We went to see Batman Begins today, and I have to say it was fantastic! Dark, gloomy, and wonderfully atmospheric. It was a pleasant surprise to see such luminaries as Caine, Oldman, Neeson, and Freeman playing supporting roles to Bale's Batman. In no way did it smack of the '60s campy TV show, but fully dived into the post-Miller "Dark Knight" Batman that many fans have come to love. The villains were really bad without being cartoonish. While any good Batman story will have a certain amount of philosophical exploration on the nature of good and evil, this movie never devolved into preachiness or sanctimoniousness. The story was unpredictable and well-paced, with excellent production design and cinematography, and of course plenty of great fight scenes.

This is the Batman many of us have been waiting for, and this fan was not disappointed.

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I just watched "Finding Neverland" with alethea93, and I have to say I loved it. It was an elegant film that had some sincerely moving moments. As with many "period" movies, there were some slow downs since the screenwriter can't use the shorthand of a current-time film. But the visuals were so lush, and the acting so good, it was okay to float along for a while. However, I was taken quite by surprise at the powerful ending. For anyone with a sentimental heart and an everlasting inner child, this movie is highly recommended.

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