Batman Begins

After seeing my sister's family off after church, Sasha and I went to see this movie. It was great! Very dark, meaning that there was not a lot of light in the setting. Gotham was dark, the Bat cave was dark, stately Wayne Manor was dark, etc. Christain Bale was an excellent choice for the part of Batman; I didn't care much for Katie Holmes as Rachel, his childhood pal. Loved Michael Caine as Alfred! His character brought much-needed comic relief, and kept Bruce Wayne grounded.

There's talk of another picture in the franchise, following this beginning. Certainly the end of the movie suggested the possibility of a showdown between Batman and the Joker. If the director and cast remains the same, it would be worth seeing.

Madagascar

I took niece Marjorie to see this movie last night. It was okay -- certainly not a laugh riot. I liked last summer's Sponge Bob Squarepants movie much better.

We came out of the theater into a cloudburst. I ran to get the car, and picked Miss M. up at the door. I drove a block before I pulled over into a parking lot to wait out the main thrust of the storm. I was soaking wet, just from my 30-yard run from the door of the theater to the car.

Cinderella Man

I saw Cinderella Man last weekend. Despite the fears of my movie pal, the boxing scenes were not that intense, at least to me. She covered her eyes many times -- I watched with fascination.

I grew up with my dad watching the Friday Night Fights on television, and learned about boxing from him. I learned to appreciate a fine boxer.

As everyone knows, Cinderella Man is the story of Depression-Era boxer James J. Braddock, dubbed "the Cinderella Man" by Damon Runyon. I knew how the great match against Max Baer would turn out, and despite that knowledge, felt the tension build and easy as the ending was revealed. Skillful filmmaking never goes out of style.

I read somewhere that the studio released this movie too early in the summer season to really garner the big box office they were hoping for. This movie should be an Oscar contender in many categories -- it's a shame that many will miss it, turning instead to fluff like Mr. and Mrs. Smith or The Longest Yard.

"Into the Woods"

After drying out on Sunday morning, we attended the Billings Studio Theater production of "Into the Woods." This Steven Sondheim musical follows the lives of a number of familiar fairy tale characters, exploring what happened to them after "happily ever after." It is an amusing and sophisticated show, well-performed by some BST regulars, and several new faces.

Favorites for me were the baker (Vint Lavender), the baker's wife (Bobbi Hawk), the witch (Christie Arnold) and Little Red Ridinghood (Maddy Brown). Red was particularly funny brandishing the carving knife she used to skin the wolf! I think Ms. Brown is a high school student. She has a great singing voice, and great stage presence.

Festival of Cultures

On Sunday morning, I sat at the Festival of Cultures for an hour and a half in the pouring rain. We were under a sun shade, which kept most of the rain off until the wind came up and blew the rain sideways.

Not a pleasant way to spend the morning. No one else thought so, either, and attendance was very low. My niece, Marjorie, enjoyed herself though, running from booth to booth with an umbrella. Some days, she's every bit the 12-year old; others, she's six or twenty-six.

Watergate Redux

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