The Fives

My wife believes that Dave over at Dave's movie corner/The Coffin Corner may very well be my doppelganger. I disagree - he's way more prolific than I, and he's better about keeping his entertainment blog updated. That said, there are a lot of parallels, including our tendency to try to rank films.

Well, with a little extra time on my hands this evening, I decided to start a new feature that I'm calling The Fives - five capsule lists of top five films, not necessarily related, and just because one film makes one list, it does not preclude it from making another list.

These are solely my opinion, and none of these lists are set in stone.

In the immortal words of Jackie Gleason, "and awaaaayyyyyy we go....."

The top five comic book adaptations (keep in mind, this is not just super heroes, this is comic books in general)

5. The Crow - I don't know how much attention this movie would have received were it not for Brandon Lee's untimely death, but it deserved all the attention it received. I might be ranking this higher on the list than it deserves, but Lee easily gives the best performance of his career, showing actual range, and the movie does a good job of capturing the spirit of Jame's O'Barr's sometimes too lachrymose prose. If anything, I would argue that the film was superior to the comic.

4. Akira - Adapted from the hit comic back in 1988, Akira was not only a revolutionary piece of animation, pushing the limits of non-computer generated animation, but it was also a complex storyline that also provided a look at how the Japanese were impacted by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on a cultural level.

3. A History of Violence - Just see it. If you haven't, you need to. It will give you a whole new perspective on Aragorn.

2. The Dark Knight - I have to say, if I didn't know that the Joker was played by Heath Ledger, I wouldn't have known it was him. That's how good his performance was. The movie itself was much darker than Batman Begins, and borrowed heavily from story-lines in the series including Frank Miller's "Year One" story arc. Fully worth the price of admission.

1. American Splendor - While DK might net an Oscar nomination for Heath Ledger, Paul Giamatti should have received a nomination for his portrayal of AS author Harvey Pekar. While I will concede that 2003 was a difficult year with great performances from Sean Penn (Mystic River), Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), Ben Kingsley (House of Sand and Fog), Bill Murray (Lost in Translation), and Jude Law (Cold Mountain), but Giamatti was as good, if not better than several of those. If you have not seen this - rent it, buy it, find someone who has it...just see it. I'm not even a Pekar fan, but this might be the best adaptation of a comic book ever shot.

Honorable mentions - Iron Man, Superman (1978), The Rocketeer

Top five most influential comic book adapted films

5. Batman and Robin - The 1997 release had the potential, particularly combined with the failure of Spawn and Steel in the same year, to completely kill comic books as source material for Hollywood's studios.

4. Sin City - Visually stunning, the film, while lacking a little in the way of plot (as does the comic book), the film was designed to look like the comic on screen. The director has gone on, using the same method, to bring Miller's 300 to screen in the same way, and will soon see The Spirit, Sin City II, and Watchmen all come to screen in the same way.

3. Ghost World - The critical success of this 2001 release led the way for other non-super hero adaptations such as American Splendor and A History of Violence.

2. Blade - The low budget film about a fringe Marvel Comics character put out by indie giant New Line Cinema came out little more than a year after Batman and Robin. While it had a smaller box office take than Batman and Robin, the profit margin was considerably larger, and once again made executives look at the graphic forum for film ideas.

1. Batman - As bad as this 1989 release really was, it was well received at the time, and a blockbuster that paved the way for any number of the super hero adaptations that have been produced since the beginning of the 1990's.

Top five coming of age films

5. American Graffiti - Easily the best film ever made by George Lucas, this nostalgic look at that final night before leaving for college should be noted for everything from the performances of Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss, and a killer soundtrack to truly skilled writing. If for nothing else, watch it again if just to be reminded that Lucas once showed an enormous amount of potential as a young filmmaker.

4. Almost Famous - This was a helluva film. Like American Graffiti, this is both a nostalgic look at the 1970's, the teen years, and even where popular music was in its development. But more than that, it was Cameron Crowe's telling of his own coming of age story with a gentle humor, and, very likely, through somewhat rose-colored glasses. None the less, it is a well told story about a teenager finding his place in life.

3. Stand by Me - Wil Wheaton's moment of greatness, this adaptation of Stephen Kings' short story "The Body" is the second film on this list with Richard Dreyfuss, only this time Dreyfuss is telling the story, flashing back to a key time in his life. One of Rob Reiner's best films, Stand by Me features some great performances from the likes of a young River Phoenix, Jerry O'Connell (yeah, the pretty boy was then the chubby kid - who'da thought?), Kiefer Sutherland, and Corey Feldman showed why people thought he was destined for big things.

