Having just recently watched Batman Begins, I will say that it is definitely my favourite of the Nolan Batman movies. I plan to watch the sequels again though so that opinion may change. But as of right now, Begins is my favourite of the trilogy. The pronunciation of Ra's Al Ghul's name kind of irritated me. I mean, it's probably correct but I've only ever heard it pronounced like "Raysh" so it sounds off to me. Nevertheless, it's a pretty good movie. I thought Bale was decent. Morgan Freeman is always good in things. Liam Neeson was really good too. Good performances all round, really. I still think Michael Caine is totally miscast though. The old guy from the Keaton movies is the quintessential Alfred for me. That guy just screams "butler". Michael Caine...not so much.

Overall, a pretty good movie though. And my son loved it.

ShellyMcG said:

Having just recently watched Batman Begins, I will say that it is definitely my favourite of the Nolan Batman movies. I plan to watch the sequels again though so that opinion may change. But as of right now, Begins is my favourite of the trilogy. The pronunciation of Ra's Al Ghul's name kind of irritated me. I mean, it's probably correct but I've only ever heard it pronounced like "Raysh" so it sounds off to me. Nevertheless, it's a pretty good movie. I thought Bale was decent. Morgan Freeman is always good in things. Liam Neeson was really good too. Good performances all round, really. I still think Michael Caine is totally miscast though. The old guy from the Keaton movies is the quintessential Alfred for me. That guy just screams "butler". Michael Caine...not so much. Overall, a pretty good movie though. And my son loved it.

Yeah Michael Gough is GOAT Alfred looks-wise.... otherwise, Just "pretty good"?

No mention of themes? Nolan likes to hammer them themes, you know, "Why do we fall?" "Not the person I am on the inside but what I do that defines me", etc. The humanistic themes make the story more potent for me than the usual superhero routine.

Also the psychology. The Wayne murders never had better or more succinct build-up, then when it actually occurs is so intense, perhaps that might be why your son loved it. I was in prime teen years when that came out, and it just does a chilling job of placing you in the perspective of what it would be like if that actually happened in those circumstances etc.

Also that he doesn't actually suit up for like 45 min, etc. Kinda unique.. Just a'iight?

[Edited 2/17/23 13:09pm]

[Edited 2/17/23 13:09pm]

WhisperingDandelions said:

I'm not sure how unique that part is. It's like an hour before Superman gets his costume in the Reeve movie. But yeah, I liked Batman Begins.

We watched The Dark Knight and Rises too. Begins is still my favourite of the trilogy but The Dark Knight is also pretty good. I've always liked Heath Ledger in pretty much everything I've seen him in and he's really good in The Dark Knight. Jack Nicholson is still the best Joker for me though. When I think of the character, Jack's version is the one that I think of. But having said that, his version wouldn't work in The Dark Knight so Heath Ledger was perfect for the movie he was in. The Dark Knight Rises...I didn't enjoy as much. It was ok, I guess. I'll probably never watch it again though.

kpowers said:

I've watched Mask Of The Phantasm. I have to say, it's one of the best animated movies I've ever seen. The whole tone of the movie is spot on. It's got one of the most glaringly obvious "twists" of all time and still manages to be really good despite that. I would love to see a live action remake at some point. I don't have anything against animation but in general, I prefer live action.

ShellyMcG said:

kpowers said:

I've watched Mask Of The Phantasm. I have to say, it's one of the best animated movies I've ever seen. The whole tone of the movie is spot on. It's got one of the most glaringly obvious "twists" of all time and still manages to be really good despite that. I would love to see a live action remake at some point. I don't have anything against animation but in general, I prefer live action.

Who knew the galaxy far far away is in the quantum realm? Disny thinks it's funny.

ShellyMcG said:

Having just recently watched Batman Begins, I will say that it is definitely my favourite of the Nolan Batman movies. I plan to watch the sequels again though so that opinion may change. But as of right now, Begins is my favourite of the trilogy. The pronunciation of Ra's Al Ghul's name kind of irritated me. I mean, it's probably correct but I've only ever heard it pronounced like "Raysh" so it sounds off to me. Nevertheless, it's a pretty good movie. I thought Bale was decent. Morgan Freeman is always good in things. Liam Neeson was really good too. Good performances all round, really. I still think Michael Caine is totally miscast though. The old guy from the Keaton movies is the quintessential Alfred for me. That guy just screams "butler". Michael Caine...not so much. Overall, a pretty good movie though. And my son loved it.

Like Man of Steel, it's a true origin story.We actually see Wayne training and slowly becoming The Dark Knight. It's what Batman would be in our reality/the real world, where aliens and meta-humans don't exist.

uPtoWnNY said:

Well I mean it's still very far fetched but yeah, it's definitely a more realistic take than the usual superhero stuff. I liked how they showed Bruce Wayne training and how he learns a lot of the techniques he'll use later as Batman.

onlyforaminute said:

What?

