Batman The Dark Knight Returns Part 1

• Title:  Batman The Dark Knight Returns Part 1
• Director:  Jay Olivia
• Voice Director:  Andrea Romano
• Date:  2012
• Studio:  Warner Brothers Animation
• Genre:  Action, Animation
• Cast:  Peter Weller, Ariel Winter, David Selby, Wade Williams, Maurice LaMarche, Michael McKean, Rob Paulsen, Tara Strong, Frank Welker
• Format:  Widescreen Color Animation
• DVD Format:  R 1, NTSC

"We must believe we can all defeat our own private demons." -- Bruce Wayne, during press conference

"Two abducted children were found alive in a riverside warehouse along with six critically injured members of the mutant gang.  The children describe the gang's attacker as, 'a man dressed as Dracula.' "-- Female Newscaster

"If  it's suicide you're after, I have an old family recipe.  It's slow and painful -- you'd like it." -- Alfred, to Bruce

"I played along as long as I could, while you and the docs had your joke.  you got everyone to smile and keep their lunches down when they looked at me, pretending I looked normal. ... Just look at me and have your laugh.  Get it over with.  At least both sides match now, right?  Look at me, and have your laugh." -- Harvey Dent

Batman The Dark Knight Returns is based on Frank Miller's incomparable graphic novel of the same name. Miller's work changed comics for a decade, and it's effects are still being felt.  The animated film starts quickly, with no credits (they will appear at the end).  Commissioner Gordon is weeks from retirement, and the Batman hasn't been seen in Gotham City for ten years.  The city is in a grip of a crime wave, mostly caused by the Mutants, a gang dedicated to horrific violence even more than crime.  Bruce Wayne and James Gordon are having dinner.  Gordon lightly inquires about Batman, and then brings up Dick and Jason. Bruce insists he's given up his old life fighting crime, but isn't happy that Gordon's brought up the Robins.

Bruce leaves his meeting with Gordon and walks through Crime Alley, there he is reminded of his parents' deaths and his one-time vow to stop crime.  Some Mutants approach to attack Bruce, but he frightens them off.  That night, he dreams about his experiences.  He remembers falling down a well, and being scared by bats.  Unable to sleep, Bruce goes to the Batcave and stares at Robin's shrine.  Alfred arrives, concerned.  to Bruce's own surprise, he has shaved off his mustache.

Meanwhile, at the Arkham Home, a Dr. Wolper (Michael McKean) works with Harvey Dent, to rehabilitate the criminal once known as Two-Face.  Joker is also in Arkham, but completely comatose.  Harvey, his face  restored, and supposedly cured of  his criminal bent, is released, but then disappears.

Meanwhile, back at his manor, Bruce Wayne is flipping TV channels in the middle of  the night.  He keeps finding news reports of Gotham's escalating violence.  But he also comes across a late night showing of The Mark of  Zorro, the film he saw with his parents That Fateful Night.  The film brings back bad memories of his trauma.  But even as he tries to escape his memories by flipping channels, he only hears more bad news of crime and violence.  Even the weather report of the on-coming storm seems dire.  Bruce's memories mix with the Voice of  the Bat, calling him to return.  A bat breaks through his window.

Meanwhile, Carrie and her friend Michelle have taken a short cut through The Arcade to escape the rain.  Michelle is nervous because she has heard it's a Mutant Gang hideout.  Carrie pooh-poohs her fears.  Then the lights go out and Mutants attack.  Batman confronts the Mutants and rescues the girls.

He also catches an armed robber the cops are chasing.  TV news clips and reports are soon covering the story of  the return of  Batman from a number of perspectives.  Ever Carrie and Michelle are interviewed.

Alfred helps Bruce with his physical injuries, and chides him that he really is getting too old for this kind of thing.

The next day, one of  the thugs Batman had captured and beaten up is in Gordon's office with his lawyer, claiming "police brutality".  Gordon simply releases the guy.  This turns out to be Batman's plan, who follows him and tortures him to get information on Two-Face.

Meanwhile, Carrie listens to her parents whining and gets sick of  it, she sees the Batman symbol on a building and is heartened.

Gordon meanwhile has contacted Batman.  He tells Batman two helicopters were stolen the previous night.  Batman responses he didn't get much out of  Two-Face's lackey, just that the crime was going down the next day.  Gordon responds that it makes sense, since it's Tuesday and the second of  the month.  Then Two Face breaks into the television signal of a news report.  He claims to have two bombs and he will destroy the Gotham Life Building (which has two towers) unless he's paid off with Twenty-two million dollars, and he gives the citizens of Gotham twenty-two minutes to comply.

Batman defuses one bomb, but he's attacked when he tries to cross on a line to the other tower.  Harvey Dent (Two Face) and Batman crash through a window into the other building.  There Batman pulls off Harvey's bandages, but he looks normal.  Harvey, however, is delusional, and thinks that both sides of  his face are horribly disfigured and scarred.

On TV, a point-to-point debate pits pro Batman Daily Planet managing editor, Lana Lang, against anti-Batman author Dr. Wolper.  More news clips follow the rising debate.

Carrie dresses as Robin.

A newscaster reports that James Gordon has been killed, then admits she "read it wrong", James Gordon killed a Mutant gang member.

Carrie tries out being Robin, and discovers her fear of  heights, but slowly she starts to get it.

The Mutants kidnap a wealthy family's two-year-old heir; Batman rescues the child and defeats the Mutants.

The screen goes completely dark as Batman questions a suspect, eventually he takes his hand away from the man's eyes, and reveals he's holding him over the Gotham city streets far below.

Carrie stops a purse snatching.

Batman confronts the general who sold military-grade arms to the Mutants.

Batman and separately, Carrie go to the Gotham dump to confront the Mutants.  Bruce is badly beaten by the Mutant Leader.  Carrie manages to get him inside the Batmobile, which looks like a tank.  Bruce orders the car back to the cave, despite Alfred's pleas to go to the hospital.  He takes Carrie with him and tells Alfred she will be trained as a Robin.  Alfred isn't hot on the idea.  Bruce also goes deep into the cave, alone, to confront his demons.  He decides to continue as Batman.  He flashes back to the loss of  his parents.

On TV, again Lana Lang and Dr. Wolper debate about Batman.  Carrie stares at the Robin memorial in the cave.  The mayor appoints a female, anti-Batman police commissioner, Ellen Yindel.  The mayor also offers to meet with the Mutant leader to arrange appeasement.

Alfred tries to talk to Bruce about his plans.  When he doesn't appear to be getting through, he brings up Jason.  Bruce refers to Jason as a "good soldier" but that the war must go on.  He has Carrie undercover as a Mutant pass along a message for all the Mutant gang members to meet at "the Pipe".

Gordon talks to Yindel, trying to explain to her why he approves of  the Batman.  When the mayor is killed by the Mutant leader during their "peace treaty", Gordon agrees with Batman's plan, and sees to it the Leader is able to escape.

Batman again confronts the Mutant leader.  They fight in the mud by the Pipe, in front of  all the Mutant gang members.  Batman uses his smarts as well as his fighting abilities to defeat the Leader.  As a result, the Mutant gang is broken up.  Gordon's officers arrest several, others break off  into other splinter gangs.  One gang, the Sons of  Batman, insist on "actions not words" and attack other criminals.

Gordon turns in his badge and gun, retiring.  Ordinary citizens start to stand up to violence, a man stops a mugging in front of  his store.  The TV news clips runs other clips, both pro and con Batman and the new reality.

The Joker awakes as he hears the news.

The story will be continued in part 2.

Batman The Dark Knight Returns is awesome!  The story is straight from Frank Miller's classic graphic novel, and the animated film does not hold back.  This is a dark, and violent story with lots of  blood.  But the animation is also awesome.  Many of  the images are truly memorable, and often it is the images that tell the story, especially Bruce Wayne's flashbacks to his parents' murder and becoming Batman.  Meanwhile, Gotham City is a mess -- without Batman, violence, especially gang violence, has taken over the streets and ordinary people have no hope.  The constant TV news cashes in on the violence and "bad news", offering no reprieve from the sense of  gloom and hopelessness.

The film realistically portrays an older Bruce Wayne, with lined face, who groans and creaks when he returns to the life of  Batman.  Commissioner James Gordon is also considerably older, and ready to retire.

Television news dominates the lives of  everyone in Gotham, and even Carrie gets on TV to tell the story of how she was rescued in the Arcade (by a man -- seven feet tall!).  Like the graphic novel, much of the structure of the actual story is told in the comments of  the newscasters, and people they interview.  Much of this is also full of  irony and dark humor, such as the man who advises that criminals need to be rehabilitated back into society -- then acknowledges that he "doesn't live in the city".

The animation in the film is incredible!  Not only is it very real-looking, but it's dark and has the slightly "washed" look of the original graphic novel.  Great images abound, as well as novel things such as a scene that's completely black, with only audio to tell you what Batman's doing.  Uses of flashes of  lightning or gunshots or other bright, sudden sources of  light are also used in other scenes.  The over-all effect is of watching a moving graphic novel.

The plot of  the film is an excellent adaptation of  the graphic novel.  Not only is Batman brought back after a gap of  ten years, but he confronts two main villains beyond his own age:  The Mutant gang, notably their leader, and Two Face (Harvey Dent).  Both these villains are psychologically interesting an complex.  The Mutants look like punks, and act like them too -- committing horrible acts of  violence not for money or to survive, but because they can.  In other words, they are bullies - pure and simple.  And like any bully, when Batman defeats their leader in front of  the entire gang, the gang itself falls apart.  And, some members of  the gang decide to follow Batman instead.  The other villain is Harvey Dent.  This film doesn't go into too much detail about Harvey's backstory, however, Bruce Wayne has personally paid for Harvey's rehabilitation.  Harvey's face is rebuilt, and a "psycholigist" is employed to help re-build Harvey's broken psyche.  Yet when he's released from Arkham, Harvey goes straight back to his life of crime.  When Batman catches up to him, Harvey is completely delusional - convince his face is now horribly scarred on both sides, and that's how it was made to "match".  Bruce is crushed - in a way he's sympathetic, because he also can only see himself  as  Batman.

The film is very violent, and there's just a lot of  blood.  If you've read the graphic novel, this isn't surprising, but if you're only familiar with the DC animated universe and original films -- this one is considerably more adult in tone and imagery.  The rating is PG-13, and it should be at least that, if not limited to 15-year-olds and up.  But overall I highly, highly recommend it.  And if you loved the graphic novel, you will really love this film.

Recommendation:  See it!
Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars
Next Film:  Batman The Dark Knight Returns Part 2

The Thin Man

• Title:  The Thin Man
• Director:  WS Van Dyke
• Date:  1934
• Studio:  MGM
• Genre:  Mystery, Drama, Comedy
• Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen o'Sullivan, Cesar Romero
• Format:  Black/White, Standard
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"You see, the important thing is the rhythm.  You always have rhythm in your shaking.  Now a Manhatten you shake to a foxtrot.  A Bronx to two-step time but a dry martini you always shake to waltz time." - Nick, explaining how to make martinis.

