It is true that summer films rarely get noms, mostly because 90% of them are shitty, and because they are released like 7-9 months prior to the awards. And we all know that the Academy has a worse attention span than an average Michael Bay fan.

It sucks that here in the UK we have to wait until 25th. May die of anticipation long before then.

But then the main problems were with the script: the theme of this movie is FEAR, so we will make sure that the word FEAR pops up in the dialogue every twenty seconds to reinforce the theme of FEAR - because we're not good enough writers to SUGGEST, IMPLY or otherwise COMMUNICATE a theme other than have characters TELL THE AUDIENCE that the theme is FEAR all the time. So the theme is FEAR, okay? For those at the back: FEAR. And if you forget in the next twenty seconds or so, don't worry, because I'm here to remind you that the theme is FEAR. That's with a capital F. And E. And A. And R. FEAR!

Batman Begins was good. But scenes filmed on a sound stage LOOK like they were filmed on a sound stage.

Katie H didn't have the moxy to carry her role. (least I didn't think)

I have high hopes for this.

Teenagers: Exaggerating Everything to the Point of Lunacy Since 1500

Look, I understand the appeal of Empire. But Star Wars was a tight, strong, centered film (well, at least until the special edition). Empire was bloated, with a lot of unnecessary sequences. Empire is the reason that the prequel movies sucked so bad, because Lucas was trying to duplicate Empire instead of the original like he should have. I would argue that Return of the Jedi was a much, much better film than Empire, but it's impossible to argue it because the immediate response is 'Ewoks'.

What it comes down to is: are you a Luke fan, or a Han fan? If you're a Luke fan (as I have always been), than ROTJ in many ways is the best film, with ANH a close second. If you're a Han fan, though, it's all about Empire.

Never mind, not much point getting in to that again. I am curious about this new one, though. Ledger looks good, I always like Eckhart, and I suppose dreary and overly serious Batman is better than no Batman at all.

"The nineteenth century centered on debates regarding the moral message of the play. David Garrick created a version of the play which excluded Rosaline, as Romeo's abandonment of her for Juliet was seen as reckless love at the time. Critics such as Charles Dibdin argued that Rosaline had been purposely included in the play to show how reckless the hero was, and that this was the reason for his tragic end. Critics of the time also debated whether Friar Laurence was actually Shakespeare's direct spokesman in his frequent warnings to the two lovers regarding their hastiness." (Copy/pasted from Wikipedia)

It's always one way or the other around here - ludicrous over-praising or preposterous over-criticism.

Wrong. The water in your body is a component of blood and plasma. Not the same thing as unadulterated water coming out the tap. Here, test my point: Drain a fucking pint of your own blood and leave the glass out. Then fill another pint glass with tap water. Leave that out. In two days, see which one has evaporated. Then finish draining the rest of your own blood into a bathtub.

And it's accepted in academic circles that Shakespeare did write his own plays you sanctimonious bag of dogshit. Good to see you've discovered Wikipedia.

Not a bad film, but have we lowered our expectations to the point that The Prestige is considered great?

Memento, granted, is pretty much a masterpiece. For that, I'll always at least be interested in whatever Nolan does.

My god, you're a shit stain on a pair of yellowed underwear. The kind of dude that tries to be the smartest guy working the food service line, huh?

As for Shakespeare's authorship, all I said is that there was some dispute. I never said he wasn't the author. And I was using it as an example to draw a comparison between Shakespeare and King.

So you were wrong, and now feel the need to attack me. Get over it.

You win 'Biggest Asshole' troll.

Nice assumption that the ONLY reason someone would save the person they knew in a house full of burning ninjas is 'racism'. Fuck, your kid's got a long, long road ahead of him being raised by a fat loser at a keyboard.

I also don't understand Ras' point in the whole thing. Didn't he consider something like that might happen? If Ras isn't Liam Neeson, ok, it's understandable. But Ras IS Liam Neeson, so how did he totally misread the guy he was mentoring?

