Randomosity related to media consumption.
Comments Off | Posted: January 18th, 2007 | Filed under: UncategorizedAs part of my whole “Watch A Lot Of Action Movies To Make Sure I’m Not Nicking Anything Substantial While Writing Cover Girl” program, I watched last year’s Jason Statham tour-de-force, Crank. It’s simultaneously supremely entertaining while being the most misogynistic, sexist, racist, and homophobic movie I’ve seen in a long time. In my eyes, it was so over-the-top in its stupidity that it may have been the work of cinematic savants. I quite liked the camera work and casual use of special effects. There were some truly inspired moments in those areas: Statham reading subtitles for dialogue being spoken, a building physically bulging because of a fight inside, and especially the first two or three minutes, shot from the central character’s point of view while he fumbles through his apartment.
Because of the plot’s nature, there’s no time to waste – there’s a well-done information dump that allows the viewer to be almost completely up to speed and by the ten minute mark, truly ludicrous things begin to happen. I love this technique when it’s properly applied and this movie applied it so very properly, indeed. The only moments I really balked at are the infamous Chinatown A-Bit-Too-Close-To-Rape Sex Scene and a bit of hand trauma that probably has more to do with my taste in violence than anything else.
Still, better than anything I’ve seen from Michael Bay, and at around 90 minutes, an object lesson to filmmakers of that ilk – sometimes, less truly is more. Also, he’s a bit of beefcake, that Statham. While I’m firmly in the “I Like Girls, Thanks” camp, I can see exactly why people go a bit squishy for him.
Nice job ruining the big reveal of the latest issue of 52 right on the cover, DC. Sure, by the fifth page, it’d all come out, but it was still more than a bit annoying. I’m the tiniest bit peeved my Jack Knight Starman theory was wrong, but at least the fact that at least one member of a certain, preferred-by-me incarnation of the Justice League lives on can keep me from writing angry rants to Dan Didio.
Also, Animal Man. Huh.
Even also-er, the big reveal for the series that was “hidden” in this week’s DC Nation column? Wasn’t bringing that thing sort of the point of Infinite Crisis and The Kingdom? Or did I just read too much into those events?
[EDIT: That's spoiled in the comments for this post, if you care.]
I read this week’s Fantastic Four and actually really enjoyed it, even if the discussion of Isaac Asimov made me wander off for a bit. I’ve never taken to that man’s writing, despite the fact he’s among the top three or four influencers in my preferred genre. Much like the (also very iconic) Heinlein, the second people bring him up and start using a certain tone, I glance around for a handy exit. Of course, I have the feeling I’d be doing that a lot around the “real” Reed Richards.
Anyway, nice bit of damage control by McDuffie in this issue, managing to humanize Mister Fantastic quite a lot after the havoc wreaked on the character by Millar. It felt like a fill-in, but a decent enough one that (hopefully) means good things are coming.
