Musing the First: Apparently I’ve built up enough endurance in my exercise routine that my bike wears out before I do. I noticed today a burning smell at about the 18-mile mark, and when I was done with my workout I noticed the pedal and chain mechanism was hot to the touch. Maybe it needs some bike grease or oil or something… but the mechanism is sealed and inaccessible. Ah, joy. One more expense I don’t need.
Musing the Second: I feel like every week in which the Virtual Console sees a batch of import games that aren’t Dracula X is an intense, vicious personal assault. Like if Kiera Knightley were to walk up to you, lean in slowly for a kiss and then suddenly ram her knee into your unmentionables. Fortunately, the eye-watering pain is somewhat abated by the fact that one of this week’s selections, the snicker-worthily-named Gleylancer, normally sells for very nearly as much as Dracula X. If they’ll give us Boomerang Cotton and Pulseman, I’ll think about forgiving them for the lack of faux-16-bit Castlevania delightfulness. Maybe.
Musing the Second, Addendum: Weekly release columns took a break for E3, but they shall return tomorrow morning. Oh yes! There is no escape.
Musing the Third: Formula for a fantastic day of recovery from E3: One bowl oyako donburi, hold the onions; one taiyaki, chocolate; one noon showing of The Dark Knight.
It was a good movie, with lots of nice touches. I particularly appreciate the, ah, fluidity of the Joker’s origins — very few people understand that sometimes it’s better to leave a bit of mystique about a character, and it’s nice that Christopher Nolan didn’t succumb to the temptation to give us a Baby Anakin moment. And while I’m generally averse to the trend of cramming multiple villains into a single superhero movie, the hospital scene is the one time in any flick of this genre that two major villains have ever shared screen time without it seeming farcically stupid. So good on that. Despite the general quality of the production, I still left the theatre a bit unsatisfied — I think because The Dark Knight fills a role very much like The Empire Strikes Back. It’s bigger, darker, more complex, more nuanced than its admittedly excellent predecessor, and while the story is almost entire self-contained it won’t feel quite resolved until you can see where some of its not-entirely-tied-up plot threads go. Though I do hope the third film, which hopefully will not be called The Caped Crusader, is better than Return of the Jedi.
Musing the Third, Post Script: My one regret about the movie is that it’s so far distanced from Tim Burton’s films. The world has been robbed of a Prince song called “Y (R U) So Serious?” as a result!
(Image grabbed from HG101.)
I didn’t feel that The Dark Knight left too many unfinished business as it just established how the world will forever see the Batman as an outcast (an how Bruce is willing to ruin both his Wayne image as well as his Batman image in the name of giving hope to the city). Sure, they could (and probably will) go for a third one, though I cannot think of ways to top this one. Of course, I have zero creativity and that’s why I don’t do movies, but if you ask me, I would leave this franchise as a two-part story. No need to milk and ruin something this good.
Dark Knight… In August… Gah… :P Also, I agree with everything you say about Dracula X. :P I’m kind of wondering if they’re holding off on releasing it until the holiday season (maybe with Castlevania the fighting game and the new Castlevania DS title?)
tee hee
Return of the Jedi jab
tee hee
You can actually access the wheelybits of your exercise bike — that black plastic shell can be taken apart by simply unscrewing the screws hidden in tiny holes along the shell’s perimeter. At least, I *think* that’s how I did it…
I too would also love to see Dracula X on VC soon, along with Shining Force 2 on the Genesis.
And The Dark Knight was fantastic. I thought the Joker was played to perfection, and although the ending was left a little more ambiguous than I would have liked, I still enjoyed the storyline quite a bit more than Batman Begins – which was still a good movie.
And here I thought Iron Man was going to be my favorite movie of the summer.
Unlike refined oil that goes in cars, oil suitable for bikes is quite reasonably priced and has enough to set you right for a few months.
Also:
“I feel like every week in which the Virtual Console sees a batch of import games that aren’t Dracula X is an intense, vicious personal assault.”
Taking the actions or lack thereof of corporate entities personally? You’ve become everything you hate.
only communists hate return of the jedi
I want that fake Prince song so bad.
What?! No Prince Soundtrack?! Now what am I supposed to throw at the Zombies when they come after me? :( AM SAD!
I have to be one of the few souls who has yet to see the Dark Knight.
While I agree about the lack of Dracula X, Gley Lancer is one of the games I dreamed of when the service was first announced. Being able to legally own one of the most expensive and desirable classic imports for a mere pittance is very satisfying.
That sort of reminds me: I need to log in to the Japanese PSN and set up an account there, so I can get Rakugaki Showtime.
The Caped Crusader? Gome on, we all know that the third movie is going to be called “The Dynamic Duo”.
That’s a really nice piece of pixel art. I think my ideal game would have the aesthetics of an early 90s TG-16 game. I miss the chubby, cute style of ’80s and early ’90s anime a lot.
How old is your bike? Can you call the manufacturer and ask them the best way to open up the carriage? It might not be a grease issue if the pedals are not locking up, so you might want to ask the manufacturer or some exercise equipment shop about the matter.
I thought that Dark Knight felt a lot like The Empire Strikes Back. I have a vision in my mind of a third movie with the Mad Hatter as the central villain. The use of mind control and “sleeper cell” agents could be potentially very poignant and scary. I also like the idea of putting the Riddler into the next movie, but as a “neutral” detective in the mold of the more recent Batman comics.
I had a good laugh when I got back to my car and was greeted with a remix of Daft Punk’s “Face to Face” when I turned the ignition.
my main problem with the dark knight was that one ugly girl, but they took care of that i guess. unfortunately the fact that she was so unattractive both physically and personally made me not believe that the other characters could all be infatuated with her. she looks like a melting baby, but also like a grandma.
anyway, i still prefer michael keaton as batma, maybe because his gravely voice isn’t so comically forced.
in a way, i feel this installment wasn’t about batman per se. he’s a constand and a set piece for all the villainy that goes on around him and the city. he wasn’t in that much of the movie, really.
lastly, i was annoyed at scarecrow being there at the beginning. last movie – enslave the whole town. this movie – show up in a van with two dudes to do “something” shady. lame.
@brandon: What a masterful post. Hee, melting baby…