Friendly Fred

And I can already smell a Talkback war a' brewin'. The Batnerds will arrive in force, they'll try to tell everyone what to think, and the hilarity will ensue.

This PC society really has to let up sometime (I hope). Let's hope we can raise our kids to be better than the riffraff.

But now all I can think about is going to see TDK.. All I can say is that this better not leave me feeling like I did way back in the 80's with the first Batman movie.

I was completely geeked to see it and all the reviews from the papers and friends got my expectations WAY WAY high. Unfortunately, I left the theater feeling amazingly underwhelmed. I kept asking my friend who had already seen it, "When does it start getting good??"

I hope to God this lives up to the hype...

Honestly, there's some appaling bollocks in there, but more than enough cool bits to carry it. It is better than T3, but both pale in comparison to the original.

Not that T2 is bad. Shit, I'm really mangling my meaning today.

I apologize for speaking in terms the lowest common denominator could understand. Sometimes you have to speak to the masses.

Romeo wasn't in love with Rosaline. He was just another dumb teenager (albeit one gifted with Shakespeare's words) who was trying to get laid. It's all over the first act, when Romeo and Mercutio talk.

NOW THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!

Uh, no. I was old enough and I did not like it. In fact, coming out of the theater, I told everyone standing in line that Batman dies. That's how much I disliked it.

What's that? He doesn't die? whoops.....

Supes was indeed epic. It was a throwback to the big costume epics of fifties and early sixties. It told the story on a grand, and drawn out scale. In that it did a magnificent job. Fred can not quibble with the casting choices either - although Brando was a stretch. The plot, the ridiculous Lex Luthor plot, which still rears ugly head, Fred can forgive that - in this movie, because Hackman was very good. But what Fred can not forgive, and what ultimately sinks this film, is poor pacing.

Fred has seen a lot of movies that had epic scope, and very few directors can consistently pull off such while keeping the audience engaged throughout.

Superman does not appear on screen in his own movie until 50 minutes into it! And even then, only for a fleeting second. Too much emphasis was placed on telling the origin and giving the big name stars their moment to shine, than on showing the audience what they came to see - namely Superman doing super things.

When he finally appeared, with rousing helicopter rescue, it was great. Fred can even forgive bad effects - on cable TV in HD you can see the strings. But it was too little too late. The film had dragged. Fred liked cat and mouse between Supes and Lex, it was genuinely good moments due to great acting. But it could not save overall film, because of slow pacing. BUt Fred movuie viewing is subjective, and Fred know for a fact that some people think Mystery Men is the greatest superhero movie ever made.

BTW - I've got to hand it to you. Your hate on BATMAN BEGINS ranks right up there with I am Batman and Jeff Albertson.

Empty churches and really dirty bums and really fat cops...fuck yeah!

JACK FUCKING PALANCE...

You say goth I say German Expressionist throwback...

All of his toys/vehicles were perfect...

BILLY DEE WILLIAMS

the list goes on. Nice try.

(And you'll notice that I did not mention Zimmer or Bay(?!) in my previous post.)

Well... tonight... as I type... this. Well, I am... COVERED... in my own sticky man goop while a TONGUE of cinematic goodness is shoved deep in my... fat, quivering asshole. Well, I'm spread-eagled, tongue-fucked, and spent under a greasy coating of my own... jizz. I squealed like a baby with tears of ECSTASY pouring down my enormous cheeks. Well, all my life I thought... the JOKER... and if I were to ever I mean this is kind of Heath Ledger. Well... what he did to me. This was the ABSOLUTE BEST, most salad-tossingly AWESOME thing ever committed to celluloid.

I'm married.

Not to take more swings at Harry's style, but the part Octagon gets right, the part I would assume most mockers would miss, is the way some of Harry's sentences make no actual sense because it seems like he is overcome with emotion or something that he is finishing thoughts in his head, and stammering out fragments in the article. It feels like someone ripped up his first review, chewed on it and then flung it in the air like confetti and it came down this way. I like Harry, I have fun reading his reviews, but I think he has done the reverse of every other reviewer here-he's gotten more incomprehensible and less tempered as time has progressed.

