TRANSMISSIONS FROM TERRA FIRMA

VISIONS OF A ROBOT DREAM - Part 2

2007-05-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

VISIONS OF A ROBOT DREAM - Part 2
My last entry introduced the topic of "Hybrots" (I personally like to call them "Biobots"). For people who are completely unfamiliar with this unfamiliar term, "Hybrots" describe a robotic system that is coupled with an incubated unit for housing a neuron cell culture. This cell culture acts as the brain for the entire robotic system. "Training" these cell cultures enable it to react to certain scenarios in specific ways. The bond between the system developer and the neural network is akin to the relationship between a parent and a baby. Currently, because of the life span of the cell culture (close to 2-3 years), a saturation point is attained beyond which no more "training" can take place, but I strongly believe that within the end of the next decade this hassle will cease to exist. How? You may ask. This question warrants a whole new entry (which I will be glad to discuss about later), but for now lets just assume that advances in bio-technology and robotics allow for the creation and existence of these "Hybrots".

I strongly feel that if robotists ever were to create a robot with intelligence that mirrors our own then it would definitely be one with living brain cell, most likely human. I could never imagine any piece of integrated circuitry reverse engineered to map the functions of the human brain, the most complex processor known to man. Mankind isint far from witnessing a society peppered with Hybrots, co-existing with humanity, helping it to grease its gears. Which brings us back the question that I put forth in my previous entry: "Should these Hybrots be considered living entities?"

There will be some who might asseverate Hybrots as living entities without any hesitation. There will also be some (the obvious skeptics) who might claim that Hybrots can be only be considered a living entity when they attain a state of consciousness. Now, what is consciousness? Consciousness in robotics is a relative state of mind that makes a robot self-aware. A conscious robot is supposed to comprise of attributes such as a sense of place, imagination, directed attention, planning, decision and emotion. Programming the various attributes mentioned above into a robotic system would indeed be an exacting task but imbibing the necessary qualities for a robot to possess emotion and imagination is Herculian in nature. Sadly, at present, the research surrounding these attributes lies vastly in theory, however, it's practical implementations has just witnessed its genesis last decade.

This entry is filled with assumptions galore, so it doesn't adversely affect us if we throw in one more. Let us consider the possibility that some brilliant mind in the future comes up with a design for implementing emotions and imagination into a Hybrot. This would not only make the Hybrot a conscious sentient being but would also win the inventor a Nobel prize that year (i.e if Alfred Nobel still has funds in his savings account). Even after this there will be some who would just refuse to treat Hybrots as living beings. They could always argue that consciousness is a relative term and even if a robot is self-aware, without a moral and ethical foundation it cannot be considered a living entity. Stubborn but a very interesting point nonetheless.

The only way for a robot to possess moral or ethical values is by making it three laws safe. Of course by three laws I meant the one and only, (actually three and only..pardon my flaccid flippancy with words) three laws of Robotics by Isaac Asimov. In accordance with Wikipedia, "the Three Laws of Robotics are a set of three rules written by Isaac Asimov, which almost all positronic robots appearing in his fiction must obey. Introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although foreshadowed in a few earlier stories, the Laws state the following:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law."

Even though these laws were meant to be ethical guidelines instead of rules to be followed during the engineering process involving the development of a robot, till this date they are still considered to be the pioneering laws of robotics. It's my belief that these laws would stand the test of time (and possibly be implemented in all Hybrots in the near future?). A first glance at these laws reveal to the reader the ideal characteristics of an epitome citizen. So mankind can be assured that a Hybrot which is manufactured "three laws safe" could be considered a citizen of the society as it supplants its own safekeeping with the safety of the humans around him. It is only natural that a Hybrot be considered a living entity when he surpasses an average human on moral standards.

However, a second glance at these laws would reveal to the reader a myriad of loopholes that could be best described as a programmer's nightmare. So are these Hybrots that are "three laws safe", actually "three laws safe"? Using the same lame excuse from last blog, I shall discuss how safe the three laws actually are in my next blog. Until then I shall bid thee avid reader, a big adieu.

Transmission complete - Amrith

{I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die. - Roy Batty}

VISIONS OF A ROBOT DREAM - Part 1

2007-05-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

VISIONS OF A ROBOT DREAM - Part 1
Hi everybody!! After a humongous hiatus, I am back to blogging this summer. Long gone are those days of movie based blogs. I strongly feel that there are a lot more unimportant but pressing issues that could be expressed here. This doesn't mean that I shall not be covering movies any longer, it just means that I have adjusted my field of vision for a more panoramic view.

Currently, I have been actively interested in neural networks. Just to refresh your memory, neurons are electrically excitable cells in the nervous system whose main function is to process and transmit information. Neurons are typically composed of three main parts: a soma, or cell body, a dendritic tree and an axon. Every neuron is an open-loop control system by itself, where the neuron receives input via its soma or dendritic tree and provides an output via the axon. An area of intense research is not just to understand the properties of an individual neuron but also to understand how millions of neurons interact with one another to realize intelligent systems.

Recent research has explored using cultures of neurons as computing devices. One device used to study biological neural networks is a Multi-Electrode Array (MEA): “a specialized tissue culture dish in which living neurons can be grown over multiple stimulation and recording electrodes”. These electrodes enable recording signals generated by the neuron cell culture and also provide a means to stimulate the cell culture. In order to “train” these cultures, a system to measure and stimulate culture electrical activity is needed. After “training” the neuron cell culture, fusing it with various control system techniques can make it act as the “brain” of an engineered system.

With some imagination, anybody can easily see the scope of the field and its unmistakable connection with the positronic brain. For the uninformed Wikipedia quotes, "a positronic brain is a fictional technological device, originally conceived by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. Its role is to serve as a central computer for a robot, and, in some unspecified way, to provide it with a form of consciousness recognizable to humans. When Asimov wrote his first robot stories in 1939/1940, the positron was a newly discovered particle and so the buzz word positronic, coined by analogy with electronic, added a contemporary gloss of popular science to the concept."

Being an avid reader of Isaac Asimov, I wonder whether he ever considered his positronic brain to be biological in nature. Because in case we do succeed in developing a fully functional neural network to act as a brain for an engineering system, aren't we creating a new biological entity? The birth of a new species? Fused with robotics, could this lead to the development of robots that Asimov conceived in his books? Though the research in the field of neural networks is relatively in its infancy, if neural networks could be trained to perform complex tasks then the answer to the above questions would definitely be a "yes". This obviously raises many questions on the social impact of this research but most importantly this one: "If these bio-electro-mechanical entities ever come to exist, should they be given their own rights?"

