Springfield Punx

I officially love Dean Fraser and his Springfield Punx. Bascially, he turns all of his favorite pop culture characters into Simpsonized versions of themselves, then posts them on the Internets. Best idea ever? Maybe. Just maybe.

He jumped on my radar this week when some very cool person named Adam Reynolds put a bunch of Fraser's Lost Punx together to create a desktop wallpaper.

SEE HOW COOL?

Just the other day, he posted his take on Heath Ledger's Joker, which I luuuurve.

Hawt. See full post

Hoffman as the Penguin [Fan Art]

This is just too cool.

The favorite rumors for the third of Chris Nolan's Batman movies...if he makes a third...which I really hope he does...have so far been Rachel Weisz as Catwoman and Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin. Today, Io9 posted a mock up of PSH in Penguin makeup. The original source, Cinema Blend, received the image from someone claiming it was an actual make up test from Warner Brothers. Most likely it's just some top notch photoshop work, but regardless, I'm gonna post it cause real or fake (most likely fake), it's still pretty effing badass.

See full post

The Night is Always Darkest Just Before I Take Out Another Thug

Eidos, developer of the recently-announced Batman: Arkham Asylum game, just released some new screenshots to the public. What we know already is that the game will focus strongly on Batman's combat abilities and allow you to pull neat tricks like distracting enemies with their own companions' screams of terror. Anyway, one of the new screens has me particularly interested...

If you look above, you'll see the The Dark Knight suspended above his prey. I am hoping that this screen is from actual gameplay. Allowing players to lie in wait for enemies by hanging upside-down would be a very nice treat in 2009 when the game releases. Here's hoping...

If you haven't seen it yet, hit the jump for the game's teaser trailer and screenshot galleries.

Check out a slew of screenshots here and here, courtesy of Kotaku.



See full post

THANK YOU, DARK KNIGHT!

on tuesday, the dark knight blu-ray sold 600,000 copies between the US, UK, and Canada, representing roughly 20% of all home media sales for the title!!!!!!!

this is splendiferous news, and goes a long ways in market saturation for the fledgling format! and trust me, this is a VERY good thing for us all.

hooray! See full post

OSCAR UPDATE 2 / INCOHERENT DARK KNIGHT RANT... 8? [Oscar Watch]

welllll things have changed a wee bit since my last analysis a few weeks ago. slumdog's stock has inexplicably climbed even higher whereas milk has also picked up quite a head of steam. benjamin button has not garnered any sort of critics prizes but will likely garner some considerable support as its opening nears. ditto that for revolutionary road (which i have now seen, loved, and will be posting about in detail in the near future), and it's one surefire oscar nom in kate winslet's performance. and the dark knight - a film that continues to lower in my estimation with each screening (though the blu-ray is drool-inducing, and the ambient nuggets of the score continue to prove a genius touch... so glad the score is again eligible) - looks like it will ride its zeitgeist-y wave ride to the red carpet. which is really a shame.

now i really liked the dark knight. i love some of the choices that were made. unfortunately, the choices that i disagree with i feel were atrocious and robbed me of what could potentially have been one of the better films of the year. bummer city. so while i certainly don't mean to echo the sentiments of this hollywood producer: "If The Dark Knight, that piece of overblown crap, gets nominated for Best Picture it'll go down in Oscar history alongside Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth [which won the 1952 Best Picture Oscar]. Heath Ledger was great and ditto the effects, but the script was asinine drivel -- populist pablum and 'escapist entertainment' at its best and worst. And they could have saved Somalia for that budget." ... i do have some choice, scattershot, tip o' the brain words for the dark knight crowd.

here's a silly little article about how laughable the joker's plan is. http://www.cracked.com/article_16848_p2.html now, while i have no qualms with movie logic and find the scene to be interesting enough (if somewhat incoherently pieced together) to ignore the gaping holes in logic, methinks this issue brings up one of the movie's most damning failures: nolan is far too concerned with set up to be bothered with execution - incapable of separating character from ideology to create something with real emotional pull.

