Wherein I dick around a little bit more before I get back to work

[thehefner]

Every Friday morning is a gauntlet wherein I jump, duck, and dodge to avoid LOST being spoiled for me before I finally, one of these days, settle down to catch up from the start.

The way you folks talk, this show had better put out. Third base at least.



Also, GIP, because JUSTICE finally came out in softcover, and I had to scan Alex Ross' take on Harvey, which might be one of my all-time favorite depictions. That's the shit I'd like to see in THE DARK KNIGHT.



Speaking of Batman, I just rewatched BATMAN RETURNS for the first time in many a year. I'm kinda torn, because on one hand, I feel like--objectively--I might consider this a work of pure Tim Burton art, a modern day love letter to German Expressionist horror and surrealism filled with dazzling dark imagery and sweeping operatic... so on and so on, that sort of B.S.

Or maybe, even when you take away from the fact that it's every bit as campy and shit-on-the-sources unfaithful as BATMAN FOREVER, it's still just too grotesque. There is no other word for this film. Grotesque. The original BATMAN film has aged terribly, but there's plenty there that can be enjoyed and quoted on its own (though make no mistake, as a Batman film, it fails big time on so many levels).

Is BATMAN RETURNS like Ang Lee's HULK, a good film whose downfall is not living up to expectations of audience/fans in favor of doing distinctly its own thing... or is it just plain too grotesque and nasty? Or even a just plain bad film? Or are there any folks here who love BATMAN RETURNS, as I'm sure there likely are?



Finally saw INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. I haven't seen the original trilogy for about ten years, so I can't make any comparisons, but I simply had to quote spacechild's two sentence review, his immediate reaction as the credits rolled:



(Said ala Bart Simpson/Nelson Muntz indignant voice)

"'Gold' means 'knowledge?' Whatta rip!"

Maybe you just had to be there.

Comments

[lonebear.livejournal.com]

I had no problem with _that_ part. I run into it regularly with errors of translation from Hebrew.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Clearly, then, it was but one of many flaws and dubious aspects of the film, but I don't feel equipped to tackle those until I've revisited the series.

[thirdbase.livejournal.com]

but I don't even watch LOST...


:P

Overstretched metapwhore, lest she be browncoated (ew)

[interdisciple.livejournal.com]

Yep -- that LOST, she's a real ho's ho alright.

She'll blow you on the first date, give you hand jobs or more, sometimes much more, on most nights after that.

And then, for no explicable reason... well... she'll give you the cold shoulder for awhile. You'll hit a rough patch. I take it back: Myriad reasons abound. They're just unknown to you.

But, not to worry, friend -- before you know it, she'll be bouncing and pouncing and every-living-ouncing your brains out, putting out again with an insatiable vigor that will leave you stupefied, confused and begging for more, mercy, more, mercy...

*lights cigarette*

Re: Overstretched metapwhore, lest she be browncoated (ew)

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Damn it, man, I'm an X-FILES fan of old! I don't want my heart broken again! And now she's got this movie coming out, claiming she's changed her ways, and oh God, I want to believe... her...

I miss TWIN PEAKS too. Our love burned too hot too fast, and things got a little insane and ended in a deeply unsatisfying and frustrating way, but oh, what a time we had.

LOST strikes me as another one like this. I'm tired of failed promises, unfulfilled expectations, and long, long periods of blue balls. No more, I say!

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

I was kinda wondering how you'd react. :)

Re: Overstretched metapwhore, lest she be browncoated (ew)

[interdisciple.livejournal.com]

LOST is no TWIN PEAKS.

LOST has the same fire, the same intensity, but leaves her crazy at the door. She knows what she's doing and what she wants. In fact, she doesn't work alone. This is all part of her grand plan to take over the universe, starting with Planet Earth.

She will not only fulfill your promises; she will satisfy expectations, hopes and dreams that you didn't even know you had... Will make you think they were your idea... Will do this indiscriminately to all who cross her path, making each feel their relationship with her is unique and special.

The relationship is now coming to an end, and the closer it comes, the more we want to keep each moment on pause so that it lasts forever. The only way she'll blow this is if someone kills her before we get a chance to say goodbye...

[civilbloodshed.livejournal.com]

And this, this is why I don't watch LOST.

[fragmentedsky.livejournal.com]

Word.

