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I was on vacation for a while. I’m not really back into the spew mode so I’m keeping this week’s introduction brief…
I begin with an honest query to which I hope isn’t so completely obvious: Why did Christopher Nolan choose Chicago as the metropolis of choice for the man of bats?
When I started reading comic books around May of 1986 (Still have it, too) I only read G.I. Joe. That was it and there wasn’t anything else in my life for years until I branched out into the Marvel arena. It wasn’t that I had made a conscious choice for Marvel over DC but I just gravitated to X-Men, Wolverine and a handful of other books. I was enthralled, and still am, by more mature stories that now include many DC titles. DMZ and some of the other smart Superman books make me wonder why I hadn’t dipped my toe in this company’s efforts sooner but there has always been a nagging question since seeing BATMAN BEGINS that has made me turn to someone out there who might be able to answer what should be an easy question.
I can’t argue that he chose one of the greatest cities which has ever burnt down but I’m at a loss for someone to explain Nolan’s choice as to why the Windy City was the town he saw best represented Batman’s Gotham.
When you see how Tim Burton sculpted the decaying Gotham in BATMAN you can understand why he went to the lengths he did to make it genuinely seem like this was a place that needed a guy like Bruce Wayne. When he easily could have chosen Toronto, or some other territory in the greater 51 states, Nolan went the way of Chicago for his tale. Was it something about it’s Midwestern-ness that appealed to him? Was it the lure of a good Italian Beef with sweet peppers and a cheese fry? I have so many questions about his location choice but if someone out in the peanut gallery has something to offer about this I would love to read your thoughts below.
Now, it’s nice day when you get a Ray Schillaci original in an e-mail.
His latest effort, another entry into the Worth Reviving series, comes in the form of BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK. I haven’t ever seen this movie, I have never even heard of this movie and I sure as hell have never been in the position to ever glimpse the film. However, after reading his essay I am just as eager to see this as I am a lot of other movies I know I should.
Lastly, who’s going to Comic-Con? It’s 2 weeks away and already there’s some things I’m looking forward to seeing. I know many people say it’s played out and it’s crowded and it’s smelly but I think, honestly, for one weekend it’s nice to be ensconced in the lingua franca of geek.
GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON (2008)
Director: Alex Gibney
Cast: Johnny Depp, Jimmy Carter, Pat Buchanan, George McGovern, Jimmy Buffett
Release: July 4, 2008 (Limited)
Synopsis: From Oscar-wining director Alex Gibney and producer Graydon Carter comes a probing look into the uncanny life of national treasure and gonzo journalism inventor Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. A fast moving, wildly entertaining documentary with an iconic soundtrack, the film addresses the major touchstones in Thompson’s life-his intense and ill fated relationship with the Hell’s Angels, his near-successful bid for the office of sheriff in Aspen in 1970, the notorious story behind the landmark Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, his deep involvement in Senator George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign, and much more. Narrated by Johnny Depp.
View Trailer:
* Large (QuickTime)
Prognosis: Negative. Even though I graduated with an English degree I have never read Ayn Rand nor have I ever cracked the cover of 1984, Catch-22 and countless other masterpieces. Additionally, I have never seen THE GODFATHER all the way through, DR. STRANGELOVE, ANNIE HALL, MIDNIGHT COWBOY, THE THIRD MAN or countless other treasures you’re supposed to have seen in order to pontificate about why your taste is better than mine. That said, I think that gives me an edge on a lot of other people out there. I’m not really cultured; therefore, you’ll never catch me droning on about the sanctity of anything. That’s why I really dig seeing this documentary on the life of Hunter S. Thompson. I mean, I own the Criterion edition of FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS but in the years I have owned it I have never taken it out of its shrinkwrap. Blasphemy, I know, in some circles but I just haven’t gotten around to it.
I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be a cultural watershed, or if it’s any good, but I can appreciate that Johnny Depp has been tapped to narrate this tale of a journalist I have never read anything from. Whether his work is really deserving of the praise heaped on him by the cultural elitists of Rolling Stone I am not sure but I will say that your eyes are shot out of a cannon as soon as you enter this trailer’s sphere of influence.
As you listen to Depp have story time with the rest of us, he would absolutely make an excellent father if he regaled his children with this kind of literature, the visuals of the motorcycle of which Depp speaks has a visceral sheen on it. It’s like poetry come to life and the file photos used, because video is simply non-existent, do still resonate with the words Hunter used in his book about the Hells Angels.
