East of Eden (1955)

East of Eden is a film directed by Elia Kazan in 1955, loosely based on the novel of the same name which was released in 1952 by John Steinbeck. It stars James Dean in his first significant role, and he really is the star of the show. Unfortunately he died in September of 1955.

Apperantly, Dean himself was a dislikable character. Marlon Brando was considered before Dean, when screenwriter Paul Osborn found James acting on Broadway. Kazan was unimpressed with Dean as an actor, but later admitted that he thought Dean was perfect for the role, that Cal, the character in the movie, and James Dean shared similar emotional traits. Now that's prudence for you. The kid's an asshole, he's hard to get along with, his acting methods are amateurish. However he's great for the part, he IS the part, he IS that character, he GETS the part.

The plot: Two sons, Cal (James Dean) and Aron (Richard Davalos) live with there father Adam Trask (Raymond Massey) on a ranch near the central California coastal town of Selinas. Their mother apparently had left when they were born. Cal finds out thay his mother is alive and runs a successful brothel close by. He goes to see her and discovers that he shares most of his traits with her. His mother asks about his brother Aron, Cal tells her "Oh he's good, not like you", she howls with laughter. Cal is a wild person. He's constantly likened to an animal. He's an outsider. He longs for his father's affections but never gets any. Aron on the other hand is the insider, he's loved and prased by his father but he loves his brother Cal, whereas Cal only holds resentment for Aron. Adam Trask looses most of his fortune in a failed refrigeration business. His aim was not to make a profit, but find a way to preserve vegetables and do some good for the human race. What a good guy. Cal tries to start a business which would profit from World War 1 breaking out. His plan was to give his father back the money that the ice business lost. His father rejects the money as it's war profiteering. As a result, Cal looses the plot and all hell breaks loose within the family.

I liked this movie. It's got many lessons and what not, for young troubled men trying to find thier place in the world. Ya it's soppy stuff, but I'll go deeper into it. All Cal is lookin for is love. He doesn't feel loved and that turns him into a cruel and nasty person. His father is this highly moralled man with principles, but he sticks to his "right principles" so much so that he himself is emotionless. The father does what is right by the book, but doesn't follow his own conscience in a way which leaves Cal frustrated. Cal is the most honest minded person in the movie. He doesn't believe what he hears from his father about his mother dying and he goes out to find her. Cal is just trying to get a sense of himself, of where he comes from, and why he is the way he is.

I'll say that this is a good movie, but not great. The ending could have been alot better for the way it was set-up. It seemed a bit twisted to me in the end. Like things shouldn't have turnes out the way they did. I'm not asking for a happy ending, but I think they could've done better. That might have gone against the book though which I haven't read so can't comment on. It was a great debut however by James Dean.

Batman: The Movie (1966)

This film is hilarious. There's nothing serious about it. Just pure entertainment. No real violence. Just a few wacky gadgets, great dialogue and crazy characters. No mental diorders, split personalities, repressed childhood anger, fixations with revenge. Just a guy and his friend who like to dress up in costumes and beat up bad guys. "OOOooohh the plot line is terrible". Who gives a damn.


Batman (Adam West) and Robin(Burt Ward) are called to an emergency situation out at sea. It's a hoax, and while The Caped Crusader and The Boy Wonder tangle with an exploding shark, Commodore Schmidlapp has been captured by the four deadliest super criminals on the planet: The Penguin, the Riddler, Catwoman and the Joker. Batman and Robin's detective work is the best: Batman "Pretty fishy what happened to me on that ladder" Gordon "You mean, where there's a fish, there could be a Penguin" Robin "But wait! It happened at sea! See? "C" for Catwoman!" Batman "Yet... an exploding shark was pulling my leg!" Gordon "The Joker!" O'Hara "It all adds up to a sinister riddle. Riddle.....er. Riddler?" Detective work at it's finest. I thought it was funny anyway.


I'm guessing this thinking back, but I think that they captured Commodore Schmidlapp to obtain some kind of new technology which they use to build a Dehydration Gun. The gun sucks all the fluid out of a person, turning the person into powder, and then they can rehydrate the person at will. The criminals plan on using this device to capture the heads of the United Nations, and ultimately take over the world. And of course it's down to the Dynamic Duo to save the day. I don't know bout anyone else but I think that is a GREAT plot.


Classic quotes: "Confound it....the batteries are dead!", "It was noble the way that animal threw itself infront of that torpedo to save our lives", "Bon voyage little pussy". Robin "Where's that elavator going" Batman "Downstairs obviously...", "Hand down the shark repellent Batspray", "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb"

Batman Returns (1992)

Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito and Christopher Walken star in Batman Returns. The film has alot of qualities: great characters, great set design(I don't care about Danny DeVito knocking over the fake gravestone), great dialogue, and penguins with missiles strapped to their backs. It's the best of what I've seen of the current crop of remakes going back to Batman(1989). The original Batman with Adam West, made in 1966 i think, beats all other remakes hands down for me for shear entertainment, but Returns comes a close second.


Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman is excellent. Sure the bit about how she becomes Catwoman is not that well thought out. She's pushed out of a building and falls to her death, cats lick her face and she comes back to life as a mean superbitch. Could happen. But i really liked the character. And the amazing outfit. She's after revenge. Kill Max Shrek. A "Die for a die" as she calls it. She's caught between two truths, two sides to her personality, the way way in which Bruce Wayne has diffulculty in reconsiling Batman and Himself. She'd like to be her old, bookish self again while at the same time she's hell bent on revenge.


I liked Michael Keaton's portrayal of the Dark Knight. Val Kilmner and Christain Bale don't come close in their attempts I think. Danny DeVito steals the show for me. You even forget the fact that it's him playing the role. He's hilarious in some scenes. "I'd like to show her my french flapping trick". After being pelted at a press conference: "Who brings tomatoes and eggs to a press conference?" He's thrown into the sewers as a baby because he was so ugly, he's raised by penguins, gains the public's affection, becomes mayor, public find out his evil plans, he returns to the sewers and decides to pay em all back by killing their first borns. What a character. Batman Returns is awesome.