So the last post seems pretty harsh.

And some of you have, rightfully so, called me on my opinions.

But I'd like to make a few counterpoints.

One, there is no question that film reviewers, particularly those of the clout of people like A.O. Scott or Roger Ebert are certaily given more heft of their opinion on there film than others. As much as we may laugh, the trailer for Iron Man didn't say....Steve from Poughkeepsie says "This is the finest action Film you'll see all year!", which I would argue does affect ticket sales and the number of people who go to see a movie. I grant that reviewers have more clout and that tends to give some of the more unpleasant people of their ilk a tendency to be holier than thou in their view of their own merits. That is a shame.

HOWEVER, I also find that people who have read Batman's The Killing Joke also feel MORE than entitled to tell me why their opinions are more valid, so maybe I'm just tired of being in the middle (especially when my own views are obviously the right ones). And I know that in our society now we want a definitive word on everything because we don't have the time or desire (at least most of us) to want to understand stuff on a more complex level. There's other things that simply need to get done. So I don't begrudge the concept behind RT in trying to give films a numeric ranking.

I resent that some people tell me one thing based on their perceived superiority whilst simultaneously ignoring other people (whether it's right or wrong, they don't offer an M.F.A in reading The Long Halloween, they do in film criticism), which is the tenet of fascism. Perhaps I painted with to broad a brush using that term. But dismissing people's opinions as invalid without seriously entertaining them and even going so far as threatening them is fascism, right? It's bullying, because we've been calling out Fox News for doing that to guests for years, and we're right on that one.

We're a society of brutes because we are creatures that, at our core are all passion and instinct. And our first instinct when what we care about is threatened is to push back. Some of us are better at repressing those urges than others. They should be commended for that. Some people have a saint-like patience I could never hope to have (see last post). But the reality is that passionate people also tend to be opinionated people, and it's rare to find an opinionated person who will give full respect and credence to the other side of an argument. Because the other person is trying to tell you that what you are passionate about is wrong. Being passionate is a double-edged sword like that.

What I was trying to say, and I feel it got lost in what, I see now, was a deluge of poorly chosen phraseology and examples, is that I don't believe in righteous anger/vindication through perceived superiority, which is the first tool in any good Holier-Than-Thou Man's Utility Belt. Perhaps there are one in a million times (you just watched a devil shoot a baby) where you can be pissed off and feel that the forces of right are on your side, but more often than not it's your opinion of your justness that makes you righteous, which is a term I only accept as a one word adjective immediately followed by a guitar solo.

Long story short, I just want people to be open-minded that The Dark Knight may not be the 2nd coming.

Unless we're talking IMAX.

Also, I want an otter.

There are many things to say about the Dark Knight, but this is one of them.

The film currently holds somewhere between an 89-91 at Rottentomatoes.com. Six reviews so far have come in as rotten. The first one, by the film reviewer of The New Yorker makes valid artistic criticisms that I feel, if I were dissatisfied with the film, I would see as being my exact problems. He has received 530 comments as of right now (7/16/2008, 2:51 pm EST), ranging from purile, childish insults to death threats. I shit you not, death threats.

530 comments of that. I took the time to count. The total number of comments on positive reviews is 249. And that's the total of 53 positive reviews.

Each of the other five negative reviews have more at least four times as many comments on any of the positive reviews (it would be closer to six, if not for a high volume on Ebert's critique). And all of them the same.

No one allows that their opinions are valid, as all of them are reviewers of reputable magazines, as opposed to Emmanuel Levy of Emmanuellevy.com. And certainly no one admits that their points may be correct in areas. The so-called fans of this intellectual, dark, intelligent film are behaving like the troglodytes they perceive everyone else to be.

At the end of the day, we are a species of brutes. I don't mean to say that negatively, it just is what it is. And people who think we aren't are fooling themselves. Even a person with an IQ of 175 and the patience of a saint will, when properly provoked, start swearing like a 7th grader and either start trying to strike you or think about it because you're bigger than he is.

What bothers me is this inherent concept of righteous anger. There is no such thing as righteous anger. Or having the right to be upset. You are upset. It's just a fact of life. And while some reasons for being upset are more understandable, there's never a anger that is justified because of your perceived superior understanding/intelligence/morality on any given issue. It's simply deluded thuggery. Maybe it's thuggery for a noble cause, but it's still thuggery.

I'm as excited as anyone to see this film, but my fear is that this birth of the "artistically valid" comic book film is giving a very vocal, traditionally repressed and angry minority a sort of "righteous anger" when there are other valid artistic voices disagreeing with them, and that it will only end poorly for all involved. I beg all of you out there who see this film, and indeed, the next time you hear anyone who didn't like a film you and most of your friends/the world liked, don't be a dick to the minority. Because if you are, that makes you a fascist. Which is cool, just don't be offended when I call you on it. Own what you are. And everyone who insulted or threatened David Denby is a fascist.

I have often expressed my admiration for Dr. Uwe Boll.

It takes a man of the sublimest intellect to psychologically and artistically justify radical changes from any given source material (and, in his defense, he doesn't get the creme) in defense of the greater good of the finished product.

And, granted, he doesn't always succeed. Those who aim for the stars rarely reach them. But this doesn't in any way downplay his dedication or desire or his sense of artistic decency.

Indeed, it takes a visionary to not simply correlate film actors with prostitutes from a philosophical perspective, but to take his logic that step further and HIRE prostitutes to replace his actors. Bravo! D'accord!

But indeed, such lofty pursuits must tire Dr. Boll, and I think we can all agree that by going here, and signing the polite missive to encourage Dr. Boll to take a most heartily deserved sabbatical.

For he has taught us all so much.