Vehemently adhering to the nature of a blog and from the fear of turning this entry into a lecture, I shall address the issues of "robot rights" in tomorrow's blog. Until then I shall leave these issues for you to ponder over the night.

Transmission complete - Amrith

SPIDERMAN 3 TRAILER OUT

2006-06-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

SPIDERMAN 3
The highly anticipated Spiderman 3's teaser trailer is finally out. And it couldnt have come out at a better time. With all the superhero hype in the air with Superman Returns, I am sure the trailer is going to be raved about on the net for days. I sure hope to see it during today's screening of Superman Returns. Sporting a plethora of villians like the Venom, Sandman and the Goblin, it's indeed surprising that the focus is still on the main character. Something the previous Batman movies lacked completely - a spotlight on the caped crusader. I still congratulate the fact that the filmmakers managed to rope in new ideas and present even larger problems for Spidey to handle.

The Red's gone and the all new black suit's the new fashion trend for this spidey. The idea of fighting with one's dark side may be new to the Spiderman franchise but is it fresh? Even though the 1 min and 37 second trailer looks classy, giving the Spiderman franchise the much needed darker edge, the concept sounds eerily familiar. With very little thought, the last installment of the sands trilogy, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, pops into mind. Here we deal with a Prince who has been tainted by the sands of time lending him a darker side that keeps resurfacing whenever an extra hand is needed. In the end the prince ends up fighting his alter ego to save himself from schizophrenia, split personality or whatever you may choose to call it. Duality has always existed in every superhero movie, comprising of the normal guy and his or her alter ego but lending a superhero multiple personalities is still somewhat of an unexplored territory. A darkside for a superhero has always worked - the reason why Batman outdoes all other superheros in comic sales every year. And this time I think it should definately work for Spiderman too.

Anyway here is the trailer's link. Enjoy it normally or with the H.264 HD codec, your choice.

Spiderman 3's Trailers

BTW : You can download the qool Spidey 3 wallpaper that I managed to photoshop by clicking on the first picture or a Spidey 2 wallpaper by clicking on the last.
- {BATMAN^V^EXILED}

THE DAY SUPERMAN RETURNS

2006-06-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

SUPERMAN RETURNS
Today is the 28th of June and after a long wait of 19 years, The man steel finally returns to the big screen. I intially had the idea of previewing the movie before I watched it. But previewing it could only mean one thing - a little research on my part about the film's background. So I chose not to. I vivdly remember, during the June of 2005, I read so many reviews and participated in so many forums that I knew every scene in Batman Begins before I saw the movie for the first time. I even stumbled across the script for the movie but I refrained from reading it. I had spoilt my movie watching experience enough and didnt want to spoil it even further. But Begins was such a great film it still managed to overshoot my expectations and managed to set standards for every other superhero movie to come.

Superman has always has a wider appeal when compared to Batman, Batman solely focusing on people drawn towards Angst, Vengeance and Retribution. Superman on the other hand stands for everything else that Batman doesnt symbolize. When Batman is as dark as the Knight itself, Superman is as bright as the sun. Batman and superman are like two sides of the same coin. Opposites when it comes to characteristics and tactics but when together, they complete each other. So it would be a shame trying to compare both these movies. Hence it would be much better to compare Superman Returns with the likes of Spiderman because of the similar audience appeal they possess. I liked Spiderman 2, liked it enough to watch it four times in theatre. Not as great as Batman Begins but a good movie nevertheless. I would feel really happy if Superman Returns came close to the likes of Spiderman 2. I have a lot of faith in the director, Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2, The Usual suspects) to deliver a good superhero movie because of his previous experiences in the field. But I still remain skeptical about the movie. Probably because this is a project that was taken up after mulitple revisions to the script and after it was scrapped by various directors since 1997. But I shall know after tonight when I watch it on IMAX IN 3D. I already know that Roger Ebert has given it a bad review, hope that I dont when I review it tomorrow.

TOMB RAIDER: LEGEND
On a smaller but completely different note, I managed to finish the new Tomb Raider game today. Named Tomb Raider: Legend, this 7th installment was a fun game to play, especially on the PC. I wouldnt call the game innovative as it heavily borrows elements from a multitude of action-adventure shooters. Lara Croft, the central character copies certain actions from the prince in Prince of Persia : The Sand's Trilogy and certain other skills from James Bond in Everything or Nothing. In other words, if you take the prince games and Everything or Nothing, step it down by a notch in every area, throw in a female lead character , you get your new Tomb Raider. But hey, that's not a really bad thing.

Even though the game is short (I beat it a little under 7 hours in medium difficulty), it takes you through various exotic locales around the globe, never losing it's pace once it builds. I would actually recommend it for a week's evening fun when you have finished playing the other games I just mentioned. Signing off, for now.. Will be back tomorrow with the new Superman review.

BLOODRAYNE MOVIE REVIEW

2006-06-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

BLOODRAYNE
Let me let you all know this is not exactly a movie review. Reviewing my past blogs I certainly feel that I have made multiple references to this movie. And before your curiosity spikes making you want to watch the movie, let me tell you -" WAIT!!! BE PATIENT!". Now follows a bunch of reason why you should not.

"The whole universe is relative" - I think Einstein said that (maybe not). But relativity is what demarcates the good from the bad and thats a universal law. If it weren't for a scale of comparison society wouldnt exist the way it does now. Similarly every movie reviewer needs certain movies that define his or her scale of comparison. If you would consider movies like Godfather or Gladiator to be a 10 then according to my scale BloodRayne ranks a zero. Hence the reason why any bad elements in every movie is being compared with BloodRayne, my epitome of fim making catastrophy. This entry is just going to highlight those tragic reasons that forced me to sit through this Meecrob (a really bland Thai Crispy noodles). "Why do you call this a movie review then?", you may ask. Well it's because I have this cool photoshopped Movie review number photo and I just love to use it. So for no constructive reason I titled this entry "BloodRayne movie review".

