Disqus - Latest Comments for bonsomme

Re: Marvel Announces Release Dates for Five New Movies

bonsomme — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 16:40:19 -0000

When are we getting the Howard the Duck reboot? Or does Marvel not have the rights to that? (I think Universal made the original, and they were zealously hanging on to the rights-- there were some complicated turnaround/development issues that tied it up.)

Re: The Following: Silence Review

bonsomme — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 10:12:38 -0000

One of the things I've always loved about "The Following" is that it feels like no one involved-- from the network execs to the actors reciting the lines to the writers, especially the writers-- seemed to know what in the hell was going on. It gives the show a kind of giddy anything-can-happen-no-matter-how-stupid-and-implausible-it-seems feel. To paraphrase P.G. Wodehouse, it barely qualifies as a show, it's just noise coming out of the TV.

But this week's episode was so bad, and so overthetopnowaytoexplainthis that I couldn't even laugh at the funniest bits (the follower setting herself on fire while the cops and FBI just stand around and watch, for instance). I mean, really, that's what Joe Carroll's big "war on religion" plan turned out to be-- To take hostages in a big church in New York? Why did he spend like ten minutes just hanging out waiting for Ryan and Michael to break in? And where was that "live streaming" coming from? And this is what the show decided to do with the Kingston Tanner character? And how did the twins know where to find Claire?

The freewheelin', we-got-absolutely-no-idea-what-we're-doing attitude of the show has been a lot of fun, because it's stupid in a REALLY BIG way. This episode just felt so small. What a waste.

Re: Man of Steel Gets the Cinema Sins Treatment

bonsomme — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 20:41:24 -0000

Nope.

Re: New ‘Robocop’ Deets Will Probably Make You Weep

bonsomme — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 18:29:12 -0000

1 person reads a script (perhaps not even THE script) and snarks about it-- out of context-- on twitter, and you're already passing judgment?

Some of the "deets" mentioned sound like they have a lot of potential for satire-- RoboCop as a sort of drone bomb metaphor, for instance.

Re: ‘Batman: Puppet Master’ Is Perhaps The Best Batman Fan-Film of All Time

bonsomme — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 15:54:58 -0000

It was better than "The Dark Knight Rises" -- it made a lot more sense, had fewer continuity/logistical problems, and was a hell of a lot shorter. But I still think "Ashes to Ashes" is the best Batman fan film:

http://www.dailymotion.com/...

Re: [●REC]

bonsomme — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 19:16:39 -0000

"The best genre films are bare boned (Alien 1979); when they are complicated the result is ridiculous (Prometheus 2012)."

With a single sentence, you completely explained what was wrong with "Prometheus," and laid waste to it. I don't think anything more ever has to be written about that movie.

Re: Warner Bros. to Make Shining Prequel? | Shock Till You Drop

bonsomme — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 14:56:00 -0000

Obviously, creating a prequel to this seminal classic is an absurd idea. What they SHOULD do is reboot it.

Re: Why ‘The Dark Knight Rises’? Is Fandom Too Violent?

bonsomme — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 22:12:46 -0000

"It’s too early to speculate on why this madman committed such a heinous act."

I assume that sentence was intended to be ironic, coming as it did in the middle of this speculative post.

Re: Hiatus

bonsomme — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:14:51 -0000

Thanks for the kind words, AJaye, they're greatly appreciated. But I'd much rather have you updating your blog regularly.

Come back soon!

Re: Knight Rises, Culture Falls

bonsomme — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 11:27:29 -0000

RottenTomatoBot has been on this case for awhile now, protecting those films that cannot protect themselves:

http://whenfallsthecoliseum...

Re: Comic-Con 2012: 'Man of Steel' Footage Brings Fan to Tears

bonsomme — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 12:17:24 -0000

I have to say, I'm relieved to know that footage has made some random, unnamed "fan" cry. Now I can concentrate all my anxiety on the upcoming Nolan-free Batman movie reboot.

Re: Singin’ Reigns

bonsomme — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:00:10 -0000

The South Park movie was the best movie musical of the last 20 years.

Re: The 10 Best Horror Films of 2008

bonsomme — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:03:17 -0000

Good post, and I'm definitely looking forward to future lists.

"The Signal" is available in America on Netflix streaming -- I just put it in my instant queue. It looks interesting.

"Zombie Strippers" is apparently one of the few Jenna Jameson films I haven't seen.

