3.6.22

Golf Update: Very little to report on this week. Even though the calendar has flipped to March, it’s been so cold the last few weeks, so I havne’t been able to do much of anything outside. But that hasn’t stopped me from stocking up on balls/clubs/accessories. Here’s what’s going in the bag:

Callaway Jaws Lob Wedge - full toe grind, 60 degree. I heard something the other day on golf channel, that Jon Rahm swaps in brand new wedges ever week, in order to have the sharpest possible grooves. Now that may be a little excessive, but I do think I could benefit from replacing my wedges more frequently, especially being someone who needs all the help he can get generating spin. And since I had a Callaway gift card, I pulled the trigger on this wedge (and sprang for the custom stamping). The face of this club is purposely unfinished, so that it rusts over time and creates more friction (and ultimately more spin). I haven’t had a chance to hit it much yet, but it has performed well with foam balls off the carpet…

After being loyal BJ’s Wholesale club members for 5+ years, we decided to make the switch to Costco this past month. I have heard that Costco has better snacks, but mainly, I wanted access to their Kirkland Signature golf equipment. It may seem odd, but Costco actually makes decent stuff - I am sure most golfers have come across a Kirky Sig ball at some point, and now they even sell a milled face putter, and wedge set. I didn’t need any clubs, and I am not completely sold on the balls. But the gloves are actually really good!

I picked up a 4 pack, for about 26 bucks. They claim to be genuine cabretta leather and feel really nice. And under 7 bucks a pop, they are worth a shot. We will see how long they last.

I stocked up on some ProV1s as well. Golfballs.com usually has some good deals with free personalization, and I really like the “align” option. Its a solid line that bisects the ball, in order to help line up putts; in this case, you can get a monogram within the line. Honestly, no idea why I did this, but I decided to get them personalized with “Mad Dog”

Considering my initials are “MD”, I thought Mad Dog would be a cool nickname. Loral pointed out that self anointing yourself “Mad Dog” and getting personalized golf balls emblazoned with “Mad Dog”, when literally no one has ever called you “Mad Dog” is a very Michael Scott type move. I tend to agree. But at 60 bucks a dozen, I have no choice but to be “Mad Dog” now.

What I am watching: The Batman

We went and saw The Batman this past Friday, and I think it was the first time I’ve ever seen a movie on its theatrical release date. Here is my review - I’ll do my best not to spoil and plot points, but I will talk about some specifics that I liked. So if you haven’t seen the movie, and want to go in completely blind, I suggest skipping!

Score: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Three Sentence Review: Probably the “realest” Batman movie made to date, The Batman perfectly captures everything I think the character should be - a brooding, scarred, master detective. Excellent performances all around are framed by Matt Reeves’ washed out Gotham City; thrilling set pieces and Michael Giacchino’s spectacular score propel this movie from start to finish, despite the nearly 3 hour run time. A must see for any Batman fan, or any fan of gritty detective flicks.

Since I really don’t know how to write a movie review, I’m just going to list everything I loved about this movie:

1) The overall feel and tone of the movie. A lot of the reviews I have seen describe The Batman as one of the darkest, bleakest superhero movies made to date. Well guess what - it should be! Batman is known as The DARK Knight, he lives in a cave, his city is called Gotham! There should be no sunshine in a good Batman movie. Many have already made comparisons (in terms of the movie’s feel) to Se7en and Zodiac and I wholeheartedly agree. I also got vibes similar to The Silence of the Lambs, Law Abiding Citizen and even Saw at certain points (minus the gore element). Gritty is such an overused adjective, but it really is apt in this case. Where Christopher Nolan’s Batman films were pristine, this iteration was a bit rough around the edges (intentionally), but served perfectly to create the classic Gotham vibe.

2) The rain. 95% of this movie takes place at night time, and 99% of the movie takes place in the rain. I loved this choice. Aside from being incredibly cinematic, it helped create the feel that I described in point #1 - A constant state of gloom hovering over Gotham City. Beyond the rain, I thought they did an amazing job creating the setting as a whole. Some highlights - the punk, industrial rave scene in the Iceberg Club, the crumbling, gothic architecture of Wayne manor, and the dingy, greasy spoon diner where we are finally introduced to the Riddler:

3) The Nirvana needle drops and the score as a whole. Something in the Way is used brilliantly in the first trailer for this film, and then twice again during the actual movie. Not only does the song fit perfectly on a micro level, its perfect at a macro level as well because the whole vibe of the movie is grunge. I almost wish they hadn’t used it in the trailer, because it diminished the impact in the actual movie - but only a little bit. And the bombastic score was one of the best, most thrilling, edge of your seat, white knuckle scores in any super hero movie. It reminded me a bit of Joker, but with more action.