Lemme quote what I wrote in my previous entry "I am a big gaming enthusiast and any movie adapted from a video game is always welcome ( Silent Hill is one such). Not because video game based movies are good (they are usually bad, sometimes even down-right horrible. Think Bloodrayne ), it's because they offer cheap thrills and immediately forgettable movie experiences...err, on a bigger budget". And thats the only reason why I saw it. BloodRayne too, like Silent Hill is based on a popular videogame. And let me confess, I have never played nor seen any of the BloodRayne videogames. All I know is that she carries two really huge swords and has a thirst for blood (I mean literally - only comparable with the voracious appetite of Obelix). Why is she so bloodthirsty? Because she is half-human, half-Vampire (very original).

The film actually pretends to have a plot but does a very poor job pretending. It centers on an attractive, supernatural huntress named Rayne (Kristina Loken), who is an unholy breed of human and vampire called a Dhampir. Trained by a secret agency called the Brimstone Society which hunts down and eliminates supernatural threats around the globe, Rayne is confronted by the deadliest of all creatures, the powerful and evil Kagan, King of the Vampires (Ben Kingsley). Yes, it's true! BloodRayne is a female Wesley Snipes running around during the time of the crusades. I am actually thinking really hard right now for another reason why I saw this film but my mind is as clean as an alien abductee's. My liking for videogames is soon going to be the death of me.

An early january release, a huge screw up by the production company while distributing prints to theatres (they were supposed to ship almost 2000 prints but they ended up sending it to theatres without booking them. Hence only a 1000 prints were screened) and the non-existence of a director screams BAD MOVIE to anyone bright enough to notice. So did I, but I didnt have the slightest idea I was about to watch the worst movie of all time.. OF ALL TIME!! Half way through the movie I simply had to pause, just to find out what IMDB had to say. And guess what? IMDB gave it a 2.4/10 rating. I sighed a wave of relief that I wasnt alone in my opinion. Ranked at 43 in IMDB bottom 100 list, i rejoiced at the fact that everyone in the world hated it. Finishing the movie was as arduous as curing brain tumor but I did manage to finish it.

Why is this movie sooooo bad? Because everything about the movie simply is. Acting, settings, Action..everything. But the person to actually blame was the non-existent director that I initially mentioned, Uwe Boll. Do you like videogames? Apparently this guy doesnt. Because of a personal chilhood trauma, he has taken it upon his shoulders to murder every videogame based film out there (I just made this up.. but who knows? It might be true). He dislikes them so much that every movie that he has virtually made and is about to make is based on one. So if have a videogame franchise that you really love and you always felt that it had the potential to turn into a great film, Uwe Boll is probably going to purchase all the rights and tear it to pieces right in front of your eyes. As far as I know neither Halo or Half Life will find their way into his hands but other franchises.. BEWARE! Going through his IMDB profile i just found that none of his movie have crossed the 3.5/10 rating, most of them remaking history by finding spots on the bottom 100 list. It is indeed a big conundrum how he manages to find enough money to bankroll all his fiendish operations. If anyone out there likes Dungeon Siege, Far Cry or Postal you might as well start crying now, because it will share the same fate as that of House of the Dead, Alone in the dark or BloodRayne.

I know I should give this film a zero but there were some people who spent almost 20 million dollars making it and wasted a lot of time which could have been constructively spent on wicker basket weaving. Hence I shall give it a 2. So in the words of Mr. Mackey, the South Park school counselor, I would just like to say - "Hope you havn't seen BloodRayne. BloodRayne's bad M'kay". - {BATMAN^V^EXILED}

Movie Links

BloodRayne's Official Page

BloodRayne's IMDB Page

BloodRayne's Trailers

SILENT HILL MOVIE REVIEW

2006-06-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

SILENT HILL
Never have I been a fan of the horror movie genre. Lately, its been peppered with low budget, raunchy, teen-slasher flicks offering cheap thrills and immediately forgettable movie experiences. So it was a big surprise to me that I found myself watching this movie in theatre. Thinking back I know why. There were three simple reasons that encouraged me to watch this film. Reason No.1 was a friend named Zoheb, a big horror movie fan, to whom I hardly say no. Reason No.2 was the fact that there was no other movie to watch (No! I did not intend to see RV. Actually my friends and I sneaked into another screen and saw the first 10 mins before Silent hill started. Man! was it horrible.) Reason No.3 is that I am a big gaming enthusiast and any movie adapted from a video game is always welcome ( Silent Hill is one such). Not because video game based movies are good (they are usually bad, sometimes even down-right horrible. Think Bloodrayne ), it's because they offer cheap thrills and immediately forgettable movie experiences...err, on a bigger budget. Just to raise my expectations I even tried my hand at Silent Hill 4 - The Room. After an hour of play I was dissapointed with every aspect of the game - the gameplay, the controls, even the scares. It even slightly managed to hamper my decision to see the movie, but only slightly. If anyone shared these thoughts that I had, it is obvious one wouldnt expect much out of a movie like Silent hill and neither did I. But this movie proved me wrong. It's been almost two months since I have seen this movie and I still manage to recollect every scene.

Silent Hill opens with a young girl, a sleepwalking Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) being pursued by her mother, Rose (Radha Mitchell) and father, Christopher Da Silva (Sean Bean). Constantly uttering, dreaming and drawing about Silent Hill (a small ghost town in West Virginia), Rose is forced to drive the disillusioned Sharon to the very place that fuels her nightmares. Seems like the correct thing to do, right? Against the will of her husband, Rose drives down to Silent Hill only to be pursued by a suspecting police officer, Cybil Bennet (Laurie Holden), on a bike. Not pulling over for the officer, hot pursuit soon ensues only to be suddenly interupted by the ghostly figure of small girl walking in the middle of the road. A scenario like this in horror movies can only mean one thing - Slamming hard on the brakes equals an accident and as a result Rose soon loses consiousness. After waking up she soon finds herself on the outskirts of silent hill and to add to her already existing trauma, her daughter is nowhere to be found. Stepping out of her SUV, Rose is greeted by a town covered with fog and falling ash, painting a surreal look the likes of which can be compared with the scene where Tom Cruise is woken from the footpath by Penelope Cruz in Vanilla Sky. The atmosphere alone gives away a lot of clues to movie watchers who pay attention to trivial details. Rose soon rushes into the town hoping to find her daughter and starts pursuing an ever evasive young girl who resembles her daughter. Following her down a stairwell, the sound of a siren falls on her ears soon followed by a thick viel of darkness. The darkness changes the whole outlook of Silent Hill from the gloomy and foggy town to one filled with blood and rust, reflecting the visions that Sharon had about Silent Hill. Out of the darkness emerges disfigured, charred children like figures with banshee like wails. After being swarmed by hundreds of them, Rose manages to fight them off long enough to survive the darkness. After losing consiousness once again (who wouldnt, in a scenario like that), Rose wakes up in the foggy, ash laden town once again. Coming across a huge chasm that detaches Silent Hill from the rest of the world, Rose meets the towns first resident, a craggy old lady who reeks the appearance of a person who might have been the towns only resident for years. Unable to get any answers from the old lady about the whereabouts of her daughter, Rose calls her husband only to pick up static at both ends. But thank god her husband is intelligent enough to assume that something has gone wrong, taking it upon his shoulders to go look for Rose. Rose then runs back to her SUV only to be arrested by Cybil, whose bike too has crashed into the girders during the previous night. Soon after the arrest, the siren sounds once again followed by the familiar darkness. Out of the ashen depths emerge new figures that slowly start advancing toward them...

