Quetzalcoatl

Just to add one more movie to the list, didn't one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle films from the 90's involve them going back to the medieval period or something?

I've become so critical of time travel films that I'm always afraid to watch one, because if it isn't well thought out or breaks it's own rules, it'll put me in an extremely grumpy state. An example is Deja Vu. Spoilers if you haven't seen it. He goes back in time to prevent a woman's murder, and in the process leaves messages for his future self, messages that he saw prior to traveling back in time. There were other things too to suggest that his actions were already part of the film's originally established past. This suggests a loop. Because he's in a loop, there's no reason to think he should save the woman, because her murder is what motivated him to time travel in the first place. But somehow he saves her. So was he in a loop or an alternate timeline? The movie couldn't decide, so it tried to have it both ways. Ruined the whole movie for me. It's been a while sinse I saw Looper, but I seem to recall something similar happening in that film too.

I saw some of the first season when it first came out. Then a few other episodes here and there from the other seasons, but never enough to get a good impression of the show. I'm currently watching TNG and considering watching Enterprise next. Is it worth it?

Honestly, I think Halloween 2018 worked well on its own and was far more climactic than what we got in Halloween Ends. Halloween 2018 should have been it. No need for a trilogy. My head cannon is Halloween, Halloween 2, and H20. I’ve made watching these a Halloween tradition.

Just wanted to share something I found amusing. You know how Dr. Crusher is absent from season 2, but returns in season 3, with Dr. Pulaski pretty much being a stand-in for her in her absence? I don't know what the real-life story behind that was, but here's how I wish the show had handled that. Now, I have a weird sense of humor, so I'm not sure if any of you will find this particularly funny, but I thought I'd share. In one of the first episodes featuring Dr. Pulaski (I can't remember which one), she suggests to Troi the possibility of relieving Picard of command because she fears Picard is too emotionally close to whatever was happening. Troi sayed she didn't think that was necessary because she didn't sense that Picard was emotionally compromised, and the issue was dropped. I think it would have been funny if the show made that a repeating thing. Every episode, Pulaski finds a different reason to suggest that Picard should be relieved of command, and her suggestion is always shot down by the rest of the crew. Each episode plays out without acknowledging the incident again, or how weird it is that this same crew member keeps looking for reasons to relieve Picard of command. As the season progresses, Pulaski becomes more and more adament in her arguments for relieving Picard of command, and her reasons become more and more ridiculous. This goes on until she has some kind of breakdown and is relieved of duty. This is when Crusher returns as ship's doctor, and Pulaski is never mentioned again in the series, leaving the audience to wonder what the hell her problem was. I think this would have been hilarious.

I recently bought Gung-Ho on Amazon. I haven’t gotten around to watching it yet. It’s weird because I know I saw this movie, and have clear recollections of it, but I don’t know when or where I saw it. I can usually tell you how old I was when I saw a movie, where I was, etc., but I have no context for when/where I saw this. It’s been bugging me. I’m hoping watching it will jog my memory.

I just got out from seeing it. I haven’t been a big fan of the DCU films, but this was an A+.

I enjoyed it a lot. I've never played DnD, but I read a lot of the Forgotten Realms novels, which was set in the same world, and it was fun seeing that world adapted to the big screen. Really?!? Where? I had no idea.

What I really liked about Keaton's Batman is the whole silent but deadly vibe he had going on. He could be so intimidating without saying a single word. I hope that carries over in his performance in Flashpoint. I hope they don't give him a bunch of witty lines and have him engaging in constant banter with the other heros, like is typical in superhero movies nowadays.

I watched the Burton films about a year ago, and I’m amazed at how well those movies have aged. No one is ever going to top Keaton’s performance as Batman. There was a darkness to his Batman that no other actor has been able to recreate. When I saw Batman 1989 in the theater as a kid, Keaton’s Batman scared the hell out of me. Not the Joker. Batman. I’ve been kind of burnt out on superhero movies lately, but I’m so excited for this movie.

Starting reading Batman comics again. I quite a few years ago because I couldn't stomach Tom King's run. Giving it another go now. Anyone else reading? I had no idea that Alfred's been dead for the past six years. You know what really bugs me about Batman comics nowadays? When I started reading the comics in the early 90s, Batman was all the time saying things like "I work alone!" "I don't need a partner! I don't need anyone!" That's how I was introduced to the character, and it's still weird to see him surrounded by this extensive "Bat Family" that exist in the comics today. There are a bunch of Robins. There's Nighwing, Batwoman, Batgirl. The list goes on and on. Batman feels like a team book now. I miss the solo Batman.

Just thought of another one. Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts.

Found another one! I'm literally just learning that Ellen Barkin isn't Kathy Baker. I always thought the mother from the show Animal Kingdom was the redheaded neighbor from Edward Scissorhands, but no.

When I saw the first POTC film, I spent a good part of the movie thinking that Kiera Knightly was Natalie Portman. There should be a movie where Kiera Knightly plays Natalie Portman’s decoy or something.