to wit, the first 30 minutes or so of the movie are silky smooth and establish a genuinely palpable sense of ominous anticipation. between the fantastic opening sequence and the sweeping introduction of gotham that follows (the helicopter shots and glowering looks of the city on the brink) one gets the sense that the seeds of a truly epic struggle are being sown. everything with the joker just works in the early going - heath is unforgettable and earns his oscar as he leaves the first mafia meeting. the introduction of harvey and re-introduction of rachel? like butter.

and then the effin party. ohhhhh the party. 5-10 minutes of set-up (discounting the lengthy character work that precedes it) and then a graceless bit of chop-socky and the scene ends prematurely. potential squandered. the joker and his goons apparently can't open a closet and find harvey dent. whatever. somewhat frustrating but i'll move on. and then... all this planing (on both the part of the P.D. and the joker) to set up the most pointless fake death in movie history (ostensibly to protect gordon's family, but... um... huh?) leads to things that make no sense which leads to that stupid chase scene that has some of the only kinetic flair of the film and makes ZERO SENSE GAAH. but who cares. as long as the story's foundations are strong, i'll allow it its frivolities. i mean, nolan and co. have established an atmosphere of present menace and imminently indelible mayhem (the notion of fake batmans, though slightly bungled, leaves quite the impression as to the collective state of the city), and that's really all that counts at this juncture.

and then the hospital scene. annnnddd the movie falls apart and in one of the most implosive third acts (if you can call the sprawling latter of the film a single act) in film history since... um... hancock? i was gonna say hitch, and then hitchcock... but i guess it's hancock. anyhoo, harvey dent's character makes a simplistic and completely implausible 180, the joker sets up another infantile prank that's fueled by dime-store philosophy that aims no higher than the lowest common denominator in much the same way that slumdog millionaire makes world cinema more palatable by blasting MIA on the soundtrack and dealing in the most boringly western of narrative tropes, and the final confrontation is an awkward series of platitudes and lame philosophical nuggets that are further deluded by the "huh?" moment of the year - batman's little cell phone radar thingy that makes lucius tingly in all the wrong places. a successful and resoundingly obvious nod that those with absolute power must not wield it absolutely? sure. completely unnecessary? also sure. the worst part? it's used to make what could have made for a potentially satisfying denouement - a conclusion that might have atoned for the film's various and snowballing missteps - into a silly and incomprehensible action set piece. a potent moment convoluted and obfuscated by ideas. ideas that the film's characters implicitly sewed into the tale - ideas nolan didn't trust his audience to understand. so rather than use the bloated running time to make gotham city a place with a beating heart, he simply allows his magnificent characters to square off in a tired war of exhausted ideologies - squandering their charms in a banal exchange of principles and reasons for being.

trust me, after 9 hours, we know why the characters are doing what they're doing. i may not understand why their plans are so effing complicated, but i know the true impetus behind their actions. i just want to see them do what they do - not talk about it ad infinitum so that my dad knows what's going on (note: my dad walked out when brucey goes to hong kong to go see mamma mia... for the 2nd time). effin hell this movie was frustrating. if you have wonderful characters inhabited by wonderful actors, LET THEM BE! jeeeez. you know that scene in family guy when peter says he didn't like the godfather because it insisted upon itself? he would have haaattteed the dark knight.

the dark knight is the most disappointing movie of the year. if only because it had such tremendous potential and i was so jazzed for it. oh well, i loved batman begins, so i'll still be more than primed to see the inevitable GOTHAM CITY or whatever the feck they call it. but oy. i'm somewhat sorry this is all so vague, but i just don't have the energy to do a close-analysis of this bitch. and all the dark knight love? i can't understand it, so allow me to rationalize. a perfect storm of hype (dead young actor + great director and lovely pedigree all around) and an incredible performance = people desperate to love this poo. people wanted this to be a masterpiece so desperately that they allowed the film's sweeping scope to wash over them, blissfully seduced by the gravitas of it all. and that's fine. but it ain't for me. and yes, i mean to say that anyone who disagrees with me is suffering from some form of mass psychosis.

give heath his oscar.

end rant.

