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An AICN Reader Glimpses THE SPIRIT!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Merrick here...
VoicesOffCamera sent us this write-up after seeing an advanced screening of Frank Miller's big screen adaptation of THE SPIRIT.
Remember that the film isn't scheduled to hit theaters for a while, so it's highly likely numerous changes will be/could be made to the version seen by VOC before THE SPIRIT's final iteration materializes in December.
Here's VoicesOffCamera...
NOTE: MODERATE SPOILERS THROUGHOUT!
I just got back from an advanced screening of “The Spirit” here in Vegas. According to the people hosting the screening, we were the first audience to ever view the film, and that the eventual theatrical release would have some changes.
Now, I’m a fan of the Spirit comics and Frank Miller (Born Again is easily one of my top 5 comics of all-time), so I was intrigued to see if Miller was going to pull this off. If he did this as a comic, I’d expect the modern way over-the-top Miller that we’ve been getting on All-Star Batman, but would that be how he’d portray his friend’s character on the big screen, for people who have never even heard of The Spirit before?
The answer is that the picture he made is closer to the movie “Shoot ‘em Up” than anything Miller or Eisner have done before (That means no “I’m the Goddamn Spirit”).
The violence is very over the top and cartoony in a Looney Toons style. The first fight, for instance, which takes place after an extended version of the “City is my Mother and Lover” roof-jumping scene we’ve all seen in the trailer, consists of Spirit and the Octopus beating the crap out of each other in a pond by pulling all sorts of weapons and blunt objects out of the water and bashing each other with them.
At one point, The Octopus, laughing hysterically and rambling about he and the Spirit have some kind of connection, pulls out a toilet and smashes it over the Spirit, getting him stuck in the seat. Scenes like this usually start off kind of funny, but go on for way too long.
So, how’s the plot?
The Octopus, along with Silken Floss and three Louis Lombardi's, attempt to steal two mysterious cases. Octopus gets one, but Sand Saref manages to get away with another in a showdown that leaves one cop almost dead.
Saref is blamed for the cop’s state, but Spirit believes otherwise after he finds her locket in the unconscious cop’s hand. The locket reveals a past connection between the two (Spirit and Saref’s past and originals are told throughout the movie in a series of flashbacks that I found it be one of the more interesting parts if the film).
Spirit must then find Saref before anyone else does and find his nemesis, the Octopus. Seref is also tracking the Octopus, who in turn is trying to find her to get the vase back. It turns out the case has a Vial of Hercules’ blood, which can turn the Octopus (or the Spirit) into a God if drank.
Now let’s talk about the good.
The movie looks GREAT. Miller uses pretty much the same style used on “Sin City,” except with more color. Gabriel Macht does a good job playing the Spirit. He hits on pretty much every girl he meets in the film, but the actor manages to pull that off without seeming sleezey.
If you like Sam Jackson when he’s turned up to 11, you’ll probably like him here, turned up to 15. He’s way over the top, but pretty funny throughout.
Eva Mendez is smoking hot and does a good job playing a “tough dame;” sexy and strong. Ellen Dolan, played by Sarah Paulson and Commissioner Dolan, played by Wonder Years’ Dan Lauria, were well developed and well acted.
Now the bad.
The scenes, all of them, seem a little bit too long. Hopefully this is just because it was a rough cut of the film.
The dialogue was beyond cheesy, which some people may love, but I though they took it a bit too far. And the scenes with Lorelei Rox, who is a Death/Grim Reaper character, were confusing both by the intent and visually.
As of now, I'd give the movie a 'C,' but I think it could easily be edited to a ‘B’ by the time it’s released.
If you use this, you can call me “VoicesOffCamera.”
I just got back from an advanced screening of “The Spirit” here in Vegas. According to the people hosting the screening, we were the first audience to ever view the film, and that the eventual theatrical release would have some changes.
Now, I’m a fan of the Spirit comics and Frank Miller (Born Again is easily one of my top 5 comics of all-time), so I was intrigued to see if Miller was going to pull this off. If he did this as a comic, I’d expect the modern way over-the-top Miller that we’ve been getting on All-Star Batman, but would that be how he’d portray his friend’s character on the big screen, for people who have never even heard of The Spirit before?
The answer is that the picture he made is closer to the movie “Shoot ‘em Up” than anything Miller or Eisner have done before (That means no “I’m the Goddamn Spirit”).
The violence is very over the top and cartoony in a Looney Toons style. The first fight, for instance, which takes place after an extended version of the “City is my Mother and Lover” roof-jumping scene we’ve all seen in the trailer, consists of Spirit and the Octopus beating the crap out of each other in a pond by pulling all sorts of weapons and blunt objects out of the water and bashing each other with them.
At one point, The Octopus, laughing hysterically and rambling about he and the Spirit have some kind of connection, pulls out a toilet and smashes it over the Spirit, getting him stuck in the seat. Scenes like this usually start off kind of funny, but go on for way too long.
So, how’s the plot?
The Octopus, along with Silken Floss and three Louis Lombardi's, attempt to steal two mysterious cases. Octopus gets one, but Sand Saref manages to get away with another in a showdown that leaves one cop almost dead.
Saref is blamed for the cop’s state, but Spirit believes otherwise after he finds her locket in the unconscious cop’s hand. The locket reveals a past connection between the two (Spirit and Saref’s past and originals are told throughout the movie in a series of flashbacks that I found it be one of the more interesting parts if the film).
