Games and Movie...

Hello,

Saturday night Paul and Eric came over and we played three rounds of SBH.  First was Eric's list versus my Victor's Folly.  The scenario was chance encounter where each player deploy's his enemy's force one at a time, no closer then one 'Long' from an enemy figure.  It started strong for me getting two kills early on and trying to consolidate my position...  Then it all went down hill failing multiple early activations.  Eric held it together and used the 'Distraction' from the harlot to transfix my Bobbie the Ogrun and take him out of the game.

Paul and Eric played a game of control points.  Half way through I thought Eric had it won, but before you could shake your head and say 'WHHHAAATT', the Paul's Menoth had cleared the field.  The third game was Assassination, with me having to kill Paul's leader.  Well...  That didn't happen as Paul's force pretty much slaughtered me to a man before I could get to his head honcho!

We then played a road race game of Formula D in Chicago.  Two laps, lots of twists and turns.  Eric was behind most of the race, but pulled ahead in the last three turns.  Paul came in second and I did a slow putter in for third.

The gang is gearing up for a SBH league.  We started on earlier, but know that all the main participants have a game under there belt, we are set to re-boot with a few others added in.

On Sunday, Eric and I hit Iron Man 2.  I enjoyed the movie.  It wasn't quite as good as the first Iron Man, but I think some of that was the 'newness' of the whole thing last time.  The Avenger's ties were pretty strong and Scarlett Johanson's Black Widow combat scenes were pretty darn cool.  It was a great intro into the summer movie season and I would recommend the show to any comic book/action flick fans.  I give it 6 out of 7 Arc Reactors.

jp

Slackerville...

So I only posted four times this month.  That is bad.  I wish I could say I haven't reported more gaming stuff, but I really can't, it has been pretty quite.

Still on the road for travel, but did have today off (vice Saturday that I put in a 10 hour day in) so I went to the theater and saw "The Wolfman".

I guess I would give it 2 out 6 silver bullets.  It was visually well done, except the close up of the wolfman looked a bit comical.  It looked like they were trying to pay homage to the old B&W version, but it didn't really get pulled off well.  That combined with some rather lack luster acting it just didn't sell well.  Which is sad, because the Wolfman has always been my favorite of the classic monster movies.

I did purchase a PDF version of "Song of Blades and Heroes" for $8.  It has some real simple game mechanics that looks like it would fit well in a skirmish game.  It claims to be playable in under 45 mins once you are comfortable with the rules.  I hope to pressure strong arm talk into the gang into trying out.  Cost would be zero as we all have a ton of fantasy figs and I've bought the rules already.  It looks perfect to run a mordhiem type campaign with a significant reduction in book keeping.

Any Hoo...  Have a good one and I'll catch you next month with more game stuff...  I hope!

jp
Post?  What Post?

Elementry My Dear...

The buddy flick set in late 1800 England.

That is the new Sherlock Holmes in 7 words. Not that it is bad, far from it, it is a very entertaining movie that hits all the right wickets for modern pop culture.

Quick Take Aways:

• Robert Downing Jr. - He is still on the rise and does a wonderful performance as Holmes. When first cast I was a bit apprehensive, but he pulled the accent out well and his slightly neurotic (OK, really neurotic) take on Holmes was interesting and entertaining. I really liked the director's approach with the character where he digested a scene, typically fights, but would have liked to have seen that break out with other items.
• Jude Law - As the 'retired' military surgeon, this Doctor Watson was a bit younger then those portrayed in the past, but so was Holmes for that matter. Law is a great actor, with a wide range and he did well in this film. My biggest complaint was the limp. An injury suffered in the line of duty mysteriously disappeared in fight and chase scenes, but reemerged in conversation/dialog intense scenes. Huh?
• The 'Buddy Flick' - Holmes and Watson played off of each other extremely well, and the interjection of Watson's future wife played to the conflict of the buddies being ripped apart.
• The Action - Hey, it is the modern pop world that we live in and if we don't have the prerequisite number of explosions and bloody fight scenes, then it ain't going to cut. Come on! I think some story got left on the floor, I'm not going to spoil, but a few spots could have used an additional scene to help tie things together a bit better, especially at the end.
• The Big Professor M - Professor Moriarty plays a very minor, behind the scenes, wait for the sequel roll. He is there, but he isn't the force to be addressed in this film, but I'll be you my stake in the Baker Street Irregulars that we see him in his full glory next time.
• The 'Tag' - Didn't happen. I sat through the credits, expecting to see a sneak peak of Moriarty or some other thing, but it didn't happen. :( Oh well.

