioxx, Ambien, Prilosec, all the common drugs. The run around and load up the offices with samples. Doctors will write the drugs based on the relationship with the rep and not the needs of the patient. I just hit 10k on my work car that I got at the end of March. I work my ass off. I work for a small biotech company that is privately held, so you don't have all the BS you have with public companies who only give a shit about their stockholders. I don't carry samples, everything is shipped directly to the Hepatologist or Gastroenterolgist office that I call on. I will tell a doctor if they put a patient on my drug and the patient is inappropriate for therapy. I am very clear with the specialist about patients who are ideal candidates for therapy and patients who will have low success rate treatment. I also participate in several task forces in the Central Valley and boards that deal with my disease state. I will help patients get on therapy even if it's not my drug, as well as connecting them with financial assistance programs. The Big Pharma industry is exactly what your friend is saying. There have been alot of regs to change this because of the abuse. I know alot of people who made a lot of money and did very little. I worked for a specialty pharmacy for 10 years and was the Regional Sales Manager when I left. We were bought out and I did not agree with the philosophy of the new company who took over and so I quit. My boss was the rep in the territory I am in now and got promoted. I had worked with him for 3 years at my old job with his product, and he hired me because I wasn't tainted by pharma. He wanted someone who would be a patient advocate and not a pushy rep. I never let numbers be my focus. I have always maintained that if I earn the business, the sales will follow. It appears to work because I am always in the top ranks.
From: NickNick Entered on: July 17, 2008 7:29 AM
Yeah, Fatty.  That is definitely a scary experience.  I've had that happen to me but it was a result of accidental double dosing.  When you're an insomniac, you sometimes forget when you do things. My opinion is that any industry can become corrupt if people find a way to play the system the only way to avoid any corruption is to control the system completely, and that's not physically or morally possible.
From: Ross Entered on: July 18, 2008 7:51 AM
To bring this thread back into the neighborhood of its origins, I am taking the afternoon off work (and managed to con a bunch of coworkers into doing the same) and seeing Batman at 2:15 today.   Can't wait!  I won't post a spolieriffic review until after a significant fraction of the constituents have seen it, which I assume won't be too long...
From: John Entered on: July 18, 2008 12:37 PM
Ross said: To bring this thread back into the neighborhood of its origins, I am taking the afternoon off work (and managed to con a bunch of coworkers into doing the same) and seeing Batman at 2:15 today. Can't wait! I won't post a spolieriffic review until after a significant fraction of the constituents have seen it, which I assume won't be too long... What, what, what! You're seeing The Dark Knight before me! Oh, It's gone full bullshit.  My stepson saw it before me and now Bert. This cannot be tolerated and I will now be forced to assassinate the both of you.   I'm seeing it at 5:30 at IMAX today with Zills and family, can't wait. Swerb gave it the thumbs up and this is one time where I expect to agree with him. We actually agree more often than not, Once Upon A Time In The West not withstanding.
From: Ross Entered on: July 18, 2008 7:22 PM
Without a single spoiler, let me just say that it was off the hook sweet.  I give it every thumb I have, including the one I just pulled out of my ass.  No that does not mean I'm joking, I really did love it.  I can't wait to see it again. As for the fighting, Swerb, I agree: it was marginally better.  Not as annoying as before, definitely improved, but alas, it is still not nearly what it should be.  How many times do I have to see Batman do the same spinning block/arm bar maneuver?  Anyway, it was still an improvement in every respect, IMO.
From: Swerb Entered on: July 18, 2008 10:59 PM
My favorite part (and this is NOT REALLY A SPOILER): The Joker's "magic trick." Gasps were audible, including my own... Perhaps needless to say, I'm seeing it again on Sunday...
From: John Entered on: July 19, 2008 12:05 AM
I loved this movie and yeah, the action was by no means perfect but better than Batman Begins. I know this is stating the obvious but this was a dark movie in it's themes and execution. I will now point out more of the obvious below. Bale=Sweet! Eckhart=Full Sweet! Ledger=Fucking Sweet!   Oh, and I loved how Batman handled the Joker's semi truck, "he missed".
