Looks pretty sah-weet.  Seems like the soundtrack might be pretty good, too.

I seem to be the only human being in the world, but I was kind of disappointed by the Dark Knight. It was still a good movie, but definitely wasn't as good as Batman Begins. I don't know if it tried to do too much, but midway through the movie, I kept thinking that there was just too much plot going on here. I thought that truck flip scene was going to be the "final standoff" but there was still like an hour left in the movie.

It wasn't so much that there weren't good parts, but there were too many things that bothered me for this to get anything more than a 7, whereas the first one was close to a 10.

Here's what I didn't like:

1) Who is the Joker? In the original movie, we get the Joker backstory. The Joker was Jack Napier--an ambitious thug who falls into a vat of chemicals and gets a backalley hack to try to fix his face--only to leave that ridiculous smile on him. This time, we get nothing but the Joker keeps asking people "Wanna know how I got this scar?" and keeps coming up with new versions of the story. That's completely annoying because these new movie versions are all about the backstory. I wanted to know.

2) The whole Rachel Dawes character is a failure. What exactly did she do to warrant the love of two great men?  Why does Bruce Wayne love her?  Because they played together as little kids?  She's kind of vapid in this one--barely even caring that Harvey Dent nearly gets blown away in the courtroom. (The gun just happened to misfire right? Am I the only one that thought everyone should have reacted a little more to that?) I didn't care at all when she died. Not only is she no MJ from Spiderman, who I think we all fell in love with, but Maggie Gyllenhaal looks distractingly like Kirsten Dunst.

3) I really hate the Batman voice. Why is Christian Bale doing his worst Al Pacino impression under the cowl? It didn't bother me so much in the first one, because Batman doesn't really have a ton of dialogue, but in this one, it just gets silly.

4) The Batcycle is Bat Feature Creep. I was waiting for the back wheel to get blown off so it could get converted to the Bat Segway.

5) Too much obvious foreshadowing. How many "face" references to Dent were there? Face of Gotham? Hmm... I wonder if he becomes Two Face at the end? Lucky for him that Two Face was already his nickname!

6) Phone sonar: We've seen that effect before--in DareDevil, when it rains.

7) The Bat copycats expose us to the silliness of the idea of a guy running around dressed as a bat. What I thought was amazing in the first one was how believable the origin story of a guy in a bat costume was... Like I could actually see it happening and not being silly. When the copycat asks Batman what the difference between him and Batman was "I'm not wearing goalie pads" can't be the answer, otherwise Batman really is just a guy with a boatload of cash and military equipment.

8) Since when do all of the killings in a superhero movie have to be accounted for?  I hate the idea that Batman has to take the blame for Dent's murders.  Did he really kill 5 or 6 people?  I wasn't counting?  Are they counting Morone's limo driver, too?  Who cares who killed a mob limo driver?  Can't they sweep that under the rug?  Leave it as a cold case?   

9) His death was tragedy--no doubt. But, just in terms of his performance, I honestly thought it was kind of understated. When I think psychopath in clown makeup, I'm thinking REALLT creepy. Robin Williams was once mentioned as a potential Riddler before Jim Carrey got it, and his performances in 24 Hour Photo and Insomnia were beyond creepy--they were downright disturbing. I just didn't feel like the Joker was really that unpredictably nuts in this one. I did get my hopes up in the beginning, though. Between the "What busdriver?" line and the amazing disappearing pen, I thought we were in for a real sicko... in a funny kind of sick way. Didn't get him again until he walks out of the hospital in the nurse outfit...not much in between.

Sah-weet!

When you're a Finance major, there are two things that are absolutely required consumption--Wall Street and Liar's Poker.  If you haven't gone through both of them, well, no there's no point to even saying that because we all have.  Its not just a rite of passage, its scripture. 

But, what isn't required, particularly with Wall Street, is learning any kind of lesson.  Guys grow up idolizing Gordon Gekko with his slick back hair and fancy 15 pound cell phone (it was 1987) on the beach, but the morality lesson gets a bit dwarfed in the whole thing. 

