I've had a couple discussions with folks about how George Lucas took away my movie anticipation innocence. Ever since the debacle that was Episode 1, I haven't been able to be 100% stoked on a new movie the way I could be before that fateful day in '99. Since then, there's always been a shred of doubt, even for the almost guaranteed to be sure things. Sometimes I really miss that child like anticipation for a movie. I don't think I've ever been so excited in my life than the days leading up to the release of movies like Batman, Jurassic Park, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I've come pretty close to feeling that in later years, probably the closest was with the Lord of the Rings movies, but it's just not the same since I left that theater among the shocked masses, wondering just what went wrong.

Why am I rehashing all this? Because I'm headed out to see Spiderman 3 in a little bit, and I'm kind of pissed that I can't be super stoked about it in the same way I was the first time I saw Michael Keaton say "I'm Batman!" on that trailer. There's no reason for this movie to suck. The last one was even better than the first. But it's there. The shred of doubt. It will always be there. I guess that's part of growing up.

Perhaps I should wait to review this after a second viewing. I still feel like I didn't fully grasp everything when I watched it, maybe because I was distracted by Pip, who was freaking out at the presence of my sister being in his territory (our apartment) and spent the movie hissing at her or trying to play with me.

The first in a series of three movies featuring a battle between the forces of night and day, this one takes place in the present in Moscow, telling us the origin of the battle, and focusing on an "other", Anton Gorodetsky. In this case, forces of night are vampires, and Anton, as an other, has the ability to hear their call and see them when others can't. He sides with the light and fights them, and as his story unfolds, so do the rules and history of a part of the world of which many of its inhabitants are completely unaware.

This movie hands-down wins the award for the best subtitles I have ever seen. They change color, fade away, show up in different sizes, and show up on different parts of the screen, all to enhance the effect of the story. They also add to the overall style of the film, which manages to be pretty amazing. Despite the fact that it's telling a story with a familiar feel (light vs. dark), the movie won both me and my sister over. In fact, Jenny went out and bought a copy to send to her boyfriend in Japan.

I can't really add much to what I've said so far, because I really do feel like I need to watch it again. It didn't completely amaze me but it was impressive, if that makes any sense. I look forward to a second viewing. Thanks for mentioning it in your 2006 ranking, Nobody - I wanted to see it when it was in the theater but didn't get a chance, and its place in your top 10 made me pick it up when I saw it at the store. I still wish I had seen it on the big screen.

The Cartoon History of the United States by Larry Gonick