Friday, April 29, 2011

Penelope

A response to one of my favorite romance stories; come on over: http://www.clicksflix.com/?p=271

****

Coming Soon: Sleepy Hollow

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Find Me Guilty

New movie response up at Clicksflix.com: http://www.clicksflix.com/?p=269

****

Coming Soon: Penelope

Friday, April 22, 2011

Fast & Furious: The Series

We've got a new post up at Clicksflix.com, come on over: http://www.clicksflix.com/?p=267

****

Coming Soon: Find Me Guilty

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Death Race

We've got a new post on ClicksFlix.com: http://www.clicksflix.com/?p=263

See you over there!!

****

Coming Soon: Fast and Furious: The Series

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The Contender

Available at our new home here http://www.clicksflix.com/?p=257

****

Coming Soon: Death Race

Friday, April 15, 2011

Click's Flick on a Stick is Moving!!

Due to several factors, the most important being that I've been blessed by the thoughtfulness of a good friend and have my own domain name now, Click's Flick on a Stick is moving!! One of my friends gave me an extremely thoughtful gift for my birthday, a new place to hang my hat for Click's Flick on a Stick. And I've been very pleased with the way it looks and behaves (I've been posting there for about eight weeks now) and how easy it is to use, so I've decided to start posting there exclusively, beginning next week. However, I'll post a link over there for a while on Blogger so that readers can easily find the posts they've been looking for...everything is the same over there as it is here, except a few asthetic differences. There is an RSS you can subscribe to so that you can see when a new post is up. I look forward to seeing you there. Click's Flick on a Stick will now be at: http://www.clicksflix.com/ See you soon with The Contender!! ~Heidi Michelle Click

