You may be right, @avclub-1f93a5d50953fac07d7e6f54827ce9bc:disqus . Though, in any case, "Heat" is much closer to the classic film noir mold than any of the movies you mention.

Yes, indeed. Perhaps that's why their last album left me a bit cold. I like my The National to be the-last-thing-you-listen-to-before-hanging-yourself dark, not regression-toward-the-mean dark.

Well, "Diane Young" is a pretty fun song about (allegedly) dying young.

It's a more ambitious album (as far as themes and content go, because 808 was much ballsier as a career move), though it won't be as influential as 808 because Death Grips happened first. I'm not saying that DG has anything to do with Yeezu's sound, but DG's brand of rap effect will overlap with Kanye's…

You raised the Bowie connection yourself, but… Jay-Z's new album cover cannot be a coincidence.

Not as accomplished as MDBTF ("Yeezus" is a solid 9 compared to the latter's 10), but still among Kanye's best stuff. And that's saying something.

I agree with you on how awesome the projector room scene is (the use of light and motion is straight out of the best film noir out there), but the ending felt a bit rushed. I like Terry, but I just don't buy that he got to break the joker so quick, no to say "easily". Awesome movie, all in all.

Indeed, this was and remains my favorite Batman movie.

Well, yeah, usually the best noir films (heist movies being a subgenre of those) have equally engaging cops and robbers. In that sense, some of them are downright tragic, with no happy ending for any of the parties. Off the top of my head I can think of (spoiler alert, obviously) "Underworld USA", "The Asphalt Jungle"…

I think that was a deliberate choice by Michael Mann. If I remember correctly, Pacino and DeNiro share something like 90 seconds on-screen, simultaneously in single shot. And are not even in the same scene until the last third of the movie.

There seems to be a pattern then, @avclub-2ac233bc53744593f485e5752aaa692a:disqus . My dad loved Sinatra. I didn't understand why until a couple of year ago, when I realized it's the epitome of adult masculinity. But come to think of it, Sinatra was pop culture at some point. Of course, not while I was growing up.

Then, basically you ae The Cable Guy's synopsis?

But I think that, even if they are not into "pop culture", it is important that your family provides you with an environment warm and open to art/cultur. For instance, I also consider myself self-mentored, given that my parents are not into pop culture at all, but had they not bought so many books on painting, I may…

The internet and pathological amounts of curiosity, me thinks.

Right, my bad. I shouldn't comment here so early.

Exactly! I used to live in Bolivia back when the Death of Superman first came out as a TPB, and just one newstand had it on sale. It was insanely expensive (I think something like 12 to 20 times more than what normal issues used to cost), yet I saved every penny to buy it. And once I got it, you can't imagine my…

But newbies will miss all the inside jokes and geeky references, and the story without all that background can seem a tad weak.

I started with John Byrne's reboot and I think you're right about it being a good gateway. Anyway, mind that I read those comics in the late 80s-early 90s, and some of Byrne's vision might not hold-up so well for a younger kid today… because, let's face it, no one over the age of 8 needs anything like a "gateway to…

Is that you, Kanye?

Cocaine is actually crystallized particles of Kanye's ego.