Intrigued? So was I after this point. It's rather hard to explain the plot behind Silent Hill without possibly retelling the whole movie. In short the film is actually the tragic story of a young girl named Alessa who is wrongly accused by the citizens of her own town, Silent Hill, as a witch. But while burning poor Alessa at the stake the fire spreads destroying the whole town before dying out. Barely rescued at the very last minute by a local police officer and suffering from severe burns, an almost lifeless Alessa is rushed to a hospital where she longs for unleashing her vengeance upon those who wronged her. Her prayers are soon answered by someone who grants Alessa enough powers to vent out her anger in destructive ways. Thirty years later Alessa uses Sharon and Rose as instruments in her grand plan of retribution.

Not being a fan of the video game franchise its hard for me to decide whether Silent Hill remained faithful to its source. But I do know that it borrows heavily from the first two games and most of the soundtracks used in the film are directly lifted from the games themselves. And what do you know the music fits every frame of the film like a glove. But two aspects of the movie that have to be commended are the visuals and production design. The ambience that every scene is painted with couldnt be presented on a better scale. In this era ruled by CGI, it is actually quite hard to believe that most of what you see actually existed in flesh on the set. It seems they used dancers to perform complex, grotesque moves that were necessary to portray the monsters that roam Silent Hill. Some of the visuals along with the lighting were so well done anyone is bound to be spellbound while looking at it. The scene where Cybil is being lowered while tied to a ladder is still vividly etched in my mind after a period of two months. The movie does possess its fair share of blood and violence but the gore is never felt. Giving the audience a sense of creepiness instead of fear, Silent Hill feels more like an M.Night Shyamalan film than anything else. When it comes to performances not much can be said- it's just that the story is so convoluted it doesnt allow room for any of the actors to enact their characters.

The Story of Silent Hill explores a lot of debatable subjects like Metaphysics and religion. Comprehension is often conflicted with questioning when one faces subjects dealing with space-time continuities, parallel dimensions/realities, concept of heaven and hell or even the existence of an anti-god. But it is best if we do not question the various scenarios that Silent Hill throws at us and assume that the possibilities are endless. Questioning every aspect would probably lead to a very pointless movie experience. Even after this, at the end of the movie the viewer cant help but leave with a lot of questions unanswered. A few may find it frustrating because of the bad aftertaste but if you followed the events closely, you might probably understand everything that just transpired onscreen. If you ask me I would ask you to see Silent Hill for this very reason- just to know your interpretation of this movie. - {BATMAN^V^EXILED}

Movie Links

Silent Hill's Official Page

Silent Hill's IMDB Page

Silent Hill's Trailers

SUPERMAN RETURNS WEBSITE HACKED

2006-06-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

SUPERMAN RETURNS
Let me start this entry by letting you know that this is not a movie review - just a small piece of information that I would like to share. Since the beginning of may I had been slightly perturbed by the lack of marketing for Superman Returns. Speculations began to float around about the quality of the movie. A few of us assumed that WB had this huge dud on their hands and they didnt want to waste any more money marketing a sure flop. And then came a sudden influx of trailers, photos on pepsi bottles, unwanted critisicm by the media, crowds lining up in front of theatres a week before release,etc etc and a wave of relief hit me. Nowhere close to the publicity campaign conducted by The Da Vinci Code but enough to create a hype nonetheless. There is some life left in this franchise after all.

Anyway back to the issue at hand - Thanks to an interview with Kevin Spacey (who plays Superman's arch nemesis Lex Luthor in the new movie) on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno I learnt that he used to torture superman (or in other words, the newcomer Brandon Routh) by stooping to irritating antics. It seems that he drove a suped-up anti-superman golf cart around the set while yelling superman must die all the while. His antics, not surprisingly has found its way onto the information superhighway. You would soon realize what Superman/Brandon Routh had to put up with once you take a look at what Lex Luthor did to the new Superman Returns site.

P.S - Superman Returns is also releasing in Imax Theatres worldwide, certain segments of the movie being presented in 3D. - {BATMAN^V^EXILED}

Movie Links

Superman Returns's Official Page

Superman Return's IMDB Page

Superman Return's Trailers

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 MOVIE REVIEW

2006-06-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

M:I:III
** SPOILER ALERT ** How would you feel if you wanted to see a summer blockbuster but ended up watching a powerpoint presentation instead? Not just a normal presentation, but one that runs for two hours and transitions from one slide to another in twenty minute intervals. Yes I know, I would be pretty steamed about it too. And thats exactly how I felt while watching Mission impossible 3 . Deception and trickery has always been the name of the game when it comes to any MI movie plotline but I soon realized, this time it also applies to the audience. I am so furious right now (Somebody robbed me of my 6 bucks!!!) that I have decided to show you the whole movie right here on this small blog. "Isin't that piracy?", you may ask. Well, you be the judge.

Hi! I am Ethan Hunt and this is my team of super cool agents trying to rescue the girl in blue. BTW she is an agent too.

Oops!! Didnt realize she had a bomb in her head. "Guys, if she dies it will be yet another failed mission. Oh wait! Yeah, she's dead."

She said something about one of my bosses working with the bad guy before she died, but hey!! Arent all bosses bad guys in cliche spy movie plotlines?