2. Breaking Away - Not only one of the great sports films of all time, but a great coming of age tale about some Indiana boys in an Indiana town. Like American Graffiti, this tale took place after high school graduation. Unlike AG, it's over the the course of the following summer and fall as the four friends begin to find their path in life.

1. The Graduate - "One word...plastics." Interestingly enough, this might be the only one of the films on the list where the main character, the one that made Dustin Hoffman a star, might be as unsure about his place in life at the end of the film as he was at the beginning. However, as confused as he may be, he has figured out at least one thing. If you haven't seen it, I'm not telling.

Honorable mentions - Saved!, Angus, The Breakfast Club, Big, Dead Poets Society, Juno, Au revoir Les Enfants, Good Will Hunting, American Pie

Top five buddy films

5. Rosencrantz and Guidenstern are Dead - Brilliant movie, and probably not a choice to make most people's list. The only existentialist buddy film to make the list, it is a comedy - but not exactly a belly-laugher.

4. Shaun of the Dead - By the film school definition, this one is a borderline buddy film (a strong argument can be made that the focus is on Shaun, and that everyone else is supporting), but I feel that there's a reason that the movie goes out on Queen's "You're My Best Friend" while Shaun is playing video games with former flat-mate Ed.

3. The Odd Couple - Jack Lemon and Walter Mathau in the Neil Simon classic. 'Nuff said.

2. The Blues Brothers - One of my favorite movies of all-time, not only is it a great comedy from John Landis' heyday, but it had some absolutely brilliant cameos. This movie was amidst a stretch from Landis that started in 1977 with the often raw and erratic but also at times extraordinarily funny Kentucky Fried Movie and ended with 1985's Into the Night before a variety of films that received mixed reviews. That eight year stretch included Animal House, An American Werewolf in London, Trading Places, and Twilight Zone: The Movie. This was among the three best, and deserves all the kudos it gets.

1. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Ironically, one of the elements of this film for which BJ Thomas won an Oscar, I feel is one of the weakest points of an otherwise great film, and top ten Western. The song "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head," while not an inherently bad song, is both jarring (there's no other music like this in the film), and grounds the film in its time period - there's nothing else about the film that does so, it easily could have been shot today. The movie, while remembered for its now oft honored and parodied ending, has an equally great opening - Robert Redford as the Sundance Kid playing poker, accused of cheating by one of the fellow players. If you haven't seen it, I won't write any more about it right here. See it for yourself.

Honorable mentions - The Sting, Fight Club (didn't think that would come up here, didja?), The In-Laws (1979), The Man Who Would Be King, Some Like it Hot, Monsters Inc.

Top five Stephen King adaptations

5. The Mist - Sometimes a little erratic with the special effects, this monster movie can be viewed as an allegory for the growing schism between the conservatives and liberals in this country. The performances are top-notch, as is the direction by Frank Darabont. It is at times overwhelming, brutal, and unforgiving.

4. Stand by Me - The second time this film hit the (Five's) list, it's a surprisingly gentle coming of age story from the master of horror well crafted by the same guy that gave us Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, and The Princess Bride.

3. Misery - Maxim had the greatest line about how disturbing Kathy Bates is as Annie in this film, and it's all you need to know..."she made Sonny Corleone cry." If you haven't seen this, see it. Now.

2. The Shawshank Redemption - The second of Darabont's films to make this particular corner of these lists, Shawshank deserved every accolade it received, and deserved much greater box-office than it did. This is one of those films that was a critical success that lasted in the theaters for a month, tops. Nothing short of amazing for a film that most everyone is now familiar with.

1. The Shining - One of many great films from Stanley Kubrik, hated by Stephen King. Visually stunning, this remains one of the top five horror films of all time. Jack Nicholson is at his psychotic best, and there's a creep factor that cannot be denied. People that don't like this film don't know how a horror film should be made.

Honorable mentions - Creepshow, Dolores Claiborne, The Dead Zone. Admittedly, I have not yet seen Apt Pupil, The Green Mile, or 1408.

The Geek-Osterone Was Overflowing

So, yesterday I went to the 2008 New York City Comic Con.

It was the first comic book convention I have been to in years. Honestly, I have never been to a convention anywhere near the size of this one. It was huge. It was chaotic. It was crowded. It was kind of a kick. And yes, that is a storm trooper on a NYC street off to the right there.