Vaya con 1% on RT, Dr. Boll.

Sincerely,
RM

Saw Wall-E and I will spare you the gushing and say only this:

Didn't Eve look a little like an iPod?

Some of you may have heard of this project, some may have not:

My fellow conspirator over at the Wiry Libertine and I have long held, as our sacred goal, the desire to watch every Disney Animated Feature ever made, and then categorically rank and score them. We have begun this massive undertaking here . we sincerely hope that you join us in our quest with your support, thoughts, prayers (if applicable) and financial donations (we won't say no). If you'd like to join us for a viewing, get in touch with us and let us know. We'll try to find a way to involve you.

It begins.

I have faith in Disney.

Not the blind, fanatical devotion I once had. No, I see Disney now for what it truly is. Flawed, yet beautiful. Our relationship is deeper now. More real. Stronger. I love Disney more now than I did five years ago.

Why this succinct yet profound declaration of love?:

She's why. Also this one....



These are shots from the two upcoming Disney films Rapunzel (above) and The Princess and The Frog (still above, but below Rapunzel).

I have often expressed great excitement over these upcoming releases, as they are both attempts by the creative powers within Disney to return to their more traditional, musical-based formulas that were so successful for much of the Disney canon. I can't stress enough my support for them committing to simple yet smart artistic decisions. For The Princess and The Frog, it's a Jazz Age New Orleans setting, which provides a lot of fun and intersting musical an character choices within a simple concept. Rapunzel, while details are relatively unknown still, has been describing it's artistic inspiration as Rococo, which makes me super excited to see what they do with that artistically. Despite her quasi-obnoxious "girl power-y" pose that I have frankly grown weary of, I am charmed by what I have seen of her so far.

You will be too. We all will be. We are witnessing a rebirth. Let us welcome it with open arms.

Ewwwww, Disney placenta!

RM

Okay.

Top 5 Top 5 Lists:

top 5 Early 90s Animated TV Shows NOT AFFILIATED with the Disney Channel:
5.) King Arthur and the Knights Of Justice:
It's an entire starting HS football team (HS archetypes/stereotypes) transported to Ancient England (culture shock humor) and given enchanted armor with magical powers (mechas). There is no weak point.
4.) Animaniacs/Pinky and The Brain/Freakazoid:
WB Kids single-handedly shaped my childhood humor lobe towards existential bizarrities with these shows. Even if only Anton and I think Freakazoid is funny.
3.)X-Men:
Single baddest (coolest in 90s-speak) guitar solo theme in history. Suck it Top Gun.
2.) Batman: The Animated Series:
This show brought children into the worlds of Steampunk, Art Deco, and Film Noir. No other show can claim such a grand success artistically.
1.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
The single largest marketing orgasm of the late 80s-early 90s. I don't know a single boy within a five year range of me that DIDN'T own Turtle gear.

top 5 movies that contained a Cusack:
5.) High Fidelity - The movie that told me it was okay to obsess about Top 5 lists.
4.) Meet The Robinsons - A really Sweet Disney Movie with Joan Cusack as the voice of the Grandmother/Mother.
3.) The Sure Thing - It actually contains the lines "Dear Penthouse, I never thought I'd be writing to you...." and the lines "Lapsang Souchong? That's really more of a studying tea."
2.) In and Out - Ahhh, the movie where Kevin Kline tried vainly to convince us all he wasn't gay. .....wait, that was a movie?
1.) Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil - That's right, I like this one more than Being John Malkovich. Face!

top 5 songs that you just wish would die:
5.) Since You've Been Gone, by Kelly Clarkson - There are only so many songs I can stand hearing shrieked by drunken girls at a party.
4.) Golddigger, by Kanye West - This song has given him waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy to much power. Also, am I the only one a little sick of Jamie Foxx?
3.) If I had A Million Dollars, by The Bare-Naked Ladies - I don't care how funny or ironic it is, let it die. I don't want a goddamn fruit-roll up. And if I had a million dollars tax free, I would NOT eat Spamghetti.
2.) I Try, by Macy Gray - Seriously, what were we all thinking?
1.) American Pie, by Don McLean - Not only is it twenty goddamn minutes long, it is cliched and oversung by people who try to be deep and there's no guitar solo. I can't STAND it.

top 5 comic book characters I could take:

5.) Black Bolt - This guy's voice is so powerful that he could level cities with a whisper. So he has no mutant powers and is super-paranoid. I think I can handle that.
4.) Dr. Johannes Krauss - From Hellboy, He's gas in a jar. it's fancy-shmancy gas in a cool-ass jar, but that doesn't change anything.
3.) The Mad Hatter - I love this cat, but he's a joke. Even with the apropos team up with Scarecrow, he was still ridiculous.
2.) Mr. Mxyzplk - For an interdimensional being with a bad-ass sense of humor and nearly limitless power....what a sucker.
1.) Don McLean - I don't care if he is a comic-book character, I'll draw him into one. He has it coming for American Pie (see above).

top 5 Disney Movies, ever, for cereal, no one can call BS on this*:
*= because of the super-sensitivity in our circle of friends on this issue, and the fact that I could write a dissertation on this, I will restrain myself to listing. I welcome any criticisms/debate.

5.) The Great Mouse Detective.
4.) Sleeping Beauty.
3.) The Little Mermaid.
2.) Aladdin.
1.) Beauty and The Beast.

top 5 categories for the game Kill/F*ck/Marry:

5.) Disney Princesses.
4.) European Monarchs.
3.) Video Games.
2.) Obscure Olympic Sports.
1.) Types of Meat.

Behold my awesome abilities to listificate! Debate my beliefs, but know they are always right.

RM