Spirit must then find Saref before anyone else does and find his nemesis, the Octopus. Seref is also tracking the Octopus, who in turn is trying to find her to get the vase back. It turns out the case has a Vial of Hercules’ blood, which can turn the Octopus (or the Spirit) into a God if drank.
Now let’s talk about the good.
The movie looks GREAT. Miller uses pretty much the same style used on “Sin City,” except with more color. Gabriel Macht does a good job playing the Spirit. He hits on pretty much every girl he meets in the film, but the actor manages to pull that off without seeming sleezey.
If you like Sam Jackson when he’s turned up to 11, you’ll probably like him here, turned up to 15. He’s way over the top, but pretty funny throughout.
Eva Mendez is smoking hot and does a good job playing a “tough dame;” sexy and strong. Ellen Dolan, played by Sarah Paulson and Commissioner Dolan, played by Wonder Years’ Dan Lauria, were well developed and well acted.
Now the bad.
The scenes, all of them, seem a little bit too long. Hopefully this is just because it was a rough cut of the film.
The dialogue was beyond cheesy, which some people may love, but I though they took it a bit too far. And the scenes with Lorelei Rox, who is a Death/Grim Reaper character, were confusing both by the intent and visually.
As of now, I'd give the movie a 'C,' but I think it could easily be edited to a ‘B’ by the time it’s released.
If you use this, you can call me “VoicesOffCamera.”
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I was looking forward to this...
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They screwed this up!
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this movie still seems like a paycheck for ol' Frank....."It's Miller time!"
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Not holding my breath for this movie, though. Friends of mine who adore the comic are really pissed off at Miller after seeing footage.
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Cunting load of crap!
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Nice one.
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I'm not really surprised by this review, I don't think Sin City holds up to numerous viewings even though I thought it was fantastic in the cinema. It looks like another case of style over substance, something I'm terrified that Watchmen might turn out like....
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But i will hold judgment.
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Didn't "the comics" go on for 30 years or so? I wouldn't even know where to begin..well maybe there is a graphic novel of a classic story arc, but you would still probably miss the total effect. Although I guess if you read Amazing Spider-Man 1-15, you'd get all you really needed about that character, so maybe The Spirit is the same.
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Into full time director. It would be awesome having him doing movies based in his own work. Sin city doesnt count rodriguez just brought him to have approval of the geek community, he already knew whzt he wanted
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Sin City was a strong B+/A- in my book, whereas i wouldn't bother paying to see a C at the cinema. a C grade is 'wait for the DVD' in my book.
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i read sam jackson's statement about the toilet fight, and how the octopus 'had made the spirit superhuman and invulnerable' or something.well, knowing you had made someone near invincible, why would you continue to throw toilets and shit at them if they have no effect?that's the same thinking that made the matrix fights soooo pointless and repetitive. like neo and agent smith- both are invulnerable and capable of anything, but continue to fucking give-and-take-fist-fighting and blocking for two hours. how about when your opponent throws a punch, instead of blocking it you just rip their fucking arm off.
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in this motherfucking city!!"Someone had to say it...
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LIGHT HEARTED...like the comic. Going dark with Denny Colt doesn't make to much sense to me. Frank Miller should make a Marvel studios Daredevil. Make THAT dark and gritty and violent. The Spirit had it's darker moments but not like what I've seen so far. No bones though, I will be there when it comes out.
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Because it isn't this guy.
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The preview made it look like a bigger trainwreck than Speed Racer. I love Miller's Daredevil runs and TDKR as much as anyone, but this looks crappy.
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I need to know more about the original Spirit to get an idea as how this is supposed to work out. The joy in Sin City was watching the actual images as they were presented in the comics come to life, with all the violence, all the nudity, all the dialogue. A story like a Sin City isn't built on message like a V for Vendetta which you can't film verbatim. I need to read the Spirit first before I make judgment on this spoiler ridden, but thoroughly detailed and nice, review.
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and 300 adapted that to an ultrarealism (in the hyper-contrast look), but this looks to use the "comic book" look too literally. Do characters have heavy drawlines surrouding them as seen in the trailer? Am I too old fashioned just to expect a good story told well, without all the friggin bells and whistles?
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I'm glad he went for a looney tuneish style rather than sin city grimness, at least he has some respect for the source material
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Aug 27, 2008 11:11:26 AM CDT
Sounds way too over the top and self-indulged in its own style..
by mefrog
...still not that interested. This review is pretty much what I expected from the movie. Maybe things will be changed. It looks like from the trailers that they are really trying to make the dialogue over the top and cheesy along with everything else.
I've never read any of Eisner's Spirit comics but the movie on the whole just doesn't look appealing. -
That's how it works, right? The problem is that I don't. I've got me some comic book geek bona fides, I have been as curmudgeonly as they come about hacks like Millar and McFarlane, I "discovered" Alan Moore at the beginning of his Swamp Thing run way back when then became a Moore elitist for awhile until now I'm sort of over the dude, I've given McCloud's "Understanding Comics" to several unsuspecting friends and family members as gifts, blah blah blah. I'm no expert but I know and admire the work of many of the greats who really pushed the art form forward. But I just can't get myself to give a shit about The Spirit--both the movie and the comics. In fact, thinking back I can't remember having actually *read* anything by Will Eisner. I know he was an enormous influence on so many of the people whose work I have loved, but he himself is just an unknown to me. I've been asking my friends about this too: "Are you looking forward to The Spirit? What do you think about it?" And so far only one of them has even known that it's based on a long-running comic. I don't know, I feel like a heathen but I just don't care about this property.
