Inception

Just watched the Inception trailer. It's a teaser, so not much to go on. Teaser's give you a choice of "Looks great", "Looks okay", or "Looks like I won't be seeing that."

But it did remind me that I'm excited for this movie, and not for anything that I necessarily saw on the screen. It's that I trust Christopher Nolan. I trust him as a film maker and a storyteller. The type of trust I used to reserve for Pat Conroy, Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, or Frank Miller, among others. I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

When I first saw Momento in 2000, I was ecstatic. It had been a while since I had seen anything that gripped me in the way that film did. I knew I would see Nolan's next film. Insomnia wasn't a great film in my estimation, but wasn't a typical studio follow-up for a newly-discovered director.

Then Batman Begins. For comics fans, it was validation. For moviegoers, it was a draw. And while some have problems with the ending, I felt Nolan maintained his integrity and made a movie that was his own. He then gives us The Prestige which stayed with me for days after I left the theater, pondering its twists, turns, and intricacies.

The Dark Knight follows Nolan's first Batman film as a studio movie that still follows the type of storytelling that he has established. As a matter of fact, I think I enjoy Batman Begins more so than its sequel. But what's important is his continued use of theme, skewed narrative, and strength of concept are present in each film.

I trust Nolan because he has been able to strike a balance that has all but been lost in Hollywood. He is able to make films that not only entertain, but are emotionally gripping and have you talking and/or mentally lingering on the movie well after you are gone. At some point he'll make another mediocre film such as Insomnia or something that sorely disappoint. That's okay. He's a creator. It's an element of what he does.

But until then...strike that. Until he goes full Frank Miller, snickering at those who follow his work, or goes dallying with his earlier films as some have been wont to do, I'm in his corner.

I may not know what Inception is about (and I have every intention of going in clean as possible), but I'll be there opening weekend. As long as his movies are smart and entertaining, I'll be along for the ride. Nolan is a film maker who deserves the benefit of the doubt. I wish there were more like him.

The Return of Doc Savage. To comics, anyway.

By now, this isn't fresh news, but as it approaches, a couple of thoughts.

When DC first announced this project, I was cautiously excited. I didn't like the idea of teaming up Doc, Blackhawk, The Spirit, Rima, and Batman, but was happy that some love was being thrown Doc's way. Now we're beginning to get a clearer picture of where Didio and co. are going with this.



Brian Azzarello, author of the Batman/Doc Savage one-shot shipping in November siad in an interview at Comic Book Resources that he's anticipating that longtime Doc fans are "...going to be the guys who get pissed off. 'He obviously doesn’t understand Doc Savage. That’s not my Doc Savage' That’s exactly what I want them to say."

To be fair, he also had some neat things to say about the type of universe this will be, with airships existing with modern technology (a la Batman: The Animated Series). Fine. But since Azzarelo admits to not having much previous exposure to Doc, it's more than a little disconcerting as a fan that he doesn't seem interested in what we know as Doc Savage. While I'm sure he's done some research, I don't want it to be Doc in name only. And, of course, I'm hoping that this might all lead to a new ongoing or series of mini-series.

For reference on Doc done right in the comics, Azzarelo should search out a copy of the best Doc comic ever published, Marvel's Doc Savage magazine number one. Script by Doug Moench and art by John Buscema and Tony DeZuniga.



Damn, that's a good comic. And although the movie was a letdown (as an adult that is, as a ten year-old kid I loved it)I still love that shot of former Tarzan Ron Ely as Doc. Issue four also had Buscema art and was solid, but issue one can't be topped. And just because it's so awesome, here's some cover art from the first three issues of Marvel's short-lived color series.






Man, did those covers ever capture my imagination. Good stuff.

Longbox Rediscoveries

Once upon a time, in the late eighties, independent comics companies were thriving. Comico. Eclipse. First Comics. The black and white explosion was hitting. Comics publishing was seeing an unusual surge and it was a fun and interesting time to be a comics fan.

One of the later additions to the game was NOW comics, founded by Tony Caputo. Although the company did publish some original material, such as Ralph Snart Adventures, it mainly published licensed books such as Speed Racer, Racer X, The Real Ghostbusters, and The Green Hornet. They also published a Terminator comic well before Dark Horse laid claim to the property. NOW's Terminator ran seventeen issues, along with two mini-series, All My Futures Past and The Burning Earth, which featured Alex Ross' first comics work.

I recently ran across issues 1-3 and 10-12 of the ongoing series. The story takes place in the future during the time of war with Skynet. It follows "Sara's Slammer" a team of guerrillas on the run from "gators" (their nickname for terminator)as they try to stay alive and take down the terminator network..

The writing (mostly) by Ron Fortier and the art (again, mostly)by Thomas Tenney are rough around the edges, but the book had a certain charm. It's clear that these are fans creating books for fans. One of the standout characters is Konrad, a synthetic off world worker droid which is, at first, misunderstood by the Slammers.