From: Ross Entered on: July 19, 2008 11:41 AM
I agree, the magic trick was awesome.  I would also add that although he's fairly well downplayed, Gary Oldman is full sweet as well.  I absolutely love him as Gordon and I'm soooo glad that they went with an actor of his caliber.  It adds so much more to the story, IMO.
From: The Bone Entered on: July 19, 2008 11:57 AM
I'm going to have to check in to the Batman today seeing as I'm slightly down for the count. I got a bacterial infection in my elbow a few days ago and the splashing water trick didn't seem to be working. After a night of full feverish delerium like you see in the movies, I managed to pull my self out of bed and hobble to the hospital. They gave me some shit and I have to go back monday to determine if it worked or if they're going to have to cut me open and drain the shit. Good times. So no surfing, fighting, or fonication today - that leaves only movie going. But I did run accross this sweet video of an Asian bully arsehurl trying to start a fight with some skinny kid who didn't want to fight. It seems the skinny kid new a little jiu jitsu and comes out triumphant. Check it out, it makes me happy.
From: Bunky Entered on: July 19, 2008 1:34 PM
Did they do a wound culture to see what kind of bacteria you are growing? I am guessing they gave you some IV antibiotics and sent you home on oral meds. No f'ing, surfing, or fighting? What's a Bone to do? If your infection is nasty looking, you should post a close up pic of the elbow so we can check it out.
From: John Entered on: July 19, 2008 1:33 PM
That was some funny shit, that's what that arsehurl gets. He was trying to look badass and ended up a bitchass.
From: Bunky Entered on: July 19, 2008 1:38 PM
Agreed Bells. He went down full bitch style and got a well deserved ass-whoopin'.
From: Ross Entered on: July 19, 2008 1:42 PM
What sucks is that his cronies were there to help him.  He still didn't get a full and proper beatdown, and appears to have gone away wanting more.  The world is full of dipshits.
From: John Entered on: July 19, 2008 2:40 PM
That reminds me of a funny story from back in middle school. I went to Burton middle school which Bert knows was a rough middle school in Grand Rapids. There was a kid Darren Blakley that happend to be related to the Maywethers, yes Floyd Maywether but at the time he was only 6, the same age as my sister. Most of the Maywether clan could whup ass so by that notion everyone thought Darren could too. Darren loved to talk shit and was good at it. One day he was talking shit to me and I heard enough and challenged him to a fight. We met in the bathroom later that day during lunch and of course he brought his cronies who were also talking shit. I knew I was in deep shit because even if I beat Darren I knew I couldn't beat all his cronies so I said to myself fuck it, if i'm going to get my ass beat I'll go down fighting. Darren started to talk shit and I just flew over to him punching him right in the nose and he fell back and hit the wall bleeding. I pinned him against the wall and pummeled his ass and in the middle of it all Darren says to his cronies, "get this guy off me before I kill him". His cronies were now laughing their asses off and one replied, "kill him, he's kicking your ass". I kicked his ass for a while and then his friends felt he had enough and stopped me but didn't kick my ass. With all the fighting that went on at Burton it was after that I realized there was some honor in it all. Nowadays I'm not sure that's how it goes in the tougher schools any more.  In fact Darren and I ended up being friends after that and I sat in the back of the class with him while he ragged on other  kids that were too afraid to confront him. In the end I was glad I decided  not to take it. This bring me to another story of a more shitty brand. I had a mechanical drawing class the next year in 8th grade. By this time I was a well established bully as Bert already knows. My teacher Mr. Engler would always leave class for prolonged periods of time. One day he left the class and the students did what they usually did, pick on a turdy little kid named Ivan. This day however was different, Ivan went full crazy. Ivan had had enough and even though I had teased him a little here and there that day I wasn't saying too much. Ivan decided for some reason to attack me. He threw wild punches in my direction and I told him you don't want to do that. The class was loving it and cheered for me to beat his ass. I felt bad, Ivan was small and weak and even thogh I was no big guy I was fast and fairly strong for my size. I dodged a few punches trying to dissuade Ivan in the mean time. He would have none of it. I felt my hand was forced and I warned him so I started to throw my own punches, pow right on the nose, (one of my favorite places to land a punch), Ivan went down and I told him to stay down. He popped back up and pow, back down again. The kids were calling for the "boots" their way of telling me to kick him while he was down. I didn't want to do it but he wouldn't stop so I gave him the boots. After a few kicks he begged me to stop and I did, fight over. There was a sink in this class for the wood working that also took place in this classroom and Ivan cleaned himself up. I felt shitty for what I had done but my friends thought it was hilarious. After class I tried to apologize to Ivan but he ignored me. So as it turns out I didn't feel sweet about every ass whupping I delt out.
