Same Link Time Same Link Channel
Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at 7:58PM Matt's Movies Harvey Weinstein is talking up movies he had nothing to do with and is not distributing. "Is this some sort of reverse psychology marketing strategy?"
Towleroad a filthy gay love song for Joseph Gordon-Levitt
/Film Anthony Mackie could be up for the Falcon role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. We could end up with two Hurt Locker guys in The Avengers 2
Press Play has a smart piece on the new Sigourney Weaver Clintonesque drama Political Animals.
Salon on the "adorable nihilism" of Bunheads with Sutton Foster. I keep wondering if I should write about this show. Are any of you watching?
The Advocate on Bollywood's problem with gay characters
Cinema Styles warns us not to be alarmed by all the media pieces telling us that today's generation doesn't care about old movies.
It's Batman's World...
Interiors Film Journal analyzes the physical space of The Dark Knight's opening bank robbery. I love the concept behind this monthly journal.
Joblo compares the five actors who've put on the bat cowl to date
Hello Tailor isn't excited about The Dark Knight Rises for Catwoman-related reasons and here's why...
Remember a few years ago when I just couldn't stomach the absolute blurb whore hysteria for The Dark Knight and posted things like this which pissed people off.
I'm having a slightly easier time with The Dark Knight Rises (at least until I see it) partially because I'm too busy to contemplate and fully absorb the "Greatest! Movie!! Of !!! All!!!! Times!!!! [sic]" (yes, even the 'Of' gets exclamation points because... hysteria!). The huge undulating waves of excitement and attendant mob with pitchforks anger towards brave dissenters have already started again. Cheeky Eric D. Snider posted a fake negative satirical review, which was pulled before I could read it but it apparently ended by acknowledging that he hadn't seen the movie and that he was conducting a social experiment. The fanboys aneurysms proved his shooting-fish-in-a-barrel point. RT freaked out and banned him from the site. Death threats for an authentic negative review by Marshall Fine and both sane and über self-serious handwringing over the fake one ensued.
It's gonna get crazier. Especially once Awards Season rolls around. Steel yourself Gothamites.
The only thing I care about is Anne Hathaway's Catwoman. Bring it Hathaway. But perhaps you should steer clear of La Pfeiffer on your way to brought.
Reader Comments (33)
I, too, have a desire to beat Anne Hathaway up. That girl grates like no other!
Yeah, from the clips I'm seeing...Anne Hathaway is not as natural in the role. She's so...over the top. I saw the one clip on Live with Kelly and she rolls her eyes to Joseph Gordon Levitt--it's just too much, too obvious. It's a shame, but she doesn't have that sex appeal built into her character the way an Angelina Jolie or Michelle Pfeiffer do.
Catwomen squaring off? Maybe if they do make a Catwoman movie for Hathaway they can make something happen.
it's the first time I go radom on a blog so here: I think we should start a Oscar campain for:
Sara Silverman as sup. act. for "Take this waltz
Selma Hayac as sup acc. for "Savages'
i haven't seen either yet! i know i need to get to take this waltz
I think Nolan knows what he's doing re: casting Hathaway as Catwoman. She's an awkward beauty, aka not your typical sexpot, but his version of the character doesn't seem to be going for that. I also think her theatricality could work in her favor, Catwoman has always been over-the-top.
It's kind of a shame that crazed fanboys go so completely ape shit about negative reviews. It gives the rest of Nolan's fans a bad rap! I promise we're not all crazy! Some of us enjoy reading dissenting opinions!
Yes, absolutely, you should write about Bunheads even if it's just to write about Sutton Foster all the time.
the fanboys are even going after 'fresh' reviews that are not raves...
and I love their arguments:
"we accept 'rotten' reviews, when they have merit."
"your writing sucks... do people pay you to do that?"
"you liked ______ and didn't like batman, your opinion has no value."
"you gave ______ 4.5 stars and only 3.5 to batman? you are stupid!"
I'm afraid of what will happen if nolan gets oscar-snubbed for a third consecutive time.