The floor where the vendors sat was a bit of a pain due to the crowds, but the people-watching was fascinating. All sorts of fans dressed as everything from Alice in Resident Evil: Apocalypse, to the Alan Scott (Golden Age) Green Lantern. On a side note - someone who is 50 pounds overweight should not dress in spandex - not a shot at the man dressed as Alan Scott who was actually in very good shape.

While there I picked up a few items for the family - stuffed animal for Calliope, a Supergirl and a J'onn J'onz action figure, and a Bizarro tee for my wife. Me? I got a bunch of my old Silver Age comics signed by the likes of comic-book legends Dick Ayers, Joe Sinnott, and Ramona Fradon.

Next time I go to one of these things, however, I think I'll spend more time at some of the panel discussions. I attended the Grant Morrison panel this time with my brother-in-law and old high school friend Rachel. The man was absolutely fascinating.

While there, because I don't make it up to the Big Apple as often as I really should, I made a brief visit to Zabars. This morning I noshed on proper New York bagels with whitefish salad.

Tonight I eat Klingon food.

Coming this week, the top 100 comedies, reworked.

Faaabulous

A brief word about the adaptation of Frank Miller's 300 which I recently watched on DVD.

As bad as it was, I am glad I saw it, if for no other reason than to be able to give the film the following one sentence review -

It is the best unintentional comedy to hit the screens since Showgirls.

That is all.

Fantasy geeks rejoice

What is best in life?

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women.

It appears, according to Cinematical, that a new Conan movie may be in the plans at New Line. Cinematical reports that New Line has an 18-month window on the rights with one option to extend the rights of unreported duration.

With Conan the Governor immersed in the political machinations of California, and Mako having passed away, the casting for one of the roles that has become inexorably linked with Shwarzenegger's acting career is now wide open. I expect that the names that Hollywood will come up with for the old pulp-novel and comic book stand-by will include the likes of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, or even John Cena.

It's hard to see anyone other than Arnie in the roll...that said, it should be noted that he wasn't cast for his acting ability, or that funny look he gets on his face when he's straining really hard and gritting his teeth. He was cast for the exact same reason that anyone of those wrestling stars would be cast - because they're large, muscle bound creatures that would be a match for the physicality of the roll. Let the speculation begin.

Personally, if they had to go with one of the wrestlers, I vote for The Rock. Ten years ago I would have gone with Kevin Sorbo. If they don't want to go pro wrestler, I could also see them looking at Vin Diesel.

The more I speculate about this, the bigger a car wreck it feels like.

Comic books, the movies and the last 17 years...

The better part of the last two decades have seen probably the most successful marriage of the comic book and film industries ever. Sure, there were adaptations for film and television of some of the biggest names in the comic book industry that predate 1990 - most notably the Adam West Batman series and films and the early Superman serials and the George Reeves series, not to mention the reinvention of the character in 1978 with Christopher Reeve.

Since 1990 and Tim Burton's popular butchering of Batman, we have seen everything from the cerebral American Splendor, to the heroic X-Men, to the heroic Goth tragedy The Crow (boy, there's a mouthful). Some have been excellent, others less so.

For my money, the ten best have been (the order is pretty much subject to change on my whim, but this is pretty much how I see it) -

1. American Splendor - How Paul Giamatti didn't get at least a best actor nomination out of this is beyond me. The movie may deal with many more serious issues than other comic book adaptations, but this little slice of Harvey Pekar's life is absolutely fascinating, in part because of how it was filmed, but in larger part because of Giamatti.

2. A History of Violence - Admittedly, I am coming from only one side of this, having never read the graphic novel, but for a movie, it was pretty damn good. Worth watching, if for no other reason than to see the performance of William Hurt.

3. The Crow - Honestly, I enjoyed Brandon Lee's swan song more than the comic book itself. Dark and moody, this is the movie that Burton's Batman should have been. Even Michael Wincott who played the villain in The Crow was a better villain than Jack Nicholson's Joker.

4. Blade - Very nice adaptation of one of Marvel's fringe characters. Good action, decent acting, and nice development of their very own mythology surrounding Vampires.

5. Batman Begins - Finally, a Batman movie that was shot right, cast right (Katie Holmes notwithstanding), and scripted right. Ironic though that it took pretty much a British cast to get the American super hero right.