From: Ross Entered on: July 19, 2008 6:56 PM
John said: I pinned him against the wall and pummeled his ass and in the middle of it all Darren says to his cronies, "get this guy off me before I kill him". His cronies were now laughing their asses off and one replied, "kill him, he's kicking your ass". I've heard this story numerous times before but it's good to have it here for posterity. What I wonder is, what did you think as this rather hilarious situation was unfolding at the time?  Did you find it funny in the moment, or was it only upon later reflection?  I would imagine you probably only could consider it after the fact.
From: Swerb Entered on: July 19, 2008 9:00 PM
I hadn't heard the Ivan story before... "the boots"... harsh! Apparently, the kid saw Bells as the representation of his many tormentors, and learned a harsh lesson about picking fights. Part of it is, Bells sort of had to defend himself. His Greek chorus was screaming for blood, however... It's a story possibly comparable to The Dark Knight in its examination of moral complexity.
From: John Entered on: July 20, 2008 10:07 AM
Bert, it was definately post fight that I was amused by how it went down. As for the Ivan story, it's not one I'm particularly proud of. I felt like an arsehurl after that one. I always wondered why he picked me though, it's not like he had a chance or could have thought he did given my reputation at the time. Burton was crazy, fights would break out on a nearly daily basis. Fatty chose to deal with it by hardly being there however my mom made sure I was there every day. I can't tell you how many times I was in the ally by Brann's restaurant in a scuffle, fun times.
From: Ross Entered on: July 21, 2008 9:56 AM
So has everyone seen The Dark Knight yet?  No one has posted their reviews?  Is it safe yet?
From: Radmobile Entered on: July 21, 2008 10:04 AM
I've seen it finally.  Our usual thater was sold out though so we had to take a chance and drive to another one but it was well worth it.  It's safe from my perspective.  I have one gripe with the movie (just a far fetched sequence/premise that I didn't care for) but for the most part it was full sweet.  I'll wait until someone else starts the spoiler-wagon moving though to go into any depth.
From: NickNick Entered on: July 21, 2008 10:30 AM
I haven't seen it yet, but will most likely have to wait until it's available on netflix.  The combination of lack of time, money and interest from the significant have greatly reduce my chances of seeing it. Oh well.  When I watch it at home, I'll spill something on the floor in front of my chair so the floor is sticky and grind a couple pieces of popcorn into the carpet so that it has that unique movie theatre feel to it. But spoiler away.  I'm not affected by finding facts out about the movie ahead of time.
From: Jackzilla Entered on: July 21, 2008 10:49 AM
Radmobile said: I've seen it finally. Our usual thater was sold out though so we had to take a chance and drive to another one but it was well worth it. It's safe from my perspective. I have one gripe with the movie (just a far fetched sequence/premise that I didn't care for) but for the most part it was full sweet. I'll wait until someone else starts the spoiler-wagon moving though to go into any depth. I assume you're talking about the whole cell-phone scenerio?  I didn't care for that either.  But, all in all, the movie was way sweet!  The cast is excellent all around providing emotional weight to everything, Joker is awesome, sweet action....  It should be enough to make Joel Schumacher kill himself from shame.  And it did pretty well over the weekend:  $155.4 million -- shattering all kinds of records. And the ultimate compliment?  I'm ready to see it again... *gasp!*
From: Radmobile Entered on: July 21, 2008 11:27 AM
Yeah, you called it.  The use early in the movie was ok, but the application of it later on seemed not only unbelievable, but for the most part unnecessary as well. I did like how Joker kept his origins to himself.  He told a couple diffrent versions of his story.  Enough to let us know he was making it up. My favorite scene?  Joker leaving the hospital.  His outfit, his way of walking, the look on his face, very funny.
