I've watched this Batman parody ten times today

 It's the latest film The Batman movie but with Adam West!  Check out the Batmobile!

 

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Lenten Blogging 2022: Day 4

Got back a little while ago from seeing The Batman.  It may take a while to process this thoroughly.  It's definitely a change-up from what we've come to expect from Batman on film.  Director Matt Reeves has crafted what is easily the most jagged, grim and dirty Batman story we've seen on the big screen ever.  And though some of his choices to slaughter some of the mythos' most sacred cows are disconcerting, even so I found myself completely enthralled by this movie.

It's not perfect.  There will never be such a thing as the perfect Batman movie.  But I would rank it right up there with Batman Begins (2005) and Michael Keaton's Batman from 1989.

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JOKER! THE RISE OF SKYWALKER trailer! First post in four months (but I'm getting better...)!

So let's get the obvious out of the way first:

YOWZA!!!!  Maybe the greatest Star Wars trailer in all of history.  But ahhhh... will the movie deliver the goods come next month?  No other way to be honest about it: some days I find myself loving The Last Jedi and others, I find it sorely lacking.  There's just more that could have been done with the sense of pacing and time.  And spending that much time looking for one guy in a casino on the other side of the galaxy (which makes NO sense given the Resistance fleet's situation) should have been excised completely from the script.  But, it is what it is.  And this far along in the game I've gotta be loyal to the end.  The tickets for opening night of The Rise Of Skywalker were already in virtual hand two hours before the trailer premiered.  Bought 'em sight unseen.  Because, well... Star Wars.

That trailer marks a personal first for me.  Never before have I done a reaction video.  This may be the only time it happens.  So here's what occurred as I watched The Rise Of Skywalker trailer:

Now let's talk about that other film the buzz has been about...

Since catching it the first night I have seen Joker three times.  And if there is any better film so far this year it has thus far evaded my gray matter.  Do the Oscars even matter anymore?  If they do then Joaquin Phoenix should have a lock on Best Actor with his portrayal of Arthur Fleck.  And the film itself deserves the top prize for dang near every known quantity of modern cinematography.  But I need to talk about the mental illness aspect...

Some of you already know that my profession is in the mental health field.  Mainly, my role is that of peer support advocate.  I do my best to assist people with diagnosed mental disorders in leading more productive and meaningful lives.  And I do it from the perspective of one who has long had a diagnosed mental disorder: myself.  Since last time this blog was posted on I've become a trained and certified specialist in the field.  And in the lead-up to Joker it was wondered aloud by colleagues whether this was a film that I should be seeing.  I can see their point.  Indeed, I see now more than ever that their concerns were not only warranted but prescient.  There were some scenes in Joker that were like watching a biopic of my own life (but that's all that I'll divulge on that).  It wasn't so much the manic-depression that stood to be triggered as it was the complex PTSD.

It astonishes me that the triggers were there but they weren't pulled.  But as recently as a year ago, they would have been.  And I like to think that it says a lot about how far I've come as a person.  Maybe that indicates something about how much more the bipolar disorder and PTSD have come to be managed.  'Course, I can't take all the credit.  God put many people into my life who have encouraged me along the way.  Maybe my faith in Him is getting to come back, too (again, not something I'll go into for now).

The second time seeing Joker was to better digest it as a film for its own sake.  Within a few more days the movie had been seen by several others around our offices of the mental health department.  Joker has evoked more discussion in our field than a film is apt to do for any industry (well, except for how I heard that the techs at NASA were having a giggle-fit while seeing Armageddon).  And I decided that maybe with all of the conversation about mental illness as it's portrayed in this movie, that maybe I should catch it again.  And I did.  And some thoughts have been percolating about it.

So here it is: Joker is not a movie about mental illness.  At least not mental illness as is medically understood.

Let's look at Arthur Fleck with an objective eye.  He's a traumatized individual, and more than he understands at first.  But the one and only true psychiatric condition he's been diagnosed with is his uncontrollable laughter.  Including laughing at the most inappropriate times.  It makes a wreck of his life and is ruining his dream of being a stand-up comedian.  However, strip away those issues... and Arthur Fleck is basically a nice guy with no mental illness of his own.

So what does he have?  Psuedobulbar effect is a behavioral disorder.  Not a mental illness.  There is a difference between the two.  In general, mental illness can be treated.  Not so much a behavioral disorder and in that regard Arthur Fleck's situation could be much worse.  He could be a full-blown psychopath.  That he cares for his mother and for others apparently should be thorough disqualification of his having psychopathy.  Neither does he seem to demonstrate narcissistic personality problems.  The delusions he has?  Most certainly mental illness... but those only began to come about after his circumstances began to deteriorate.  Left on his own, Arthur Fleck would likely have had a shot at a fairly normal and productive life.

