Not Just The Coolest. Not Just The Best ...

That's right, this blog is Just. In. Credible.

Man, I am hyped up from watching today's ECW One Night Stand PPV. Yep, pro wrestling, dudes fighting it out in no holds barred death matches with tables, ladders, and a wee bit of barbed wire like it was 1997 all over again. If you're a red-blooded American male, ya gotta love it. If you're reading this and thinking "man who watches that crap?" then look at yourself and ask "do I watch shows including but not limited to: Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, Dancing With the Stars, Fear Factor, or One Tree Hill?" See my point? It's the guys who are watching reruns of Friends and voting for American Idol that I'd be worried about.

Anyways why am I defending myself. Awesome show and kudos to all involved. It gets a solid A from me and it will be interesting to see if this triggers any kind of revival of ECW, or at the least makes some of the other promotions, namely the WWE (who actually put on this show and own the rights to ECW) reconsider the type of product that they currently present. As this show reminded everyone, ECW is not just about spectacle and violence but heart, soul, intensity, and passion. EC-Dub, EC-Dub, EC-Dub!

So .......

MY WEEKEND:

Since I'm currently in a rebellious, anti-establishment mood yer gonna get the extreeeeme version of Danny B for the remainder of this blog entry. Just warning you.

So this weekend I went to see MR. AND MRS. SMITH on Friday at the Sherman Oaks Galleria. Decent movie though slightly below the level of what I was expecting. I guess I was hoping for a bit more James Bond and a little less When Harry Met Sally, if ya know what I mean. But again some good dialougue, a hefty dose of action, and some good character moments. But lack of plot and an uneven pace made this less of a summer blockbuster as it was hyped to be and more of a "meh" movie that is solidly in the lower to mid B range. Clever, but a little too clever for it's own good. Jolie and Pitt were both good with what they were given, and dayum if Angelina doesn't know how to handle some heavy artillery, but a movie like this needs a good villain and some sweet supporting characters, which were two elements sorely lacking, though Vince Vaughn tried his best to add something to the movie. Anyways, don't rush out to see this, but at the same time, worth checking out if you have the time and $$$. My grade: B

Saturday I (contain your excitement) cleaned my apartment and then stopped by Paul Lurie's place before he heads off to USY on Wheels (same trip my brother Matt is going on). While there I caught a screener DVD of STELLA, the new trippy sitcom from the guys behind THE STATE And WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER. Some hilarious stuff, even if some of the gags were old hat for these guys, and some of the stuff was a little TOO out there even for them. Still, funnier than almost anything else on TV and definitely worth checking out for fans of absurd, irreverent, crazy comedy, of which these guys are the masters.

TOMORROW:

(Conan the Barbarian voice on) Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Ticketbox ... AGAIYNNNNNN!?!?!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

And it's getting closer ...

BATMAN BEGINS THIS WEEK -

Got my tix reserved for the IMAX showing at Universal on Wed. Can't wait. A lot of interesting stuff being written about Batman lately, such as a great look at the evolution of the character in today's LA Times' Book Review, written by Max Allan Collins, who dabbled as a Batman writer in the 80's and went on to create Road to Perdition, which became a huge movie with Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, and Jude Law. Just as I did last week, Collins contrasts the colorful and relatively simplistic creation of Bob Kane with the brooding, serious, and gritty Batman as written by Frank Miller in Year One, which would forever change the character. And to show you that Batman is just about as extreme as they come in recent years, I present to you the darkest, sickest things that have happened to the character in his modern continuity:

BATMAN'S MOST EXTREME MOMENTS:

7.) SPOILER DIES (Batman: Wargames) - Batman has bad luck with Robins. The most recent example is the teenaged girl hero Spoiler, aka Stephanie Brown, who for a brief while became the new Robin when her predecessor, Tim Drake, had some disagreements with Batman. But soon after she put on the green and red tights, she got offed in gruesome faction by the villainous Black Mask, who was in the midst of a plan to become Gotham's new criminal kingpin.