Well I know I failed my mission but I dont care because I am so much in love with my newly wed wife. WOOHOO! I AM IN LOVE!

Somebody warned me that its dangerous for agents to marry but I have the feeling this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

"Well agents, another chance for us to screw up. It seems we have to climb the vatican wall, shown on the left and capture the guy, shown below."

"I know he looks fat and all but mark my words, he is an evil overlord. If we dont apprehend him in time, he might get hold of the Rabbit's foot. I dont know what that is but I am sure it's worse than Athletes foot."

Hey guess what? We didnt screw up and all we had to do was blow up a gallardo. "Mission well executed, agents. Super qool poses for the production photo."

Oops! I spoke too soon. The guy's escaping. Guess we screwed up this one too. lol.

"OK, OK! I am sorry I asked. You can have him."

"HEY I SAID I AM SORRY. HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?"

It seems that the bad guy not only escaped but he kidnapped my wife too. How could this happen? Now I have to go to Shangai and get the Rabbit's foot for him.

Can you see those tall buildings in the background. I have to slingshot myself from one tall building to another and land on the roof of the other building perfectly so that I can slide down the slope and take out all the guards while sliding down and .... or in other words it involves a complex break-in plan like the other MI's. Hey, you cant make an MI movie without a break-in, can you?

I still dont know how I managed to get the Rabbit's foot (actually nobody knows.. hehe) but I got my parachute entangled with a truck on my way back. Rofl! How did I manage to get this job in the first place?

Oh! it's my other boss who is working with the bad guy. He tried to make me steal the Rabbit's foot for him. Aaah! Now it makes perfect sense.

Bang!!! Bang!!! Take that, all you bad guys. You too, Boss.

Thank god! my wife is safe and the bomb in my head stopped ticking. I still dont know what the Rabbit's foot is but lets all just go home.

Need I say more? Ok, i guess I have to. Though the action sequences abetted the movies chances of doing well at the box office every other aspect spoilt it. To top it all the movie degrades itself by interlacing the non existent plotline with a love story. Though a lot of critics called this movie the best in the franchise, in my opinion it holds nothing special. Neither does it have the drama that fuelled MI or the brash style that complimented MI 2. Trying to mix elements from both movies, MI 3 ends up tasting like a caramel custard sauteed with peas and onions.

Calling it the closest to the MI series its no surprise that critics liked it but I have never seen the series. Hence, I am going to assume that the series too was written by monkeys. Finally, you start feeling like the mouse (see first photo), trying to pick the good elements from a movie so bad that only one thought keeps resurfacing: mission impossible.

But its MI and it does have an international appeal. I was intially surprised at the fact that the local theatre at Kalamazoo,MI recorded a majority of international audiences, but only intially. I guess all the Tom cruise bashing topped the fanfare to keep most of the American crowds indoors. But not to worry, those who havent seen the movie.... Oh! what am I saying? You just finished seeing the movie right here. The generous person that I am, I shall only charge you five dollars for this online screening. My address is in my profile. Feel free to mail your checks any time you wish. - {BATMAN^V^EXILED}

Movie Links

M:I:III's Official Page

M:I:III's IMDB Page

M:I:III's Trailers

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN MOVIE REVIEW

2006-06-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN
As soon as I finished watching Lucky Number Slevin, I could foresee an arduous task that lay ahead - reviewing the movie. The odds of a person being struck by a meteorite is ten trillion to one. I am sure that the odds of seeing an intelligently made movie isin't that bad but getting to see one sure is a rare sight. Lucky Number Slevin is one such. Here comes the arduous task that I mentioned - now reviewers have to make sure their reviews don't pale in comparison with the movie. The rookie that I am at writing reviews, I am afraid this review will only see the white end of the spectrum. Nevertheless I shall still tackle my first nemesis. (I probably take this way too seriously :D.)

Slevin could be best described as a modern day “Hitchcockian” Thriller. I am not quoting that it borrows elements from Hitchcock movies, just that this is probably how Hitchcock would have made movies if he had been directing now. There exist very few Hitchcock movies that aren't critically accoladed. So it comes as a complete surprise to me that Slevin slipped quietly into the shadows. (Was it because the movie was constantly compared with The usual suspects , The sixth sense or Snatch that nobody wanted to watch?) The movie does possess a few flaws (which movie doesn't), the major one being it's year of release. Just like how The Matrix revolutionized the concept of action in films or how Pulp fiction revolutionized story telling, Slevin would have left its mark on hollywood if it had been released ten years earlier. So what if we have a seen a few films in the same genre, it doesn't hurt to see one more, especially if it promises to be as entertaining as it's predecessors.

Though Slevin follows a relatively linear plot line, it's complex because of all the twists that it offers periodically. Unlike The Usual suspects, where the finished jigsaw falls right on your head when you didn't have the slightest idea you were supposed to put pieces together, Slevin starts piecing itself together halfway through. Hence the problem - I dont want to give too much away and at the same time I dont want to end up saying nothing. After the opening montage filled with a barrage of bizarre murders, we find ourselves at a relatively empty airport lounge, one of it's occupants a late twenty-ish man. His facial expressions and body language immediately lets you know that he wants to skip town, pronto. The young man soon finds himself in conversation with a stranger (to us it's Bruce Willis on a wheelchair). The stranger spins a brief yarn, (set in 1979) about the consequences a man and his family faces because of the huge debt he owes, losing everything that he borrowed on a race horse. It also involves a "Kansas city shuffle", the definition of which eluded me till the end of the scene. ( WARNING!! Unwanted Trivia : Thanks to good ol' wikipedia.com here is the proper definition for people like me who are unfamiliar with the term. Kansas City Shuffle is a neologism that refers to when one looks left when they should be looking right. A more evolved definition is thus: a "Kansas City Shuffle" is a most clever deception, one that requires thought on the part of the inciter and great ignorance on the part of the deceived. The primary goal of the Kansas City Shuffle is to catch one completely off-guard and unaware.) The definition makes it more than clear what the plight of the young man is right after the conversation ends.

