As I try to dissect all my thoughts running wild in my mind, there’s one thing that’s loudest of all:  The Dark Knight lives up to all the hype.  This is a very well crafted and well executed story.  It’s so good that if you take away the cape, the cowl, the white face paint, and the scars, the film would still work.  It’s still to raw in my mind to judge it objectively.  I’ll need to watch it again and another in IMAX.  I can’t think clearly, so I’m going to let my thoughts swim out.

I think all this “no Robin” is a big ‘ole fake out; the children love Batman.  Where Spider-Man 3 failed The Dark Knight succeeds:  you love, they die.  Great sense of time.  Oh my goodness, they used the Penthouse, even I don’t know that history of Batman.  Anyone notice that Bruce dumped the glass full of wine out on the balcony?  How about the Joker?  How they “drink” = their personality!  Surprised how much of The Long Halloween is in this.  Loved the bits of the MCU, reminds me of Gotham Central.

I’m getting tired and sleepy.  I waited in line for 5+ hours.  AMC was packed like sardines, never saw it busy like that.  It was if it was a Friday or Saturday night.  The concession stands were busy at 11:30 PM.  All the theatres were showing the film, from the giant screens to the small ones.  It was hot during the end but almost everyone stayed until the end.

I’m getting tired.  And sleepy.

********

“There’s nothing holding us back,” said Chen.  “A day trip, there and back again, to Vegas.  Eric’s going to Disney World and Byron is freaking going to San Francisco.  C’mon Mikey, let’s go!”  The offer was enticing.  What was I going to do instead, just read and vege out at Dartmouth alone, or take a quick trip to Vegas?  “No one would have to know, it’ll be our secret; our thing.”  And boy was it our thing all right.  It’s pretty weird when a well laid out plan leads you to somewhere you never expected.

December 12, 2003 was already a peculiar day in itself since Eric was getting ready to depart to Disney World  while Cliff, Chen, Byron, and myself were wrapping gifts for the Christmas Party the Twins, Heather and Megan, were hosting.  Earlier before we left for the party, Chen took me aside and said “let’s go to Vegas” and after much convincing, I agreed.  Thinking about it, this was going to be our best chance since Cliff was going to be working and Byron would be going home.  The Twins’ Party was awesome, it was just as awesome as the party Giancarlo had at his parents’ home the day before.  Much food and drink were had and I was surrounded by friends and laughter.  Gifts were exchanged, some were stolen, but everyone had a fun time.  The party was winding down and I looked at Chen:  we had to go.  And we did, but we left with a third cool cat:  AJ.

Sitting now, wishing I was sleeping, here in the Luxor Cafe next to Chen and AJ, we appear more like transients or dead zombies.  Chen drove all the way to Las Vegas from Irvine while I stayed awake to stand guard as his navigator, and AJ, well he slept all the way.  We got into Sin City late into the night.  We stopped first at Luxor and eagerly wanted both food and sleep but unfortunately for us the cafe was closed.  Waiting out for it to open, we scoured the casino grounds for a place to sit down and rest.  Finding no such place, we finally decided to sleep it out in the trams connecting Luxor to Excalibur.  I don’t know how long we did this but it seemed like hours.  Every ten minutes we’d be at either Luxor or Excalibur with a new rush of folks coming or going, often times looking at us like we were homeless.  And although we got some rest it wasn’t enough, and here we are now at the Luxor Cafe, sitting at some tables waiting for things to open and avoiding the hotel security

********

Gambling is indeed a vile, vile vice.  In some twisted way now I appreciate hard earned (and hard kept) money now more than ever.  Gambling is a weird thing.  I never understood it when my parents played only realizing that some days were “lucky” and some were “not so lucky”.  I didn’t realize the pathos involved and everything that came along with it.  It was literally opening a door and another and another, where one door could lead to riches or ruination.  And maybe even worse things.  It literally is a whirlwind of emotions all swirling around, where logic and reason are flown out of the head for a small chance that Lady Luck will smile on you.  Reason gives over to delusion and it’s all over.