Except that he was born and raised in Gotham City.  By someone who wasn't the best of mothers.  And he has a behavioral issue that brands stigma upon him by a town without pity.  And then one night he takes a ride on a train...

No, Arthur Fleck has no mental illness.  He makes some mistakes, but none that would really ruin anyone else for life.  His is a behavioral disorder that otherwise has no bearing on his personality.  Which, could be argued that he's a guy with a basically good heart.  And then one bad night pulls all the triggers and he's set down the path to true madness.  Again, not really his own doing.

What is Joker about, then?  I see its moral as being much the one of Frank Capra's Lost Horizon: "Be kind to one another."

It's not mental illness per se that gives birth to the Joker in Todd Phillips' film.  It's just one bad day followed by a slew of other bad days, and it might be enough to destroy almost anyone (as Alan Moore explored in the classic Batman graphic novel The Killing Joke).  It's the toxic buildup of man's inhumanity to man, dropped upon one man who otherwise has no skin in that game.  And he utterly cracks.

With enough pressure, it might happen to almost anyone.  So no, this iteration of the Joker (one of many, since the Joker loves his past being multiple choice) isn't the spawn of mental illness.  He's not even the creation of society at large.  But he is the product of the worst of that society when good people choose to be indifferent and unwilling to be intolerant of true cruelty.

As I said earlier, Joker has led to a lot of conversation throughout the professional mental health field.  No doubt it will for quite awhile to come.  I can easily see Joker being shown and discussed in high school and college classrooms for the next twenty years, at least.  So many spheres of thought that this film encompasses: psychology, sociology, law, ethics...

Joker is a masterpiece in every sense.  And I look forward to adding it to my Blu-ray collection (which may be coming as early as next month, if rumors about those profit-savvy Warner Brothers rushing it out before Christmas hold water).

Anyhoo, all two of this blog's faithful readers might be wondering: "Chris, where you been dude?"

Mainly it's been the job I've had for seven months now.  The past few especially have been loaded with training and certification exams.  There is also the matter of how it's a new program we've been getting off the ground.  It's been an adjustment, especially mentally: juggling professional obligations with maintaining my own mind.  The past number of weeks have borne some radically positive fruit in that regard.  But across the board, results are being seen.  And there is a lot of personal satisfaction to be drawn from that... and also an honor and a privilege to be working alongside such amazing people.

So, go see Joker if you haven't already.  Brace yourself for a whole new era when Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker bows and we have saga rumors never more.  Watch this space for more posts soon!

And, be kind to one another.

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What a lousy day to be a Batman fan

First it was the news that Frank Miller is making ANOTHER sequel to his legendary graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns.

And now tonight it's this: the first look at Jared Leto as the Joker in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie:

Disney shareholders, be of good cheer.  Your Marvel Cinematic Universe need not fear any competition from DC.

Romero.  Nicholson.  Hamill.  Ledger.  Leto.  One of these is not like the others.  One of these just doesn't belong...

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Just watched the premiere episode of GOTHAM

I rarely watch television.  A show has to be very good for me to invest any of my valuable time toward.  As things stand now the only shows that I can think of that I indulge myself in are Doctor Who and The Walking Dead.

It is much rarer still that I will watch the pilot episode of a new series when the show has its premiere.  In fact, I can probably count the number of times that I've done that, across my entire life, on one hand.

It is almost inconceivably extremely more rare that I will watch a premiere episode and find myself impressed.

All of that said, having just watched the premiere of Fox's new series Gotham, this episode wildly exceeded all possible expectations.

This is potentially the finest and most faithful take on the Batman mythos than anything we've seen yet, including the Christopher Nolan film trilogy.  Very astounding that, given that this series is taking place years before Bruce Wayne pulls on the cowl for the first time.  Speaking of which, I thought that Gotham's interpretation of the Wayne murders was the best on-screen adaptation of that iconic moment by far.

Fox, congratulations.  You've pulled off the seemingly impossible by compelling me to put Gotham in my DVR's queue right from the getgo.

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Two amazing fan films: sequel to STAR TREK's "Who Mourns for Adonais?" and ARKHAM RISING

An awful lot of the homegrown cinema lately seems to have more heart and soul than most of the big studio productions.  These two fan-created films are some of the best that I've seen lately.