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then I would be excited. Unfortunately we get post All Star Batman & Robin Frank Miller who writes as if he's trying to copy the style of 80's Miller. Unsuccessfully I might add.
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this movie.. eh.
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that if The Spirit bombs, we won't ever get to see Sin City 2 simply because Miller made it look like a Sin City movie?
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NOBODY is going to see THE SPIRIT. It is going to be a MASSIVE bomb. Why the flying fucking hell haven't they got on SIN CITY 2? They coulda started production and knocked out the whole thing in like a month, two months tops. But no, time to take a break and excrete this garbage instead. Frank needs to lay off the coke and get his head set straight. Odds are the flop of this vanity project will no doubt force Miller to drop the cokestraw and come back to reality.
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Not differentiated enough from "Sin City" in style and way, way too far from the generation that actually read and/or cared about "The Spirit" in its original form. "Tin-Tin" creators BEWARE!
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...a solid 'C'. But I think it could easily be edited to a 'B' by someone who doesn't murder the English language. WTF, VOC? I mean: "the case has a VILE of Hercules’ blood"?... "revealing a past connection between the TOO"?... "one of the more interesting parts IF the film"?... That was a painful review to read.
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That movie about the frenchman who did a tightrope walk on the world trade center? I think it's called "Man on Wire" or something. THAT looks interesting
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Aug 27, 2008 11:34:14 AM CDT
I never thought that Miller was a good movie director.
by orbots commander
Remember Robocop 2 and how awful that was? Frank Miller directed that. The reason Sin City worked at all was likely due to Robert Rodriguez than to Miller. I don't think Frank Miller has a sense of what makes a movie work as opposed to a comic.
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i've seen photos and such of the original Spirit comic and it was your typical full color comic. sorta reminded me of dick tracy a little but thats probably just due to when both were made. but yeah, it looks like a regular comic so why is the movie done in that sin city style?
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He wrote the script; a script the producers heavily edited, allegedly. At least thats the story I heard...
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miller just wrote it, he didnt direct. the dude who made Empire Strikes Back directed it actually.
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just looks bad....sort of like Daredevil where Mark Steven Johnson seemed to really care and try hard, but just didn't have the chops to pull it off...or even get close.
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The Spirit has a very specific look, but it ain't Sin CIty. I suspect that sometime in the future Miller will claim that he was "forced" to make it look like Sin City. This looks terrible.
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Regardless, that movie was pretty wretched. Irving Kershner directed it? Wow, what a comedown from EMPIRE.
And SPIRIT still looks crappy. -
Chud.com reviewed it a month or so ago. Said it was great.
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I'll give you my quick capsule review:FUCKING INCREDIBLE.Seriously, it's an amazing documentary; one that left me shaking my head in wonder. The film also stands as a testament to an event that is much more hopeful than our more recent memory of the WTC.If you can find a theater that's showing MAN ON WIRE, do yourself a favor and check it out. You'll thank me later.
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All I know is that with Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Jaime King and Paz Vega, the BABE level on this movie is turned up to WOW! Yowsa! Hubba hubba! (eyes popping out of head, tongue rolling out of mouth, steam shooting out of ears.)
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...from this site and other fanboys just because its Miller, it has women who are attractive, and it uses digital technology. Prediction: Harry will "wuv" it and go on and on about how hot the girls are, because he seems to think that's cute. Moriarty will not love it but will think its okay and somehow an important step towards some kind of cinema technology. Quint ...well, will be Quint. Mr. Beaks will keep trying to be the new Pauline Kael and use every adjective in the book while complaining that its not a straight adaptation, but, its not supposed to be TOYKO STORY so, its doable. Alexander DuPont will, as always, be the voice of reason and really criticize it ...for real, ahem, but say it looks pretty. Merrick will go off on a tangent about something that has nothing to do with the movie. And Massa will try to prove his manhood by adoring it for its violence and chicks (much like his DEATH RACE review). Also, everyone will still be in denial that Scarlett Johannsen can not act.
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You left out Capone.
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the only scene he describes was the "toilets are funny" scene that is up on youtube...from the clips shown at the con, you could tell that the lines were cheese, and he coulda gotten the plot from someone at the studio...all i know is that this is not eisner's spirit, and his name should be removed from they marquis...
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Even if half of the entire comics industry doesn't want your guts for garters, here's hoping Eisner's actual spirit haunts you for the rest of your miserable life for fucking this up.
Now please go back and write some more of your horrible Batman comics and stay the hell away from movies.
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Thats about 60-70, right?
So in that range, this movie should do just about as well as Death Race. -
I'm only a little shocked that he wasn't more respectful of Eisner's original material (as much as I can judge, at this time). Still, I'm wishing Frank Miller all the luck he will need to make it in Hollywood.
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he lives in NYC and stumbles down to a local comic book store when his spirits are down for his daily affirmation.
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Miller is shit and has been for the last fifteen years.Even geeks don't give a shit about this flick.
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I'd love to see Frank Miller direct BORN AGAIN, if David Fincher isn't available.
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I was embarassed watching that awful trailer. If the movie is half as bad...dear god.
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Big fan of his work in comics (i.e. Give Me Liberty and Dark Knight Returns) but Eisner has got to be rolling in his grave with this Sin CIty green screen style adaptation The Spirit.
