The Dark Knight Rises concludes director Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Batman Begins (2005) recreated the Batman legend. In 2008, The Dark Knight broke attendance records with Heath Ledger’s iconic performance as The Joker. Now, Nolan wraps up his Batman saga with basically the same cast as the first two Batman film: Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. Yes, Anne Hathaway is fetching as Catwoman. Tom Hardy plays a convincing Bane. Christopher Nolan is a canny director and his vision of Batman comes into true focus in The Dark Knight Rises. This film will be on plenty of Year’s Best Film lists. GRADE: B+

In her informative “Introduction” to the New York Review of Books edition of Three Bedrooms in Manhattan (translated by Marc Romano and Laurence G. Blochman}, Joyce Carol Oates points out that much of Simenon’s work involves obsession. In Three Bedrooms in Manhattan it’s sexual obsession, but Oates provides plenty of examples of other obsessions Simenon explored both in his stand-alone novels like this one and in his famous Maigret mystery series. Clearly, Simenon was driven by obsessions: his claim that he had sex with 10,000 women, his compulsive work habits that produced 400 novels, and quirks that made Simenon a “difficult” person to deal with. No matter. Simenon’s noirish novels take readers to dark places even in cities that never sleep.

Director Christopher Nolan’s concluding film in his Batman trilogy opens tomorrow. But BEST BUY has a bargain offer today. Buy the Blu-ray versions of the first two Batman movies, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and BEST BUY will give you $5 toward the admission ticket to the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. That’s roughly $5 each for the Blu-ray versions. That’s a deal in my book!

As I’ve mentioned in other blog postings, audiobooks became my major source of delight and diversion while I spent almost two weeks in REHAB. The Lortabs I was taking to manage the pain turned my brain to mush. I couldn’t read. Or, rather, I could read the same paragraph over and over with no retention. However, my drug-addled mind had no problem with audiobooks. Art Scott sent me a fistful of audio CDs of a number of Bertie and Jeeves stories before my surgery. I took the CDs to REHAB and had a rollicking good time listing to these P. G. Wodehouse classics. And Martin Jarvis, the skilled narrator of these stories, captures the characters of Bertie and Jeeves perfectly. If laughter is the best medicine, listening to these wonderful CDs that Art sent me hastened my recovery. Highly Recommended! Thanks, Art!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
“Jeeves Takes Charge”
“Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest”
“The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy,”
“Clustering Round Young Bingo,”
“The Artistic Career of Corky”

Singing in the Rain is one of my favorite movies and this new Blu-ray edition shows the film off to its best effect. Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds star in this 60th-Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition (newly remastered in 2011 4K transfer) of one the best Hollywood musicals. Singing in the Rain is filled with memorable songs, lavish dance routines, and Gene Kelly’s classic song-and-dance number performed in the rain. This DVD should be in everyone’s collection! GRADE: A

Boston College asked my daughter Katie to represent the Eldercare program at a two-week conference in Switzerland. After graduating from Boston College last month, this trip to Europe was a fine way to close out a successful academic experience. Katie used Skype on her iPhone to keep in touch with Diane. I was in REHAB while this was all going on, but Katie would call me on a daily basis to check on my progress and to relate her latest adventures in the Alps. It’s best to travel when you’re young and both Patrick and Katie have logged plenty of air miles. Ah, youth…

I’m a huge Sigourney Weaver fan so you know I’ll be watching this West Wing clone tonight at 10 P.M. on the USA Network. Sigourney Weaver plays Elaine Barrish, a divorced former First Lady and the now current Secretary of State (sound familiar?). USA only ordered six episodes so if you blink, you’ll miss this mini-series. Hopefully, the ratings will be strong so Political Animals will be renewed. Other than Longmire and The Closer, there isn’t much on to watch this summer until the Olympics begins.

I spent a good part of REHAB listing to audiobooks. This collection of Neil Simon plays was a little different. The cast of the L.A. Theatre Works present 10 of Neil Simon’s best known plays. My favorites are Barefoot in the Park , Plaza Suite and Brighton Beach Memoirs. If you’re a Neil Simon fan, this wonderful set is a must-listen-to experience. At one time, Neil Simon was the top comedy writer on Broadway. These comedic plays show you why he was so popular.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Barefoot in the Park
Newlyweds move into a new apartment with no furniture, the wrong paint, leaking skylight and wacky neighbors! A classic comedy! Performed by: Norman Aronovic, Laura Linney, J. Fred Shiffman, Judy Simmons and Eric Stoltz.