When I was in college, I ran a retreat for business students in the spring of senior year.   A lot of people complained about how empty and exhausted they felt about recruiting.  Trying to figure out and play who you think these companies want you to be and sell yourself can get to you after a while.   And for what?  Do the people that "play the game" really actually wind up winning in the end?

I avoided the whole brokerage/investment banking side of Finance.  I never liked who I was dealing with there because it always seemed like it was either about being better than the next guy or being the closest fit to a mold--never about being the best self you can be.  I just wasn't willing to make that kind of sacrifice and I never felt I should have to.

I wasn't going to stay up nights like Bud Fox, charting companies to prove my worth to somebody.  I was going to live my balanced life and I bet on the fact that I would get appreciated and discovered by others who wanted the same kind of balance in their lives. 

Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) gets sucked in...  the money, the women.  A lot of people do.  But you know what?  That's not what really gets you to be that successful.  Success in this country is built on equity...  built on building things and owning the equity in things you built, not tearing things down.  That's why most leaveraged buyout returns never get high multiples--there's only so many ways you can improve a company, only so much leverage you can get.  Sure, it's also less risky, but in my life, if I'm going to be around an industry, I think its more fun to be in one that's shooting for the fences.

And when you're doing that, you've got to have your heart in it.  When Bud Fox sold out Blue Star, he knew it wasn't right at the moment he did it.  When we see entreprenuers, its easy to tell who is passionate about their business in a positive way.  It flows out of them and drives them upward. 

Ok, so I didn't talk so much about the movie and kind of went on a tangent.  Its a great movie, even outside of all this moral commentary.  Michael Douglass really is Gordon Gekko and Charlie Sheen is equally well cast.  Its great to see him play on screen with his dad, making the whole betrayal seem that much more real.  Go rerent it if you haven't seen it in a while... or rent it if you're boyfriend is a hungry, aspiring broker/banker and you want to know what all the fuss is about. 

Oh, and I'm not trying to be sexist...   plenty of women are obviously successful bankers, but I don't know too many of them who really like Wall Street.  Disagree?  Feel free to comment.

"There's someone out there for everyone - even if you need a pickax, a compass, and night goggles to find them."

I'm a romantic... hopefully, not hopeless, though.  I also think life is a little bit weird and a little bit surreal. 

I also think that, at certain times, my life could use a little Enya in the background for effect.

That's the essence of L.A. Story.  Its all about how emotional and grandiose we can make our own little efforts to find someone, and then how often we realize how silly the whole thing is.  Real.  Silly.  Both.  Our lives are really silly, but they're great sometimes, too.  Harris K. Telemacher's life is really silly, too.  He drives to work through other people's backyards and through public parks.  He makes amateur videos on roller skates in art museums.  Electronic traffic condition billboards talk to him. 

And, his life is great, too, because he finds someone that makes him show off--"the idiot's version of being interesting."  He finds someone that makes him want to change the polarity of the earth to keep her from flying home.

"Life is a tale told by an idiot--full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." 

We are the idiots telling the story, searching hard everyday to find something of substance to lend meaning to the sound and substance to the fury.  In the meantime, we watch Steve Martin to entertain ourselves.

When I saw that they were coming out with another Rocky, I was... um... skeptical.  Rocky V, to me, should have never been made the same way that Godfather III is dead to me.  So, why come back for another one?  Especially since Sly is 60!!

Then I saw the trailer...    Hmm... wow... actually looked pretty interesting.  It totally plays into the aging boxer story, which was somewhat believable since we saw George Foreman do it in real life.

Well, the movie was even better than I could have imagined.  If you liked any of the Rocky movies, this is a must-see.  If you love America and apple pie, this is a must see.  If you go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning, this is a must see. 

