The Thirty-fourth Siren-- Super Duper II: A Response

Okay, so, I know that doing this post makes my last post a lie more or less but do I care? (maybe), ANYWAY, if you don't get the title, I'm actually taking this post to respond to one Mr. Chris Jones and his post titled Super Duper...http://musingsofamoviedouche.blogspot.com/2011/06/alright-its-been-something-like-400.html.  In said post, Mr. Jones states his three favorite comic book based films, well I plan on doing the same, damn it! I'm also going to take it a step farther and include my three least favorite (these are on;y the ones I've seen too, there are probably worse ones that I didn't even bother seeing, like Catwoman, The Green Lantern or Elektra).

First are the tops...

My number three is...
A tie between X-Men 2 (2003) & Spiderman(2002)
The story of the film tells of the X-Men's continued conflict with The Brotherhood of Mutants, and also goes deeper into Wolverine's back story.  Now, don't get me wrong, I don't like this film that much (there are just so few decent comic based movies to choose from), I wish that Wolverine's back story wasn't the primary story in the film (Wolverine isn't my favorite character).  You have to look at this film in context along with for what it is.  It's better than the other X-Men films, the first one was boring as hell, the third was a mindless action film and X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a travesty (I haven't seen X-Men: First Class yet).  X2 was a redeemable comic film with just enough action to not be boring as hell, but enough story to be decent (and the opening scene with Nightcrawler was super badass).  Now, why would this film tie with Spiderman?  Well, for two reasons, as bad as the Sam Raimi series was, the first one was the most acceptable, AND because the first one did something.  As I have mentioned before, the first Spiderman film started this whole thing.  It made comic book movies a real sub-genre and showed that everyone wanted to see the spectacle of a tight wearing man flying around and beating up guys.  That's why I semi-respect it, that and no matter how bad the series is, I'll probably always be able to watch the first film and remember when I was 11 and saw if for the first time.

My number dos is...
Hellboy (2004)
The film is about the demon spawn that was raised from hell by Nazis and raised by an American scientist that eventually becomes an agent in a supernatural police force.  I love the Hellboy series, why? Well for one, I like the comic books, for two I like the directing of Guillermo del Toro AND I like the use of folk lore and mythology in the setting of a police drama or investigation story.  I thought the acting was good (or at least good for what it was), and the monsters were excellently done.  Of course, del Toro always does a great job with his monsters and I respect the fact that he usually opts for make-up and puppetry over CGI.  I think CGI ruins things and never looks good enough.  A serious scene can be ruined by seeing a completely obvious animation standing there and trying to give dialogue (one reason why I don't want to see The Green Lantern).  ANYWAY, Hellboy was a very solid comic book adaptation and the sequel, while not being as good, is also a very solid sequel (and as much as I dislike how the story of the sequel isn't in the comic, I respect that they made their own story over possibly ruining an already created one).

Finally, my number one is...
The Dark Knight (2008), of course
Now, this is probably everyone's favorite super hero film, and for a good reason.  The film takes the super hero into a gritty and realistic place, but I already explained the importance of this films and the way it caused "the reboot" in nearly every super hero series in an earlier post, so I won't get into that.  One thing that makes this film really surpass all other super hero films isn't just because it has a good plot or is entertaining.  One major thing is Heath Ledger's Joker, one of the most complex and well acted villains in any film (especially comic films).  His portrayal out weighed the questionable performance of Christian Bale and the horrible helplessness of Gary Oldman (also Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are just wonderful too), but Heath Ledger steals the show.  So I say thank you to Christopher Nolan for making, possibly, the ONLY good comic based film.  Beware though, there are too many problems with this film to warrant more than the occasional viewing (every time I go through a subsequent viewing I find something that makes me cringe a bit).

NOW, for my three least favorite out of the shit sludge that is comic based films (however, will I only be able to pick three!)...

Now, if you know me, you may be expecting to see Watchmen on this list, while I can give you reasons why that movie was bad (or 300), I'm going to stay away from those.  There are countless comic based films that are just the worst, but I'm choosing three so shut up and deal!

Number three is...

Spiderman 3 (2007)
This film was just, god awful and, I'd say, single handedly killed the Sam Raimi series.  Why is the third one so bad? Acting, animation, plot, horrible comedic elements, the incorrect use of characters, and last but not least the complete waste of a great villain.  One of the most gut-wrenching things to have seen as a Spiderman fan is seeing Venom die after only being in 1/4 of the film.  On top of that, just to get to Venom you had to sit through an uninteresting story dealing with Harry Osborne and Sandman, and the bastardizing of a great Spiderman story arch.  What is even sadder is the fact the the second one did a decent job of portraying another serious Spiderman story arch.  The third almost makes a mockery of the entire franchise.

Number two is...  
Ghost Rider (2007)
In my opinion, Ghost Rider is one of the most pointless super heros to make into a film (next to Blade perhaps).  The plot was pitiful, the CGI was even more pitiful and (I know this will make Mr. Jones cry salty tears of Nicholas Cage love), I don't really like Nicholas Cage.  The film was just bad and I don't know why I saw it for sure.

Finally, my number one is...
A tie between Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997)
These were some of the most horrible and ridiculous super hero films that relied much too heavily on the campy, Adam West-yness of Batman.  First off the series lost it with the change of both director and actor (it never really had it to begin with though).  The acting was bad (Arnold Schwarzeneggar cold puns), the writing was horrible and the design was just sad (the bat suit had nipples, why?).  Really these two films were a travesty (much like the Wolverine film) and probably shouldn't have been made, but damn, did I love them when I was 7!

So there it is, three good (or at least decent) comic films and three (don't know how I chose so few) horrible ones.

Now, for my album/film recommendations...

For the album I'm going to say Bon Iver by Bon Iver.  The album is super chill but really good and a great follow up to the crazily acclaimed For Emma, Forever Ago.  Pretty much all of the songs are really good with the exception of the last track "Beth/Rest" because it sounds like an 80s yacht rock song (not my thing, sorry).
For the film I'm going to stay with the comic themed films and go with Dick Tracy (1990).  The film was directed by Warren Beatty  and stars him.  Don't let the fact that Madonna is in it fool you, the movie isn't bad.  It may not be one of the best comic films but it's colorful campyness works well with the 30s gangster comic story.  It may not be your thing but it's entertaining and I remember watching it as a kid so I suppose I'm a bit partial to it (at least I'll admit that it isn't that great), and I mean, it has Warren Beatty, classic (AND it has Al Pachino in ridiculous make-up, c'mon!)