6. Spider-man - Outside of making the Green Goblin look like some sort of nouveau sports mascot, I was impressed with the adaptation's faithfulness (in spite of certain liberties, such as the biological webbing) to the comic book, and personally had no issue with Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane as many fans do. The character itself is kind of innocuous, so why would I be bothered by any vaguely competent actor in the roll?

7. X-Men - An entertaining action film well done from beginning to end.

8. Heavy Metal - This animated piece, dated by today's standards, is a personal favorite, and I know, not to everyone's taste. I never understood the need to string the vignettes together, as most of the stories probably would have stood on their own. Like the magazine, the stories varied from the comic, to the tragic, to the melodramatic...and it always reminds me of college, but that's a different story.

9. Sin City - Frank Miller's homage to the noir detective stories of the 1940's. If you go into it expecting a deep and meaningful film, be prepared to be disappointed.

10. The Rocketeer - Reminiscent of the 1940's serials, upon which the comic book was based, this was just fun. Pay particular attention to Timothy Dalton and Alan Arkin who appear to be enjoying their parts more than anyone else in the picture.

There are plenty of others that I would consider - Akira, Men in Black, The Mask are all worthy, and on another day, one of them might bump one of the above. For today, though, that's my list.

I would love to hear what others have to say about their favorites, or what you might disagree with that made my list.

Super Teams, the new frontier for Hollywood...

The dominoes appear to be falling.

With the The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer about to be released, rumors that the Watchmen is floating into the casting stages, additional rumors about an Avengers movie, a script in the can for the Justice League, and three X-Men movies, and The Fantastic Four, not to mention The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen under the belts of Hollywood studios in recent years, it looks like the movie mill is really just now ramping up its foray into the world of super teams. But how many could they do, and how successful will they really be?

Hollywood is two for five in quality entertainment with the super groups, producing decent films in only the first two X-Men films.

We have yet to see Hollywood produce a decent product from an Alan Moore work, so I have relatively low expectations on the long-rumored Watchmen movie, particularly considering what is leaking about casting choices which include Keanu Reeves as the favored actor to play Dr. Manhattan.

As for the Avengers, there is no script yet, although there is a writer who has discussed working on an Avengers movie.

The Justice League is another matter.

Even though, according to reports, a script has been turned in, with DC tied up in Superman and Batman projects, this could either be a long wait before we see anything made, or it could be that there will be several re-writes of the script which is said to include both of DC's heavy hitters.

This is one of those projects that I would love to see made, but doubt it would be done right (anyone who has seen clips of the ill-fated and never aired pilot of the Justice League television show shot in the late 90's on youtube knows of which I speak). I first really got into the JL while reading Batman in the mid-1980's. I thought highly of Keith Geffen's writing and enjoyed many of the satellite characters like Blue Beetle, Guy Gardner, and of course J'onn J'onz.

The title itself was not terribly popular, getting canceled after a 10-year run (although not terribly unpopular, either), but, as always, was reincarnated as the Justice League of America. The JLofA was more serious, leaving behind some of the humor that laced the pages of its 1980's counterpart. One of the questions becomes, what incarnation of the league will the movie tackle?

Without Batman or Superman, the major characters, probably in order of recognition for the non-comic book fan become Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Green Lantern. That begs the question of marketability with the general public in the eyes of the producers.

I leave you with this question - can a Justice League film without Superman or Batman be worth the investment of cash into big name actors if the Superman and Batman are written out of the script?

Since I've been talking about zombies, how about horror comics...

Horror comics are an interesting thing. Vastly popular when the medium was first coming into its own, EC Comics was at the forefront publishing horror, crime, and science fiction titles. Better known as the publisher of Mad Magazine at this point, EC's horror line all but vanished by 1955, shortly after the Comics Code Authority came into being.

The impetus of the CCA was Dr. Fred Wertham and his book, Seduction of the Innocence. Wertham, a psychiatrist, linked juvenile delinquency to comic books based on flimsy evidence and sloppy processes. In spite of that, his book was well received and sparked a major censorship movement with parents and government.

In a move to avoid major governmental interference, as the senate launched an inquiry into the industry, the industry itself launched the CCA and imposed their own limits. EC's horror and crime lines, typically considered more adult fare, had difficulty passing the industry's strict guidelines - those guidelines are where much of the superhero moral code was born that permeated DC throughout the late 1950's until the 1980's.

EC's horror comics, often hailed by industry historians as ahead of their time, went away. In it's place, comics like the watered down 1960's entry from DC; Strange Adventures.