From: John Entered on: July 21, 2008 11:31 AM
Jackzilla said:   And the ultimate compliment? I'm ready to see it again... *gasp!* Dude, just let me know when you want to see it, I'm so there. I've been itching to see this movie again, I know Swerb already has. I have a channel called Reel and on Sunday they were doing a Batman day showing clips from all the Batman movies. After seeing clips from the Schumacher Batman the only thing left for Schumacher to do would be kill himself, those movies were horrible.
From: Bunky Entered on: July 21, 2008 11:49 AM
Where is the Spoiler Alert Bitches? No, I have not seen it yet. I plan on going after work tomorrow or Wednesday while I am out of town. I was supposed to go the midnight showing Thursday night with the nephews. They were supposed to get our tickets while I was out of town and waited until late Thursday afternoon to try and get them. Needless to say, some kids got a Ross Rant (TM) style ass chewing! I couldn't go over the weekend because I knew my son would want to go, and I would feel bad leaving him. Nick Nick- Netflix really? Good Lord, don't you have some cans you can recycle or change you can dig out of the couch upstairs? If you wife doesn't want to go leave her home. Go have a Big Boys night.
From: John Entered on: July 21, 2008 11:47 AM
Rad, I'm assuming you didn't see The Dark Knight on IMAX. If this is true you need to make a point of seeing it in this format because it's crazy sweet. The movie was filmed to be on an epic scale and IMAX lends to this. Also the sound in IMAX was so powerful it made my seat shake in all the action sequences. I have to see this movie again and I'm having a hard time with the notion of seeing it on a normal screen. I will see it here in town with Zilla but when Bert comes to town I will try to talk him into going to see it on IMAX.
From: Bunky Entered on: July 21, 2008 11:50 AM
See Nick Nick, you could go with Ross and Bells and see it on IMAX!
From: John Entered on: July 21, 2008 11:53 AM
Bunky said: See Nick Nick, you could go with Ross and Bells and see it on IMAX! Damn skippy you should! Fuck Netflix, this movie must be seen on the big screen.
From: Bunky Entered on: July 21, 2008 11:53 AM
Agreed Bells!
From: Radmobile Entered on: July 21, 2008 12:07 PM
Perhaps if I'm invited when the time comes, I'll go with y'all to the repeat IMAX experience.
From: Bunky Entered on: July 21, 2008 12:20 PM
Rad, when is the bachelor party?
From: Radmobile Entered on: July 21, 2008 12:42 PM
You'll have to ask Wonder I guess.  He's the best man.  I have to keep my status of "plausible deniability" for anything that transpires.
From: Bunky Entered on: July 21, 2008 1:00 PM
Ooh. I should consult with Wonder Boy and offer up some ideas. Maybe I will send a care package from the West Coast for your party
From: NickNick Entered on: July 21, 2008 1:40 PM
John said: Bunky said: See Nick Nick, you could go with Ross and Bells and see it on IMAX! Damn skippy you should! Fuck Netflix, this movie must be seen on the big screen. Call me on it and I'll be there.  I might have to fight my way out the door, but I'll be there.  Hell, I'll go see it tonight if you're interested.  (Having a bad case of the Mondays and some Batman Ass whooping would go a long way to taking care of that.) Oh and Bunky.  May I suggest a life size mold, made out of life like ballistics gel, of the wondertwins? Wondertwin powers, Lactivate!!!!
From: Bunky Entered on: July 21, 2008 3:44 PM
If I could mold the college years wondertwins, I might consider it. I like Rad far to much to subject him to the 30-something wondertwins! If I could only find a blow-up Oprah doll for Jack for his 40th birthday... I am sure it would have some sweet lips on it!
From: Creeko Entered on: July 21, 2008 3:47 PM
BigFatty said: Batman certainly does Crossfit. Plus they have the combat training scenarios to help a Battie out. I watched one and realised that this traning certainly improves a violent situation. You got to know what to do when dudes are swinging hard and fast. e l Man this sleeping pill as gotten me high, The keyuboards are moving around some, makin typing strange. The keys schange shap and they move. The is a grauy collor was like on that Aha video,. But the screen i smoving back kand foirth in cpntroll of a disqusting pile of fillllllllllllllllllllllllllll, the keys are dtull mofing and slow potentiallllllllllllllllllllllllhhhh I is falling aparat, llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllFattysso   Pen and Teller just did a BS episode on sleeping pills if you buy into their brand of truth telling it might be worth checking out.