I read Snider's review .It was not a satirical négative review (i remember your satirical review 1/2 years ago) ,it's a mishonest review because if several people didn't noted that some facts were inacurated,the guy ne ver would say he didn't see the movie and attack the fans and the direct or in thé first sentences was provocative
Your satirical review on thé future TDKR ils funny,articulate
The other day I posted a Facebook status expressing my hope that, especially at 2 hours and 44 minutes, "The Dark Knight Rises" isn't as tedious and boring as Nolan's first two Batman movies, and I could just imagine the foam in my friends' mouths as they typed their impassioned retorts. One went so far as to link the Rotten Tomatoes reviews page for "The Dark Knight" in his comment, implying by his response that if 96 percent of people loved the film, then my dissension must somehow be inherently faulty.
I just had to laugh to myself.
Nothing seems to be more frustrating than when everyone you know loves a movie that you think is merely good, and what's worse is that it sometimes causes some much resentment that you eventually feel obligated to hate it based on all the hype. Recent examples I'm thinking of for me include Slumdog Millionaire, The (racist) Help, The Avengers, the Iron Man films, Avatar, The Hurt Locker (very good right up until the last ten minutes, which manage to be both abrupt and meandering and make very little sense), Crash... I guess I could go on and on.
I tend to very much like Christopher Nolan films and think that he's been on a really good streak. I think the Prestige was his only real dip in quality, but mostly because its plot was a little overly ambitious and decadent with the Shyamalan-esque twists. So, I pretty much agreed with the outpouring of critical love for The Dark Knight and Inception. It seems like what's coming in for The Dark Knight Rises is more measured than usual, but it's still getting pretty solid reviews, which doesn't surprise me since Nolan is such a strong filmmaker visually(mostly because he's such a classicist -- little CGI, no 3-D, lots of extras, on location shooting, elaborate and meticulous set/production design, etc.). If there's one criticism coming in that I'm not surprised about it's people calling the film "portentous." We'll have to see... I mean, are they calling it portentous because it actually takes itself too seriously or because superhero movies by default are supposed to have some prepackaged campy filter and if they don't they are violating general principle?
So yeah, I'm a bit of a fanboy, but I understand what people don't like about Christopher Nolan fans. He's such an "internet fanclub" director and he seems to attract a lot of kids who write on internet message boards and overanalyze all his symbolism (guilty).
Ugh... three more days of waiting... this suuuuuucks.
Tim--
what's worse is that it sometimes causes some much resentment that you eventually feel obligated to hate it based on all the hype.
I've heard other people use this line, and I've always found it a bit curious. I don't think I've ever felt "obligated" to hate a movie just because other people like it. And it's not like I'm always with the consensus; sometimes I love hugely popular movies, sometimes I loathe them. But the idea of taking other people's opinions into account so heavily that they end up helping to decide my own opinion is just a very strange idea to me. When I'm deciding whether I like a movie or not, why should any opinion but my own matter to me?
Tim: I'm hoping that it's going to be as good as The Dark Knight, but I think we're, most likely, going to wind up with an Army of Darkness situation here, where the third film is better than the first but not as good as the second. To hazard a guess: If I were brave, I'd guess Juno Temple being Barbara Gordon (Jr.) (or, less likely but more accurate to the description, Stephanie Brown) and not Holly Robinson is the big surprise. I know I'm probably wrong on both guesses, because Nolan seems totally disinterested in the kid sidekicks. I actually hope the next live series is focused on them (ALL of them), preferably as a structured sextet (First movie is Act One, film two and three are Act Two, final half is Act Three), all filmed in quick succession AND with all characters age accurate. (Think less JGL or Chris O'Donnell and more...Max Records.) First movie: Dick Grayson with a fully self contained story. Possiblity of Teen Titans spin-off with a cast of unknowns to follow. Second movie: Introduction of Jason Todd and Barbara Gordon, ending like A Death in the Family. Third Movie: The events that affect Batgirl of The Killing Joke with a villain other than Joker. Events possibly spin off into a Birds of Prey film. Fourth Movie: The introduction of Spoiler and Tim Drake. Fifth Movie: Cassandra Cain Batgirl and the events of No Man's Land. Sixth movie: Cassandra Cain's disillusionment and the passing of her identity to Spoiler. Now: Does that sound cool to anyone else?