best pic guesses as of 12/11/08:

MILK (lock)
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (lock)
The Dark Knight
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Revolutionary Road / Frost/Nixon / Wall-E / Doubt / Punisher: War Zone

best actress

KATE WINSLET (lock!!!)
SALLY HAWKINS (lock)
Melissa Leo (lock)
kristin scott thomas? (good work, poopy movie)

best actor

clint (lock)
mickey rourke (lock)
frank langella (lock)
phillip seymour hoffman (no other good candidates?)

all tech awards SHOULD go to benjamin button, except for cinematography which in a just world would be a lock for THE FALL.

best foreign film? jeez, with the academy rules it's downright silly-frappy to consider, but the best foreign-language films of the year for my money were:

1. BLIND MOUNTAIN
2. WALTZ WITH BASHIR
3. STILL LIFE
4. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
5. A CHRISTMAS TALE

and soooo many i haven't seen! GAH-CITY!

and don't forget, kiddos, the golden globes mean nothing! ZOMG HOW GOOD IS THE WEST WING!!?!? See full post

LA Critics Awards [Oscar Watch]

How about THIS?

The LA Critics Film Association has named Wall*E its best picture of the year. This is the first time in the history of the LA Critics that best picture has gone to an animated feature. Danny Boyle took the prize for best director. Runner-Up for both? The Dark Knight. Lookin good, Dark Knight, lookin good.

The complete list of winners:

Picture: "Wall-E"
Runner-up: "The Dark Knight"

Director: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, "The Dark Knight"

Actor: Sean Penn, "Milk"
Runner-up: Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"

Actress: Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Runner-up: Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"

Supporting actor: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Runner-up: Eddie Marsan, "Happy-Go-Lucky"

Supporting actress: Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and "Elegy"
Runner-up: Viola Davis, "Doubt"

Screenplay: Mike Leigh, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, "Synecdoche, New York"

Foreign-language film: "Still Life"
Runner-up: "The Class"

Documentary: "Man on Wire"
Runner-up: "Waltz With Bashir"

Animation: "Waltz With Bashir"

Cinematography: Yu Lik Wai, "Still Life"
Runner-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Production design: Mark Friedberg, "Synecdoche, New York"
Runner-up: Nathan Crowley, "The Dark Knight"

Music/score: A.R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

New Generation: Steve McQueen, "Hunger"

Douglas E. Edwards independent/experimental film/video: James Benning, "RR" and "Casting a Glance"

So what have we learned here? Heath & The Dark Knight are building momentum for their respective win & nominations and looks like I need to add Happy Go Lucky to my must-see list. Oh and clearly no one in LA saw Let The Right One In, otherwise it would have won Best Foreign Film.

See full post

Broadcast Critics Awards [Oscar Watch]

Broadcast Critics Nominations were announced today with Milk & Benjamin Button leading the way with eight nominations each. I don't often hold too much stock in what they have to say cause broadcast critics might not be as smart as any other critic, but they are kinda pretty! So they are on tv! Seriously, have you watched any of those movie reviews in the cabs? It's either a gorgeous British woman or one of two men, both of whom look like everyone's favorite uncle. Don't even get me started on Ben Lyons, a critic so adorable I don't pay attention to anything he says, which is probably for the better. (That would be considered so sexist if I was a guy and Ben Lyons was a girl. Hooray double standards!)

Anyhoo, nominations, listed below with handy dandy commentary by your hasn't-had-coffee-yet-today webmaster

Best Picture
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
The Wrestler

Yay Dark Knight! No Revolutionary Road? Yay The Wrestler! Oh hai Slumdog Millionaire, you is everywhere.

Best Actor
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Again, no Revolutionary Road and another nod for Clint Eastwood, which means I probably have to see that damn movie now.

Best Actress
Kate Beckinsale, Nothing But the Truth
Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt

Oh god, I didn't think I'd need to see Nothing But The Truth! I don't have that kind of time! Wait a second, where's Kate Winslet?!

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
James Franco, Milk

Hah, nice work Mr. Downey. GO HEATH! You shut up, Josh Brolin, I'm watching you.

