September 15, 201412 yr On one hand, my two favorite films in this both went down last round (and my I suspect my #3 will fall in this one) but on the other, they lost to really good movies. Anyway, Avengers over GOTG easily, The Crow over The Rocketeer painfully, A History of Violence of Road to Perdition by damn near a coin flip, and Superman: The Movie over The Dark Knight by virtue of being better in pretty much every way imaginable, and by far the best film left in this tourney.
September 15, 201412 yr Avengers because seriously people GOTG shouldn't have beaten Spider-Man 2 now let's not take this "vote for the latest thing" crap any farther... Dark Knight because despite years of hype backlash and plot incoherence whining I saw it twice in theatres and about 20 times during the brief shining period when I had free HBO and it was awesome every time and frankly I never gave a crap about the Reeve Superman films... The Crow because I almost went Rocketeer but I can't vote against that Brandon Lee giving his memories back to Wincott scene A History Of Violence because of degree of difficulty, in that Road To Perdition made a great movie out of a good graphic novel, while A History Of Violence made a great movie out of one of the worst graphic novels I've ever read
September 15, 201412 yr GOTG over Avengers because I don't like Whedon Superman over Dark Knight because the only good thing was Ledger's performance. Rocketeer over Crow as a First Avenger proxy Road to Perdition over HoV because you fuckers have no taste
September 15, 201412 yr I'm not sure. I've tried and tried and tried to get into his stuff, but it always withers on the vine for me. I don't think I've seen Avengers since it came out in the theater, but on the second viewing it really felt like something that needed an audience reacting to it to make it feel whole, rather than something that can stand on its own without whooping and hollering from fanboys. The Browncoats don't help either.
September 15, 201412 yr What is it about the fanbase that drives you away? Is it just a case of overselling? I'm legit curious about how this stuff works for non-fans.
September 15, 201412 yr I'm not sure. I've tried and tried and tried to get into his stuff, but it always withers on the vine for me. I don't think I've seen Avengers since it came out in the theater, but on the second viewing it really felt like something that needed an audience reacting to it to make it feel whole, rather than something that can stand on its own without whooping and hollering from fanboys. Interestingly enough, Whedon has acknowledged this very thing. In a couple of interviews a year or two ago, he said something to the effect of "It's not a great movie, but it's a great time," basically acknowledging that the film itself has myriad flaws but that it has a good vibe that played really well in the theatre. And I think he's 100% accurate on that. The initial viewieng experience in the theatre is undeniable, but, man, it has gotten worse every time I've seen it subsequently. Whedon deserves a lot of credit for delivering a film that wasn't a total disaster, especially under the constraints Marvel had him under, but it's a clunky film.
September 15, 201412 yr I can't vote against "Avengers" because of the sheer sense of wonder I got watching it. Here were characters that I'd been wanting to see together on screen forever, since I was a wee sprout. The first time I watched it, I was sold mostly on the film as just "a good time," and the flaws stood out. But from, "And Hulk ... smash," I was wide-eyed, I got goosebumps, and it was magic. It was the kind of film that I wish I could have seen some 30+ yrs ago, on the drive-in screen when my grandmother used to take me to see movies with her. I imagine I'll prob be voting for it for as long as it makes it to through the tournament.
September 16, 201412 yr Back in the day I preferred to read about Superman's Pals & Girlfriends rather than the Big Blue Bore himself, and I love me some Bruce beating the shit out of Clark, but Richard Donner and Christopher Reeves combined to give us the Best Possible Superman while some of the Batman films have exceeded my expectations but have never approached my fan boy hopes.
September 16, 201412 yr NONE of the Batman movie have approached your fanboy hopes? '66, Burtons, Mask of the Phantasm, Schumachers, Nolans, the 8000 DC direct to video adaptations, none of them? What are you looking for in a Batman movie? As to the Browncoats, I'm a laid back kinda guy, I dislike any overly-evangelical fans who won't take no for an answer.
September 16, 201412 yr Yeah, none. Not a single one. I liked '66. Actually it may be my favorite because it was the 1st live action version I saw. I liked Burton primarily because I expected disaster but got something like a respectful version of the character. I liked Begins. Quite frankly, I fell asleep the first two times I attempted to watch TDK. I like a lot of Batman films. I love none of them. Much like the raging debate about MoS, none of these versions are Batman. They play around the edges of the obsession but largely miss the mark. He is like the Sheriff Andy Taylor of Superheros, fallible but justified. And trustworthy. Would you trust any of these bozos from the films? Probably not. And of course, he don't need no fucking exoskeleton. Unless he is wrapping his fingers around Superman's throat. That's fine. But seriously, even the Bats of the Golden to Bronze Age (before he became nearly perfect) that was constantly getting whacked from behind with blackjacks/billy clubs/ lead pipes, would need about 10 seconds to deal with West/Keaton/Clooney/Kilmer/Bale. I am not including any of the animated treatments in this. They are indeed the best versions so far but then they should be.
September 16, 201412 yr Based on the way everyone voted in their respective matchups last round and what I know of certain voters' proclivities, I think TDK has the votes here.
September 16, 201412 yr I'll admit that I could watch TDK at any point and not turn it off. Superman II, I could say the same thing about. But unfortunately, not so much Superman I.
September 18, 201412 yr Author GOTG 14-13 (tiebreaker) Superman the Movie 14-13 (tiebreaker) the Crow 17-9 a History of Violence 15-11
September 19, 201412 yr The Dark Knight should have won this whole thing but at least the very overrated Avengers is gone. Now to vote against Donner and all the ridiculous fan boys.
September 19, 201412 yr TDK is maybe the 5th best Batman film. Okay, I have to know. What four films do you have in front of it?
September 19, 201412 yr 89, Returns, Begins, and since we're talking Phantasm, that one too. And while I wouldn't call it a better film, I'd rather watch 66 than TDK.
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