Programming note
Due to a rather pressing assignment, I haven’t been able to spend as much time watching movies as I have intended this week. I am working my way through the tricky, labyrinthine plot machinations and Bergmanian psychological drama of the 1966 Batman, and will post my analysis soon.
Then, at the request of jacksonpublick , I’m going to analyze Steven Spielberg’s Munich before I move on to the rest of the Batman movies. Fair is fair, it’s the only Spielberg movie I have left to analyze and it doesn’t seem fair to keep it hanging like that.
Last night, Urbaniak came over, as well as LA theater maven Lee Costello, and we watched The Miracle At Morgan’s Creek, about which I may have something worthwhile to say when I have time. In the meantime I beg your patience.
I love Morgan’s Creek. Wait, for some reason that sounded faintly dirty. But it’s one of my very favorite movies and I look forward to making numerous overblown, redundant and obvious observations in a future comments thread.
And now I am off to bed. Happy New Year…hope ’09 brings the Alcott clan much happiness. 🙂
If you’ve never seen it, I recommend ‘Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero,’ one of the animated films, to you and your son. My daughter and I watched it for the first time on New Year’s Day and very much enjoyed it. It’s about 67 minutes and nicely put together. According to Wikipedia, it was the highest rated Batman movie on Rotten Tomatoes until ‘The Dark Knight’ opened.
I fully agree that the Bat-analyses should include anything animated that counts as a movie, even though I still have some rather big problems with the deus ex machina ending to Sub-Zero.
I look forward to your thoughts on Munich. I liked it very much when I saw it and was surprised that it didn’t do better at Oscar time. It received five nominations, yes, but the fact that Crash bested it (and Brokeback Mountain and Capote and Good Night, and Good Luck.) for Best Picture was a complete travesty.
But it bombed, and Hollywood runs in terror from a bomb — especially when it comes from Spielberg.
But it bombed, and Hollywood runs in terror from a bomb
Conversely, Batman runs in terror with a bomb.
Along the lines of‘s suggestion, don’t forget to watch Mask of the Phantasm among the other Batman movies. The animated Dini-Timm movies certainly rank among the best adaptations of the Batman mythos, of ANY kind.
Can you put in a reciprocal demand to Mr. Publick? Like, I dunno, maybe you’ll do a Munich write-up if he releases an episode of the next Venture Brothers season early?
On a side note, this gem of a video of Mr. Spielberg popped up on the tubes the other day. It’s hard to tell who’s high and who isn’t, which may be the point.
You are now the third person today to link me to that video. This is the most exposure Bianca Jagger’s had in thirty years.
I would settle for the traditional picture full of the season’s characters.
A good follow-up to The Miracle at Morgan’s Creek is the The Great McGinty. In a loose way Morgan’s is a sequel — or at least partially parallel to — McGinty.
I kept meaning to check out The Great McGinty during this last election cycle. It’s one of the few Sturges films I haven’t caught up with yet.
Watch it immediately! But don’t get me started on the subject of Sturges. Just ask R. Sikoryak.
–Ed.
Off topic, but if you’re analyzing superhero culture and movies, you should check out this article: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/25020634/the_legend_of_master_legend
About a sad depressed real person who dresses up in a costume and fights crime.
That article fascinated me, if only because I’ve been developing a movie about a guy who dresses up like a superhero and goes around fighting crime in a quiet, sunny suburb.
You ARE working on Flaming Carrot!
Rockie Bee
I am Flaming Carrot.
The 1966 Batman movie taught me that some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb!
And the non-release of the TV show on DVD teaches me that sometimes you can’t bring one back.
Well, if the rights to the bomb are tied up with various people and companies, it makes it a tad difficult.
I am fairly certain that this is now the only site on the known internet where you can see screenshots for these two films juxtaposed.
More’s the pity.
Hook?
Did you ever analyze “Hook?”
Re: Hook?
I did, here. Sorry, it didn’t get tagged for some reason.
Re: Hook?
Thanks! I enjoyed that.