Of course the best part of all these attacks on reviews, both on positive and negative reviews, is that none of the attackers have seen the film. Isn't going into a movie dead-set on it being the best thing ever just as disingenuous as going in thinking you'll hate it?
I pray Nolan is denied another director's nod just for the sh*** and giggles factor — his fans are so crazy hearing about their heartache will have a perverted pleasure quality.
4rtful: Um...that's insane. Discounting his three Batman films, he's also made Memento, The Prestige and Inception. The last one is, personally, a little overrated, but most love it. On those three films alone, frankly, he deserves to get a Director nod soon. I mean, if not for this, than for the next film he directs.
I have a revelation about Nolan—he's the anti-Michael Bay. Before anyone says that's obvious but when you think about it they have to be comparable to begin with to be the anti-version of each other.
I don't think Nathaniel has posted a link to this yet, but you MUST read this incredible review of BRAVE:
http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/just-another-princess-movie/
Basiclaly sums up how I felt about that movie.
Whenever I see people going apeshit over someone DARING to say anything negative about The Dark Knight/The Dark Knight Rises, I always just quietly post the link to that great "In The Cut" video Jim Emerson did about the awful editing in TDK. That usually shuts people up for a while.
OMG those Pfeiffer gifs are PRICELESS!
Yes, Nat, please write about "Bunheads"! I'm watching, and it's fair to say I'm hooked though not yet totally sold. But it took me a while to warm up to "Gilmore Girls," too, so I'm willing to stick with it for a while.
Ugh, Nolan fanboys. As someone who generally admires but doesn't love his work (except for "The Prestige," which I did love) and was seriously underwhelmed by "The Dark Knight" apart from Heath Ledger's performance, I say kudos to Eric Snider for his "experiment."
I am watching Bunheads and it's definitely testing my patience. I think I need to just "let go" and not burden the show with any kind of reality whatsoever. As long as they show more ballet and Sutton performing, I'll be okay.
4rtful: Yes. Nolan is great at overall plotting and character development and performance execution but, though better than Burton, is not spectacular at action scenes. Bay (and if Avatar is to believed, modern Cameron) is great at action scenes and fireworks but not at any of those other things. That talent with action scenes is why Roger Ebert saw the possibility of an emerging talent with The Rock.
Everyone: Anyone interested in the Sidekick Sextet concept? As for who the villain other than the Joker would be to damage Barbara Gordon, I think one of Poison Ivy's vines crushing a spine and causing paralysis would be a route for effective imagery. Don't be scared. I asked for comment on that first comment.
I'm watching Bunheads (huge Gilmore Girls fan here)! I also plan to watch Political Animals (for Ellen Burstyn if nothing else) but I haven't seen the premiere yet.
check
@Liz -- I was being kinda tongue in cheek, but I think it's true that when people do nothing but speak in hyperbole about a movie you're not so enthusiastic about it puts you in the position of having to point out more things you didn't like about it in order to justify why you're not wetting your pants over it. Ultimately, a movie I thought was just "okay" often becomes a movie I "didn't like" when I have to hear everyone tell me how important, cinematic, and incredible it is (and also when said people tell me that I'm basically stupid for not liking it). I think Slumdog Millionaire was the biggest example of this. When I saw it, I was sorta like, "Eh, it was okay." But after everyone tried to justify to me how great it was, I felt obliged to speak up about its multitude of problems. I wound up in the camp of Slumdog haters. I should clarify that at that point it's not really the movie you hate, but the cultural discourse surrounding it, which I guess is all part of it. Does that make more sense? I'm not saying my opinion doesn't start unfettered by the opinions of others, but when a movie becomes a gigantic hypemobile it becomes increasingly difficult to make an impartial judgment about it. Which sucks.