It doesn't look anything like Eisner's work except for it being "noirish." Its more like Sin City than anything else and for me thats not a good thing. I hated both 300 and Sin City. I am really tired of this green screen technology. I'm telling you all right now that in about five years all of these movies the masses seem to love for the moment shot in this way will look dated and cheesy. One of my favorite comic book movies (even though it wasn't based on a comic) is Darkman. But as much as I like Darkman the rear projection does not hold up well at all. This green screen shit will suffer from the same kinds of problems as years go by. Its too intangible to be taken seriously. And not in a cool old movie way. See the difference between the green screen of today and the rear projections they would use in old films from the 30's, 40's and 50's is back in the day they would use both special and practical effects. I've been watching a bunch of old film serials and you'll see both the background screen shot of a water in a boat scene but then you'll see it for real. They give you both. But when the whole film looks fake you're left with something extremely artificial and its difficult to get completely involved in the story. That is one of the reasons I believe Dark Knight was such a supreme success this summer. People may not have thought about this but Dark Knight had practically no CGI with the exception of one or two shots at the most. It was mostly real stunts and effects with models. It was tangible. But all this Iron Man, Spiderman, Sin City crap will eventually look dated because the technology is constantly evolving. Its better to do things more realistically. Even Beatty's Dick Tracy got this right. The world was fake but REAL. The sets made it tangible. I think its bad news that Voltron is supposedly going the Sin CIty/Spirit/300 route as well. These films over time will lose their allure. They are the equivalent of a one hit wonder. Good to some for the time being...But years from now you won't really be talking about it and you'll be surprised with how goofy and fake it looks. -
someone needs to clue ScarJo in on the fact that she's gonna become a Jessica Alba-style bore pretty soon. You can take your top off and not compromise your artistic principles, it works for Kate Winslet. At least it's no worse for your career than bad Tom Waits cover albums.
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Sorry fassbinder79...credibility revoked.
Next! -
Your credibility is revoked if you liked them.
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But not for the Spirit.
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otherwise it was fucking stupid.
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Spirit probably seems boring because it's been ripped off and riffed on so many times, but for the time it was pretty innovative (it's like seeing the Godfather for the first time after watching every Sopranos episode). I'd suggest reading some of Eisner's graphic novels, like 'A Conversation with God,' to get an idea of some of the man's genius. It's non-superhero and it's about his Jewish upbringing in New York.
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I have never read the comic though, so I have no real interest in the character, other than it's a comic book movie, and I dig comic book movies.
Before long, there will be one too many sucky comic movies, and the genre will suffer for it. It can't ride this wave forver. Hopefully we will get a few more years and an Avengers and Justice League movie out of it before it goes tits up. -
Sucked so bad I couldn't get past the first gun fight. People who pay money to see crap like that are the reason we get more crap like that.
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Did you read the write up about The Spirit? That movie looks like its gonna stink worse than Dan Akroyd's asshole
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to get an introduction to Eisner's work. There are a few collections in hardcover out there right now. You can find the book oisin5199 mentioned in "A Contract with God Trilogy", which includes "Dropsie Avenue". There's also "Will Eisner's New York" and "Life, In Pictures".
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Why? Because the haters don't have the balls to be the too-cool-for-the-room hipsters they are on message boards. Everyone shitting on this rough cut and wiping their ass with the review will be in the cineplex when this movie is released, you can bank on it.
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it looked just as bad back when i saw it in theaters, that was part of its charm..the cheesy effects.
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Better accept the fact that due to budgetary restraints, more and more films will employ digital sets, although some more artistically than others. I was not aware that a majority of the exterior sets ( and a lot of the set)in Sweeney Todd were digital till I saw an article in Cinefex. Of course the other great example is Zodiac.
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And have him fuck up his own work.
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At least Miller is trying something different...he's TRYING to make something good. Would you prefer another contrived romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey? Or another dumb, empty action film starring Jason Statham? Give Miller props for being an artist and trying, even if he ultimately fails.
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That is all.
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..about 95% of the time. The times they DO work is in something like 300 that is so stylized...Sin City too. Or if you are obviously doing sci-fi where you aren't going to go to Mars to shoot. But green screen is like any other technology and it will be used briliantly and horribly...just like 3D which was brilliant in Beowulf and horrible in Journey to the Center of the Earth.
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I was hoping this movie would be so insane that it might be enjoyable. But what do we have? A dash of Looney Tunes, a touch of Pulp Fiction, and Will Eisner's name slapped on it to boot. Lame.
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... managed to make gunfights and explosions boring.
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Miller should stick to comics.
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and not one frame of the trailer made me want to plunk down cash to watch this flick, sorry. If you think that's BS, that's just what you think.
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I don't know about that (the cost angle). The two examples I had given were "period" pieces. Now traditionally matte paintings would be used to expand sets to give full depth, but with integration of camera movement beyond panning, digital sets are a neccessity.
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My thoughts exactly. I finally saw it this year and was mightily confused by the outpouring of geek love it got on this site.
If there's one thing we do NOT need it's another Shoot 'Em Up. -
Now you have nothing.
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Now I feel even better for not having any interest in this movie after seeing the trailer.
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I saw the fight scene described here and it was embarrassing as hell. Just awful. I like Miller's comics work, but just because he helped Rodriguez w/ Sin City doesn't mean he's ready to direct a greenscreen film.