Even though this isn't a true "reset" like Casino Royale and Batman Begins, the movie accomplishes the same success for a franchise that had jumped the tracks a bit.  It is a back to basics plot with a lot of character exploration and development.  Oh, and did I mention Adrian was dead?  In fact, Rocky's memories of Adrian are so touching that, for a split second, we almost... miss her character.  Almost.  Nice jobs all around by supporting characters playing Rocky's son, "Little Marie", and Rocky's Trainer.

You can't help but get goosebumps when the Rocky theme plays.  The fight scene is probably the most realistic of all the Rocky fights, too, and when it's over, you couldn't have asked for the frachise to end on a better note.... a lot better than fighting that Tommy Morrison in the street.

Once again... the trailer:

Fordham graduation is this Saturday, so in honor of that event, I thought this would be a fitting time to put up what might actually be my favorite movie--definitely one in my top five.  Ben Braddock has just graduated and the only thing he's got planned for himself is a little "drifting here in the pool."  Ideas?  Well, everyone's got ideas for him...  from "Plastics" to meeting with older women in hotels to taking out their daughters when they come down from Berkeley.  Everyone thinks they've got him pegged, too.  "Track star."  "Agitator."  (Gotta love the Normal Fell bit there as the landlord in Berkeley.  Obviously, that got him the Mr. Roper gig.) 

Its tough though.  The one thing college doesn't really prepare you for is figuring out what to do with yourself after you're done, and so any graduating senior can relate to what Dustin Hoffman goes through in this movie.  For one thing, its just a bizarre situation to be back home from college after you've lived four years on your own and now, all of the sudden, you're thrust back into their world.  Your whole college life comes to a screeching halt, and now you're hanging out with people in their 50's.  (At least my parents didn't buy me scuba gear and make me test it in our pool on my birthday in front of all their friends.)

The music (this seems to be a theme with me...) from Simon and Garfunkel is classic, as is the whole movie...   Its tough to get more memorable than Hoffman's ride in his Alfa Romeo down to Santa Barbara to search for Katherine Ross's wedding, touched off by the "Mrs. Robinson" track. 

So watch this, or go back and watch it again.  Listen to every line.  There are too many good ones that Hoffman's deadpan style might lull you past, but so many of the short ones are funny.  He tells his parents that he's getting married, and then they realize that he hasn't even asked the girl yet.

"Benjamin, this whole idea seems rather half-baked."

"No, I assure you, its fully baked."

Anne Bancroft, who is like a million years old now (and married to Mel Brooks) rasps and smokes her way into Dustin Hoffman's world for the summer, culminating in a train wreck of a standoff towards the end.  She "controls" much Ben's life, and the movie, until he finds what he actually wants and goes after it.  So take some time off if you need, but not too much, to find your Elaine, and go after it like a track star.  You'll learn why wood is better than wire, and how to keep a crowd at bay with a crucifix. 

"Doesn't he seem like the kind of guy that needs to fight them off with a stick?"

Benjamin Braddock.   Class of 1967.

In case you didn't see Christian Bale and Wolverine... um...   Hugh Jackman in The Prestige yet, stop reading.    I am going to give away a major plotline here.   Don't blame me if you keep reading... you've been warned.

As far as I can tell there are only two scenarios that make sense with this movie.... two explanations that neither of which are entirely satisfying.

1)  Christian Bale has a natural twin that he has grown up with all his life.  He makes "Telsa" the key to his book because Telsa is attempting a cloning machine that doesn't work, sending Hugh Jackman on a wild goose chace.  (Because, if he was aware of it working, he would have essentially given his one advantage, being a twin, over to his arch rival.)   By sheer dumb luck, the machine actually turns out to work.  Now, actually, I believe Tesla was more likely trying to invent a transporting machine... and that happens to be the wackiest glitch in the world... that it doubles you.  But, either way, Bale could have never thought it to work.

