THE DARK KNIGHT...

I won't go into too much detail, but I am sad to report that the latest Batman film, THE DARK KNIGHT, was a huge letdown for me personally. Here is why:

1. The style of this film is inconsistent with that of BATMAN BEGINS and looks too modern, which doesn't keep the consistent look of Gotham City, which was always a city that appeared like it was set in the 1920's, yet had the technology of the future or at least modern day. Instead the film clearly looks like it takes place in Chicago and the use of Hong Kong in the film takes us out of the fictional world of Batman and into a modern day mess.

2. There are many things that are trying to be accomplished in this film, the creation of Two-Face/Harvey Dent and the introduction of The Joker, plus Rachel and her feelings towards Dent and Bruce Wayne, then the screen time to develop Commissioner Gordon and even with 2.5 hours the film just seems exhausted to get it all done. By the end it's almost like a Batman Soap Opera with more dialogue in this film than BATMAN BEGINS times two. It just comes across sloppy and the overall character development is weak.

The best part of the film though has to be Ledger's incredible performance that is both sad, tragic, and yet amazing. Sad because here we finally see Ledger at his best and tragic because we all know this is his final contribution to cinema. If anything his performance alone merits a second viewing of the film despite it's problems.

Penguins: Revised.

No more than 24-hours after my griping about the Pens need for wingers they sign 2 from the Islanders: Satan and Fedotenko, which are no match for losing Hossa AND Malone, but will be a great addition as they will surely up their game playing on a one-year contract with Crosby and Malkin.

The Penguins also secured a 7-year deal with Marc-Andre, which is excellent news, but we also should be looking for a backup goalie after losing Conklin to Detroit along with Hossa. Laraque also signed with Montreal, which is not a huge loss as he was our enforcer, but Eric Godard should fill those shoes well.

It's gonna be an interesting year with a roster change like this!

Attn: Pittsburgh Pens....I can play....sign me!

Over the past few weeks and days the Pittsburgh Penguins organization has been in an absolute frenzy. The obvious reason is that nearly half of the team was eligible for Free Agency and while the Pens knew that the roster would change next year, few people knew just how much.

Gone are Hossa, Malone, Ruutu, Roberts, Hall, Conklin and perhaps a few more as well.

The only good news thus far is that Malkin has been given a 5-year extension and they were able to keep Pascal Dupuis, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. We also snagged a 6-year suprising deal with D-man Brooks Orpik who is a strong defender with tons of hitting power. Pens also added to their grinder-line by signing Calgary's Eric Godard, which is a nice touch to keep our physical game under tap, but we need offense!

While these might be good things it doesn't change one VERY important fact: the roster is thin! We need wingers and we need em bad! Crosby and Malkin are in desperate need of sniper players in order to excel at their playmaking game, we need players like Patrick Elias from New Jersey or Chicago's Martin Havlat, or perhaps Tamba Bay's Martin St. Louis.

Now that we have tons of money (since we lost a huge chuck of players) it would only make sense that we seek after some wingers and a right-handed defender. I was really hoping we might be able to snag free agents Wade Redden or Brian Campbell.

There are even talks about the Pens getting Jaromir Jagr or Markus Nasland, which I think that perhaps Naslund would be a nice addition just for the experience that he brings, but Jagr is too close to the end of his career and has an awkward history with Penguin fans.

So the "core" of the Penguins are in tact, which is a great thing, but we do need some fresh players to get the right combination if we want to make it to playoffs again next year.

Right now the lines are looking short:
Crosby, Dupuis and WHO?
Malkin, Sykora and WHO?
Staal, Talbot and WHO?
Godard ????
Will Laraque stay?

Do they still make em like they used to?

I recently had a conversation with someone about the quality of movies these days and to a degree had to agree with their comment, "they don't make good movies anymore". After thinking about this I had to agree that the frequency of good film-making is probably at a all-time low, but there are still good movies being made, problem is that you now have to seek them out. I decided to make things easy my listing a few of the truly great films over the past 5 years (2003-2008). These are not films that I think are "the best" necessarily, but perhaps a few that may have slipped through the cracks, while others were highly successful in critical and commercial circles.

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005) Directors Cut ONLY!
MUNICH (2005)
THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007)
MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007)
MASTER AND COMMANDER (2003)
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)
SUNSHINE (2007)
THE DEPARTED (2006)
CHILDREN OF MEN (2006)
HALF NELSON (2006)
BRICK (2005)
THE ILLUSIONIST (2006)
V FOR VENDETTA (2005)
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (2006)
THE FOUNTAIN (2006)
BREACH (2007)
APOCALYPTO (2006)
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)
EASTERN PROMISES (2007)
CINDERELLA MAN (2005)
COLLATERAL (2004)
THE GRIZZLY MAN (2005)
THE FOG OF WAR (2003)
THE MAGDALENE SISTERS (2003)
SECONDHAND LIONS (2003)
THE BRAVE ONE (2007)
FREEDOM WRITERS (2007)