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Vera Farmiga, Nothing But the Truth
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Great, Nothing But The Truth again. Crap. Penelope Cruz is electric in that film and I would watch her in anything so YAY! Marisa Tomei committed her ass off (literally?) in that movie, so hoorayz! And Viola Davis won the Tony, so neat! Need to see the others.

Best Acting Ensemble
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Milk
Rachel Getting Married

Dark Knight? Hawt. Shit this is a tough category actually. Rachel Getting Married was impeccably acted, Doubt stars Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, so, you know, nuff said, and while I haven't seen the other two, I don't doubt the acting is amazing.

Best Director
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant, Milk

First, I insult the Broadcast Critics, then they nominate Dark Knight for everything. Damnit. Still no Revolutionary Road anywhere.

Best Writer (Original or Adapted Screenplay)
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt

Best Animated Feature
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Wall-E
Waltz With Bashir

Best Young Actor/Actress
Dakota Fanning, The Secret Life of Bees
David Kross, The Reader
Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
Brandon Walters, Australia

Best Action Movie
The Dark Knight
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Quantum of Solace
Wanted

This is a category? But but, it's Dark Knight versus Iron Man! I have to go.

Best Comedy Movie
Burn After Reading
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Role Models
Tropic Thunder
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

This is a category and Pineapple Express isn't nominated?! BLASPHEMY. Forgetting Sarah Marshall & Role models take it over the others for me. Burn After Reading was more quirky than funny and Vicky Cristina Barcelona was more gorgeous and sensual than funny. Tropic Thunder was good, but I didn't laugh out loud as much as I did in the other two. No respect for Pineapple Express. Pshhhhh.

Best Picture Made for Television
John Adams
Recount
Coco Chanel

But this is tv...what's happening...who are these people....go Recount! Give some awards to Danny Strong!

Best Foreign Language Film
A Christmas Tale
Gomorrah
I’ve Loved You So Long
Let the Right One In
Mongol
Waltz With Bashir

Let The Right One In wooooooooot

Best Documentary Film
I.O.U.S.A.
Man On Wire
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Standard Operating Procedure
Young At Heart

Man on Wire Wooooooooooot

Best Song
"Another Way to Die" (Jack White and Alicia Keys), Quantum of Solace
"Down to Earth" (Peter Gabriel), Wall-E
"I Thought I Lost You" (Miley Cyrus and John Travolta), Bolt
"Jaiho" (A.R. Rahman), Slumdog Millionaire
"The Wrestler" (Bruce Springsteen), The Wrestler

Gotta say, I love that Springsteen song

Best Composer
Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Clint Eastwood, Changeling
Danny Elfman, Milk
Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard, The Dark Knight
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

Go Dark Knight!

Okay, now that you've read my highly intelligent and important commentary, what do you think of these nominations? Could Revolutionary Road actually be shut out from the Oscars? Will I have to watch Gran Torino? Is there hope that a Swedish Vampire movie is actually gonna win best foreign film at the Oscars, thus forcing Matt Reeves NOT to fuck up the remake like he so desperately wants to? Comment below.

The Critic's Choice Awards will air on VH1, January 8th, 2009 at 9pm. See full post

The Dark Knight, Chris Nolan & BD Live [Event]

Went into a Warner's Home Video event tonight at the Academy expecting to get a little drunk and came out of it loving The Dark Knight even more, knowing what BD-Live is, further understanding that Chris Nolan is neat & Heath Ledger is a genius, owning a Dark Knight Production Art/Shooting Script Book, Blu-Ray special features disc & a bunch of TDK napkins (thanks friendly bartender!), fed and yes, a little drunk.

To elaborate...

