Calm before the rise
July 24th, 2012

Calm before the rise

^ 14 Comments...

  1. MrGBH

    Josh’s reasoning is the only reason I haven’t commented on the movies anywhere on the internet. I didn’t like them, I thought they were rubbish and I hope the Avengers pummels them completely.

    Although, actually, that’s not the only reason. The other reason is that just before the movie came out, I thought it would be funny to dye my hair red and crack a few jokes about being the Joker. I very nearly left it until the day of release. I’m so glad I didn’t.

  2. tigerkaya

    Strange I thought someone like Marissa would like the Nolan movie Batman while Josh would be the one to hate it.

  3. Alex

    I always felt that Marrisa would be the type to be a bit harsh on anything superhero related because it’s part of her nature to dislike the genre. It’s sort of like asking a guy who only likes action flicks what he thinks of the latest romance movie.

  4. Frodo-X

    Firefly! Awesome!

  5. Travis J.

    Loved Batman Begins. Loved The Dark Knight. Hated Dark Knight Rises. Terrible script. Tons of plot holes. Bruce was not Bruce. Talia sure as hell was not Talia. It was as if the person who wrote this movie had never seen the first two movies, much less read a Batman comic. Very disappointing.

  6. Algeya

    She needs to review the new Batman XXX movie

  7. David

    mrGBH, you’re not alone. I HATE Nolan’s Batman films (and before anyone says I didn’t give it a chance, I’ve seen The Dark Knight three times in different situations and my reactions were always a mix of boredom, frustration and anger), but whenever I bring up the idea that TDK is flawed (let alone a piece of garbage) it’s like I just shouted “HAIL SATAN!” while meeting the Pope in the Vatican. And it’s especially bad for me since my two biggest passions are film and comics (my final projects for English was a 27-page paper on Jack Kirby and my thesis for film studies was a superhero film that criticized the sexism and lack of female creators in superhero comics), so everyone assumes that I love Nolan and then get mad at me when I don’t.

    Seriously, it’s okay to not like things. (Also, when I turn down going to see the movie with you, it’s the movie I’m turning down, not you.)

    Sidenote: I should probably add that I do like Batman the character and have enjoyed comics about him, including ones that were serious. It’s Nolan that I don’t like. (And Burton.)

  8. Dreadjaws

    Yes, people, it’s perfectly OK not to like Nolan’s movies. I know people who don’t like them and I don’t think any less of them for that. What is not OK, though, is to say those movies suck. If you don’t like the movies, then go ahead and say “I’m sorry, I don’t like them”. But if you say “These movies are rubbish” or “They are a piece of garbage” then you’re basically telling people they’re idiots for liking them. You’re not insulting the movies, you’re insulting them.

    It’s sadly usual than people who are claiming things like “everyone has different tastes” tend to only remember that when it applies to them. You can’t just go and basically say “Everyone has the right not to like things, so I say this movie is absolute garbage and you’re dumb for liking it” because it’s terribly hypocritical. Just go and say “I don’t like it. It’s not for me”. It’s quite nicer and if people still jump on you after that then you’re in all your right to call them idiotic fanboys if you wish to.

  9. Pablo

    i think Begins was really really bad.

    the second one was really good. i was entertain trought the movie. and im gonna go see the third one right now,

    the problem with both movies is batman itself. he sucks. he is boring, looks goofy, sounds silly.
    and thats why Begins was bad. i had all the boringes of Bale but not the charm of Ledger, waht do we had? Lian ¨granolla bar¨ Nieesen, ok scarecrow was cool, but he didnt do all that much in the movie

  10. ThatGuy

    Why would you dye your hair RED to look like the Joker?