6.) BATMAN SLEEPS WITH THE ENEMY -- AND HAS A SON?!?! (Batman: Birth of the Demon). In the new movie you'll see Ra's Al Ghul, but wo you might not see is his beautiful but deadly daughter, Talia, in the comics forever torn between love of her father and love of "The Detective," aka Batman. Well in one instance, Batman finally succumbs to his passions and does it with the demon, er, well his daughter at least. And then the twist - at the end of the story it is nine months later and Talia has a baby boy! So wait, Bats is a daddy? According to DC Comics editors this story is now considered out of continuity, but for a while there it looked like Batman had a little Batman out there wondering who his true father was.

5.) BATMAN TAKES OUT THE ENTIRE JUSTICE LEAGUE?! (JLA: Tower of Babel) Turns out that Batman is a pretty paranoid guy. So paranoid that he designed ways to take out all of his super friends if they should ever go bad. But when Ra's Al Ghul steals those secret protocols from Batman's files, the villain uses Batman's own darkly efficient methods to destroy Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and the rest of the JLA, and it was all Batman's fault. Let's just say that those heroes hadsome trust issues with Bruce Wayne after that episode.

4.) THE JOKER SHOOTS COMMISIONER GORDON'S WIFE IN COLD BLOOD (Batman: NO MAN'S LAND) - The Commish is a tortured soul. In fighting his own war on crime he's lost just as much as Batman himself. His wife left him, his daughter was paralyzed ... and then just as he found happiness with his new wife, Sarah Essen, the Joker comes along and offs her, as the hellish No Man's Land saga reaches its conclusion. After the deed is done, Gordon confronts the Joker and points a gun to his head. "I won't stop you" says Batman. But Gordon, quivering, simply shoots Joker in the kneecap and says "No. We do this by the book." and lets the cops take him away. Now THAT'S a cop for ya.

3.) THE JOKER CRIPPLES BATGIRL (Batman: The Killing Joke) - Batgirl, aka Barbara Gordon, was a pop cultural icon. But in one grotesque act of violence, The Joker barged into apartment of the dominoed crimefighter and shot her in the abdomen, paralyzing her from the waste down. Today Barbara Gordon is still haunted by that fateful day, but continues to fight crime, though wheelchair bound, as the information broker to the heroes, now known as Oracle.

2.) ROBIN DIES - (Batman: A Death in the Family) Back in 1988, fans weren't exactly enamored with Jason Todd, the second Robin, who replaced Dick Grayson, the original, after he took on a new identity as Nightwing. DC then set up Todd for a hell of a fall, as they penned a story where, after a search for his true parentage, Jason went toe to toe with the Joker. So the penultmiate issue of the story ends with Jason, badly beaten by the Joker, trapped in a building full of explosives. Would he live or die? DC left it up to the fans, who could actually call a 1-900 number to vote whether Jason lived or died. And they actually voted, by a small margin, for him to DIE. So next issue Batman arrives on the scene too late, only to find the lifeless body of Robin amongst the wreckage. At that point Batman vowed to kill the Joker, but the insanely evil clown eluded capture in what would be the first of many narrow escapes from Batman's wrath.

1.) BATMAN BEATS SUPERMAN - (Batman: Dark Knight Returns) - So how does a regular guy with some martial arts skills and cool gadgets take on an all powerful kryptonian who can fly, lift twenty tons, and is invulnerable? Read the classic Dark Knight Returns to find out. Ya see, in this dystopian future, Superman has become a puppet of the corrupt US government, and Batman has called him outfor an all out, to the death battle. Sporting a mechanized suit of armor, Kryptonite-laced gloves, and an array of other weapons at his disposal, Batman pummels Superman while taking the beating of his life. The tide changes when A trategically fired kryptonite arrow opens up things for Batman to really open up. Though it almost kills him, Batman has done the impossible - kicked Superman's ass. "I want you to remember, Clark." he thinks. "To remember the name of the man who beat you." Hardcore.

Alright, must get sleep for ticketbox tommorow. Oh man that is gonna succccccccck. Tommorow regular nice guy Danny returns. For now, I say if you want some, come n' get some.