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Aug 27, 2008 1:54:01 PM CDT
Rupee88 -- would I rather watch a Jason Statham movie?
by dannyglovers_dickblood
Uhhh...fuck yes I would. Any 10 minutes of a Transporter film has more soul than this lifeless plastic shit. Fuck Frank Miller...trying something different my fucking ass. A green-screen gimmick......wow-- really revolutionizing cinema. Lucas does it and he is considered shit, Miller does it and you suck his cock.
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Nobody will see this trash. I would put money on it.
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Great encapsulation of the AICN reviewcrew.
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..I never want to be your friend. You fucking stuck up son of a bitch.
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Just not this one.
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Just not this one.
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then i'm happy to forgo your friendship, you mouthbreathing waste of space.
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Robert Rodriguez made a few comments under his breath at Comic Con (08) that basically stated that he felt as though he should have copyrighted the techniques and marketing campaign used in Sin City and now The Spirit. If you can get a hold of the Red Sonja panel you may be able to catch the comments.
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...but just a warning: Don't try to take a BC powder with Coca cola. Just did and they don't go together too well. Think mentos and diet coke.
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...when the trailer for this played.
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...don't you think he should have thought about that before sharing a directing credit with Miller?
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...mash up those eggs and potatos you can make a mean potato salad.
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this always seemed Goofy to me. Now I am founding out their emulating the character of Goofy. Go figure.
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Aug 27, 2008 2:40:09 PM CDT
The previews we've seen so far have been really, really bad
by curious jorge
Heavy on style, low on substance
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calling everyone Hacks. Shocking!
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The rest of the movie was worse than Shoot 'Em Up. Come on, you snobs, the parachute gunfight in SEU was hilarious.
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wouldn't steal that style first time out the gate directing a feature on his own. Wasn't it Rodriguez' test footage that proved that it could be done and brought a lot of people on board? Nice going Miller...
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This sounds like a potential laugh riot of the unintentional variety.
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http://tinyurl.com/6qmr4p
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Yeah I agree with you. I mean it was Miller's style that was the inspiration/motivation for how Sin City was made. However, I agree that Miller's ad campaign is shockingly similar to the one used for Sin City. I mean, a few of my friends thought the two films were somehow tied together.
Rose was egging him on a tad bit too. Made some comment about The Spirit train that was zipping around SD. -
And frankly, it's only okay... probably the thing it is most remembered for is being the first standalone graphic novel that wasn't a reprint of other stuff (even then, you could make an argument for Gil Kane's Savage!, which btw would make a helluva movie)
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And frankly, it's only okay... probably the thing it is most remembered for is being the first standalone graphic novel that wasn't a reprint of other stuff (even then, you could make an argument for Gil Kane's Savage!, which btw would make a helluva movie)
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"At least Miller is trying something different...he's TRYING to make something good."
Well, so was Coppolla when he made One From the Heart. Even then, Miller's approach is 1) not that new, and 2) totally inappropriate for the material. -
Aug 27, 2008 3:11:37 PM CDT
According to EW Brad Bird tried to get this made years ago..
by wookie1972
And that, frankly, would have been perfect. The best look for The Spirit is not the Sin City look but something akin to the Paul Dini Batman series.
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...that after Frank Miller is dead and in his grave that someone like ANDY DICK gets hold of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS or a SIN CITY property and makes a movie out of it...that should give Miller exactly the right feeling that Eisner's probably having right now.... --G
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Aug 27, 2008 3:16:28 PM CDT
Miller's original RoboCop 2 was worse than the movie.
by applydirectlytotheforehead
i-mockery.com/comics/longbox24/default.php
Fuck Miller. He hasn't written anything worth anything since Year One. And fuck his zealous fans who blindly defend any feces that gets published with his name on it. I'm gonna lose my mind if one more monkey condescendingly tells me that I just don't "get" the brilliant satire of All-Star Batman. He's a one-trick pony. Corruption and whores, whores and corruption. Why are we still paying attention to this guy again? -
great analogy!
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...for the corruption and the whore. Or was it for the whores and the corruption. Either way, I can get both by tuning into CNN nightly...I don't need Frank Miller for that.... -G
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Thanks! I was a Miller faithful until DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN came out...What a pile of shit. Anything before YEAR ONE is excellent...after that he got lazy and shitty and spoiled. Someone needs to throw him back on the streets and starve him for a while...making him WORK for it.... --G
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Aug 27, 2008 3:26:10 PM CDT
"Spirit" is crap but "The Transporter" is high art DICKBLOOD?
by mrsensitive
I'd like the money you bet that no one will see this now please, as you're too stupid to live until "The Spirit" is released.
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But it just showed Miller's descent into mediocity. He's like many other artistes who nobody wants to say no to (Coppolla is an example in film). His best work (in particular his original Daredevil run) was when he still had an editor to reign him in. Nowadays he either works for creator-owned companies or else DC, who don't have the guts to say "Frank, that might not be such a good idea."
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Todd was terrible. Zodiac was amazing but it wasn't mostly digital CGI as you implied. Yes there was good use of CG in many instances but most of it was done on REAL sets not fake backgrounds.
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Aug 27, 2008 3:32:50 PM CDT
ApplyDirectlyToTheForehead, what about "Sin City" or "300"?
by mrsensitive
Are you going to say they sucked as comics and as movies? That's what I love about the kneejerk haters, they're quick to write off everything as garbage, but conveniently ignore the good when it suits them.
