Easily one of my favorite podcasts is Ask Palpatine. Essentially, you get a puppet version of Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars fame answer a series of questions from his readers. The same people that do Ask Palpatine also do other puppet shows, including a very bad impersonation of Stephen Colbert.

For this week’s episode of Ask Palpatine, the dark lord decided not to answer a question, but rather to invite Darth Dracus onto the show to review the new Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated movie. Most of his podcasts are funnier than this, but I figured I’d post his most recent. Enjoy!

In this day and age, you can gain access to a lot of information from a wide variety of sources. We are bombarded by new stories from just about every direction, so it’s just as easy to find out what is going on with the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing as it is to find out the daily special at your local greasy spoon diner. In fact, it’s arguably easier to learn the former than it is the latter.

Keeping in touch with popular culture, world affairs, and the latest technological developments is easier than ever and you’ve got a lot of options. With that in mind, which news source is the best?

The Evening News

This is where a lot of people turn to stay in tune with the rest of the world. The good thing about the 6 o’clock news is that you are exposed to a brief overview of the entire world. They’ll cover the top stories, entertainment, weather, sports, and more. Unfortunately, you have no control over which stories are covered and none of the stories are ever covered in-depth. You get an introduction and then they move on.

Late Night Talk Shows

You may find that the regular evening news is a bit of a snooze fest, so it’s much more entertaining to hear about some news through late night talk shows. It’s just more interesting to hear guys like Conan O’Brien and Jon Stewart mock the daily happenings. This is especially true of political coverage.

Newspaper (Dead Tree Edition)

There’s just something to be said about a physical newspaper. Although I spend the vast majority of my time online, I’m still inclined to pick up a free newspaper on a (near) daily basis. Like the evening news, the (dead tree) newspaper provides a comprehensive overview of what’s going on in the world. Unlike television, however, you can skip stories that don’t interest you and read more into stories that do.

Professional and Personal Blogs

The Internet being what it is, everyone has a voice these days. No longer are you restricted to official news sources for your information and that’s partly why we have become virtually addicted to the Internet. I’m much more inclined to hear about video game news from Kotaku and car stories from Autoblog, rather than having to wait for a monthly magazine. That’s because these professional blogs are truly on the cutting edge, getting stories out well before the newspapers, magazines, and TV programs. Want to know about cell phones and mobile tech? Check out Mobile Magazine.

Google News and Online Newspapers

Continuing with the online trend, you can gain access to virtual newspapers from all around the world all from the comfort of your home computer. Google News is particularly powerful, because it collects the top stories from all around the globe, seeing which news items are being picked up by the most news outlets. Like personal and professional blogs, the news can be very timely as well.

Radio Shows

While I do not need to put up with a daily commute, those who do may be inclined to get their news through radio shows like those hosted by Buzz Bishop. In addition to the tunes that these deejays pump out, they also inform you of cool contest, local happenings, and top stories too. There are also radio stations that are 100% dedicated to news.

The Water Cooler (Virtual Too!)

Make use of your friends and colleagues! Living in cubicle land, you can gather at the water cooler and discuss just about anything that is on your mind, whether it be Sex in the City or Barack Obama. If you work from home, you can also make use of this dynamic through “virtual” water coolers like Twitter. Following the right people, you can stay up to the minute on all the big news stories.

So, where do you get your news? A combination of all of these?

Batman Begins

As I’m sure you already know, The Dark Knight is breaking all sorts of box office records. Even though it is officially a Batman movie, the focus has been placed squarely on the rise and fall of Harvey “Two Face” Dent and the stellar performance by Heath Ledger as the Joker. Strangely, many of the people who are filling the multiplexes to watch the Dark Knight did not watch the Batman movie which preceded it.

In preparation for The Dark Knight, I finally got around to watching Batman Begins. With Christian Bale playing the title role, this was supposed to be a revitalization for the movie franchise. We’ve endured some rather mediocre Batman movies in the 90s, so it was good to see a fresh look with a new actor and a new director. While Batman Begins doesn’t feel quite as epic as The Dark Knight, the dark and brooding atmosphere brings a whole new kind of energy and perspective to Batman Begins. I’m still not completely convinced by Christian Bale (his performance was quite “flat”), but Batman Begins is definitely worth your time. You should watch it before you catch The Dark Knight.

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

I’m no stoner (really, I’m not), but I still had an absolute blast when I watched Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. The premise was pretty stupid, but the antics were absolutely hilarious. Neil Patrick Harris as Neil Patrick Harris was particularly impressive, because he played an over-the-top parody of himself. When I heard about the Harold and Kumar sequel, I couldn’t be happier. Unfortunately, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay does not live up to the original. Doogie Howser’s cameo was completely nonsensical and the gags, like the bottom-less party, felt too contrived, too forced. It’s still a funny movie and it’s great to see a couple of “ethnic” guys (”Look what we have here, fellas. Mexicans!”) playing regular American roles, but if you’re expecting the same level of hilarity as the first Harold and Kumar, you’re going to be disappointed.

Charlie Bartlett

On the surface, Charlie Bartlett just looks like another fish out of water story. Some kid doesn’t really belong at his new school and the tale follows his quest to be accepted by his peers. Same old story, right? Well, not exactly. Charlie is a rich kid who finds himself at an “urban” school, and in an effort to make friends, he starts selling prescription drugs to his peers. Because he has access to a psychiatrist and he’s quite the actor, Charlie is able to acquire just about any drug he wants (thanks partly to research through the DSM-IV TR). But it’s not all fun and games. Through experience, conflicts with the principal, and influence from his love interest, the young Bartlett finally comes to terms with who he really is: just a kid. Charlie Bartlett is totally worth two hours of your time.

