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El Gringo lost spirit with THE SPIRIT
Merrick here...
Yesterday, we received a review of THE SPIRIT from a reader who called it the worst film he'd ever seen (HERE).
Now comes this review from El Gringo, who just caught THE SPIRIT at a screening in Paris. While he didn't call it "the worst film he's ever seen", El Gringo doesn't seem to have much of love for Frank Miller's new movie. Not much at all...
Here's El Gringo...
i happened to attend a paris premiere screening of frank miller's latest flick ("latest" if you consider he didn't have a lot to do with sin city, apart from being the one who inspired it all - "first" if you tend to think that the spirit is his first work as a director where he's completely free, in charge, and ultimately responsible for how it turns out).
that distinction might turn out to be important, or irrelevant, depending on how you feel about the spirit. either you can see it as a second feature, and marvel at how a director dares to go beyond the already stretched boundaries that he set with his first film - or you can see it as a first (and far from being flawless) feature, and wonder what went (very) wrong in the director's obviously quite twisted mind.
i guess it's up to how you liked sin city. and i kinda liked it. even so...
i'll get back to how i feel about the spirit, but let's start with a brief overview of what's on the screen.
right after a quite ugly credit/titles, it starts with a giant battle in a muddy swamp between the spirit and his arch nemesis, the octopus. they both kick the hell out of each other, and you start thinking okay, that's how everything's gonna unfold : the spirit takes place in a world where basically people can smash a toilet seat on the head of one another and not feel particularly physically sore about it (how their ego gets hurt is another matter, though).
and all of a sudden, the octopus dismisses that belief, by saying something like 'don't you find that strange, how strong and resilient you are? hasn't it ever occurred to you that it might have something to do with your coming back from the dead?' (no spoiler here: you get to know that the spirit is sort of an undead quite early in the film)?
anyway, that's what the octopus says, and that's when the audience starts thinking 'okay, so it's NOT a world where this shit is supposed to be normal' (ie. people smashing each other with tons of junk, including a toilet seat).
quite oddly, that action scene is very poorly edited, and emasculated by a very campy sense of humor, most of which is carried out by actor louis lombardi, who does his very best to make the most of the part of a dumbass with an IQ of 20, infinitely cloned (and killed) by the octopus.
right after this unreasonably long fight comes a very boring scene where you understand that the spirit and commissioner dolan have some sort of an agreement (basically: 'you do your vigilante stuff and i book the bad guys' - if that reminds you of any relationship between another commissioner and a guy who goes around dressed up as a bat, well, that may be on purpose). i say i found that scene boring because it is supposed to make us understand the spirit's past - his teenage love for a skinny girl named sand saref who left town because of the death of her father, and who turned into stunningly beautiful eva mendes.
then you get a quick overview of the spirit's female relationships: ellen, the commissioner's daughter, who mends him when he's hurt (she's a doctor); morgenstern, the overzealous rookie cop dressed up like she's going to an s&m party ; lorelei, the angel of death, constantly whining about how she can't hold the spirit in her cold embrace etc; and, of course, sand serif, the spirit's first love.
there are a few film noir scenes where the spirit follows up the crumbs to the octopus, but frankly my dears, you won't give a damn about them: they're poorly directed, and they usually try and deliver information you understood fifteen minutes ago.
these scenes are intertwined with moments int the octopus' lair, where you see sam jackson killing his lombardi clones, and plotting with scarlett johanson to kill 2 birds with one stone - i.e. gut the spirit and retrieve an ancient vase containing some shit that's supposed to make him immortal (don't ask me what it was, at this point i already didn't care what was in the vase, i was just wondering when we'd be rewarded with another shot of eva mendes' digitally enhanced ass).
in the midst of all this, you understand the spirit started as a cop who got shot dead, and then got brought back to life by the octopus as a human guinea pig for his indestructibility formula (see, he had to test it on someone before injecting himself with the shit).
eventually, the octopuss will get his ass kicked so that he can't ever be brought back to life (or can he ?), and the spirit will turn his back on all the women who love him, just to go on with his dumb ass vigilante life.
so, what can i say about that?
well, i won't say anything about how each frame seems like a comics page brought to life - because it's not. The film is absolutely deprived of anything resembling life. every close-up on those wonderful actresses is ruined by cgi make-up, and every possible interest you might have in the characters is thoroughly stomped by the poorest directing ever.
in the aftermath, a few things surface in the ocean of boredom: scarlett johanson, who proves (if need be) that she's a very very very intelligent actress, at ease in every and any kind of film; eva mendes, who is so remarkably beautiful that you could forgive her weak moments as an actress; and of course, sam jackson, fun as ever.
make no mistake: i love frank miller's illustrative style in the comics - and i don't mind seeing it in a film (i mean i'm not one of those geeks who go around screaming 'oh god, don't touch my comics, hollywood whores, or i kill you' - i'm a geek, but not that kind of geek). i also don't mind campy and fun in a film - as long as it's... funny. and sam jackson marvelling at a jumping foot on which he surgically mounted a human head the size of a plum - well, that could be funny - except it's not. i'm also not the kind to get upset by nazi uniforms in exploitation movies. and i don't mind being told a story in a way that's radically different from what hollywood is used to doing. but still, it has to be ambitious, and committed to its emotions somehow.
the spirit could pass for ambitious (but it isn't), and it lacks a lot of emotional commitment. i found it not so fun to watch, and quite painful to sit through. the lead character, even though bravely supported by actor gabriel macht, is so stupid it's jaw-dropping (wait to see him get confused by evidence that would get a 5-year old to close the case). he's absolutely unfathomable as a character, driven by nothing, attached to no-one but his so-called mother (a.k.a. his city).
speaking of which: the film was supposed to be about a city. i mean: it's on the poster, it's in the trailers and in the tagline ("my city screams"). well, never has a city resembled so much an empty sound stage - except maybe a sound stage.
eventually, the so-called "screaming city" consists of a green screen cgi-painted black - or white - or red. and sometimes, we get a few wide shots of some real city, but where any living soul or passing car or fucking flying bird has been digitally removed - and not replaced with an extra or a car that would match the art direction. no, they just took everything and everybody out, and left the frame totally empty! go figure...
the spirit might be called the ultimate child-like character, if you assume a child is driven by nothing but primitive impulses and the constant need to run from the girls and go back to his mama. eventually, i feel like the spirit might be the unlikely child of a threesome between directors fellini, jess franco, and blake edwards - if you keep just what made these directors famous, and not what made them interesting film makers.
i could also say a few things about the miller's obsession for perfect (i.e. playmate of the month-like) female curves (even the extras have great ass!); or about his very twisted fling for teenage girls dressed like 5 bucks whores (young seychelle gabriel pulls it off anyway, as well as johnny simmons). but writing that review had me too tired and too sad for old frank, to say any more.
if you use this, call me el gringo.
