I think so, Jesse, but I'll let the experts give the details. Because I remember earlier, people had mentioned Henri Ducard as a specific character all his own.

Even on IMDB, they are listed as two separate characters. All I remembered was the Ra's from the cartoon (where it was pronounced "Raish", which kept throwing me off too), and I was pretty sure he wasn't some Irishman.

That's why it's a twist.

Yeah, the Henri Ducard IS Ra's Al Ghul! thing is different from the comics, but I still thought it worked pretty well.

I won't post my long-ass, gushing review here, just the link to my LJ entry, should anyone care to read it.

Alexis Bledel, so very not.

Agreed.

All this whitefont is tempting. I should avoid Movies until I see Batman, huh?

Oh yeah, I dug the twist. I'm glad they did the thing with IMDB, because they are so often the reason for unintentional spoilers.

From icv2.com:

Variety is reporting that Seed Productions, a new production company formed by actor Hugh Jackman and John Palermo, has agreed to a "first look" deal with Twentieth Century Fox. According to Variety a key element of the deal calls for the new company to produce a David Benioff-scripted Wolverine movie, with Jackman starring in the title role, as soon as shooting on X-3 ends. Jackman and Palermo will produce the Wolverine film (see "Hugh Jackman Involved in the Production of X-3, Wolvie"), along with Lauren Shuler Donner and Avi Arad. Benioff is expected to turn in his first draft of a Wolverine script very shortly (see "Troy Scribe to Pen Wolverine Movie").

According to Variety Jackman was involved in the behind-the-camera drama when director Matthew Vaughn left X3 shortly before filming was to begin. Jackman told the trade, "It got to be a roller-coaster ride there, but I wasn't worried because the script is so strong. Matthew had his reasons, but he helped make the movie better before he left. Brett has come in with a lot of enthusiasm and a full understanding of the franchise. It has been a real learning curve, as has been putting together the script on Wolverine. That project (Wolverine) is a good start for me as producer, because I have intimate knowledge of the character."

The London Times reviews my buddy Scott's book Hick Flicks.

I discovered a really stupid review of Batman:

After much unnecessary padding and delay, the film settles down to its central story line, which turns out to be a thinly veiled and thoroughly trivialized reworking of 9/11.

Uh...what? Oh, wait:

Their plan even involves hurtling a very large engine of death at a skyscraper that is the symbolic heart of the city. Sound familiar?

Did he forget the part where the point of that plan had nothing to do with the engine of death or the symbolic heart of the city and everything to do with the microwave whatsamawhozit and the water mains underneath Wayne Enterprises? For fuck's sake. Everything is not about fucking 9/11. Except War of the Worlds, because Spielberg said so.

I think it's perfectly valid to read that in as a symbolic image even though it's not the overt focus of the plot. Symbolism is kind of big WRT Bats, after all.