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Batman: A Series Analysis

As a series, this one's very inconsistent. Installment to installment, besides the Nolan Era, each differ in production design, in editing and story pacing, acting, music that this series can hardly be defined as a series. A series is, a number of things, events or people of a similar kind or related nature coming one after another. In the fact that Batman, Bruce Wayne, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon and the Bat Signal are in each installment make it one, but the differences and continuity are so choppy due to the writing, production styles and the fact that four differing actors play Batman and Bruce Wayne, to varying effects. As a base, Tim Burton's Batman, really was a poor start. His focus on The Joker rather than the tortured soul of our protagonist Bruce Wayne and his fractured self Batman, was a poor choice to begin with. We're supposed to emotionally connect with Batman and with Bruce Wayne, but his story was glanced over in favor of the insane and really flatly written, but richly played, Joker. As I've said, the defining characteristics of the Burton Era is it's Noir Properties. But the story runs slow, as Noir stories do, but this one is slower than the likes of great modern Noir, such as LA Confidential, who's vice and vestigial virtues were beautifully constructed and the pacing plotted the story's journey so smoothly my soul ached with the sadness that accompanies such films. But God's in the details, someone said at some point, and this one's got all the noir properties. And this time around, the third journey through this so-called series, I noticed that the sets are particularly detailed that the film might've been part of the classic His Girl Friday or It Happened One Night. Especially the newsroom set where Vicki Vale and her colleague Knox are researching Bruce Wayne and Batman. It's a classic newsroom set and we're comfortable believing in the agelessness that it Gotham City, something that is surprisingly consistent in each installment until the Nolan Era. Whereas Tim Burton drags in his first installment, he doesn't disappoint in his second. We still don't focus on the troubled man that is our hero, but we get to see more as we see the life that is Oswald Cobblepotts and the parallel that he seems to have with Wayne's. But the beautiful part is the dark romance and commiseration between the duality in Catwoman and Batman. Michelle Pfieffer's work on this character is the reason I love this particular installment. Catwoman has everything a completely brassed off woman who's just been empowered with new confidence but homicidal tendencies. However, all she wants is some peace, and the head of her boss and murderer on a platter. So her fractured personality is what Bruce understands and their passion is as feral as the cats that turned her. It truly fits with the Noir properties of the Burton era, and Pfieffer's completely smoking. She completely commands the climax, with such power that it's impossible not to be in awe. She is the perfect femme fatale. Schumacher's Batman Forever is nothing but action and the pacing is quick and operatic with musical performances by all involved. Also, we finally engage the emotional connection we've been wanting in regards to the troubled past of our dark avenger. And passing it off with great finesse is the absolutely fabulous, Val Kilmer. He has a calm with can only be read as haunted and, because he is, he's able to get through to a hot-headed Robin. The partnership of Two Face and The Riddler is appropriately entertaining and just as colorful. This one reminds me that the series is based on a comic book, due to the color and quick pacing. The action never seems to end and the emotion seems as out of control, making for a good balance. Performances are all top notch, allowing us to enjoy the experience. Honestly, until the Nolan era, this one was my favorite. I'm such a fan of everyone involved in front of the camera and I don't mind all the colors, chaos and flatness from Two Face, I enjoy the multiple angles of story lines and the focus on the blossoming partnership between Batman and Robin. Its pacing allows for my brain to calm and for my senses to just take over; it's very capably done and does what it means to. So, in the end, it really is all right. Suiting up for the "red-headed stepchild" of the first four installments, George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell hit back as Batman and Robin against Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman's Mr Freeze and Poison Ivy. Suiting up, Batman and Robin are up against bad cliches and forced emotional content when Schumacher's era comes to a close. With competent performances turned in from Alicia Silverstone (who, I think, should have sported a British Accent) and O'Donnell, rock solid ones from Thurman and Clooney and unfortunately, a spot on performance from Schwarzenegger, why, then, does this one turn me off? Besides the addition of Batgirl to the Bat Cave (which is, in itself, a weak plot point) the series' momentum, emotionally and literarily, goes nowhere. The plot reads as a "creature of the week" episode with little work done on the mythology. In previous opinions, I've only thought that Clooney is good as Batman