I’ve still got a little catching up to do when it comes to these movie reviews. As you may or may not know, I made a promise to myself at the beginning of 2007 that I would review every movie that I saw on Beyond the Rhetoric. Seeing how that went reasonably well, the trend continued into 2008. In the interest of brevity, I’ve started to lump the movie reviews into small batches of no more than three.

In the past, we’ve looked at everything from Hard Candy to 21. This week, I present to you a couple of heartwarming comedies. Both are now available on DVD, so you don’t have to bother with lining up at the cineplex and getting overcharged for stale popcorn.

Lars and the Real Girl
Some guys get pretty lonely. Others just aren’t particularly social. You aren’t really told what’s wrong with Lars at the beginning of the movie, but you immediately get the sense that he is quite the strange boy (at the age of 27). Seeking some form of companionship, but avoiding the complications of a real human relationship, Lars decides to order a life-like sex doll from the Internet. He’s not interested in the sex, though. Instead, he treats “Bianca” as if she were a real girlfriend and for the sake of his sanity, the rest of the town plays along. In fact, you almost start to believe that she is a real person. Almost. This movie was quite endearing as you witness the maturation and growth of Lars. It’s definitely different and well worth a rental, but despite what others may have said, I still don’t think Lars is as good as Juno.

Definitely, Maybe
After seeing the delightful performance by Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine, I almost looked forward to this romantic comedy. Ryan Reynolds plays a political consultant (he works on the Clinton presidential campaign at one point) who has to explain his upcoming divorce to his 11-year-old daughter. As such, the vast majority of the movie is told in the form of one extended flashback, so we don’t really get to see much of Breslin. I wouldn’t say that Definitely, Maybe is a bad movie, but it’s running pretty much par for the course when it comes to rom-coms. I did enjoy Isla Fisher’s character, though. She served as a “fun” counterpart to Reynolds’ somewhat stiff performance.

As you know, the big movie that is opening this weekend is The Dark Knight, the latest in a series of movies that focus on the Batman universe. Many people around my age were introduced to Batman for the first time through the Tim Burton movies where Batman was played by Michael Keaton. The villain in that first Batman movie was Joker, as played by the wonderfully eccentric Jack Nicholson.

Appropriately enough, the first super villain to appear in this Christian Bale era of Batman movies (I don’t think the bad guy in Batman Begins really counts) is Joker too, except this time, the criminal kook is played by the Heath Ledger. Nicholson and Ledger approached the roles in very different ways, but who did a better job at portraying the violent jester? Who is the better Joker?

This is a question posed by the people at Slashfilm, culminating in a mashup trailer for Joker vs. Joker (embedded below). I haven’t watched The Dark Knight yet, but I definitely want to watch it. It looks positively epic. Interestingly, every Batman movie after Nicholson had two villains each (one of which featured Two-Face). I guess it takes two bad guys to equal one Wacky Jack.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what Christian Bale is up to next, he’s going to play John Connor in Terminator 4. T3 wasn’t nearly as good as Terminator 2, so let’s hope T4 is an improvement.

While everyone else may be crowding the patios and the beaches this weekend, you may be inclined to escape the heat in favor of the air conditioning you’ll find inside your local movie theatre.

A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed three mediocre movies that should be available on DVD, so I thought that it would be nice to highlight three movies that are still playing at the multiplexes for this go-around. Better still, all three of these movies are actually pretty good.

It’s summertime, so you’re allowed to shut off your brain for a couple hours at a time. Watching a good movie is a great way to relieve the stresses related to work. Relax for a change and enjoy yourself.

WALL-E
When I first saw the trailers to WALL-E, I thought that it was a rather lame concept. Why would Disney and Pixar make an animated film that would involve next to no dialogue? It’s just a stupid robot bandying around in a pseudo-postapocalyptic world, picking up garbage all day. Big deal. Even though the film started to receive overwhelmingly positive reviews, I remained skeptical. And then I was wowed. Yes, there is no real dialogue — aside from robot noises and body language — for about the first half of the movie, but there is enough chemistry and communication there for you to totally understand what is going on between the trash-compacting WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth Class) and EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator). It’s gut-wretchingly cute at times and it almost feels like Pixar is trying too hard to melt your heart, but the end product (and love story) is incredibly endearing and you can’t help but love the open-eyed innocence of WALL-E.

Iron Man
Superhero movies typically aren’t that great unless you’re a big fan of the series. When you watch Fantastic Four and Ghost Rider, for instance, you should expect little more than some character recognition and giant explosions. Iron Man still offers character recognition and big booms, but you really start to believe that Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark. He is absolutely terrific in the role and I think that Iron Man could have easily held its own without the backing of a Marvel fanboy-base. It does drag on a little longer than it should and I found Gwyneth Paltrow to be a little awkward in her role, but Iron Man is definitely worth the price of admission. You have to see it on the big screen to truly appreciate it.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Although I’m a relatively big fan of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, I was never really all that big on Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford is not the young man he used to be and he looks even older next to the babyfaced Shia LaBeouf. The action is a little slow to get going and the story behind the crystal skull is nowhere near what I was expecting (I won’t spoil it for you), but the acting is right where you’d expect it to be. The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull may have bigger proportions than earlier Indy Jones movies, but it’s still not nearly as epic as the Temple of Doom or Raiders of the Lost Ark.