In the end I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it for the theater for its full large screen effect. I give it 202 out of 221B Baker Streets.

jp

Watson

Repo Men...

Wow...

Just Wow...

If you haven't seen the redband trailer for Repo Men, you ought to check it out. Talk about disturbing vision of the future. Jude Law and Forest Whitaker are a pair of great actors that seem to really have a chemstry based on the trailer.

Should be worth the watch.

jp

How's the Pancreas?

Zombies on the road

Out in Seattle area since Thursday and spent Friday night and today with an old collage buddy. We went to Zombieland last night and had a great time. The movie was very funny and the graphic nature was so over the top as to make it comical. I only jumped once, when the clown came under the bathroom stall. Stupid clown.

I thought that Emma Stone did a good job as did the entire cast. Woody Harrelson, playing the lovable brute, his strength, was funny as well.

After the movie, Julian broke out some old stuff he has held since college and returned my old copy of Top Secret and Champions `1st edition. Wow... Talk about old school. We had a great Top Secret campaign going in college where I remember running gun battles in the African jungle. Good times. :)

This afternoon we are off to the Science Fiction and Music Experience museum. I'll post more about how that has gone later, but it should be pretty cool.

jp
Rule #4 - Double Tap

You are not welcome here

Just got back from the movies and I must say that I really enjoyed District 9. Peter Jackson is the producer with Neill Blomkamp as the director. This is Neill's first full length movie and he does an outstanding job of bringing thought provoking science fiction to the big screen.

Like all good science Fiction, District 9 does a wonderful job of crafting the current issues with explosions and goo to make entertainment that when you sit and think, tells you something of the human condition. Yes, it could be a buddy movie and yes it could have been pure guts and guns, but setting the aliens within the confines of what was once the most repressive segregated cultures in the modern world, it help high light man's on ability to cause harm to those around them when the 'dehumanize' them.

The Other Half and I went at the matinee and I was surprised that she enjoyed the movie as much as I did. Some of the Boom! and Splat! might have turned her off, but the other items held her to the story. That is good science fiction, when you can get past those window dressings and enjoy the story, regardless of the trappings.

My hope is that they leave the setting with all the delightful questions that the show left open and not be tempted by box office success to create a District 10, Revenge of the Prawns! Please, please, please...

As for a rating, I would give it 3.75 alien tentacle fingers out of 4. Good job Mr. Blomkamp, keep up the good work.

jp

but you are, please sit down.

Star Trek

On Sunday I took the opportunity to go see the new Star Trek movie at the theater down the road.   The intertubes has been full of reviews which were mostly good so I was going in with pretty high expectations.

Upfront, I am a fan of Star Trek, but I would not classify myself as a 'trekker' by any stretch.  I first started watching with my step father on afternoon television, then watched some of TNG and a bit more of DS9, which, was my favorite of the series.  Never watched Voyager and saw maybe three episdoes of Enterprise.   So, although I do like the story, I am not wedded to the concept that a 70 year old man needs to play himself as a 20 year old.

So with all that caveatting done, I liked the movie.  It was a great kick off to the summer movie schedule.  There were several things that I really enjoyed tremendously and only a few minor things that I could have done with out.  

To start, I thought that the opening sequence was one of the most heart wrenching scenes in science fiction I think I have ever watched.   It showed a great deal of depth and set the tone and emotional response that was needed to get the fans engaged.   I also liked Chris Pine as Kirk.  He did a great job with the character being both brash and self-assured.  Well done Mr. Pine.  The remainder of the crew were also well cast and played well.  I thought one or two of the items were a bit over the top, namely Chekhov's accent and the whole W/V issue, but each of the characters had a few great scenes.  Uhura's 'romance' with Spock caught me off guard, but was way cool as was Sulu kicking ass...  I want a foldable ninja sword!  Finally the Enterprise itself was just huge.  I think we hadn't seen the bigger engine parts of the Enterprise before and I liked how they laid her out.

On the down side, like I said, it is pretty minimal and really just nitpicking.  I already mentioned Chekhov's accent.  As much as I really like Simon Pegg, I think they did Scotty a mis-service as he came in very late to the story and was 100% comic relief.  You never see him working, only walking about.

As for the story, I thought it was fine.  Yes it is time travel, but how do you expect to 're-boot' a franchise if you must maintain 100% canon or the fans freak?  With the exception of the whole ice planet bit, I thought it was fine.