"Nick? Nicky?" - Nora
"What?" - Nick
"You asleep?" - Nora
"Yes." - Nick
"Good. I want to talk to you." - Nora

"I read where you were shot five times in the tabloids." - Nora
"It's not true.  He didn't come anywhere near my tabloids." - Nick

The Thin Man is a successful film accomplishment of style over substance.  The film is loosely based on Dashiell Hammett's novel.  However, the film is less about the mystery and three murders to be solved than about it's two lead characters, married couple Nick and Nora Charles.  Nick is a "retired" private detective now living large on his very wealthy wife's income.  However, everyone, including Nora, keeps urging him to go back to being a detective because he was so good at it.  Meanwhile, a old friend of  Nick's, Dorothy, shows up to also request Nick's help.  She is due to be married, but her father, Wynant, is missing.  The last anyone knew of her father, he told everyone he was "going away on business" and he would be back by Christmas.  Yet when he doesn't arrive, Dorothy, and eventually everyone else in his life (his ex-wife, her new husband, their son, Dorothy and her fiance', his partner from work, his attorney) begin to worry.

Although he considers himself retired, eventually Nick is drawn into investigating.  He finds a body in Wynant's shop which the police assume is Wynant's victim.  But Nick knows it's Wynant.  He invites all the suspects to a dinner party and questions them... which leads to the murderer revealing himself.

The mystery is a bit more complex, and at times confusing, but the focus of  the film is the relationship of married couple Nick and Nora and their dog, Asta, a Airedale Terrier who steals the show.  Nick and Nora Charles, are fond of exquisite cocktails, exquisite parties, and exquisite living.  They are very much in love, and trade quips and smart dialogue.  The dialogue of the film is smart, sassy, clever, and cute in a good way. And, in an era before TV, it isn't surprising that The Thin Man was followed by five written for the screen sequels.  Nick's idea of  bringing all the suspects together for questioning and accusations until one confesses is a motif that would continue in detective fiction for decades to come.  Likewise Nick and Nora clever, witty dialogue would inspire 1980s TV programs like Remington Steele and Moonlighting.

Overall, I recommend this film.  It's short, enjoyable, fun and funny.  It's like spending an evening with a pair of  classy, witty, clever friends.

Recommendation:  See it!
Rating:  4 out of 5 Stars
Next Film:  The Third Man

Swing Time

• Title:  Swing Time
• Director:  George Stevens
• Date:  1936
• Studio:  RKO Radio Pictures
• Genre:  Musical, Comedy, Romance
• Cast:  Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Betty Furness
• Format:  Standard, Black and White
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"My talent  is gambling, Pop, hoofing is all right, but there's no future in it.  I want to spread out."-- John "Lucky" Garnett (Fred Astaire)

"Listen, no one could teach you to dance in a million years!  Take my advice, and save your money."-- Penny (Ginger Rogers) to Lucky

"It's funny how we met... and all that's happened to us since."-- Penny
"The way we've been sorta'... thrown together and everything."-- Lucky
"As if  it were all meant to happen."-- Penny
"It's quite an experience."-- Lucky
"No, it's more than an experience.  It's sorta like... a romance."-- Penny

Swing Time is one of my three favorite Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals (the other two being Shall We Dance and Top Hat).  This time, Fred plays John "Lucky" Garnett, a professional dancer who's about to marry his high school sweetheart.  The guys in his touring dance troop know they will be out of a job if Garnett leaves the stage for marriage and a serious job, so they arrange for him to be hours late for his own wedding.  When he misses the wedding the girl's father actually makes a deal with Garnett... if he can make $25,000 then he will let him marry his daughter.  Lucky takes the challenge and goes off to the city to make his fortune.

In a large city, presumably New York, he runs into a girl, Penny Carroll (Ginger Rogers).  He follows her and finds out she's an "instructress" at a dance studio.  Deciding to have a little fun, he dances badly, causing several prat falls with Penny... who gets so frustrated she tells him no one will ever be able to teach him to dance, he should save his money.  Unfortunately, her boss over-hears this and fires her and her maiden aunt (Helen Broderick).  Lucky feels bad and decides to show Penny's boss that she has taught him a thing or two and the two dance together.  Penny's boss is so impressed he gets them an audition at the Silver Sandles club.

Unfortunately, unbeknownest to Penny, Lucky is flat broke, he only has the wedding clothes he's wearing to his name.  He sends his friend Pops to get some money, but Pops isn't as good a gambler as Lucky.  He brings a drunken gambler to Lucky's for a game of "strip pichet" (no idea... a card game that looked like some version of gin).  Lucky's never played the game before and loses.

Penny gets mad at Lucky for blowing their audition.  But he gets them a second tryout.  She relents after he sings to her while her hair is covered in shampoo.  At the club, they dance together on the crowded dance floor, but before they can perform their number... the orchestra leader cancels and leaves.  He's had a crush on Penny for awhile, and refuses to play to see her dance for another man.

Lucky gambles again for the orchestra... and wins it.  He and Penny get their audition.  Penny and Lucky, with the orchestra become a star attraction, and the owner of the Silver Sandals offers Lucky 50 percent of the take.  Mindful of his deal with his ex-fiancee's father, he argues it down to 25 percent.  He'd earlier quit his bets at the roulette wheel because he was afraid of  winning too much.

Lucky, Penny, Pop, and Mabel (Penny's maiden aunt) head out to the country to relax, even though it's the dead of winter and it's snowing.

They return to the city and the Silver Sandals is re-opening after it's make-over.  Ricardo, the band leader, tries to give Penny jewelry and she refuses it.  Mabel challenges Penny to kiss Lucky.  She's determined to, loses her nerve, and then they do... off screen, hidden by a open door.

Lucky, with his dancers and chorus girls, dances to "Bojangles of  Harlem" as the new opening number of the club.

Margaret, Lucky's ex-fiancee arrives at the club.  Pops plays card tricks with some wise guys in the audience of the club.  Unfortunately, they are the ones Lucky won the orchestra from.  Even worse... they now know Pops palmed the Ace for Lucky... something even Lucky hadn't realized.  Confronted with the evidence that he cheated, Lucky decides to re-draw cards, and loses.

Penny finds out about Lucky gambling... and losing... and gets really upset, and even more upset when she finds out about Lucky's ex-fiancee.

Ricardo (the orchestra leader) proposes to Penny, and in a fit of pique she accepts him.

Fred sings "Never Gonna Dance" to her and they dance together, but it is a dance of  love and loss, and at the top of  the Silver Sandals set, the two part company.

But Margaret is there to give John a "Dear John" letter... she's fallen in love with someone else.  Meanwhile Lucky is completely in love with Penny. In the end, Pops and Lucky pull the same gag with cuffed trousers on Ricardo as his band had pulled on Lucky in the prologue, giving Lucky enough time to talk to Penny and stop the wedding.

List of  Musical Numbers

• Pick Yourself  Up - Fred and Ginger vocals, and dance - Ballroom & Partner Tap
• The Way You Look Tonight - Fred, vocals
• Waltz in Swing Time - Fred and Ginger, dance - Ballroom & Partner Tap
• A Fine Romance - Ginger and Fred vocals
• Bojangles of Harlem - Fred & Chorus - dance
• Never Gonna Dance - Fred, vocals - Fred and Ginger - Ballroom Dance

Swing Time is just pure fun.  Fred and Ginger are in fine form, and the picture mixes romance with comedy and irony.  For example, Fred sings the lovely ballad, "The Way You Look Tonight" to Ginger -- while her hair is covered in shampoo and she's annoyed with him, rather than in a traditional romantic setting.  "A Fine Romance" is a sarcastic song with both Fred and Ginger spitting lyrics like - "A Fine Romance... with no kisses".  The film also uses the RKO Players like Eric Blore and Helen Broderick to fill in the comedy moments of  the plot.  The only real out of place number is "Bojangles of Harlem" which is, unfortunately, done with Astaire in blackface.  Otherwise, it's a fine number (which includes Astaire dancing with three shadows... that suddenly start to not follow him).  But yeah, dated, is the kindest word for it.  The Silver Sandals set is a lovely two-level art deco set with a black and white dance floor below, and a shining black dance floor above.  The two floors are connected by two staircases, one on each side of  the main dance area.  The set is used particularly well when Fred and Ginger dance to "Never Gonna Dance" -- a song of love and loss, that ends with them parting, which at that point in the plot they do.  It's lovely.

Recommendation:  See it!

Rating:  4 out of 5 Stars

Next Film:  The Thin Man

Suspicion

• Title:  Suspicion
• Director:  Alfred Hitchcock
• Studio:  RKO Radio Pictures
• Date:  1941
• Genre:  Mystery, Film Noir, Drama
• Cast:  Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Leo G. Carroll, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce
• Format:  B/W, Standard
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"I'm honest because with you I think it's the best way to get results." -- Johnnie

"Monkey-face, I've been broke all my life!" -- Johnnie

Suspicion starts like any light romantic comedy.  Johnnie (Cary Grant) meets Lina on a train and tries to pick her up, but she's unimpressed.  They run into each other again at a fox hunt.  He talks her for a walk on a Sunday, and makes a date for later that afternoon.  Lina announces this to her parents, but he breaks their date for that afternoon, and for a week, Lina is miserable because she hasn't seen him in so long.  However, he returns just in time for the hunt ball.  Very soon after, Lina sneaks out of  her parents house and the two are married at the registry office.  The two go on a whirl-wind European honeymoon, then return to a new house - where Lina discovers that Johnnie has no money.

Suddenly, instead of a light romance, the film resembles Gaslight.  Over and over, Lina picks up on her husband acting weirdly, or suspiciously.  But she has no proof, no idea what's really going on, and every time Johnnie's money troubles seem to catch up with him, he suddenly comes up with the money he needs (such as a £2000 pound windfall that Johnnie claims he got from the track).  Lina notices her husband is fascinated with detective and murder stories... but at first thinks nothing of  it.  But when Johnnie's dear friend, Beaky, dies under mysterious circumstances, Lina goes to their mutual friend Isobel, a mystery writer.  Isobel talks about her recent mystery, where a man causes another man to walk over a weakened foot bridge and fall to his death.  Isobel says that morally it's murder if the first man knew the bridge was weak.  She then casually says "It's the same with Johnnie's friend, Beaky."  Beaky had died after drinking a large amount of  brandy in a drinking contest - despite his allergy to brandy.  Lina freaks at this, because she knows that Johnnie knows about Beaky's allergy, and that Beaky would sometimes still drink brandy even though it caused him to have fits, and trouble breathing.  Later, Isobel, her husband, Lina, Johnny, and a strange blond woman dressed as a man have a dinner party.  Johnnie's dinner conversation though not only focuses on murder but on untraceable poisons.  Lina's so freaked she won't let him into her bedroom that night.

