That's the kind of updating I want to hear. I don't think the Showcase thats nearest to us has been updated since the late 90s.

And the day after I write that, Showcase has apparently updated our local theater with recliners and has a screen in "XPLUS LASER" -- have you seen anything in this "proprietary large format"?

Ticket price is a $4 upcharge though over a regular theater ($18 locally)!

https://www.showcasecinemas.com/showcas ... e=starpass

AndyDursin wrote: ↑Wed Feb 16, 2022 10:42 am And the day after I write that, Showcase has apparently updated our local theater with recliners and has a screen in "XPLUS LASER" -- have you seen anything in this "proprietary large format"?

My theater has had the XPlus screen since late 2019 when they refurbished the whole cinema to add recliner seats in every screen. It's not quite IMAX, but the screen is the largest in the multiplex, and the sound is pretty kick-ass. Watched Death On The Nile on that screen last Friday, and it looked and sounded terrific. Then again, I got $9 off my ticket thanks to my Starpass card...

They're only offering a $2 bonus refunded to your Starpass card if you buy BATMAN tickets. But that shows you how little they've invested in this theater down here -- they could've done this (plus go to all recliners) years ago, but because they were the only game in town, they didn't bother. Now there's a competing theater and suddenly it's "hey, look what WE'RE doing for you".

I'll still eventually check it out in time but I'm more keen on the refurbed another theater I already bought tickets to, even if it's another 10 minutes up the road.

Cinema in 2022:

We can have a sadistic serial killer in our PG-13 movie, but goodness' sake, no smoking!

Monterey Jack wrote: ↑Thu Feb 24, 2022 12:44 pm We can have a sadistic serial killer in our PG-13 movie, but goodness' sake, no smoking!

Good point!

Early reviews (now that the embargo has been lifted) are kind of through the roof.

Thank goodness it's not another "origin story". That's refreshing in itself.

5/10

Never did I think a movie could make Christian Bale's Batman look like Adam West's, but director Matt Reeves' strenuously boring THE BATMAN manages to be the singular most humorless super-hero movie in cinema history. It's also one of the dullest -- a three-hour grind wrapped up in mystery that's never involving, a group of characters that are never appealing, and an emotional flat-line that stays parked in neutral for its entire duration.

Already proclaimed as a masterwork by the same people who think every new comic-book movie is like the latest work from Lean, Welles or Truffaut in their prime, THE BATMAN looks the part -- and pretty much nothing else. Robert Pattinson mopes about -- and nothing else -- as a glum Bruce Wayne trying to prevent The Riddler (Paul Dano) from slaying more of Gotham's "elitist" political class, while solving a mystery involving his slain parents, Gotham's main mafia boss (John Turturro), and Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz), who's also out to find her missing roommate. This Riddler is a would-be scary serial killer who uses social media to rev up his followers, but Dano's performance isn't exactly Heath Ledger-worthy -- in fact, no matter how much he raises his voice, he's about as scary as the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. Also failing to register is Colin Farrell's Penguin, who's just not very interesting either, even though he engages with Batman in one of the movie's central action scenes: a car chase on the Gotham streets that's so poorly choreographed it's nearly impossible to follow what's going on.

Fans will proclaim how marvelous it is to see Batman actually sleuthing for a change -- but would it have killed Reeves and co-writer Peter Craig to make a movie where the mystery is actually involving? There's lots of hushed talk about vengeance and the "sins of Gotham's fathers," but outside of Reeves trying to channel Christopher Nolan's far, far superior Dark Knight movies with some "shocking" plot twists -- one of which renders Andy Serkis' turn as Alfred almost totally useless -- his story just sits there and dies. The plodding pace and lack of humor become so grating and repetitious it's like binging too many episodes of a Netflix series that you can't turn off.

Reeves does deserve credit for the movie's impressive look, which mixes a real world NYC with an occasional dash of "Blade Runner" -- especially in some of Batman's detective gear -- and makes Gotham look like a real living, breathing entity all its own. It's a notable visual achievement, but not one that's backed by a story or characters worth following. In fact, this kind of "density" bogged down Reeves' previous work on the "Planet of the Apes" sequels which were overrated by some -- but not nearly as much as "The Batman." Already you can sense the fanboy fervor coming for anyone who doesn't think this is the greatest cinematic achievement of the last decade -- but visuals aside, this is an empty, depressing, bleak viewing experience devoid of humor. As in, completely devoid of humor.

It used to be that movies provided an escape for audiences -- back in the darkest days of the post-Watergate, Jimmy Carter-led '70s, "Star Wars" became a pop-culture phenomenon with its upbeat derring-do and rousing sense of adventure. Despite the world around us at the moment, "The Batman" offers no such respite from two years of COVID, rising crime and the war in the Ukraine -- in fact, it's a virtual reenforcement of the world we're living in. How many viewers are truly going to be enraptured by it -- walking out I could hear moans of disappointment from others who also found it "boring" -- may prove to be revealing, though the lack of competition at the global box-office means the film is going to make plenty of money anyway. At least someone's going to be happy.

I already see people on Facebook and the FSM board singing the praises of this new Batpic.

...but I'll take your word for it Andy!

The nerds/fanboys I've seen going, for lack of a better term, batty are too invested in the general approach -- and the fidelity of it to more contemporary comic books -- to be able to recognize the deficiencies in the execution and the material itself. IMO this is going to be a divisive movie that's going to appeal to hardcore Batman devotees more than general movie-goers, but like I said, there's literally nothing else occupying movie theaters. It will make money regardless.

My friend who came with me disliked it more than I did. And zero response from the audience I saw it with either.

It's kind of like this: if you want your humorless, 3-HOUR Batman delivered by way of David Fincher, SE7EN and SAW -- which the younger gen is going to love -- then it's the right movie for you...except those movies were both better. Or at least SE7EN was in terms of its writing.

I will skip theaters and wait for the DVD release to watch it.

Already proclaimed as a masterwork by the same people who think every new comic-book movie is like the latest work from Lean, Welles or Truffaut in their prime, THE BATMAN looks the part -- and pretty much nothing else.

The plodding pace and lack of humor become so grating and repetitious it's like binging too many episodes of a Netflix series that you can't turn off.

I love your reviews, Andy!

Thanks Chris! I get motivated sometimes, but that's just the 2nd trip to the theater in the last year!