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I worked for a publisher that did a trade paperback edition of GIVE ME LIBERTY....We'd lined up a bookstore on the west coast for a signing....we were told that "Frank only flies first class." We picked up the ticket price...the bookstore did this AMAZING window display...with the window painted with the cover of the book....so many people showed up...people bent over backwards for this thing...the only person that didn't show up was Frank....seems he was suffering a creative blockage (seriously) and wouldn't leave the house... --G
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I'm too stupid to live until The Spirit is released? What the fuck does that even mean? Are you an exchange student? I never said anything about The Transporter being high art you diseased twat. Rupee asked if we would prefer a mindless Statham film over Miller's attempt at something original. I said fuck yes I would rather watch a Statham film...at least those are entertaining. There is nothing original about what Miller is doing. Its a visual gang-bang of shit CG and green screen sets. Lucas does the exact same thing and he is demonized, yet Miller is hailed as some sort of maverick. Where the fuck is the originality in what he is doing? Wire work, green screen sets? Uhhhhh.....right. Thats real fucking original. We've NEVER seen anything like this before. Give me a fucking break. Miller is a Uwe Boll level director.....
If you can't understand that, then please just open your mouth and gargle my semen for clarification. -
Damn You Michael Bay
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And yes....I say Sin City is shit.....300 is shit in slow motion. Now fuck off. Sin City is a little worse because of Rodriguez's score.
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300 was NOT a brilliant, history making piece of comic art. It was good. But not great. As for SIN CITY. I love it. But you have to admit it has its ups and downs and isn't CONSISTENTLY great. --G
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but the dialogue and voiceovers were cheap Mickey Spillane stuff. 300 was pretty much pathetic, as history, as action (more slow-mo! I haven't seen that before) and as drama.
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Just looks more interesting than these Sin City outtakes... You'd think if Frank Miller really wanted to make his mark as a director after decades of not getting a shot he'd come up with something that looked a little more original...
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>>Nowadays he either works for creator-owned companies or else DC, who don't have the guts to say "Frank, that might not be such a good idea."
Why should they? Miller's name is on the cover, which means money for them no matter what. Why should they bother spending time and money editing him? It would only cut into the profits. His work is always going to sell, and he has enough rabid fans who will defend anything he writes. He could write 30 pages of Batman dancing in a mariachi hat and at least two dozen people would write poorly-spelled essays on their blogs about how brilliant it is and how anyone who criticizes it is just too dense to recognize the genius of it. -
Aug 27, 2008 3:38:29 PM CDT
Sky Captain was a better Green-Screen pulp movie than Sin City
by wookie1972
Yes, it was incredibly silly, but it showed what could be done with it. If Raimi could do the Shadow like this, it would be fantastic.
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Overall I think it was a mediocre effort. But it mopped the jizz covered floor with Sin City.
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Damnit. HTML mistake.
Anyway.
Why should DC or anyone else spend the time or money to edit Miller? It would only cut into the profits. His name is on the cover. His stuff is always going to sell, and he has enough rabid fans who will defend anything he writes. He could write 30 pages of Batman dancing in a mariachi hat and it would sell like crazy. At least two-dozen people would write poorly-spelled essays on their blogs about how brilliant it is and how anyone who criticizes it is just too dense to recognize Miller's brilliant satire. -
I didn't "conveniently ignore the good." When I said that Miller hasn't written anything good since Year One, that included 300 and Sin City. They're both wastes of paper, and the movies are worse.
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But I think Holy Terror could be Miller's Waterloo. He's nuttier than Ditko at the height of his Mr. A stuff.
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Aug 27, 2008 4:09:43 PM CDT
Sky Captain was a better Green-Screen pulp movie than Sin City
by phategod2
Are you serious Sky captain was the most boring tripe I've ever seen. It can't compare to SC or 300.
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I like these articles, about movies most people don't know what to expect and.. wait, most people do know what to expect and have their opinions. Anyway, I liked this little review. I hope they improve the film.. I might even see it !
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We'll have to agree to disagree. Sky Captain had a sense of innocence and joy that was lacking in both Sin City and 300. Both tried far too hard to be badass and "cool", whereas Sky Captain just wanted to be fun.
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I would rather watch Al Gore give a speech. ugh...
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...with the constant barrage of bronzed pecs and flexed biceps floating across the screen in slow motion. 300 really is a sensual deep-throat of the senses. Yummy.
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It had Angelina, sci fi, cgi, blimps, giant robots, shit exploding...and still managed to be boring as shit. How does THAT happen?
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still though...
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I don't understand the haters. All they say is the film is boring, which tells me more about their attention span than about the film. It wasn't bogged down by slow motion like 300 and while I liked Sin City I felt Sky Captain was more successful because it wasn't chained to another medium.
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Yes, Sin City and 300 sucked as both comic books and movies. They're both moronic, boring, pre-adolescent power fantasies for confused homosexuals, without characterization, drama, or excitement, and feature the most retarded dialogue this side of Episode one.
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Sin City is trash. If you've read those mediocre books too... They didn't really add much. Just a flat, gross, piece of shit movie. Miller looks likes he's taken the Sin City aesthetic, which is horrible by the way, and made it worse. Nothing beats good location and built set photography. I think it's funny how all the stars lined up when Miller hadn't really helmed a project before. People are just collecting paychecks and hoping to foresee the trends in hollywood. Johansson is the worst at this. She's lucky that she's great at having awesome breasts.