Things finally come to a head when Lina decides to go home to spend a few days with her mother.  Johnnie insists on driving her.  On a winding road, Lina thinks he's trying to kill her, but he pulls her back into the car, then yells at her.  When they talk, Lina comes to the conclusion that Johnnie was considering suicide as a way out of  his money problems, and for her to get his insurance money to settle his debts for once and for all.  Lina throws herself  into his arms, and they drive back towards their house.

In Gaslight, Ingrid Bergman gradually comes to realize that her husband is a criminal who only married her to have access to the empty house next to hers, where he thinks there's a treasure.  The husband manipulates his wife, trying to make her think she's going insane - and she's only saved at the last minute by a kind policeman.

Suspicion is much more unsettling.  Cary Grant is very menacing - and switches from his "happy go lucky", "everything is fine" personality to someone who is truly scary like lightening.  He clearly seems to not only not want to work, but to only have a talent for losing money - and he routinely borrows money to pay off  his most insistent debtors.  Yet, at the same time, Joan Fontaine's Lina, seems almost paranoid.  We see her getting little pieces of evidence that her husband's up to no good, such as when she goes to visit him at his office, and learns from his employer and a family friend (played brilliantly by Leo G. Carroll) that Johnnie was fired weeks ago after £2000 went missing from the business.  But each time she finds something out, he has an explanation and she forgives him and realizes that she loves him.

What makes the film brilliant is that because of Grant's superb acting, and the way he flips back-and-forth between menace and light-hearted kindness, one is never sure of his motives.  Does he want to kill his wife for her money?  It doesn't appear so, he never actually does anything to her.  Yet, at the same time, he's almost slimy in the way that he always has an answer for everything.  At times, Lina seems very alone, but at others she has no problem going out - she visits Isobel with no problems, and sees other friends who seem jealous of  her relationship with Johnnie.  Suspicion is a masterful, and short (only 99 minutes) film with no concrete endings.  I highly recommend it.

Recommendation:  See it!

Rating:  5 of  5 Stars

Next Film:  Swing Time

Batman The Dark Knight Rises

• Title:  (Batman) The Dark Knight Rises
• Director:  Christopher Nolan
• Date:  2012
• Studio:  Warner Brothers
• Genre:  Drama, Action
• Cast:  Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Burn Gorman, Matthew Modine, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy
• Format:  Color, Widescreen
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"You hung-up your cape and cowl but you didn't move on - you never went to find a life.  To find someone..." -- Alfred Pennyworth
"Alfred, I did find someone." -- Bruce Wayne
"I know, and you lost them.  But that's all part of living, sir.  But you're not living, you're just waiting, hoping for things to go bad again." -- Alfred

"I never wanted you to come back to Gotham.  I always knew there was nothing here for you except pain and tragedy and I wanted something more for you than that.  I still do." -- Alfred

"I take what I need from those who have more than enough.  I don't stand on the shoulders of those who have less."  -- Selina Kyle

The Dark Knight Rises opens with a James Bond-like opening sequence, the CIA flies into some country to "rescue" Dr. Pavel, a nuclear physicist.  But Bane, a mercenary and his men take the doctor from the plane and kill everyone on board by causing the plane to crash.  The film then quickly moves to Gotham City.

In Gotham City, the mayor, and Police Commissioner James Gordon are at a celebration/benefit/ceremony for "Harvey Dent Day", Gotham's solemn civic acknowledgement of  the death of  Harvey Dent.  The mayor also mentions that the "Dent Act" has allowed Gotham's police to arrest those involved in organized crime and keep them in jail without parole.  Gordon looks at a speech he's written out, but at the last minute he folds it up and doesn't give the speech.  We learn later that this speech was Gordon's "confession" of  the truth of  what Harvey Dent did after he became Two-Face towards the end of  The Dark Knight - as well as the truth of  what Batman did and did not do.  That is, that eight years ago, Batman took the fall for Dent's actions, then disappeared.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne has become a recluse.  He catches a maid stealing his mother's pearls from his safe, and later realizes she lifted his fingerprints too.  Bruce uses his computers in the Batcave to find out who the maid/catburglar is - she's Selina Kyle.

A young man's body is found in Gotham's tunnels.  One of the investigating officers from Gotham's PD realizes it was someone he knows and goes to St. Swindon's Boys home to tell the man's younger brother the bad news.  Later, Officer Blake goes to Bruce Wayne's home.  He lets Bruce know that he knows that Bruce was the Batman, and that he doesn't believe "he did what they say he did" - but also casually mentions the boys' home is no longer receiving aid from the Wayne Foundation.  Bruce is puzzled by this and decides to clean himself up and head into Wayne Enterprises and Lucius Fox to find out what is going on.  He discovers that Wayne Enterprises is on shaky financial footing, following Bruce's mothballing of  a fusion reactor clean energy project.

Catwoman sells Bruce's prints... but she's also prepared for the deal to go south, which it does.  She has the bad guy she sells the prints to call her friend outside using the cell phone of  a politician she kidnapped at Wayne's party.  When the police arrive, she screams, cries and "acts helpless" as a cover so the police ignore her as a victim and she escapes.

Gordon, meanwhile, is investigating in Gotham's tunnels.  He's captured by Bane's men and brought to Bane.  Bane isn't happy about this, kills two of  his own men, and shoots Gordon - dumping all three in an underground river or conduit that leads to the sewers and eventually out to the river.  But Bane takes Gordon's speech about the truth of  what Harvey Dent did and Batman's innocence.  Blake finds Gordon, washed onto a concrete shore.

Blake tells Bruce Wayne about Gordon getting shot, and Bane's underground (literally) army.  Blake knows that Bruce is Batman and asks him to help.  He tells Bruce, "I don't know why you took the fall for Dent's murder but I'm still a believer in The Batman, even if you're not."

Bruce goes to Miranda Tate's charity ball, where he runs into Selina Kyle.  Miranda was one of  his main investors for the fusion clean energy project.  While they dance, Selina warns Bruce that a storm is coming.

When Bruce goes to Wayne Enterprises - Lucius Fox shows him "The Bat", a stealth urban helicopter (similar in design to the Tumbler car, but for the air).

Bane and his gang attack the Gotham stock market.  Batman arrives to chase the "robbers" of  the stock exchange.  However, all he really does is distract the police.  One particularly enthusiastic cop decides he rather take down The Batman than catch any of  Bane's men from the stock exchange action.  Batman fails to stop Bane's computer program from uploading into the stock exchange, but does grab the Netbook they used.  Batman escapes the police in The Bat.

Selina, in her Catwoman outfit, goes after Daggett, the man she sold Bruce's fingerprints to.  He'd promised her the "Clean Slate" program to wipe her name, details, and police record from every database in the world.  But when she claims what's hers - he tells her it doesn't exist.  Batman arrives.  Batman and Catwoman fight Daggett's troops, then escape in The Bat.

Batman lets Selina off, and returns home.  He's admonished by Alfred, who's had enough.  Alfred tells Bruce the truth - he burnt Rachel's letter than explained she was going to marry Harvey Dent - to spare Bruce pain.  In the ensuing argument - Alfred says he will leave.

The next morning, Bruce is woken up, not by Alfred, but by the front doorbell.  And his faithful butler is no where in sight.  Fox tells Bruce he's broke and Wayne Enterprises will soon be in the hands of  Daggett.  The energy project is in danger, though "Applied Sciences" is off  the books and all the weapons and tech hidden there are truly hidden.

Daggett meets with Bane - Bane tortures him and off screen, kills him.

Bruce sleeps with Miranda on the floor of  his mansion, before the fireplace - since he has no power or heat in the old house.

Batman meets Catwoman, she takes him to Bane, but locks him in.  Bane and Batman fight.  They are in the wet tunnels, near the underground river/sewer.  It's a wet, dark, echoy place for a fight.  Bane breaks into Wayne Enterprises' Applied Sciences, blowing the floor.  He then breaks Batman's back and his Cowl - holding it up as a trophy, and making Bruce's physical and psychological defeat complete.

Blake goes to Wayne Manor but finds it abandoned.  However, he catches Selina Kyle at the airport.

Bruce, meanwhile, wakes in the Pit prison.  Bane says it's the worse prison, because with the chimney leading out... there's hope, in the midst of despair, which for Bane makes the despair worse.

Selina is jailed in Blackgate.  Bane takes Fox, Miranda, and a board member into the sewers and to the fusion reactor.  When Blake tells Gordon - he asks one of  his cops to start and all-out search of  the tunnels.  He promotes Blake to detective and asks him to investigate Daggett and his enterprises.

Bane gets Miranda to activate the fusion reactor.  Bane also lures all the Gotham PD police into the Gotham tunnels.

Bane pulls the core from the reactor, creating a bomb, plus the core will decay and explode in five months.  Blake realizes Daggett's cement pours were actually laced with explosives.

A boy soprano sings the American National Anthem at a Gotham Knight football stadium, just as he finishes, Bane walks in and blows the concrete, trapping all of  the Gotham police force in the underground tunnels.  Blake was just a moment too late to get the cops out.  The football stadium also collapses as do streets and bridges all over Gotham - and all but one bridge off the island.  Bane has Dr. Pavel explain about the bomb, then kills Pavel. The bomb is mobile and "an ordinary Gothamite" holds the trigger.  Seeing the police trapped, Blake goes to the hospital for Gordon.

Anarchy soon reigns in Gotham City.  Bane and his men let all the inmates out of  Blackgate Prison.  His men "patrol" the streets in cameo tumbler cars stolen from Wayne Enterprises.  Looting, robberies, beatings, and total chaos take over as Gotham City is left as a city without any government or police whatsoever.  The few police not in the tunnels during the collapse are hunted and killed (again, off-screen).  A very few start an underground resistance movement.  Meanwhile, the US president makes an appeal than Gotham isn't forgotten, but won't risk the terrorists in the city exploding the nuke.  Also, with all the bridges and tunnels in and out of the island blown, and Winter starting, soon food, especially fresh food, is hard to come by.

Selina is appalled by what has happened to her city.

In Bane's prison, Bruce is heart-broken by what has happened to his city, but he also begins to re-build his back.  In prison, Bruce learns of  a child, the child of Ra's al Ghul and his lover then wife was the only one to escape the prison.  This child had a protector in the prison.  Bruce remembers what he learned from Ra's al Ghul, and his heart-break at the loss of  his wife.  With the help of another inmate, Bruce slowly rebuilds his strength.

Bruce ends up trying to climb out of  his prison twice, and failing.  The second time, he remembers his father rescuing him from his fall down the well on Wayne Manor property.