It is only at this point Josh Hartnett's character, the quick witted, never-know-when-to-shut-up, Slevin Kelevra is introduced. A character whose luck seems to have run out recently and in the immediate future, is about to get worse. Just coming into town, he thinks it is a capitol idea to let himself into his friend Nick fisher's currently empty apartment. Not giving him any time to settle down he is flooded by visitors, first being the friendly, very talkative, animated neighbor Lindsey (Lucy Liu), who also happens to be a coroner at the morgue. Soon after her absence, enters Elvis (Dorian Missick) and Sloe (Mykelti Williamson), two comic looking henchmen, looking for Nick fisher. Slevin soon finds himself a victim of mistaken identity, being forcefully dragged to meet The Boss (Morgan Freeman) in nothing but a towel. The Boss soon explains to him how critical Nick Fisher is to his operations. Having lost his son to a successful assassination attempt by a rival gang head by The Rabbi (Ben Kingsley), the Boss seeks retribution (quoting the bible, the boss calls it Lex Talionis, the law of retaliation) by asking Nick Fisher to assassinate The Rabbi's son in return. Why Nick? Because he owes him a grand total of $96000 or in the Boss's own eloquent words, "Why should I go out and pay someone else when I have already paid you?". After the brief meet, Slevin finds himself hauled off once again from his apartment, only this time to meet The Rabbi. Here he learns that Nick fisher owes The Rabbi too, an elegant sum of $33000, and he has three days to pay it back. It is quite evident that Mr.Goodkat (Bruce Willis), who reveals himself as a world class assassin, is working in cohorts with both gangs, setting Slevin up to take a huge fall. To top all this he is also constantly monitored by detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci) who is keeping a close watch on both gangs. From this point on you expect a comedy of errors where Slevin would try to weave his way out of the precarious situation that he has put himself in. But surprisingly that never happens and from this point on the story can be best described as a roller-coaster ride with multiple twists and turns. Anyone would agree with me when I say that the best way to experience a roller-coaster is to ride it.

The best that any story like this could ask for is a good cast to support it and luckily Slevin gets it. Good acting all around, especially by Lucy Liu. Though I felt her character was unessential, you wouldn't see another female face (except for two extras) in the film's entirety. So I guess her character is essential now, huh? It is initially hard to accept Morgan Freeman as a crime lord after seeing him portray every "goody" role out there. But he still manages to convince you, and hey! That's what good actors do. I still cant put my finger on Ben Kingsley's performance. It was way better than his previous role as a vampire king in Bloodrayne (for this I entirely blame the director) but a huge let-down when compared with Gandhi or Schindler's list (do I have to blame the directors for this too?). Bruce Willis has a very small part to play but he carries it with style. The film works on a technical level too with brilliant camera work, unconventional set design (did I mention about those apartment corridors?) and good editing. Some people would have easily felt that the dialogs weren't witty enough, not even close when comparing with the likes of Snatch or even MIB. But my favorite part of the movie was when it boldly compared itself with North by Northwest and still managed to come close to the classic. I felt there were a few unnecessary twists and more than a few conveniently placed characters just to aid the script. Other than these few major flaws no other grudges held.

Because pieces of the jigsaw keep falling onto your lap periodically, the how is probably easy to guess but the why is what evaded me. Eventually I know why. Because the whole movie can be termed as one huge "Kansas city shuffle". By throwing the audiences off track at the very beginning with what appears to be an entirely fictional story, the movie catches you completely off-guard and unaware at the very end. Hope we get to see more movies like this in the near future. For that multitude of lazy people who just skipped to this line without reading the review, here is what I have to say - if your IQ is above 100, you shouldn't miss this movie. - {BATMAN^V^EXILED}

Movie Links

Lucky number Slevin's Official Page

Lucky number Slevin's IMDB Page

Lucky number Slevin's Trailers

THE DA VINCI CODE MOVIE REVIEW

2006-06-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

THE DA VINCI CODE
I vividly remember what I did on the 30th of August, 2004. I was traveling from my hometown hot sultry Chennai (India). I was flying to Chicago but with a couple of stopovers in between, one of them being Dubai. With a 17 hour transit time at the airport I was at the leisure of obtaining a one day travel visa, instead I chose not to. For my nose was buried deep within the pages of a book, a book that I couldn't let go for 17 hrs, a book that was titled, { Duh,obviously } The Da Vinci Code . Little did I realize then that this small paperback edition would soon become the highest selling novel among adult readers. So it was pretty obvious that a movie was soon to follow.

After a very short wait, The Da Vinci Code hit theaters worldwide on the 19th of May, 2006. Sporting a familiar cast { with Tom Hanks right at the helm } and crew { Ron Howard in the director's chair }, this big budget production managed to create a lot of controversy { or should I say publicity } owing to protests and bans in several countries worldwide. Though many were displeased with the literary style of Dan Brown, myself included, the book offered an intriguing plot, nonetheless.

At this point there are very few people out there who do not know the story behind The Code { they read the book or read the abridged version to maintain a profile during discussions}. For the uninitiated the story of The Da Vinci code can be summed up with six simple words – a quest for the holy grail. Yes, it's true.. Indiana Jones found the wrong grail. The movie, thanks to Ron Howard's expertise, adapts the plot in a stylish and cinematic perspective. Nevertheless, the movie follows every page of the book so "religiously", creativity seems like another grail quest. The story opens with a really old French curator, Jacques Sauniere (Jean-Pierre Marielle) being chased down the hallways of the famous Louvre (Paris) by a mysterious albino assailant, Silas (Paul Bettany). After acquiring what he was after, Silas obviously shoots his target in the gut. But lo and behold, after his assailant leaves, Sauniere survives long enough to leave behind a complicated set of clues, meant for his granddaughter, Sophie Neveu (who is working for the French PD.. How convenient!!). I could mention some of the clues he leaves behind but it would end up filling the whole review. Soon Captain Fache (Jean Reno) is on the scene, immediately suspecting Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), a Harvard symbologist to be Sauniere's killer. Why ? Because Sauniere wrote in big, bold letters the words "P.S Find Robert Langdon" right next to his dead body. How was he to know his statement would bring about such ramifications on Langdon. But the Captain instead chooses to bring the unsuspecting Langdon onto the crime scene, expecting him to spill the beans. Unfortunately for him, Sophie (Audrey Tautou) is a step ahead, trying to warn Langdon about the trap that he has just walked into. From this point on ensues multiple sequences of puzzle solving, escapes and lengthy conversations taking the pair of Langon and Neveu from one exotic locale to another. Starting right from the Louvre, the movie takes us on a trip through the bank of Zürich (Paris), a huge French estate belonging to Sir Leigh Teabing (Ian McKellen), the Temple church (London), the Roslin church and back to the Louvre. In the sidelines unfolds another story, one involving Sauniere's killer, Silas, who has also embarked on the same quest. After following instructions from an anonymous informant, only known as “The Teacher”, Silas kills the key members of the Priori of Scion (a brotherhood that has been protecting the grail for over 2000 years), to posses the grail's secret location. His desperation is heightened by the fact that he works for Bishop Aringarosa (Alfred Molina) a bigwig at Opus Dei (a catholic organization who vehemently want the secret to be lost forever.) The secret if revealed "could devastate the very foundations of Mankind". Mankind? Is there no other religion on earth?