2)  Telsa actually did make the machine work for Bale and he used it once, to clone himself a twin.  The second Bale doesn't seem to exist very early on in the movie, like when he's a stagehand.  Where was he all those years if they weren't doing the magic act routine?  Plus, it's just too random that the key to the diary is Tesla, a man that, in reality, has nothing to do with his trick, b/c Bale already has a twin and doesn't need a transporting or cloning machine...   of which Telsa actually winds up, ironically and accidently, creating a cloning machine that works.  Of course, this doesn't make sense either, b/c Telsa doesn't even know his machine works until Hugh Jackman comes to visit him.  If that was the case, though...  why would Bale have anything to do with Tesla?   

Sony has yanked all of the Casino Royale  trailers from YouTube.

Huh?

We're not talking the whole movie here...  we're talking the advertsing trailer.

Aren't they incentivized to get this thing playing in as many places as possible??

I had this playing on my blog and my MySpace profile for months leading up to the opening. 

If you're in charge of movie trailers, no matter how big or small your movie is, and you don't have them uploaded to YouTube, you're an idiot.  That's it.  You're just an idiot. 

I changed my avatar's look to something a little more...suave and sophisticated.  Click the play button to hear him introduce himself.  :)

Saw a sneak preview of the new Bond movie, Casino Royale, last night.  I'm a huge 007 fan, so I've been looking forward to this movie for just about after the credits of the last one started rolling.

Well worth the wait.

I saw in the paper that Daniel Craig brings the franchise back, but I don't want to say that because I think Pierce Brosnan was the one who actually did that... bringing it back from License to Kill, which was, in my opinion, the worst Bond ever.  (A View to a Kill can't be the worst, because it has Christopher Walken.)

Casino Royale starts out with Bond even before he was a "00" agent...  resetting the story just like they did with Batman Begins.

Daniel Craig reminds me of Connery's Goldfinger performance.  Rough around the edges, but every now and then he flashes a smile without being cheesy.  

The story, and their actually is one, is well thought out and not predictable at all.  Just go see it... even if you're not a Bond fan... it's a great action movie for anyone.

Sure... why not. We can play along. I can't wait until Rocky 7 where he starts selling the Rocky Balboa Grill.

Scarlett Johansson will be the best actress of this generation.  There, I said it. Black Dahlia is a cool movie with great style that perhaps gets a little bizzare at times, but she does another fantastic job.  I think I need to find a way to get her an avatar for some kind of promotion.

The story is based on a real life unsolved murder, and the writers come up with a highly implausible scenario for the truth that, in the movie, kinda comes out of nowhere and got a few unintended laughs.  Still, the acting is really good and I was also pleasently surprised by Josh Hartnett, who I still sort of think of as the guy from The Faculty.  This was also the first time I thought that Hilary Swank came anywhere close to being attractive.  Its that mouth... I dunno... 

Anyway...  cool, but only a must see because of Miss Scarlett.

One thing I talked about with Kristin from Fordham the other day is the idea of scheduled blogging...having different types of posts appear of specific days to get a blogging routine going.  I got the idea from Fred, who has a VC Cliche of the Week post and a running Top 50 Albums thing going.

Well, I like music, but I'm not much of an album guy.  Most of the music I have is sliced up into individual songs.  For me, its movies.  I love going to the movies.  I especially love the previews.  In fact, if someone came out with just an hour and a half of previews of all made up  movies with real celebrities, I think I'd go see that.  When I see a movie, I usually have a pretty good idea that I'll like it, and I haven't seen a lot of movies that "everyone" goes to see.  I never saw Titanic or My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  I like movies with style--ones that have a little hint of surrealism to them.  I like certain actors--Kevin Klein, John Cusack, Sean Connery, Bill Murray...  and I don't mind a good car chase or explosion.  I don't mind stupidity either.  That being said, for the next 50 weeks, I am going to post, every Monday, a new addition to My Top 50 Movies List. 

Its not the best 50, so I'm not soliciting feedback as to what should be on the list.  Its my list.  There are a lot of movies that you would figure a guy my age would be putting on here, like maybe Goonies or the Princess Bride, that won't show up.  They're fine, but they're not my favorite.  There are lots of people out there who can recite those movies by heart, just not me.

