Well, that was a cool weekend. After seeing the magnificent Dark Knight, I had dinner with friends Jo, Lee, Will & Rebecca. Saturday I went over Kurt's, where I watched DVD's and generally nattered with Irving, Will, Rebecca, Dave, Mick, Wally* and the aforementioned Kurt. Spent the night, after Kurt's magnificently domestic pork and lamb with vegies; breakfasted on loads of bacon and scrambled eggs, and barbequed (grilled on a fire - not the USian bbq) slabs of meat and salad for lunch. Saw the first episode of Briscoe County Jnr, which made me want to see more. We also re-watched Shaun of the Dead. It was a great weekend.

Came home in time to see another mediocre episode of Dr Who. Although it's a small improvement on the last two episodes.

*He was up from Melbourne. I hadn't seen Wally since we'd gone to see Wierd Al Yankovich last year.

Just saw the latest Batman movie. It's not only good, it's better than Batman Begins in many ways. The challenges are more personal, the comic-book 'science' is less ludicrous, Heath Ledger's Joker is spectacularly evil - yet still a human being. CGI is almost absent, and only used for rare tasks that could not be as effective in any other way. Christian Bale's Bruce/Batman is believably driven, yet also humanly misses his normal life, and appears to hope to return to that life - if only events would let him.

This is the best comic-based movie this year, and possibly up there with the 70's Superman as the best comic-based movie ever. Heck, in that the villains are treated as seriously as the hero, I'd say this was better than Superman. The villains in this movie are not comic relief, they're credible threats.

If you like superhero movies, or if you like movies with dark themes, see The Dark Knight. I'd say see it more than once, but when you've seen it the first time, I doubt I'll have to. I know I'm going to.

Another so-so episode of Dr Who, but I think I like how Donna's character is developing. But boy, I miss Chris Eccleston's Doctor. Tennant does ok, but he doesn't have the range. His Doctor is much the same all the time, something of a one-note performance. You believed Eccleston's Doctor had a tragic past. 

I'm truly astounded and somewhat bothered by the stench of wowzerism wafting from this Federal government. ISP censorship users have to opt out of? Four drinks equals a binge? The alcopop tax? And the noises about Bill Hensen and now the Art Monthly cover. 

And it's ok. Even if this one was written by RTD.

It's not about the powers. It's about the people.

This is a movie that uses the tropes of the superhero genre to tell a serious story about real people. The powers stand in for destructive behaviour, destructive relationships. The sort of relationship that you can see will go no-where good, and hurt you both if you keep on. Boy, it struck a chord with me. Will Smith displays an intensity I haven't seen before, although I haven't seen all his movies.

I've always believed the genre could tell serious stories if played straight - everything from simple action fare through to adult drama. Mocking superheroes is the lazy path, something I think I realized instinctively the first time I was totally underwhelmed by Adam West's Batman. Perhaps it took advances in CGI to make it possible, but finally movies are doing what some graphic novels did in the 90's: use powerful tropes to tell stories of power; stories where the battles on screen are the battles inside all of us writ large.

Hancock isn't perfect, but it shows what is possible.

I loved it.

My creations so far. (The previous post was just one, but I won't pic-spam.)

I figured that the Hog's Breath Cafe in Parramatta was about a mile from the station, so I might as well walk. It turns out to be more like two miles. Still, I got there before Mick did, and it was Mick's birthday lunch! As well as the cast from Saturday's do, there were people I think I last talked to at WillBecca's wedding. Peter, Jacqueline, and Barry. Kurt (a Thursday regular) was also there.

The food is good solid fare, and since I'd skipped breakfast, and walked two miles, I enjoyed it muchly. Mick seemed to have a good time, although he's got a lot on his plate at home at the moment. His mum's not at all well, and sadly is unlikely to improve.

Some friends and I went out to a wonderful restaurant called "La Guillotine" for dinner, to celebrate my birthday. Jo, Irving, Will, Rebecca, Lee, and Craig. You're all great people and I had a marvelous time. Wine, a great lobster crepe, a birthday cake courtesy of my friends - and champers and cognac courtesy of the management! (We're regulars there, and have been going there for almost two decades now.)

I'm more than a little cheerful in more ways than one! :D

It's my birthday. *sigh*

BBC. 123. U & Me.

The Incredible Hulk: Basic, enjoyable fare. I like Norton as Banner, and Liv Tyler as Betty. The action is good, the man-on-the-run angst hits the right note, without being too soppy. The favellas make an interesting backdrop for the early part of the story, the pace is kept up throughout the movie, and overall it's a fun romp. My only quibble is that unlike in Iron Man the shout-outs to comic nerds aficionados were a little too blatant for my taste, but they weren't overwhelming.

The Happening: gormless acting, (I mean, it's like a bad kids tv show) a science teacher who hasn't a clue about science, a paper thin plot with insufficient footware. You wait for the other shoe to drop, but there is no other shoe.I like both Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. But I won't be seeing any more of Shyamalan's movies.

Trailers for both Hancock and a new X-files movie (starring Billy Connolly as a psychic preacher) intrigued.

Good News Week is always good value. But it's especially fun when they have an American guest, as the yank always seems to be shocked by the sort of humour we allow on our TV. :D

I saw Prince Caspian, the 2nd Narnia movie. It was watchable, if a bit slow paced. It's rather darker than the first one, yet still fails to really engage. It passed the time, and was pretty, and the fantasy beasties were a bit better done. It's also unfortunate that CS Lewis used so many of the same tropes as Tolkien did, and that the movie makers decided not to change them.

Irregular Webcomic by David Morgan-Marr(1)(2). Most egregiously misnamed Lego and Mini based comic about various things pop-culture, such as Star Wars, James Bond, D&D, Harry Potter, MythBusters, Death(s) and bad puns.

Darth 'n' Droids by The Comic Irregulars(1) (friends of David Morgan-Marr). RPG/Star Wars parody in the style of DM of the Rings.

Red Mask by Malachi Sharlow.(2) Very stylised post-apocalyptic adventure and intrigue.

Planet Karen by Karen Ellis.(2) Nicely drawn little slices of life from the POV of a gothy comic artist.

Order of the Stick by Rich Berlew.(2) A D&D parody that has evolved to epic proportions.

Crimson Dark by David C Simon.(1)(2) A Firefly -like space adventure.

FREAKANGELS written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Paul Duffield. 'Nuff said.


(1) Australian based creator(s)
(2) Art improves over the course of the comic

...and it ain't pretty. Have you read those subliterate gruntings that often appear in the comments box of news items, or heaven forbid, YouTube? Someone wrote a random comment generator, and it's so realistic it's scary.