What makes this plot intriguing is how it selects locations that everyone has heard about and reveals something fascinating about it. Adding to its intensity and suspense is the way it blatantly attacks existing organizations, and most importantly the way it questions elements that we might otherwise take at face value. The story constantly belittles the audience by revealing one startling revelation after another, make oneself ask the question, "How did I miss this?", masking the fact that initially nobody cared. "Sometimes people miss things right in front of them.", (a dialog by Ian McKellen stated against the British authorities) was probably meant for us, the audience. Throughout the course of the movie, we get to experience good cinematography in all the promising locations. Whenever sequences are interlaced by images from the past (to visually aid Sir Teabing's explanations), the transitions are nothing short of enthralling. But what the film lacks in its entirety is an atmosphere of excitement, that even a movie like National treasure successfully managed to capture. Some scenes get bogged down with so much dialog, some of the non Da Vinci code readers tuned themselves off during detailed conversations. On the other hand, those who had read the book, probably longed for a remote with a fast forward button.

This brings us to the point of specific criticism. Till today, I have no idea why Tom Hanks had to play the role of Robert Langdon. I am not saying that he underplayed his performance, seems to me anybody could have pulled of that role. I was frustrated at the fact that Hanks turned out to just be a marketing gimmick, to prove to people that The Code is a BIG BUDGET summer movie. Ian McKellen plays an immediately likable, buoyant Sir Teabing, who surprisingly doesn't carry with him a hint of aristocracy. Nothing much can be said about other performances save Paul Bettanys. A good effort (especially during the chastising scenes) but finally not good enough. The same can be said about the director, Ron Howard. Trying to be faithful to the source, Howard delivers what any Da Vinci code reader would want to see but nobody realized that the source would be so lack-luster on the big screen. One would expect an experienced director like Ron Howard to realize this (or did Dan Brown not give permission to toy around with the screenplay?). A scene where Tom Hanks tries to break the cryptex code was so similar to the scene from A Beautiful Mind , Howard might as well just pasted the same scene and nobody would have noticed the difference. One can have no complaints against the musical score by Hans Zimmer, except that the movie could have certainly used a few more "exciting" tracks.

The movie isint an entirely pointless experience but appears to be, since everyone was expecting a lot more from it. There are a few sequences that are quite enjoyable. (For the first time I feasted my eyes on how a swiss bank operates.) But the secret that the movie actually possessed (no I am not taking about the grail) that gave it those big box office numbers throughout the world was its brilliant marketing. The websites and trailers probably captured the essence of the book a lot better than the movie did. Hidden clues within every trailer (I still haven't figured out the 2nd trailer) and on-line treasure hunts on Google are bound to get everyone excited.

If you have nothing else to do this weekend and if you are a big fan of the book and only if you have already seen X3 would I recommend this movie. For the rest, wait till the DVD comes out. You can always pick up a copy from that big Dan Brown fan who got suckered into buying or renting it. - {BATMAN^V^EXILED}

Movie Links

The Da Vinci Code Official Page

The Da Vinci Code IMDB Page

The Da Vinci Code HD Trailers

THE BENCHWARMERS MOVIE REVIEW

2006-06-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

THE BENCHWARMERS
Today happens to be a very special day indeed. The 2nd of June marks my best friend's birthday, my one and only brother, Abhishek. More than three thousand miles away from home, a personalized e-card seems to be the best option for a birthday gift. But this time I wanted it to be a little different, so I chose to review a movie for him instead. Picking the movie was easy as the first movie that came to my mind was The Benchwarmers . Why? Because he had seen the movie seventeen times before I had even seen it once and he took it upon himself to force me to watch it (and he had also asked me to review the movie for him :D). Carefully I scrutinized every frame of the movie and soon after I had finished watching it I realized I had commited my first mistake. This movie wasnt meant to be taken seriously in the first place. Now I realize why my brother liked it so much. Unlike me, he is someone who does what he is supposed to do, (studying, programming) while a movie constantly runs in the background. So what is more suited for him than a movie that just serves his purpose.

According to imdb.com, the plot revolves around three guys Gus (Rob Schneider), Richie (David Spade), Clark (Jon Heder) who try and make up for missed opportunities in childhood by forming a three-player baseball team to compete against standard little league squads. Taking a stand, these former Benchwarmers, form a little league Baseball league with the same name. Looking back into my school days I realized that I could actually relate with the emotions driving the characters. Always staying ahead of the class when it comes to waist size, I eventually had the slowest reflexes in my state. Repercussions ensued and I found myself a benchwarmer pretty soon. Maybe a reason why I took to gaming and movies. Just a thought! Just a thought! Times have changed and I am probably way more active than what I was then but memories of that school bench still lingers. So I wholeheartedly support the movie not for it's humor or its plotline but for the message that it spreads - hope. In short terms, the film supports a plot oh so plain but carries a message oh so sweet.

All the immature fart and pee jokes aside, there are certain aspects of the movie that can certainly be appreciated. Never did I realize that Rob Schneider could act. His role is pivotal for the plain fact that he is only one who can play Baseball out of the three. David Spade, my favorite llama in hollywood (The Emperor's new groove), is his usual irritable self. But his quirkiness actually comes in handy for the humor throughout the movie. (Until I see some actual "acting" on screen I shall refrain myself from commenting about that Napolean dynamite guy.) The main cast surround themselves with equally eccentric characters like Mel (Jon Lovitz) and Howie (Nick Swardson). Mel, the nerdy millionaire who owns every geek dream car like the Knight rider and the 1966 Batmobile, is the emotional and financial support for the benchwarmers. Howie, Richie's Agoraphobic brother, is probably the most surprising character that one would encounter in a movie like this. Every other element of the movie offers nothing special that need to be jotted down. It's just your basic run of the mill, predictable Happy Madison movie. Watch it in theatre? Nah. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the movie in the comfort of your home on DVD. You will like it a lot better then. The movie ends with the lines "This was a complete waste of time. Wasn't it?". There would be a lot of critics out there who would agree with those lines but not me.