Readers Talkback
comments powered by Disqus-
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Damn You Jondough
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Don't get me wrong, I love some of the guy's work (Batman: Year One, Dark Knight Returns, Sin City, Ronin), but he's clearly not with us anymore. I think it all started with The Dark Knight Strikes Again (probably the worst comic ever written). Then came that lame-ass All-star Batman fiasco, and now this. Sorry, Frank, it's gonna take a lot to convince me you still have something to contribute.
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at the bottom of the Wal-Mart $5 DVD bin
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Screw this El Gringo bloke
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It would be amusing if Moore hated all the adaptations of his own works but liked the steaming shit that others turn out.
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Where is your evidence that the reviewer is biased?
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read Will Eisner's 'the Spirit' hasn't he? The more I see and read of this film the more convinced I am that if the title and character names were changed no one would actually realize it was based on 'The Spirit'. Then again, most people have no idea who Mr. Eisner or 'The Spirit' are.
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is just trying to cash in on the "coolness" of how Sin City looked, and in doing that, is going make Sin City 2 look tired and worn out with this "comics brought to life" garbage. He's ripping off his own work! This movie looks terrible and it makes me sad. Everything about this movie should be awesome, but you can tell from the horrible trailer, the lame ass posters, and everything else that its just trash. Come on Frank, get your shit together.
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is still a douche though.
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if teens in my day looked half as good as those of today do, they woulda done the same.
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and I hope that someone writes a font-based parody. man am I hopeless.
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a 4th or 5th place opening weekend<P>1 will be Bedtime Stories, it's a family disney movie starring Adam Sandler it's a lock to make bank<P>I'm guessing Marley and Me in 2nd followed by Valkyire then this or Yes Man<P>that said it's only going to make a couple of million in it's opening weekend
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The Spirirt!???!
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If you look at a picture of Frank Miller, then look at a picture of one of the fire demons from the Jim Henson movie, Labyrinth, the resemblance is scary. Then again, them Fierys could sings. Danny John-Jules played one of 'em.
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Oh, who am I kidding?
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The reviews thus far on this site have been unconvincing. I'm guessing this movie does suck, but for whatever reason these two reviews don't make a very good case.
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I don't like bald guys that wear fedoras. You're not fooling anyone Frank!!!
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...away from the camera, fer crissakes!
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But then we sit here and read all the damn long ass reviews... butt numb-a-thon, indeed. Oh well. I love Frank Miller's comics too but so far the only thing I'm anxious to see is Eva's behind.
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after watching the spirit did you look to your best friend, with a straight face, and say "now i know what being raped feels like?"
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it should read - “I think I now know what it feels like to be raped.”
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...theory that AICN is trying to save this film?<P>Tune in and find out!
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Wha? Huh? So many words. So few articulated ideas.
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He doesn't have one, right? Might explain why this film is torpor.
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Everyone I know that has seen either the trailer or the commerical for this flick has asked, "Is that the sequel to SIN CITY?" That kind of blatant similarity coupled with comic book obscurity is just a recipe for a "been there/done that" type response. In other words, this thing has zero buzz (with the exception of the ZZZZZzzzzz's it seems to induce...).
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It sucks. Too short? How about: It sucks hard. Granted this review is based off the 6 clips and not the whole thing but something tells me I'll be giving this one a miss...
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for this movie - i.e. one that is actually written by someone with an understanding of the English language - I will remain interested in seeing this film.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 9:34 a.m. CST
I keep getting distracted by Erin Esurance up there
by Nasty In The Pasty
Mrrrrowr.
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I only come here for news... reviews on this site need to be cut in half or less. Way too long. as always. didn't even read it.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 9:36 a.m. CST
Hear that?! Thats the sound of Frank Miller's career....
by DANNYGLOVERS_DICKBLOOD
....screaming in agony as it roasts in a pizza oven.
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And here's a few words to save you time and money: 'THE SPIRIT is a terrible movie. The script is shit. The acting is shit. Even the opening titles are shit. This is a nasty, exploitative film. Don't fool yourself that this is an existential noir, with hardboiled dialogue and fast-talking dames. This, instead, is the result of a dirty old man taking advantage of the darker side of the film industry. Have you seen The Big Heat, Out Of The Past, The Killing, Touch of Evil, In a Lonely Place, Kiss Me Deadly, Panic in the Streets, Mildred Pierce, Strangers on a Train, Sunset Boulevard, Night of the Hunter, Notorious? Well watch any of these again: it will be 90 minutes better spent. And by the way, fuck you in the eyeball for being so patronising to an AINTITCOOL reviewer.'
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Much more intelligent review, but we still have a problem. This reviewer makes the claim that ScarJo "proves (if need be) that she's a very very very intelligent actress, at ease in every and any kind of film". Point of fact, if she were intelligent, she'd probably pick better movies to star in (presuming the directors of better movies would want her). And that's not "ease", it's a complete lack of talent and personality. <BR><BR>Look, obviously I'd hit that, but come on... how is ScarJo still getting work?
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You obviously know how to use it if you put quote marks in your write up!