Like I said, a fun summer movie.  Will it win an Oscar?  I highly doubt it unless it is for effects...  Maybe an MTV award...  :)

jp

Live long and prosper  

I'm too old for this...

Thursday was a LONG day. I was up by 5am, even early for me, but I was up and I hit the day. It ended when I got home around 315am on Friday morning, fought my way through the three dogs (on of ours, two we are sitting), answered The Other Half's brief questions, but on the breathing machine and off to bed it was closer to 345. The Other Half kept pestering me (Sorry Honey, you were) all morning and wouldn't just let me rest, so up we got for some Breakfast.

The main reason for telling you this is to filter the Watchman review that is forthcoming. I picked up Steve around 730 and after some chit chat, we headed over to the theater to pick up the tickets I had pre-purchased. We got to Hooters which was very quite, got a table and Heath and Becky arrived shortly afterward. The Hooter girls were a little sub-par, and our waitress was even pregnant, which is OK I guess, just not what you expect when you go to a Hooters.

Heath had brought Traders of Carthage and taught us how to play. Interesting game that is pretty fun. The victory points structure is a bit odd, but we finally figured it out and still didn't need a degree in math. We finished with a game of Pandemic on the easy setting. First time Steve had played so we played open handed. We did pretty good with all but the Researcher on the board. Near the end of the game Heath kept making trips to the LBR, and Heath and Becky opted out of the show. We closed down Hooters at 1030 (Yes... Last call was at 1030? WTF?).

Steve and I made our way over to the theater, got to the Imax and found a pair of seats on the back of the main landing on the right hand side aisle. All in all pretty good seats. We had about an hour to burn so we had some good conversations on D&D, the multiple campaigns that are on going, video games and upcoming movies. Good times. The crowd was wound up tight. I think I might have been the oldest person in the room. Mostly 20'ish types with body tats and piercings. We had one annoying kid (18?) near us that must have been consuming prior to the start, but he fell asleep about 20 mins into the show and never made a peep again. At midnight, with all tickets sold out, the show began. Only one preview, Harry Potter, which looked pretty good, but I haven't been following the series so it is hard to say.

The Watchmen

It was good. Not great, not best movie ever, but a solid flick. If, I had not read the book, I might have been confused and not understood some of the nuisances. I'm sure plenty of girl friends were disappointed and didn't 'get' some of it, but that is OK as the movie wasn't made for them. We saw Cashew at the show. Why he was in CB instead of Lincoln to see it is beyond me, but he came up to me afterward and told me it was 'horrible and he felt betrayed' and I was like... 'What?' I think Cashew is retarded, but that is just me. Could it have been better? Yes, but short of some serious lengthening (five hours anyone), I'm not sure what they could have done. Could it have been worse? Oh god yes it could have been soooo much worse.

Highlights:
Acting: By and large I thought the ensemble cast did a great job.

• Jackie Earle Haley had the strongest performance by a long stretch. I was worried when I saw that he was cast, as I didn't think he had the stature for it, but man did he rock as Rorschach. He captured the tortured conflict that poor Walter faced. I hope that the even longer directors version has more of his story line with the psychiatrist to help bring out his troubled past more. The classic scene in the chow line in the prison was just way too cool for words.
  
• In a close, very close second, was Jeffery Dean Morgan who played the Comedian. He had the best range in the film, taking him from a young arrogant punk full of piss and vinegar to a crusty and jaded old man that has been broken by something bigger then himself. His intro fight scene was really well done and showed that despite his age, that the Comedian was still ready for a fight.
  
• Of all the main characters the one I liked the least was Adrian Viedt (Ozymandias). You would think that the 'smartest man on earth' would be a better speaker or at least get a better screen writer. The character was just too cold. I get that Dr. Manhattan was cold, I understood that as he was detaching from humanity and I think that Billy Crudup did a very good job, but Viedt... Just didn't connect. The few scenes he had were so disconnected it made it hard for someone trying to follow the story, that didn't read the book, could easily get lost.

Story: Zack Snyder did an outstanding job of cramming one of the most dense books into a story on the screen. There are so many sub plots and back stories going on that you can run out of creative ways to express them, but I felt that Zack hit the big ones that needed to be addressed and covered the depth of story well. Now I will admit that I have read the book about once a year or so for the past two decades I get the story. Someone trying to catch it cold, might disagree. My biggest complaint was the modification to the ending. I get it, I do. Post 9-11 he was trying to reach beyond NY as the epicenter of the disaster, but I think he failed to sell the point that Dr. Manhattan was the cause. I thought he could have kept the squid approach, but broached it globally... But that might have been more then the audience could grasp.