Rating myself I don’t know where I’d be put on the ledger board of gambling.  I don’t really have any skills or knowledge on most of the games but I suspect with time and good effort I could be a good gambler but as I am learning today, gambling is not a good thing.  Ever since I became 21 I thought slot machines would be the only games I’d gamble on but after feeling the power of the card tables, I think I know what’s better:  blackjack.  Simple, different, and very potent I discovered blackjack to be the game fro me.  As I write this down we’re now at Excalibur again where AJ and Chen are vying for big wins at the $5 blackjack tables.  I wish them the best of luck.  For myself I have some money left over specifically for the buffet and a little left for emergency.  Already, I’ve lost about $30 or so on gambling and $20 on the arcade and funhouse games.  I’m enjoying myself but that nagging feeling seeps back into me for breaking some of my self-control.

********

At this very moment I’m leaving the seas of being moderately hungry into the seas of being really hungry and overly irritable and very tired.  I didn’t know what I’d expect from this trip but this wasn’t what I thought I’d be experiencing.  I’m in this weird mood right now.  On one hand I’m very happy to be on this trip with my friends, AJ and Chen, but on the other hand I feel sometimes that I’m out of place, ignored, forgotten, and utterly alone.  Was this a mistake?  I shouldn’t have gone with them.  NO!  Maybe I’m just in a bad mood because I’m hungry.  What to do, what to do…

On one hand, the immediate hand, the film’s about robot love that we quickly realize is love nonetheless.  But littered throughout the movie are a variety of messages and ideas such as commentaries on the future of humanity, the intermingling of big business and government, the environment, and what I think the movie is all about, the redemptive nature of the universe.

I don’t think I need to recap the story since I believe everyone on Earth will see it but the film is about Wall-E, a robot who cleans up trash, and how he meets EVE and falls in love.  And along his way to love, he sets off a chain of events that brings humanity back to Earth.  That’s the story.  But there’s just more of it.  There’s the sense of loneliness and aloneness in the world.  Friendship as typified by the best-friend-forever bug that follows Wall-E.  Wall-E’s own inquisitive mind.  And then there’s the other plot about humanity and how Earth has become littered.  Man had messed up Earth, soared to the heavens, and left robots to clean their mess hoping that Earth will one day be rehabitable.

700 years happens.  Man is now fat and immobile and needs the assistance of flying machines and dohokeys that let them communicate with others.  But for these humans communication is done through virtual means;  almost no actually or physical communication.  Ah but Wall-E changes all that.  Wall-E ignites a spark back into humanity that causes them to slowly remember how things should be and return to Earth.

It’s weird.  There’s almost little dialogue in the movie but the movie emotes many things.  It’s like a silent movie or a play without words, only actions and expressions.  And amazingly we understand each of  the characters.

Wall-E is full of heart.

Wanted.  Wanted is a whole other beast.  Wanted isn’t a cerebral movie but rather a movie that appeals to the senses and lust.  There’s not much to talk about the plot since it’s a combination of fish-out-of-water, revenge, and a little coming of age but the execution is done outstandingly.

Quickly the film is about Wesley Gibson who leads a pathetic life but learns that he’s a part of a secret society and possesses great power that he acquired from his father.  But this secret society is one of assassins who kills based upon a literal loom of fate woven in linen.  Forgoing right or wrong, they “kill one to possibly save a thousand”.  There’s scenes of Wesley growing into his new world, bits of history about his father and the secret society, and of course betrayals.

This movie is all about action and curving bullets and knives and rats with explosives.  It’s a high-octane film with similarities to Fight Club and the Matrix.  There’s not more I can say about it.  I enjoyed it but it’s not a cerebral film.

Wanted is a suitable meal for the senses.

Now I don’t recall Ang Lee’s movie but I do remember watching it in theatres and enjoying myself.  I was probably biased since I thought it was awesome seeing the Hulk realized on the big screen and didn’t really notice the plot of the movie, which focused more on the drama than the action.  But with Louis Leterrier’s movie we get an action packed film that’s adding to a “cinematic Marvel Universe” that started with Iron Man.

Drama’s good but the Hulk is a character that works better when he’s smashing or growling or fighting, which he does in spades throughout the movie.  And boy what a movie!  It’s similar to Iron Man but the Incredible Hulk moves to a different beat.  From the opening scene to the very last, the film moved rhythmically as a person’s heart would beat if they were on a roller coaster.  There was urgency in everything that Ed Norton’s Bruce Banner did.  He was racing to find a cure to his “disease” and racing to be sure that nothing like him can be unleashed.  But of course, that’s what happens with Tim Roth’s Emil Blonsky.

