Batson's Blog

As much as I didn’t enjoy watching Jack and Jill the other day, I do have to hand it to Adam Sandler. He did a decent job pulling double duty --- playing two different characters in the same film. Obviously it was Sandler playing both Jack and Jill, but he did a good enough job using different mannerisms, facial expressions and voices that it almost seemed like two characters weren’t both played by Sandler. I’m no actor. I’ve never played two characters on the same stage or in the same movie, but I imagine doing so would be fairly difficult. Several actors and actresses have pulled double duty over the years, successfully playing two separate characters and making them seem different. Here’s some of the more memorable performances: Who can forget Mike Myers playing Austin Powers and Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies? This is one case of double duty that isn’t as evident. I watched the movies when I was younger and didn’t realize it was Mike Myers acting out both cha...

In Chinese culture it may be the year of the snake , but globally, it seems to be the year of The Rock. Years ago (feels like a loooong time now that I'm at the elderly age of 27), when I first started watching pro wrestling, The Rock was just starting to break out on his own. I started watching in 1997, less than a year after Rocky Maivia debuted.  He was supposed to be a fan favorite, but when fans weren't reacting favorably, the World Wrestling Federation made him a heel (or villain). That's when he showed some personality and became very popular -- a household name in fact. Still, predicting that he would one day be a box office draw for major motion pictures would have gotten a lot of laughs. Yet that's exactly what happened. I figured he'd do well in the action genre, but I had no idea that he'd end up being all of the place. On May 24 he'll be in Fast 6 . That will be the fourth movie he's been in this year. He's signed on to be i...

After the successful opening weekend for G.I. Joe: Retaliation a few weeks back, rumors immediately started swirling about G.I. Joe 3. Even though there was no additional scene after the credits, I almost immediately began anticipating a third movie as well. Given that there was such a shift in the cast between the first and second movies, I'm hoping they continue that trend (to a degree) with the third, welcoming a few more Joes to the fold. I hope there's a few new villains as well. While I always welcome Storm Shadow back for round three, I think Firefly and Zartan's departures (assuming they don't make a miraculous comeback) will open up a couple of new spots. Here are some of the characters I'd like to see show up next time around: Shipwreck He was always one of my favorite G.I. Joes, simply because Shipwreck always had personality. There were some episodes that centered around him and it got to be a little annoying. Too much Shipwreck equals an...

I was going to see the sequel G.I. Joe flick earlier, but I unexpectedly found that the normal rate for a evening ticket to a movie is at least $10.00. AMC and Regal Theatres were actually more expensive than $10.00. So, I decided to wait and go to a mid-day showing. $5.00 ticket? Much more reasonable. The medium pop and popcorn still cost about $12, but oh well. Popcorn has always been part of the movie theatre experience for me. Evidently is just now a costly one. I was worried for a moment that I wouldn't get to see the movie. There were projector problems throughout the previews. The Wolverine, opening in May, sounded very cool. The black screen I was watching left me eagerly listening to the entire trailer. Maybe it's better that way. It'll be more of a surprise when I watch it. Thankfully they fixed the video issue before the movie started. There's a pretty fun action sequence that kicks off Retaliation involving Duke (Channing Tatum), Roadblock...

When I recently blogged about Cobra Commander and the upcoming movies of 2013 , it got me thinking: what are some of the best real-life incarnations of villains from the comic books? I have a feeling Cobra Commander could easily fit into that category. Take a look at the cartoon-to-real-life transformation: Come G.I. Joe 2, we'll see if the acting lives up to how awesome the photos look. In the meantime, I came up with a little list. There’s a variety of reasons for my choices; sometimes it’s the costuming that makes the character come to life. Other times it’s the physical appearance. Sometimes it’s just really amazing special effects that makes it work. Whatever the reason, these are some of the best villains that made it to the big screen: 10. January Jones as Emma Frost ( X-Men: First Class , 2009) It's really just looks that landed Jones on this list. She looked the part. My fellow South Dakotan is not the most amazing actress, but she didn’t to be ...

Well now that we know the world isn’t going to end (whew!), we can focus on next year. As the new year approaches, it’s natural to wonder what the next 365 days has in store. You could choose to focus on which new year’s resolutions to make. Or maybe pat yourself on the back for successfully accomplishing items on this year’s list. There are other important things to think about though – like which 2013 movie is going to be the most awesome. I’m strictly talking super hero movies here. There’s quite an impressive list that’s scheduled for release in the next 12 months. Here are the standouts in my mind: 6. Thor: The Dark World (Nov. 8) Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as the God of Thunder next November. After Thor’s decent original outing at the boxoffice and 2012’s super-successful Avengers, I don’t think the Marvel executives have too much to worry about with this one. It’s pretty much a guarantee that it will do well. Tom Hiddleston is returning as “Loki” and P...