Got off work last night and was feeling pretty good cuz I thought I was gonna be seein’ a good movie. Got there and the parking lot was fuller than usual. Decided to snap that pic as proof that I was there and tried to support Danny Boyle’s work and movies in general for those that think I’m a scumbag for downloading a lot of my shit. Walked up to the box office window and the outside bar area was littered with attractive people, mostly white. I didn’t think much of it cuz it was Winter Park after all. A Lambo and a Ferrari were next to and behind me on my drive to the theater. People in this little city got dough.
There was no box office cashier. A couple was in front of me and they said they weren’t waiting long so I decided to wait it out with them. There was lots of stuff going on there. Way more people than usual and almost all of them overdressed. Plus there were camera crews and lights everywhere. Something was going on but I didn’t know what. Come to find out they were shooting a commercial that was to be distributed to overseas markets I assume to promote the Florida Film Festival that was going on at that time. So that explained all the pretty bar people dressed to impress. That didn’t explain the secondary line at the entrance steps.
An employee said Trainspotting sold out online and that other line was for people who were willing to wait for the chance to get a seat if the presales never showed up. They were gonna count heads in the theater and whatever empty seats were left would be sold via a lottery system. They were handing out little tickets for that. That line was pretty damn long and my time is too valuable for that bullshit. I wasn’t willing to wait for the chance to get in. Imagine being first in that line and not getting in cuz your ticket didn’t have the matching numbers. That’s some Ticketmaster type bullshit. Fuck that shit, man. Danny Boyle, I love your filmmaking abilities, and I take some blame for not buying my ticket in advance, but I got better things to do with my time than stand around with no guarantee I’ll get in. Fuck it.
On my way back to my car, the parking lot was full and cars were everywhere looking for a spot. Never saw it like that before. Some of them were in for a rude awakening if they were going to see that movie and didn’t have their tix already. My lesson learned is that if it’s a special engagement, I need to buy my shit ahead of time rather than risk a sell out. And I should check their site to see if anything was cancelled or sold out before I leave, whether I had tix or not. If Enzian was indeed sold out well in advance of the day of showing and they never posted on their site that they were, shame on them cuz I did check that morning and saw no such message. Next time, I’ll check on my phone before leaving for any event or show. Can’t say I was pissed. That’s life. I just figured I got some time on my hands now and drove away in a good mood. Sure, I wasted some gas but the weather was nice, there was no traffic, I was hittin’ mostly greens on the way home, and I was bumpin’ some trance I hadn’t heard in a while. Wasn’t a complete waste.
Watched Justice League: The New Frontier last week on my pmp at work during my breaks and lunches. Not quite what I was expecting. I didn't like it. The animation was fine enough but the story was kinda weak and the voice acting totally sucked. It had a few spots of blood and graphic violence but nothing that compares to Turok. That animated movie, in my opinion, has set the standard in American animated violence. That shit was just brutal and gory as fuck. They didn't water shit down at all or cater to the kiddies and at the same time none of it was excessive. And that's a prob with a lot of these American dvd cartoon movies. The lengths aren't what they could be, storytelling isn't either. And the fact that this was on dvd pretty much means they can get away with murder but they didn't go that route and the length was rather short. Producers still think kids are the only ones who watch this stuff but the fact is that kids don't have money, adults do. Think about it. I won't short-change the comic book but this flick makes me not wanna give it a read. I'm sure they had to pick and choose what to put in this movie but it feels like a lot was left out. It didn't translate well to me. Why can't they just make a movie based on the Cartoon Network JLU? You shouldn't mess with perfection.
I'm currently watching Appleseed: Ex Machina the same way I watched the JL movie. Of course that means I'm watching the dubbed version. Subs wouldn't be readable on such a small screen. The english language cast, in one word, sucks. It's too cliched and forced and isn't believable. Just because the characters are stiff due to the animation style doesn't mean the voice acting has to be. The story isn't bad so far (I'm mid-way) but John Woo's touch is clearly evident with the over-the-top action sequences. It's a bit of overkill and a little too many Matrixisms with the slow-mo during stunts and action sequences.
Over the weekend I watched The Dark Knight. Nope, didn't pay for it. Downloaded a pretty good cam of it. The first movie wasn't that spectacular to me and was a bit comic-booky with the Scarecrow. Plus the dialogue during the 6 minute preview that was available for this movie wasn't all that believable either. It also came across as comic-booky. Those are the reasons I didn't and refused to pay for it. If someone else wanted to treat me, that's fine. But my money wasn't gonna get spent on this movie. Now that I've seen it, I will say that it is definitely worth paying for. I don't regret not paying for it at all. If they wanted my money, they would've marketed it better to cater to my tastes, but they didn't. Simple as that. I know I'm just one guy but every penny counts, right?
It's broken box office records left and right and deservedly so. Will it catch up to or surpass Titanic? That'd be a monumental feat for a comic book movie. But here's the thing: it doesn't come across like that at all. It stands on its own feet as a legit, epic, very well written and directed movie. Not IMAX prices good, but a quality movie theater good. No need to spend more when it's not necessary. But if you got it, spend it. Comic book movies as a genre should follow suit with what this did. It was a serious movie, deep plot, recurring themes, character depth and development, and the treatment was as close to realistic as a comic book movie dealing with a superhero can get from what I've seen in the past. Believe it or not, I didn't like Iron Man and I paid money to see it. This time it's the exact opposite. Can't win 'em all.
I'd say Batman's character was better developed here than Bruce Wayne. Best line of the whole movie was about hockey pants. You’ll see. And Heath Ledger owned his role as The Joker. No comparison of any kind to Jack Nicholson's version. Two totally different characters. Ledger's was just ruthless and even cunning although the character would deny that. Psychopath is a term that could be used to describe him but he wasn’t really crazy. Organized chaos is what I’d say his motivation was. Laughter and jokes took a backseat to exposition and storied dialogue. I'd compare him to John Travolta's character in Face Off. Just killing for no reason with no sympathy or hesitation. Some, but not anywhere near all, of the box office can certainly be attributed to Ledger fans supporting his final complete work and those that were curious as to how well he performed that the role would prove to be his undoing due to the amount of effort he put into it. I'd say this performance was as superb as what he did in Brokeback Mountain.
Buzz is all over the place for the Joker's magic trick scene. Lemme tell ya this, it ain't even that big of a deal. Really, it ain't nothin' special at all in the grand scheme of the whole movie. Fucking shit happens in less than 15 or 30 seconds. The damn movie is 2 and a half goddamn hours! Not to say this movie doesn't have its problems in a variety of areas but overall, it was highly engaging and entertaining. Spend your money to see and support it. With Hollywood raiding comic books for ideas, and this one being about an iconic character, let this movie serve notice to future projects that the standards have been raised. That includes you too, Marvel. Especially you!