alone, but now I'm convinced he does Bruce Wayne justice as well. But Thurman's work on Poison Ivy is beyond brilliant, she steals (whatever is there to steal) the show from her Gotham City entrance (at the costume gala) to her final fight with Batman, Robin and Batgirl. It's a shame, really, that this cast wasn't given more to work with so that the audience feels less robbed. Wisely, Christopher Nolan chose in Batman Begins to reboot the series beginning with Bruce Wayne's childhood tragedy to his rise as The Dark Knight with his defeat of Ra's al Guhl and The League of Shadows. Nolan and David S Goyer's carefully sculpted starting point for the career of Batman and his alter-ego Bruce Wayne teems with an emotional plot that drives forward ensnaring the audience from the start. Production design shifted in the exact polar direction from Batman Forever and Batman & Robin which hardens the edges and gives an air of realism to the Batman Universe allowing the audience to connect to that world, because Batman is feasible, having no super powers of his own. Christian Bale's casting also gives an air of The Everyman, along with the royalty that is Bruce Wayne, giving the audience a relatable protagonist; we hurt when he does, we can feel cocky with him, and relate to his desperation and despair. And Bale's physicality grants him the "street cred" necessary to prove Batman's feasibility. Adding to the realism is a job well-done by the prop department in that all the gadgets and vehicles are designed from current technology. Not only is Batman's casting supreme, but the others are brilliantly done, as well. Michael Caine's Alfred offers a wise and physically capable presence to the series which is slightly more credible than long-standing Michael Gough's. Cilian Murphy, Tom Wilkenson, and Liam Neeson offer very human performances, without overdoing their presence allowing us to connect and showing us the danger of human corruption. Katie Holmes offers a positive and duty-driven presence, which wisely shows Wayne the way toward Batman in Rachel Dawes. Morgan Freeman shows us, in Lucius Fox, a wise and technically and scientifically savvy man who's been waiting for Batman and Bruce Wayne to come to Gotham in order for him to fulfill his destiny. And then, Gary Olman, whose presence adds hope, humility and honesty showing that not all in Gotham is rotten and that good people need Batman's help. The brilliance of the duality of James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer's battling scores presents an emotional support as well as the adrenaline rush driving the fighting spirit behind Batman, battling for dominance over which persona the man will choose. And it's beautiful. Realism drove Batman Begins, but it's hysterical tension that drives The Dark Knight. From the opening scene with The Joker's bank robbery, which the mechanics of the filmmaker's craft is so brilliantly executed, the tension is assisted with absolute class, toward the final monologue delivered with inspiring feeling by Oldman, this film is excellent and outstrips all five predecessors without effort. Dull sorrow which is unending from the final crisis, Rachel Dawes' death and the scarring of Harvey Dent, through the final fight leading to the end aids the audience to realize the real conflict beneath all the action, through to what is really at stake both for Batman and Bruce Wayne. And the agent of that conflict explains himself in what we're made to believe is the climax, but the real climax is yet to come and the face off between the architects comes to the conclusion which gives me goosebumps and stops my breath every time the film concludes without fail. The performer behind the tension is The Dark Knight's crowning jewel, in a performance conspiracy theorists name as the contributing factor leading to his death: Heath Ledger's brilliant, disturbing, honest and completely human take on Batman's arch-rival, The Joker. Unlike the ballistic nature of Nicholson's performance, and the complete lack of a backstory, Ledger's Joker is never out of control. He is Iago; twisting, seducing in manipulation toward an end that turns the foundations of decency topsy-turvey. No one leaves the story untouched by The Joker's reign of terror; in the end, Batman sacrifices his reputation in order to begin the slow climb back to balance the scales, and Bruce Wayne loses the love of his life. But sacrifice is what superheroes do: for their protectants, their cause and for the greater good. This series, along with most superhero stories, inspires its audience to not be complacent with the suffering of a bleak society and to help the helpless. The dangerous man is an indifferent man, and so the role models some look to are superheroes. Superman is dedicated to "truth, justice and the American way." The Boondock Saints destroy all that which is evil, so that which is good may flourish. Daredevil seeks to achieve justice for those whom conventional justice has failed. Superheroes sacrifice their own desires, needs, comforts and, sometimes, their lives to prowl the night helping others. May we be as bold in the daylight, even as "mere" humans, because even if The Nolan Era's Batman is feasible, he's still fictitious and we are alive, here and now. **** IN: Michael Caine Out: Gary Oldman Coming Soon: The Contender

