begin

Speedo Begin to Swim Printed Roll Up Armbands, Blue
$8.99
Speedo's colorful printed vinyl armbands are perfect for the child who is familiar with the water and is building his/her confidence. They are still dependent on full flotation and are just beginning to develop swimming skills. They are super easy to use and sure to make adult assisted water play more fun!

Batman Begins [Blu-ray]
$28.99
Tim Burton fostered in a new era of superhero films with his impressively dark, original Batman films BATMAN and BATMAN RETURNS. Then Joel Schumacher trashed all that with his horrific, comical and empty flicks BATMAN FOREVER and BATMAN AND ROBIN.

Thankfully (and there's an hitch!), Christopher Nolan's 2005 rendering BATMAN BEGINS is a fine return to form for the popular dark superhero. Nolan based BB in "reality" and focuses on young Bruce Wayne (excellent work by Christian Bale), who witnessed the murder of his parents as a child, who travels the world trying to understand the criminal mind and ends up undertaking ninja training in the Far East under the tutelage of Henri Ducard (a slyly malevolent Liam Neeson) and Ras Al Ghul.

Upon his return to Gotham after years of exile, Wayne resumes his place as the head of Wayne Manor, which was taken care of in his absence by family major domo Alfred (fine performance by the esteemed Michael Caine) and Wayne Industries, run by Mr. Earle (wonderfully played by veteran screen bad guy Rutger Hauer). Wayne also meets Lucius Fox (reliably played by the great Morgan Freeman), the head of the Development section of Wayne Industries, and enlists his help in obtaining high-tech equipment so that he can begin leading his double life as both Wayne and Batman. Last, but not least, Bruce re-acquaints himself with his childhood friend and now assistant DA Rachel Dawes (played surprisingly well by Katie Holmes).

So the adventure begins! Batman prowls the streets of Gotham at night taking out scuzzy lowlifes at first (he saves Rachel from some goons on the subway) and making his initial mark. He also thwarts the city's top criminal Carmine Falcone (solidly played by Tom Wilkinson), who ironically is the man who ordered the kill of the man who killed Bruce's parents. Batman also meets Police Sgt. Jim Gordon (superb work by Gary Oldman), who initially skeptical, ends up being the conduit between Batman and the police force. Batman runs into a higher class of criminal in Dr. Crane/Scarecrow (creepily played by Cillian Murphy), who shoots a toxic concoction from his mask to literally psych out his victims. At the climax, Batman must save Gotham from his former mentor Ducard, who it turns out was the head ninja Al Ghul all along!

BATMAN BEGINS is perhaps the first Batman film to focus primarily on the hero himself and not the villains. A highly involving character study of one man's despair, disillusionment, acceptance, strength, and resolve, Nolan manages to elevate BB above the genre. I've not seen all his work, but I've got to believe this is perhaps one of the best (if not the best!) performance of Christian Bale's career. Additionally, Nolan does a good job of CGI-ing effects to make a real city an authentic stand-in for Gotham (unlike an umentioned sequel that didn't even try! Told you there was a hitch!). A superhero film where the protagonist is the star? Novel idea!

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins [VHS]
$22.99
For those whole like Toy Story, this movie is a good one too. Not quite as good but it is fun and my kids love it.

Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins
$3.99
Having two boys, ages seven and four, who are deeply into all things Scooby, this was a mandatory movie in our household. As often as I can I avoid watching the kiddie movies as well, you know, they often are quite difficult to sit through for an adult. Nonetheless I was essentially dragged kicking and screaming into watching this one over the weekend. This was a very well done movie in my opinion. It was well cast and acted, well written, good effects, and on and on........ I actually enjoyed watching it and found myself not just sitting through it but really being glad to see it. Of course the kids loved it too and that is the rare magical mix of both parents and kids enjoying the same movie that more often than not is not present, at least not in our household it isn't. I would wholeheartedly recommend this movie for any Scooby fans of any age.