Did I never post a real review of The Watchmen?
I really should get around to doing that.
I'll have to re-watch it though. Sometime after the holidays, I suppose.
The preview of the review: It was good.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Spirit
I watched Frank Miller's "The Spirit" a couple of weeks ago on DVD. I had heard terrible, horrible things about it, and that led me to avoid it in theatres, but I scored a cheap copy at Blockbuster, so I figured, why not.
It was pretty bad.
The longer I thought about it, in the days since seeing it, the more I disliked it.
Frank Miller wrote Sin City. He wrote the Dark Knight Returns. He wrote some of the greatest Daredevil comics ever.
But he also wrote Robocop 2. Worse, he wrote Robocop 3. The Spirit's script is far closer to his Robocop stuff than his great comics. The Spirit is a comically dumb movie, with no drama, over the top fight scenes, and things played for yuks at every possible turn. Mix that in with his directorial vision to make this movie and noir as possible visually, and you end up with a film that is disconcerting to watch and not involving in the slightest.
Now, if this was just any old movie Miller had thrown together, I could sort of get behind it. I could see it as campy fun, a lovable loser of a movie. But The Spirit is Will Eisner's signature creation, and Frank Miller should feel shame for what he did to the franchise. Actual shame. Frank Miller should blush and get evasive if people ask him about this movie, and get all dodgy and try to direct the conversation to Batman or Marv. Frank Miller should feel awkward if he even sees a guy in a blue suit with a red tie.
Is anyone reading this friendly with Frank Miller? Can you tell me if he has any, like, conversations with people? Because the dialogue was terrible in this movie. I mean, seriously, Does he not go outside ever, even just to the grocery store or bus station, just to listen to people and learn how they talk to one another.
The Spirit is a movie that is just to east to rant about and critique all over. But I'm comforted that I am not alone. Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic pooped all over it too, and it takned in the box office too:
Being a comic geek is one thing, but I'm also "the" comic geek in my social circles, so when a movie based on a comic comes out, it is often that I will get asked about it by friends and coworkers. This movie made me feel dirty, and like I should have to make excuses for liking comics as a genre.
It was pretty bad.The longer I thought about it, in the days since seeing it, the more I disliked it.
Frank Miller wrote Sin City. He wrote the Dark Knight Returns. He wrote some of the greatest Daredevil comics ever.
But he also wrote Robocop 2. Worse, he wrote Robocop 3. The Spirit's script is far closer to his Robocop stuff than his great comics. The Spirit is a comically dumb movie, with no drama, over the top fight scenes, and things played for yuks at every possible turn. Mix that in with his directorial vision to make this movie and noir as possible visually, and you end up with a film that is disconcerting to watch and not involving in the slightest.
Now, if this was just any old movie Miller had thrown together, I could sort of get behind it. I could see it as campy fun, a lovable loser of a movie. But The Spirit is Will Eisner's signature creation, and Frank Miller should feel shame for what he did to the franchise. Actual shame. Frank Miller should blush and get evasive if people ask him about this movie, and get all dodgy and try to direct the conversation to Batman or Marv. Frank Miller should feel awkward if he even sees a guy in a blue suit with a red tie.Is anyone reading this friendly with Frank Miller? Can you tell me if he has any, like, conversations with people? Because the dialogue was terrible in this movie. I mean, seriously, Does he not go outside ever, even just to the grocery store or bus station, just to listen to people and learn how they talk to one another.
The Spirit is a movie that is just to east to rant about and critique all over. But I'm comforted that I am not alone. Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic pooped all over it too, and it takned in the box office too:
| Budget | $53,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Gross revenue | $39,031,337 |
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Autumn Came and Left
Things got outta hand there for a while, and I haven't had the inclination to write about comics.
Not that I've stopped reading about them.
I went to Expozine here in Montreal about a month ago, to check out the indy comics and fanzine scene. The show, which was free, was a great success, both for organizers and for me. I got some very cool artwork that I must get around to framing and putting up soon. I also got a copy of 
P-Brane which I need to get around to, as it looks pretty cool.
The con itself was crowded, had lots of vendors tables, and was really rich in art prints for sale. Everyone I went with left with some artwork. I also ran into old friends there. Seems like it was the place to be.
Though it must be said that a room that has hundreds of hippies and hipsters squeezed into it like that venue did needs better ventilation, because it smelled like armpits and wet beards in there. Bleargh. It was pretty thick in there.
-
In other comics news, I've been reading a lot of mainstream stuff lately. Astonishing X-Men continues to be good, late, and a little confusing. X-Men Forever is nostalgia goodness, if not sloppily drawn. The Deadpool stuff is a guilty pleasure, and Deadpool Team-Up has been fun. Bendis' Avengers has been rolling along, but I'm starting to feel that the title has been watered down by events happening all the time in other titles that I don't read. Conan has been okay, but hasn't been special for a while. I dropped Red Hulk because I don't enjoy being jerked around like that, and the novelty has worn off for me.
That's all for now. I'll try and be better as the winter cold will keep me inside and near my computer more often now.
Not that I've stopped reading about them.
I went to Expozine here in Montreal about a month ago, to check out the indy comics and fanzine scene. The show, which was free, was a great success, both for organizers and for me. I got some very cool artwork that I must get around to framing and putting up soon. I also got a copy of 
P-Brane which I need to get around to, as it looks pretty cool.The con itself was crowded, had lots of vendors tables, and was really rich in art prints for sale. Everyone I went with left with some artwork. I also ran into old friends there. Seems like it was the place to be.
Though it must be said that a room that has hundreds of hippies and hipsters squeezed into it like that venue did needs better ventilation, because it smelled like armpits and wet beards in there. Bleargh. It was pretty thick in there.
-
In other comics news, I've been reading a lot of mainstream stuff lately. Astonishing X-Men continues to be good, late, and a little confusing. X-Men Forever is nostalgia goodness, if not sloppily drawn. The Deadpool stuff is a guilty pleasure, and Deadpool Team-Up has been fun. Bendis' Avengers has been rolling along, but I'm starting to feel that the title has been watered down by events happening all the time in other titles that I don't read. Conan has been okay, but hasn't been special for a while. I dropped Red Hulk because I don't enjoy being jerked around like that, and the novelty has worn off for me.
That's all for now. I'll try and be better as the winter cold will keep me inside and near my computer more often now.
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