First Up: Batman

Throughout the years that I've known them, my friends have tried to "educate" me about movies, though it has not always been consistent. Once they heard about my blog, they immediately began discussing the various movies that they should show me. While they were debating amongst themselves which ones they thought I would enjoy and which to skip over, they temporarily forgot that I was in the room. Needless to say, they are very enthusiastic about this mission.

The first movies to be crossed off of my list were chosen by my friend who is an avid Batman fan. He decided it was time for me to be introduced to Tim Burton's Batman and its sequel Batman Returns. Having previously seen Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and the The Dark Knight Rises, it was hard for me not to compare the two series. Now I understand that the movies are based on different Batman comics, but they still had similarities. 

The most obvious parallels between the two series would be some of the characters that appear. For instance, the Joker was a central character in Batman as well as The Dark Knight. What I found most interesting, though, were the different mood the movies took. While the Joker in Batman, played by Jack Nicholson, was quite menacing, the Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger, in Nolan's series was pure evil. To me, The Dark Knight had a much darker tone to it. You can see this simply by comparing the two Jokers.

Photo credit: Luke M. Schierholz via photopin cc

Photo credit: batman.wikia.com

Another character that appeared in both series is Catwoman, but like with the Joker, she is completely different in the two adaptations. When we started watching Batman Returns, I thought that Catwoman would turn out to be a heroine like she was at the end of The Dark Knight Rises. However, I was taken aback when she turned out to be a psychotic woman in a leather bodysuit that she haphazardly sewed together. Overall, I found her to be quite the interesting character.

Although the latter made me question my obsession of penguins for a brief moment, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Batman and Batman Returns. However,  my preference lays with the most recent adaptation of Batman. I feel that newest renditions had a little more substance to them and I generally liked the darker mood of the movies. Nevertheless, I still look forward to finishing the original series.