Before tonight I had never even HEARD of BD Live. Apparently it's Xbox Live for Blu-Ray? If you have a BD Live enabled Blu Ray player or a PS3, then you can connect to the internet and partake in the potential awesomeness. The Dark Knight is Warner Brothers' first foray into this format and it's shaping up to be reason alone to invest in a Blu-Ray Player. First of all, it comes with tons of content, waiting to be streamed for free- the newest Warner's trailers, episodes of Warner Premiere Motion Comics (Mad Love! Shadow of Ra's al Ghul!) and more. Down the road, the content may even include episodes of Warner's TV shows. And because everything is streaming, you can get to the content faster and it doesn't take up any hard drive space. One of my favorite features of TDK BD Live is the commentary option. With a computer & webcam, you can record YOURSELF giving commentary for the whole movie or just a scene here, a scene there. Then, when people go on BD Live, they can select your commentary to watch with the film. Now, it's doubtful that I would ever watch a stranger's commentary, but a friend's? Certainly. Maybe even someone famous? A blogger, a writer, a director, an actor, a critic, a technician - people not involved with the film who would have no business doing commentary for the dvd, but would have an interesting perspective, making their thoughts available to the general public? Yes, I'm into that.

Also available is partaking in live text commentary - a bunch of people watching the movie at the same time, texting or typing their thoughts as the film goes on. So a whole group of friends, all in different parts of the world, could watch The Dark Knight together and read each other's commentary.

And you heard it here first - on December 18th, Chris Nolan is doing a live commentary with 100,000 Dark Knight Blu Ray owners. He will host the screening and answer questions as it goes on. With 100,000 people, it will most likely get a little crazy and who knows if Chris Nolan will tell me how exactly the Jim Gordan thing works (trying to keep this post spoiler free...), but it still sounds pretty damn cool to me. In Nolan's words, "It'll be interesting to see what it's like...the potential of it is very exciting." (Note: It had previously been announced that at some point Nolan would do a commentary, but only tonight was the date of this chat confirmed)

After learning all about BD Live and again wishing I had lots and lots money to spend on Blu Ray players and Blu Ray discs and giant HD televisions, we got to spend a half hour with Chris Nolan. Here are some highlights from the discussion.

-It was "a shock" to Nolan & his team that TDK was so successful i.e. is the 2nd highest grossing film of all time
-He really studied how to approach a sequel - what works versus what doesn't. His goal was to "provide a new experience, stretch in all directions" He wanted to delve deeper into the characters, both old & new and stage the action and story on a "grander scale", using an "operatic sensibility"
-He wanted the film to connect to what we as an audience are concerned about. What would impact us, what would excite us. In the end he realized he was tapping into his own "fear of anarchy" and that the Joker was a "distillation of that force"
-In his approach to the entire franchise, Nolan wanted to use a great ensemble a la Richard Donner in Superman. Get a cast that is wholly talented, all of whom bring a lot to the table. This was the mindset in casting Batman Begins & was carried through to Dark Knight
-In reference to Heath Ledger, he had "Something to express that was very much in line with the character in the script. It just meshed"
-Compared the home Blu-Ray version of Dark Knight to the big screen IMAX version and said that the advent of Blu-Ray is a vast improvement technically and important for the translation of IMAX to home video. Now people at home can see the difference between shooting in IMAX and shooting in 35mm in a way that even audiences who saw TDK with a 35mm projection didn't get to experience. Blu Ray points out the "grain structure" and "focus anomalies" and will actually expand in size the same way the IMAX print did, all of which are important for optimal TDK viewing.
-Drew inspiration from Frank Miller's work in the 80s - more serious, more contemporary
-If he made a third film, it would be for no reason but the continuation of story. He is currently looking into where the story would go and if it needs to go there. He maintained that it's very hard to make a movie of this scale (and specified he wasn't asking for our sympathy, drawing a laugh from the crowd) - it's two hard years and you gotta love it. One of his biggest fears is getting halfway through making a film and realizing it's unnecessary and he doesn't want to make it anymore. If there is a third story that needs to be told, there will be a third film, but nothing is set in stone or a given.
-There is no 3 hour cut anywhere - no deleted scenes. He, John Nolan & David Goyer would cut scenes before they ever made it to the screen in what Nolan calls an "aggressive editorial approach." Their criteria was that every scene needs three reasons to be in the film or it's out. This made for a difficult time in the editing suite as every single scene was essential and could not be removed.
-The music ended up playing a huge role in pacing and storytelling
-Shooting in IMAX is about "clarity" and "sharpness" not being big. It's about providing a "sense of the screen disappearing."
-He was shocked that no one ever tried to work with action films in IMAX before & would love to shoot a film entirely in IMAX. The problem with this? An IMAX camera is very noisy, SO noisy in fact that all the dialogue in every IMAX scene had to be looped in post - a feat more difficult for the younger generation of actors, who have less ADR experience. Would ideally like to shoot a hybrid film where all MOS scenes are IMAX are all scenes with dialogue are 65mm.
-When translating a story to a screenplay, the first question he asks himself is "What is the point of view?" For Memento, the protagonist couldn't remember what had happened right before, therefore telling the story backwards seemed a natural device. In TDK, there are many characters and a gradual rise in tension, so linear works best.
-The videos shot by the Joker were in fact shot and mostly directed by Heath Ledger. For the first video, Wally Pfister came in and checked the lights, the sound guys set up a few extra mics, everyone hid around the corner and they let Heath play. Ledger had been planning to direct and was an incredible collaborator with a great mind. Nolan trusted him implicitly. Ledger's work on the first video was so fantastic that Nolan wasn't even there for the second video shoot with Anthony Michael Hall. He gave Ledger the camera and said "do whatever you want." Apparently every take Ledger did was different, but always in line with the story and always fantastic. Where are those on the dvd, Mr. Nolan?!!
-Something was mentioned about scanning 8k...I couldn't follow the technical speak. Which is sad for me.
-He studied English Lit in school and is a self taught director. Started playing around with a camera at age 7 or 8. Believes in the Kubrick school of thought that the best way to learn how to make a movie is to make one.

