People always obsess over the new. It's the ADD society we live in. Whatever is the latest, is the coolest. Remember Pogs? Remember when people first learned about 'Family Guy'? It's still just as funny. What about 'The Office'. Is it really not as good as it used to be or is it just not new? How about 98% of the crap on the radio? Seems good for the first few months right? None of it holds up though. I seem to remember a little thing called "I'm Rick James bitch". How come no one says that anymore? It's not new and fresh anymore.
Sure, the cool stuff holds up. It does come back down to earth though. Michael Jackson, he was huge in the 80's. He could do whatever he wanted and he did. Now, he's not so cool. His songs are still good though. No matter how many kids he serves Jesus Juice to. Hell, if it were possible, I would have had sex with my TiVo when I first got it. But eight years later, I'd probably stop after a little making out.
Sure Batman was good, but it wasn't 'freak out' good. Most people would have sex with the movie if they could. I wouldn't. I'd probably just undress it with my eyes a little. I'd stop before I got the movie naked. Weird birth marks would start to be seen as articles of clothing come off. Those weird birth marks are the defects in the movie. And there are quite a few.
Give it time, and Batman hoopla will die down. People won't want to have sex with it anymore. They'll just want to make out with it a little. As for me, I'll finally be able to act as if it never existed. I don't mind birth marks, but when the movie is covered in them, we have a problem.
Yeah, it's probably going to go down as the Best Comic book movie ever. But is that really any kind of accomplishment? Sure the movie was good, but it isn't really worth talking about in my mind. I only bring it up to bring some of you back down to earth. It's just not that good.
Problem one and as many other problems I feel like mentioning at this point. It's 2 1/2 freaking hours long. It doesn't need to be. I seriously felt like I watched 2 movies after seeing it. It's not the fact that it was long that makes it seem like 2 movies in one. The whole Two-Face thing, that's it's own movie. As it is, it seems forced in there. It's like they had a circle, but the only hole they could find was a square. Sure, the circle went into the square whole eventually, but it left the circle deformed.
Take out the last half hour of the movie and no one complains. In fact, the movie is better if you do that.
Four times, I thought the movie was over. Four times, I was wrong. The first time I was fine with it. The second, third and fourth times, I was pissed. It just kept dragging on and on. And when it finally did end, it was bout 'effing time.
No one understands what's really happening. Even after multiple viewings people are still confused. I've heard countless people say, "I didn't really know what was going on, so I just started watching it for the cool stuff. Then I went again."
They still don't get it after that. I'm all for having stuff in a movie that you won't really get in one viewing. That's part of what makes movies good, rewatchability. But if I have to watch a movie again to understand the main plot of what's going on, not only am I not going to do it, doing so would be retarded. If you didn't get it the first, second or third time, why the hell would you know what's going on the next time?
The plot problem could probably be fixed by not trying to jam two stories into one. The way it is though, you're not sure what stuff goes with what story line. Like when they randomly just throw in foreshadowing for second contrived story that deserves it's own movie. It's confusing.
The movie is visually stunning, I'll give it that. I did see it in Imax though, so maybe that clouds my judgement a little. If I want something visually stunning, I'll just watch Planet Earth. At least I can understand Planet Earth. Like the time that crazy bird just danced around so he could get some chicks. I knew exactly what was going on. Not to mention it was hilarious. Or better yet I'll just walk outside if I want something visually stunning.
The movie also seems to suffer from what I call the Indiana Jones problem. It's the 'we havnen't blown enough stuff up or had enough people running around for no real reason yet' problem. Compared to Indiana Jones, Batman barely suffers from it. But there is still a lot of stuff that just happens just because they can do it.
Those are just a few of the problems with the movie. It's not like they are huge problems. The movie is still a 7.5 or maybe an 8 tops. My biggest problem with the movie is that people have blown it out of proportion and given it like a 12.
Another thing.
Does anyone realize that per minute, the movie costed 1.2 million? 152 minutes of movie, compared to a budget in the area of 180 million. A figure that is made even more ridiculous when you think about the fact that at least 30 minutes of the movie could have been cut out, without ruining anything. As I've mentioned before, the movie would be made better if certain crap was taken out. They could have taken the 30 million plus saved and put it towards the sequel.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Repost: Ledge the Legend
For some reason, I have no clue why, Ledge the Legend is back in the news. I've decided to repost what I wrote immediately following his death. Keep in mind, this was written less than 24 hours after his death, so some of the information is faulty. But it's the only information they had at the time. I did reread it and I would like to add a couple of things. I'll add the new stuff in Italics.
The edit at the very end of the note, is an edit I did a day after the original post.
The next Matt Damon.
A young Marlon Brando.
Those words have been used to describe one man. He was more than a man. He was a living legend. Now he's a dead legend.