But a new player hopped on the boat in the mid 1960's - Warren. Warren skirted the issue by publishing their comics as magazines, rather than comic books, thus avoiding the need to pass their work through the Comics Code Authority. The big three that came out of Warren (at least that I enjoyed), were Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella. Often done in anthology format, these magazines would have several short horror pieces. In the cases of Eerie and Creepy, they were strung together by a Tales from the Crypt Crypt Keeper sort of character - Uncle Creepy and Cousin Eerie.

Unfettered by the limitations of the CCA, artists like Neal Adams, Frank Frazzetta, and Gene Colan stretched the limits of comic art at the time, exploring places that hadn't been seen in the medium in a decade.

Why? Because these were the teenagers ten years earlier that saw the EC horror comics, and as adults in the 1960's were demonstrating their artistic influences.

Personally, I have always had a soft spot for these magazines. They are the bridge between EC in the 1950's to Heavy Metal in the 70's and 80's and the Silver Age grandparents to DC's Vertigo horror comics like Hellblazer, and more recently, Marvel's Legion of Monsters line, which is even reminiscent of those anthology magazines, running at least two stories with wildly divergent artwork.

For those who haven't caught the Legion of Monsters, I would recommend the titles that I have seen, with the caveat - be prepared to expect at some point during the run some weak tales. It is just the nature of the anthology style beast.

Summer of the Sequel

More often than not, I am going to remain faithful to the idea of writing about comic books, the hobby of collecting, etc. Every now and then, however, I'm going to pop out on a little side trip to movie land...there's enough related between the genres (especially with the number of adaptations that have been spit out by Hollywood recently).

I did some research recently, and it appears that the movie mill is scheduled to spit out 42 sequels this year. Some will go direct to video (as I suspect Goonies 2 and an Arnold-less True Lies 2 are slated for that fate), others will hit the cinema, as some already have to great expectation and fanfare. There is a certain fan annoyance factor that comes with this sort of thing (the old question of "can Hollywood do anything original?"), but I have to admit that it's smart marketing on the part of the producers. By going sequel, you know there's a built in audience waiting to create an emotional connection with characters they connected with in the first film (28 Weeks Later notwithstanding).

In an effort to feed our unending appetites that demand more, bigger, louder, Hollywood and points abroad have given the fanboy in all of us the following seventeen films that the comic-book/fantasy/horror/sci-fi crowd is likely to take a gander at, some of which even have comic book or video game ties...

28 Weeks Later, the follow up to 28 Days Later
AVP 2, sequel to Aliens v. Predator, originally explored in Dark Horse comics
The Bourne Ultimatum, the third adaptation of the Robert Ludlum trilogy
Day Watch, the sequel to the Russian vampire film Night Watch
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, from the trailers, appears to be an adaptation of the Galactus story from the 1960's that first introduces the Surfer (however, there is no mention of Galactus on IMDB...so, who knows?)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Hostel: Part 2
Jeepers Creepers 3 (I'm guessing this one is going straight to video)
Live Free or Die Hard
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
Oceans 13, kind of impressive - two sequels out of a remake of a Sinatra film
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Resident Evil: Extinction
Saw IV
Shreck the Third
Spiderman 3
Wolverine (a prequel featuring the X-Men fav, true believers...sorry, had to get my Stan Lee reference in, also likely to spill into next year rather than this one).

This doesn't take into account other sequels slated to go into production, such as the next Harry Potter, the next Sin City, and even the Batman sequel that's currently being shot. For those of you looking for something original...don't look to Hollywood. Hell, even most of the comic books out there are derivative...and I still enjoy 'em.

Enjoy the cinema ladies and gents, looks like this summer it's gonna be a familiar place to be.

Vilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome

As the writer who brought you sports rants in www.theangryfan.blogspot.com and Western Maryland arts and entertainment in www.wi-fred.blogspot.com, I have decided that it's time to add another writing venture to my little part of the blogosphere - so I present to you the Gibbering Idiot Press. Here I will be writing about comic books and all things related to that old pulp genre.

Sometimes there will be rants about histories, characters, movie adaptations, etc. From time to time I hope to have guest writers provide their views.

As for me, a little background -
I have been collecting for over 20 years.
I briefly worked for a comic book shop in Hampton, VA in 1993, mostly handling the convention circuit for the owner.
I have a thing for Silver Age/early Bronze Age comics.
I have a thing for movies adapted from comics...although I wish more of them were done better.