Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Where's Adam West?
We're about to see a movie tomorrow night. Something about an owlish vigilante. Perhaps you've heard a murmur or two about it?
The deafening wall of media hype over Heath Ledger's performance is like a ring of airhorns surrounding a macabre piece of art—you want to cringe, turn your back, & wait for it to stop. Or if you can pick your way within the ring, there is something to be enjoyed by all accounts. However, the very enjoyment of it has now become something macabre in itself.
This is all part of the mental preparation that needs to take place in order to not be disappointed by a movie like this. It's what my friend Steve calls Managing Your Expectations. This is not going to be a fun summer explodaganza. It's a grim, ponderous, brooding affair, wrought with heavy political allegory. We're a long way from the glib indifference of Tony Stark. This is a tortured character who swallows up otherwise charismatic leading men and, in the words of Stephen Metcalf, turns them "into inert hunks of titanium-carbon-fiber weave."
In a way, the Batman franchise's somber reboot offers a morning-after counterpoint to Superman's flag-waiving for the American Way. (In the hands of several of The Batman's better writers, not the least of which is Frank Miller, Batman was at odds with Superman for being a strongarmed facist.) If Batman is America, and The Joker is this unpredictable new enemy that we don't understand, the message of this post-9/11 movie seems to be You're Doing It Wrong.
If this is the case, then my message to Chris Nolan would be you're doing it right.
The deafening wall of media hype over Heath Ledger's performance is like a ring of airhorns surrounding a macabre piece of art—you want to cringe, turn your back, & wait for it to stop. Or if you can pick your way within the ring, there is something to be enjoyed by all accounts. However, the very enjoyment of it has now become something macabre in itself.
This is all part of the mental preparation that needs to take place in order to not be disappointed by a movie like this. It's what my friend Steve calls Managing Your Expectations. This is not going to be a fun summer explodaganza. It's a grim, ponderous, brooding affair, wrought with heavy political allegory. We're a long way from the glib indifference of Tony Stark. This is a tortured character who swallows up otherwise charismatic leading men and, in the words of Stephen Metcalf, turns them "into inert hunks of titanium-carbon-fiber weave."
In a way, the Batman franchise's somber reboot offers a morning-after counterpoint to Superman's flag-waiving for the American Way. (In the hands of several of The Batman's better writers, not the least of which is Frank Miller, Batman was at odds with Superman for being a strongarmed facist.) If Batman is America, and The Joker is this unpredictable new enemy that we don't understand, the message of this post-9/11 movie seems to be You're Doing It Wrong.
If this is the case, then my message to Chris Nolan would be you're doing it right.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The Horrors of Nerd-Prom
My buddy Lonny & I went to the NYC Comicon this weekend. We managed to get into a packed Q&A session with Grant Morrison, which was pretty great. Naturally, I took pictures of the costumed freakery for you people. Enjoy:
The panel discussion to use room E08 after the VERTIGO panel we sat in on was about
"Gothic Lolita" costumes. It's not nineteenth century Jon Benet-itus. It's called "Gothic." "Lolita."
Ray and Catwoman, together at last
You might be surprised how often The Batman has need of a mini-Maglite
Who doesn't need a really sweet steampunk pistol?
They managed to replicate in resin how our generation *remembers* Carrie Fischer
Adamantium skeleton and super-healing,
completely un-manned by a purple merch bag
No, I haven't seen any Bothan spies around here, please turn that thing off
Dr. Jones knows the difference between leprosy and really, really bad psoriasis
Somehow Lonny sensed the mortal danger he was in
The panel discussion to use room E08 after the VERTIGO panel we sat in on was about "Gothic Lolita" costumes. It's not nineteenth century Jon Benet-itus. It's called "Gothic." "Lolita."
Ray and Catwoman, together at last
You might be surprised how often The Batman has need of a mini-Maglite
Who doesn't need a really sweet steampunk pistol?
They managed to replicate in resin how our generation *remembers* Carrie Fischer
Adamantium skeleton and super-healing,completely un-manned by a purple merch bag
No, I haven't seen any Bothan spies around here, please turn that thing off
Dr. Jones knows the difference between leprosy and really, really bad psoriasis
Somehow Lonny sensed the mortal danger he was in
Before the NYC Comicon, wearing skin-tight leather in public
usually was an indicator of your promiscuity. Within the
confines of the Javitt Center, skin-tight leather and promiscuity
enjoy no correlation whatsoever
usually was an indicator of your promiscuity. Within the
confines of the Javitt Center, skin-tight leather and promiscuity
enjoy no correlation whatsoever
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Embiggen Your Wordability
This post is in honor of my friend Steve Broberg, who first turned me on to use of this word:
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