4) “I’m not in the shadows. I AM the shadows”. Just an awesome line delivered perfectly by Robert Pattinson, that legitimately gave me chills.

5) The casting. Top to bottom, I don’t think I would have changed anything. Zoe Kravitz was electric as Catwoman, Paul Dano struck the perfect balance between nerdy genius and unhinged psychopath as the Riddler and Jeffery Wright was rock solid as the stoic, moral compass, Commissioner Gordon. Colin Farrell (beneath prosthetics and a fat suit) was surprisingly good as The Penguin and provided some much needed comic relief. Alfred Pennyworth (disappointingly) didn’t get a ton of screen time, but Andy Serkis proved a worthy successor to Michael Caine. The one nitpick I have is with John Tuturro’s casting as mob boss Carmine Falcone. I love Turtorro, but he’s just a little to quirky/goofy for me to play a cold blooded killer. He was decent, but I would have loved to have seen some one a bit more physically imposing in the role - Viggo Mortenson comes to mind.

6) Robert Pattinson. He was the perfect Batman for this film. Had they gone in a different direction with the tone/style of the movie, he might not have worked. But in this setting, choosing a former vampire was perfect. A lot of people have called him the “emo Batman”, partly due to the black eye shadow he wears under the mask. But going back to the Nirvana point, grunge seems more appropriate. Bonus points for not doing a stupid voice as Batman (looking at you Christian Bale)

7) The stakes. I liked how the main conflict was on a smaller scale and much more grounded than most super hero movies. Whereas Avengers Endgame has our heroes going back in time in order to save the lives of literally half the world’s population, The Batman is trying to catch a serial killer before his next victim. Granted, the Riddlers antics ratchet up in the movie’s final act (I won’t spoil), but the point remains - bigger isn’t always better. If Batman fails, the world doesn’t end, but Gotham just gets a little darker. I prefer this type of outcome, because in the battle between good and bad, the winner is never absolute or finite.

8) The Batmobile. I am pretty sure the Batmobile was just a Dodge Challenger, painted black, with some sort of jet engine cobbled on the back. But it was awesome. It wasn’t a hi-tech, military grade, Wayne Enterprise concept tank. It was just a loud ass, all American muscle car (with a suped up engine). There was a 10 second scene - the headlights turn on and we get our first glimpse. The engine turns on and the car slowly heats up. It starts shaking, rattling, revving, growling. Finally Batman hits the gas and the car fires out of the blocks in pursuit of the villain. People in the theatre stood up and cheered. Only for that to be topped about 2 min later, when the Batmobile hits a ramp at 90 mph and flies through a fiery highway explosion (quite literally, like a bat out of hell). One of the coolest car chases in any recent movie.

9) Low-tech Batman. For the most part, Batman did not rely on futuristic technology or even shark repellent spray to get the job done. Again, I thought this was the right choice for a version of Batman so grounded in reality.

10) The ending. I won’t give it away, but it was one of those “right back where we started” endings, nothing really won or lost. Its simultaneously demoralizing and uplifting - demoralizing because Gotham will always be riddled with crime and corruption no matter how hard Batman fights; uplifting because he chooses to fight anyway, despite knowing this inevitability. It strikes the right balance between providing some sense of closure and resolution while still setting the table for the sequels. And of course we get a glimpse of what (or who) is to come…

Overall, the film wasn’t perfect, but there was so much good stuff in there, that I am willing to forego any nitpicking. I still need to think about where this ranks in the Batman canon, but it’s definitely at or near the top. If I absolutely had to rank it relative to the Nolan films:

1 - The Dark Knight

1a - The Batman

2 - The Dark Knight Rises

3 - Batman Begins

It was also great to see a movie in a theatre. A few months back, Loral and I saw House of Gucci in theaters but this was different. There was an energy in the theatre, I think the last time I felt something like that was when I saw The Force Awakens in a packed theatre a few years back. It will be interesting to see if The Batman holds up upon rewatch, as it is supposed to come to HBO Max in April. Don’t wait until then - go see The Batman in theaters, you won’t regret it.

5.24.22

2.13.22