A Theme?

I was checking back on the past few posts, since nobody has found anything worth commenting on, to see what I had done wrong. I found a disturbing trend. Babies. Seems I've developed some sort of penchant for baby pics, and I didn't even realize it. So, in an effort to not disappoint - here's another one. I love this picture for two reasons. One - the kid's wearing a Batman outfit. That's for those of you reading this site in braille, and can't see the picture. Second - that's Kevin Smith's kid, Harley Quinn Smith. Yeah, that's right. The kid's name is Harley Quinn. After the Joker's girlfriend/stalker. Genius, I tell ya - the man's a genius. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to be married to a woman who'll let me name our offspring after a comic book villain. In the spirit of brevity (yeah, right - have you been to this site before?), and Craig Nash, (as Shane would say, in true Nashian style), here are a few bullet points regarding some things I'm looking forward to, starting with the least:

- Special Editions of all four previous Batman movies. (here's a website first--->)http://batman-on-film.com is reporting that the SE's are almost complete and will be released with commentaries by both directors (Tim "anybody that knows me knows I don't read comic books" Burton for the first 2, Joel "the franchise killer" Schumacher for the last 2). This should be good. Schumacher has a lot of explaining to do, and I for one can't wait to hear it. Warner Bros. gave him a budget to go ahead and re-cut the movie for the SE, but I don't think he can take enough footage out of that stinka. They are also reporting that the first one (read: the good one) is going to include a feature-length making-of documentary. One of the marketing options they are exploring is to issue all four films in a box-set that includes two tickets to the new BATMAN BEGINS flick, premiering on June 17th, 2005. HA. Just in time for my birthday, 2 days later.

- BATMAN BEGINS. Directed by Christopher Nolan, director of Memento. Christian Bale as Batman. Gary Oldman as Sgt. Jim Gordon. Ken Watanabe as Ra's Al Ghul. Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow. Also starring Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Katie Holmes. Influenced by Frank Miller's Year One and Jeph Loeb's The Long Halloween, and supposedly the most faithful movie representation of the character ever. Dark. Pissed. Young. Solo. Realistic. Well, it freakin' well better be. Because another ridiculous mis-representation will kill the franchise for sure - and that might be more than my fragile psyche can stand. I'm gonna go all Arkham Asylum on somebody. Things are looking good, though. It seems D.C. and Warner Bros. are taking a page from the Marvel Comics school of moviemaking that (GASP!) says you should make the movies to reflect the actual comics they come from. Fanboys unite! Check it out at: http://www.batman-on-film.com and the official site http://www.batmanbegins.com .

- The Chronicles of Narnia: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. Gonna be a good one, I think. Same effects people who did The Lord Of The Rings trilogy - WETA. Check out the WETA featurette at http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/the_chronicles_of_narnia.html . Also, check out the semi-official site at http://www.narniaweb.com .

- Baseball - by Ken Burns. Not a lot of people know this... but my first real love in life was baseball. When I was barely able to walk, the men in my family started teaching me to hit, and to throw, and I instantly caught the fever. I was three years old when my sister was born, and after two weeks, I asked if we could send her back, because all she ever did was sleep, and she couldn't even play baseball. All I ever wanted to be when I was a kid was a pro ball player. Unfortunately, I was never very good. That didn't keep me from playing on city-league teams during elementary, Jr. High, and High School, though. Sometimes, nobody even came to my games. Sometimes I would walk, or ride my bike to games, and back home again. But I didn't care, because I always loved baseball. When I was in High School, I had a TV in my room, and would sneak it on when my folks thought I was long asleep. One night, I was flipping past PBS and got sucked in my a show they were playing about baseball. It was a documentary by this guy Ken Burns, who, unbeknownst to me, is the greatest documentarian ever. A distinction he has earned from me - just now. Never before would I have even thought of lingering on PBS, but that night I watched most of the entire 2 hours. The next night, I tuned in earlier, and caught the whole thing. Then again the next night and the next, until all nine episodes (innings - pretty clever, huh?) had played. Thus began my love of documentaries, and continued my love of Baseball. For years, I asked for the entire documentary on video, but never got it. Turns out it cost $150 bucks for the entire 9 volume set. Now they have it on DVD, and I finally found a set at Blockbuster Online. For the past month, they have been sending it to me, disc by disc, and I have devoured each one. I just finished Inning 8 this morning. Inning 9 should arrive in a day or so. Then comes the Extra Innings disc - an update that is new to the set. The whole "film" starts back in the 19th century with the legends concerning the invention of the game, and it's roots in American culture, and goes all the way through the 70's, and into the 80's. I can't describe how funny - i literally laugh out loud several times each disc; how moving - when I am not laughing out loud, I'm unable to hold back tears; and how inspiring this film is. Even if you're not into documentaries like I am; Even if you're not into baseball, like I am; you should check out this movie. Unless you're a freakin' pinko commie baby-killer. Seriously - this movie has immediately vaulted into my #1 favorite of all time. Jumped right over The Princess Bride, skipped past The Godfather, and pimp-slapped A Few Good Men to situate itself as the king of the hill in my movie queue. Watch it or die. Also check out his documentaries on Jazz, The Civil War, and The Old West.

By the way - can anybody guess which player that's a picture of?

Shalom.