Action: Wow. This is Zack's true calling. He can pull some kick ass action scenes. This along with top notch effects (Antarctica building the main exception) was just great. If your an action/effects grunt, then this should make you happy.

With all that said, can I recommend this movie? Yes and no. If you liked the comic and you have an open mind that it isn't 100% the comic, then by all means, go and enjoy the movie. If you can't separate the comic from the movie or if you feel it will 'rape your childhood' or some other stupid notion, then do us all a favor and just stay away.

In the end, I would give it 4 Giant Blue Nuclear Physicists out of 5. Let me know what you thought about the show.

jp
None of you understand. I'm not locked up in here with you. You're locked up in here with me.

A Full House and Slumdogs...

Salutations,

On Saturday the entire gang got together, with all in attendance. New faces included Kaz'nak the Dragonborn Paladin, on his quest to assist Zoltan the Reformed on his mission to save the, ah, slaves.

Having returned to the Seven Pillared Hall, the party too the opportunity to take a much needed extended rest after vanquishing the Bloodreavers. Before departing the Bloodreavers lair, Sliver found a gold coin with the symbol that looked like the one that was left when his family was killed. Upon regaining their abilities, amazing what a good six hours will do, the local enforcer, Brugg stated that the 'Wizard on Call' wanted to speak to them. Seems one of their own has gone missing and given the teams outstanding abilities was wondering if they could lend a hand!

With a new quest to add to the ever growing pile, the team heads out on the heels of the Duergar that had purchased the captured slaves the party headed out in search of the Duergar's lair. Following the Road of Shadows, the team decides to take the path lest traveled. A quick encounter with a pack of hungry hyenas was followed by the meeting of a Troglodyte party. This one didn't go so easy. The Trogs had brought an Angle of Torog that helped make some bloody attacks. Some of the 'younger' characters spent daily powers and were very low on surges, but resting in the open hall, was just not an answer. so the party continued to explore.

Back tracking they found a door down one corridor and beat in the door. A few Orcs and an Ogre are surprised and battle ensues, but once the players get the upper hand, the last Orc flees and gets the Duergar's boss and his posse. This battle, without a chance to reload the encounter powers, is a long and bloody ordeal, but the party does prevail.

I had to leave a bit early so I left them hanging, many in need for an extended rest to go up a level, let alone get their powers back. Be sure to check in later! :)

On Sunday, The Other Half and I went to go see Slumdog Millionaire. The film was wonderfully directed and acted. The children actors were outstanding in their performances. The older versions of the characters were very good as well. It is a drama/love story but still very entertaining. It is a great 'date night' movie, or one to see if you like good cinema. I give it a 4.5 out of 5 Illegal Taj Mahal Tours.

Next week is the WM/HD/MonPoc tournament extravaganza in The Game Shoppe. Be sure to swing by and say 'hey!'.

jp
Jai Ho Boggier

Christmas in November

Good day to you!

So, the Basement Purge of 2008 has been financially rewarding. I've been selling some old game stuff that I will most likely never miss over at eBay. Since I took the cut in pay, the other half has suggested* that I should use these funds for my game purchases in the future. This combined with a 20% off for points at The Game Shoppe, I purchased several board games on Tuesday.

I got the following games:

• Race for the Galaxy with the Expansion
• The New Formula D
• The Red Dragon Inn
• Settlers of Catan Card Game
• Monty Python Flux

On Wednesday the Elder was off work, so I finagled a few of the new games. We started with a game of the Settlers Card Game. It was pretty easy to pick up and the mechanics were fun. I enjoyed the building aspect as well as the way they handle trading. Second we tried MP Fluxx. Not the best two player game, but I was really hoping to show her the mechanics. That went OK. Like I said, not the best two player. She was embarrassed to do the ridicules accent or to sing songs. We finished up with a game of RDI. This is fund, mindless game, also better with four players then two, but it was still playable. The setting is post adventure, when the 'characters' are drinking and spending their gold. Kind of silly, but fun.

On Thursday and Friday nights, I fought my way through the solo version of RftG. It is an interesting mix. I haven't beat the solo game yet as it can out earn VP on me pretty quick. I've played about 5 times, and each time I keep finding something new. It is nice to have a good solid solo game as well for those nights.

Other exciting news on the home front...

