The Evolution of Batman

Last weekend I went and saw The Dark Knight with Whitney and her niece and nephew, Tommy & Maddie, and I was blown away by it.  Yes, it had a couple of flaws here and there, but I hadn't been that engrossed in a film in a long time.  For one of the first times, it was a superhero movie that didn't feel like a superhero movie.  What I mean by that is that the story is structured in such a way that it's not the citizens of Gotham you are watching running away from the Joker, it's citizens of the U.S. running away from the Joker.  As you've probably heard, this a dark movie, which I think makes it a bit more relatable to its themes... hence people enjoying it so much.

It just made me think about how far Batman has come.  I never read the comics, but as a kid I loved the old T.V. show and movie with Adam West.  It was so cartoon-like and cheesy with its over-the-top Bangs and Booms, but this was something that was on prime time T.V.!  Can you imagine it being on prime time T.V. today?

Then came Tim Burton's adaptations which brought a lot of new elements to not just the superhero genre, but to films with its cinematography and look.  I thought it was funny when I was talking to Tommy about it because he said that when he watched it he thought it was, "Boring and the special effects weren't that good."  That made me laugh... think about the type of movies this younger generation is watching and compare it to "special effect" movies of my generation... Yeah a huge gap.

After Burton departed, we then were introduced to Batman Forever and Batman & Robin which were more about which celebrity was in it versus a good story.  It was funny how the cartoon feel of the old series came around full circle, but this time the public didn't react too well.

Now we have the genius of Christopher Nolan who has brought a more realistic Batman to the screen with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, who dumped the spectacle side of the previous movies for a more sinister take.

I know you are probably wondering why I went through all of that, but I think the life of these films really correlate to how America was reacting to certain issues at that specific time.  You can't deny a certain hippie feel to the Batman series of old and now to this apprehensive, post 9/11 attitude Americans are embracing.

I enjoyed The Dark Knight  because it made me think, but I'm also always for a good "popcorn" film.  Do you think that everybody has flocked to this film because it's just good, or do you think that America is more ready for this type of dark film?  I think we are at a certain point with both our government and entertainment that we are tired of being spoon fed and people telling us what is good or not.  We were supposed to like Batman & Robin because it had George Clooney in a nipple suit, but now we like The Dark Knight because it has a story that makes us question our own heroic/villainous nature.

I know I'm probably reading too much into this, but I'm interested to see where both America and the movies go in the coming years.  Will we relapse again in a comfortable state like we did after Batman Forever?  There have been some really big films to come out that have had independent like themes to them and I hope that trend continues, but I'm fearful that like anything, America's taste will change in one way or another, and we'll come full circle once again to the "Holy flippin' dolphins, Batman!"

Thoughts?

I'm back!

Yeah, I know that's it has been a while.  But I think I have a great excuse... If you didn't know, I'm now engaged to Whitney!  This past month and a half has been nuts with planning for me.  Whether it was getting the ring, going on vacation (which included talking to her parents), and planning the whole proposal, it's been a little crazy, but in a very fun way.  Oh yeah, her birthday was June 28th too, ha ha.

Whitney has started a blog and it has the whole story about everything, so go over and visit,

Being Nathan and Whitney at this very moment!

The next couple of posts will be some catch up stuff, but I think it still will be enjoyable to read...

It's still a work in progress, but I revamped my website some and have some new Videos on there and a better organized Movie Reviews section.

So check it out and CLICK HERE!

Paradise, The Finals & American Gangster

The weekend has been a lot of fun, but way too fast.  I'm not too worried about it, because my vacation is coming up soon!  Me & Whitney are going to go to Memphis, TN, for a CBF conference and then to Nashville to hang out with some extended family.  We'll also get to see my sis and brother-in-law in Little Rock.  A long road trip, friends & family, relaxation, what else can you ask for?

It's half-time right now in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.  It's the classic match-up between the Celtics and the Lakers.  It's been over 21 years since they last met and Game 1 was really entertaining.  I'm hoping this second one turns out the same.  If you know me at all, I hate the Lakers, so I hope the Celtics win.  Regardless, it's a great match-up... one of the best offensive teams versus one of the best defensive teams.

You probably don't care about that... so I'll tell you about American Gangster.  Me & Whitney went up to Paradise, TX, to visit Claire and David.  It's always a blast to see them and  going way out in the country forces you to not do anything, which is always great for you.  We ate at some great hole-in-the wall places and we got to lounge around on Saturday and watch the movie.  It was a real interesting movie, especially for a "gangster" film.  Don't go into expecting a lot of action, it's more just a narrative story-line, but an interesting one.  I feel like it could've been a lot shorter than it was, but if you are interested in a dark true story about one of the most mellow drug lords in the 70's, you should check it out.

Nathan on The Mungle Show!

Matt was kind enough to bring me on his show today to talk about You Don't Mess with the Zohan.  I was really excited because I've never done a phone interview before!

