okay, i just watched the opening scene again and Crane doesn't necessarily look as if he's helping the fake!Bats. he doesn't nod like i thought he had. he just says, "not my diagnosis" after Bats says he "doesn't need help". so i'm still completely stumped.

I think that with Nolan movies, plot comes first and theme gets layered on second, and the result in TDK was that the themes were often incoherent, internally contradictory, and expressed in dialogue/speeches/narration.

Wow, really? I trust Nolan with themes and concepts. And to be fair, up until this movie I trusted him with plot too, but I think the concepts interest him more than the details. I need to see TDK again... there's a lot of plot stuff I suspect I'll be disappointed by, but my impression was that the plot was sacrificed for the sake of the ideas.

And I'm okay with that to an extent because, as with Batman Begins, I did totally groove on the themes. But that means seeing it again will make a bit angry about the not-making-sense bits. Unless, y'know, it does. I'd love it if it all makes more sense on a second viewing. It just didn't feel like it would.

Er, anyway, I am totally on board with the complaint that the "What nickname did y'all have for me?" scene in the hospital came way, way, way too late to feel anything but clunky.

And re some of the other whitefont above: I do think some of the more horrific events were excised to get a PG-13. I also think some of it was deliberate, but... yeah. I am sorta anticipating a director's cut "with bonus gore!" eventually.

Wow, really? I trust Nolan with themes and concepts.

Yeah, I completely agree. I think all his movies are very thematically strong. But I also think they're very strong in plot as well. Although, okay, maybe the Batman movies are a little more focused on theme than plot, as you note.

I'm looking for Angie Dickinson.

Any of the LAistas have any idea where I might find that info?

Not an LAista, but IMDb has a category for Contact Info. Unfortunately, you need to have IMDbPro to access, and I don't.

Did we know Rose McGowan was starring in a Red Sonja remake directed by Robert Rodriguez?

edit: click through to the end for more pictures that make the Watchmen movie look like it's going to be spot-on.

Like any right-minded cheapskate, whenever there is a weekend preview for one of the movie channels, we TiVo all the movies for later viewing. This led to a HUGE MISTAKE. We watched "The Black Dahlia" last night and it was OMG so bad. Josh Hartnett seesm like he should be a movie star, with the heroic looks and the perfect body, but he is just so not interesting to watch. Scarlett J. seemed to be floundering--although she has the right body for '40s underwear. And let us not speak of Hilary Swank as an overly-arch Femme Fatale. shudders at the recollection

The DH pointed out that is was one of those films where every single choice was the most obvious one. Like, if you go to a rich person's house, classical music will be playing. And not just any classical music, "Pachelbel's Canon."

My brain is fried and I have a dropdeadline in 1/2 hour. Can anyone think of a recent (2004-) American remake of a French film?

edit: wait, no.

does 2009 count?

I can think of several, but none recent.