Ed Harris and James Caan. For a long time I thought these two were the same person. I still can't keep straight who played in what movie. My memory always wants to put Ed Harris in James Caan's roles and vice versa. Jeff Daniels and Daniel Stern. Don't ask me why I formed an association between these two. Maybe it was just the name similarity. I can correctly identify each actor by name, but again, my mind wants to swap their roles. I constantly have to remind myself that Jeff Daniels wasn't one the burglars in Home Alone, because that's the way I remember it.

I just hope DC doesn't try to do some kind of in-story crisis style reboot like they do in the comics. I want a clean start.

I'm all for a DC movie universe reboot. Aside from the first Wonder Woman film, everything else has been pretty bad. A reboot can only mean an improvement.

Here’s my personal ranking… 1) Michael Keaton – No one is ever going to top Keaton’s Batman for me. I know that he was a far cry from the character we know from the comics, and Burton took a lot of heat for not respecting the character, but I’ve always liked his take on Batman. Keaton was by far the most intimidating of all the on-screen batmen. I love the whole silent but deadly thing he conveyed. He never said much when in the suit, and that just made him all the more imposing. Bale and Pattenson did a lot of yelling and screaming at people when in the bat suit, and as intimidating as Batman yelling at me would be, it doesn’t come close to that cold, silent stare that Keaton gave his enemies. Keaton’s Batman never lost his composer like we saw Bale and Pattenson do, but he still came across as the most dangerous. While most iterations of Batman has lines that he won't cross, you really get the impression that Keaton’s Batman is capable of anything, and that he’s suppressing something really dark. Also, no one showcased the Batman/Bruce Wayne duality as well as Keaton did. He went back and forth from playing a lunatic in a bat suit to an awkward guy who’s trying to have a normal life and normal relationships, but just doesn’t know how. You can really see the tug-of-war going on in his head. 2) Robert Pattenson – Oswald comes in at number 2 because his version felt closest to the definitive comic book Batman for me. “The Batman” got the character right more than any other film, in my opinion. Unlike the other movie versions, where something always stood out as radically “off” from the character that fans know (like Batman murdering people, for example), I’m having a hard time finding any glaring thing in Pattenson’s Batman that isn’t true to the character. His Batman is also the most grounded. Watching the film, I never once felt like I was watching a superhero movie. Whether that’s a good or bad thing I guess depends on who is doing the viewing, but for me, Batman is one of those characters that works best in a more grounded setting. 3) Ben Affleck – I feel like its hard to properly judge Affleck’s Batman without him having gotten a solo film. He always had to share the screen with other superheroes. We never got to see this Batman in his element. Like Pattenson’s Batman, I want to see him in a more grounded setting, just fighting crime in the back alleys of Gotham, not saving the world from aliens with the Justice League. While I really disliked BvS, I do appreciate that it showed us an aspect of Batman’s character that had so far been absent in previous portrayals. Namely, the paranoid, untrusting Batman who doesn’t like anything or anyone he can’t control. Anyone who’s read comics long enough has seen this side of Batman, and BvS gets points for finally bringing it to a mass audience. 4) Christian Bale – I love the Nolan films, but Christian Bale has become my least favorite cinematic Batman (besides Clooney and Kilmer). It’s funny because, when I walked out of the theater after seeing Batman Begins, I remember thinking “They finally got him right.” But in hindsight, Bale’s Batman is the most un-Batman-like. For me, he came across as the most unmotivated of the Batmen. We all know that, if there is one word to describe Batman, it is obsessive. And depending on who’s writing him, “disturbed” might be an applicable term as well. But Bale’s Batman didn’t come across as obsessive or disturbed, just depressed, and in need of constant encouragement from others. You get the sense that his Batman is just as much of a mask as his Bruce Wayne, as opposed to Batman being the real persona, something that, again, the Burton films really nailed. And for Batman, he also relied too heavily on others. If it weren’t for Alfred’s lessons on how the criminal mind works, or Lucious Fox supplying him with all of his technological gadgets, you would have to wonder how effective he would have been in his vigilantism. Also, I get that he’s a billionaire and has access to all sorts of technology, but he isn’t Iron Man. His suit could do way too much. I’m not going to comment on Val Kilmer or George Clooney because those films were pure cheese and I can’t even take them seriously. Your turn!

I went into my comic shop the other day and picked up a couple of Batman titles for the first time sense.....1996, I think. I used to read Batman a lot back in the day, and I was wondering if someone can give me a quick rundown of what I missed over the last twenty years. When I quit reading, Bruce had just reclaimed the Batman title from Azreal. At least, that's when things get fuzzy. Now Bruce has a son? And his son is Robin now? Where is Tim? And why is Jim Gordon Batman? I get that Bruce is supposedly dead, but how was he "killed?" I'm not asking anyone to detail for me every single story that's happened during my long absence, just those major status-quo altering events. Just trying to bring myself up to speed.