From: Bunky Entered on: July 21, 2008 3:54 PM
Holy Batshit, It's Creeko!
From: Jackzilla Entered on: July 21, 2008 4:39 PM
BULLSH!T IS BACK!??  Thanks!  I gotta go get me some!
From: Jackzilla Entered on: July 21, 2008 5:06 PM
Oooh... last week's Bullsh!t was about Dolphins!  I assume they're going to expose those little bastards for the evil, people-raping, child-eating bastards they are!  I can't wait!
From: Ross Entered on: July 21, 2008 6:42 PM
Okay, so here's my spolier Batman discussion. I won't say review because I'll focus more on the negative (which is my style) than the movie really warrants.   SPOILERS BELOW!   Obviously, like I said, I thought the movie was brilliant.  It was improved in almost every way, including the action direction, albeit only slightly.  But! I still want to see a pulled-back shot of Batman whupping on some dudes.  Not even a lot of dudes, it doesn't ahve to be these big melee fights every time.  But just so you realize how not-hard this is from a directorial perspective: George Lucas in The Phantom Menace in the Jedi fight absoltely blows away anything Nolan has done in either Batman film.  This is misleading, of course, because it's more due to great stunt coordination and training than direction, but the direction on Nolan's part has to try to cover up the fact that he can't stage a great fight scene like that for other reasons.  Anyway, that still remains my biggest disappointment about the new Batman franchise. Other than that, the cell phone thing bothered me too, and I think Rad summed it up perfectly by saying that not only was it unrealistic, it was unncessary.  Silly.  Though the eyes in his costume when he used it looked cool. Also, wasn't anyone else by the bothered subplot of the weasel guy who was going to rat our Bruce Wayne as Batman?  I mean, I like the idea that they explore the paper trail of how you pay for your gadgets and that it could lead to people figuring things out - but what bugged me was that once he decided to announce Batman's identity and the Joker put out the death threat on him, he should have immediately started shouting "Bruce Wayne is Batman!  Bruce Wayne is Batman!"  That would have removed all incentive on anyone to kill him, because now the knowledge would be spread amongst many people.  That whole part bugged the shit out of me.   On a more positive note, I freaking loved the BatPod.  From the moment it launched out of the wreckage of the Batmobile (in a highly unlikely yet somehow satisfying way), I loved it.  I have a problem with it using machine guns (he'd have been way to likely to strike a bystander while shooting up the glass in the subway station), but I was in awe when he came spinning onto the street and that giant front tire stopped his sideways momentum.  Awesome.  Then the whole manuever on La Salle street (in front of my office, which was renamed from "Bank of America Building" to "Bank of Gotham") with the semi and the BatPod was extremely cool. That leads me to the fact that all the Chicago landmarks in the film made it even cooler for me and my fellow coworkers. I, too, loved the Joker nearly all the time, especially the magic trick and the exit from the hospital (which was actually an old candy factory in the burbs here which was condemned anyway).  But the scene where Batman is kicking the shit of out the Joker in the police interview room actually scared me a bit, I think.  BTW, doesn't the Joker ever bleed?  WTF? As before, Gordon, for me, sold the movie.  More than anyone else, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine included, he gives the movie credibility in my eyes.  At this point, I can't imagine anyone playing Gordon other than him, and I'm so glad they made him so integral to the story, unlike the previous attempts where he was a mush-mouthed fatty who didn't add anything to the story at all. I didn't really know how to feel about Two Face, though.  Granted, Aaron Eckhardt was very good as Harvey Dent, but I kind of wish they merely would have set up Two Face in this one rather than dispatching him so quickly.  Then again, I never really ever did "get" Two Face as a villain.  I mean, I get the coin flipping and split personality thing, but I never really understood what made him a compelling villain, so maybe this is a better way to do it.  One other thing: anyone else think the ending was a slight nod to the end of Year One where Bruce Wayne saves Gordon's kid by jumping off the bridge after him.  I'm pretty sure that's where they got that, and it was a nice touch.   I can't wait to see it again!  Heather hasn't seen it yet, so I have a very valid excuse.