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Batman: Superheroes, Sidekicks and Their Friends

Batman, Iron Man, Superman, The Punisher, The Fantastic Four, Spiderman and Buffy The Vampire Slayer all share the same thing: they fight evil, either alone or in a group. Sky High's Coach Boomer divides his freshman class of super-people into two groups, heroes or side-kicks. Of course, each hero has his choice of who he tells about his hero identity and the private war fought against the seedy underbelly of their city. Some superheroes fight with a tight knit group of "non-super" people who know their secret, keep it, and put their own touch on the hero's operation. I'm going to divide them into five separate groups: superhero, sidekick, secret-keeper, oblivious accomplice and weapons-master. The first group is the easy one: The Superhero. This person is a benevolent fictional character with superhuman abilities. This is the leader of our team, it's his persona that "the bad guy" fears. He sets the tone for the style of the operation and chooses who to fight and how to live outside his superhero personae. It's his choice to include others in the fight and which level his private and public worlds are made aware of the man behind the mask. Some choose to be publicly known, such as Iron Man and The Fantastic Four, while others choose to hide themselves from the public and their family and friends. Most choose the latter to safeguard those who they love, while others keep their public face secret and let a small group know. For instance, initially only one person knows that sixteen-year-old Buffy is The Slayer, her watcher, Giles. Batman is initially this model, too. Alfred is the only one who knows initially knows that Batman's public face is Bruce Wayne, but he eventually lets others into his confidence, building a network of people who are hip to his real mask. Working alongside the superhero is his close associate, but sometimes equally skilled friend and partner, or, as Coach Boomer would call him: "SIDEKICK!!!" This person has different skills to the superhero, but is dedicated to the same goal. His origins have an initially dark past linked with the superhero. Most often, it's someone who's younger and inexperienced, suffering a loss that is caused by a chosen inaction by the hero which devastates their world. They discover, on their own, the public identity of the hero and demand to join the team. Sometimes, however, as is the case with Willow Rosenberg from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it's one of the hero's friends who's gained a skill, leveling the risk taken fighting "the bad guy." Or sometimes, the hero is just incapable of taking on his opposition by himself, such as is the case with War Machine in Iron Man 2. Robin comes from the dark past angle, as his parents and brother are killed by Two Face Harvey Dent because they are trying to stop a terrorist attack by Two Face who's trying to call out Batman. Batgirl, on the other hand, is a skilled fighter and daredevil, who discovers the Batcave on her own and chooses to help Batman and Robin fight Poison Ivy, Bane and Mr. Freeze. She later proposes joining them, to which Batman agrees. Borrowing the term from the Harry Potter Series, The Secret-Keeper is self-defined. These are people who are aware of both sides of a Super-Hero's schizoid personality and choose, sometimes to their peril, to seriously keep the public identity confidential. Whereas sidekicks and weapons-masters can also be secret-keepers, secret-keepers are not always on the front lines. Pepper Potts, Mary-Jane, Lois Lane and Xander Harris are prime examples of those who sometimes are on the front lines but sometimes are made to stay behind while the battle rages. Alfred Pennyworth, Vicki Vale, Chase Meridian and Rachel Dawes are Batman's Secret Keepers who don't fight on the front lines. Richard Grayson, Barbara and Lucius Fox are secret-keepers who are either sidekicks or weapons masters. Although it can also be said that Alfred is a weapons-master also, due to the fact that he is responsible for the kit that Batman, Robin and Batgirl use for four of the six films. Speaking of weapons-masters: this is the person responsible for the weapons, armor and vehicles that the superhero and his sidekick use. JARVIS, with instructions from Tony Stark, is Iron Man's weapons-master. Rupert Giles is Buffy's. Reed Richards does the kit for the Fantastic Four, which mostly consists of their uniforms, but there is a vehicle involved. For the Burton and Schumacher eras, Alfred is Batman's weapons-master, as he fixes, designs and suggests possible armor, vehicles and weapons for Batman, Robin and Batgirl to use. The position is shared in the Nolan Era by Alfred and Lucius Fox, who in The Dark Knight, helps out with Batman's fight against the Joker in the final showdown. Leaving the last one, the oblivious accomplice. This is someone who is aware of, and helps, the superhero but doesn't know his public face as the one behind the mask. This is best exemplified by Jim Gordon of Gotham's Police Force during the Nolan Era. Gordon, during the Nolan Era, is the only clean cop on the force and Batman assists him in bringing in the mob boss of the city. However, he's not aware of who Bruce Wayne plays during his off hours. This is clearly portrayed during the Joker's hospital hostage situation when Bruce saves the Joker's intended target and plays dumb when Gordon checks on him. Superman's Lois Lane personifies this character in Superman, although she eventually figures out that Clark Kent is Superman. As I've said, I like a diverse cast; but, in order for a great cast to happen, good characters must be present. And I'm not just attracted to the bad side of the story, I like seeing well-done "good guys," too. And the Batman series is full of wonderfully fleshed out "good guys." **** Coming Soon: Batman: A Series Analysis