Now, whether you agree with Depp’s next statement about what Hunter believed to the “the edge†and his inability to describe it unless you’ve ever gone over it is irrelevant. Hunter manufactured his persona in such a way in that many laypeople, like myself, only believed Thompson’s cultural relevance came in his ideas about loving guns and loving drugs.
I’m shocked to see Jimmy Carter making an appearance in this thing to describe the writing of Thompson and I’m equally intrigued to see Tom Wolfe pop in to discuss what he thought was Hunter’s raw emotion laid out on the page for the whole world to see. Again, whether you know his work intimately or whether you know the persona the trailer works to craft this nebulous human being and make him something whole. The use of pictures, a little bit of video and some crafty camera tricks helps to visually bring home the chaos that swirled around this man’s literary career.
The tales that dead men tell, Rolling Stone’s Jann Wenner recounting the life of one of their celebrated contributors, about Thompson’s love of guns is a curious side trip. I’m not real sure what it has to do with the writing, I’m positive that one does influence the other, but it’s a real hard transition that doesn’t quite work. It’s fine to be telling the tale of a man who seemed to defy normal narrative structure but that does not mean you have to have a trailer that embodies it. I mean, my ADD sensibilities appreciate it but the rest of the viewing public who may not be familiar with this guy deserve a little more context as to what one has in common with the other.
Further, I’m at a loss to try and square his journalistic exploits on the Hells Angels and Las Vegas with his political reporting. I mean we’ve got some McGovern campaign pollster saying that when Thompson entered the political arena with his reporting that “all hell broke loose†I am left scratching my temples. You’ve got to be a little more specific than just just saying his writing caused hell to actually break loose. It’s a little sloppy storytelling and just doesn’t help me figure out whether this guy is worth spending the money to discover more. You need to show me, not just tell me.
About this time, someone tosses in the verbal grenade that blows it wide open. Someone mentions that what made Hunter’s journalistic work so legendary was his blend of actual hardcore fact finding with pure, unadulterated fantasy.
Ahh! But of course.
For me, and it’s obvious that people will have different reactions, this is what I was waiting to hear. It all makes a lot more sense after hearing how Hunter’s words blended these two worlds together. It’s quite bizarre to hear how some of Thompson’s mistruths made it into the public sphere of influence, himself unabashedly honest about doing it, but I am troubled by the idea that one guy has about finding ourselves in the same place we were during the Vietnam War. Now, I don’t know what Thompson’s writing had to say about presidents and their need to send young men to die in foreign lands (the images of Nixon and Bush blending together, visually, to make the point) but this is a bit misleading. What one journalist had to say about war and their devastating impacts on life (stay tuned to see the video of Nick Berg mere moments before his decapitation in Iraq) and the fact we find ourselves in another hopeless war seems fairly meaningless and, frankly, it’s a stretch to think Hunter’s musings on war itself should have been the very thing to stop all future events like this. I’m nearly offended that the assertion and correlation between the two is made.
I wish that what one person had to say, no matter how spot on, could have been mistaken for the Nostradamus of our time about how those who forget history are condemned to repeat it but the fact remains that no matter how good you are you will never stop man’s inhumanity to man.
This trailer really only obfuscates the link between who the man was in his literary life, his personal life and public life. The triangulation between the three is what really should have been accentuated. As it stands, I am left confused by what I just saw before me and am left to try and piece together the hyperbole with what really should matter.
Director: Peter Cattaneo
Cast: Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, Jason Sudeikis, Emma Stone
Release: August 1, 2008
Synopsis: The Rocker tells the story of a failed, drummer who gets a second chance at fame. Robert “Fish” Fishman is the extremely dedicated and astoundingly passionate (not to mention sweaty) drummer for the eighties hair band Vesuvius who is living the rock ‘n’ roll dream until he is unceremoniously kicked out of the group. Unfortunately for Fish, this happens right before Vesuvius becomes one of the biggest bands in the world. Fish is then forced to get a ‘real’ job and abandon his dream until an unlikely opportunity arises. Twenty years after getting booted out of the band he helped create, just when Fish has finally given up hope, all of his wildest fantasies come true.
View Trailer:
* Large (QuickTime)
Prognosis: Negative. I don’t really know how to say it delicately but I’ll just scribe it thusly: What a mess.