I was kind of happy to see that "Pontypool" didn't make this list. A lot of
people recommended it to me, but I couldn't make it past the first
twenty minutes or so.

2008 was the year I finally and completely gave up on the "Saw" franchise.

Re: Creak

bonsomme — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 10:07:34 -0000

Beautifully paced. He takes two different but related universal fears (what was that sound? what's going on while I sleep?) and creates an effective five minutes of horror. I look forward to more.

Re: Box Office Shocker: 'Hunger Games' Tracking to Open Bigger Than 'Breaking Dawn'

bonsomme — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:14:41 -0000

Why is this supposed to be a "shocker"? The books have massive appeal for girls, young women, adults, and young men. This will be the biggest movie of the year, bigger than Twilight, Avengers, or Dark Knight Rises.
http://www.amazon.com/Hungr...

Re: Want ‘Incredibles 2′ But Can’t Have It? Blame ‘The Avengers’

bonsomme — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:05:35 -0000

I have decided to boycott "The Avengers" until an "Incredibles 2" appears. Since I had no plans to see "The Avengers" anyway, I feel this is a principled stand I can actually stick with.

Re: Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods [trailer]

bonsomme — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:27:21 -0000

It actually looks kind of intriguing. There might be too much going there, but if they can pull all of the seemingly disparate things together (weird yokels? a werewolf? people in creepy masks? a giant wire fence?) it could be a lot of fun.

Or it might just be a busy mash-up created by people who have seen a lot of different horror movies and want to show how clever they are.

Re: New John Carter Promo Images Seem Oddly Familar

bonsomme — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:40:57 -0000

John Carter has an awfully big codpiece to fill.

Re: We Are What We Are [international & domestic trailers]

bonsomme — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:09:16 -0000

It looks genuinely disturbing.

The second trailer is the much more effective -- without the bombastic music and the intercutting of the critical praise and the notification of its acceptance into the Cannes film festival.

I wonder if those differences are indicative of the general differences between trailers produced for US audiences and those for audiences outside the US? Over here, the trailers often give away the entire movie.

And yet, people get hysterical when a critic doesn't put the words "spoiler alert" all over his review.

Re: 11-11-11 [teaser trailer]

bonsomme — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:51:45 -0000

I'll be REALLY impressed when 13-13-13 comes out.

Re: Black Swan

bonsomme — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:41:34 -0000

A film about a street dancer who goes insane, or might be going insane, would be a much more interesting premise.

I watched a lot of professional wrestling when I was growing up, and I do think "The Wrestler" felt accurate. But it never really felt authentic.

Re: Black Swan

bonsomme — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:24:07 -0000

Best examination of the Black Swan phenomenon I've read.

There is a serious problem with film criticism, and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that so many "critics" today are actually film buffs. They have spent so much time immersed in film history that most have lost the capacity to recognize authenticity and real emotion. Art is about (among other things) creating connections between people -- as a way of creating empathy for others and illuminating shared experiences. Today, films in particular seem to be created by those who want distance. To feel superior.

In horror, are we supposed to identify with the victims, or with the killer?

Critics see gimcrackery as "art" or "edginess," and because they've all seen the same films, and they all canonize the same films, their opinions are all the same. These days, everyone wants to seem cool. Aloofness is cool -- if you take a stand, it might be the unpopular one, or you might expose your real emotion.

They were supposed to like Black Swan. They knew it. They knew it going in.

And I think that Aronofsky in particular is one of the less enjoyable of these current critical favorites, for many of the reasons you outlined in your post, but also in your comment, "Black Swan is like the mad woman in the attic: let her loose to marvel at her lunacy. "

I had the same distasteful feeling while watching "The Wrestler." I don't think we were supposed to feel empathy for that character. We were supposed to pity him. To look down on him. To marvel at how pathetic he was. But to always know we were superior.

Re: The 10 Worst Horror Films of 2010

bonsomme — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 13:48:50 -0000

"This sequel went straight to video in the US – another example of the Americans getting special treatment."

That is a great line, in another memorable piece. Well done, A.Jaye.

Re: The Top 10 Coming Soon Horror Movies of 2011

bonsomme — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 13:37:15 -0000

A.Jaye -- you forgot to mention what I'm most looking forward to: the script for A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Return.

Re: Remakes: And Soon the Darkness

bonsomme — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 11:11:55 -0000

The original version does look interesting. I'll have to check it out.