Month: June 2005

In considering possible storylines for “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,” I thought of the notion of bringing in Spider-Man 2099 and perhaps even following up on the one-shot I wrote in which they met.

But I have to admit, I was gunshy. After all, I did a storyline in “Captain Marvel” in which we time-traveled both to 2099 and “Future Imperfect,” and it got me slammed for writing stories that required intimate knowledge of everything I’d written in the past. They were roundly criticized as proof that I was far more interested in producing insular and self-referential material instead of stories that were broadly accessible to new readers.

So “Exiles” announces a storyline going to 2099 and the world of “Future Imperfect,” and it’s greeted with excitement and cheers.

What the hëll–?!?

Understand, I don’t resent the creative team for going in that direction. Personally, I’m kind of flattered. But I’ll tell ya, if I do bring Miguel back for a drop-in on Peter Parker, I won’t be real thrilled the first time I read commentary claiming that I’m just recycling old ideas.

PAD

…he asks for a change of venue and gets his trial moved to Los Angeles.

Seriously, I don’t know how to feel about the Michael Jackson verdict. Part of me wants to think, “I’m so glad it turns out he’s not guilty; maybe there really isn’t anything to these charges. Which would be nice because it means he’s not a pedophile and children weren’t being traumatized.” And on the other hand I think about the impressive percentage of celebrities walking away from crimes in California and wonder if–despite the jury’s claims to the contrary–the cult of celebrity really does render them invulnerable. After all, Nicole Simpson reportedly told friends that she was convinced her husband would kill her and get away with it.

I swear, if Phil Spector gets away with having shot Lana Clarkson…I mean, unlike all the other participants in all the other cases, her I actually met and talked with…the day she died, in fact. It’s not like we became fast buds or anything, but for the brief time I met her, she was very sweet and seemed so full of life, and that guy claims she went to his house and killed herself out of the blue? It’s an outrage. So let’s see what happens with that.

PAD

Sturgeon’s Law is that 90 percent of everything is crap. So the obvious corollary to that is that 10 percent of everything is gold.

Since no less an authority than Isaac Asimov stated (to me, in fact) that Sturgeon’s Law is immutable, then we can assume that 90 percent of everything done with Batman in the past seven decades is crap, and 10 percent is gold.

So what would happen if someone went through and cherry picked all the stuff from that ten percent?

Well, you’d have “Batman Begins,” a slightly overlong (they could’ve trimmed ten minutes), occasionally bewilderingly filmed (the fight sequences seemed to have been edited by putting the film into a blender, leaving the top off the blender, and starting it up) but ultimately satisfying and superior film that kickstarts a franchise that had sunk under camp and an abundance of superstar supervillains.

Continue Reading “Batman Begins” →

Kath and I saw “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” over the weekend (I also saw “Shark Boy and Lava Girl” along with Ariel. Ariel loved it. As for me, well, I’m not exactly the target audience, so let’s just say that Ariel loved it and leave it there.)

“Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” basically “True Lies” meets “War of the Roses,” centers on two accomplished married assassins whose every day lives are drenched in boredom because neither of them knows about the other’s true calling. As with any marriage based upon a foundation of lies, it’s crumbling, until crossed paths reveals their secrets to each other and a shooting war breaks out that makes Donald and Ivana Trump look like the Clampetts.

The celebrated real-life chemistry of Jolie and Pitt translates to the screen and surmounts the real problem that always faces an audience dealing with a film where everyone is fundamentally amoral–who the hëll do you root for? Because the two of them are clearly, deep down, obviously truly, madly, deeply in love with each other, you root for love to conquer all…even when all consists of a virtual army of assassins.

And yet, I came away from this film with the same reaction I had to the two “Lara Croft” films: Angelina Jolie is simply getting herself in shape for the part she is absolutely born to play–

Modesty Blaise.

Modesty deserves better than the ghastly 1960s film, and the marginally better but staggeringly on-the-cheap “My Name is Modesty” that was shot in two weeks’ time in Romania (I even recognized one of the actors from when he was in one of my “Trancers” films). Given a good script, Jolie has the perfect combination of exoticness (is that a word?) and kick-ášš fearlessness that Modesty Blaise requires. As for Willie Garvin? Hugh Laurie. Laurie’s tall, British, has rugged good looks, and the range to bring the role more gravity than just some standard issue British pretty-boy.

Angelina Jolie for Modesty, Hugh Laurie as Willie. Oh, and Michael Caine as Tarrant. Somebody. Please. Make this movie. Let Peter O’Donnell see one decent dramatization of his heroine before he shuffles off.

PAD

Just happened to stumble over an airing of “Blade Runner” on IFC, which I haven’t seen in years. It was the Director’s Cut, made quickly obvious by the lack of Harrison Ford’s obviously recorded-under-protest voice over narrative. Ariel was watching it with me as I tried to explain to her that a lot of stuff you pretty much take as standard tropes in SF and movies first turned up in “Blade Runner.”

I still remember when I first saw it: At an advance screening for licensees, since Marvel published a “Blade Runner” tie in comic book. The volume was cranked up to the roof and beyond, and I came out of the theater so deaf that it put me off the film for years because I associated it with ringing in my ears. But I finally caught up with it again when the DC came out on laserdisk, and boy, was it a revelation once I could truly appreciate the film itself.

I still remember when they first introduced a gigantic screen in Times Square that had huge commercial images on it. I stood there looking up at it, and I heard more than one person muttering around me “Blade Runner” before shaking their heads and walking away. One step closer to a dystopian, bleak society of perpetual rain and darkness?

PAD

I’ve been invited to an advance screening of “Batman Begins” this Monday evening. When I get home, I’ll write up a fast, spoiler-free review…presuming there’s anyone left on this board who HASN’T seen it yet, thanks to the preview screenings at recent Wizard conventions.

PAD

Will anyone who practices law in Florida and would be willing to help me out for pretty much no money–but, hey, lotsa free comics and some autographed books–contact me off-list at padguy@aol.com.

Thanks.

PAD

Addendum from PAD: No, there’s nothing wrong with the “comment” function. I deleted all responses and blocked off commentary because this topic doesn’t require discussion, and it sure doesn’t need another round of pathetic attention-craving idiocy. If someone can help, contact me via e-mail. End of discussion.