Two Batman films – 1966 and 2022

I recently watched the newest Batman film (2022) and the earliest one (1966). (There were two serials in the 1940s.)

The Batman (2022) reminded me of the Christopher Nolan Batman films – dark and gloomy. No sunshine and lots of rain. It left lots of room for a sequel. My favorite scene was a confrontation in jail between Batman and the Riddler – no CGI or action, just fine acting.

The 1966 Batman: The Movie was released in-between seasons one and two of the TV show which was very popular but only briefly. It was even on twice a week. I had never bought superhero comics but I did after watching the show.

It’s much lighter than any of the subsequent Batman films. It’s just good, clean, campy 1960s fun. The villains are especially outrageous.

We had a black and white TV back then so this was the first time I had seen Batman, Robin and the villains in color (and except for Batman, the colors are very bright). The supplements on the Blu-ray have interviews worth seeing.

In this scene, Batman is bitten by a shark while from a helicopter. Robin has to leave the copter to give him the anti-shark spray. Who’s flying the helicopter while Robin is on the ladder? They don’t answer that.

High inflation is not just in the US

Many are quick to blame Biden but look at other countries.

https://twitter.com/imillhiser/status/1528840131121229829?s=20&t=1GPe0-Pe2TGgbXa5XbeSdg

Covers: Gimme Shelter

“Gimme Shelter” (1969) is my favorite Rolling Stones song. It’s one of the best rock songs ever. It’s the first track on one of their best albums, Let It Bleed. Merry Clayton sang on the record with them. Playing for Change covered it.

“Gimme Shelter” was recorded during a time of extreme stress and unrest. In 1968, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. The war in Viet Nam was unpopular. There were other songs in 1969 that were grim – “Bad Moon Rising: by Creedence Clearwater Revival and “Look Out Cleveland” by the Band both warned of weather disturbances.

Documentary about actress Louise Brooks on YouTube

Start with Pandora’s Box (1929) a great silent film in which she plays Lulu. It would certainly be on my list of top ten silent films. The great Criterion Collection two-disc DVD version is out of print. I posted a link to a version on YouTube. I assume it’s in the public domain by now.

She wrote a book that was published in 1982. I also added the review from the New York Times.

Another media failure on reporting on gun bills

The reason gun control bills haven’t passed and anything that passes now will be very limited is Republicans. The Post article doesn’t mention Republicans until the fifth paragraph.

Here’s another one. Why won’t these bills pass in the Senate? Republicans! The article states that but the tweet should, too.

Republican hypocrisy on states rights

This applies to guns, too. The Supreme Court is likely to make it easier to carry guns in an upcoming decision on a New York law. They are getting their right-wing Supreme Court to do the work they can’t get done in a Congress where they are the minority.

DeSantis’s terrible attacks if he doesn’t like their views

This started with his attack on Disney World.

Kevin Brownlow’s Hollywood

Kevin Brownlow‘ and David Gill’s Hollywood

The Parade’s Gone By (1986) is Brownlow’s excellent book about silent films

Here are links to the first four of nine episodes of Hollywood on YouTube.

Internet Archive has episodes, too.