The Odd Couple
Two legendarily mismatched roommates bring down the house in this classic comedy by America’s most successful playwright. Performed by: Dan Castellaneta, Stanley DeSantis, Steven Hack, Jamie Hanes, Nathan Lane, David Paymer, Linda Purl and Yeardley Smith.

Plaza Suite
Neil Simon’s hilarious comedy follows three brief encounters in the same suite at the famed Plaza Hotel in New York City. Performed by: Edward Asner, Michelle Costa, Richard Dreyfuss, Hector Elizondo, Amy Irving, Marsha Mason, Alfred Molina, Kerry Shale, Joe Spano and JoBeth Williams.

The Prisoner of Second Avenue
Fast-moving dialog with nonstop Simon quips and jokes performed extremely well by two fine actors: who could ask for more? Performed by: Annie Abbott, Lorin Dreyfuss, Richard Dreyfuss, Betty Garrett, Sharon Madden and Marsha Mason.

California Suite
A four part comedy confection as only Neil Simon can write it! Four couples separately inhabit the same Beverly Hills hotel suite, bringing along their problems, anxieties, and comical marital dilemmas. Performed by: Dennis Boutsikaris, Bruce Davison, Marsha Mason and Amy Pietz.

Chapter Two
Comedy and pathos mingle brilliantly in Neil Simon’s portrait of a widowed novelist who fears he’ll never love again. Performed by: David Dukes, Sharon Gless, Gates McFadden and Grant Shaud.

Brighton Beach Memoirs
In Neil Simon’s first installment of his darkly funny semiautobiographical Eugene Trilogy, we meet his family in 1930’s Brooklyn. Performed by: Max Casella, Peter Michael Goetz, Valerie Harper, Alexana Lambros, Anna Sophie Loewenberg, Jonathan Silverman and Joyce Van Patten.

Biloxi Blues
The second hilarious installment of Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy follows a naïve Eugene Jerome through boot camp. Performed by: Justine Bateman, Rob Benedict, Joshua Biton, John Cabrera, Matthew Patrick Davis, Steve Rankin, Josh Radnor, Russell Soder and Darby Stanchfield.

Broadway Bound
In the final installment of Neil Simon’s trilogy, Eugene and his brother Stanley pair up to break into the world of comedy writing. Performed by: Caroline Aaron, Dan Castellaneta, Kyle Colerider-Krugh, James Gleason, Alan Mandell, Jonathan Silverman, JoBeth Williams and Scott Wolf.

Lost in Yonkers
Set in Yonkers, New York in 1942, two boys, aged 13 and 16, must spend one year with their austere and demanding grandmother. Performed by: Barbara Bain, Gia Carides, Dan Castellaneta, Ben Diskin, Arye Gross, Roxanne Hart and Kenneth Schmidt.

Haffner Press once again has published a gem! Tales From Super-Science Fiction captures the spirit of the Fifties when Super-Science Fiction magazine graced the newstands every other month with wonderful stories and colorful covers by Emsh and Kelly Freas. If you want a fabulous trip down memory lane, pick up a copy of Tales From Super-Science Fiction. You’ll really enjoy these 14 enjoyable stories!
Table of Contents
Introduction by Robert Silverberg
“Catch ’em All Alive” by Robert Silverberg
“Who Am I?” by Henry Slesar
“Every Day is Christmas” by James E. Gunn
“I’ll Take Over” by A.Bertram Chandler
“Song of the Axe” by Don Berry
“Broomstick Ride” by Robert Bloch
“Worlds of Origin” by Jack Vance
“The Tool of Creation” by J.F. Bone
“I Want to Go Home” by Robert Moore Williams
“Hostile Life-Form” by Daniel L. Galouye
“The Gift of Numbers” by Alan E. Nourse
“First Man in a Satellite” by Charles W. Runyon
“A Place Beyond the Stars” by Tom Godwin
“The Loathsome Beasts” by Dan Malcolm (aka Silverberg)

By the time you read this I should be on my way home from REHAB. It’s been over two weeks since my knee surgery. I’m walking with a cane. My pain has lessened. Flexibility increases daily. I’m feeling great! My next milestones are to set up Physical Therapy sessions for the next few weeks. I also have an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon next Wednesday. I’m sure he’ll be pleased with my progress. Thank you for your kind thoughts and wishes! Your good vibes helped to make my recovery successful.