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Movies are rarely successful because of quality. All that matters is that the public wants to see it - and the average moviegoer a) has never heard of the Spirit b) will perceive this as a ripoff of "Sin City" (which is ironic since Sin City is really just a ripoff of the Spirit) and c)hates period comic book movies (think about these flops: The Shadow, The Rocketeer, The Phantom - the kids want to see modern-looking superhero films like Iron Man and TDK). If this movie were a perfect adaptation of The Spirit, it would still be a flop. Unfortunately, it looks far from perfect, which is very disappointing (I, like many other fans, have been waiting for a Spirit movie for a long time).
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Dec. 16, 2008, 9:50 a.m. CST
Couldn't care less. Sin City, though cool, was really stupid.
by dr sauch
Come on, try and watch Sin City again. It's not a good movie. It's cool the first time, and its pretty, and Mickey Rourke is inspired in it, but its actually really fucking dumb.
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welcome to aintitcoolnews, the most caustic corner of the internet and the malignant center of the universe.<br><br>on a side note, when does user registration open again? i've been waiting weeks to register CRISPINGLOVERS_PENISBLOOD
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This review is as vague as yesterdays douche-boy review. He describes one scene. Any of this could have been garnered from the graphic novel. Padding a review out with how good an actress is just garbage. We get it, the site hates Frank Miller. Were you guys not privy to a set (green screen) visit or an advanced screening? Yes the second Dark Knight graphic novel was terrible that I can agree with but his writing track record worked for at least 2 movies and he’s been copied by many little snot nosed comic book writers. Don’t get me wrong…I like Frank Miller.
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it sounds craptaculalry awesome.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 9:53 a.m. CST
so did The Octopus dress up like a Nazi in the books?
by DANNYGLOVERS_DICKBLOOD
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Then came DK2.<p>oi.
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Or did the Germans ship them all to Vichy?<p> if you use this, call me le jondough
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What the hell did that mean?
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however, he IS allowed to sleep in the furnace room of local high schools.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 10:03 a.m. CST
AVATAR reviews will sound similar to this...
by DANNYGLOVERS_DICKBLOOD
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You don't know what the fuck you're talking about. This site loves Frank Miller. And Quint had a set visit where he sucked Miller's balls for 10 paragraphs. Only recently did TB'ers start turning on him, not because of some fake review-- but because this movie looks like a horrid piece of shit.
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What... wait... You're now saying that IRON MAN and THE DARK KNIGHT were MODERN? I thought the whole point was that they were old-fashioned! Location-heavy, CGI that doesn't call attention to itself etc. Is that MODERN now? So, er, I guess Speed Racer is the new OLD FASHIONED. So, wait, what do 'the kids want to see'? Have we all gone mad here?
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Seriously WTF
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Can we get a real one please? This isn't Myspace.
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You've got to admit that something is a little skewed with the attitude that just because someone's grammar is a bit off their opinions aren't worth listening to. In fact, the reason I come to this site is because I'm fed up with print reviewers who can express themselves beautifully but have no passion for film whatsoever. (That's not to say that there aren't good print reviewers out there - there are.)
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Because in a "Spirit" review, that's really the only pertinent question.
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And the guy that made him immortal was called Dr. Cobra. Octopus is a psychopathic criminal mastermind who was never seen, except for his distinctive gloves. <p> And is the spirits stereotypical black side-kick-- Ebony White in this?
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Dec. 16, 2008, 10:23 a.m. CST
I stand, wearing my v-neck sweater over button-down shirt.
by Guy Who Got A Headache And Accidentally Saves The World
Whatever else this movie may be, it's given me hope for a career as a writer some day.
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DANNYGLOVERS_DICKBLOOD you are my hero usually because you aren’t fake and full of BS but I believe I wrote it as a question and not a fact. People tend to follow speculation. That’s peachy that you hate Frank. I have a friend that won’t see a Will Smith movie because he doesn’t like Will Smith. Sad really when people think like that because they miss out on so much.
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I liked when he said Long Ranger in Predator 2. Cracks me up every time.
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First!
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if the next Sin City still gets done when this one bombs.
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Oh...she's a Rodriguez usual, not Miller. Too bad. The SinCity GN's are pretty good...a couple of them really good. SinCity movie? Meh, except for Carla Gugino's boobs. And what the fuck is up with strippers who don't actually...you know, strip?
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Hold on. Lemme . . . scuse me. Gotta go puke! BWAAAAAAH! Oh man. Hey, Is that Eve Mendes in my toilet?! Naw, naw but it does look better than her nasty ass.
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Thanks! As for whether this could have been gleaned from the graphic novel, I've got to say: While I haven't read The Spirit, this doesn't sound quite like Eisner...
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For the love of all that is holy, use capital letters correctly!
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It’s Frank Millers adaptation of Eisner’s Spirit. Now if you don’t like Franks version of The Spirit (graphic novel) in the first place then yes I can understand not liking the movie at all because that’s what you are going to get , the graphic novel magnified.
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intelligent actress Scarlett Johanssen. She is a stunning beauty, but looks lost in every role I've seen her in. What Woody Allen sees in her beyond the obvious, is beyond me.
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Uhhhh I'm pretty sure I'm not missing out on much in the Will Smith department. And I didn't say I won't see this. It looks like an amazing trainwreck. Its like watching a human being implode on screen! I'll totally see this. I might sneak in, but I won't give a cent to this talentless cunt. I'll pay for Punisher. <p> And The Glove thanks you for the support, "I GOTCHOO."
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Would it hurt to get a toilet seat smashed over your head? After all, there is that big hole in the middle ...
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Now Mike Allred's Madman movie's never gonna happen.
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That's the question i want answered.
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It doesn't seem that way.
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Do you damn homework
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Keyboard sticks. So sorry.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 11:35 a.m. CST
Please end Scarlett's career. Please end Scarlett's career.
by DerLanghaarige
Please end Scarlett's career. Please end Scarlett's career. *sigh* Who am I kidding? Directors won't stop to put this bland and pale actress in their movies.
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Sorry, may bad. She just didn't get top billing. I blame Woody Allen.