Im not the biggest fan of the Burton films but they put forth a unique vision and a take on Batman that is legitimate, that is lurking there in the source material. Same is true of Nolan's first movie(which is currently my favorite). I even like Batman: The Movie, mostly for it's camp value, but it's oddball silly take is also based off some sensibilities in the comic of the time.

Batman Forever and B&R seem so far off from what Batman is or has ever been, that it's hard for me to even consider them when having this discussion.

2. Spider-Man 2

3. Spider-Man

4. Batman Begins

5. Iron Man

So far, nothing has surpassed the 1978 Superman film, although SPIDER-MAN 2 came pretty damn close. If this film actually lives up to the hype, we could finally have a new Best Comic Book Movie Ever...

But isn't it negligent to have a top 5 list WITHOUT Return of Swamp Thing? Iconic. Simply iconic. After swamp thing, we don't need another hero.

http://www.superheroeslives.co m/indexbatman.htm

HB2 was a far cry from HB1.Though I did like that one.

I prefer the alcohol references myself, like "That dipshit's opinion is pure SWILL."

I read Fred's review and I felt that was his honest experience and yet at the same time it mostly cemented for me, my interest and excitement to see it. That was a successful sharing of his opinion I thought. He accurately described the movie, and he conveyed his feeling of it.

"I'm not a baby, I'm a tumor."

The problem is that the ideals of the Revolution were easily communicated down throughout society; it seems inevitable now, but if you had asked Washington, Adams, Hamilton, and others at the time if they thought that suffrage should be extended to non-land holding males, they would've disagreed. Not because they were elitists, but because their value system was still tied to their British origins.

But remember, the Bill of Rights wasn't part of the original constitution. Things like the establishment clause came about because the 'radicalization' started happening during the war and continued afterwards. In many ways, the Constitution without the Bill of Rights is a throwback to the political mindset of the second congress. Only the transformation of society in the decade following the Declaration of Independence brought such ideas as the establishment clause to the forefront of the national mindset.

The constitution is about government. The amendments are about the people.

kwisatzhaderach: Fred know it losing battle to expect maturity, but Fred hopless optimist!

Anyone who says 'dreck', 'swill' or especially 'tripe' is observably full of shit via their sanctimonious choice of expression.

And the summer movies I saw: loved HB 2, Iron Man...Indy 4 was okay. If this lives up to expectations, it will have been a high quality summer indeed for me.

Beverly Hills Chiuahua anyone?

Bricktop, yes. And for me, that made most of the difference.

Fred make pillow laugh sometimes.

"Fred just a humble wart on the broad back of humanity."

I also really liked Indy 4 and Caspian. Loved HB2 and thought it was most fun this summer. Mongol was good. ADORED The Fall. Even rather enjoyed Journey to the Center of the Earth 3d.And Son of Rambow was classic.

Aww..you made me blush Danny boy. BTW, where the hell is toad?

Oh, wait! V for Vendetta movie ending! ... sorta.

Damn, let me try to come up with something.

My wife can't handle midnight shows, so we are also seeing it on Sunday night as well. If it's a fiasco(which I doubt) it might be painful to sit through twice.

Hallow..how was dark knight? spoiler-free opinion of course.

I have seen, however, Creepazoids and Children Shouldnt Play with Dead Things

And if Lou Diamond hadnt made Bats, Knight Club might be the worst thing on his resume.

Maybe Alex Proyas could do it. That's the genius of this month. It has Hellboy, Batman and XFILES in it, and it ends with Dark City Director's Cut.