First up, it's a sequel to the original Star Trek episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?".  "Pilgrim of Eternity" has Michael Forest reprising his role as Apollo from the 1967 episode.  The script was written by Jack Treviño (who wrote the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes "Little Green Men" and "Indiscretion").  Christopher Doohan - son of James Doohan - plays Scotty and Marina Sirtis herself is the voice of the Enterprise computer.  And not being content with just one Apollo, "Pilgrim of Eternity" also has Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica's Lee Adama) as a redshirt security officer!


And then we have this: Arkham Rising.  Set during the events of The Dark Knight Rises, Arkham Rising takes us into Arkham Asylum just after Bane breaks open Blackgate Prison.  This very well could have been a deleted scene from The Dark Knight Rises.  In fact, I kinda wish it was.  Especially in how it attempts to answer the most tantalizing question left from that movie: "Where was the Joker?!"


The thing I like most about Arkham Rising is how it plausibly demonstrates that Batman really could have battled more of his rogues gallery than were depicted on-screen in the Nolan continuity.  If you ever wanted to see what a Nolan-esque take on the Riddler, the Mad Hatter and the Calendar Man could have been, Arkham Rising serves it up.  And if you go to the Arkham Files on the film's official website you can find stuff about the Penguin, Poison Ivy and Clayface.  I bet these guys could have even pulled off a Nolan-ish Mister Freeze, they did such a great job!

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Hey Hey Hey! It's the profanity-strewn prison rape episode of FAT ALBERT!

A few weeks ago I came across a religious broadcasting station that runs episodes of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids on weekday afternoons.  I'd forgotten how awesome this show was!  My DVR has been set accordingly, so I can once again watch the wacky adventures of Fat Albert and his gang during the evenings or whenever.

From the show's start, its creator/producer/narrator Bill Cosby intended for the series to teach and enlighten as much as it entertained (it eventually became the basis of Cosby's doctorate in education).  As the show progressed, Cosby and his staff began to take on bolder issues, such as racism and guns (interestingly, that particular episode did not condemn firearms entirely, it just cautioned young people to be extremely careful with them).

So it was 1984 and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was finally winding down after being on Saturday morning television for twelve years.  And the Cos' decided that at long last it was time to unload a "scared straight" story at the kiddies.  Many other shows enjoyed by children were also doing "very special episodes" (I still cringe whenever I think of "Gordon Jump as the pervert bike shop owner" on Diff'rent Strokes... come to think of it, most of the Diff'rent Strokes episodes were like that.  Being "very special", not Dudley and the pervert bike store owner I mean).  Anyway...

"Busted" would be unusual if it had been produced today, but in the mid-Eighties it was way more daring.  In a departure from the norm, Bill Cosby began the show warning viewers that this episode would have foul language (like "bastard", "damn" and "hell") but it had to be that way to be as accurate as possible.  What Bill didn't tell us about is that we would soon be witnessing Fat Albert and his friends being oggled with lustful eyes by hardened felons!  No other episode to the best of my recollection ever had Fat Albert jumping scared into Dumb Donald's arms.  Or had poor little Russell (my favorite character of the entire show) being asked if he wants "a candy bar".

The language has been toned down from its original airing, but everything else is as disturbing as ever.  From 1984 here are Fat Albert, Rudy, Bill, Russell, Bucky, Dumb Donald, Weird Harold and Mushmouth in "Busted"...



That would frighten anybody into doing whatever they possibly could to avoid going to the big house!

Unfortunately, twelve years later would see the publication of Alex Ross' and Mark Waid's classic graphic novel Kingdom Come.  And in its very first pages we find Fat Albert and his pals shooting down some civilians on the streets of Gotham City, just before getting arrested by Batman's patrol droids.

(Looks like "scared straight" didn't work, huh.  One can only assume that Rudy wound up learning the hard way to watch himself in the shower...)

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BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS swoops in on October 25th

There goes whatever plans I might have had for that day...



GameInformer.com has news and details about Batman: Arkham Origins: the follow-up to Rocksteady's Arkham Asylum and Arkham City.  However this is a prequel to those games, taking place "years before both of the previous Arkham titles when a young, unrefined Batman encounters many supervillains for the first time".

Rocksteady won't be developing this new game however.  They've handed the baton to  Warner Bros. Games Montreal, but have made all their tools and resources available so that the series' look and feel remains consistent.  Given how Arkham Asylum garnered universal acclaim as one of the best video games of all time - and that Arkham City received even greater praise - WB Games Montreal has a high mark to hit, much less surpass.  But after seeing that trailer I've confidence they can pull it off.

Now if we can get a proper sequel to Arkham City.  There were way too many dangling threads in that game screaming to be addressed...