As many of you probably already know, actor extraordinaire Heath Ledger died yesterday. Taken from us to soon. He had so much more to do in his life. Like act in some more movies. Don't worry though, he's got one more move left in him. He'll be in the new Batman movie. Does anyone know when the Batman movie is coming out? I haven't heard anything. I kind of want to see it, but it's like they ran out of money for promoting the movie. I heard it was supposed to out this summer, but I haven't heard anything about it yet.
He was also in the middle of filming some other movie. They will probably just re-cast his role, but here is what they should do. It's called 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'. Not to be confused with 'Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium', which came out last year.
They have to re-cast his role. Someone has to play it. But the stuff Heath has already filmed, keep it in the movie. It would be a great homage. And since they film movies out of order it would also be hilarious. You'd get Heath in one scene and then some other dude in the next. I recommend getting Zac Efron. Turns out this is exactly what they are doing, at least as far as I understand, that is what they are doing. Three fourths or so of the movie had been filmed at the time of his death, so a lot of it will be him. Sadly, when they re-casted, they didn't choose Zac Efron. They did do something better though. They chose multiple people. Johnny Depp, Colin Ferrel and Jude Law were all re-cast. This is going to be great.
Heath Andrew Ledger, sometimes he'd go by Heathcliff. You gotta love that. He was destined for stardom. He never took an acting class and he never graduated high school. He was just a natural. Acted on instincts is how he put it.
He started in Australia. He played a gay olympic hopeful. Cyclist I think it was. Then he comes to America and he pretty much immediately gets a role in 10 Things I Hate About You. A movie that had a sweet high school in it.
I think he actually got his first american role in The Patriot. 10 Things I Hate About You was just released first. He was discovered by Mel Gibson. Mel freaking Gibson.
He then went on to make 3 million for his role in A Knight's Tale. A movie that I get confused with First Knight. I don't remember which one is which. I still get them confused to this day. It used to piss me off, but now I like that I can't keep them straight. Heath Ledger's legend will always live on in my mind if I keep confusing the two movies.
He then went on to do Monster's Ball. A movie made famous by Halle Berry's boobs.
He didn't really do any movies of consequence again until 2005, when he was in The Brothers Grimm.
He was also nominated for for an Oscar in 2005. It was for his role in some western. At least I think it was western. I saw a preview for the movie once and he was wearing a cowboy hat, so I assume it was a western. He had this real rough and tough sidekick in it played by Jake Gyllenhaal. I bet they went around raising some hell in that movie. Shooting people up. Stuff like that.
He lost the Oscar though. Philip Seymour Hoffman won for his role in Capote. That was a movie I did see. It was good. A brilliant acting job by Hoffman. I can see why Heath lost. Although they should probably go back in time and take the Oscar from Hoffman and give it to Heath. It would be a way of paying respect to The Ledge. Hoffman will have more opportunities to win an Oscar. Ledger won't have any more, he's dead and he sure won't get one for a stupid Batman movie.
Why didn't people call Heath Ledger The Ledge? They should have. I'm gonna start calling him Ledge the Legend.
But just like Ledge the Legend lost his Oscar, he's now lost his life. The good news is we still have one more blockbuster coming from Ledge the Legend. The Dark Knight should be out sometime this summer. The bad news is that people are saying his portrayal of The Joker isn't as good as previous actors who played the same role. I find this hard to believe. Ledge the Legend is a legend. He doesn't do bad acting.
(I just realized that I am now going to get First Knight, A Knight's Tale and The Dark Knight all confused with each other. It's even going to be more confusing than before. Especially since Ledge the Legend is in two of them. Then again, Ledge the Legend will live on in my mind forever, so that is good.)
Perhaps Ledger's greatest role came in bagging an Olsen twin. (Although if he had done this 5 years earlier he would have been a god in the eyes of many. He was a little late on the Olsen twin train. But still, it was an Olsen twin. A freaking Olsen twin.) The problem with that movie is that the ending wasn't very good. It just ended with him dying naked on Mary-Kates bed, a bottle of sleeping pills nearby.
May Heath 'The Legend' Ledger live on forever in our hearts.
*edit*
Turns out it wasn't Mary-Kates apartment he was found in. That was just some bad snap judgment journalism from someone. That rumor is all but dead now. But he could have bagged an Olsen twin had he wanted to. He was still found naked in an apartment by a masseuse he ordered. It appears it was his apartment though. Now his final role was just a bad movie. Both the beginning and ending were bad.
It appears as if Heath is the front runner for Best Supporting Actor right now. The sad thing is, that he may win it just because he is dead. Not saying he wouldn't get it if he were alive. It's just that there is no way his death is not going to be a factor in him getting it, assuming he does. It's a shame because the real Best Supporting Actor, Oswaldo Castillo, is not going to win what is rightfully his award.
The edit at the very end of the note, is an edit I did a day after the original post.
The next Matt Damon.
A young Marlon Brando.