Volvagia -- I love that you just referenced the Evil Dead trilogy in comparison to this. That's a good theory. Army of Darkness is great, but I have to say that I am the weirdest Evil Dead fan in the world in that the first one is my favorite. I wonder if anyone will make the case for Batman Begins as the best one when this is all over.
I agree with what people are saying about his fight sequences. Sometimes you can't tell what the eff is going on or who is doing what where. I've tried to think of what could justify that technique, but I dunno. It just seems sloppy. The snowmobile scenes in Inception were the worst part of the best movie I saw in 2010.
This his Snider´s review (I took a photo, or whatever it´s called in computer terms):
""The Dark Knight Rises" is easily the most disappointing Batman film so far - and I´m including Schumacher´s "Batman & Robin" in that statement. Nolan has finally lost his touch.
Just kidding! I haven´t seen "The Dark Knight Rises" yet. It´s probably very good! I just wanted to post a negative quote on Rotten Tomatoes and see how many idiots would type angry words at me without actually clicking the link to read the review. Given that Rotten Tomatoes commenters are the worst human beings on the planet. I suspect the number will be large.
Also: it doesn´t matter if a movie you love doesn´t get a 100% RT score. It affects you and the movie in no way whatsoever. "You ruined this movie´s RT score!" is a dumb complaint that is only made by dumb people.
Also: If you get angry about a review of a movie you haven´t seen yet, the terrorists win.
Real review to come!"
THE END
The first paragraph was the quote, of course.
Eh, I get what Snider is trying to prove, but it seems counterintuitive to fight internet trolls with internet trolling tactics. I am happy to leave internet trolls to their devices and not bait them.
Tim--
When I saw it, I was sorta like, "Eh, it was okay." But after everyone tried to justify to me how great it was, I felt obliged to speak up about its multitude of problems. I wound up in the camp of Slumdog haters.
But see, this is what I don't get. You thought Slumdog was okay (for the record, that's how I feel, too). Lots of other people loved it. Why didn't you just go on thinking it was okay? Otherwise, it basically seems like you're letting other people decide how you feel about a movie, and seems to sort of defeat the whole purpose of having an opinion. Why does it matter what anyone else thinks?
Sorry, I'm certainly not trying to pressure you or anything. It's just interesting hearing from such a totally different mindset than my own.
Lynn lets not beat her up, lets just hide her into obscurity so she will never act again. She annoys me and her acting is average. I dread Les Miz. Ugh
Sofie -- thanks for sharing. I apologize. I really thought it was a satirical review (i hadn't read it) but it was just a provocation. ah well.
Liz -- Read this part again, because I think it explains what you want to know:
"I should clarify that at that point it's not really the movie itself you hate, but the cultural discourse surrounding it, which I guess is all part of it. Does that make more sense? I'm not saying my opinion doesn't start unfettered by the opinions of others, but when a movie becomes a gigantic hypemobile it becomes increasingly difficult to make an impartial judgment about it. Which sucks."
I like to discuss movies with people before and after I see them, including having conversations about their merits. Sometimes what people say affects my opinions one way or another -- I think that's a good thing. I'm not sure what's so strange about that. Isn't the discourse all part of it? This is why I read film sites, discuss films online with people, see films with people, talk about films with people, etc. etc. etc....
Having other people's opinions alter your own doesn't "defeat the purpose of having an opinion." I'm not sure why you're saying that.
Gotta agree with Tim here, Liz. I think it's important to have the courage of your convictions absolutely (i agree with you that it's weird that so many people need other people to agree with them)
... but i also don't think we exist in a vacuum. If I read or hear somethign brilliant that makes me change the way I'm looking at a film, it's possible that my opinion will shift. Usually its in the same ballpark but i've gone from like to love and from sortalike to meh and from bad to TERRIBLE and all sorts of other permutations the more I've thought about and discussed a film.