• We went down to basic cable. I don't watch TV at all to be honest except for Lost, but I get that on the basic tier. Saves us a bit of money, but...
• We signed up for NetFlix to fill the void. We still end up ahead over the cable bill by about $15ish a month, but we can choose better shows. The other half picked a few comedies, I got Dexter Season 1 and Gotham Knight. The plan we are on offers two DVD's at a time plus unlimited internet viewing. I would be interested in finding a way to send the streaming to the regular TV. Anyone got any ideas?
  
• Privateer Press sort of announces they are shifting to plastic for some larger models. This did light the fire storm of doom. Typical cycle for the PP Boards: Announce --> DOOM! --> Release --> COOL! Given the quality of the GW plastics have achieved, I have little doubt that PP's will be the same. Besides, between the lines looks like that 'Jack boxes will have multiple weapons layouts for the same chassis. So you can use the magnets to make an Iron Clad, Defender, or Storm Clad. That alone is cool.

jp
I like big games and I can not lie...

Movie: Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Greetings,

Friday night I had the opportunity to go see a movie. Being in the mood for a comedy and liking the concept of Kevin Smith*, I decided to go see Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

Short Version: It was funny and I laughed alot. If your not offended by nudity, F-Bombs, or the concept of consenting adults being taken from the rear, then you might enjoy the flick. If those thing bother you, then you may want to consider skipping it.

Long Version: I took the eldest with me since the other half had to work at 6am. The Eldest is a fan of Kevin Smith, and as I said, I like the concept of Kevin Smith*. It was a bit odd seeing a movie about the making of a porno with your oldest daughter, but it was OK as the humor really off-set the whole premise.

The characters are, as typical with Kevin Smith movies, are lovable losers. His best movies, at least the ones I have seen, are usually better when he has them in them. Not sure if is able to reach more into his own history to find the characters.

In the course of the film the two leads hook up with other characters to include Kevin's long time actor, Jason Mewes. Luckily Jason doesn't play 'Jay' but Lester, who is like 'Jay' but with out all the annoying/cocky attitude. Short story long, these tow characters end up desperate to make a buck and figure the best way is to make a Porno, but would it ruin their friendship? Time would tell...

In the end,j Zack and Miri is really a comedic love story and few things are funnier then bad porno movies with really bad acting.

Pros:
Casting: I really liked Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogen, they did an outstanding job in the role. I also liked Brandon Roth and Justin Long in the film. I won't spoil it but they did a real funny bit.
Funny: I laughed my ass off. It was a hoot.

Cons:
NSFW: I won't be talking about this one at work with the arc conservatives... Not their type of entertainment.

So, if you can tolerate the humor, I would recommend the film.

jp
Critic at Large, or was that 'is large'?

* Keven Smith. I will be honest, I have only seen three KS movies. Clerks, Dogma, and now Zack and Miri. Clerks was entertaining, but not earth shattering. Dogma I really enjoyed, but that could be my jaded views on religious dogma and corporate greed. So I like the 'concept' of Kevin Smith because he is an ubber geek made good. He is living the dream that 90% of all geeks wished they could live, but that doesn't mean that I am a hardcore KS fanboy... I fear for the day when he steps out of his lane again (Jersey Girl was bad I understand) and tries to make a film he isn't prepared to manage/direct. Only time will tell.

jp
That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it!

Nuke Con Back Brief

This weekend was Nuke Con, the 'big' convention for the Omaha area. I had not been in three years due to a conflict between friends. Silly really. Only High School Drama ranks higher on the scale the Gamer Drama. I hate Drama!

The folks that ran the event did an outstanding job. The floor was moving all three days, the staff was efficient and nice, and the attendees were ready to play some games. An outstanding set of circumstances. I big Bravo Zulu to the staff.

On Friday I took the eldest with me and we meet up with TJ to play a bit of Boltz-N-Voltz as a prep for the test play. That went well and we worked out some misunderstandings in the rules. We also played Monsterpocalypse, the new CCM from Privateer Press. It seems to be a pretty cool game. Flows well after three plays or so and was fun to play. The monsters are very well painted for pre-paints. Look forward to the release, just wish I would be able to run it!