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Unless it got slapped with any rating below an NC-17. Then he'd just be pandering to draw in the spandex and leather crowd. Oh yes, you know it to be true.
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Aug 27, 2008 5:00:08 PM CDT
Dick Tracy destroys Sin City on every level...
by dannyglovers_dickblood
Frank Miller is just a tacky human being. It shows in his work and his appearance....look at that fucker.
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Sin City at least had a sense of humor about itself. For every bit of action and gore there was a moment of humor. 300 was just a humorless piece of trash engineered for jocks who only understand us v. them. The film even managed to iron out the few complexities that were in the comic. 300 was truly a cinematic train wreck.
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I'm glad to see someone showing Dick Tracy some love around here. I've always thought it was one of the most underrated movies of all time. Warren Beatty did what Miller is doing now except he did it first and like a thousand times better. Yes, you heard correctly a thousand times better. Even if he did let madonna in the movie just because she was blowing him.
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Great photography, great sets, great costumes, great acting, great prosthetic make-up, great miniatures......great in every department.
I do admit Sin City is a lot better than 300....but thats not saying much, they are both shit. One of them is just shit with a slight essence of clam chowder.....so it tastes a bit better. -
no desire to own Sin City. yet, i have yet to watch the two...hmmm, guess i'm yet another rube WITHOUT disposible income who feels the hype to buy this shit! thanks alot hollywood! (that said i did read the spirit comics and Frank Miller just annoys me for some reason.) Neil Geiman never bothers me half as much (go figure) although I found Beauwolf depressing. (Stardust I enjoyed). Again, go figger...
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The Phantom, the Shadow, and the Rocketeer vs the Predator, I would be so in.
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There's wasn't one explosion in Shoot 'Em Up.
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Aug 27, 2008 5:57:07 PM CDT
The Phantom and The Shadow team up would be awesome
by dannyglovers_dickblood
Fuck-- Alec Baldwin and Billy Zane would mow through pussy like a John Deere.
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Aug 27, 2008 6:10:27 PM CDT
Darkman's Rear Projection was actually Front Projection...
by kmdr. coenig
...just to be anal about it (appropriate for an AICN thread). Raimi actually used a process called Introvision on both Darkman and Army of Darkness. This particular brand of front projection allowed actors to walk in front of and BEHIND plate elements, allowing a depth that neither regular front projection nor rear projection could provide. It was an interesting, inexpensive technique that never got much of the market.
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It was like a bad intro to a soft-core porn film from the 70's, with airbrushed-on-the-side-of-a-van effects and women who can only breath words instead of speaking, because they're supposed to be "sexy." Ugh, what shit!
Miller is a hack! -
Maybe I wasn't old enough to get it but I hate that movie even today.
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how a movie with that cast could be that bad is beyond me
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He created some of the greatest comics ever, but his recent work - bleh.
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dude i hated to admit it to myself, but i've been thinking the same thing as you. wtf is going on with him lately? if anything, in todays BOOM of comic book love, you'd think miller would still be able to rise above half the crap that's being put out. but instead he's become a large contributer to the terrible stories out there. i don't care how cool something may look, IT ALWAYS goes back to STORY, STORY, STORY!!! without the solid foundation a beautiful looking film - or comic - will be nothing more than laughable.
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...He said the movie LOOKED great. Then claimed there was a scene in the film that everyone would recognize from the trailer. Only absolutely everything in the trailer looked hideously shiteous. Maybe I don't get The Spirit, and thats why a guy getting a toilet over his head seems kinda retarded. And mentioning Shoot Em Up is harsh. That film was fucking turd.
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...and was a crap story, delivered by crap acting in an ugly and souless style. Sin City and 300 were the ONLY green screen films that worked, because conceptually from the ground up it made sense. I don't think either of them are masterpieces or god heads, but they are good for what they are. Mindless violence driven genre flicks. Sky Captain, Avalon, Casshern, Mutant Chronicles, and the new reigning champ of shit, Speed Racer were ugly, misguided piles of crap. They LOOKED bad, just from the get go, even before they fucked them up with shitty acting and writing and directing.
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Way to lower the bar. Good thing Zack Snyder knows what to do with Miller's material, even if he doesn't.
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so fucking terrible. I can't believe people think giving Miller a shot at directing is a good thing. He's a fucking joke. I hope it fails badly.
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was the most tedious pile of monkey poop a monkey ever pooped. If you are over the age of 12 and thought that 300 was a good movie, then there is something seriously wrong with you. This Spirit will blow chunks, and I will never see it. Not on DVD, not even on a plane. Instead I'm going to re-read Born Again and shed a little tear for the late, great Frank Miller. You folks who are hating all over Shoot 'Em Up are in desperate need of a sense of humor.
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You know who produced Shoot em up?
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of ass in the film? Thats what caught my eye.
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This just looks like a watered down version of that anyway... And someone needs to stage an intervention w/ Robert Rodriguez and stop him from destroying his career with that gorgeous succubus Rose McGowan. I dunno if I could date someone that had been M. Manson's fuck toy personally.
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i hate her. she talks funny because of her weird lisp lips and giant teeth. uggghh.
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That would be ... Donny Two Chins? That explains a lot don't it? What a mess of a movie ...
