I finally got around to seeing the Batman movie The Dark Knight, and I was all like WTF is such the big deal about that? Let's face it, if it weren't for Heath Ledger as The Joker, that would have been one big turkey. They should have just made the movie about The Joker and called it-well, The Joker. Not only was Batman useless, but they had to cram yet another villain, Two-Face, in there and gum up the works, like they usually do with superhero movies any more. Just like two many cooks spoil the broth, so too do too many villains cram the plot and ruin the character development.
Worse, it probably isn't going to get any better than that, so now I know I won't be going to the trouble of the drive and the expense to see the newest Batman, which will feature Anne Hathaway in the role of Catwoman.
But I do have one hell of an idea. Why not cast Katie Holmes as Catwoman, and then go that extra mile by casting Tom Cruise as Batman. Now that would be some intense shit. You would have one psycho character who doesn't believe in psychiatry playing the role of a costumed vigilante that needs one almost as badly as Cruise. And Katie Holmes as Catwoman would be the perfect foil. Unfortunately, Hollywood would be tempted to camp it up with these two and ruin the whole thing, so it might not be such a great idea after all.
In other comics related movie news, sometime this year the new movie Captain America-The First Avenger will be released. He will undoubtedly kick much ass, but here's the real kick in the ass. It will be released worldwide, but in three countries the title will be changed to simply The First Avenger. Those three countries are Russia, the Ukraine, and-South Korea.
Don't get me wrong, I've been aware for some time now that the US is not exactly universally loved in South Korea, to put it lightly. But this? I guess it could have been worse. They could have called it "Capitalist America Swineman", or "Captain Infidel Dog". But you know what? American values just aren't for everyone, not even the screwed up versions as conceptualized by Marvel Comics, which is as left-wing a company as you can imagine.
These are the people who honestly believe that the hero Iron Man represents a true conservative, and on top of that, one of the very few good ones. And even he at one point turns out to be quite the fascist prick. But there again, to Marvel, that's what conservatism is. It's no wonder kids grow up with a screwed up view of conservative values. They're either Bible thumping ignorant rednecks who hate everybody, or crooked business people who could care less about people or the environment, or they are bent on world domination for the sake of their own power and influence, while selling it in terms of American security needs. No wonder the South Koreans hate us, even though they would doubtless have been overrun by the communist North decades ago if not for us. Go figure.
Finally, in other comic book news, the Human Torch is dead. Yeah, I know, they can always bring him back, this is the comics after all. But it just seems wrong. A flaming, flying human is an original concept to Marvel, and though Johnny Storm wasn't the first human torch, he has been the mainstay of the concept for going on fifty years now. With the advent of Marvel superhero movies, including the Fantastic Four, I guess someone is afraid that some little jerk-off will set himself on fire, who knows? No way it could be just another cynical marketing ploy, huh?