In Gotham, Gordon and Blake explain what's going on to the special forces.  Fox and Miranda explain the bomb is a time bomb and it will go off.  Bane's men attack and the special forces guy is killed by Bane.

For the third time, Bruce attempts to climb out of  the well - he takes supplies, and doesn't use the rope.  As the inmates chant, "rise", in a foreign language... he makes it.  Bruce throws a climbing rope down to the other inmates as he leaves.

In Gotham, Selina beats up a couple of guys who are beating up a kid.  Bruce returns to Gotham.  Bruce offers her the clean slate program for her help.

Gordon is arrested and tried in the Scarecrow's court.  He's sentenced to death - by exile.

Catwoman rescues Bruce and Fox.  Bruce takes Fox to The Bat to get an EMP Emitter to block the trigger of  the bomb.

Gordon's inching across the ice of  the Gotham River when Batman returns and his sign burns on the bridge.  Batman rescues Gordon and his men - then rescues Blake.  Batman and Blake free the cops.  Batman sends Blake to get people out of  the city.  Selina gets the Batcycle and a route out of  Gotham.  There's a melee between Bane's men and the police.

Gordon searches for the truck (one of  three) with the bomb.  Blake recues the boys from St. Swindon's and does a quick house to house warning.

Batman defeats Bane, demands to know who the trigger is.  Miranda is Talia, the child of  Ra's Al Ghul, Bane's her "protector" from the prison, and she holds the trigger.  She knifes Batman in the back.  Gordon finds the bomb and tries to block the signal.  However, the bomb is still a time bomb.  Catwoman rescues Batman.  Cops from outside Gotham blow the last remaining bridge, despite Blake's warnings.

Bruce in The Bat, and Catwoman on a Batcycle challenge Talia in a Tumbler.  The heat seekers that chase The Bat hit the Tumbler instead.  Fox discovers the reactor's being flooded - they won't be able to reattach the core to stop the meltdown.  Talia dies.  Batman will fly the bomb over Gotham harbor.  When Gordan asks who he is -- Bruce gives him a hint, and Gordon realizes he's Bruce Wayne.

Batman literally flies into the sun, and the bomb explodes "harmlessly" over the Ocean.

Gordon quotes "A Tale of Two Cities" at Bruce's grave.  Fox, Alfred, and Blake are all there at the gravesite.  Alfred cries and blames himself.  Blake quits the force.  Gotham unveils a statue of  The Batman.  The Wayne Estate goes to Alfred, but the house is turned into a home for orphaned children.  John Blake is "Robin John Blake" and he gets GPS co-ordinates to the Batcave which he explores.  Fox discovers The Bat had an autopilot after all, despite Bruce saying it didn't.  Finally, in a small cafe, abroad, Alfred sees Bruce and Selina -- and they see him.  And Gordon has a new Bat Signal.

I loved this movie when I saw it in the theater -- three times.  What Nolan did particularly well was he managed to create a Super-Hero trilogy, that was a trilogy -- with a definite beginning, middle, and end, rather than the normal run of sequels one gets for the genre.  I loved how The Dark Knight Rises ties up the story, and I thought the flashbacks were particularly well realized.

Bane's attack on Batman is much more deeply psychological - and personal (once you know who he is) than the physical attack in the graphic novel set (all three volumes of  it, known collectively as Knightfall).  In the graphic novel, Bane starts by letting all the villains out of Arkham -- Batman has to fight them all, becoming exhausted.  Alfred and Dick Greyson (Nightwing) warn him about exhaustion - but stubbornly Bruce doesn't listen, and thus the steroid-enhanced Bane is able to physically beat him and break his back.  Nolan's film has Bane, step by step, take everything from Bruce:  his fortune, Wayne Enterprises, Alfred (who's manipulated into a "tough love" confrontation that goes horribly wrong), even his city.  Yes, Bane break's his back, and symbolically, the cowl too, thus breaking The Batman, but it's the psychological devastation that really breaks Bruce's spirit.  And it's Bruce's comeback from that psychological "bottom" that makes the film so interesting and triumphant.  Bruce is physically thrown in a well, a Pit, and he's in physical agony and psychological despair... but he comes back, which makes it a heartening film, and a joy to watch.  Bruce also seems ready to finally hang up his cape and cowl for good... though the film places enough hints for a "Nightwing" film for "Robin John" Blake.

Another major departure of  the film from the graphic novel set, is Bane is quite different.  The costume is different, his back story is different, Bane's connected to Talia and Ra's al Ghul, and Bane's dependence on the addictive steroid, Venom (not to be confused with the Marvel character Venom), is dropped.  I was really surprised by that first time I saw the film, but each time I saw it, I found the connections from Bane to Talia (Miranda) to Ra's al Ghul, just suit the plot so much better... and bring the entire story line to a very satisfactory conclusion.

Overall, I really, really liked it.  The script crackles with great dialogue, as did the previous two in the series.  Though I think Alfred would never leave Bruce, the film makes it work as both a form of  tough love on Alfred's part, and really a challenge between father and son.  For Bruce to really be his own man, he both has to lose everything and he has to regain everything, and that includes his surrogate father.  Though I do wish he and Alfred had spoken when they see each other in the cafe.  But, on the other hand, they don't need to.  Alfred and Bruce understand each other without having to speak.

Anne Hathaway's Catwoman was not the "bored socialite cat burglar" or the "hooker trying to make a living" of previous Batman stories (both in print and on tv/film).  She's rough, and tough, and she thinks she wants what Bane promises -- an end to the wealthy, privileged, useless upper class.  But when she sees what's happened to Gotham, she hates it.  Selina realizes that without any law, anarchy rules - and in anarchy the poor and the weak suffer even more than they did under the rich, something Selina hadn't thought was possible.  This is why she allies with Batman.  For once, this Selina does not have any physical attraction to Batman, not 'til the end, when she and Bruce run off  together.  Selina even appears to really, really hate men.  A word needs to be said about Anne Hathaway's costumes too.  Her Catwoman costume was great... it looks more like armor than the sexy, sorry, catsuit, of other catwomen, and it has long sleeves and what looks like a corset underneath.  I actually really liked it, and would like to know more about the construction from the costume designer.  Because, wow!  Selina's other clothes were equally impressive, she reminded me a lot of  Audrey Hepburn, a classic actress known for her clothes and unique sense of style.  The hat Selina wears to the airport is particularly Hepburn-esque.  I have no idea if  this was intentional, but the styles, mostly in black, looked great on Hathaway.

The score by Hans Zimmer was excellent, as have been all three Nolan Batman film scores by Zimmer.  The score for The Dark Knight Rises is haunting and dark, and is very effective in how it adds to the film.  Also, I thought it was really very neat the way that several times the film becomes almost silent and it's simply images and music - including the end, after Bruce Wayne's graveside funeral service.  Nolan really knows how to use imagery and light and how to integrate that with the musical score, for a uniquely filmic quality.  It's a rare talent in a modern director and should be celebrated.

Recommendation:  See it!
Rating:  5 of  5 Stars
Next Film:  Suspicion

Superman and Batman Apocalypse

• Title:  Superman and Batman Apocalypse
• Director:  Lauren Montgomery
• Voice Director:  Andrea Romano
• Date:  2010
• Studio:  Warner Brothers Animation
• Genre:  Action, Animation, Drama
• Cast:  Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Susan Eisenberg, Summer Glau, Edward Asner, Andre Braugher
• Format: Color Animation, Widescreen
• DVD Format:   R1, NTSC

"This is how they see you.  Bigger than life.  You're their champion."-- Kara to Clark

"Ever since this girl came into our lives, you've let your guard down, Clark, even exposed your secret identity - despite common sense."-- Batman
"Unlike you, Bruce, I don't look for the bad in everyone.  You may think I'm naive but every instinct tells me this girl is my cousin.  She's done nothing to show me otherwise and she'll be safe with me."-- Superman

"This might not be the right time, but you've always been an inspiration to me."-- Big Barda
"Barda..."-- Wonder Woman
"Seriously, Diana, when someone brings hope to another person?  It's a gift."-- Big Barda

The film opens with the voice-over of a radio talk show, among items mentioned are  former President Lex Luthor's impeachment and the frequent meteor showers of Kyptonite meteorites.  Both items refer to the previous film, Superman Batman Public Enemies.  Suddenly, a huge meteor hits in Gotham harbor and eyewitnesses call it in to the radio station, cue opening credits.

A naked girl arrives on the Gotham docks.  Longshoremen act, well, as they would, but she trashes two of them.  A third gives her his trench-coat.  She takes it, then runs into the street, where she's hit by a car, which barely slows her down.  This mysterious girl causes havoc where ever she goes.  Batman catches up to her, and she blows up one of  Gotham's new auto-blimps.  Superman arrives and tosses the blimp into the harbor before it can crash into something and cause real damage.  Batman meanwhile uses Kryptonite to calm down the girl.  This knocks her out and he's able to take her to the Batcave.

In the Batcave, Superman arrives, and he and Kara speak in Krypton.  Superman learns this is Kara, his cousin.  Krypto the dog also arrives, but doesn't seem to trust Kara.  Batman and Superman agree to keep her in quarantine.  Kara remembers her parents putting her in a ship, then dying (as well as the bright flash of the planet being destroyed).  Batman, still not sure, is protective of  Superman.

Meanwhile on Apocalypse, Darkseid is training a new Queen Fury.  However, she fails her test - a fight with the Furies, and is killed.  Granny Goodness and Darkseid look on during the fight.

Clark takes Kara shopping (and appears to have Bruce Wayne's budget).  They end up in a park, where he shows her a statue of Superman.  There's a bright flash of  light, and someone arrives.  Kara fights, her powers get out of control, and she trashes the park.  Wonder Woman and Batman explain Kara needs more training and they are taking her away for her own good.  Reluctantly, Superman agrees.

Wonder Woman takes Kara to Paradise Island.  Superman and Batman, along with Wonder Woman and her Amazon sisters, watch Kara battle Artemis.  Kara loses.  Superman is a bit freaked by this and even tries to protect his cousin from a perceived threat.  Kara runs off  and spends time with her friend the Prophetess Harbinger.

Meanwhile a Boom Tube arrives bringing Doomsday - an army of  Doomsdays.  Wonder Woman leads her army of Amazons to fight them.  Batman and Superman fight as well.  Superman defeats the Doomdays with his heat vision.  He's upset by using his power in such a way, but Wonder Woman point out they weren't really alive.  Batman realizes the attack was a diversion and leads Superman and Wonder Woman to find Kara.  On the other side of  Paradise Island, Superman approaches a body in the water - it's Harbinger.  Kara's been taken to Apocalypse.

Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman drop in on Big Barda, who's in witness protection in a small town. They ask her for Mother Box so they can open a Boom Tube to Apocalypse.  Barda offers to come too.  The four soon arrive on Apocalypse.  Big Barda and Wonder Woman face the Furies.  Batman faces mechanical tiger/dog beasts.  Superman also faces off against mechanical monsters before challenging Darkseid.

However, when Superman gets to Darkseid, Kara's been brainwashed to fight for him.  Batman arrives in Darkseid's throne room and tells him he's set all the hell spores (megaton bombs - a single one can destroy a planet, Batman has rigged 500) to blow.  Darkseid thinks Batman is bluffing and threatens him with the Omega Beam.  However, as they fight and Darkseid over-powers Batman, he realizes that Batman might not be bluffing.  He releases Batman and Kara to Superman.  Darkseid orders Batman to disarm the hell spores and leave Apocalypse.

Clark takes Kara to Smallville and to the Kent farm.  But instead of  his parents, Darkseid is waiting there.  Darkseid threatens Kara with his Omega beams.  Both Kara and Clark fight Darkseid.  Darkseid sends Superman into orbit, but he drifts towards the sun - regaining his powers.  Seeing Kara hurt, Superman goes nuts, and trashes Darkseid.  Darkseid uses his Omega beams.  Superman does a good impersonation of a twister on Darkseid.  Darkseid leaves via Boom Tube.  Superman embraces Kara.  She reveals she's changed the destination on the Boom Tube - sending Darkseid into deep space.  The Kents arrive, only to see their farm has  been trashed and their house collapses.  Clark promises to re-build everything.

At the end, Superman introduces Supergirl (Kara) to the Amazons on Paradise Island.

Overall, I liked this better the second time around.  It's still not as much fun as Public Enemies, and it's definitely more a Superman story than a Batman one.  In fact the graphic novel this is based on is Superman Batman  Supergirl.  But I liked that Wonder Woman had such a big part in the film.  It was also very cool to see Big Barda - and as a good guy no less (she's often ambiguous at best).  Darkseid is a Superman villian, though, so again, very much a Superman story.  The voice cast is excellent - Kevin Conroy reprises his role from Batman the Animated Series and Justice League.  Susan Eisenberg is again Wonder Woman (she had voiced Wonder Woman / Diana in Justice League).  Tim Daly from Superman the Animated Series and Superman / Batman Public Enemies is back.  And the guest cast includes Summer Glau as Supergirl, Ed Asner as Granny Goodness, and Andre Braugher as Darkseid.  The film also has a lot, and I mean, a lot of fight sequences.  There are a few character moments, but not many.  I'd have preferred a more character-driven storyline with fewer fight sequences.  Also, I would have liked to see more of  Clark's views of  Bruce and Bruce's views of Clark - as that was what made the graphic novel series so much fun.

Recommendation:  See it, especially if you are a Superman fan.
Rating:  3.5 out of 5 Stars
Next Film:  Suspicion  (Or The Dark Knight Rises - which I just got on DVD)

Superman Batman Public Enemies

• Title:  Superman Batman Public Enemies
• Director: Sam Liu
• Voice Director:  Andrea Romano
• Date:  2009
• Studio:  Warner Brothers Animation
• Genre:  Animation, Action, Drama
• Cast:  Tim Daly, Kevin Conroy, Clancy Brown, CCH Pounder, LeVar Burton
• Format:  Color Animation, Widescreen
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"Luther did the one thing nobody was expecting.  He made things boring again.  And boring's good, isn't it?  The economy's back to normal, crime's down, there are no wars or anything."  -- Power Girl

"You mean those so-called super heroes?"-- Lex Luthor
"They do work for you now, most of  them anyway." -- Amanda Waller
"That's to keep them from working against me.  I'm not going to put the fate of  this planet in the hands of... of  freaks and monsters." -- Lex Luthor

"It doesn't matter what any of us think, Luthor's the president and what he says goes." -- Capt. Atom

"You're not going to tell me you killed him for your country, are you?"-- Batman
"Some of us still believe in putting our country first."-- Maj. Force
"Sorry, but I don't see any patriotism here.  All I see is a psycho who latched onto an excuse to kill people and who's so stupid he doesn't realize he's being used by Luthor."-- Batman

This is the second time I've watched this film, and it does stand up to re-watching, something that's difficult for animated films to do.  The two Superman Batman animated films are based on a series of  Superman Batman Graphic Novels (collections of  the soft-cover books).  This film in particular is based on the graphic novel of the same name, which I loved, and I think it's one of the best in an excellent series of  books.

The film opens with a voice-over and video montage of  economic collapse.  Companies are laying off workers, people are demanding jobs in protests, people are getting evicted and living in tent cities, there are audio clips of politicians telling people to "tighten their belts", there's a corresponding rise in crime, and martial law is imposed.  Into this walks Lex Luthor, campaigning for the presidency on a "third party" ticket.  He wins.

And in his first speech, he attacks super heroes, while introducing the country to his own hand-picked super hero force:  Power Girl, Captain Atom, Major Force, Black Lightening, and some other female hero (who's neither recognizable or important to the plot).  They're stooges, essentially, even Power Girl, who should know better than to trust Luthor.

Luthor then, privately, discusses the private threat he hasn't yet revealed to the public - a meteor of pure Kryptonite is heading straight for Earth, and will hit the planet in seven days.  Luthor's plan?  Destroy it with nuclear missiles, of course.  Amanda Waller, and later even Luthor's own general ask Luthor to consider a back-up plan, but he ignores their advice, swearing he's made the calculations himself and he knows he will succeed.

Batman and Superman are together in the Batcave below Wayne Manor when Luthor announces he wants a meeting with Superman to "bury the hatchet".  Both Bruce and Clark know it's probably a trap, but they go anyway.  At the meeting, Luthor threatens Superman, then unleases Metallo - a Krypton-powered metal man whose very presence hurts the man of steel.  Metallo and Superman fight.  Batman arrives to rescue Superman, and is nearly strangled.  Superman rescues Batman but gets shot with a Kryptonite bullet. Batman blows Metallo to smithereens, but Superman warns he'll re-form.  Batman and Superman are covered in the dirt, ash, and rock from the explosion.  But before Batman can remove the Kryptonite bullet from Superman, he realizes that Metallo is after them again.  Batman sets off another explosion, and he and Superman escape through the sewers.  The explosions catches them, though.  Clark sees Bruce lying face down in the water, "Bruce!  It's not ending here... I won't let it!" he gasps, and moves to his friend's side, and pulls him out of the water.  Bruce coughs up the water, somewhat recovered, and the two limp their way through the sewers to the Batcave.  Bruce has Clark pull down the electric fence covering the opening.  They are met by a startled but unflappable, Alfred.

Though Clark and Bruce are both weak and injured, they soon recover.  Alfred is shown sealing away the Kryptonite bullet in a lead box.  Alfred also returns Superman's washed uniform shirt and cape.

As the two heroes recover in Bruce's inner sanctum of  the Batcave, Luthor gives a presidential address.  He blames Superman for the death of John Corbin (Metallo), and shows an edited videotape of Superman attacking himself and Corbin "for no reason", before showing Corbin's burnt body.  Then Luthor supplies an answer for anyone doubting that Superman could do something so evil -- the approaching meteor is Kryptonite (true) and driving Superman mad (not true).  Luthor closes his presidential speech by announcing a one billion dollar bounty on Superman's head.

Batman and Superman attempt to investigate, but they are attacked - first by Banshee, then by a group of ice villians (Mr. Freeze, Captain Cold, Killer Frost, etc), then by Soloman Grundy and Mongo, then Sheba, then Night-Shade and Grog.  Before long Superman and Batman are seemingly surrounded by every DC villain that could fit on the screen.

Captain Atom arrives with his team and a Federal Warrant for Superman's arrest.  But Superman and Batman fight Luther's heroes and defeat them, then Superman escapes with Power Girl, his cousin, Kara.  Captain Atom and his group follow Superman and Batman, after receiving orders from Luthor to "do your job" and eliminate Superman.  During that fight, Batman shows his skills not only at fighting, but at psychological manipulation, not only goading Major Force by calling him a psychotic murderer, but doing so in front of Captain Atom who hears every word, and takes it to heart.

Kara, however, has realized that her cousin is right and Lex Luthor is wrong, and attacks Major Force to defend Batman.  Despite everyone yelling at her, she breaks Force's containment field causing a radiation leak.  Black Lightening and Captain Atom co-operate to contain Major Force.  In the resulting explosion, Force is dead, and Atom appears dead.  Kara, that is, Power Girl, decides to stay with her cousin.

Meanwhile, Luthor's launched his nuclear missiles at the meteor.  It doesn't work.  The meteor is still on course for the planet.  Luther appears weak and sick.  Power Girl takes Superman and Batman to Luthor's hideout, but they are met by Hawkman and Captain Marvel who attempt to take the two out.  When Superman knocks out Captain Marvel, and Billy Batson is left in a crater, a concerned Batman goes to check out the young teen to see if  he's OK.  Batman asks the injured child to say something.  Billy answers, "Shazam!" and becomes Marvel again.  But, the two, with Power Girl's help manage to convince Hawkman and Marvel to not listen to Luthor.

Meanwhile, Luthor claims the first attempt to destroy the meteor was a "fact finding" mission, but he can now put his plan into action.  Not even the public is convinced by this, as rioting and looting breaks out.

Amanda Waller, shocked by Luthor's inaction, discovers he's taking steroids and liquid Kryptonite injections.  Luthor tells Amanda he will let the meteor hit, so he can be in charge of  the world that rises from the ashes.  Dressed as Hawkman and Captain Marvel, Batman and Superman arrive.  Luthor destroys all the information on the meteor, but Amanda gives them a back-up on a thumb drive.  She also asks a general to arrest Luthor.  Luthor, however, escapes, and takes more Liquid Kryptonite, before climbing into a robotic super suit.

Superman and Batman travel to Japan, to meet Hiro -- the Toyman.  Power Girl has arrived before them and acts as lookout to avoid the teen billionaire genius.

Toyman shows the two heroes a giant Superman/Batman Robot, he mentions it has manual controls, but he can control it from a nearby computer console.  The Lex-bot arrives, takes out Power Girl, using Kryptonite blasts.  He fights Superman, also using his Kryptonite gun.  Then he destroys the control council.  Batman heads for the rocket, saying "Goodbye" to Clark/Superman as he gets inside the robot and takes off.

Superman fights and defeats Luthor.  Batman takes off  in the rocket.  "That was my best friend!  And you just killed him!" Superman yells at Lex, before knocking him into next week.  However, Luthor takes off again in pursuit of  the rocket and Batman.