Enough of the story.  The trailers and TV spots already paint it out:  Hulk vs the Abomination.  Now with the action.  Early in the movie when we see the Hulk, we’re re-introduced by him by not seeing him at all.  For a short while there it was if we were watching a horror flick where instead of cringing at the sight of the monster, we’re cheering him on.  We see the Hulk dispatch of his enemies from within the shadows, but when the dusts settles and we finally see him, the Hulk is a friggin’, bad-ass monster of nature.  Within the movie there’s three big Hulk fight scenes and with each one the stakes escalate considerably.  And that last one, whew boy is it ever a dozy.  This is what we’ve been waiting for.  The Hulk goes on an all-out rampage against the Abomination.  It’s total chaos and destruction.  And just when the Hulk goes savage, Betty arrives.

Ang Lee’s film focused more on Bruce’s relationship with father while in Incredible Hulk we see Bruce’s relationship with everyone around him, especially with Betty.  My God, there’s a beat at the end of the second Hulk battle that’s reminiscent of King Kong and Universal Studios’ old horror movies where there’s a young woman with a monstrous creature where you don’t know if she’s going to die or if she holds some sway with the monster.  Betty realizes there’s a part of Bruce locked away inside the Hulk and when she sits down next to the emerald giant amidst a rainy night on the cliffs, you have one of the most poignant moments of the entire film.  It’s maybe the whole idea of the Hulk that deep down within “our” monsters there’s a bit of ourselves and our humanity in there.

I enjoyed the movie very much and there so much there to watch that plays to the fans of the stories and Marvel Comics.  There’s a beat that potentially sets up the next villain for the Hulk, a connection to Iron Man and the story building up to an Avengers movie, a connection between the Hulk and a certain super-soldier serum, and great appearances by Martin Star, Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno, and Stan Lee.

Go watch this movie now!

Last week I picked up Super Mario Galaxy and I dove into it like I was 10 years old again and started playing without even reading the directions.  And the controls and game play were so intuitive I don’t think I’ll ever need to go back and read the game manual at all.  When I first heard about Super Mario Galaxy I had my doubts.  Mario 64 was the game that nearly killed off gaming for me completely.  I just couldn’t deal with the new generation of video games post Super Nintendo.  And even though I did fall back into line with video games and Nintendo, I didn’t feel any love at all with Super Mario Sunshine on the Gamecube.  Maybe I was just shielding myself from any hopes of a real Mario game.  The premise of “galaxy” was Mario but with planets and flying across the cosmos.  Already I thought, “this game is going to tank”.  We were treated to an old school Mario game on the Nintendo DS and I was very much pleased with it.  “Why couldn’t they stick with the original idea” I thought to myself.  And soon the days went onward and the Nintendo Wii progressed without any real Mario game.  But slowly news came forth about galaxy.  And soon I started to hear that Super Mario Galaxy was more like Mario 64 than Sunshine.  By now I had come to terms with 3D gaming and do realize that Mario 64 was a great step from 2D to 3D, so this comparison was good to hear.  But soon I heard more good things and good reviews from critics and gamers.  By late October I decided that I’d actually get the game but I didn’t have much anticipation for it.  I was afraid I was building an anticipation and expectation that wouldn’t be met.  And it didn’t help that I saw a kiosk of the game and played a little bit of it.  The screen was fuzzy and while Mario looked awesome, the control was different using the nun-chuck and wii-mote.  Looking back now, I think I was still shielding myself from any disappointment but deep down I realized that the game was actually fun and that maybe there was truth to what I read and heard.  

The day had arrived.  I had the game and it was all primed and ready to play.  I had my doubts still and I wasn’t sure how the game would start.  I didn’t know how it would look and feel in my room.  I wasn’t sure really what to expect.  After a quick tale about a girl and stars, I was introduced yet again to the Mushroom Kingdom as introduced in Mario 64.  But it was night.  It was dark.  And stars were falling all around me!  Nothing menacing but small, bright, and colorful stars were falling all around me.  It was a dazzling display of color and light and all around Mario were Toads all enjoying and telling me to meet with Peach.  I had free control at this point.  There wasn’t any learning stage at all.  I could run, jump, and stomp.  I could crouch and I could grasp up onto walls.  It was amazing.  Mario had almost all of his abilities from all his appearances from Super Mario Bros. all the way to Super Smash Bros.  And most importantly, Mario handled brilliantly.  The control scheme was very intuitive and although I was holding the nun-chuck and wii-mote it felt like I was eight again holding the NES square controller.  I was dumbfounded.  I was playing another Mario game.  And I’m still playing right now.  The planet concept that I earlier mocked is rather truly a spectacle.  Someone had mentioned that in previous games, we were conditioned never to near a ledge fearing a death whereas in galaxy, we learn to move onto a ledge and leap off into the heavens and have gravity play a part as we fall down onto a nearby planetoid and continue our quest.  The game is lush with colors and it’s such a joy.  This  game really does bring you back to your childhood.  There’s one level in particular that made me jump and a scream with laughter.  It’s the Rocky Road stage of Sweet Sweet Galaxy where I have to run across a road that’s basically made of sweets with cookie cutter holes that I have run across to finish the stage.  And it’s moving too!  I died about twenty times and laughed every minute of it.  It was tough actually but there’s no denying that I didn’t have fun doing it.  And that’s what I love about good Mario games and Nintendo in general.  