From: Swerb Entered on: July 21, 2008 8:04 PM
SPOILERS BELOW!       One of my quibbles with the movie is not so much the Joker's inability to bleed, but his ability to be wherever the plot needs him to be - and, in the case of his various nefarious schemes (especially blowing up the hospital and escaping from the police station), apparently having tons of corrupt men on the inside who can wire up enough bombs to cause major destruction. It sort of works on another level - that the Joker symbolically represents a nebulous, ever-present state of corruption and evil - but I feel like I'm making excuses for the movie by interpreting it that way. Also, the cell phone thing... that seemed to exist only so Nolan could shoehorn modern social criticism into the story. I can see no other reason for it, and yes, I agree it's superfluous... especially considering my resistance to read too much into the current state of "terrorism" and moral ambiguity that we experience in our own reality. This, Bert, is where the Flick Filosopher, as much as I like her style and criticism and sense of humor, tends to overstate things. Not everything is about George Bush and the screwed-up economy and environment, although I do believe, because of the whole cell phone subplot, Nolan wants to suggest that. But the best scenes always inevitably involved the Joker. I forget which review I read that pointed out how Ledger gets laughs twice with simply one word of dialogue: "Yeah" and "Hi." Not only are his delivery and characterization perfect (and I don't use that word loosely), but his speeches are brilliantly written. The "you complete me" bit... his meeting with the crime lords... the whole speech about "making a statement" when he sets the pile of money on fire. Absolutely brilliant, too, was the final scene with Batman and the Joker, where the Joker is hanging upside down, and the camera is upside down too, so it looks like he's hanging up. It's totally disorienting, and I found it almost hard to watch - not to mention the subtext, which suggests that, as far as good and evil in Gotham City is concerned, up is now down. Or is down up? Either way, the Joker fucked shit up, and accomplished his mission, didn't he?
From: NickNick Entered on: July 25, 2008 12:20 PM
I finally got to see Batman.  Except I'm confused what all the fuss is about. Here's a screenshot from the movie.
From: Radmobile Entered on: July 25, 2008 12:30 PM
That looks more like Batmanuel.
From: NickNick Entered on: July 25, 2008 12:46 PM
I was surprised.  I didn't know that Ken even liked Batman that much.
From: Bunky Entered on: July 25, 2008 12:59 PM
I finally saw Batman this week as well. Full Sweet! I was suprised to see Anthony Michael Hall as the news anchor.
From: Swerb Entered on: July 25, 2008 7:41 PM
Radmobile said: That looks more like Batmanuel. Ha! I love me a good Tick reference...
From: Ross Entered on: July 25, 2008 11:14 PM
Not only that, Batmanuel was actually in the movie! He was the mayor!
From: Jackzilla Entered on: July 26, 2008 8:08 AM
Does Batmanuel wear eye liner?
From: John Entered on: July 26, 2008 8:59 AM
Jackzilla said: Does Batmanuel wear eye liner? He seems to, kind of a gay look if you ask me.
From: RobotSpider Entered on: July 28, 2008 7:14 AM
All right, this thread has gone on long enough.  Ok, so everyone thinks the new Batman is "FULL SWEET".  You all wanna hold hands and sing campfire songs now or should we get right to the circle-jerking? Now, I haven't seen the new Batman.  As such, I feel it is my duty to share my uninformed opinion with everyone.  For my money, you can't beat the original Batman movie.  You've got the classic cartoon bomb with the giant smoking fuse, bad stop-motion special effects, and do I even have to mention "shark repellant"?  I can't possibly imagine why they'd want to remake this cinematic hole-in-one.  No confusing sub-plots or inter-character development to sift through.  Indeed, everything in the Batcave is labeled clearly as the 'Bat-thing'.  "Yes, but how will people know it's the Bat-Matter-Transducer?"  "Uhh, because it says so, dumbass!"  Now come on, you all.  I know I'm still the new-comer, but I miss the old Jackassery!  Where are the inquiries as to Bunky's sexual proclivities?  Or speculation regarding the uncertainty of Jack's paternal lineage?  Or the ways in which Bone would or would-not invalidate the virginal authenticity of various others' nieces and/or nephews?  REPUBLICANS SUCK!!!  Nothin'?  Really?   /sigh
From: NickNick Entered on: July 28, 2008 7:48 AM
DAMN!!  How could I have missed such cinematic excellence.  Spider.  Spider.  You must come to terms that not ALL posts can contain the offensive repugnant material we have all grown to love.  If that were the case, we would all become desensitized to it. Oh, and here's a little JA love for ya. Here's a picture I recently found of Bunky, when she was younger.  I think it clearly illustrates her obsession with penii.
