I think it's pretty safe to say that I'm an avid movie-goer. My week is just not complete without at least one trip to the theater.
For the last few years, I've been writing this column and have seen literally hundreds of good films. Of course, I've also seen hundreds of bad films and even a couple of truly I'd-rather-pull-my-hair-out-one-strand-at-a-time-rather-than-see-it-again-movies.
As I've gotten busier and busier, first increasing my family, now going to school and working part-time at a local restaurant (everyone eat at Willabee's!), I still make time to hit the theater.
So, what films did I fit into my busy schedule this week? Well, I'm glad you asked.
I saw the much-anticipated and over-publicized "Batman Begins," the quirky and funny remake of an old TV show, "Bewitched," and the awesomely-hilarious great family film, "Madagascar."
Now, I was instructed by one of my co-workers to not say anything bad about "Batman Begins," OR ELSE. I'm not sure what "or else" entails, but I honestly didn't have anything bad to say, anyway.
The film was what it was (that's deep, isn't it?).
The film kind of got a bad wrap because of the highly-publicized and somewhat unlikely romance between Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise. Wanna know what I think? Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway.
If you can find someone who makes you happy and who compels you to jump on couches and act like a wacko, more power to ya. Life's too short to tailor to other people's view of you. So, congrats to Katie and Tom for finding each other!
That said, "Batman Begins" was actually a pretty good movie.
It stars Christian Bale as the caped crusader, finally telling the story of his parents' death and how he actually became Batman.
It was interesting, it was a good story and, best of all, it went back to the darkness of the original "Batman" movies, starring Michael Keaton, who I still think made the best Batman, better than George Clooney or Val Kilmer.
Anyway, where the later Batman films were colorful and riddled with special effects, this one seems more low-key, which fits the darkness of Bruce Wayne's metamorphosis into Batman.
In the film, Bruce returns to Gotham after spending time learning to fight evil with the League of Shadows.
Upon returning to his hometown, Bruce vows to rid the city of crime, including the corrupt cops, deadly crime boss, Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson), and psychotic psychotherapist Dr. Jonathon Crane (Cillian Murphy).
Morgan Freeman plays technical genius and Batman gadget creator Lucius Fox and Katie Holmes plays Bruce Wayne's childhood friend Rachael Dawes.
If you've seen the other four Batman movies, you're pretty much required to see this one to see how it all began. It was good and it was worth the trip to the theater.
"Batman Begins" is rated PG-13 "for intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements," so is only recommended for mature viewers.
Now, since I'm running out of room here, I'll give you my brief thoughts on the other two films I saw this week, "Bewitched" and "Madagascar."
"Bewitched" was funny, though a little over-done. It seems like more of a rental.
"Madagascar" was hilarious. Those of you with children definitely have to bring the little tykes to see this one. I laughed so hard, especially as we were leaving the theater and my 3-year-old was singing, "I like to move it, move it." She liked the movie, too!
Hitting theaters over the next couple of weeks are "War of the Worlds," "Rebound," "Dark Water" and "Fantastic Four."
Selina Vert is editor of Bay Mills News.