He then bid us goodbye and a screening of Dark Knight began. Have I mentioned I really love that movie?

Also an important bit of information - Missed TDK in IMAX the first time around? The Dark Knight is being re-released on January 23rd in IMAX theaters across the country. If you haven't seen it yet (Here's looking at you, Danifesto), I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity and buy your IMAX tickets the moment they go on sale. See full post

david abuses his power [fanboy strikes]

to clarify an earlier post:

WHEN dark knight ISN'T nominated for best picture, it will not be because of any sort of "bradley effect" (god i hoped we were done with that term), but because it isn't a particularly great movie. it will be because the narrative - elements of which realize their potential to often stunning effect - is largely an unwieldy mess that needed an academic, robert mckee brush-up or five. because the last 50 minutes of the movie are merely a parade of dime-store psychology masked as transparently as the eponymous superhero who incites them. because the action scenes feel either unnecessary (hong kong) or incoherent (impostor batmans, the final fight) or... are sort of undeniably wonderful (opening sequence, the truck scene). i gots to love the ambition and most obviously the truly genre-validating performances, but this movie is... here it comes... you're not gonna like this ms muse... i can barely type it... aclkkkkdf..... themostdeeplyflawedmovieofchristophernolan'scareer OKAY THERE IT IS. i mean, the man's got quite a track record so that ain't saying much, and he's never gonna make a film as blithely unaware of it's own superfluity as his insomnia remake... but THAT JUST HAPPENED.

anndddd a few other things - benjamin button is not "supposed" to be anything other than what it is... but the academy might not see it that way. and about academy members poo-pooing superhero movies? PUH-LEASE like i'm stefanie tanner. effin return of the king won 13 oscars. the movie about orcs, elves, and little people with really hairy feet and a villain that was kinda sorta a collection of enormous facial features... SWEPT the oscars. on a completely unrelated note, that movie was actually toottallly WICKED! (as said by that excited little kid from the incredibles).

also, ms muse gets -2 points for saying entertainment weekly is her favorite anything except for thing to read on the toilet. which i guess is vaguely synonymous with "magazine." so maybe that's fair.

so the score (for those of you keeping track at home) is david: 0. ms muse: -2.

don't worry, team muse - it's early in the season. but given how i am officially anointing myself "keeper of the score," things are not looking good for you.

and in the unlikely event that dark knight actually gets nominated, not only will i do trash for a month, but i will actually provide detailed evidence to support my opinion. sorry!

p.s. upon further consideration ms muse gets 2 pts. for her lovely and agreeable post on let the right one in... so we're allllll tied up again. See full post

Dave Karger Insults Dark Knight Fans? [Rant]

Was reading this week's Entertainment Weekly, my favorite magazine as it were, and came upon some Best Picture predictions randomly in the middle of an article on Meryl Streep. At first I was thrilled to see The Dark Knight make the top 8, alongside Benjamin Button, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, & Australia. But then I read the actual write up...