From: Bunky Entered on: July 28, 2008 12:19 PM
Side note: I did not draw Nicker's crank in this photo to scale. I actually enlarged it as a courtesy. Nick, my hair is/was much blonder and thicker than represented in this photo. I also will only wear red nailpolish on my toes. I prefer a more natural color on my nails.
From: John Entered on: July 29, 2008 10:48 AM
Okay, back on topic. The Dark Knight is  kicking ass big time. In 10 days it's already up to $313,781,677 at the box office. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 94% rating with 232 fresh and 14 rotten reviews. Bert, I hope you're ready to see the Dark Knight on IMAX when you're in town because I can't wait to see it again. Speaking of movies, Zilla and I saw Wanted last night and gave it a meh rating. Maybe 2 out of 4 stars at best. If Angelina Jolie hadn't been in it there would have been an even bigger suck factor. Zilla and I agreed, every time she was talking the only thing we heard was blah blah blah SEX! Zilla and I left the theater full herny. Zilla went home to no Ang and as for me, when I got home Jeurge was already sleeping. The kids were all still wide awake so there was no relief for me and Zilla is saving up for Ang. Herny with no outlet sucks!
From: Bunky Entered on: July 29, 2008 11:07 AM
Bells, send the bat signal to Bone! I need my July photo and hopefully a follow up ripped August pic!
From: John Entered on: July 29, 2008 11:24 AM
The term that comes to mind is, obsessed. Can you please get a shirtless pic to Bunky before she loses her mind, Bone. From what I know Bone has been eating healthy and working out so Bunky should enjoy a pic, if she ever gets one.Some friendly advice, boobies may play a role in hastening a pic from Bone, Bunky.
From: BigFatty Entered on: July 31, 2008 3:39 PM
Happy Birf-day Bone, you wrinkled-old vag! Here is another movie that I recommend seeing, "Kenny".  It came out in Austrailia in 2006 and I think they are releasing it in US theaters.  You can 'find' it online too. It is about a guy who pumps out rental shitters.  He is a great, nice-guy character.  Some of the things he says are quite funny.  Plus, the movie is very shit-centric.  Very enjoyable to watch.
From: Bunky Entered on: July 31, 2008 4:28 PM
How old is The Bone now?
From: BigFatty Entered on: July 31, 2008 5:11 PM
Through spectrum carbon dating methods that are very accurate, we estimate Bone's age to be in the range of 'I shit myslef and can't get a boner' to 'You're like my dad's age, asshole!'
From: Bunky Entered on: July 31, 2008 6:06 PM
Damn, he's offically too old to bone...
From: The Bone Entered on: July 31, 2008 9:13 PM
I'm now 35, which I hear is the new 25. Wanna get a pizza and Fuck?
From: Bunky Entered on: July 31, 2008 9:19 PM
Which do I get first?
From: Jackzilla Entered on: July 31, 2008 9:20 PM
Get a room already, you two...
From: Bunky Entered on: July 31, 2008 9:27 PM
It's Bone's birthday, don't be an asshole!
From: The Bone Entered on: August 1, 2008 12:51 AM
This thread is appropriate  - this morning while Bells and I discussed getting older and blah blah blah, I was saying that since I had had the bulk off August off, it would be way easier to work out and eat right. This made Bells realize that he also has Aug off (and every other month) so he decided he was going to track along with me in the eating healthy lifestyle and working out. I plan to follow the Primal Blueprint for a month and see how it goes. I'll take a "before" pic the morning and I'll take an "after" in 30 days. Zilla - your going to have to call Roche out on any violations you are witness to.   I'm spending the month becoming Batman bitches.
From: Bunky Entered on: August 1, 2008 1:09 AM
So do we actually get to see these pictures?
From: BigFatty Entered on: August 1, 2008 1:14 AM
Man, I don't even want to say this now...  I decided to go primal this week.  I am on day three.  Well - it is a slow enterance.  The diet is the first trial to see how difficult it can be.    Well, I am not totally there - there was a wine tasting, and I had to finish my last bottle of Chimay last night.  Pop is GONE!  Salads and meats to eat.  Nuts for snacks. I'm already walking about 1 hour each day on my commute.  Maybe the 100 push-up routine will round off the start?  That looked kind of fun.  Never was able to do 100 pushups at once.