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Found on Etsy: Crocheted Bane mask

It won't deliver pain-killing anesthetic, but it might keep your ears warm..

A knitted replica of Bane's headgear from The Dark Knight Rises.  Incredible.  And extremely clever!  Kudos to crochet artist Rose Pope for pulling it off.

You can find it on Etsy but mind ya, there's currently a four-month long waiting list for this hot lil' item.

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Review of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

It's taken me two visits to the theater before my thoughts have settled enough about The Dark Knight Rises to articulate them.

So what did I think of this, the final installment of Christopher Nolan's take on Batman?

More after the jump!

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Trailer for THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, PART 1

Yeah, I've seen The Dark Knight Rises. I'm still mulling it over but increasingly it's becoming a movie that I like the more that I think about it. Will try to post a review soon (something which I never got around to doing with The Dark Knight).

But while we're on the subject of Batman, here's the just-released trailer for DC Animated's The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1, due out on Blu-ray and DVD on September 25th. And it looks to be a spot-on perfect adaptation of the revered graphic novel by Frank Miller!

This is the first time I'm hearing Peter Weller as Bruce Wayne/Batman since his casting was announced. Part of me is always going to be hearing Clint Eastwood's voice (especially during the book's later scenes when Batman is on horseback) but Weller's is just fine.

Batman shooting at young people: makes ya glad that Warner Bros. learned something from that fiasco with Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, huh?

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An observation about the Aurora movie theater shooting...

There are far more comedy movies than action movies

If movies are to blame for violence, how come we don't see comedy breaking out in the streets?

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Third trailer for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

"You don't owe these people anymore. You've given them everything."

"Not everything. Not yet."

For the first time, I am beginning to warm up to the "eight years later..." aspect of The Dark Knight Rises. Mainly 'cuz it looks like Christopher Nolan really is giving us something we've never seen cinematically before: a Batman facing his own doubts and mortality. That Nolan is apparently drawing from three of the greatest Batman storylines ever - The Dark Knight Returns, Knightfall and No Man's Land - is convincing me even more that I can accept this being the closing chapter of a trilogy, instead of that ongoing Batman film franchise that I had hoped Batman Begins would have been the start of.

'Course it goes without saying that this trailer is gorgeous, in a hauntingly subtle way that I can't remember seeing from a trailer for a comic book movie.

You can also watch it in glorious high-def Quicktime in 720P or 1080P.

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Finally finished BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY

I'd had Batman: Arkham City, the follow-up to 2009's mega-hit Batman: Arkham Asylum, since its release date back in October. Hadn't devoted much time into it though until this past week. Guess I'm still trying to distract myself from Mom's passing (now four weeks ago) and since anything Batman is best enjoyed in the dark of night, that's when I've been playing it.

There are still some side-missions that I'm working on, but I finished the main story yesterday morning, after starting a new game fresh last week.

Just one word: YOWZERS!!!

Forget it being just the greatest Batman video game ever. Because Batman: Arkham City is... the greatest Batman story ever told, in my book. That you get to be Batman makes it all the sweeter.

That is the ballsiest ending of a video game that I've seen ever pulled off. Not gonna spoil it if you haven't played it yet but, it's something that has been done VERY rarely in the entire 70-some year history of the Dark Knight and this is the first time that it's been done in the scope of a video game... and somehow that made it all the more poignant and powerful.

I don't know WHAT the heck game studio Rocksteady is going to do for a third Arkham game, or how it could possibly top this one, but I've no doubt that it's coming. All the clues are there, especially (SPOILER highlight with mouse to read) the fact that Harley Quinn is pregnant with Joker's baby! Now if that ain't the proverbial loaded gun on the wall, I don't know what is. My guess: Arkham 3 will see all hell break loose on the streets of Gotham City itself. It was a massive mistake to hole up all that criminally psychotic potential within the walls of Arkham City. Maybe the next game could be called Batman: Arkham Unleashed or something...

A good video game is like a good book: the person should go away feeling that it was time well spent. That, Batman: Arkham City accomplished in grand style. Have to give this game my highest recommendation, folks. Also well worth buying first-hand so you can get the Catwoman side-story download included with it.

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THE DARK KNIGHT RISES first real trailer is out right now!!

"When Gotham is ashes, you have my permission to die."

Click here to visit the official site for The Dark Knight Rises and watch Bane unleash unholy terror on Gotham City.

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THE DARK KNIGHT RISES orchestral score needs YOUR voice!

In what has to be one of the coolest efforts at crowdsourcing ever, composer Hans Zimmer has put the word out that he needs our vocal talents for next summer's The Dark Knight Rises: Christopher Nolan's third and final Batman film.

