Saw Batman Begins last night. Originally I had no plans to see this film. I just didn't find the trailers all that compelling. Well, a friend bought some tickets ahead of time and I was in the area so I went. I did not have low expectations, I had no expectations! So when we went the the Chinese to see it, I really didn't have any opinion on this film. Well, to my surprise, it's actually really good! This is not a continuation of the earlier WB franchise. This is a completely different telling of the story of Batman. A lot closer to what the original comic was. The story is good and the story telling is really good. Everything seems to have a point and lead to other things down the road. If I have one criticism about the film, it is that the action scenes are not clearly defined. Many times it's hard to tell what is going on. This seems to be in line with some of the reviews the film has been getting. I would still recommend the film even with this small criticism. I will say this, the film is definitely poised to start a new Batman franchise. If the next one is as good as this one, I would absolutely go see it. Maybe they'll have a better second unit director to take care of the action sequences next time!

This week I also had the luck to see a second really good film. I missed it when it was in the theaters last year, but if you get a chance, check out Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. As advertised, it looked like the typical vehicle for Jim Carrey to do his thing. I think maybe that's why I missed it first time around. I caught this on High-Definition Pay-Per-View. All I can say is wow! What an amazing looking film! Especially in Hi-Def! An incredible transfer! The film itself was really enjoyable. Yet again, I was pleasantly surprised! All of the characters were interesting and so was the story. The film could easily be mistaken for Tim Burton's, but Tim did not direct it. His long time Art Director, Rick Heinrichs, did work on it though. I am a huge fan of his work (along with most of Tim's). if you get a chance, do see Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

-steve

Yup, yesterday it all came true. Apple is switching to Intel processors over the next 2 years. No matter, it's Mac OS X that's the jewel. As long as I can keep running that, I don't care what chip is inside the box! Lots of naysayers out there. But having seen this all before with NeXTSTEP and Openstep, it should be a pretty smooth transition. I think my current Mac should be able to last through the transition, and I'll need a new one right around the time the transition is complete. Hope there's some cool stuff out by then! For more info about the big switch check out Steve Jobs Keynote at the WWDC 2005. Now, Hoops and I will have to work on getting Cambridge to compile Animo for Mac OS X Intel! Heheheheheh....

-steve

Saw Lords of Dogtown today. Overall I found it very entertaining. While I think some of the acting and dialogue weren't as good as they could have been, the story is still compelling. I am a big fan of Stacy Peralta's documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys. His script for Lords of Dogtown hits all of the main points covered in the documentary. The movie however lets you into the world of Dogtown in the mid-seventies. You get to experience significant events right along with with the Z-Boys. Events like riding on urethane wheels for the first time and skating an empty swimming pool for the first time (and getting chased away by the cops as well). During the skate sessions in the film you really get a sense that they were creating something original. Some of the weaker moments are during the home life sequences. They felt uneven and sometimes too forced. There are some great cameos in the film. See if you can find the real Z-Boys in the film when you see it. I'd recommend seeing the documentary first to anyone interested in the history of skateboarding. But after that, if your thirst hasn't been quenched, check out Lords of Dogtown.

-steve

Just got back from the latest and last Star Wars movie, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Wow! This movie is bad. The last two Star Wars movies were bad so I am not surprised. At least George Lucas is consistent. My recommendation? If you are a hardcore Star Wars geek, and you liked the last two, then go see it. Anyone other than that, skip it. No matter what anyone else tells you, it was not worth the wait. Instead go watch the last 15 minutes of the original Star Wars (any edition) be it on Laserdisc, DVD, VHS, or Super 8. There's more excitement in those 15 minutes than anything the combined 415 minutes of the three prequels have to offer.

-steve