Those words have been used to describe one man. He was more than a man. He was a living legend. Now he's a dead legend.
As many of you probably already know, actor extraordinaire Heath Ledger died yesterday. Taken from us to soon. He had so much more to do in his life. Like act in some more movies. Don't worry though, he's got one more move left in him. He'll be in the new Batman movie. Does anyone know when the Batman movie is coming out? I haven't heard anything. I kind of want to see it, but it's like they ran out of money for promoting the movie. I heard it was supposed to out this summer, but I haven't heard anything about it yet.
He was also in the middle of filming some other movie. They will probably just re-cast his role, but here is what they should do. It's called 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'. Not to be confused with 'Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium', which came out last year.
They have to re-cast his role. Someone has to play it. But the stuff Heath has already filmed, keep it in the movie. It would be a great homage. And since they film movies out of order it would also be hilarious. You'd get Heath in one scene and then some other dude in the next. I recommend getting Zac Efron. Turns out this is exactly what they are doing, at least as far as I understand, that is what they are doing. Three fourths or so of the movie had been filmed at the time of his death, so a lot of it will be him. Sadly, when they re-casted, they didn't choose Zac Efron. They did do something better though. They chose multiple people. Johnny Depp, Colin Ferrel and Jude Law were all re-cast. This is going to be great.
Heath Andrew Ledger, sometimes he'd go by Heathcliff. You gotta love that. He was destined for stardom. He never took an acting class and he never graduated high school. He was just a natural. Acted on instincts is how he put it.
He started in Australia. He played a gay olympic hopeful. Cyclist I think it was. Then he comes to America and he pretty much immediately gets a role in 10 Things I Hate About You. A movie that had a sweet high school in it.
I think he actually got his first american role in The Patriot. 10 Things I Hate About You was just released first. He was discovered by Mel Gibson. Mel freaking Gibson.
He then went on to make 3 million for his role in A Knight's Tale. A movie that I get confused with First Knight. I don't remember which one is which. I still get them confused to this day. It used to piss me off, but now I like that I can't keep them straight. Heath Ledger's legend will always live on in my mind if I keep confusing the two movies.
He then went on to do Monster's Ball. A movie made famous by Halle Berry's boobs.
He didn't really do any movies of consequence again until 2005, when he was in The Brothers Grimm.
He was also nominated for for an Oscar in 2005. It was for his role in some western. At least I think it was western. I saw a preview for the movie once and he was wearing a cowboy hat, so I assume it was a western. He had this real rough and tough sidekick in it played by Jake Gyllenhaal. I bet they went around raising some hell in that movie. Shooting people up. Stuff like that.
He lost the Oscar though. Philip Seymour Hoffman won for his role in Capote. That was a movie I did see. It was good. A brilliant acting job by Hoffman. I can see why Heath lost. Although they should probably go back in time and take the Oscar from Hoffman and give it to Heath. It would be a way of paying respect to The Ledge. Hoffman will have more opportunities to win an Oscar. Ledger won't have any more, he's dead and he sure won't get one for a stupid Batman movie.
Why didn't people call Heath Ledger The Ledge? They should have. I'm gonna start calling him Ledge the Legend.
But just like Ledge the Legend lost his Oscar, he's now lost his life. The good news is we still have one more blockbuster coming from Ledge the Legend. The Dark Knight should be out sometime this summer. The bad news is that people are saying his portrayal of The Joker isn't as good as previous actors who played the same role. I find this hard to believe. Ledge the Legend is a legend. He doesn't do bad acting.
(I just realized that I am now going to get First Knight, A Knight's Tale and The Dark Knight all confused with each other. It's even going to be more confusing than before. Especially since Ledge the Legend is in two of them. Then again, Ledge the Legend will live on in my mind forever, so that is good.)
Perhaps Ledger's greatest role came in bagging an Olsen twin. (Although if he had done this 5 years earlier he would have been a god in the eyes of many. He was a little late on the Olsen twin train. But still, it was an Olsen twin. A freaking Olsen twin.) The problem with that movie is that the ending wasn't very good. It just ended with him dying naked on Mary-Kates bed, a bottle of sleeping pills nearby.
May Heath 'The Legend' Ledger live on forever in our hearts.
*edit*
Turns out it wasn't Mary-Kates apartment he was found in. That was just some bad snap judgment journalism from someone. That rumor is all but dead now. But he could have bagged an Olsen twin had he wanted to. He was still found naked in an apartment by a masseuse he ordered. It appears it was his apartment though. Now his final role was just a bad movie. Both the beginning and ending were bad.
It appears as if Heath is the front runner for Best Supporting Actor right now. The sad thing is, that he may win it just because he is dead. Not saying he wouldn't get it if he were alive. It's just that there is no way his death is not going to be a factor in him getting it, assuming he does. It's a shame because the real Best Supporting Actor, Oswaldo Castillo, is not going to win what is rightfully his award.
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