tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post7236655780489254257..comments2023-04-27T09:05:28.658-04:00Comments on They Might Be Critics: Batman BeginsWicked Little Crittahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01938877040028652321noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-27387690964479214112008-05-23T12:09:00.000-04:002008-05-23T12:09:00.000-04:00Exactamundo. We're talking a divide like Seth Roge...Exactamundo. We're talking a divide like Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Heigl in Knocked Up. Like, pushing suspension of disbelief.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10159036964762417710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-31409748688085296442008-05-22T16:54:00.000-04:002008-05-22T16:54:00.000-04:00Oh for goodness sakes, y'all are thinking about th...Oh for goodness sakes, y'all are thinking about this way too much. All YRF if saying is that according to Spiderman comics, which the movies are based on (and he knows a lot more about that I do,) MJ is a knock-out, and Dunst doesn't exactly fill those shoes. Frankly, I agree with him. I mean, she's not ugly by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think her attractiveness is exceptional. <BR/><BR/>Btw, this has nothing to do with what I think about how Hollywood uses and abuses attractiveness...Wicked Little Crittahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01938877040028652321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-35547524620105672592008-05-22T02:19:00.000-04:002008-05-22T02:19:00.000-04:00For the record, what I was trying to say, rather u...For the record, what I was trying to say, rather unsuccessfully, is that Hollywood goes for the looks rather than acting skills. There's this idealization of certain beauty ideals that, as DW said, do not really exist in real life and if they're then they're only there for a short while and with the aid of lots of work and tons of makeup.<BR/>I'm sure that when Angelina gets out of bed first thing in the morning she doesn't look like Lara Croft.<BR/>While in Spiderman's case this may be justified on the grounds of loyalty to the original work, that should be an exception.<BR/><BR/>To go a bit further, several research efforts have found that the best indicator to a man's status is how good looking his female partner is. The higher the status of the man, the more glamorous the woman. On average.<BR/>As someone who doesn't think too highly of this tendency, and as someone who doesn't really care that much about the original Spiderman comics (no offence, YRF), I wouldn't mind seeing Spiderman going out with a not so flashy looking woman.Moshe Reuvenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00282477263262239308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-7132532478044188912008-05-21T20:19:00.000-04:002008-05-21T20:19:00.000-04:00Mary Jane isn't exactly unrealistic. The main poin...Mary Jane isn't exactly unrealistic. The main point is that there's supposed to be a tremendous disparity <BR/>between Peter and Mary Jane; People should look at them together and think "How did a schlub like him end up with a knockout like her?"Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10159036964762417710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-20356619322973640052008-05-21T19:06:00.000-04:002008-05-21T19:06:00.000-04:00I'll chime in with PM here and voice my opinion th...I'll chime in with PM here and voice my opinion that Kirsten Dunst isn't exactly homely. I do understand point YRF brings up about her needing to be an absolute knockout, but I also think it's a tad unfair to ask a real female to look like a drawing.<BR/><BR/>But as long as we're talking about being fair to women, I'd love to hear Wicked Little Critta or Stormy Pinkness chime in.Dr. Wormhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15429458634269198354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-28408884329183397452008-05-21T13:35:00.000-04:002008-05-21T13:35:00.000-04:00"I'm generalizing here, but as your answer demonst..."I'm generalizing here, but as your answer demonstrates it's not a trivial affair to come up with good actresses (unless you want Mrs Pitt to star in all films).<BR/>My point is that with such demands on actresses, it’s obvious why Spiderman has to settle for the likes of Dunst."<BR/><BR/>I don't understand what you're trying to say here. Could you rephrase that? Are you saying that Hollywood shys away from taking a chance on model/super-model looking actresses in favor of more established names?<BR/><BR/>But Mary-Jane Watson is a special case....she is a pre-existing character, and comes with baggage that characters from an original screenplay or novel wouldn't have. All the more so since she's been continously rendered pictorially.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10159036964762417710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-80647578221963571882008-05-20T22:23:00.000-04:002008-05-20T22:23:00.000-04:00say what you want, but i think Kirsten Dunst is pr...say what you want, but i think Kirsten Dunst is pretty foxy. she can't act her way out of a paper bag, but that's an entirely different issue.Neal Paradisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18396375323544578903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-41192026614278558732008-05-20T21:54:00.000-04:002008-05-20T21:54:00.000-04:00I will gladly dispute the attraction factor of Ms ...I will gladly dispute the attraction factor of Ms Charisma and Ms Fox. They do look good, but they also look like they could use a brain implant and completely turn me off.<BR/>The reason why I asked my question in the first place is simple: Women have a really hard time in Hollywood. They always have to look good and look young, and once age takes its toll on them they just disappear (unless they manage to secure a safe niche, as in the case of Judie Dench). I'm generalizing here, but as your answer demonstrates it's not a trivial affair to come up with good actresses (unless you want Mrs Pitt to star in all films).<BR/>My point is that with such demands on actresses, it’s obvious why Spiderman has to settle for the likes of Dunst.Moshe Reuvenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00282477263262239308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-78537311321930698402008-05-20T11:55:00.000-04:002008-05-20T11:55:00.000-04:00Good question, Moshe. I would say somebody who loo...Good question, Moshe. I would say somebody who looked a bit like Megan Fox (Transformers), but could act better. But they would need to be in that Angelina Jolie/Charisma Carpenter range of good looks. Dunst doesn't even come close.