Comments on: I can't stop reviewing things! More trades from E-Bay and maybe a movie, why not?

By: Lana Cheng

Lana Cheng — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 14:11:08 +0000

Hi, do you have a contact for Wayne Quackenbush, the aforementioned Rhode Island purveyor of discount trade paperbacks? I'd appreciate it, thanks!

By: Comics Should Be Good! » Top 5 Video Games that Should Be Adapted to Comics Form

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 23:13:35 +0000

[...] Ideal Creative Team- Although Frank Miller would seem perfect, given his love ofÂ Spartans,Â ultraviolence, and knockingÂ gods down a peg or 12, the game has a lot of emotional moments that don’tÂ play to Miller’sÂ strengths, unless you were doing a straight blood and guts tale ofÂ Kratos’s warrior days, which could fit in to an anthology series nicely. As an ongoing, though, I’d like to see Michael Avon Oeming handle the writing; he did a great job with the Greek Pantheon in his Ares mini-series for Marvel, which I reviewed here. I’m not sure who I’d want on art; someone capable of grit, but who could draw the setting well. Or, because these are all pipe dreams anyway, get John Romita Jr. to do it. He could make it work. [...]

By: sean

sean — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 19:26:51 +0000

Yeah, using "gay for" in that way is an epithet; not to Brian Singer because he is gay, but to anybody who is gay, because the phrase is basically saying that "gay for" is perfectly suitable shorthand for "irrationally in love with". In context, you could've said "in love with" and it would've worked, and you could have qualified that love by saying it was irrational or nonsensical or something... "gay for" like that doesn't sit right. It's not as bad as using "gay" to mean "bad" or "stupid", but it's the same type of passive gay-bashing, yes.

By: Rohan Williams

Rohan Williams — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 06:19:30 +0000

Which is, apparently, what most people saw, so there's obviously something in that. I thought at the time, though, that part of the reason Singer was so fond of the Donner film was that it laid the groundwork for the themes and subtexts that he carried over to his film. I thought his desire to play around with that stuff outweighed the desire to start fresh, hence the quasi-revamp/continuation of the series. I still think it's a beautiful film, but you're right, it wasn't the blockbuster that the franchise needed. All the same, I'd love to see a sequel.

By: FunkyGreenJerusalem

FunkyGreenJerusalem — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 06:08:51 +0000

I just saw a Christ analogy that didn't work, and a director who should have given his editor more to do.

By: Rohan Williams

Rohan Williams — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 05:59:28 +0000

'Wasn't actually intended by the author of the piece', I meant to say.

By: Rohan Williams

Rohan Williams — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 05:58:53 +0000

You couldn't read ahead a couple of words to the bit where I said maybe I might have imagined some of those things? You know how sometimes you see a movie, or read a book or whatever, and you think there's an interesting subtext there, but it turns out that subtext wasn't actually interpreted by the author of the piece, and isn't really there at all? 'Superman Returns' was one of those movies for me. And even if you did see this subtext (I thought Singer said some interesting things about immigration and our relationship with the land, but seriously, so many people have disagreed that I'm sure I just read too much into it) that might not be there after all, I'm not saying that would make you like the movie. You could just say, 'huh, that's interesting', but still think it had no place in what should have been a triumphant summer blockbuster. Which would be a fair call.

By: FunkyGreenJerusalem

FunkyGreenJerusalem — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 05:35:51 +0000

Thereâ€™s a bunch of other cool stuff in there, too, although most people donâ€™t seem to get it

I'm not sure what you mean by that - I'm in the majority of people who didn't like it, help I think it was one of the more boring films I've seen, bloated with it's own self-importance at trying to create a modern mythology - but I'm not sure what I didn't 'get'. Just sounds a bit defensive to me, putting the blame on people not liking a popcorn film because they didn't 'get it', rather than they just didn't like it.

By: T.

T. — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:20:03 +0000

Returns was also ruined by casting a manchild that reminds me more of a buff Jason Schwartzmann from Rushmore than an alpha male.