It’s surprising to realize that it’s been a year to the date today that the Nintendo Wii made it’s debut.  I remember it clearly.  The Wii would make its worldwide debut, not in Japan but in the USA, at midnight on Saturday.  I was already out of work by then and I planned on getting the Wii at the West Coast Launch Party at Universal Citywalk.  But unfortunately the demand for the Wii was much more than I anticipated and even though I waited in line for three hours, I didn’t move much near the store.  And it didn’t help that I was very, very, very far in line.  The Nintendo Store was in the middle of the plaza and the line extended to the middle courtyard and went into two different circular lines then the line went up a flight of stairs and onto another floor that wrapped around for a long stretch that went far back towards the parking lot bridge.  And where was I?  I was past the bridge around the parking structure.  I didn’t get a Wii there but I was still determined to get it.  And I knew the best place to be was somewhere with many Best Buys, Circuit Citys, and Targets.  So I headed down to Irvine and snuck in a few winks at the Solana aparment.

The disappointment of not getting a Wii at Citywalk fueled my determination to get one.  I woke and decided to visit the Irvine/Tustin Target.  As I pulled in looking for parking I saw a line that stretched far to the back of Target and as I walked through the crowds I heard the same whispers I heard a few hours earlier.  I heard, “there’s much too many people here for all of us to get one,” “they handed out vouchers, if you don’t have one you don’t get a Wii,” and “this one only has seventeen and there’s a line of 130.”  What I heard wasn’t good.  After deciding to wait in line I also happened to hear that lines around the area were busy as well.  I discerned that the stores in around South Coast Plaza were pretty much taken.  After standing for fifteen minutes (nothing compared to the hours I wasted at Citywalk) a Target representative came out and definitively said that those who had a voucher would be getting a Wii.  No more and no less.  And with that I left Target and bypassed the crowds at South Coast and headed further south towards Mission Viejo.  I theorized that no one would head out to a store in the boonies and that I would get better chance at getting a Wii.  No line of teens, no lines of parents – it was going to be easy pickings for me.  Unfortunately that was a very bad plan.  Not only did I get there late but I also saw groups buying far too many Wiis then needed which meant they were going straight up on Ebay.  Angry now at being wrong, late, and somewhat cheated I was at a crossroads.  I could admit defeat and get a Wii the next shipment out or I could drive around and hope against hope to get a Wii.  I was in Orange County and I had exhausted all of my avenues of purchase.  This was foolish I thought to myself.  I’m a grown man looking for a video game and I’ve lost much time and effort into it.  I was going back to Solona and getting a proper rest.  Still saddened at my failure, I drove through South Coast going back when it dawned at me most people would think of the obvious stores to get the Wii at, like Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, and all the toy and  video game stores.  But the rest wouldn’t think of second tier stores such as K-Mart and Sears.  And since I was in the area, I decided to drive back to towards South Coast and into Sears.  

Amidst some scary close calls where I could have been denied a Wii, I got my Wii, some extra controllers, and some games to boot.  And I headed back to Solana with the biggest grin on my face and such contentment in my heart.  So am I happy that I stuck with Nintendo and the Wii?  Sure the Wii doesn’t boost the best graphics or the best processor speeds but what it lacks, it sure makes up in story, gameplay, and presentation.  And to date, the Wii has a slew of games waiting in the works.  The Wii Zapper with Link’s Crossbow training is close at hand, as is the Wii Fit board and game play which should bring in more people to gaming.  And as 2008 comes along there will be no shortage of games for the Wii when the next iterations of Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and Animal Crossing all find their way on the Wii.  It’s been on incredible year for the Wii and I can’t wait to see what’s in store in the second.