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10159036964762417710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-14556548654703374282008-04-04T18:22:00.000-04:002008-04-04T18:22:00.000-04:00Sorry to jump in this late, but I am curious: who ...Sorry to jump in this late, but I am curious: who would you cast instead of Dunst, then?Moshe Reuvenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00282477263262239308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-56567021956804623302008-03-30T11:14:00.000-04:002008-03-30T11:14:00.000-04:00That's an excellent question, and I think I have a...That's an excellent question, and I think I have a pretty good answer. Although both performances are somewhat weak, Kristen Dunst drags it down more, but not by much fault of her own. Katie Holmes has less baggage, because Rachel Dawes wasn't a pre-existing character. And KD is just so miscast as MJ Watson. First of all, there's the issue of looks. This is what Mary Jane looks like:<BR/><BR/>http://image.comicvine.com/uploads/item/14000/13380/131777-mary-jane_400.jpg<BR/><BR/>She's supposed to be this off-the-charts hot supermodel, and hardly anybody can believe that Peter had a chance with her. To say I don't get that from Kristen Dunst is putting it mildly.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10159036964762417710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-4690070616008882322008-03-28T16:31:00.000-04:002008-03-28T16:31:00.000-04:00Ok, YRF, riddle me this: Who drags down her respec...Ok, YRF, riddle me this: Who drags down her respective film more, Kirsten Dunst in <I>Spiderman 2</I> or Katie Holmes in <I>Batman Begins</I>?Dr. Wormhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15429458634269198354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-20682205642693381132008-03-28T13:00:00.000-04:002008-03-28T13:00:00.000-04:00Spider-Man 2 is quite good....very comparable to B...Spider-Man 2 is quite good....very comparable to Batman Begins in quality. The action is SM2 is better (especially the train sequence!), but Kirsten Dunst weakens the film a bit for me. Other than that, the film sums up Spider-Man, and what makes him one of the greatest superheroes of all time really, really well. <BR/><BR/>Citizen Kane isn't a bad film, but it hasn't aged quite as well as certain other films from that era. Casablanca is a better film that Batman Begins. It's hard to give a rating to the original Star Wars....it's such a different amimal. Star Wars is very, very difficult to be in terms of character design, if nothing else. The dialogue is clunky, but the actors do a nice job with it. One of the most fascinating special features on teh Star Wars DVD are the auditions, where you see how much better Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford were than a lot of the people who tried out.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10159036964762417710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-47881662203994377982008-03-28T08:45:00.000-04:002008-03-28T08:45:00.000-04:00For the record, I would go (and actually went) wit...For the record, I would go (and actually went) with a score of 14, too.<BR/>I would also add that Spiderman 2 gets my vote for best comics / superhero based film.<BR/>And while at it, I don't think that highly of Citizen Kane. Granted, it's artistic, but it's also boring; it's the hype that gets it mentioned whenever someone tries to measure films against the so called standard.Moshe Reuvenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00282477263262239308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-7507981024620652122008-03-27T14:26:00.000-04:002008-03-27T14:26:00.000-04:00I fully agree with YRF's comment that Batman Begin...I fully agree with YRF's comment that <I>Batman Begins</I> is the best filmed comic adaptation to date (at least of the ones I've seen). Although my 22 rating would probably be closer to PM's. I think I'd give it a 14. I'd have to imagine that the six-point bump that YRF awarded it has a lot to do with his greater involvement with and appreciation of comic bookery.Dr. Wormhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15429458634269198354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-2438972507942913832008-03-27T10:41:00.000-04:002008-03-27T10:41:00.000-04:00great review. I loved batman begins and it is a gr...great review. I loved batman begins and it is a great film, however, is it really in the same league with other classic films that get a near perfect score as well? How would you rate it in comparison to classic films such as Star Wars (original), Casablanca, Citizen Cane and other such greats?CmdLukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10165612198743188499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-18707123513302812292008-03-27T09:25:00.000-04:002008-03-27T09:25:00.000-04:00Comic books employ realism all the time, it's just...Comic books employ realism all the time, it's just that people don't realize it because they don't read them, or that it's wrapped up in such fantastic settings. But the writing is a lot smarter than it used to be. Take this line of the Flash's from The New Frontier:<BR/><BR/>"I wait until I'm outside of city limits before I break the sound barrier. I found out the hard way that flying glass shards and pedestrians don't mix."<BR/><BR/>But I maintain that Batman Begins is the best filmed comic adaptation, to date.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10159036964762417710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24477704.post-85142494266842127082008-03-27T08:58:00.000-04:002008-03-27T08:58:00.000-04:00Batman Begins doesn't get quite as high a score fo...<I>Batman Begins</I> doesn't get quite as high a score for me; probably a 14 or 15, and <I>Memento</I> and <I>The Prestige</I> both get higher scores. even so, it <I>is</I> a superb movie, and at last gives a movie treatment to a great franchise that deserves a great movie. the Burton attempts were good, but a little silly, and then the Schumacher attempts were unspeakably bad. Nolan finally brought some respect and grandeur to the Batman story in movies, grandeur that i think was there from the beginning of the comic books. what's more, he did by employing something comic books normally don't touch: realism.Neal Paradisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18396375323544578903noreply@blogger.com