Over the past few weeks, my consumption of film and t.v. has increased substantially. One of the by-products of this depression is a complete disinterest in the things that normally interest me like music, woodworking, or reading. Actually, I have been reading a lot which is good. But the other two, which are usually far more prominent in my life, have fallen by the wayside of late. So I’ve kept myself entertained by watching movies and catching up on old t.v. shows. Here are some thoughts on what I’ve seen lately:

1. Batman Begins. I really wish I’d seen this in the theater. I thought it was by far the best of any of the Batman movies and Christian Bale is the best Batman so far. Cillian Murphy as the psychiatrist was fantastic. The whole training sequence at the beginning with Liam Neeson was somewhat reminiscent of wushu films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. I considered letting the boys watch it, but whenever the crazy gas gets released the monsters are pretty scary, especially Batman with that black ooze coming out of his mouth. So I think I’ll hold off for a while before letting them watch it.

2. The Dark Knight. Not as good as Batman Begins but Heath Ledger totally makes up for the rest of the film’s shortcomings. He was fantastic. Overall though, the movie seemed to try too hard. And the Two Face angle didn’t really work for me. I suspected something was not quite right about him from the beginning but how it played out was a little disappointing. Plus, there seemed to be a lot more emphasis on modernism and technology in this one. What I liked so much about Batman Begins was its backdrop of urban decay. Sure, there were all the advanced toys Batman uses in fighting crime, but the settings were far more Dickensian than they were in Dark Knight with all its semis and police cars and glass skyscrapers.

3. Hellboy II. I had really high hopes for this film, which wasn’t terrible, but because my hopes were so high the fact that it was just okay made it seem worse that it really was. I thought the plot was okay but it was otherwise just a parade of monsters, which were admittedly fantastic. Guillermo del Toro really has a knack for grotesques, but monsters do not a movie make. I also thought Hellboy’s arrogance was a little more over-the-top than it was in the first film. But it’s been a while since I’ve seen the first one so maybe it’s about the same. Anyway, I kept wanting to smack him in the hopes that he’d make some better decisions. Perhaps I was seeing a bit too much of myself in him at times which made his faults a little more abrasive to me. Or maybe it was just the absence of David Hyde Pierce as Abe that threw me off.

4. In Bruges. I wasn’t a huge Colin Farrell fan, but the synopsis of this film intrigued me. I was pleasantly surprised by this dark comedy. Colin Farrell played a highly vulnerable character, which made me like him quite a lot. I was a little put off by some of the humor, particularly the occasional racist or otherwise bigoted joke, but I kept reminding myself that it was all part of character development and that made it a little easier to stomach. However, if you’re looking for a nice, clean Hollywood ending, pick something else to watch.

5. Paris, Je t’aime. I only made it through the Coen brother’s segment, which was fantastic. But there was something about the next segment, the musical one where the guy is selling something to the really nasty salon owner, that really depressed me so I stopped before it was over. (Oh wait, I was already depressed.) Anyway, I’m not going to make any real assessment of this film until I’ve watched the rest of it, but I will say that the first few segments were really good.

6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I started watching this a couple months ago, slowly making it through the beginning of season five. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve blown through to the middle of season six. Once More With Feeling is probably my favorite episode so far. Overall, the series has been okay, but I’m finding some things a little harder to deal with as the show progresses, such as Willow’s dependence on magic, Anya’s incessant boorishness, and Buffy’s general state of despair which I know has a lot to do with death and loss, but still. My favorite character, by far, is Spike. I loved Rest in Peace, the song he sang to Buffy in Once More With Feeling.

7. Spaced. Simon Pegg is a genius. I’d forgotten how different British sitcoms are from American ones. Kinda makes shows like Friends seem hideously corporate and manufactured. I’ve only made it through episode five, but so far I love it. Brian is hilarious.

8. Weeds. The story of an upper-middle-class suburban mom as dope dealer is terrific. And it helps that Mary Louise Parker (rowr) is the mom in question. The last episode I saw was Lude Awakening. So far I really like this show. Makes me wonder how many of the people I know have a dark secret.

9. Lost. (Saved the best for last.) What the hell was I doing when this show first aired? I just bought season one and have made it through Confidence Man. I love this show and plan to watch it religiously until the end. I really like all the characters except for Sawyer, but I guess we’re not supposed to like him right now. So far, my two favorite characters are Charlie and Mr. Locke, although I do like Jack and Kate as well. The Moth was an amazing episode. I’ll probably watch that one over and over again. Also, I really want to know what Kate’s crime was. And WHAT THE HELL is that thing in the jungle?! It’s not a polar bear and it’s definitely not a boar, unless it’s a giant mutant boar, which would be kinda disappointing, actually. Whatever it is, it’s huge. When it came upon Mr. Locke that first time and we saw Locke from the creature’s POV, it looked to be at least twenty or thirty feet tall! And I hope Sayid doesn’t take long on his trek around the island because I really like him, too. Anyway, four years late, I’m totally hooked.

And thus ends my completely unsolicited review of movies and t.v. Carry on.