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Damn keyboard. Having a bad day. Sorry folks.
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Funny you should mention Madman. Years ago I was sitting in the an office in the Black Tower on the Universal lot. This idiot that had the power to green light movies had a huge beautiful Madman poster on his wall. I said “wow that’s a cool Madman poster” and he said “yea I didn’t even know who this was till I got this treatment for the movie” and he held up what looked like a script. This guy had all this great stuff in his office, fantastic posters pristine vintage toys and I can tell you he didn’t have a clue what the hell he was looking at every day. It was obvious his assistant decorated his office. So besides the fact that you might not like Mikes Madman, rest assured it’s not getting made.
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I meant "sitting in an office"
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Dec. 16, 2008, 11:41 a.m. CST
people here seem to think TDK was the yrs best-so i dont trust t
by j2talk
this film MIGHT be a steaming pile, but I'll wait and judge it myself
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...that TV pilot version of The Spirit from back in the 80s with the (in)famous Sam Jones (FLASH! Aaaah-aaahhh! Doesn't speak his own dialogue!) and Major Kira Nerys as Ellen Dolan will end up being a more faithful adaptation AND a better movie than Miller's bollixed-up coke dream.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 11:46 a.m. CST
Is it possible for anyone to write a concise review of this movi
by epitone
I'm still waiting to find out.
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Stephen King agrees with us. Sorry bro, but if you're standing on opposite sides of an issue from Stephen King, you need to reconsider your position - unless that position is behind the whell of a GMC SUV, in which case, you can just drive your opinion home.
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YOU CAN BORROW MINE.
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What's the verdict, fellas?
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Dec. 16, 2008, 12:02 p.m. CST
DannyGlover, if you're still around, I wondered this yesterday
by skimn
Besides looking like a pedophile in a bad Vincent Price get up, whats your beef against Miller? And don't just say "talentless hack", sir.
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I had the exact same, awful thought.
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He did call Scarlett very, very, VERY intelligent, so its your call...
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not that its bad, i just dont like it...
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in that order.
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...it's probably crap. And, no. I won't see it. I won't rent it. Millers 'Whores with big guns' in SIN CITY was so incredibly juvenial and retarded that the mention of him dressing up a female cop in some black leather SM outfit, and teenage girls like hookers, well...I always feel like a need a shower.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 12:26 p.m. CST
ArcadianDS-my point? people overreact to TDK, then overreact to
by j2talk
ArcadianDS-my point? people overreact to TDK, then they overreact to this
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nothing else matters
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in 2009.
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Dark Knight- Highly overrated. Batman Begins had lesser villains throughout the whole movie- then in TDK we get a major villain like Two Face die right after becoming Two Face- regardless of him running around with half his face gone (ridiculous looking too) like he isn't in any pain- just as ludicrous as the chick in Hostel running around fine with one eye torched and scissored off. As for Stephen King- his best days as a writer are long behind him- and as for movies his judgment is trash- always has been. Just look at who he gets to adapt most of his books- Mick Garris- quite possibly the most horrible director out there. As for The Spirit- since when did chicks dressed like hookers and s&m freaks become a bad thing? When did this geek site turn into Planet fucking Wholesome? What a joke this place has become.
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Avatar will be a self indulgent bore fest. Cameron has made one good film, The Terminator. Aliens was more of a rip off than a sequel to Alien. With aliens becoming dumb as bugs and an adult trying to save a child(gak). T2 was just retarded and was like terminator light and an adult robot trying to save a child. If that kid yelled Mom one more time I was going to get up and strangle the screen. The Abyss were two decent movies but once you put them together to form one film it didn’t work. Titanic was a really fun giant toy till Barbie and Ken showed up. Only redeeming feature was horrid CG guys cart wheeling off the propellers of the ship which signaled the Impending credits. Then we had to hear about the real search for Titanic crap for 10 years.
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Oops I forgot about True Lies…hmm…ya know...I kinda liked that one. That and Piranha 2.
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Insanity would be to inflict tickle torture on Jondough. And peeing on him while doing it. Hey not a bad idea!!!!!
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Good or bad.
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just to wash the stink of jondough's review out of my mouth.
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Yes. And at least he's consistent. With The Spirit, as with everything else he's touched in comics or out, he completely disrespects the source material. You gotta understand, in his universe, everything is inherently bad unless he thought of it.
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ONCE HAD YUMMY LABIA
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Fuckin' sucks. I loved the first one.
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...please don't let Frank Miller direct it!
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If they even think of considering the possibility of letting anyone else even begin thinking about writing an outline, they should be shot on sight. Nolan owns Batman now and should be given HUGE sums of money to round out his trilogy of pretty much perfect superhero movies. Unless, of course, he pulls a Raimi and royally fucks up the third installment.
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When it's not really all his fault. Alot of blame has to be put on the studio who launched this turd fest in the first place. This is Miller's first directing work. I'm sure there was a studio head riding him all the time. I'm sure they let him have his indulgences, the whole thing looks like a Miller spoog fest, but, someone above him APPROVED it. He didn't make this thing with them being blind. And eveyone playing the whole "He made it look like Sin City", thing, I say this : That was the only movie he had an intimate hand in making, so it's all he knows. Plus, it is what makes him Miller, it's what he likes. I'm not saying he shouldn't try something different, but I wasn't surprised to see him do it this way. Again, it's all he knows. They should have gotten Darwyn Cooke to help out.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 1:28 p.m. CST
STALLONE SHOULD DO DARK KNIGHT RETURNS STARRING BRUCE WILLIS
by BringingSexyBack
With Little Miss Sunshine as Robin.
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I shit you not. I have friends at Lion's Gate and they were ecstatic when they saw the finished cut. Some of the executives are thinking hit. Even some of my friends were (I just bit my tongue and thought of the clips and trailer I saw). <p> I imagine they are going to find Christmas a little disappointing when the reviews and the box office comes out.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 1:31 p.m. CST
ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT LIONSGATE IS THEIR OPENING LOGO
by BringingSexyBack
You know, with the lock mechanism in the keyhole thing. Really pumps me up for a shitty movie.
