Joss Whedon reached deep down and tapped into what made the comics of the 60s and 70s so much fun, inspiring a generation of creators who were subsequently side-tracked by a misunderstanding of Alan Moore's Watchmen. It's the kind of movie DC's stable of characters (other than Batman) are best-suited for and will likely never get, and in some ways, it reminded me of the unfairly maligned John Carter (of Mars).
Licensing decisions are made well in advance of the release of a movie, so I have to wonder if this had anything to do with Burroughs' estate, what's considered public domain and who has the rights to what's not, but it's difficult to justify treating this movie like a niche play—not with a reported $250m budget on the line.
In an alternate dimension, where we're a less cynical culture and hollow crap like Avatar and The Lorax tank at the box office, John Carter would be lauded for what it is: an unapologetic, old-fashioned swashbuckling adventure for all ages.
"From the Director of 300 and Watchmen" isn't an ideal tagline for a PG-rated movie aimed at kids.
The weakness of “It’s all a dream” — why we hate that, why we feel cheated when narratively anything is revealed to be all a dream — is that you’ve just asked me to spend so much time and emotional capital investing in the stakes of this, and you’ve now swept it away with the most anti-narrative structuralism that doesn’t have anything to substitute in its place. It’s laughing at you for even taking it seriously. You don’t want to feel like a victim of the narrative, and I don’t think Christopher Nolan would do that.
Inception’s Dileep Rao Answers All Your Questions About Inception
Nuanced, brainy and thought-provoking, Christopher Nolan’s provocative sci-fi masterpiece (yeah, I said it) isn’t your typical formulaic summer blockbuster. Even its car chases, gun fights, explosions and special effects wizardry exist on a whole ‘nother level, raised by the sheer audacity of Nolan’s demanding that moviegoers sit still, pay close attention and think hard about what they’re seeing for 2.5 hours rather than be spoon-fed the usual red/blue pablum Hollywood spews out like clockwork from their “me, too” factories.
There’s no filler, no empty calories, no short cuts, no opportune pee breaks; Nolan packs something worthwhile into every second of screen time, and you blink at your own risk. It’s an action movie for intelligent adults who are tired of being treated like teenagers, and it will stick with you long after, whether you loved it or not.
It’s also a call-to-action of sorts for writers and publishers. Or could be, if they’re listening.
About 10 years ago a relatively unknown actor, by the name of Vin Diesel, starred in a scifi/horror movie about a group of stranded travelers on a planet where hungry giant bat like creatures come out to feed in the middle of the night. Four years later that same character comes back to fight a race of conquerors who have a unhealthy obsession with death. And so… The Chronicles Of Riddick began. But, it seems to have stopped there. Well kids talk has been resurfacing again at the return of Richard B Riddick and all of his night vision ‘badassery’.…
via imdb.com TYLER You were looking for a way to change your life. You could not do this on your own. All the ways you wished you could be...that's me! I look like you wanna look, I fuck like you wanna fuck, I'm smart, capable and most importantly, I'm free in all the ways that you are not. JACK No... FLASHBACK - EXT. PAPER ST. HOUSE - BACKYARD - NIGHT Jack stands in the yard, vodka in hand, yells at Marla. JACK Tyler's not here. Tyler's went away. Tyler's gone. MARLA What? INT. HOTEL - RESUMING JACK This is impossible.…