Batman manages to destroy the meteor using the rocket.  Superman and Lex fight, and even though they've landed back in the US he finally knocks him out.  Captain Atom has recovered and arrives with Power Girl and a message for Superman.  Superman rescues Bruce who's in a survival capsule shaped like a combination of the Batman and Superman symbols.  He sets Bruce on a rooftop, and helps him out of the ship.  Luthor is taken away.  Lois arrives.  Batman disappears as Superman watches the sun rise.

Again, this was an excellent animated film.  It is a bit political in tone - rich businessman Lex Luthor, one of the most evil villains in the DC Universe, yet someone that Superman can never really stop because he can't prove he's broken the law - becomes president.  And in the DC universe, Lex Luthor was president for awhile during the Bush years (besides harrassing Superman, he bombs Gotham City at one point to annoy Batman, making part of the city a wasteland).  Although the film doesn't state outright that Luthor caused the economic turmoil that he then exploits to get himself elected, it's certainly implied.  And the economic turmoil described in the film's excellent opening sequence is half  the Great Depression, and half every economic down turn since.

But what is even more striking about Lex Luthor is what an obvious xenophobic racist he is.  He wants to get rid of  Superheroes, especially Superman, not only because he doesn't trust them, but because he considers them "freaks and monsters" - and not human. Luthor is one step away from openly declaring a war between humans and meta-humans.

But one of the best things about this film isn't merely it's politics - it's seeing the glimpses of the close friendship between Bruce Wayne (voiced by the incomparable Kevin Conroy of  Batman: The Animated Series) and Clark Kent (Tim Daly of  Superman:  The Animated Series).  Though they don't see eye to eye on how to solve crimes, or battle super villains, in this film they are nonetheless close friends - and it's threats to Bruce that cause Clark to really go after Lex Luthor.  Plus there's some wonderful dialogue between the two.

If  I had one quibble with the film, I could have done with less of  the mega fight scenes, especially every super villain they could find being thrown into a fight with Superman and Batman, and more of  the male bonding between Clark and Bruce.  And more Alfred.  I always like to see the more Alfred the better - he only gets one scene here.  It's a great bit, but once Batman sails off  into what appears to be a one-man one-way mission to save the planet, you'd think someone would break the news to him.  But I digress.

The Superman Batman Graphic Novels were known for their thought bubbles, yellow for Superman's pov, and blue for Batman's pov.  I think the film could have used some voice-over between the two, because that was a big part of what made the graphic fun - seeing Clark's view of  Bruce and Bruce's view of  Clark, or their situation or whatever.  It was always great fun to see how iconic characters viewed each other.  However, the film does do a great job, when we see Superman and Batman working together, of showing their different personalities and methodology.  And that was terribly fun.

Recommendation:  See it!
Rating:  4 of 5 Stars
Next Film:  Superman Batman Apocalypse

Sunset Boulevard

• Title:  Sunset Boulevard
• Director:  Billy Wilder
• Date: 1950
• Studio:  Paramount
• Genre:  Drama, Film Noir
• Cast:  William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Jack Webb
• Format:  Standard, Black/White
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"I just think a picture should say  a little something."-- Betty
"Oh, one of  the message kids, just a story won't do.  You'd've turned down Gone with the Wind."-- Joe
"No, that was me.  I said, Who wants to see a Civil War picture."-- Sheldrake

"I am big, it's the pictures that got small."-- Norma Desmond

"Still wonderful, isn't it?  And no dialogue.  We didn't need dialogue, we had Faces."-- Norma

"Audiences don't know somebody sits down and writes a picture.  They think the actors make it up as they go along."-- Joe

Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard is one of the best movies made about movies, ever.  It's also an excellent Film Noir, filmed by one of Film Noir's best directors, Billy Wilder. The dialogue sparkles, and much of this film is quotable.  The characters are sympathetic, but doomed - as is characteristic of  Noir films.

Sunset Boulevard is the story of  Joe Gillis, down on his luck Hollywood screenwriter, and Norma Desmond - once queen of the silent silver screen, now all but forgotten in her decrepit Hollywood mansion.  The film opens with a shot looking up at a dead body floating in a swimming pool. Narration sweeps the viewer into the story, telling us how Joe ended up in the swimming pool.  Yes, this is the second time Wilder's started a film with his protagonist dead or dying and used narration to explain how he wound up in such a state (the other being the wonderful Double Indemnity).  Joe's a writer, but he's hit a "slow" point, so much so that he's three months behind on the rent on his apartment, and his car is about to be repossessed.  Without his car, Joe's in trouble, so he dodges the finance company, which leads him to Norma Desmond's mansion -- he gets a flat and pulls into her garage.

Norma, once Queen of Silent Films, has now gotten old and lives in seclusion with her butler, Max.  Joe introduces himself to her, recognizing her, but really has no interest, he only wants to hide out until he can get the money to pay what he owes on the car.  But Norma is fascinated by this young man, thrown into her clutches by fate.  When he tells her he's a writer, she shows him her script for "Salome".  It's truly dreadful, and about 600 pages too long, but Joe reluctantly accepts a job as editor/re-writer/ghost writer.

And thus begins Joe's descent.  He becomes a "kept man", with Norma buying him gifts of fancy clothes, jewelry, watches, cuff  links, etc.  Joe, a "plain speaking" sort, isn't impressed with Norma's gifts, but he's caught in her web and helpless to get himself out.

At the beginning of the film, just prior to meeting Norma, Joe has a meeting at Paramount Pictures with Mr. Sheldrake, to plug his new baseball picture.  The meeting goes nowhere, though he meets Betty Schaefer, a script reader with aspirations to be a writer.  They meet later in the picture, when Betty tries to convince Joe to develop about six pages of  his failed script into a full-length movie.  They meet again and begin to work on the new script together, and even start to fall for each other.  But their relationship is doomed because she's engaged to his best friend, Artie (Jack Webb); and Joe, though he's not in love with the much older Norma Desmond, feels a certain responsibility to her.

Every time it seems that Joe might break away from Norma... and find happiness with friends his own age like Artie and Betty, he's drawn back.

Meanwhile, Norma lives in the past, watching her movies on a theater screen in her home.   (Something Joe scoffs at... one wonders what he'd think of the VHS/DVD/Blu Ray market today?)  She even performs live shows for Joe once in awhile.  Once a week, what Joe describes as "her waxworks" come to play bridge, they are cameos of other classic silent era film stars.  Norma is an aged beauty, and she hasn't handled the fact well.  Partially because of  Hollywood's standards of  young perfection, but also partially because she was never able to change with the times or re-invent herself.  Which is a fate of many Hollywood stars, especially women.

Norma finally drops off  her script for "Salome" in person to Cecil B. De Mille (played by De Mille himself). When an aide at Paramount calls her, she instructs Max to hang up... playing hard to get.  She later goes to the studio in person and meets De Mille.  While he's checking out the calls she's received, an old lighting gaffer recognizes her, and turns a huge floodlight on her.  Soon behind-the-scenes people and actors alike are flocking around her with cries of, "Norma Desmond!" and "It's Norma Desmond!" and "I thought she was dead!".  De Mille, meanwhile, discovers that the calls were about her car... someone wanted it for a Crosby picture.  De Mille decides to save Norma's feelings by not telling her, and even promises to shoot "Salome" after his current film.

Norma returns home and books every type of beauty treatment she can.   Joe gets even more frustrated, but won't leave, he can't leave.

Finally, Joe starts sneaking out during the evening to meet Betty and work on their script, "Dark Windows", a romance.  They start to fall for each other.  But Joe doesn't want to break up the engagement between Betty and Artie.  Norma also becomes jealous and even calls Betty to tell her "what kind of man he is".  Joe catches Norma at this, invites Betty over, then cruelly explains his circumstances.  He's driving her away because Artie's a nice guy.  After Betty leaves, Joe goes to his room, grabs his suitcase, and begins packing - taking only his own clothes, and leaving the rest.  Norma has a fit... and in her anger, shoots him three times (and thus, Joe winds up in the swimming pool).  Later, reporters, police, detectives, and others gather.  By this time, she's gone completely mad and has no idea where she is or what's going on.  Max, her director, and first husband, directs her down the stairs, and with newsreel cameras rolling, she delivers her speech about how great it is to be back in pictures, and the film's immortal last line:  "Just us, and the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark.  All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up."

Sunset Boulevard is brilliant.  It's dark, and chilling, and Joe, a perfectly nice guy, a writer from Ohio who came to Hollywood to make it big, and died in a swimming pool, is both a warning and a ideal protagonist.  The film's theme is broken dreams:  Norma became a star at sixteen, but now she's fifty and has no one, and no concept of  how to live in the world.  Joe only wanted to become a working writer in Hollywood, and, well, didn't.  The film is the antithesis of  the rags-to-riches tale that is so popular in the American psyche and in Hollywood films and musicals in particular.  It's also a tale of  how Hollywood uses beautiful women and then spits them out to replace them with someone younger, and more beautiful (though that's implied not explicit).  I love this film, and Billy Wilder's directing.  And, again, as in most Film Noir films, the dialogue sparkles.

I highly, highly recommend Sunset Boulevard.  If you've never seen it, make a resolution to watch it, you won't be disappointed.

Recommendation:  See it!
Rating:  5 of 5 Stars
Next Film:  Superman/Batman:  Apocalypse

Stripes

• Title:  Stripes
• Director:  Ivan Reitman
• Date:  1981
• Studio:  Columbia Pictures
• Genre:  Comedy
• Cast:  Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, John Larroquette, Judge Reinhold, John Candy, Lance LeGault
• Format:  Color, Widescreen
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"You don't say 'sir' to me, I'm a sergeant I work for a living."  -- Sgt. Hulka (Warren Oates)

"I'm talking about something important, like disclipline and duty and honor and courage.  And you ain't got none of it."  -- Sgt. Hulka

"We're Americans - with a capital 'A'.  Do you know what that means?  Do you?  It means our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world.  We are the wretched refuse.  We're underdog.  We're mutts. ... But there's no animal that's more faithful, that's more loyal, more lovable that the mutt. [pause] Who saw Old Yeller?  Who cried when Old Yeller got shot at the end?  Nobody cried when Old Yeller got shot [raises his hand] I'm sure.  I cried my eyes out." -- John (Bill Murray)

"We're all very, very different, but there is one thing we all have in common.  We were all stupid enough to enlist in the army."  -- John 

In the 1970s, in a "bad economy" much like today, two guys who are down on their luck and out of options join the US Army.  John loses his job, car, girlfriend, and apartment all in the same day.  His friend, Russell (Ramis) has discovered his easy five-week job to teach English involves people who only know a few swear words and that's it.  They decide to join the Army.

At boot camp, John, Russell and the rest of the guys in their platoon have their hair buzzed (it's the 70s - most have long hair or even "afros") and receive basic green uniforms.  Sgt. Hulka introduces himself and has each of the men in his platoon introduce themselves and explain why they decided to join the army.  It becomes obvious that the entire platoon is, to be frank, a group of screw-ups with few other options.