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I had hopes for this one.<p>May still go see it, but with LOW expectations, and a big bucket of popcorn.
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the first one was GREAT
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How dare you even jokingly suggest such a thing! HOW DAREST THOU?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"!
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TDTESS, now this. Guess it will be Frost/Nixon for me.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 1:36 p.m. CST
ARONOFSKY'S DARK KNIGHT RETURNS STARRING MICKEY ROURKE
by BringingSexyBack
with Evan Rachel Wood as Robin and Jon Hamm as Superman. Rated K for Kick Jondough in the ass.
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I was never a fan of Miller's art. It was always about Lynn Varley. Fuck you Millass.
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In “Eisner/Miller,” a 2005 collection of conversations between the two cartoonists, Eisner argued that real-life concerns of his work – marriage, morality, aging – were absent from his protege's two-fisted sagas. “The guy who's reading your stuff doesn't give a damn about man's relationship to God,” Eisner maintained. “He wants to see whether Marvin kills that son of a bitch or doesn't kill that son of a bitch. We're talking to different people. You're aware of it.” Miller replied, “Really, that was an unfair characterization. My stuff deals with that, too. It's more than pandering. My stuff is just more operatic than what you're currently doing.” Miller on making 'The Spirit': "I adored Will Eisner and took a real 'Don't tread on me' approach when I came to this movie. ...At the same time I was willing to tread all over it,"
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Throw caution to the wind! Seize the day! Caveat emptor!
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I always thought Aronovsky was overrated, but after the painfully awful THE FOUNTAIN? I think he may very well be the most profoundly idiotic and insipid director of all times. He makes Ed Wood look like Stanley Kubrick.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 1:45 p.m. CST
THE DAREDEVIL/ELEKTRA SAGA COULD'VE USED THIS STYLIZED TREATMENT
by BringingSexyBack
Ninjas play better as shadows and blurry figures. They lose their mystery when in the flesh.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 1:46 p.m. CST
I Like How Miller Characterizes His Own Work As "Operatic"
by LaserPants
I would classify it as somewhere between exploitative torture porn and adolescent power fantasy; something like "coke-binge pulp"
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Dec. 16, 2008, 1:47 p.m. CST
I COULDN'T WATCH THE FOUNTAIN FOR MORE THAN 5 MINUTES
by BringingSexyBack
but The Wrestler looks intriguing. I'd like to watch it as a double feature with Black Dynamite just to experience the full spectrum of my emotions.
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The depressing fact is that Miller was a long-time friend of Eisner, and considered him his mentor. That he has so thoroughly pissed in the face of one of Eisner’s greatest creations is instantly obvious from the trailers. <p> I don’t care what Hollywood usually does to comic book stories, for the most part, so I have no bone to pick here. Comics aren’t movies, and movies made from comics should display cinematic qualities, not illustrative ones. <p> But here’s the bottom line. Frank Miller is a nasty, misogynistic boy with a man-size dick. When he writes a female character he considers “strong,” they’re strong like a man is strong, not like a woman is strong. Hence all the street-trash attired, gun-toting, samurai-wielding hookers. He doesn’t understand what unique qualities give women their strength, so he creates big-jugged dimwits who curse and fuck and kill like men. The ultimate pre-pubescent fantasy. <p> On a personal note: SIN CITY was fun to look at while it played on the screen, but undoubtedly filled with some of the most atrocious dialog ever spoken by actors. I’ve never revisited it and surely never will.
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...the internet faux rage brigade needs something to pre-emptively hate and it appears Miller gets it this go-round. I haven't seen the movie but anyone that knows Miller's work (not to mention the source material) should not be so shocked about the sensibility and style he is apparently bringing to this movie. It feels to me like the poor reviews I've seen come from people that flat out refuse to meet the movie on its own terms. That's fine I guess because your average moviegoer won't give a pass for the same reasons but it sure seems lazy to me. Miller's comics work has been mined for years now and informs much of what this crowd purports to want to see in their pop entertainment. Our precious Nolan interpretation for example likely wouldn't even exist as one example and the number of other films, video/computer games etc. that have borrowed liberally from Miller are legion. The movie might be a failure on its own terms but this internet-fed piling on is worse and more insipid than anything in this movie I can guarantee that.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 2:05 p.m. CST
OH MAN FRANK MILLER MUST HAVE PISSED HARRY OFF SOMETHING AWFUL
by SomaShine
seriosly, name the LAST time you saw AICN post this many bad reviews about a movie. That's what, 3 or 4 now in 3 days? Hey Frank, next time Harry begs to suck your cock for set access and a script preview, you say YES
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Two scathing reviews?
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Dec. 16, 2008, 2:21 p.m. CST
A Comicist Who Doesn't Know How To Write Female Characters?!
by LaserPants
Say it ain't so!
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Well, more like an actual review, instead of whatever we got before
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it hits the Speakeasy Theater and I can watch with a pitcher of beer. Which made even "Hell Ride" somewhat watchable.
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any viewer incapable of writing an intelligible review? man... the power of suck is strong with this one.
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Ha ha-looks like you were completely correct in your assessment and first review! It looks like this "community" has devolved into a review site of reviews-hmm perhaps these morons can start reviewing the reviews on Rotten tomatoes or Chud as well!! I stand with you sir for stating the facts as they made you feel!!! Ii *have* been RAPED by the utter stupidity of the "critical" backlash these namby-pamby handkerchief-wringing sissies have spewed 'lo these last two days!!! Another horrible movie avoided!
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was in the original comics. And her name was *always* intended as a pun on "Sans serif," so using "Sans serif" in a parody of this movie would be missing the point.
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Commissioner Dolan, his daughter Ellen, etc., were in the original comics too. But the Spirit didn't have super powers -- he couldn't be hit on the head with a toilet or somersault backwards up a fire escape. And the Octopus was like Blofeld, a shadowy presence behind the scenes -- not some sort of kung fu fighter (or kung foo fighter either).