Saturday TJ and I ran a play test session. Got some good feed back and some not so helpful feedback in about 2.5 hours of testing. TJ and I then laid down some more MonPoc. I took off around 5'ish and picked up PJ and went and had dinner at Feta's (Opa!) and went to see Religulous at the theater. I liked it. A lot. Not very friendly in the midwest I assume, but I've never been a real religious type of guy. I did find it funny that the two most intelligent sounding people he interviewed were both Roman Catholic Priest. The Father in charge of the Vatican Observatory was just spot on what I would expect for a modern day practitioner of faith to teach. That being the bible is a cool story, but be real... It doesn't teach modern science and shouldn't be interpreted to do so! Any ways... I would recommend it if your feeling won't get hurt when he makes fun of the religion you think is correct. The big thing I learned, that I didn't know before was that Thomas Jefferson (Good old Tommy J!) edited a copy of the Bible taking out all the mysticism and focused on the teachings. I may have to see if it is in the library.

Sunday was a bit disappointment. I had scheduled a WM tournament, knowing I would not get a heavy turn out. I got one. Thanks to Smitty for showing up. He won a Drago by default that I will order soon. We played a game of Warmachine, his eStryker, my Denny. Good solid game. I forgot that his spell move is 2 inches per focus not 1 inch per focus, so he zipped behind my line and charged me after I had pretty much taken out the rest of his army. I also gave Smitty a MonPoc demo.

Not sure when I'll get a D&D game in. I am really missing that. It is fun to run and I want to get back to the story. Next weekend is not looking good as it is the first weekend home since I got the Eldest last month. Maybe after Warmachine Weekend... Maybe! Stupid obligations!

Until next time!

jp
Gamer of Games

Tropic Thunder Review

Since I couldn't Shanghai anyone to play a game on Monday... My fault mostly for popping it on folks at the last second, I took the opportunity to go see Tropic Thunder in the theater.

I can give it a review in a few short words... "Funnier then Hell!" There... That is it. Done. :)

I saw the show at the first showing on Labor Day. About 1/5 of the seats were taken, but not crowded. A few younger kids were present (late teens) but all were accompanied by a parent so it was a pleasant movie experience. Nothing worse the plopping down $6.50 to have a screaming kid or punk-ass-teens talking on their cells. But anyways I digress...

The movie is very adult. If you don't like a bunch of 'F-Bombs' in your movie, then you might to take a pass and go see Star Wars: Clone Wars, but you will be missing some very witty humor and laugh out loud moments. I particularly liked all the Hollywood slamming that went down. From Tom Cruises' Hollywood producer to the fake Vietnam vet writer to the 'Never go full retard'. Good stuff. If you liked Bad Santa, then this movie will be in your humor spectrum.

On the 'Retard' note. The Special Olympic guys went WAY over board. If anything, this movie goes a good ways to expose the way that Hollywood exploits that mentally handicap image to make movies while doing little to help.

Anyways. Good movie. Go see it.

Quote Battle:

1 - I need to bite its hide... and wear its stomach like a unitard.
2 - Mother Nature just pissed her pantsuit!

Your call!

jp
Seer of Movies...

Dark Knight and X-Files

This weekend I got a chance to see two movies. That is more then I get in three or four months. Thought I would throw down my little mini review on each, not that anyone is reading, but what the hey.

On Saturday Phyllis and I went to see the X-Files:I Want to Believe at the 1030 am show. Including us, their was 6 people in the theater. Overall, the movie wasn't horrible, but it was far from a great motion picture. I think Chris Carter's approach to do the 'creature feature' approach vice expanding the mythos of the X-Files was the single largest factor on whether this was going to be a good movie. The use of the overlying conspiracy theory that the X-Files is known for would have been a better story to grab the fans and non-fans. Without that this could have been an episode of X-Files or Kolchak: The Night Stalker or Night Gallery. The acting was good as was the general feel of the movie. I would have also like to see more of Skinner as he was one of my favorites on the show. Overall? Wait for the DVD release and rent it. If your a hard core fan, you will go see it anyways, the best part is that it should be quiet in the theater.

On Sunday we went to go see The Dark Knight. This was a very good movie and I did enjoy the experience. Was it perfect? No. Was it "Best... Movie... Ever!"? No. What did I like. Heath Ledger was the show. Plain and simple his performance of the Joker shined and made the movie what it is. The general story and plot I also liked. What did I not like? I thought that Bruce Wayne's angst was way underplayed. This is, after all, a Batman movie, not a Joker movie. Where was Bruce Wayne's pain and suffering over his inability to save Rachel? I think the 2:45 running time could have been cut down. Perhaps drop the 'Sons of the Batman' & Scarecrow stuff in the beginning and use that saved time to develop more depth of character for Bruce. Brooding will only take you so far. Where was the pain?

So anyways... That's my two cents...

jp
Movie Critic At Large