ShellyMcG said:

Just had to blurt out my overall impression of the newest superhero movie. That's all.

onlyforaminute said:

I assume you're referring to Ant Man? I haven't seen it and probably never will. I also assume from your comment that there's a Star Wars reference in it?
[Edited 2/20/23 13:25pm]

Shazam is the newest, isn't it? Are those movies any good?

Always been intrigued with Shazam or Captain Marvel as he was originally known as before the lawsuit. Apparently he was more popular with kids than Superman back in the 30s, but Superman's creators successfully sued arguing he infringed on Superman's copyright. Captain Marvel would have easily had the lawsuit thrown out because although he is clearly Superman-inspired, his origin/secret identity/story is completely unique from Superman's origins. However, some of the illustrators straight-up traced panels and cover art from Superman comic books, so it was found guilty for infringing on copyright. DC got the rights, cancelled it for a bit, sold the name to Marvel, license blahblah, and the popularity of "Shazam" was never the same.

Also my favorite sportscaster of all-time likes to say "SHAZAM!" on a successful three-point shot since the shot was implemented in 1976.

https://streamable.com/nkqbwc

[Edited 2/20/23 15:26pm]

ShellyMcG said:

I'm not sure how unique that part is. It's like an hour before Superman gets his costume in the Reeve movie.

He's still Superman when he's shaking his baby rattle, though. Batman doesn't become Batman until he suits up for the first time.

ShellyMcG said:

Yeah AntMan. No they didn't reference it they kind of incorporated the world into it. I guess like they incorporated Pinocchio and a couple of other Disney classics into these Marvel movies.

onlyforaminute said:

ShellyMcG said:

I assume you're referring to Ant Man? I haven't seen it and probably never will. I also assume from your comment that there's a Star Wars reference in it? [Edited 2/20/23 13:25pm]

Yeah AntMan. No they didn't reference it they kind of incorporated the world into it. I guess like they incorporated Pinocchio and a couple of other Disney classics into these Marvel movies.

yeah these companies flexing their multiverse properties is kinda creepy, they act like it's cute.

Space Jam 2 they had like 60s Batman & Robin, King Kong, Pennywise the clown, the Jetsons,Jim Carrey's The Mask and like 50 other properties cheering on in the crowd.

[Edited 2/20/23 16:30pm]

WhisperingDandelions said:

The best "multiverse crossover" movie of all time is, and forever will be, Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

ShellyMcG said:

The best "multiverse crossover" movie of all time is, and forever will be, Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

noice, noice. It gets extra credit for being a truly original story on top of the architects of the genre.

ShellyMcG said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

yeah these companies flexing their multiverse properties is kinda creepy, they act like it's cute.

Space Jam 2 they had like 60s Batman & Robin, King Kong, Pennywise the clown, the Jetsons,Jim Carrey's The Mask and like 50 other properties cheering on in the crowd.

[Edited 2/20/23 16:30pm]

The best "multiverse crossover" movie of all time is, and forever will be, Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Agreed. Wish they made more Roger Rabbit movies

ShellyMcG said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

yeah these companies flexing their multiverse properties is kinda creepy, they act like it's cute.

Space Jam 2 they had like 60s Batman & Robin, King Kong, Pennywise the clown, the Jetsons,Jim Carrey's The Mask and like 50 other properties cheering on in the crowd.

[Edited 2/20/23 16:30pm]

The best "multiverse crossover" movie of all time is, and forever will be, Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

WB's recent "Monsterverse" was well done...Godzilla, Kong on Skull Island, Godzilla KOTM, Godzilla vs Kong, and I hear GvK2 is in the works.

WhisperingDandelions said:

Well in fairness, it's not a truly original story. It's based on the book "Who Censored Roger Rabbit".

uPtoWnNY said:

I've seen Godzilla but I haven't seen the rest of them yet. I have heard good things though.

uPtoWnNY said:

ShellyMcG said:

WhisperingDandelions said: The best "multiverse crossover" movie of all time is, and forever will be, Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

WB's recent "Monsterverse" was well done...Godzilla, Kong on Skull Island, Godzilla KOTM, Godzilla vs Kong, and I hear GvK2 is in the works.

The King Kong movies were better than the Godzilla movies. Godzilla vs Kong was a disappointment

ShellyMcG said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

yeah these companies flexing their multiverse properties is kinda creepy, they act like it's cute.

Space Jam 2 they had like 60s Batman & Robin, King Kong, Pennywise the clown, the Jetsons,Jim Carrey's The Mask and like 50 other properties cheering on in the crowd.

[Edited 2/20/23 16:30pm]

The best "multiverse crossover" movie of all time is, and forever will be, Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Betty Boop should be in black & white.

ShellyMcG said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

noice, noice. It gets extra credit for being a truly original story on top of the architects of the genre.

Well in fairness, it's not a truly original story. It's based on the book "Who Censored Roger Rabbit".