THE DARK KNIGHT
How it gets in With the economic climate becoming more dire every day, recognizing a movie that made over half a billion dollars domestically (and earned quite strong reviews) might be very appealing for some.
How it gets left out It's the Oscar equivalent of the Bradley effect: With ballots in hand, will voters really check off a popcorn movie?

Wait, EW, so you are telling me should Dark Knight be nominated, it's because it MADE A LOT OF MONEY and that's APPEALING TO SOME?! (Oh and maybe because it got strong reviews, but that doesn't really matter as much - thanks for clearing that up, parenthesis!) And should it be snubbed it's because what, the academy members' consciences got the better of them? They just couldn't bear to vote for a "popcorn movie"?!

I understand that for some people, the Dark Knight hype got the better of them..well...I sort of understand...in that way that I'll pretend I understand if you want...but so far, it's hands down the best picture I've seen so far this year. To insult my taste and the taste of millions of others just doesn't seem right to me. The whole reason this movie made as much money as it did, beyond your average comic book movie's total, and why it's getting Best Picture talk in the first place is because it ISN'T just a popcorn movie. It reinvented and elevated the superhero genre to a whole new level and to demean that accomplishment and ignore its quality is condescending at best. Those who are at this moment considering nominating Dark Knight are doing so because it's a great god damn movie and won't change their minds last second, "Bradley Effect" style. Those academy members who won't be nominating Dark Knight? They were never entertaining the thought in the first place.

I stand firmly by the belief that in the end Dark Knight will pull out a Best Pic nod. If it doesn't, it's due to that faction of the academy that will always point their noses down on superhero films, no matter how great they are. But look at this years contenders - Slumdog Millionaire is pretty good, Frost/Nixon, you know, gets the job done and from what I hear (and will be able to confirm soon) Milk is more of an accomplishment for telling the story it tells rather than an achievement in filmmaking and Benjamin Button leaves the audience oddly emotionally detatched in what should be a tearjerker. All four times I saw Dark Knight, I did laugh, I did cry, I marveled at the gorgeous IMAX sequences, I noticed new things, was affected by new things, I was always impressed with the performances and was consistently left itching for the continuation of this story. Some say the film is too didactic, but one element of the superhero genre that should always be maintained is the moral lesson, the grand themes of right and wrong and the epic battle of good versus evil. It's why the genre was created and why it's not going anywhere.

So, a popcorn movie that only stands a chance cause it made money? We're in a fight, Dave Karger. Even though I just added you to my Google Reader. See full post

Item from the Geek Shelf #1

I'm also beginning a semi-weekly feature today called Items from the Geek Shelf. Specifically my Geek Shelf. And as anyone who has been to my apartment knows, I'm extremely proud of said shelf. And the geeky items I have placed upon it.

Today's item is one that is not difficult to find, but made my day when it finally arrived in the mail. I saw The Dark Knight four times in theaters (3 times in IMAX) and regretted immediately the decision not to buy this during preview night of Comic Con. They sold out right away and I was out of luck until Entertainment Earth got some in stock last month. So now I present, The Joker Bobble Head.




Joker in good lighting




Joker on my desk in offensively bad lighting

The reason why I love it so much is because it's the only inexpensive Joker item that actually looks like Heath Ledger and captures how damn creepy his Joker is. As much as I would love one of those detailed figures or busts, I don't have that kind of money. The bobble head was the perfect solution.

For your own Joker Bobble Head, click here or here and enjoy! See full post