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Aug 27, 2008 11:25:33 PM CDT
Russell Mulcahy could've nailed this in his sleep!
by sherlock holmes ii
He did this sort of thing in a Bonnie Tyler video for craps sake, but it was all REAL of course.
Oh, and here's why you should never, EVER, listen to one Drew McWeeny(I'll never get over that name) AiCN circa 2001: Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I'm going to call shenanigans on the person who sent in our report the other day about Russell Mulcahy allegedly signing on to direct an adaptation of Will Eisner's THE SPIRIT for Dimension Films.
According to what I've heard, Michael Uslan (one of the producers of the 1989 BATMAN) currently owns the rights to THE SPIRIT, and he's being very demanding in setting it up, wanting to preserve the integrity of the thing.
Russell Mulcahy is not signing any three-picture deal with Dimension, although he might be signing on for HIGHLANDER: THE SOURCE if things work out.
I'm glad Michael Uslan seems to be taking his time, and I'm glad it's not Mulcahy doing THE SPIRIT. I can't help but wonder what it would have been like if Brad Bird had gotten his version of the project off the ground a fistful of years ago. I like Bird's sensibilities a hell of a lot, and I imagine he would have paid beautiful homage to the soul of Eisner's work.
We'll keep you posted if more details appear, but for now, mark this one down as "still just a dream."
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And that quote doesn't mean Drew's full of shit, Sherlock. It was just wishful thinking. It would have ended up a hell of a let better in either Bird's or Mulcahy's hands. Frank Miller is a talentless cunt. He should drink antifreeze and go the fuck away.
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Uh, do you remember a little movie called "The Shadow?" He had his chance and blew it though mind boggling mediocrity.
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Oh fuck off and die with that comment.
Please....Alec Baldwin is a fucking God. -
Aug 28, 2008 12:33:38 AM CDT
rubber looking genghis khan CGI dagger??? No full naked Penelope
by second cousin of phartegod
I liked the movie when I was 5. Had the toys and everything, but you don't always have to like everything that rooted from your childhood. Rewatching it 15 years later, it could've been so much more.
"I'm looking at you Sam Raimi" -
...but so could almost anything. The Shadow is bad ass. A very fun film...still.
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But before I go....lets all join hands and collectively piss on the ashes of Frank Miller's career. Good bye Frank.....you talentless coke head.
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I really don't think that's Mulcahy's alley to be honest, if anything, he should've made an epic 3-hour Highlander prequel with a CGI Sean Connery in all his fruity spaniard glory. But of course, that's just me.
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He was Pu Yi (The Last Emperor) and the Khan in the Shadow... for such a slight guy, he projected some real menace, even when lobotomized.
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... The guy really does seem to love the characters (Daredevil, Ghost Rider) ...but he's a shitty director. Hope he's better as a producer and Preacher doesn't end up sucking. It's good to hope, even though I know better... Miller, though, is a has-been. He should go join John Byrne in the Old Comic Book Artists Home.
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When I first saw the trailer, I thought it was way too weird, but I've grown to kind of like the whole "lots of women" advertising approach. Ballsy for a comic book adaptation, definitely. If this reviewer said it could easily go from a C to a B for him with a little editing, that encourages me. Tighten it up and it could be extremely pleasurable come December.
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Aug 28, 2008 9:25:41 AM CDT
Hey, HERE'S an idea that'll make everybody's...
by half-baked-goggle-box-do-gooder
...heads go KABLOOEY.
Howzabout the Wachowski's do a big-budget adaptation of "Hard-Boiled", with Jason Statham as Nixon?
Eh? Eh?
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For people, like me, who had only a passing interest in The Spirit at first are going to balk after seeing the trailer, it was crap. Any excitement I had went out the window when I saw that sorry piece of excrement. Poor Eisner, God rest his soul.
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Be sure to close the lid on the coffin.
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Aug 28, 2008 1:38:18 PM CDT
Gruntybear Andy Dick would let you see his DarK Knight for free!
by dihay
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Sorry. If Will Eisner had wanted a Spirit movie made, he would have made one. The reason he didn't was because he knew it would turn out atrocious.
Frank Miller, deep in his heart, knows he fucking stole this property from the Eisner estate and did with it EXACTLY what his "friend" wouldn't never have wanted him to do.
Fucking scumbag built his entire career off of emulating other artists and writers, and there's not a single book fan that sees this? Two stories, the original Sin City arch and 300 were entertaining - other than that, he's shit and produced exactly what I knew he would from my first post on this site... a hack representation of a classic character.
Fuck you and eat shit Frank Miller. I hope the only job you can find from now on are rewriting back issues of Alf, and that you die and rot atop a pile of unsold stories. -
I just felt like typing one of the most hilarious titles in all caps. Carry on.
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What exactly is ballsy about putting lots of sexy women in a comic book movie? It's pandering to the lowest common denominator, something Miller does all of the time. As a movie this looks lame. As an adaptation of The Spirit, it looks atrocious. Miller has always been incredibly overrated.
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I heard this film is going to be pg-13 and that Frank Miller is trying something new, like taping an underwater scene without it actually being underwater. Could be interetsing to see?
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Seriously it does. I see actually a lot of the Spirit humor in here and it is good, but the entire noir style betrays it as well as the ads. Its like the Happening, if they marketed it like the B-Movie was instead of the next Six Sense it would not have done as bad as it did. People expect this to be Sin City or Watchmen, not like Kill Bill, so they will go WTF and hate it.
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