From: The Bone Entered on: August 1, 2008 1:31 AM
Do the 100 pushup routine and add bodywieght squats and sit ups and that will cover you. For my abs, I rely on the Plank. Can't beat it.
From: The Bone Entered on: August 1, 2008 1:33 AM
Bunky said: So do we actually get to see these pictures?   I'll post the before pic sometime tomorrow. Camera is charging and I'll take a pic in the morning.
From: Bunky Entered on: August 1, 2008 2:14 AM
Ooh... That's hernie... I will finally get to see if the Bone's powers make me weak....
From: NickNick Entered on: August 1, 2008 7:39 AM
Damn Bunky.  You're getting juice all over my keyboard.  Knock it off.
From: Bunky Entered on: August 1, 2008 9:48 AM
Wait till we see the photograph evidence to see if he lives up to the hype Nickers. I am hoping he posts them before I leave town for the weekend. I am actually leaving both the XBOX and laptop home, and my Blackberry gets limited reception in the mountains. It's all about the Sumo tube! I would say I will post pics but that hasn't worked so well for me in the past.
From: NickNick Entered on: August 6, 2008 11:34 PM
Since someone posted an incredibly realistic photoshop as the latest pic, I figured I didn't want to steal their thunder.   So, here for all to enjoy is Beefcake, er, Batman. It's actually my first ever attempt at drawing Batz.
From: NickNick Entered on: August 23, 2008 9:22 PM
OK, so I finally went to see Batman.  It was full sweet.  Megan even liked it.  (I'm assuming everyone's seen it now)  We were at the point of the movie when Batman is about to give up his identity and he and Alfred are walking out of the warehouse thing they just cleaned up and the god damned fire alarm goes off.  The movie shuts off and begin to herd out of the theater.  An employee stops us and tells it not to worry, somebody pulled it as a prank and they'll have the movie back up in a couple minutes.....  Well, 20 minutes go by and the alarm is still going off, no movie, then we find out that they have no idea how to turn it off and restart it and they're refunding tickets since they have no idea when they'll be back up and running.  Supposedly they couldn't figure out the computer system.  So.... FUCK CELEBRATION CINEMAS Thanks a lot for the fucking free ticket but are you going to volunteer to watch my kids so we can see it again?  Assholes.
From: John Entered on: August 24, 2008 4:09 AM
Dude, you were not even very far into the movie, that sucks. It's more full sweet than you know.
From: BigFatty Entered on: August 24, 2008 5:21 AM
I even saw it in Hungary... it was sweet.  No fire alarms at all.  Plus, the BEST part?  I watched the WHOLE movie! :)
From: Jackzilla Entered on: August 24, 2008 10:21 AM
That sucks, NickNick!
From: NickNick Entered on: August 24, 2008 11:45 AM
Yeah.... so we might try and see it again next weekend.
From: jeurge Entered on: August 25, 2008 5:44 PM
Let the Jeurge know if there is a weeknight that works for you and Megan, I would be happy to watch the young ones in order for you to see the most Awesome Movie this summer.
From: NickNick Entered on: August 25, 2008 9:25 PM
Sounds good.  All though, your avatar is quite freaky.  I'm not sure if I should trust my children with such a person.
From: John Entered on: August 26, 2008 3:17 PM
NickNick said: Sounds good. All though, your avatar is quite freaky. I'm not sure if I should trust my children with such a person. I know, it looks like she might eat children there. But rest easy NickNick, my wife loves children, don't let the avatar fool you.
From: jeurge Entered on: August 26, 2008 5:02 PM
You can thank Zilla, or I can spank Zilla for the avatar. I thought it was awful, but my not wanting it posted seemed to hurt his feelings so I let it go. Besides, its not like the rest of the avatars are material for People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful.
From: Jackzilla Entered on: August 26, 2008 5:25 PM
jeurge said: You can thank Zilla, or I can spank Zilla for the avatar. ... If that is my fate, let the punishment begin.  (Earth 2, can wait for now...)