currently on at the 'pictures':

[stevezodiac]

They should bring back Adam West and Burt Ward for the next one. I noticed that the Sun, Mirror, Express and Metro all gave five stars to the new Batman film, the Daily Mail gave it two. One complaint was the poor sound with much inaudible dialogue? Did you notice that?

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Steve: Batman's/actor [forget his name, that's how famous he is--he was in the Johnny Depp film 'Public Enemies' ] 'speaks' in a noticable, deep-bass drone [only as Batman, not as Wayne]--the sound was good, but I was smack up against the wall [the cinema had every seat taken, rare in an afternoon showing] however the vibrations were noticable--not enough to spoil it though.


This film wasn't what I expected, but it's still worth seeing-------might go back one more time.

[Phoenix]

It was under this lack-of-serious-expectations mode of mind that I approached Spidey 4, and I knew absolutely nothing about this new serving: original Spiderman actor Tobey Mc Guire is gone, and also I wasn't exactly expecting another reworking of the Spiderman legend, but that's what we find here. After the setup and characters 'kick in' this is quite an enjoyable jaunt, and I enjoyed the low-key 'origins' bit with Parker's home-made Superhero outfit , and vigilante-like 'out-for-revenge -against-the-City-dregs' stance he adopts.

I saw this yesterday in St. Ives. I enjoyed it, and I also found Spiderman's frequent vulnerability to be a plus. The final, if brief, conversation in the classroom promised an early sequel, I thought, and ratcheted up Peter's potential relationship with his girlfriend, Gwen, a fair way beyond that of Toby Maguire's with Mary Jane.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I have seen it three times, Phoenix, so it mudt have had something! Glad you seemed to like it.....

[Digifiend]

Steve: Batman's/actor [forget his name, that's how famous he is--he was in the Johnny Depp film 'Public Enemies' ]

Christian Bale.

[Lew Stringer]

I saw this yesterday in St. Ives. I enjoyed it, and I also found Spiderman's frequent vulnerability to be a plus. The final, if brief, conversation in the classroom promised an early sequel, I thought, and ratcheted up Peter's potential relationship with his girlfriend, Gwen, a fair way beyond that of Toby Maguire's with Mary Jane.

Followers of the Spider-Man comics from the early 1970s will know that Peter (and Gwen) may regret not keeping the promise, if the sequel stays true to the comics.

I thought the new Spidey film was fairly average myself. Peter Parker often comes across as a selfish, unsympathetic character in this movie. Spider-Man should be wisecracking and likeable. This version is sullen, snarky, and clears off whenever those closest to him need him. This is a Peter Parker who goes off on a vigilante spree while his aunt is grieving, causing her additional worry as to his whereabouts. What a brat.

That said, the actors playing Peter and Gwen are excellent with the material they're given and, as many reviews have already said, have a good on screen chemistry. But storywise, as a Spider-Man movie, give me Rami's versions any day.

[starscape]

I was disappointed too a little. Nothing wrong with the movie as such except the first hour was pointless. Do we really need to go through the bitten by a spider, Uncle Ben dying, the guilt etc? How about a 5 min flashback instead? Every Dracula film doesn't go back to Transylvania and the diary, so why must Spidey? 7/10

The Dark Knight rises? Superb. Absolutely first class of an amazing trilogy. Couldn't have enjoyed it more. 10/10.

[Digifiend]

That's what The Incredible Hulk did - there'd been another Hulk film in 2003, so the 2008 film just briefly recapped the origin story and then went onto the main plot. I haven't seen The Amazing Spider-Man (I hardly ever go to the cinema) but an hour of origin story just sounds like deja vu of the 2002 film.

[philcom55]

I was surprised by the number of occasions on which the new Spider-Man goes super-heroing without his mask. Some critics have welcomed this aspect, but I always felt there was something important about the way in which Peter Parker and Spider-Man seemed to exhibit different personalities. It gave the whole thing a kind of psychological depth that has been seriously diluted ever since Steve Ditko left.

As for Dark Knight Rises I thought it effective, and clever, and beautifully filmed (and I liked the ambiguous ending). Not many laughs though. Fortunately I saw it before the nutcase in America went on his murderous spree: I can't help wondering if that will have a serious effect on subsequent box office takings. (I've already heard some media speculation that he might have been corrupted by reading comic-books...!)

- Phil Rushton

[Lew Stringer]

(I've already heard some media speculation that he might have been corrupted by reading comic-books...!)

Apparently police found a Batman mask and a poster in his apartment. I suppose that's enough for some of the media to blame comic books. In truth, comics don't drive people crazy but some crazy people read comics. There's a big difference, but in their haste to create scapegoats that sell papers the press don't care about that. This applies to the "influence" of movies, books, rock n roll, penny dreadfuls and video games too of course.

[Phoenix]

I've already heard some media speculation that he might have been corrupted by reading comic-books...!

Well that would be derivative.............and centuries out of date. In approximately 1597 Spain's most famous novelist, Miguel de Cervantes, came up with just such an idea, and the character Don Quijote to embody it. The novel satirised the fictional activities of the knights and their squires who went round righting wrongs and rescuing damsels in distress in an apparently endless spate of chivalry novels that were taken all too seriously by the Spanish people. Cervantes created a knight errant out of an ordinary man with a noble disposition who had gone mad due to reading so many of these books. He set out on his worthy mission on a scrawny nag called Rocinante, and accompanied by Sancho Panza, a simple-minded squire who believed pretty well everything his master told him, no matter how ridiculous it appeared to the reader. The first part of Don Quijote de La Mancha came out in 1605, the second, and final, part in 1615.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I thought it was pretty chilling how the gunman at the Batman screening opened fire during an onscreen gun-battle-----doubtless many of the patrons thought it was probably a publicity stunt engineered by the cinema.

It was especially tragic how one young woman victim was killed after surviving a similar massacre only a few weeks earlier.

There were mass killings long before films were ever invented, Jack the Ripper's spree was in the 1880s, almost 20 years before the first film was screened] so even if every violent film was banned, people with mental problems would get inspiration for these unfathomable acts elsewhere.

[Lew Stringer]

There were mass killings long before films were ever invented, Jack the Ripper's spree was in the 1880s, almost 20 years before the first film was screened] so even if every violent film was banned, people with mental problems would get inspiration for these unfathomable acts elsewhere.

Exactly.

Saw The Dark Knight Rises tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it. Good acting all round and a script with a few more twists and turns than most superhero movies. A fitting end to the trilogy.

I noticed it runs with a trailer for next summer's new Superman movie, Man of Steel. Looks very interesting!

[Phoenix]

I noticed it runs with a trailer for next summer's new Superman movie, Man of Steel. Looks very interesting!

Will it be based on this six-part mini-series from 1986?

[Peter Gray]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news ... orado.html

a good gesture...