    The Joker has, you know, green hair

  11. David

    Dreadjaws, that’s a noble idea and I respect it, but I can’t agree. Me hating that movie isn’t taste; it’s me applying years of english lit and film school towards a movie. And even if you weren’t a film major, everyone’s allowed to make a call on whether a film is good or bad. My call is that the film’s bad. Your call is that it’s good. That’s okay, we disagree on the quality of the film. I’m not making a call about you, I’m making a call about the film. What movies you like does not reflect who you are as a person. (Flip side: People saying it’s the greatest movie ever makes me feel like I’m an idiot for not “getting” them – now they’re insulting me. Maybe the world would be a nicer place if no one made any critical calls on films, but that’s a life not worth living) You’re a good person; thinking a movie is good or bad doesn’t change that. (except for snuff. I feel like it’s safe to make that call.) Don’t let people hating or loving on a film effect your self-worth.

    Also, think about this: almost every Nolan fan I’ve met has ragged on Batman and Robin, insulted it, said terrible things about it’s mother, etc. Using your logic, why is that okay, but me doing the same to TDK is not? Shouldn’t they all say “I don’t like it. It’s not for me.” and then drop that subject? Why are they allowed to trash Schumacher’s films to prop up the ones they like?

    And one more thing; if everyone lived by your logic, we wouldn’t have MST3K, Mr. Plinkett’s Reviews (especially the Prequels), RiffTrax, We Hate Movies, FlopHouse, etc., and that would be a shame.

  12. Dreadjaws

    I think my point was very clear. It’s rude. And you keep doing it. You say you hating it is not taste? That doesn’t make any sense. Of course it’s taste. Do you even know what that word means? Also, you claiming that having “years of english lit and film school” somehow qualifies your opinion on movies to be superior is smug and rude, either if you’re right or not.

    And the comparison with Batman & Robin is ridiculous. That is an easily quantifiable bad film. Anyone can give reasons for why it’s bad, and here’s the kicker: most people will agree on the reasons. In the case of Batman Begins, you need to come up with convoluted reasons to explain why you think is bad and most people will give different reasons. In the case of Batman & Robin, no one needs studies on film school to tell you why the movie is bad.

    And again, showing up to a group who likes the movie and telling them it sucks is rude. I don’t say you’re not allowed to complain, only that there’s a time and place for everything.

  13. David

    I don’t show up to groups and tell people the movie they like sucks; instead I accidentally offend people because they made incorrect assumptions about me which I hate. I don’t want to piss off people, it’s just that they get made when I say I don’t like the movies (I don’t say I hate/despise them. Someone gave me a stink eye because I politely said I wasn’t planning on seeing it in theaters.)

    I said that you don’t need to study film to make a call about movies. If you’re going to insult me, please get the facts right. Also, SAYING A MOVIE IS BAD IS NOT A PERSONAL INSULT. I think Citizen Kane is a better film than Vertigo, but I didn’t take it as a personal insult to my intelligence that more people ranked Vertigo as a better film than Citizen Kane. Instead I took it as a chance to think about why critics have shifted from one film to another. They’re the same film as the were when they were made, but the people viewing them are not.

    Also, I recommend checking out Comic Alliance’s review of Batman and Robin (and heck, the rest of their 80s/90s Batman reviews). They give a damn fine explanation (around 40k words worth) of how that’s the best movie in that series. It’s a really interesting insight into people working outside of society’s opinions and coming up with their own views, even if they’re controversial and go against popular opinion. (Their work on the Superman films is also interesting. Few people will call Superman III the best of the series, but they do a good job justifying their reasons.)

    I think we both approach films from very different angles. You’re view seems to be “this is what lots of people think, so that’s the cold hard truth.” I want to keep questioning everything and make up my own views based on the film and studies of it. Perhaps the world is wrong and B&R is great and TDK isn’t the best movie ever. We’d never know if we didn’t question social assumptions.

  14. David

    Sidenote: I find it funny how I go out of my way to state that I’m not insulting Dreadjaws, and then I get a response that has personal insults. http://comiccritics.com/2012/08/04/adding-insult-to-insult/ Marisa predicted it! (Seriously, lets have a civilized discussion without resorting to insults. It’s more fun to have that then to talk to the commentors in these strips.)

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