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On Golden Pond (10/19/08) TV-AMC (1981 ***1/4) Directed by Mark Rydell, screenplay by Ernest Thompson, based on his play. This movie won Oscars for Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn and Thompson. It was Henry Fonda’s final film and the only one in which he appears with his daughter Jane, whose Oscar-nominated overacting made me cringe. Hepburn, on the other hand, is radiant and makes up for it, though. On Golden Pond is certainly a touching movie about what happens when we get older and death starts closing in, and I recommend it on that basis. It’s a weird thing to comment on, but the film contains a surprising amount of PG-level cussing. I remember seeing it in the early 1980’s (in the early days of cable TV it was played almost as often as Strips) and the “bullshit”’s and “God-damn”’s (as in “I’m gonna do a God-damned backflip!”) used ubiquitously by each and every character had far more impact back then. Now they just sound awkward and forced.

Batman and Son (10/19/08) Graphic Novel (2007 *1/2) Written by Grant Morrison, illustrated by Andy Kubert. You would think the discovery that Batman fathered a child with Talia al Ghul would pretty compelling, right? So why is this book such a disappointment? Violent, decapitation-prone six-year-old Damian Wayne is equal parts brat and Tasmanian devil. Raised by the League of Assassins, he kicks ass and takes… heads. For reasons too flimsy to go into, Batman is forced to take him under his wing, into the Batcave, into Wayne Manor. Combine that premise with the least convincing romantic partner in comics history, and you’ve got the recipe for one of the weakest Batman storylines I’ve ever read.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (10/18/08) DWA friends and family screening: Sherman Oaks Arclight (2008 ***1/2) Directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath. I liked Madagascar (which I worked on for nearly 2 years), but wished its third act had been stronger. I imagine some critics may complain the sequel doesn’t carry through with the emotional depth established in its opening minutes. Also, there are a half-dozen storylines juggled throughout. Maybe that’s fair, but I was pretty entertained and thought this movie was much stronger than the original. Some of the animation and directing was flat-out brilliant. I’m proud to work for a company that produces quality family-friendly movies like Madagascar 2.

Justice Society of America Vol. 1: The Next Age (10/17/08) Graphic Novel (2007 **1/2) Written by Geoff Johns, illustrated by Dale Eaglesham. This volume is actually the lead-up to Justice League of America: The Lightning Saga, which I read recently. It begins with the death of Mr. America’s family. Someone is killing former JSA members and their relatives, including young children. The violence felt exploitative and sometimes I wonder what today’s writers have against the characters created back in the Golden Age. Ultimately this volume was fine, but not particularly compelling. The storyline felt tired, like it’s been done a hundred times before.

Justice League of America Vol. 2: The Lightning Saga (10/15/08) Graphic Novel (2008 ***) Written by Brad Meltzer and Geoff Johns, illustrated by various. I got this book as a birthday present. It contained 1 4-issue story and three other stand-alone stories. I was intrigued with the premise of the main story: The JLA and JSA team up to solve the mystery of why members of the 30th Centrury Legion of Superheroes were suddenly appearing in the present. The answer to that riddle was somewhat less than engaging, however, and the story got bogged down with continuity details that weren’t especially compelling to a casual reader like myself. The highlight of the book for me was the stand-alone story, “Walls,” in which Red Arrow (you might know him better as Speedy) and Vixen find themselves trapped underneath a 47-story building that’s been thrown into the Hudson river.

Escape From New York (10/9/08) TV-AMC (1981 **) Directed by John Carpenter, starring Kurt Russell, Ernest Borgnine and Adrienne Barbeau’s breasts. When I was a teenager, this movie was pretty awesome. How could it not be? It featured my childhood favorite, Kurt Russell, as Snake, an eyepatch-wearing badass, sneaking into maximum security prison Manhattan to rescue the president, Donald Pleasence. You know what? This movie, even with Borgnine as comic relief and multiple countdown clocks, doesn’t hold up. At all. Still, Barbeau’s spectacular early-eighties cleavage continues to forgive a lot of sins.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (10/4/08) La Canada AMC (2008 ***) Directed by Peter Sollett, screenplay by Lorene Scafaria (based on the novel by Rachel Cohn), starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. The bottom line is I wanted to like this movie so much more. I feel it completely squandered an opportunity to be a truly great film. Some critics have said it’s too cute for its own good, and I don’t disagree. More than anything I found some of the writing, such as the clunky way exposition was handled early in the film, to be borderline amateurish. The movie still had its moments though, largely due to the appeal of its two stars. I also really liked Ari Graynor as Norah’s perpetually-drunk friend Caroline.

All Star Superman, Volume 1 (9/27/08) Graphic Novel (2008 ***1/2) Written by Grant Morrison, illustrated by Frank Quitely. After the disappointment of Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s All Star Batman and Robin, this book was a real treat. As stated in the Introduction, Superman and his origin have been re-envisioned a dozen times. Almost without exception, those reboots have sidestepped the “silly” Mort Weisinger 1950’s version of The Man of Steel. Grant Morrison somehow magically manages to embrace that version (complete with Jimmy Olsen’s signal watch!) and make it fresh at the same time. Quitely’s illustrations have a “Little Nemo in Slumberland” quality that is somehow the perfect complement for Morrison’s words. Though I would have preferred a single story-arc instead of serial continuity, All Star Superman ranks high on my favorite Superman books.

45 Master Characters (9/25/08) Nonfiction (2001 **) Written by Victoria Lynn Schmidt. I believe character archetypes are important, and perhaps some writers may find this to be a decent reference book. However, it really didn’t do a very good job of holding my interest; I had to make a real effort to finish the book.

The Dark Knight (9/22/08) DWA Screening (2008 ***1/2) Directed by Christopher Nolan. This is my second time seeing this film. They had a free showing after work, so I figured why not? I was seated in the third row, so the experience was a little more immersive; I never did get to the Imax version like I’d meant to. (Mild spoilers follow) I really loved this film up to the point where The Joker bomb-rigged the ferries. It was at that point when the movie sagged for about 20 minutes and never quite recovered its momentum. In screenwriting (all writing for that matter), there’s this principle of escalating the tension. In the case of The Dark Knight, the intensity (and fun factor) peaked with Batman interrogating The Joker in the holding cell. It was all downhill from there, with a minor uptick when The Joker blew up the hospital.