A few thoughts on “The Batman” (2022)…

*****SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!***** The following column might put me in the doghouse with some readers, and, to be clear, I’m not trying to attack anyone’s personal favorite incarnation of Batman. I’m just seeking to give my honest, unfettered opinion of a movie that I waited a long time to see. That movie, of course, is…

“Joker” (2019) is a gritty ode to 1970s antiheroism…

****SPOILERS**** Director/cowriter Todd Phillips (of the obnoxious “Hangover” movies) offers this latest take on the now 79-year old Batman villain “Joker” in a film so utterly dark, and so morally complex that I actually wish it weren’t a DC comics movie. The movie borrows more heavily from the works of early Martin Scorsese films than…

1989: The Summer of “Batman”…

Bat-Then. It was 30 years ago, and a very different time. At my then-age of 22 I felt the carefree hubris of youth. I legally rode a motorcycle without a helmet (because I was an idiot), I was renting a single room from some friends of mine, and I went to the movies a lot…

Searching for Spock, and the issue of recasting…

News broke earlier this week that “Star Trek Discovery” has recast the role of “Spock” yet again, and the actor they’ve chosen is Ethan Peck (grandson of legendary actor Gregory Peck).  This isn’t the first time “Star Trek: Discovery” has recast a previously established role for the new series. Mark Lenard was the original actor to play…