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Batman: The Opposition Part II

Cliched, he may be; flat, he is not: Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze has the beginnings of a sympathetic terrorist, someone Fox's 24 might feature; that is, if he hadn't fallen in a vat of subzero chemicals. His backstory is well documented, and his emotional reasons are well covered and he is, actually, well-portrayed by the former Govenator. Schwarzenegger's inflections and delivery of the campy lines fed to him by the writers were spot on. However, it's hard to emotionally connect in most of the face-offs with law enforcement and our superhero team when all of the lines come off lame. But in between, there are tender moments that any husband might have for his dying wife, and in the end the good man he was resurfaces for a moment when Batman finally gets through to him. In addition, despite having two women throw themselves at him, he's fiercely devoted to his wife. Everything about him, including his motives, are pure human, so it's easy to engage in his story. As a foil to Batman, however, he brings little to the table, as he's just the "creature of the week." Everyone seems to pass up on Antonio Diego, aka Bane, mostly because he is a beast in the end. But his backstory is covered: a death row convict, he's the subject of dangerous human testing and turned into something less than human. He's adopted by Poison Ivy and serves as her sidekick and enforcer. We can't relate to him because he's a robot and has no emotions. His strength is the only thing he has, and there's no reasons behind his poundings. Despite Uma Thurman's brilliant, sexy, and unforgettable portrayal of Poison Ivy and her highly nerdy alter-ego, Dr. Pamela Isley, her character comes off "over-the-top" like Mr. Freeze, The Penguin and Tim Burton's Joker. Poison Ivy's Gotham City entrance is one of my favorites in the series as it displays everything she is: seductive, theatrical and irresistible. The character is little else, except perhaps homicidal, leaving everything up to her "charms." But there's nothing truly human about her, so can we relate to her? Maybe not. To her credit, she is a proper threat to Batman & Robin: she incites discord between the partners, nearly separating them, driving a hole in the armor of Gotham's protective shield, giving room for the city to fall. Liam Neeson's Ra's al Ghul, however, is a perfect foil. As head of a cult of extreme vigilantes, he is an uncompromising zealot whose ideals are his life. His past is fleshed out when Bruce Wayne believes he's recruiter Henri Ducard: his path was decided when his wife was murdered. He's without compassion; without emotional sway, doing anything to ensure his goal. He's not without morals: having a choice to choose the principles of right and wrong. He chooses to only see his ideals, as if brainwashed; except that he's the brainwasher. And when Bruce chooses compassion and honor, Ra's is blind to all other explanations and beliefs. His League of Shadows is a blind jihad alone with no charity or mercy. And justice, mercy, compassion and honor is what makes Batman and Bruce Wayne heroes. Ra's al Ghul is the picture of what Batman could have been, had the honorability of his alter-ego, Bruce Wayne, failed to intervene. Another brilliantly portrayed, over-dramatic, inappropriate foil is Dr Crane's Scarecrow (Cilian Murphy). Clearly an attempt to homage a part of the comic book's overly bizarre attributes, Dr Crane is a scientist whose only interest is pleasing his client, Ra's al Ghul. He does his work and creates the weaponized form of the toxin spread through the city, but there's little humanity in him and his reasons for complicity are unclear. As a threat, he's only physically and chemically capable of stopping Batman, and, by proxy, Wayne himself. Nolan's Two-Face is contrastingly polar to Schumacher's. Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent is created by Lieutenant (and later Commissioner) Gordon, Batman and Bruce Wayne to be Gotham's White Knight, placing him on such a high pedestal that he becomes vulnerable. And the Joker exploits his celebrity status, arranging a no-win situation in which Batman must save Dent instead of Rachel, creating the monster that is Two-Face. Her death destroys his faith in justice; he becomes a believer in absolutes, in black and white morality, with no mercy. And his motives are human, unlike Schumacher's: he's grieving and has lost his faith, something that happens to real people all the time. His story is emotionally strong; we grieve that he loses her, but his downfall is inevitable because brightness is impossible in Gotham City. And he's operating under the radar, just like Batman; so, when Batman finally does fight him, he's reluctant to finish him. This one's a worthy adversary for Batman in all respects. And onto my favorite: Nolan's Joker. Perhaps the most iconic comic book villain in recent cinematic history. His backstory is purposely inconsistent, always beginning with "do you want to know how I got these scars?" and changing with each iteration. His devotion to chaos is beyond radical; he's a zealot for chaos and will do anything to practice his faith. He says himself that he's not a planner, he just rolls with it. The madness that is our social climate after the 9/11 attacks makes us Americans understand The Joker's extremism better than if this film was made before then. The late Heath Ledger comprehensively develops this with such power, swagger and complexity that it is crystal clear what Nolan's Joker is all about. And because he's someone so devoted to chaos, and Batman with Bruce Wayne is so organized and careful and devoted to justice and honor, he's the perfect foil; better than the rest, all the rest. For me; a film doesn't work unless the development of the villain is done with care, thought, and is worthy of the hero's efforts. Nolan's The Dark Knight has done that comprehensively and Aaron Eckart and Heath Ledger put the fullness of their craft behind Two-Face Harvey Dent and The Joker. Which is why the film works so well and why I'm caught up in the story and emotionally connected with all the characters and I get goosebumps every time I see it. **** Coming Soon: Superheroes, Sidekicks and their Friends

