Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Batman v. Superman thoughts, while my coffee brews

So, this morning, the internet geek community's bubbling about a possible R-Rated home video edition of Batman vs. Superman, when it comes to it.

Of course, at 6:40 on February 24, that's unconfirmed and the whole community's gotten into a dither over nothing.

If it's true?  I'm of two minds.

First, let's loo at this whole Batman vs. Superman thing, which grew out of Man of Steel.  Man of Steel sucked.  Unnecessarily dark (literally...youtube the comparison videos where somebody's gone in and saturated the colors).  Philosophically disappointing.  And almost no fun whatsoever.

And Batman vs. Superman looks like an extension of that.

I'm still willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.  But, hell, Warner Brothers never had to worry about taking my money.  If you put the words Superman and Batman into a movie title, I'm going to be there, even if the movie is Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory talking about Batman and Superman over dinner.

That's a bad example.  I would love that movie.

But you get my point.  I'm not the customer Warner Brothers needs to worry about.

I kinda think the customer they need to worry about, to some degree, is my Dad.  Who knows who the characters are, but doesn't follow them like the fanboy his son is.  My Dad, who might go see a movie a couple of times, if it's good enough.

Or my sister, who's got a kid who's five, verging on six.

I'm not making many points here, and I blame the lack of coffee.

I'm not going to damn a flick without seeing it.  But the first thought out of my head when I read the blurb about an R-rated version of Batman vs. Superman was "why?"  Why do we need it?  Who are we satisfying?  That post says Batman fans have been asking for this.

Really?

I don't mean that as a skeptical question, or even a rhetorical device.  I'm not that keen on the subculture anymore.  Are fans really asking for that?

At the end of the day, I guess the hand-wringing is for naught.  If it's for the DVD release, I gotta think it's kinda like the Lord of the Rings or Hobbit video releases, which are a little more violent in spots.  I also think there's something of a kneejerk reaction to the success of Deadpool.

I don't know.  Like I said:  Tommy needs coffee.

He doesn't need an R-rated version of Superman and Batman.  But he's not up in arms about it, either.

Monday, February 22, 2016

A Drunken 11:50 PM post about something

So.  Dogfish Head 61.  That's where it's at.

There were a lot of pro wrestling posts.

Other than that?  Beer.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Something to read about depression....

A friend of mine lost her son this week.

Here's something Rob Delaney wrote about depression.

I wish I knew something else to say.

Thursday, February 04, 2016

Coens: The BST Response

A kneejerk response ranking to this ranking of the Coen Brothers' flicks.

Based on very little thought, and the criteria being "which flicks I like best," my list does not include Hail, Caesar, which I will be seeing very, very soon.

(My list goes the opposite direction of Business Insider's list...in case you didn't figure that one out...)

1.  The Big Lebowski might just be making its way to the top of my favorites list.  I refrained from watching for about two years (a personal record, since the movie's release on DVD), and watched it again on Christmas night this past year.  It just hits all the right notes for me.  I'm not sure there's a better on screen duo, for my money, than The Dude and Walter.  Like much of the Coens' work, I just like the way the story fits together.

2.  O Brother Where Art Thou? is my most viewed Coen flick, owing to its constant ( and welcome) play on TV.  Legendary soundtrack.  For me, the most quotable Coen flick, and the one that appeals most strongly to the Flannery O'Connor fan in me.

3.  No Country for Old Men just gets better every time I see it.  Anton Chigurh might be my favorite movie villain of all time.  The lucky quarter scene ranks up there among my favorite scenes ever filmed.

4.  Raising Arizona ranks just behind O Brother for quotability.  And if Jonathan Winters had never torn down a gas station in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, then the mobile home fight here might be the funniest brawl ever put to film hands down.

5.  True Grit is just a beautiful flick--as pretty as anything the Coens have put to film, all while being as grotesque and weird.  And as much as I enjoy Jeff Bridges, Barry Pepper and Matt Damon...Hailee Steinfeld is amazing, and a pitch perfect rendering from Portis's book.

6.  The Man Who Wasn't There is the one that's made the biggest jump, for me.  I liked it, initially, but it wasn't until I got to see it on a bigger screen that I came to appreciate how boxed in and weird this movie really is.

7.  Fargo is one that I came to appreciate after really feeling down on it after my initial viewing.  Probably the one I have to point to myself most, when I don't feel like giving a flick a second chance.  My initial viewing, way back when, left me feeling like the Coens were a little too impressed with themselves, and had gotten a little too cute.  I went three or four years before giving Fargo another chance, and viewing when I didn't have my head up my ass.  Strong flick.

8.  Hudsucker Proxy, like the Business Insider list notes, is one that's gotten better with repeated viewings.  I wish Tim Robbins had done a few more Coen flicks.  He just seems to fit.

9.  Inside Llewyn Davis is a strong flick, one that might eventually move higher on the list.  One I've been meaning to sit down to watch again, after watching The Force Awakens.  Cary Mulligan is another one I wish would do more Coen flicks.

10.  The Ladykillers is just funny.  It's a cartoon.  And it's a chance to watch Tom Hanks, perhaps the greatest big screen physical comedian of his generation, do what he does best.  Not that I think he doesn't have an admirable body of work, but Hanks is a tremendously gifted comedian. And he's at his ghoulish best here.

11.  Miller's Crossing is a fine flick, but one that trips on itself just a little, but I end up enjoying immensely, when I watch again.

12.  Blood Simple is one I need to sit to watch again.  I like the way it fits together.

13.  Barton Fink is ranked lower than some others because it's the only one where the lead actor just doesn't do much for me.  Which is a shame, because I like John Turturro, and generally enjoy his stuff.

14.  A Serious Man just doesn't seem to have the same watchability as many of the Coens' flicks.  I took a particularly disastrous date to this one.  That perhaps colors my memories.....

15.  Intolerable Cruelty works on a weird level, but it's also the one I've attempted to revisit least.  I like the line from the Business Insider list...it feels like an imitation of a Coen Brothers movie.

16.  Burn After Reading is the only Coen flick which really clunks.  I still kinda like it for a couple of the performances, but on the whole, it just doesn't feel like it came together.