Want to contribute? All you gotta do is record yourself repeating the same crazy chant that's been heard in the teaser that came out a few months ago. As Zimmer puts it...

"I'm shining the bat-signal up into the sky to call you all! We need to hear your voices! Now and Loud! We are creating the sound of a worldwide chant. Everyone come and be part of it. It's easy: There is no such thing as out-of-tune, no timing we can't fix later. If you mumble, growl, scream or whisper, it's all good. Make it yours. If you only get halfway through, no problem! Do it alone, bring your friends, but do it with energy and commitment. Let your voice be heard and be a part of our adventure!"

The chant itself is apparently "Deh-shay, deh-shay bah-sah-rah, bah-sah-rah", which means in Moroccan "He rises, he rises!" Go to the project's main site, read and agree to the rules, then start chanting away! Who knows: that could be your voice booming across those IMAX speakers come July!

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Bane and the bridesmaids

Photographer Jason Wickerham took some terrific photos over the weekend of filming of The Dark Knight Rises currently taking place in Pittsburgh. Near the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute Building, there was a wedding going on at a church across the street and Jason caught this image of Tom Hardy, in full costume as mega-villain Bane, waving to the bridesmaids...

Click here to see more of Jason's photos, including some of the first shots anywhere of the Bane costume, more of the wedding party including the bride and groom being allowed to pose with the un-blackened Tumbler, Marion Cotillard in her costume, and some killer pics of Batman and Bane fighting it out... in broad daylight and falling snow?

The Dark Knight Rises next summer.

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THE DARK KNIGHT RISES teaser trailer is online!

And that ain't even the best look at Bane that we get in the first trailer for The Dark Knight Rises! That comes at the end of the one and a half minute-long glimpse of next year's surefire megahit.

Yes friends, Warner Bros. has officially released the trailer online (which you couldn't see until now unless you went to see the last Harry Potter movie over the weekend, which I didn't, so this is new to me too).

My only gripe is that this is going to be the last of the "Nolan-verse" Batman... which is easily my most favorite Batman continuity ever! I'd hoped that Warners might have let Nolan's work be the springboard of an ongoing series, sorta like its own James Bond franchise. But we've had two excellent Batman movies from Christopher Nolan already and I've no doubt that he will end this trilogy in fine form!

Anyhoo, there it is. And if that YouTube link disappears, you can still find the teaser pretty much anywhere.

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First picture of Tom Hardy as Bane in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

The official site for The Dark Knight Rises has gone online and much like the gradual reveal of Heath Ledger's Joker during the lead-up to The Dark Knight a few years ago, the Warner Bros. marketing team has left it to the fans to figure out how to get their first glimpse at the next Batman movie's big villain.

But those industrious folks at ComingSoon.net got to it first. Here's the first official look at Tom Hardy as Bane!

Well, he doesn't have the tubes running to the back of his skull for the Venom drug... but I can definitely dig this being Bane. Hardy looks the part without the mask being "Gimp"-y at all.

Maybe this'll be the final nail in the coffin of the bad memories still lingering from Batman & Robin... :-P

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Animated THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. 'Nuff said...

What is regarded by many as the greatest Batman story ever told may be getting the DC animated treatment very soon...

Entertainment website Bleeding Cool is reported that The Dark Knight Returns is being adapted by the same team that worked on All Star Superman and the upcoming animated rendition of Batman: Year One.

Hailed as the defining treatment of Batman for the modern era, Frank Miller and Klaus Janson's The Dark Knight Returns is as bold and striking today as it was when it first hit comic book stores in 1986. The tale of Bruce Wayne - now 55-years old and having stopped being Batman ten years earlier - having the ultimate mid-life crisis and coming out of retirement into a world indifferent and even hostile to justice, not only broke new ground: it put Batman back on track to where he was perhaps always supposed to be.

I first read The Dark Knight Returns in the summer of 1989 (the summer of everything Batman) and ever since, I've been dreaming of a full-length feature adaptation of this story. Here's hoping that Warner Bros. won't be timid and will allow this film to have the hard "R" rating that it deserves. Yeah Warners, don't skimp on anything. Not even Bruno's exposed and swastika-tattooed breasts and buttocks (something that Batman creator Bob Kane confessed being mystified about). And however much money it takes, bring on Clint Eastwood to voice Batman!

Between that and nice long sequences of the scenes where Batman and his retinue are on horseback, this is already set to be animated glory.

(And hey, nice to have some good Batman news hot on the heels of those horrid costumes from the Batman Live show :-P)

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