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Dec. 16, 2008, 3:25 p.m. CST
Mr. LordBronco, remove your mouth from JonDough's yambag...
by Ultron ver 2.0
...and make sure your button down collar is popped over your v-neck sweater, you toolbox.
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With 262 reviews tallied, the film is still holding at 94% positive at Rotten Tomatoes. That's an insanely high level of positive reviews, higher in fact than many Oscar contenders/winners.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 3:39 p.m. CST
Is anyone going to address adiehardfanwithalethalweapon?
by Ultron ver 2.0
and his craptacular taste in women? If Eva Mendes doesn't give you movement in the pants, just admit you're a subscriber to the David Gest newsletter.
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"This review is as vague as yesterdays douche-boy review. He describes one scene. Any of this could have been garnered from the graphic novel." Those two scenes he mentioned could not have been, because there is no Spirit "graphic novel." The Spirit was a weekly comics-format insert seen in newspapers for more than ten years. While it sometimes featured continued stories, normally it consisted of "done in one" adventures, varying from comedic to very serious. The reviewer certainly didn't describe the Octopus fight scene from having read the "graphic novel" because the Octopus always stayed off-panel, except for his gloves. His lackeys did all the fighting. <P> <P> The Spirit is not immortal. Some believe Denny Colt returned from the dead because he was thought to be dead and placed in a crypt after a villain's machinations threw him into suspended animation. He's not unkillable. He's not immortal. He's just very, very, very, very tough. Perhaps that's a function of the suspended animation; perhaps not. But he's not magic; he's not a wonder of science; he's just the toughest SOB walking the streets.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 3:43 p.m. CST
The Question is why did they think Miller could direct
by Continentalop
His script for Robocop 3 was abysmal, and the films adapted from his work (300 and Sin City) were always more do to the visual style than anything Miller wrote. I mean, yelling "This is Sparta" is not the same level as yelling "I am Spartacus." <p> I almost feel sorry for him. He is a star in a completely different field expected to excel at a new one. Its like taking Tiger Woods and expecting him to lead the Patriots to another Superbowl. <p> Of course, Tiger Woods would be smart enough to realize he isn't capable of doing that, something Frank Miller should have realized as well.
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after the first paragraph, once I realized this idiot doesn't know how to produce a capital letter.
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...(I thought I maybe just need time to get used to it) I can assure you that most of the positive reviews for TDK are based on gimmicks. Gimmicks like "Oh look, it's a dark comic book movie about terrorism" or "Oh look, a pretty Academy Award Nominee wears in his last role before his death ugly make up and acts like Jack Sparrow on speed". Seriously. The movie isn't all that. Yes, I appreciate too that Batman isn't associated with Kindergarten playtime anymore, but best movie of the year? For what? A script that jumps especially in its last act from one senseless Joker-plot to the next one and insults its audience with the "surprise twist" that the main villain planned to be caught by the police in the middle of the movie and fails to make us care for any of the characters at any moment? Come on! It's perfect on a technological level (the cinematography is just stunning!) but please grow up, people.
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I couldn't slog through The Fountain myself, but when a review of The Wrestler likens it to Rocky directed by Mean Streets-era Scorsese, I'm fuckin curious.
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You're thinking WAY too hard, man. If you liked TDK, great. If you did not like TDK, great. Just let it go and quit trying to change people's minds.
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Ok, the funny papers then or anywhere on the internet for that matter. It’s still a vague review. I take that back it’s not even a review.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 4:13 p.m. CST
TheLastCleric-I didntI say TDK wasn't good, just thats its not G
by j2talk
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I'm interested in the Wrestler, too. I didn't think much of Aronofsky's previous efforts (yes, even Pi, which looked amazing but seemed hollow), but most of the problems were at the screenplay level. There's no doubt he is talented in terms of visuals and directing actors. But I'm glad that he's having other people write the scripts.
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I'm interested in the Wrestler, too. I didn't think much of Aronofsky's previous efforts (yes, even Pi, which looked amazing but seemed hollow), but most of the problems were at the screenplay level. There's no doubt he is talented in terms of visuals and directing actors. But I'm glad that he's having other people write the scripts.
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... it's that his style is completely wrong for the material. Eisner's style was much more whimsical than Miller's leaden "I'm going to kill you all kinds of dead" version. The Spirit had a film-noir aspect to it, but it was also inspired by the Milton Caniff high adventure strips. The perfect version of this movie would have been by Brad Bird,and I think it's a crime that he didn't get to make it with Pixar. (sorry about the fricking double posts)
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... it's that his style is completely wrong for the material. Eisner's style was much more whimsical than Miller's leaden "I'm going to kill you all kinds of dead" version. The Spirit had a film-noir aspect to it, but it was also inspired by the Milton Caniff high adventure strips. The perfect version of this movie would have been by Brad Bird,and I think it's a crime that he didn't get to make it with Pixar. (sorry about the fricking double posts)
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... it's that his style is completely wrong for the material. Eisner's style was much more whimsical than Miller's leaden "I'm going to kill you all kinds of dead" version. The Spirit had a film-noir aspect to it, but it was also inspired by the Milton Caniff high adventure strips. The perfect version of this movie would have been by Brad Bird,and I think it's a crime that he didn't get to make it with Pixar. (sorry about the fricking double posts)
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I don't know why its doing that.
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... to know it's going to be awful. Just think of it. Think of THE SPIRIT and what's the first thing which comes to mind? A guy in a mask and blue suit. Blue. So what does Miller do? Puts him in a black one. If he can't even get that basic, nay, 'iconic' detail right, what hope is there for the rest of the film?
