I don't feel that his statements point to a psychopathic lack of empathy. I think they indicate the man is very afraid deep down that he did something wrong, and is trying very hard to assure himself along with everybody else that he did not.

Yeah, fair enough. His perspective on it could have been phrased much more--respectfully, let’s say.

I mean—possibly? That’s probably already been done in some comic or other. These characters are reinvented with great regularity, sometimes including core personality traits and cornerstones of their backstory. They get different parents, different origin stories, different goals and motives, different names.…

The AV Club turned into sub-TMZ gibberish so gradually, I didn’t even notice

Just got back from The Batman. Might be recency bias, but I’d put Dano’s Riddler much higher, like around the top ten. He’s not that menacing out of costume, because he’s Paul Dano. But he’s believably, realistically unhinged. He brought to mind the pathetic, squirming killer in Dirty Harry. Which is appropriate, both…

Completely agreed. I was shocked by that ranking. She’s trying her best to camp it up, god bless her, and that’s what the movie called for, in all its tasteless glory—but it’s just embarrassing to watch her for every horrible second she’s onscreen.

“There’s no pleasing fans that both want a carbon copy of the original and will complain about a carbon copy of the original.”

I’m with you. Forever is a far better movie than B&R. I actually liked it at the time, less so now—but it comes much closer to working than its sequel. I think the people who hate it object to the general campy, jokey aesthetic that Schumacher brought to bear (although that campiness is far more outsized in B&R than…

A few things:

Yes and yes. But also, understand that the new ownership of this place has zero interest in humor, or whether the site is funny, or even whether the site is particularly liked. It’s just a thing in their portfolio that generates clicks. The goal is slow convergence with any other high-traffic pop culture site (TMZ,…

He’s either joking or at least indicating he takes this stuff not at all seriously. 

You are probably right, I haven’t seen it yet. I imagine I will swallow my annoyance and do so.

They seem to have fucked this up in all the most obvious ways. Casting: Nathan Drake is a thinly-disguised ripoff of a character who is rugged, middle-aged, and a bit of an everyman (influence on “man”). Tom Holland is boyish first, second, and last. Great Peter Parker, terrible Nathan Drake. And Sully is a mildly…

I agree with most of that, actually. Good chat. :)

Those are mostly excellent movies, I agree. Some good ones slip the net still, and certain directors (Anderson is the foremost example) doggedly pursue their own creative vision, and somehow manage to get wide releases, name actors, and a modicum of studio support. It’s just far less prevalent now, I think. It used to…

Ouch.

“I mean, I guess he could argue that the big dumb boilerplate movies are taking away funding/audiences/box office from more thoughtful movies...”

Not totally true. He’s made borderline sympathetic in the second one (I say “borderline” because he’s still horrifying and almost sexually assaults the protagonist, on top of all the murderin’). The whole mindless, near-innocence of him is still intact there. But yes, everyone that made one of these after Hooper just…

Haven’t seen this new one and probably won’t, but I agree with every bit of that regardless, based solely on the trailer and having seen several other Chainsaw sequels. They need to just let this franchise die. It never should have even been a franchise. The bones were picked clean after the first movie; the second…

I feel like Hawley has the self-indulgence of a David Lynch, without the attendant genius. He needs a collaborator who will rein him in. Fargo started strong and just devolved into a mess. Legion started a compelling mess and then became an exhausting one.