Original in the sense that Roger wasn't originally part of those golden age toons. That movie is like layers good. Zemeckis kind of gets overlooked in every "great director" conversations, he's got some mega credits there.

uPtoWnNY said:

WB's recent "Monsterverse" was well done...Godzilla, Kong on Skull Island, Godzilla KOTM, Godzilla vs Kong, and I hear GvK2 is in the works.

Was Dracula supposed to be a part of this or was that another universe? Dracula: Origins was that the movie from a little while ago?

kpowers said:

The King Kong movies were better than the Godzilla movies. Godzilla vs Kong was a disappointment

Have not checked out the new Vs. movies, which King Kong movies? The 2005 Jack Black/Peter Jackson? 70s? 50s original?

I avoided Kong movies so long because as a kid there were so many cartoon parodies that it was like "oh I already know the story, eh it's okay," but I finally checked out the 2005 one first, then the original, then the 70s one. Dude. Kong's like next level. Like on every level, like not just his might but like the deep emotional romantic tragedy of Kong.

Love me some original Gojira, your Mothra duels, Toho OGs from what I've checked out, did not see the Puff Daddy remake directed by the Independence Day guy even though I actually quite like Independence Day, always got love for the giant dino vs. monster of the week format growing up as a Power Rangers fan, but Kong... He's a different beast entirely. Kong's Prince, Godzilla's MJ.

[Edited 2/25/23 16:45pm]

Let's talk Batman '66 and the TV show as well.

Have you seen any of these Shelly? lol I almost put "Shelby", sorry if I've done that before? Shelly, Shelly, c'mon Shelly, you familiar with that MADTV bit?

No, Batman '66 though with Adam West. It might at first seem like the opposite of my general grandiose pretentious philosophy on superheros and realism and human emotion, but that's a damn great Batman there, and Adam West's Batman might be the truest superhero of them all. He's the most genuine Batman, that's part of why it's so good. If only these "fun" new wave superhero movies could be half as fun as Batman '66.

[Edited 2/25/23 17:00pm]

WhisperingDandelions said:

uPtoWnNY said:

WB's recent "Monsterverse" was well done...Godzilla, Kong on Skull Island, Godzilla KOTM, Godzilla vs Kong, and I hear GvK2 is in the works.

Was Dracula supposed to be a part of this or was that another universe? Dracula: Origins was that the movie from a little while ago?

kpowers said:

The King Kong movies were better than the Godzilla movies. Godzilla vs Kong was a disappointment

Have not checked out the new Vs. movies, which King Kong movies? The 2005 Jack Black/Peter Jackson? 70s? 50s original?

I avoided Kong movies so long because as a kid there were so many cartoon parodies that it was like "oh I already know the story, eh it's okay," but I finally checked out the 2005 one first, then the original, then the 70s one. Dude. Kong's like next level. Like on every level, like not just his might but like the deep emotional romantic tragedy of Kong.

Love me some original Gojira, your Mothra duels, Toho OGs from what I've checked out, did not see the Puff Daddy remake directed by the Independence Day guy even though I actually quite like Independence Day, always got love for the giant dino vs. monster of the week format growing up as a Power Rangers fan, but Kong... He's a different beast entirely. Kong's Prince, Godzilla's MJ.

[Edited 2/25/23 16:45pm]

WB's Monsterverse films are love letters to lonetime Toho kaiju fans like myself who grew up watching these on Saturday mornings. I love how they gave the classic designs a "modern" look. The producers did Toho's "Big 5" (Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mecha-Godzilla) justice. Rodan looked as menacing as he did in his original 1956 film. Legendary Kong is definitely a throwback to the 1933 original, an ape monster instead of a giant gorilla (like the 2005 version).

Don't get me started on that piece of shit from TriStar in 1998. That was Godzilla in name only.

For GvK2, I'd love to see both monsters face off against Mecha-King Ghidorah or Destroyah.

[Edited 2/25/23 18:22pm]

WhisperingDandelions said:

Let's talk Batman '66 and the TV show as well.

Have you seen any of these Shelly? lol I almost put "Shelby", sorry if I've done that before? Shelly, Shelly, c'mon Shelly, you familiar with that MADTV bit?

No, Batman '66 though with Adam West. It might at first seem like the opposite of my general grandiose pretentious philosophy on superheros and realism and human emotion, but that's a damn great Batman there, and Adam West's Batman might be the truest superhero of them all. He's the most genuine Batman, that's part of why it's so good. If only these "fun" new wave superhero movies could be half as fun as Batman '66.

[Edited 2/25/23 17:00pm]

I can't even watch those anymore. I need dark, serious Batman.

WhisperingDandelions said:

You can just call me Hannah.

I've seen clips of the old Adam West show but I don't remember ever watching any complete episodes. But I'm familiar with the memes.

ShellyMcG said:

You can just call me Hannah. I've seen clips of the old Adam West show but I don't remember ever watching any complete episodes. But I'm familiar with the memes.

Memes are like a game of telephone sometimes. Like how everyone always misuses the Tobey Spider-Man one where he takes off his glasses.