Spring has sprung. Trailers and excited talk about this year's batch of TV craziness has officially started, and until I can miracle my viewing of all future projects out of the ether and onto my television and onto local movie screens, I am stranded as all mortals, tapping my toes and twiddling my thumbs waiting for all the sweet, sweet premieres.

With the new Batman film, I was sorely tempted to write up an open letter to director Christopher Nolan, starting with something akin to: You win, Mr. Nolan. I can not argue. I can not criticize. There is nothing easy in such an endeavor as rebuilding a failed franchise such as Batman. For a filmic behemoth such as this to have been received well financially, critically, and by the geeks, is nothing short of astounding. I recently found my way to a New York Times article about the new Batman film, The Dark Knight, in which it is revealed that Nolan doesn't use storyboards or the new process known as previsualization. What this reveals to me is that the fight sequences in the new film will be as rough hewn and impossible to follow as the original. The first Nolan Batman film had rapidly disjointed fight sequences that eliminated a logical following in a way that films such as Kill Bill I or Kill Bill II allowed for audiences. Nolan's refusal to use the tools available to him indicates the fight scenes and action sequences will be similarly chaotic.

The new Gotham of Nolan's Batman is now sleek and realistic. From the same article by David M. Halbfinger: "Gothic Wayne Manor are gone, replaced by sleek towers, shiny surfaces, bright lighting and the vistas of a city with shoulders bigger than Batman's... I've tried to unclutter the Gotham we created on the last film... " So we don't have a classic Gotham as per Warren Ellis from Planetary, that being a city built by paranoid Freemasons strung out on opium. Instead, we have a Chicago without the tight streets and thin spires allowing for a bat to sprint from building to building as in Issue 3, pages 10, 11, 12, and 13 of Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. That, at least, would be my guess. What we will get is Batman tooling around in the batmobile and the new batcycle, which of course will sell product, and that will make Nolan a WB darling.

What we will hopefully get is a very cool film that burrows into the Joker a la Johnny Rotten, and that will pivot the story in big, harsh, wicked arcs that turn wildly down the streets and alleys of Gotham. This may be Christopher Nolan channeling Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers insanity.

Then there's Wall-E, the little robot that will steal the world's heart this year and do for pet roaches what Ratatouille did for rats. In the brilliant new trailer, a second robot is introduced and looks and sounds exactly like what I imagine an Apple computer-produced flying robot will eventually look and sound like, as it zooms and glides around and apparently falls in love with, of course, Wall-E. The film itself looks to deliver epic visuals well beyond the combined works of Star Wars, Episodes I, II, and III.

Even the human in WALL-E looks impressive, although he appears buffoonish and chair bound. It will be interesting to see how robots and humans work and survive together in this film. The other interesting element just may be how closely it reflects the view of space travel from futurists such as Ray Kurzweil, who believe that our fragile bodies are what will limit our ability to move about the galaxy and that, as real Star Trekkers, we will one day download ourselves into sturdier beings (or robots), rather than use the fragile meat sacks we have today.

The sequel to Superman, I have read, is looking for a new lead in the role and is also looking for new writers. I have only one recommendation in that I have tried to enter the Superman comics universe multiple times and only been able to access it twice: once when John Byrne wrote it and more recently under the helm of Grant Morrison and the All Star Series. What Morrison has been able to accomplish is nothing short of a miracle, not that Morrison took us deeply into the life of Clark Kent/Superman (as Byrne so brilliantly did). Rather, Morrison thrusts the viewer into the Willy Wonka-style universe of Superman in such a colorful and believable manner that the reader can only watch in wonder and laugh out loud.

If there ever was a time that a film franchise needed this type of injection of deep Superman knowledge, serious issues, fantastic story arcs, and whimsical absurdities, this would be it and would knock the socks off of moviegoers and critics alike and reinvigorate a franchise that's been dying on the vine for half a century. I beg of the 'ol Warner Brothers folks, don't be so "'ol" and think outside the box by looking at Morrison to collaborate with your wunderkind director for a Superman movie we can revisit over and over again!

Now onto television and the most surprising revelation of the season -- Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles features some of the best-written, most absorbing television on in recent memory. I grudgingly checked out the first two episodes and thought it better than expected. I was later drawn in further by the episode reviews of Mary Ann Johanson for Film.com, only to find that I was hooked. Later I dug deep enough into the credits of the show via IMDB.com to find that James Cameron has been credited with writing that pulls us back into his personal universe. With my best geekish flair, I would have to say, "'Nuff said."

The next and last item responsible for my so-called geek-out is The Shield. I have to ask, will there be a new co-star? And who will die this season? And will they be able to keep the adrenaline buzz going for another two seasons? This series has been so clean and so clear in its wallowing in its vices, and keeping the show's continuity in tact all the while is nothing short of astounding. Being a cop show fanatic, I unapologetically announce that this is the only cop show on television worth watching. I have been gnawing at the sides of my television waiting for the next-to-last season to finally arrive, or at the very least to be announced. So give it up F/X: when will we see the return of Vick and his gang? I'm not asking for a two-minute trailer but I am asking for some indication as to when I can get the next fix.

All in all, this looks to be a fat year for entertainment that will keep me hustling on the keyboard. I wish everyone (especially myself) luck in keeping up with the releases and news announcements about future projects -- there is more, as always, to come!

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