So here it is Abhishek, a lame, yet personal bithday gift (for now!) from one benchwarmer to another. - {BATMAN^V^EXILED}
HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Movie Links

The Benchwarmers Official Page

The Benchwarmers IMDB Page

The Benchwarmers Trailer

BATMAN BEGINS MOVIE REVIEW

2006-05-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

BATMAN BEGINS
Batman Begins...at last! Since the May of 1939, the time when the dark knight graced the pages of Detective Comics #27, fans have been waiting for this, the perfect Batman movie. The reason why I chose this as my first movie review is obvious to all those who know me. For everyone else (in simple english), I am a huge fan.

It was everyone's opinion that the Batman franchise had burnt itself to cinders thanks to Joel Schumacher's campy and gaudy Batman and Robin. Enter Christopher Nolan, the genius behind Memento, to resurruct it from the ashes. "Why do we fall, Bruce? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.", a dialouge in the movie by Dr.Thomas Wayne (Linus Roache). Suprisingly, the same dialouge is quite suited to describe the state of this franshise too. But the ultimate weapon that this movie actually posseses, is that it has a plot.

Unlike the previous Batman movies, where the spotlight was on the villians, the story behind Begins, thankfully, is about billionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) and his alter ego, Batman. The movie opens without opening credits or even a title and surprises us with the most unusual setting for an introduction, a prison somewhere in the indo-china subcontinent. (WARNING!!! Unwanted Trivia: Though its never mentioned during the course of the movie where the prison is, bat fans beleive it's Bhutan, thanks to some details from the Batman comics). It is Bruce Wayne who wakes up in this prison, having just dreamt about his encounter with Bats at the age of eight. To rescue him from brutal treatment at the prison, Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), a representative of the League of shadows, offers him a way out - a membership in the League of shadows. After rigourous training under the watchful eye of Ducard, Wayne is offered to lead an assault on his home town, Gotham City. Refusing to follow the League's ways, Wayne battles Ra's Al Ghul, the League's head(Ken Watanabe) and barely manages to escape, rescuing his unconsious mentor, Ducard in the process.

Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham, to find his town in shambles, in desperate need of a saviour. To add to his misery Wayne discovers that Wayne Corp. is run by a selfish entrepreneur (Rutger Hauer), but in its applied sciences department lies the almost forgotten scientific genius Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), who understands Wayne wants to fight crime and offers him weaponry. Not just any weaponry, magnetic gas powered grappling guns, kevlar utility harnesses, survival suit for advanced infantry, memory cloth tailored to fit on any rigid skeleton and a prototype batmobile - a few names among many.

It is only during the second act that Bruce Wayne dons the cape to become his alter ego. With the help of his trusted butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) and Lt.James Gordon (Gary Oldman) he brings down Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson), one of the cities biggest crime bosses. Only later does Batman find that Falcone has hush-hush tie-ups with Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy), a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum (the nuthouse in Gotham), to bring in mysterious shipments of a psychedelic drug which if left unchecked might prove disastorous for the whole of Gotham.

The origin of The Batman and his connection with the Chiroptera, has been hinted at during the last four films, but never has it been analysed with so much depth. In the end it's the little details, like Lucious handing over Wayne his weapons, the painting of the Bat suit, the first Batmobile test run, an out of focus batsignal, a tribute to The Joker, that make this movie a delight to watch. But this movie would have never become a box office hit if it weren't for three key details - direction, cinematography and acting. Christopher Nolan made sure no one else took the director's chair, and without the aid of a second unit, cradled his project with utmost care. While watching one can clearly see the amount of thought that has been put into every frame of the movie. Batman, unlike other superheroes, does not possess any superpowers. It was this aspect that made me bond with the character in the first place. And it was this aspect that Nolan, so adamantly, brought to life in begins - Realism. If he wanted the Batmobile to make a turn at 60 mph in a particular scene, he wanted an actual working model to do it in front of a rolling camera. The effect that it left on the audiences was actually - surreal. Without all the fanfare, lashed out in every scene of the previous Batman movies, begins tricks the audiences into believing that everything that you see onscreen is very much possible in our world. Some scenes, like Bruce Wayne climbing the mountain in search of the League or Bruce Wayne being swarmed by bats under Wayne Manor, are nothing less than brilliant. Hence the oscar nod for best cinematography . The musical score by two great composers, John Newton Howard and Hans Zimmmer, exactly reflected the duality of the central character. You could feel Howard's presence during the emotional sequences and Zimmer's thud during heart stopping action.

Batman Begins boasts a cast of actors unparalled by any other movie in it's genre. And every one of them delivers such powerful performances, that you couldnt expect more. Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman surpasses everyone's expectations to become the best bat ever to grace the screen. Be it the billionare playboy, the brooding Bruce Wayne or the dark knight, Bale carries off the role with such ease and style, that you soon wonder whether the previous Bat-Men were animatronic. This was the performance everyone was waiting for and it was Bale in the end who steals the show. Katie Holmes (Rachel Dawes) plays Bruce Wayne's chilhood friend/love interest/assistant D.A, a character whom i intially thought was unnecessary. But after a second look, you realize that she plays Bruce Wayne's conscience and, suprisingly, plays it well. Micheal Caine As Alfred did dissapoint at times when he came out a little whiny (not the alfred we are all used too), nevertheless still managed to deliver a great performance. Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow, during his limited screen time, pulls off his villanous role with such severity, his gaze alone is enough to chill one's spine.

The very few drawbacks that the movie presented was sadly during the action sequences when the camera was way too close for the audiences to follow. Alfred's whining and a few redundant instances in the movie ("If that train reaches us, the water supply is gonna blow.") probably sum up all the negative aspects.

I have said it once but i will say it again. This is the Batman movie everyone has been waiting for. Only during the end of the movie when Batman glides off the roof, the main title is introduced. Cementing the fact that throughout the course of the movie Batman was born, it is only after this... Batman begins. - {BATMAN^V^EXILED}

Movie Links

Batman Begins Official Page

Batman Begins IMDB Page

Batman Begins HD Trailer