Batman & Robin

Directed by:  Joel Schumacher
Starring:  George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Alicia Silverstone, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Running Time:  1h 53min

Not only does this movie substitute story line and interesting dialogue for fantastic sets and special effects, it also manages to take one of the best Batman villains to grace the sixty years worth of comic books and make him nothing more than a grunting musclebound freak.  The same goes for the whole movie.  What originally has intellectual significance becomes nothing more than a way for Hollywood to flex its $100 million budget.  Clooney and O'Donnell work wonders together, the only highlight of the film.  All the other actors do well with their parts.  It's just that Schumacher has just totally destroyed everything that is Batman.  You'd think that his only knowledge of the Bat comes from the 60's TV series.  It's time for a new director!  Or else!

Grade:  B-

Eraser

Directed by:  Charles Russell
Starring:  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanessa Williams, James Caan, James Cromwell
Running Time:  1h 54min

Arnold seems to have grown tired with this flick, even though he has a decent leading lady opposite him.  The villain is obvious from the start (opening credits) and the plot has been done before.  In fact, it seemed like I had seen most of these stunts in previous Arnold films.  The Terminator character, the Commando get-up, the True Lies government tie-up.  It was Arnold's greatest hits without the beat!  One interesting thing was the high tech gun that was the focus of the movie.  However, for some reason it seemed that the only time it would really kick ass was when Arnold had it.  Disappointing for Arnold fans, interesting action for action fans.

Grade: C+