Issue eleven is highlighted by a depiction of Skynet's persona as a holographic version of a nightmarish ringmaster.



Issue twelve introduces John Conner to the series.

Although Dark Horse's Terminator was slicker and more sophisticated, NOW's version did have its own appeal. I don't know how much today's readers might enjoy these books, but for Terminator aficionados, this run is worth seeking out.



And for those interested, IBooks has a trade out of the previously mentioned The Burning Earth. Terminator fans and Alex Ross completists will want to check it out.

Two Movies

Last week I did something I never do anymore. I went to the movies twice in a week.

There was a time when that wouldn't be so unusual. The reasons are pretty simple. Wife, kids, life in general doesn't lend itself to up and going to the theater with abandon as it once did. Plus, there aren't as many movies drawing me to the theater as there once were. So last week was a rare treat.



On Monday I saw Moon, which tells the story of a contractor who is the sole worker on a mining station on the moon. His three-year contract is almost up and with two weeks to go, he begins seeing things. Eventually he meets an alternate version of himself and we are left to wonder if he is talking to a clone or has the solitude broken him. By the end of the film, director Duncan Jones has left us with questions of existence, identity, and experience. Sam Rockwell is amazing in dual roles. The wonderful thing about Moon is not only its story and themes, but that it stays with you afterward. It causes you to question and probe. It lingers, in a wonderful and provoking way. Lastly, Moon contains one of the most heart-wrenching scenes I've witnessed in a long time. Alone and desperate to get home, Rockwell's character weeps, longing to return to his family. As the camera pulls back, we see the earth, impossibly huge and also impossible for him to reach. It has become one of my favorite movie moments.



On Friday, the wife and I had a rare date night and set out to see (500)Days of Summer. Summer, played by Zooey Deschanel, doesn't believe in commitment, while Tom has always held that fate will bring him the love of his life. She begins working in his office and the film tells of the rise and fall of their relationship.

This is a movie not only about love, but about the human experience, which entails incredible highs and tortuous lows. It is a film that anyone who has ever been in love can identify with. My wife can usual take or leave the movies we see and she even said when we left the theater that we need to "own this one."

What these movies share in common is that it's a miracle that either was made in today's blockbuster, multiplex-driven climate. They are both wonderfully written, filmed, directed, and performed. Films like these shouldn't be so rare.

A Princess of Mars

I'm pretty excited about Pixar's first foray into live action film making with their adaptation of ERB's A Princess of Mars, although I don't think that's the working title. I've been under the assumption that it will either be John Carter of Mars, John Carter, Warlord of Mars, or simply some variation of Warlord of Mars.


I just finished reading A Princess of Mars and while it has it's shortcomings, it's an interesting read on two fronts. It's some of the earliest science-fiction and is wrapped in fantasy elements that enable ERB to work around some of the technical problems a writer of his time would encounter. First and foremost, getting Carter to Mars. Space travel was barely a glimmer in anyone's eye so, instead of getting to outer space by craft, he "dies" and is ethereally transporter to Mars. How his body exists on the red planet is simply accepted. ERB does throw in some "science" in his fiction with undetected spectrums of light and atmosphere factories.



The other area of question is tied to the time it was written, namely Burroughs' attitudes toward colonization and culture are apparent as Carter learns the ways of Barsoom (the native name of Mars). Likewise, the hero's moral and mental superiority is made quite clear a number of times. I don't mean to suggest Burroughs was racist, colonialist, or politically motivated. But the attitudes of the time of a man with his background are apparent in the work.



Back in the late seventies, Marvel published a John Carter series which ran for twenty-eight issues and three annuals. The first storyline,"Air Pirates of Mars",was written by Marv Wolfman and illustrated by Gil Kane. Dave Cockrum inked the first issue and is still one of my favorite single issues of all time. Rudy Nebres would take over the inking shores with issue two and, while a completely different style, served the material quite well. Check out the above cover for a sample.


DC had the rights to the character in the early seventies and published Carter's adventures in Weird Worlds. Behold.



And Dark Horse published a crossover mini in the nineties.



I'm sure there will be a revival of Carter in the comics as the movie approaches. My money is on BOOM! Studios since they're handling Disney's properties. Now if only G.I. Joe will bomb so we can get Stephen Sommers away from Tarzan.

Current Reading

Only a couple of weeks before I head back to the classroom so I'm trying to get in some reading for myself before I return to reading Beowulf or Night as well as my students' writings. A week or so ago I made an observation to a friend that Harry Potter is the Star Wars for this generation, so it's ironic, if at least not coincidental that I would be reading The Making of Star Wars alongside Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

As nostalgic as it may be for someone my age to read, The Making of Star Wars is also a look inside the creative and commercial forces that brought the first of the Trilogy to the big screen. Lucas's drive and dedication against all odds is layed out in amazing detail. In fact, it's amazing how so much of the film was truly created by the entire production's collective seat of their pants. Over one hundred pages in, and while sets and models were being built and new technology was being developed, the cast had yet to be hired. And Fox lofted a hefty axe above Lucas's head on a daily basis.