There is a montage of training scenes, inter cut with scenes of John doing push-ups.  A perpetual clown and comedian, he gets on Sgt. Hulka's nerves immediately.  Also at the army training camp is Capt. Stillman (John Larroquette) who enjoys peeking at female officers taking showers, and never listening to anyone.  It's Stillman who orders one of his men to fire a mortar round on the weapons practice field without any co-ordinates.  It flies way off course and takes out the climbing test structure and Sgt. Hulka who is sitting on top of it.

Hulka's men go into town to celebrate their new-found freedom at a mud wrestling expo in a strip bar.  They are caught and dragged back to the camp by the MPs.  However, John and Russell escape immediate punishment when they are rescued by two female MPs they have been chatting-up throughout the film.

Upon returning to the army training camp, they discover they have three hours to get ready for the parade in front of General Barnicke or the entire platoon will be forced to re-take basic training.  Russell convinces everyone they can cram for the test and pass it.  He starts training the others, but disagreements break out.  John delivers his rousing "Old Yeller" speech and gets everyone working together.  They then over-sleep.

When the group reaches the parade grounds, however, John leads them in an unconventional but greatly appreciated drill routine.  They earn applause, whistles, and approval from the gathered crowd.  The general finds out they finished their training on their own after Sgt. Hulka was injured.  He asks for the platoon to be assigned to his secret "EM-50" project.  The EM-50 is an "Urban Assault Vehicle" or more obviously, a Winnebago that's been turned into a tank.  The platoon is supposed to be on a good-will tour in Italy.

However, John and Russell get bored while on guard duty.  They decide to visit the two female MPs they've been chasing throughout the film -- even though the girls are in Germany.  It might have worked, but Capt. Stillman takes his new girlfriend to see the EM-50, finds it missing and panics.  He gets the platoon together to find it, and ignores Sgt. Hulka when he tries to warn him that they've gone the wrong way and they end-up heading into Czechoslovakia, where they are captured by the Russians.  Sgt. Hulka, who's realized there was going to be a problem, escapes capture and sends a signal to the EM-50.  John, Russell, and the two girls pick up the signal, and they manage to find the platoon, and Sgt. Hulka, and rescue them, returning safely to Germany.

The film concludes with everyone arriving safely at home, and magazine and newspaper headlines are used to do a "where are they now / what happened to..." segment very quickly.

Stripes has a couple of very memorable scenes, notably Murray earnestly giving the "Old Yeller" speech to his fellow enlistees, and the well-choreographed parade ground scene.  The Winnebago tank is also funny.  The film screams 70s in everything from the clothes and cars to the attitudes, especially towards women.  Although it doesn't currently work as well as some films from the 1970s, and parts of the film are really dated (like the fact that they invade a country that no longer exists) some parts do still work.  Both Murray and Ramis are very funny, and the cast is filled it with other very funny actors.  Overall it's now a mediocre film, but it wasn't quite as painful to watch as I feared it might be.

Recommendation:  It's OK.
Rating:  3 out of 5 Stars
Next Film:  Sunset Boulevard

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

• Title:  The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
• Director:  H. C. Potter
• Date:  1939
• Studio:  RKO Radio Pictures
• Genre:  Biography, Drama, Musical
• Cast:  Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver
• Format:  B/W, Standard
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"Well, we've got our health, we're young, we're in Paris, we're on our honeymoon, what more can we want."  -- Vernon

"Hey, dance with me."  -- Vernon
"All the people downstairs?" -- Irene
"Look, we can do it quietly, like this, just as if we're walking on air."  -- Vernon

"War is a man's business, women only do what they're told."  -- Maggie

The Story of  Vernon and Irene Castle is the last musical that Astaire and Rogers did for RKO and it's notable for several reasons.  It's one of only two films where Astaire and Rogers played a married couple (the other is The Barkleys of Broadway).  It's the only biography the two did, so the only time they played real people.  It's the only one of their musicals that's more of a drama than a comedy.  And it's the only one with a definite downbeat ending (Vernon Castle (Astaire's character) dies).  The film is different from other Astaire and Rogers musicals and that may be why it is not as well known as their other films.

The film opens in 1911, Fred Astaire is Vernon Castle, who at the time is barely working as a vaudeville comedian.  He's not even the star of  the show he's in, but the second banana who takes all the prat falls and on-stage abuse from the star.  He tries to get the show's leading lady interested in him, but to no avail.  However, while at the seaside, he meets Irene Foote (Ginger Rogers) when they both jump into the drink to rescue a small dog.  She, it turns out, is an aspiring actress/performer and she performs "The Yama Yama Man" as an audition for Castle.

After the lackluster audition, the two go to the train station, where a group of "bachelors" and their dates are on an excursion.  When one of  the guys gets up and dances - Vernon shows off  his tap dancing skills. On their later dates, Irene suggests that Vernon should give up comedy and become a dancer.  Vernon actually agrees with her and the two approach his boss with the idea of  being a dance team.  But his boss is having none of it.  However, two French theatre owners approach Vernon and offer him a job in Paris.

Now married, Vernon and Irene go to Paris... but discover that the job they thought started immediately won't start for six weeks.  Irene convinces the theatre owners to give Vernon an advance on his salary so they will have something to live on for six weeks.  After the six weeks of waiting goes by, Vernon returns to the theatre -- only to discover he's to play his comedy role again.  As he explains to his wife, "Well, I refused... I know you don't want me to do, and I didn't want to do it... but he brought up the money we owe him..."  Irene accepts this trying to make him feel better by saying, "Well, at least it's a job, maybe not the job you want, but it's a job."  To console her, Vernon dances with her, quietly.

Fate intervenes in the person of Maggie, an entrepreneur and agent who walks into their apartment at that moment and sees them dancing.  She gets them dinner and an audition at the Cafe de Paris.  The audition is a smash success, and other couples imitate the Castles.  They are hired by the nightclub as professional dancers.  Before long they are back in New York, introducing The Tango to New York. The Castles sell books, records, and dancing lessons.  Irene becomes a fashion icon.  Their merchandising continues with ladies hats, bon bons, and face cream.  Vernon's name goes on cigars and dancing shoes.  They introduce the Fox Trot, and the Castle Polka.  With both scenes of the Castles introducing their ballroom dances, the shot of  the couple dancing is double exposed with sparkles and lights - giving it a dreamy quality.  Irene bobs her hair, which causes a sensation and starts a trend.  The Castles introduce the Moxie, another dance, at a seaside resort.  They then tour nationally.  (We see the couple dancing across a map of  the US and each place they stop - additional dancers appear).  As they return home, Irene and Vernon tell their manager, Maggie, they are tired and want to buy a house and raise a family.  However, as they pull into one little town, there's a fuss outside the train -- Germany's declared war.

At first, the Castles do retire to their new home, and Vernon agrees with Irene that he won't enlist.  But when he's asked to work at a benefit... he sees all the Canadian solders and decides to enlist in the Royal Flying Corps.   He manages to live through the war, but when he returns home he's sent to Fort Worth at the last minute as one of  the pilots in an airshow for a Brigadier General.  An inexperienced pilot takes off and flies into his airspace -- given the choice of  hitting the other plane or trying to avoid the crash he pulls straight up and the plane stalls.  Vernon Castle is killed in the plane crash... the young inexperienced pilot in the plane with him survives, in part because Vernon took the seat in front rather than letting the young pilot do it since he knew that the front was the more dangerous seat.  After her uncle and Vernon's close friend tells Irene the news she walks into the garden of  the hotel her husband had  set-up for her and imagines the two of them dancing together in the garden.

Again, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle is very unusual for an Astaire and Rogers film.  It has a downbeat ending, and even the dances are mostly not complete dances ... they are excerpts as the story unfolds.  Astaire performs well as Vernon Castle... really getting into the role which is quite meaty.  Rogers has less to do, mostly following her husband around, and worrying constantly about him after he goes to war.  But the film is meant to be a historical film, taking place between 1911 and 1918, when women didn't even have the right to vote, so Irene's somewhat shadowed appearance can be understood if not condoned.  And it is obvious that this couple loves each other, and Vernon, at least, allows his wife to not only have a say in their decisions but to lead in them (It's Irene who insists he's better than physical comedy; it's Irene who wants them to retire from touring; and it's Irene who at first insists that Vernon not go to war).  In a sense, though Vernon dies at the end, the film is not only romantic, but it's a more realistic romance than most movie romances.

The story for the script was written by Irene Castle, based on her autobiographical book about her husband, and she acted as an advisor on the film, especially in terms of  Rogers clothes.

This was not your typical Astaire and Rogers musical, I'd say it's for diehards only, or if you want  to see a different type of film starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.  The rating is based on the film not being what you expect out of a musical -- for example, there are very few full dances in the film.

Recommendation:  Depends.
Rating:  Three and a half out of five stars.
Next film:  Stripes

The Sting

• Title:  The Sting
• Director:  George Roy Hill
• Date:  1973
• Studio:  Universal
• Genre:  Drama
• Cast:  Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould, Dana Elcar
• Format:  Widescreen, color
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"I'll get him anyway."  -- Johnny Hooker
"Why?"  -- Henry Gondorff
" 'Cause I don't know enough about killing to kill him."  -- Johnny

"What was I supposed to do?  Call him for cheating better than me in front of  the others?"  -- Doyle

The Sting is the original caper film.  Without The Sting, there is no Ocean's 11 or it's sequels either the original or the new ones, and there's no White Collar, Leverage, or Hustle either.  But it's a classic that stands on its own two feet as well, not simply as the film that establishes a sub-genre all by itself.  The film begins with Luther and Johnny, two con artists, working street cons.  As the film opens in Joliet, Illinois in 1936, the two con artists pull a switch, but unknown to them they've picked the wrong victim - a numbers runner for the Chicago Irish mob.  Initially, they are thrilled to pull a $11,000 con... but then one of the con artists, Luther, is killed, and Johnny knows that if  he gets caught, the mob will kill him too.

Johnny travels up to Chicago and meets Henry Gondorff an old friend of  Luther's.  Gondoroff gathers a group of con artists together and they decide to pull a con on the mobster they blame for Luther's death.  Luther's so well-known in the con artist underground that everyone wants to help to stick it to his killer where it hurts -- in the wallet.

The film is set-up in sections:  The Set-Up, The Hook, The Tale, The Wire, The Shut Out, and The Sting -- each with a beautifully designed title card.  And each section of the film is exactly what it says, as the con artists rope in and set-up their victim.  However, What makes The Sting a great and memorable film is the surprise ending... which I'm not going to spoil here.  If you've seen the film, you know exactly what I'm talking about -- and if you haven't, it's just not fair to spoil the surprise ending.  There are hints throughout the film, but it does come as a surprise the first time you see it and it really makes the movie.