Pronunciation: \hī-ˈpər-bə-(ˌ)lē\

Function: noun

Etymology: Latin, from Greek hyperbolē excess, hyperbole, hyperbola, from hyperballein to exceed, from hyper- + ballein to throw — more at devil Date: 15th century

: extravagant exaggeration (as “mile-high ice-cream cones”)

2. Ang Lee's Hulk

3. Batman Begins

4. Blade II

5. Unbreakable

6. Superman Returns

7. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

8. The Incredibles

9. Spider-Man 2

10. Richard Donner's Superman

3) - Inspector Gadget

4) - Zorro the gay Blade

Best superhero movie? A no-brainer: 'The Shadow'

Obviously I'm kidding, but I did always think that young Alec Baldwin should have been the perfect Bruce Wayne.

My list is: 1. Incredibles 2. Hellboy 2 3. Unbreakable 4. Iron Man 5. Batman Begins 6. Spiderman 2 7. Rocketeer 8. The Crow 9. X2 10. Superman: The Movie

"Oh. I had a dream I tore all the skin off my face and I was someone else underneath."

"You have problems."

"Clearly".

How can you not like THE SHADOW?

Superman gets way too much of a free pass. Clark as bumbling nincompoop? Lois as ragged-out man toilet? Can you read my mind? Chris Reeve brought a lot of heart to the picture, but it just isn't that good.

Of course, I'm the person who thinks Superman was more realistic when he "leapt over tall buildings with a single bound" than when he started flying.

And don't forget Bill's explanation as to why Superman was Clark Kent that way.

I bet Superman banged many a skank and then saw her in the morning and took off for a few laps around the equator.

Also, people who imitate DGDB's nick are even lamer than he is.

I could see Riddler being done as a side character who is a l33t computer hacker or something whose screen name is Riddler--but Riddler really is ridiculous and emblematic of the cheesy '60s show. As is The Penguin. I wonder when is the last time anyone put The Penguin in a Batman comic?

That being said, I would probably bring back Raz ah Ghul (however it's spelled), or just let Nolan dig through the books and find something he likes that works. I think he's earned that kind of creative trust.

I am so glad Nolan got Heath Ledger to portray the Joker. At first I was like "Heath Ledger??" Now, it was obviously the RIGHT choice.

Oh man, I am suck a loser.

Classic stuff.

Damn, got that song stuck in my head now. Gotta go listen to it for two or three hours.

Partyman!!!

That was a damn good soundtrack.

My problem with BB were the dizzyingly shot action, the bland as FUCK villains, Nolan's fairly ordinary direction, and a kind of anticlimactic plotline. Nothing in the film stuck out for me. There was no real style and I find it hard to remember much of anything about it when I think back on it. TDK has seen Nolan refine his style abit, he's gotten a harder edge, he's a bit more unrelenting. The performances he gets out of everyone are better, though Christian Bale doesn't emote much in this film, really. It's just a significantly better, more refined, and certainly more epic film. It feels huge... a story worthy of an icon like batman, finally.

Oh Roger Ebert said that Crash is teh fucken awesome, lets all pray at the altar of Haggis so he blesses us with more hack-jobs. IT EVEN HAS A GREAT SCORE ON RT!!!! Gimme a fucking brake.

Joker is fantastic, his speeches are glorious... but they do go on for a while.

Disappointed with the Scarecrow cameo. If you're getting Cillian Murphy in for a day, at least give him something cool to do.

All up, a solid film, a great sequel, but the rewatch value won't be as high as the first one. At least not for me.

Plus Batman Returns will always have a special place in my heart. Devito IS the penguin in my mind.

While the notion of Lucius Fox watching video feeds from a bunch of sonar-imaging cell phones and actually FINDING the Joker is a bit far-fetched, the logic behind the technology itself is sound. There is also thematic and narrative logic in having Batman utilize sonar to locate his enemies. Would you have preferred a standard take on the "cell phone as plot device?" Personally, I thought it was smart, simple and added an interesting visual twist to the climax of the film (it also lengthened Morgan Freeman's screen time, which is never a bad thing, IMO).