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Living in Austin and working in the film industry here, I've met and worked with a few people who were on the Sin City set. They all seem to be in agreement of one thing, that Rodriguez didn't direct the film nearly as much as Miller. In fact, I was even told that all the circled takes were approved by Miller and that Miller was really the one who would work with the actors. Now, whether he could do it on his own, without Rodriguez babysitting him and making sure it came out right, was another matter entirely and it looks like his crash-course in directing a green screen film led to, you guessed it, another green screen film with an almost-identical look to the last one. Oh, these same people on set also claim that Rodriguez suffered a nervous breakdown on the set of Grindhouse and that Tarantino directed most of Planet Terror. Oh, and that Rodriguez trying to replace Angelina Jolie, who was initially cast for Sin City 2, with Rose McGowan actually killed his relationship with the Weinsteins and probably the future of that franchise, unless Miller chooses to make them himself!
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Reviews never keep me from makin' up my own mind about things. It dóes however seem a bit odd that The Spirit is the AICN bashfest of this month. Coming from a site on which DOOM got a semi-positive review from its founder, it baffles me.
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Seriously, Blu Ray is SOOOOO over.
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Is nothing like Scorsese. His films, while frequently featuring tour-de-force performances, are also always cinematic tour-de-forces. The Wrestler is more or less an acting showcase for Rourke; it doesn't have any of Scorsese's flair behind the camera. Which isn't to say it's bad, it's just to say it doesn't hold a candle to most of Scorsese's work. As for The Dark Knight, this backlash is curious. I wasn't a big fan of Batman Begins, but The Dark Knight kicked my ass. Which isn't to say it's a flawless film; the Gordon faking his death sub-plot is ridiculous (and I've felt it was ridiculous since day one), but it's certainly the best live-action comic book film so far.
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or 2....well he did, but that wasnt the shooting script...why dont you guys learn to use wikipedia?
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back in the 80s...it was to be an animated film, but for some reason, eisner wanted only live action...and because animation was thought to be dead in the 80s, the project never got off the ground
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people keep saying, "its just a movie, the comics will retain their vitality"...but that isnt true...as a result of films like the phantom, the shadow and doc savage, people look at those properties as a joke...and the original properties are not a joke...i dont care what miller thinks, this movie shouldve been an homage to the great will eisner...that miller has become so twisted that he felt he had a right to do anything he wanted with this property makes me ill...btw, frank....you really think that the movie wouldnt work in the octopus had been done the way he was in the comics? go and watch how bond dealt with blofeld...who was only shot from his gloves during the entire first movie (no doubt patterned after the octopus)
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Not sure about the Phantom, but the original SHadow was kickass, as was the Spider and the other pulp stories. This will be many people's first introduction to the Spirit, which I think is a shame.
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So it's more understandable that Eisner passed on it. But either Bird or Paul DIni would capture the, ahem, spirit of the comic.
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do another line off a ho's body and tell us all how rich you are<br> Don't forget to drop some names
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he has a link to the article of the spirit that couldve been...according to the author, the animation that bird had already come up with was mind blowing...(and with the iron giant in mind, i dont doubt it) of course, bird was an unknown then...but you know that bird was a fan of eisner's work, and wouldve treated it with the respect that it deserved...i wish i could understand why eisner only wanted a live action take on the comic (his choice for denny colt was james garner...not bad casting)
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Dec. 16, 2008, 6:24 p.m. CST
bacci... couldn't find it on Evanier's site but I found i throug
by wookie1972
This really kind of annoys me. Bird's version could have been great, and more importantly TRUE TO THE COMIC... The fact that Miller claims to have been close to Eisner only makes it worse.
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that the review said that Miller wrote the comic? This guy needs to get fired.
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This looked like shit ages ago, and nothing has changed.
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He should actually do torture porn/porn in his stylized, I'm COKED out of my head, style.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 7:02 p.m. CST
If Miller Has Lost His Mind, This Could Be A Brilliant Film?
by Media Messiah
There is a difference between a person who is crazy and a person who is insane. Any idiot can be crazy, but it takes a special kind of brilliance to be insane. I am going to go see this film for its look, and hopefully there will be something more to this film than meets the eye, something of great value, via wit, charm, and intellectual import, etc.<BR><BR>I do hope however, that this film is rated R. Miller's voice is best found in an R rating, and I thought that the Eva Mendez towel dropping scene would work much better if she is standing there fully nude, in a full frontal shot for all to see...as well, they should have several graphic sex scenes in the film. She has done them before, and a lot worse, so why not here??? It would really add to the film, by giving it a more adult feel.<BR><BR>I am not asking for skin, for skin sake, it just seems appropriate somehow. BTW, I am not a Mendez fan...and could care less about seeing her nude, it just seems like it would give the film some integrity and guts, raise the level of the proceedings, to high art...rather than just another comic book on film.
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trailer sapped my will to live. this review inforces that notion.
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I always thought the casting of The Spirit shoulda been a bigger guy like Sam jones from that TV movie of 'The Spirit'
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Would the aliens who took Frank Miller in 1990 please bring him back? The android double you left behind is malfunctioning very, very badly..
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Dec. 16, 2008, 7:55 p.m. CST
this is why I ignore Moores ranting about Zyders version of Watc
by Gabba-UK
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It's obiviously the studio's reaction to the earlier bad review. Pretty sneaky sis! Seriously, this and maybe the Watchmen(who knows how that will go...) and maybe even Wolverine? will drive the stake through the heart of comic book movies. Still gonna see it though. Looks brain dead and campy, like the Superfriends, or the old Batman live action with Adam West. Ah...Nastalgia.
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Moore, Miller and all should stick to making great comics and leave filmakers to make the films of them. Two seperate media. Stick to what you know.
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..to sleep with his actress. Like Rodriguez did during Sin City.
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Dec. 16, 2008, 8:09 p.m. CST
Gabba: Agreed. And people have nerve to talk shit abt Watchmen
by knowthyself
They forget what comic book films USED to be like. They used to be like The Spirit.
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Is that we are going to have to wait another twenty years before someone actually makes a Spirit movie that is worthy of the source material and is not merely based on the masturbation fantasies of someone who grew up stealing his father's copies of Kitchen Sink collections... Frank, you really have done a disservice to someone who supposedly took you under his wing as he lay dying, while you promised to faithfully adapt his work to the big screen...
