What I'm Watching

Batman seems like a good guy to follow Rufus Sewell. He's strong, determined, tough, a righter of wrongs, and there's definitely an edge to him. At least there is in Batman Begins, the most recent version starring Christian Bale.

It was good casting, I thought. Bale brings an edge to whatever he does. I just saw him in The Prestige opposite some guy I've seen elsewhere in a towel. That was good casting, too. And particularly good because both he and the guy who wasn't wearing a towel (he was wearing clothes. Get your minds out of the gutter!) seemed perfect for their roles. Certainly they both have the range to play against type, but I got the feeling that in The Prestige they were taping into their own particular veins of gold. They were able to work out of an emotional landscape they were familiar with. Good film -- even if it did chronicle how obsession leads to personal destruction, which is not exactly a cheery topic.

What else? Well, Wings. I missed all of Wings back during the 90s when it was on TV for years and years. We didn't have a television in those days (a good way to raise kids, IMHO). But admittedly there was some fun stuff on. Wings was fun. Still is. I'm glad they are finally doing it on DVD.

I was reminded of it when I started watching a short-lived (so short it barely got a breath of air before it was cancelled) show that was on last year (for 5 weeks, I think, at most) called Eyes, with Timothy Daly. He was great in Eyes and the writing was good and the characters quirky and edgy and sarcastic and dark. So, of course, it died instantly. I don't suppose we will ever get a DVD of that, though I think they filmed 11 episodes or so, half of which never saw the light of day.


Rome. I've been watching Rome at intervals because I can only take so much gore and brutality at a time. I close my eyes a lot. It makes me glad I didn't live back then. But it is interesting to watch.

Speaking of costume dramas, we also just watched Vanity Fair. It's been so long since I read the book that I hesitate to comment on how much it resembles Thackeray's novel. But I don't remember thinking of Becky Sharp as much of a heroine in the book. Or maybe she's a heroine in the same way that Scarlett O'Hara is -- an interesting but ultimately not particularly likeable woman.

In Mira Nair's version of Vanity Fair, she got a somewhat better shake. While Becky was still all about herself, she was, like the Mr Bale and the towel-less chap in The Prestige, compelling to watch. The commentary on the DVD is a terrific introduction to what Nair was attempting to accomplish and why. And the sets and locations were spectacular.

I think The Prof might be getting a copy of his own for Christmas so he can discuss it with his Major British Writers class.

I have a list about 100 films long that I want to see (it's getting taller than my TBR pile). But I'm always glad to get suggestions. What are you watching? Should I add it to my list?