By: AstroZombie

AstroZombie — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:47:04 +0000

X3 was far from perfect, but I think most fans tend to put Singer's first two movies on a pedestal. The first had its moments, but overall it was pretty terrible. X2 is certainly the best of the series, but really only because it screws up less than the other two. That being said, I'm glad we've got three moderately decent X-Men movies as apposed to no X-Men movies at all.

Superman Returns should have been a reboot. It's a decent movie ruined by a bad setup, a worse twist ending, and nothing to punch.

By: Dan (other Dan)

Dan (other Dan) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:09:05 +0000

P. S.--I like the reviews, though!

By: Dan (other Dan)

Dan (other Dan) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:08:12 +0000

If you don't wish to comment on Bryan Singer's sexuality or "his desire to have sex with Richard Donnerâ€™s Superman movies," then calling him "gay for something" has no utility. It serves only to be hurtful and divisive. It also implies that homosexual love is irrational or foolish. I think that term can't be used in good conscience and that you should stop using it.

By: Loren

Loren — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:44:31 +0000

One of my problems with X3 was that it felt too much like an exercise in getting rid of all the actors whose contracts had expired:

Cyclops - dead.
Jean Grey - dead. This time for sure.
Professor X - dead. Though perhaps resurrected in a new (actor's) body.
Rogue - depowered.
Mystique - depowered.
Magneto - depowered. But because Ian McKellen has openly declared interest in continuing the films, his powers might recover.

By: J to the AAP

J to the AAP — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:44:20 +0000

I second Graeme Burk, I never understood the great response to the first X movie, it seemed very cold and aside from the excellent opening sequence nothing corresponded to me emotionally. Plus, Magneto stepping into a helicopter sucks and makes no sense, minor nitpick, but still. The second one was a little better but it wasn't until the third that it finally got fun. It's certainly not a masterpiece but at least it's fun. And how can someone not like Vinnie Jones' "I'm the juggernaut, bitch!"?

By: Graeme Burk

Graeme Burk — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 03:39:24 +0000

I said this before, but I actually prefer X3 to both of Singer's X-Men films. For one thing I found the pure soapy melodrama closer to the tone of the Claremont comic books; for another, I just find there's a sort of cold detachment to Singer's comic book movies that I just can't get into-- it's all about looking right than actually having an emotional connection with the characters. I have the same problem with Superman Returns, as well. Plus, Kelsey Grammer as the Beast. And Sentinels.

By: Graeme Burk

Graeme Burk — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 03:35:56 +0000

Luckily for me, Donnerâ€™s Superman is the sort of movie I would want to have gay sex with, so Iâ€™ve got no problem with â€˜Returnsâ€™.

I've had all manner of gay sex with Donner's Superman but even I found Bryan Singer's interest in it bordering on creepy stalker-ness. How's that for mixing the metaphors?

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 02:31:54 +0000

I really couldn't stand most of X-Men 3. I didn't feel like it really made any effort at maintaining the tone of the Singer films and rather seemed like the entire movie was written in a conference meeting where a bunch of executives tried to decide the quickest possible way to kill the entire franchise so they could just focus on doing Wolverine movies instead.

By: Rohan Williams

Rohan Williams — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 01:58:29 +0000

"Iâ€™m still very leary of Superman Returns, though." Wait, you haven't seen it yet? At least watch it for the shuttle sequence! With the possible exception of the train scene in Spidey 2, it's the most superhero-y scene in the history of superhero movies! There's a bunch of other cool stuff in there, too, although most people don't seem to get it, so maybe it's all just in my imagination.

By: Rohan Williams

Rohan Williams — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 01:55:48 +0000

Luckily for me, Donner's Superman is the sort of movie I would want to have gay sex with, so I've got no problem with 'Returns'.

By: The Mutt

The Mutt — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 00:36:00 +0000

Is Ares set in the present day Marvel Universe?

My only problem with Ares in the Avengers is that he's not Hercules.

I've often wanted to have gay sex with movies. I've even wanted to marry a few.