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read everything he put out and loved it starting with daredevil and electra. don't care about his retarded politics either even though i am a little confused because i thought dark knight returns was a criticism of reagan era politics and strikes again was supposed to be critical of the patriot act--guess i was wrong, anyway... don't care what anyone says, sin city is a great movie that stands the test of time and repeat viewings. Maybe you have to be a comic book fan i guess. Sometimes you guys are a little too highbrow for me. that being said this movie looks like the dingleberry on king kong's ass. i'll skip it and wait for the old frank miller to come back.
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Hollywood has just decided to jump on the Frank Miller bandwagon a decade or so after it started making its way down the hill with its wheels on fire and the horses shot...
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OK so I've always dismissed your name as random, but I guess I've finally grown curious... You name...<BR><BR> Are you referring to the blood after someone cut off his dick, or are you saying you are the blood inside of his member that provides his hard on?<BR><BR> Deep thoughts...
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Dec. 16, 2008, 10:24 p.m. CST
Continentalop "This is Sparta" is more powerful
by most excellent ninja
You think they'ed be an Internet meme of "I am Spartacus"? Asshole.
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went in the shit can when he became a born again wingnut on 9/12/01...he now sees the world in black and white, and only one guy in all of comicdom ever got away with that...and that was ditka...even kirby saw the world in shades of grey
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da bears
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I am Spartacus.
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Those are the only colors he films in!<p>LOL!<p>*high five?*<p>...<p>fine...<p> goes to cut wrists...
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this probably won't bomb as bad as it deserves to<br> Thus begetting at least one sequel
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It began as a joke my friends and I would throw around involving fucking a female while on the rag. Danny Glover got thrown in somewhere along the line because he seems to be one of the only known actors with balls big enough to partake in such activites. There are a few others, but DONJOHNSONS_DICKBLOOD just doesn't have that nice ring. Or does it? Hhhhhmmmm....
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Guess that old wanker didn´t wanted to fuck up his own franchise books and turned Will Eisner´s stuff into shit. Guess he was directing the whole movie with his leech in one hand, considering all the eye candy he backed up for it.
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...have anyone of you guys ever, and I mean EVER wrote anything but a short one-sentence-rant here? The reviewer did a pretty damn good job IMO.
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Would you say, that afterwards, you felt that Frank Millers motion picture, The Spirit, had somehow raped you? Please make haste with a response.
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Rodriguez filled Frank Miller's head full of lies. He spent all of Sin City telling him that Miller *knew* how to direct just because he drew some comic strips. <p> What he left out is most good movies have a good cast and they are vital to bring your script/comic alive. When Miller realizes this he will make a good FILM not just a comic that moves.
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Jesus, does anything in this world bring you sad fucks a modicum of joy? Yes, Rickey knows, you've got the hots for Shirley Manson. You find her attractive because she kind of reminds you of that one girl who begrudgingly let you finger bang her back when you were 24. And that was your Woodstock.<br> <br> Rickey can totally tolerate some Miller bashing (it's warranted in this case). But what Rickey refuses to stand for will be any ill words said of Johanssen and/or Mendes. They're hot goddamnit.
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They are getting bashed not for their looks but their acting talents. I won't bash them but to be honest they just cannot act. Great eye candy though.<p>Oh, and good luck with the hall of fame ballots. Hope ya get in there.
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Rickey will be a shoe in, first time round.
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I really hope all of your post is meant to be ironic and comical. On the off chance that it is not: <P> <P> "Insane" is a legal term, meaning unable to discern the difference between right behavior (acceptable under the law and society's mores) and wrong behavior. It means nothing more or less. We may use insane as a shortcut to describe certain states of mind, but I don't remember hearing it used in the sense you imply, some positive state of mental illness. There are states of positive mania that can lead to great creativity, and states of delusion as well, but they've nothing to do with insanity. I speak from experience as a person with bipolar disorder who has experienced creative mania and was institutionalized during the summer because I had a bad bipolar experience involving both mania and depression. <P> <P> I really hope your argument for nudity and sex was an attempt at humor. Really, really, really, especially as you mention the possibility of such things raising the film to the level of art. The film gains nothing by the possibilities you describe and would once again ape "Sin City" at the expense of Will Eisner's work. Even when Eisner had the freedom of independent publishing he used nudity sparingly and only for dramatic effect. Eva Mendes dropping her towel is not the same as (from "A Contract with God") a woman exposing herself to draw an innocent teenager into a tryst that satisfies her desperation for sex - a genuine, non-Apatow/non-MILFy desperation born out of bad marriage and years of pain - and his curiosity. Play it for class, for heaven's sake. <P> <P> And it's "I couldN'T care less." If you COULD care less about it to begin with. <P> <P> Once again, hoping this was a joke, feeling sorry for you if it was not and feeling stupid if it was and I was too dim in the early afternoon tiredness to recognize it.
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If you could care less, you have to care about it, to begin with. Damned lack of edit.
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He sounds like an immature contrarian thats just baiting people. I've read about 3 talkbacks now where he just continues to hammer on TDK and Jonas Brothers (which no one here likes, comeon) and whatever else will get a response. He thought the audience I saw TDK with "clapped" when previously-thought-Gordon caught the Joker ONLY because they were awash in the brain washing hype from all the media publicity about Ledger's death and watching Entertainment Tonight. Implying that if someone had not been around the Batman media-hype, they would not have enjoyed that moment. Give me a fucking break. Go away troll. He enjoys the attention. Stop giving it to him. He's not rational.
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He seems to run between interesting but mistaken and completely whacked-out, but I haven't seen him enough to know his motivations.
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Just saw this at the premiere and I can attest that both these reviewers on AICN haven't seen more than the trailers and online clips. There are so many inside comic jokes in the film that pander to this online geek community that its not plausible they'd leave them out for the talkbackers. And no real mention of how significant Lorelei is? These guys are full of shit. And I now take any review on AICN with a massive grain of salt. I await to read a true review of this film from someone who has seen it from credits to credits.