[nymphgalatea.livejournal.com]

Hey, I like Batman Returns. Helps that I saw it long before I'd ever read a Batman comic, or watched the excellent cartoon, so the out of character Penguin, etc didn't bother me at the time. (Lack of continuity between mediums has never upset me; I'm an odd comics fan in that respect)

Watching it now, it's a perfect example of Burtons' biggest failing: it's all style and little substance. But, oh, it's got such fantastic style. (That fabulous Gothic-meets-Art Deco skyline is absolutely perfect)

I suppose the main reason I like it is Catwoman. I'd never seen a character quite like that before. She's morally ambiguous, she holds her own in a fight, and her character journey is given far more attention than Batmans'. In the final scene she acts where Batman hesitates. It's rare to find such an interesting female character in an action film. Before that they were always just damsels in distress/ loyal support for the hero. When I saw it, aged nine, I came away wanting to be Catwoman. (Which worried my mother quite a lot, incidentally.)

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if I had never known anything about Batman, I could potentially see liking it. But it's so off-base on so many levels, the Penguin especially. He's one of the single most grotesque, nasty, disgusting characters ever put to film, and the comic version has never recovered.

Catwoman, on the other hand, is definitely worth merit. While I winced at the Adam-West-style lines of dialogue ("I am Catwoman, hear me roar?" Ugh), and while her origin felt needlessly complicated and mystified (cat nibbles bring her back to life/lives? Really?) she definitely shaped up and developed interestingly over the course of the movie. And yet... I dunno, maybe I'm just having a hard time seperating the movie from the comics. That said, I was never really that interested in Selina until Brubaker's run, all the way up till Paul Gulacy took over the art. Those first four trades are wonderful, wonderful stuff, the rare superhero comic I would not hesitate to give to a girlfriend.

Also, there were several moments when I found myself thinking, "Oh wait, Batman's in this film too? Cool!" Which is not good.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

We are an endangered breed.

Re: Overstretched metapwhore, lest she be browncoated (ew)

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

I shall get to her eventually. Rest assured. Probably in the fall, once I'm done touring and need a serious break.

The question is, which shall I get to first: LOST, BATTLESTR GALACTACA, DEXTER, THE SOPRANOS, or THE SHIELD?

Re: Overstretched metapwhore, lest she be browncoated (ew)

[interdisciple.livejournal.com]

Get to LOST first so you can join everyone else in the premier of the new season. The Sopranos you can do anytime, won't make a difference. BSG, dunno -- maybe you can do that one too. Dunno enough about The Shield or Dexter to have an opinion on those. All I know is that LOST is pretty fucking good (really, it's the best show ever, I think, but I won't overhype it for you).

[gore-whore-5.livejournal.com]

All I can say is that for me, Aliens and Indiana Jones don't mix.

Re: Overstretched metapwhore, lest she be browncoated (ew)

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

I have heard the "best show title" seriously, truly up for grabs with THE SHIELD and THE WIRE. By several reputable LOST-watching sources. Maybe we should check those out together.

Oh, and watch DEXTER, it is a giddy dark delight. I've only seen the first two episodes and am anxious to catch up.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

It's Spielberg's alien fetish. Much as I don't want to, I can just picture him masturbating to the thought of inserting aliens into every movie, and CGI-replacing all guns with walkie-talkies.

[gore-whore-5.livejournal.com]

Hahaha! Absolutely! I need to watch that episode again. It was brilliant.

Re: Overstretched metapwhore, lest she be browncoated (ew)

[interdisciple.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched enough of The Wire, but I like what I've seen. Not as much as I like LOST (maybe a visceral reaction to Hawaii over Baltimore), but I can't say that in fairness until I give it a more fair shake. Then again, I can already tell that genre- and style-wise, it's not as much my speed as LOST is. LOST just fits my brain (and heart) damn near perfectly somehow. But, I'm weird, so there's that.

Remarkably, I'd never even heard of The Shield until today. Then again, I'm not a superclose follower of TV and non-music media entertainment, but...

Am game for viewing parties after August. And I still have some books of yours I have to read and return! (I vow not to be That Guy and "forget"/keep them!)

[metalcrowe.livejournal.com]

But we endure.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Yes. Yes we do.

*looks meaningfully off into the sunset*