That being said, here's the first one.  Its kind of a bridge between the inspiration for this list, which is Fred's album list, and my movie list, because it has a fantastic soundtrack and that really adds to the movie.  My first movie is Grosse Pointe Blank, with John Cusack and Minnie Driver. 

In short, its about a professional killer who goes back to a Detroit suburb to attend his 10 year high school reunion.  That right there makes for a unique situation, but throw on top of it that he left is high school sweetheart at her front door on prom night...  never picked her up and dropped off the face of the earth for ten years. 

For me, the movie is about being nostalgic and  never forgetting the connections you had when you were coming of age.  There are a few people in my life that I wish I could go back and talk to--people who probably think I'm broken but could be convinced I'm just "mildly sprained".

The soundtrack is one of the best things about the movie.  Not a lot of people at the time realized that it came out in two volumes, and you didn't get all the music you wanted on the first.  The soundtrack features the Violent Femmes, David Bowie,  The Clash, A-Ha and The Specials.  Great songs...  great supporting performances from Dan Aykroyd, Alan Arkin  and Joan Cusack, and a little high school romance revisited.  Feel free to pick up a copy at Amazon (they're selling the movie cheaper than a single volume of the two volume soundtrack), because "You can never go home again, but at least you can shop there."

So I forgot to post yesterday, mostly because of the holiday, and a lot because I am totally out of sorts because of this move to Brooklyn.  Therefore, I see no more fitting movie about forgetting on my list to post today than Momento--a movie about a guy who has no short term memory.

In Momento, Guy Pierce can remember everything just about until his wife's death, which he thinks he has a clear enough recollection of.  His memories since then, however, are all recorded on Polaroids, tattoos and little notes for himself.  In the meantime, instead of just trying to survive in this less than ideal situation, he's out trying to find his wife's killer.

Oh, did I mention the whole movie is shot backwards, tracing each scene to the scene before it?

And you thought the Polaroids were confusing.

The beauty of it is that you watch each seen as he experiences it--completely without prior context.  He arises in a hotel room.  Is it his room?  Someone elses?  Should he be there?  You don't know until the next scene.   One of the best moments in the movie is when he finds himself running, but he's not sure if he's being chased or doing the chasing, until his pursuer fires a gun at him.  "Is he running after me or am I running after him?  [Boom.]  He's running after me."

The supporting cast has two stars from the Matrix--Carrie Ann Moss and Joe Pantolino.  Both do a great job and you're not sure how much either is manipulating poor Guy and his condition at any point in the movie. 

You probably need to watch this movie twice... with a friend you can have a good argument with, because you'll probably see the movie differently.  Its thought provoking and definitely requires a careful viewing.

Despite the Mets' losing two of three to the Yanks, I've got baseball on the brain thanks to the Subway Series.  In fact, the way the Mutts tossed the ball around the infield over the weekend, there was only one movie I could possibly pick today to add to my list.

Major League.

Major League is, by far, the most quotable baseball movie out there, and as soon as it came out, whether I was playing baseball or wiffle ball, that's all we did growing up--quote the movie.  It seems like every team has one of the characters on this team.  The bad-kneed veteran catcher.  The old junkballer.  The huge guy who can't hit a breaking ball. 
So maybe Major League didn't win or get nominated for an Oscar.  However, its definitely in the same park as my previous movies.  (Yellowstone.)  When you play baseball, there isn't a moment in the game that can't be summed up perfectly by this comedy classic. 

Booted groundball?

"Come on, Dorn.  Get in front of the damn ball.  Don't give me this OLE bullshit!"

Team not hitting?

"Harry Doyle: That's all?  One goddamn hit.  Assistant: You can't say goddamn on the air. Harry Doyle: Ahh, don't worry, nobody is listening anyway."

Pitcher not going after the hitters?

"Forget the curveball, Ricky.  Give 'em the heater!"