This film also features a great partnership between the older, nearly washed-up con artist (Paul Newman) master of  the Big Con, and his new, young, apprentice (Robert Redford).  A number of  excellent character actors round out the cast.  Also, the film is set in the 1930s, which means great suits and hats but on the negative side -- some very rough, inappropriate language.

Overall, a great film, especially if you are a fan of  the caper film as a genre.  I recommend it.

Recommendation:  See it!
Rating:  4 out of 5 Stars
Next Film:  The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

Star Wars Return of the Jedi

• Title:  Star Wars Return of the Jedi
• Director:  Richard Marquand
• Date:  1983
• Studio:  20th Century Fox
• Genre:  SF, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
• Cast:  Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Frank Oz, Alec Guinness
• Format:  Color, Widescreen
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"Nevertheless, I'm taking Captain Solo and his friends you can either profit by this or be destroyed.  It's your choice but I warn you not to underestimate my powers."  -- Luke

"When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not."  -- Yoda

"Twilight is upon me and soon night must fall, that is the way of  things, the way of the Force."  -- Yoda

"Anger, fear, oppression, the Dark Side are they.  Once you start down the dark path forever will it dominate your destiny."  -- Yoda

"Your father was seduced by the Dark Side of  the Force.  He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Dark Vader.  When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed.  So what I told you was true... from a certain point of view."  -- Obi-Wan Kenobi

Return of the Jedi again starts with a crawl updating the audience to the plot, and reminiscent of very old movie serials.  There is an impressive opening shot of a very large and long ship approaching a partially constructed Death Star.  The sequence has several impressive model shots as well, including:  two star destroyers, shuttles, and the moon with the Death Star itself.

On Tatooine, R2-D2 and C3PO are in the desert, they approach Jabba's palace.  Inside, R2-D2 plays a message from Luke Skywalker.  He wishes to bargain for Han Solo's life, and gives Jabba R2-D2 and C3PO as gifts (don't worry it's all part of the plan).  The droids are indoctrinated into Jabba's workforce in a scene which includes shots of droids being tortured (one is having it's feet burned with red-hot horseshoes, another is being pulled apart at the arm and hip sockets).  Jabba's palace has an 1001 Nights aspect to it, and it's full of music, aliens, and dancing girls.  Jabba kills his slave girl, dropping her into a pit.  A bounty hunter comes in with Chewbacca, haggling with Jabba (via C3PO's translations) to get a higher price.  Lando is also hiding in Jabba's palace in disguise.  Later that night, the "bounty hunter" rescues Han.  He's frozen in Carbonite and she de-freezes him.  She's Princess Leia.  Han is basically OK, though temporarily blind.  Jabba quickly captures Han again.  Leia is brought to be Jabba's slave girl, and Han is imprisoned with Chewbacca.  Luke, dressed in black and cloaked, arrives.  Luke uses his Jedi mind tricks on one of  Jabba's guards, but they don't work on Jabba.  Luke threatens Jabba for Han and Leia's lives, but Jabba is over-confident and drops Luke in the Bantha pit.  Luke kills the Bantha monster and the Bantha Keeper is devastated.  However, Luke in unable to rescue Han at the time and the entire group is taken to Jabba's sail barge to be taken to the desert where they will be executed by another monster - Jabba thinks.

On the barge, Luke will be forced to walk the plank - but instead he performs some very impressive gymnastics and grabs his light-sabre that R2-D2 has sent sailing into the air.  The Star Wars theme swells.  Luke fights Jabba's creatures and rescues Han and Chewbacca, then heads to rescue Lando.  Leia tries to free herself and also kills  Jabba.  Leia also rescues R2-D2.  She points the huge gun on the sail barge at the deck, set to blow.  Luke and Leia swing to safety on a smaller desert hover boat where Han, Chewbacca, and Lando await.  The two droids dive into the desert sand, and are picked up by the smaller boat.  The sail barge is destroyed.

Luke heads off to Dagobah with R2-D2.  The rest are on the Millennium Falcon heading for the alliance fleet.

Meanwhile, Darth Vader and an extremely impressive parade of troops great the Emperor.  The Emperor urges Vader to wait for Luke to seek him out and together they will turn Luke to the Dark Side.

Meanwhile, Luke visits Yoda on Dagobah.  Yoda is dying.  Luke is devastated to lose his mentor, but handles it without the anger of  his younger days.  Yoda also avoids Luke's questions, but mentions a mysterious "other".  After Yoda's demise, the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi appears.  He confirms what Luke knows - Vader is his father ... and also tells him Leia is his sister (Luke half  figures this out himself).  Luke now knows he must confront Vader -- but he's convinced there is still good in his father.

Meanwhile the Alliance, including Han Solo, Lando, Chewbacca, Leia, and in the background, Wedge, as well as a full room of others goes over their plans.  A female general/diplomat reviews information received from "Bonthan spies", then turns the meeting over to Admiral Ackbar to explain the details of the attack.  Lando will lead the fighter strike team in the Millennium Falcon which Han gives him.  Han, Leia, Chewbacca, C3PO, and R2-D2 will go to Endor to knock out the Shield Generator.  Luke arrives just as the plans and teams are being finalized and joins Han and Leia.

On Endor, Han and Luke encounter a pair of Storm Troopers and the speeder bike chase ensues.  Leia falls off her bike.  Luke returns to Han and company.  Meanwhile, Leia meets and befriends an Ewok - a sort of primitive walking teddy bear.  Leia is nearly captured by a pair of storm-troopers but she manages to defeat them herself.

Meanwhile, on the Emperor's ship, Vader reports that a Rebel force has landed on Endor, including Luke.  The Emperor orders Vader to Endor.  Luke will come to Vader who will bring him to the Emperor.

Meanwhile, Luke, Han, and company are looking for Leia -- they don't find her, but get caught in a trap.  Though they get themselves free, they are captured by Ewoks.  The Ewoks worship C3PO.

They are taken to the Ewok village.  Leia appears.  Luke uses the Force to raise C3PO's chair and the group is set free.  Leia kisses Han.  At the feast that evening, C3PO tells the gathered Ewoks the story so far complete with sound effects.  The Ewoks look on in stunned amazement.  Luke, Han, and everyone are inducted into the Tribe.

Luke and Leia speak to each other.  First, Luke asks Leia about her mother.  He then tells her, Darth Vader is his father.  Then he tells Leia she truly is the last hope of  the alliance, she's his sister and has the power of the Force too.  He wanders off, because he's a danger to the main Alliance mission.  Han arrives.  Han gets a bit angry that Leia's honest with Luke but won't tell him what's wrong.  Of course, Han has no idea what Luke's just told Leia.

Luke turns himself  in to Vader.  Despite Luke insisting there's good in Anakin Skywalker, Vader turns him over to the Emperor.

Han and his team check out the shield generator on Endor.

Lando and his space fleet make the jump to hyperspace under Ackbar's orders.

The Ewoks lead Han and his team to the back door of the bunker.  An Ewok steals a speeder bike and draws off some of  the troops.  Unforunately when they walk into the bunker...

Vader brings Luke to the Emperor.  The Emperor gloats that Luke's friends are walking into a trap.  The space battle attack on the death star has to break off and a space battle ensues.

Han, Leia, and Chewbacca face a legion of storm troopers.  C3PO baits the storm troopers into a trap and the Ewoks attack.  Before long an all-out battle occurs between storm troopers and Ewoks.  The Ewoks do well but many are also killed.

The Ewok battle on Endor is intercut with the battle in space between Lando's group and the Emperor's fighters.

The Emperor, again, gloating has the Death Star attack and destroy a rebel ship.

On Endor, R2-D2 gets hit by laser fire.  Han tries to hot wire the bunker door.  More Ewoks are killed.  Lando continues to lead the fight.

The Emperor continues to goad Luke.  Luke grabs his light-sabre but Vader blocks his attack on the Emperor.

The Ewoks begin to succeed again in their battle with the Emperor's troops.

Leia is injured as she tries to cover Han at the door.  Chewbacca commandeers an Imperial Walker.

Luke fights Vader, then stops.  Vader strikes out at Luke and Luke counters him.  Vader throws his light-sabre at Luke,

The space battle continues.

Han and Chewbacca pull one over on the Imperial troops.

Luke plays cat-and-mouse with Vader and insists he won't fight him.  When Vader realizes Leia is Luke's sister and says he will convert her to the Dark Side.  Luke fights back, hard, now angry.  The Emperor arrives, and Luke, looking at his own mechanical hand, and Vader's wrist where he's cut off his hand, stops, and tells the Emperor he'll never turn to the Dark Side.  Luke throws aside his light-sabre.

Back on Endor, the bunker is destroyed.  In space, the attack on the Death Star commences.

The Emperor attacks Luke with lightening bolts.  Luke pleas to his father for help.  Vader grabs the Emperor and throws him into the well of  a power reactor, saving Luke, but getting electrocuted in the process.

During the space battle a rebel ship hits a star destroyer and it sinks, crashing into the planet.  Luke drags Vader to an escape craft.  Vader asks Luke to remove his mask so he can look at Luke with his own eyes.

Luke escapes in the shuttle.  The Death Star is destroyed.  Han  assures Leia that Luke wasn't on the Death Star when it blew.  Leia quietly responds that she knows.  Han offers to not get in the way when Luke returns.  Leia explains Luke is her brother, then kisses Han.

Luke burns his father's body.

Everyone reunites at the Ewok celebration.  Luke wanders off and he's the ghosts of  his father, Yoda, and Obi-Wan Kenobi before Leia brings him back to the party.

The conclusion to the Star Wars trilogy is actually quite good and satisfying.  It's best in it's quiet moments - Luke's conversations with Yoda and Ben (Obi-Wan); Luke's explaining his background to Leia; even Leia explaining to Han that Luke's actually her brother and she's in love with Han.  The film also uses short set pieces and in the last half-hour/forty-five minutes a lot of inter-cutting.  This stops the film from bogging down.  Yes, the film is the Hero's Journey but it's well executed, especially as at the time true fantasy heroes journey's were seldom the subject of  popular entertainment films.  Luke is much more mature here, so much so, that I wondered just how long Han was stuck in Carbonite, since Luke has finished his training.  Leia also seems a bit older, and more ready to take on responsibility, though her character doesn't grow as much as Luke or even Han.

Return of  the Jedi also has a lot of great lines.  Like all of  the Star Wars trilogy the writing is very quotable, which makes the film fun to watch.  All the leads also do a good job.  Mark Hamill is no longer playing the "whiny farm boy" but has grown and matured. Han Solo has discovered the importance of caring for people instead of just himself and Chewie.  Only Leia, though always strong, seems to have not changed much... though she does more or less propose to Han.

Recommendation:  See it, a true classic.
Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars
Next Film:  The Sting