To listen to it, click on the link below:

The Mungle Show - 6/6/08

Matt also talked about the new Jack Black animated film, Kung Fu Panda.  You can read both of our reviews by visiting:

The Mungles on Movies

You Don't Mess with the Zohan

I'm all for a good stupid comedy. I believe whole heartily in the importance of some films allowing you to stop thinking and to just sit back and laugh. You Don't Mess with the Zohan decides to take this route, but also tries to infuse some intelligence in its writing by interweaving some political debate. Usually one would not expect this from an Adam Sandler vehicle, but don't hold your breath. 'Zohan's' jokes and gags get to the point of being so juvenile and have so little thought behind them that when it does try to incorporate its solution to the world's problems, it doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Zohan (Adam Sandler) is Israel's number one answer when it comes to taking down any threat. His unexplained superhuman ability to eliminate any terrorist is adored by his nation but is not enough to stop him from going into hiding to pursue his life's dream; hairstyling. As Zohan tries to reinvent himself in a struggling salon in New York City, word of mouth quickly spreads about his unorthodox method of cutting hair, especially amongst the ladies. As fellow Arabs try to sniff out his true identity, Zohan is forced to defend the destruction of the salon from an overzealous mall tycoon without others discovering his renegade past.

This is one of the first films I have seen that explores the Arab-American community from their perspective, but it really just comes off as crass when Sandler, Rob Schneider and John Turturro are lamenting about the hate-driven feud between the Israelites and the Palestinians. I'm not questioning their Jewish faith at all, but can you really be taken seriously when you bring up such issues in the dialogue and then have an action sequence where the bad guys get hosed down by large amounts of humus? You can certainly blend comedy with hard-hitting issues, but this film treats its topic with severe disrespect.

I cringe when I see Sandler in these types of roles. He has so much potential and has shown it in other films (Punch-Drunk Love, Spanglish). I believe when he is lackadaisical in roles like this one, he's still good. I just know he could bring some originality to the table, but he lets this movie unfold into adolescent antics. Cameos in comedies always bring a real world familiarity to a nonsensical plot, but instead of a throw away laugh, the celebrity appearances in this film are either not funny or just don't make any sense.

This is one of the most sexually charged PG-13 rated movies I've seen in a long time. All the bare backsides and sexual innuendo are meant solely for laughs, but the scenes just makes you cringe with embarrassment for all the wrong reasons. There is also some language and comic-like violence, but it's the sexual vulgarity that would make me uncomfortable taking any teenager too. Writers Sandler, Robert Smigel (Triumph the Insult Comic Dog) and Judd Apatow (Knocked Up) are to blame for this mess of a script. If you didn't know that Hollywood comedic talents in their 40's were behind this project, you would have thought this came out of the boy's bathroom stall from your local high school. I give 'Zohan' 1 out of 5 Mariah Carey T-shirts.

MOHs, space kids & bloody mayhem

I just wanted to catch you up on some of the films that I've seen in the past couple of days.

Whitney & I had a great time catching up with our friends Ben & Becca.  After a fun meal at the Cheesecake Factory (get something other than a hamburger, it was good but I've had so much better stuff there) we went and saw Made of Honor.  I thought it was ok (2.5 out of 5).  I think Ben felt the same way as I did, but Becca & Whitney had a lot of fun with it and was able to embrace some of its cheesy moments.  It was actually a bit crowded in the theater, so I had to sit down right by this random guy.  He moved one seat down and the girls thought it was because I smelled.  I thought it was because he freaked out when I accidently put my hand on his knee instead of Whitney's (just kidding). 

Many of you know that I write for The Mungleshow, and one of the writers is Leslie, so I thought you would be interested in what she had to say about Made of Honor.

After a fun and relaxing dinner with Jennifer, we popped in Martian Child with John Cusack Sunday night.  This too was just an ok movie for me.  It wasn't bad at all but it just wasn't that interesting to me.  I didn't think the kid was the greatest of actors and John Cusack had to carry pretty much the whole movie.  It's meant for the family and for kids, but I can see kids just getting absolutely bored by this one.

I decided to erase any kind of innocence I may have received from Martian Child by watching the fourth installment of Rambo with Jonathan Monday night.  Now, I've never seen the other three, so I don't know how to compare this one to the others, but it was perhaps the bloodiest movie I've seen in a long time.  Did it keep me from channeling my masculine inner-self?  Of course not!  It was very over-the-top and really campy at points, but it was quite entertaining.  I can't see many girls enjoying this one, unless you just enjoy seeing a 60-year old man on HGH hand-making machetes and taking out a 100-man army single handily.  But we had a lot of fun with it.

Be on the look out for my review of the new Adam Sandler comedy "Don't Mess with the Zohan" on Friday.  I'll keep you posted.

Whitney's new car

After a grueling day, Whitney drove back to her apartment last night in a new Nissan Rogue!

It's a really great car and perfect for when you are looking for something in between a car and a really big SUV.  It really fits her perfectly and she was nice enough to let me drive it some last night.  I sometimes forget what it's like to drive a car and not notice gears shifting when you accelerate.  You really have to be careful not to go too fast in it.

I unfortunately couldn't be with her as she went through the process of trading in her Chevy Trailblazer.  I've never had to deal with a dealership, and after the long day she had, I don't want to anytime soon.  She beat the system without too many scars and hopefully I can learn from her tough negotiating skills when it comes time that I need a new gas guzzler.

Do you have any bad or good experiences buying a car?