And of course, uncorking one six feet to the left of the plate?

"Juuuust a bit outside."

I love seeing depictions of the future on film, and I always think its really cheesy when the future is some kind of peaceful utopia.  Blade Runner's future is a dark, rainy stew of microchips, languages, neon, and flying cars.  (Its 2005... where are our flying cars?!)

Sometime towards the end of next year/beginning of 2007, we'll see Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones 4...  25 years after Blade Runner...  25 years of attempting to top what I think may be his best performance.  Harrison Ford has never been the indestructable tough guy... he's always carried the weight of the situation on him, but still managed to win in the  end.  The streets of the future have worn him down in Blade Runner, but he's got enough for one or two good swings.

Sean Young is perfect in this movie...   too perfect, which creates a lot of conflict for Harrison Ford's replicant eliminating dayjob.  Its too bad she went from Stripes, Blade Runner, and Wall Street to starring opposite Punky Brewster in Motel Blue.  (I've never seen it, its just that IMDb paints a pretty dismal picture of her spiralling career.) 

Darryl Hannah's eyeblacked replicant charactor isn't someone I'd want to mess with in a dark alley in the future either...   especially with that crab walk and all.  So let's see... Darryl's played a robot, a fish, a 50ft. tall woman...   pretty versitile. 

The visuals in this movie are really something...   a lot of time is spent just showing us the landscape, putting every scene in context.  The juxtaposition of all this technology and all the grit and grime set an appropriate tone for the job that Harrison Ford is tasked with doing.

...because we all know, just like Rocky V, the third Godfather didn't exist.  You never heard of it.  It never happened.   You hear me?

Because Sofia Coppola may be able to direct, but she can't act her way out of that nose.

But anyway, these two movies always go together.  You buy the boxed set.  Its like...  pasta and sauce.  Cappuccino and a little sambuca.  (Or, if you're my grandmother, a lot of sambuca...  j/k!  We always pour more in than she wants.) 

I don't really have to say much about the Godfather set.  You know it.  You've all seen it.  It has an amazing cast of actors and the time is taken to tell the story of an excellent book, which I read as well.  If you haven't seen it in a little while, spend an afternoon with it on a rainy Saturday.  While you're watching, don't hesitate to stick two pieces of bread in your cheeks and do your own Brando.

I bring this set up, which should be on everyone's list, because I was reminded of Sonny Corleone the other night.  James Caan does a terrific job as the headstrong, short tempered eldest son of the Don.  Remember what he does to Connie's husband for hitting her?  Well, I'm walking along 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn the other night and this couple is crossing the street.  The car waiting at the corner beeps them along as the light changes to green.

The guy whips around and says, "What's your f*cking problem?"

The driver responds, "Get the f*ck out of the street."

Obviously, he didn't know he was dealing with Sonny...   this guy basically takes off, without hesitation, down the street running after the car on foot.  The next line is classic:

"Get out of that car so I can bitch slap you!"

That's vintage Sonny as far as I'm concerned.  It was at that moment that I fully realized I was back in Brooklyn.

But look where it got him.  Sonny never made it and the quiet youngest brother that was destined to be "a senator" winds up taking over the family business.   But that's ok, because they're moving to Vegas and going legit.

Right?

This movie is nothing short of an epic.  Its the Italian immigrant's version of King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table.  Because its not just about the movie.  Its about everyone's version of the movie in their own lives.  Now its an overplayed stereotype, but these people were like royalty at one time and there was a story to be told long before the movie came out.  Where they criminals?  Sure.  Did they have the respect and devotion of their communities more so than elected politicians?  You bet.

You know, I think its interesting how every ethnic backround has its own underworld element, with its own style and relationship to the rest of the community.  We always see this mafia thing as "protective" as oppossed to parasitic, but you never know whether or not that's the media spin.  I think that would be an interesting study.

As for the movie?  That's an interesting study in itself.  But remember, leave the gun.  Take the canoli.