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Batman: The Opposition

When I’m watching a movie, I like to look at more than just the fair looks of the faces on the screen. Nor do I consider much the explosions, car chases or the hot romances between the lead man and gal. In fact, I look for the writing, the emotion and the character development. And for the work involved in bringing the humanity of the character to screen. In fact, I have a list of actors, and actresses, I follow: I call them my “boys” and I usually love anything they do. And some are on the cast list for Batman: Christopher Walken (Max Schrek), Michelle Pfiffer (Catwoman), Val Kilmer (BF: Batman), Tommy Lee Jones (Schumacher’s Two-Face), George Clooney (B&R: Batman), Uma Thurman (Poison Ivy), Christian Bale (Nolan’s Batman), Michael Caine (Nolan’s Alfred), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), Liam Neeson (Ras Al Guhl), Cilian Murphy (Scarecrow), Gary Oldman (Nolan’s Jim Gordon), Maggie Gyllenhal (The Dark Knight’s Rachel Dawes), the late Heath Ledger (Nolan’s Joker) and Aaron Eckhart (Nolan’s Two Face). As far as characters go for Superhero movies, I look not to the hero, but to his opposition to measure the believability of the characters. Tim Burton’s Batman features the first incarnation of the iconic character, The Joker. With the trademark purple suit, insane smile, green hair and pale face, Jack Nicholson’s menacing performance puts a ballistic foil to Michael Keatons cerebral Batman and Bruce Wayne, but the balance is a bit over the top and leans in The Joker’s favor. In fact, little development for Batman actually occurs, as the focus seems to be in arching in the development of The Joker from his alter-ego Jack Napier to his downfall at the hands of Batman. When this lack of development for both sides of the good and evil line tips the balance for the one side, the villain becomes less developed and loses his connection with the audience, creating a sort of “creature-of-the-week” feel which dehumanizes both the hero and the villain, tearing us out of the emotional connection we’re supposed to have with both sides. Oh yes; we’re supposed to be empathetic to the villain’s side. We’re supposed to feel for them; and because we should, the writers need to make something about them redeemable. However, for Burton’s Joker, and his alter-ego Jack Napier, there’s nothing to redeem him, so he’s 100% evil and not human, so we cannot connect and the realism is lost because the character strength leans toward the character less human. The Bestial characters don’t stop with Burton’s Joker; in fact, it continues during the Burton Era with The Penguin, portrayed with power by Danny DeVito. His alter-ego, Oswald Cobblepotts, was born deformed and was abandoned by his blue blood parents before the end of his childhood. Thus, his appearance is grotesque and his development even less human than his predecessor and in stark contrast to his co-villains, Max Shreck and Catwoman. Because of this grotesqueness of character, personality and design, there bears little for Batman to win overall. He simply has no redeeming features, nothing for Batman to compare to really. On the other hand, Catwoman seems to have it all, sympathy for her alter-ego Selina Kyle from the beginning of the film. She’s a hard-working assistant who’s boss thinks very little of her. In fact, he’s borderline abusive to her. However, when she figures out he’s hiding a terrible secret about his proposed project, he simply kills her, allowing her to be fed upon by Gotham City’s feral cat population, transforming her into Catwoman, destroying the mousy woman she was and empowering her to a more confidant woman: somebody I, as a woman, can relate to somewhat. Her introduction to both sides of the fence is absolutely delicious, Michelle Pfieffer And she might not fit into the “villain” category at all, at it seems that she switches sides and fights alongside Batman for a while, giving her eighth of nine lives to end the corruption that is brought to Gotham City by Max Shreck. And Christopher Walken’s Max Shreck, the first of two opponents to Batman’s alter ego Bruce Wayne, is human with nothing super about him. He’s just a man. However, he’s what Bruce might have turned into, had he refrained from becoming Batman. Whereas he is cold, cruel and homicidal, He has something the Burton’s Joker and the Penguin don’t, empathetic characteristics. It really only the one thing: he loves his son and would do anything to keep him safe, including surrendering to The Penguin toward the end. He’s well written, well performed and well done. And to the colorful characters of the Schumacher era, beginning with Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face Harvey Dent, Gotham’s former District Attorney, portrayed briefly in Tim Burton’s Batman by Billy Dee Williams (of Star Wars fame). In Batman Forever, Dent is deformed during a trial when someone threw boiling acid in his face. His mercurial moods as he fluctuates between his two sides leaves little room to connect emotionally because he’s either menacingly calm or insanely ballistic. His only goal is to kill Batman, with no human cause to back up his criminal enterprises and nothing to make him love-able, besides his portrayer, Tommy Lee Jones. Val Kilmer’s Batman is haunted and developed, a credit to Kilmer’s preparations, but Two-Face is just that: two zones. Not an appropriate foil at all. The second opponent to Bruce Wayne comes in the form of Jim Carrey’s The Riddler. His alter-ego, Edward Nygma, is a hard-working, but strange man who’s not-so-subtle attraction to Wayne causes him to obsess over pleasing him. And when Wayne shuts him down, he cracks. This leads to him stalking Wayne, leaving riddles wherever Wayne can be found; finally teaming up with Two Face in order to gain the capital to outshine him. Eventually, he does and becomes an intellectual powerhouse, calling himself The Riddler. And they become a deadly pair, with Two Face’s soullessness and The Riddler’s intellect, becoming nearly impossible to beat; which is why Batman needs Robin, in the end. His initial intellect is rivaled only by Bruce Wayne, but grows beyond the starting point. So that, in the end, it’s the Riddler that adds the last push in a unit capable of stopping both Bruce Wayne and Batman, due to the fact his fight is personal. **** Coming Soon: The Opposition Part II