One of the most interesting tangential aspects of the early chapters of the book is how Lucas had originally conceived and wished to film Apocolypse Now, a fact I was previously not aware of. In fact, he was trying to decde whether to follow up American Graffiti with either Apocolypse or (what was then called) The Star Wars. At Coppola's suggestion, Lucas pursued Star Wars and Coppla went on to battle his own demons, as the filming of Apocolypse Now would go on to become infamously legendary.




If you love movies, you must read this book. And by the way, I have the paperbouund version, not the hardback "special edition". As with all things Star Wars, one edition isn't enough, and I can't sport the seventy-dollar price tag of the deluxe edition.


Halfway through Sorcerer's Stone, I suppose I must say that the book is...charming. Knowing what we know now, it's apparent that this is all set-up. I have purposely stayed away from the finer plot points of the Potter saga in case I should ever begin reading the series, so I'm going in fairly clean. I must admit, however, that I'm reading the first two books in order to see the third, fourth, and fifth Potter movies. I tried to watch the film version of Sorcerer's Stone and coudn't make it. Chris Columbus, while a competent enough director, is just too cookie cutter. It's all by-the-numbers and, frankly, boring. He directed the second feature as well, so why watch them when the books are all superior, anyway? Cuaron, who directed the third film, also directed Children of Men, one of the best movies I've seen in years, so I look forward to being able to watch it after completing the first three novels.

It's no wonder Hollywood is in a panic

Is it any wonder that movies are so messed up these days? You take a known quantity like, say, one of the most recognizable fictional characters on the planet and you spend two decades and hundreds of millions of dollars trying to decide how to make a new movie.

I was reading a rather lengthy recap of the process Warners has put themselves thru in the past twenty years as they tried to figure out what to do with Superman. Even with the understandable stall following the Golan/Globus catastrophe, they found the next sizable comic to movie crossover with Batman by the end of the decade. The clues were all there. Instead, they turned to Burton, who was scuttled. The right decision probably made for the wrong reasons.

The less said about McG the better. I watched part of Full Throttle a week or so ago and it was petrifying. As for Ratner, we'll get a taste of what he could have done next summer.

Most of this stuff I had read before, but it was fun reading it all together. As with anything on the internet, some of it is innaccurate but that doesn't take away from the surreal peepshow of Hollywood suits trying to make a movie.

How do you make a Superman movie? There's only fifty years of source material as well as two examples on film, two of which work and two that don't. And that's what WB had to work with Before Batman, Lois and Clark, Superboy, Dini on Batman and Superman, The Matrix, Spider-Man, X-Men, and the character's continued portayal in the comics.

And to think that the same studio considered Bll Murray and Eddie Murphy as Batman and Robin.

http://www.agonybooth.com/forum/topic2730.htm

Nic Cage waited for this?

I should be writing about Kong, but I probably won't make it until next weekend.
In the meantime, however, "Ghost Rider" has been pushed back from next summer to the following February. And the suits are talking it up as a strategic move, which is like a coach with a losing record getting "full support" from the front office.
Considering how Cage is a comicbook fan, stole his stage name from a comicbook, named his kid after a comicbook character, and how he wanted to be Tim Burton's Superman, one would think that an actor of his notoriety and (too often unused) talent would attach himself to something with the commercial and creative gravitas of Batman Begins.

Nope. He chose "Ghost Rider", directed by the inimitable Mark Stephen Johnson. Johnson brought us Daredevil and, along with J.Lo, caused Ben Affleck to take a hiatus from the public eye excluding Sox games, political rallies and conventions, and Jennifer Garner's labia.

Did I mention that "Daredevil" sucked? Johnson drew from the right source material, but made a movie that had no connection to it. No character. No emotion. Little plot. All sizzle, no steak, and the sizzle wasn't much to speak of.
The movie did well for February and spawned a sequel (hmmm, with Garner and not the title character). But really, did Cage finish watching DD, grab his blackberry, ring his agent and tell him "I HAVE to make a movie with this Johnson guy!"? Somehow I don't see it.

In the long run, "Ghost Rider" is a movie that I would only care about if it looked like it was going to be killer. But Cage was going to be the leader of the pack for the next generation of actors when I was in college. "Raising Arizona" "Vampire's Kiss" "Wild at Heart" "Moonstruck" "Peggy Sue Got Married" He was daring and a damn fine actor, to boot.

Now, we've got "Face Off", two Michael Bay movies and one that wants to be: "National Treasure" And can't forget "Gone in Sixty Seconds"

We'll give him partial props for "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Bringing Out the Dead" because it don't cost nothin'.

Maybe in a few years he can play the crystal powered projection of Jor-El. It would be a step up from "Ghost Rider".