I was debating whether it was the paycheck or the promise of being front and center for a miserable film that appealed more to Rainn Wilson. I’m thinking it was more of the former without giving any thought to the latter. The premise, by any means, should have been amusing; it damn near feels like one of those vehicles that made Jack Black a marquee name.
What we come up with, though, is an opening that doesn’t really amuse as it does grate and annoy. It’s a funny joke to kick things off, Jeff Garlin lobbing the softball to his onscreen son to which the punchline feels like a comedic fist to the face, a la sibling fighting and squabbling, but what we continue to see in this trailer really doesn’t live up to anything worth noting.
I guess we have to take it at face value that Rainn was once the drummer of a successful 80’s band but not even a joke-y flashback where Rainn does a fast running in place gag as his original band members squeal away from him for reasons unknown, Rainn even tosses in a drumstick through the top of the car with little in the way of funny.
Oh, and then we get a painful, extended sequence, dubbed for some odd reason behind a George Thorogood musical bed, where Rainn agrees to be the drummer for his nephew’s high school band and then the best joke we’re given is that Rainn doesn’t believe he should hit the stage before 11 p.m. Not only are we led to believe that this guy really is that stupid but it’s not a very smart quip on the very common and mistaken trope of the late headlining musician.
“That’s the sound of the money truck backing up, Hossâ€
I’m genuinely at a loss to understand what to make of the 2nd half of this trailer which I’m supposed to believe involves this band rocking so hard that they are now wanted for live gigs. How this all equates to Rainn being an inept asshole who doesn’t understand modern computer technology and whose idea of trashing a hotel room involves throwing a television out of the window only to take a power strip in the nuts. And, with regard to the latter, can anyone forgive Rainn for that strained, America’s Funniest Home Videos look on his face as he tries to effect that pain of having your scrotum knocked unconscious? I only have to believe someone let him know exactly how much his paycheck was in order for him to really give the moment a little extra sense of cheese.
I will even go so far as to say that the last 15 seconds of this trailer is reason enough to keep your money safely away from any box office looking to take it from you. This is definitely one that I wouldn’t even put in your Netflix queue unless you could dollar cost average your rental to this turkey to a quarter.
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Worth Reviving: Bad Day at Black Rock
Lest there be any confusion about this column let me reiterate that this is for the encouragement of film lovers to indulge themselves in celluloid ecstasy by turning their home into a mini revival theater. Bringing back what was lost or introducing an overlooked substantial piece of work that can entertain and/or be thought provoking. I will also an occasion make an emphasis on classics, as did the original revival theaters themselves due to the fact that we may have heard of them but maybe we never took the time for a viewing. Once that happens, the outcome is usually exhilarating. I discovered this when I happened to catch Buster Keaton’s “7 Chancesâ€. I was surprised to find myself engaged and laughing out loud (with the rest of the audience) by a silent film.
While contemplating on my second choice as a revival piece to either introduce or see again, a multitude of weird, wild and the most obvious midnight fare danced through my head. As eclectic as some of that midnight fare can be I could not bring myself to go the obvious route when there are so many lost film gems from the past that do not get the recognition today that they deserve. In fact, if they do, it’s because someone cherished it enough and decided to do a remake. Case in point; “3:10 to Yumaâ€, one of the few remakes that not only paid homage to the original but improved upon it as well. Purists would probably call me blasphemous for that last statement.
Well, I might as well take the blasphemer road to hell when I suggest that a much-ignored film that is begging to be remade with the right cast, director and writer is, “Bad Day at Black Rockâ€. Friends, this is a treat for manly men, showcasing the talents of Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Walter Brennan and a young Anne Francis just for eye candy sake. Now, for those of you barely remembering any title or star before the 70’s this has minor classic written all over it. The actors just mentioned were either the crème of the crop back then or up-and-coming to be Hollywood’s Stallone and Schwarzenegger but with a great deal more talent and charisma (you don’t get much smoother and tougher than Lee Marvin). Add to the fact that John Sturges (The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven, The Eagle has Landed) was at the helm of this quirky thriller that some considered a tough-as-nails modern-day western with a premise so absurd in its day that it actually worked!
It’s 1945 and America is not only involved with WWII, they are also immersed in a morality war with itself with the creation of Japanese American internment camps. This is the subtle backdrop to a tawdry mini-classic of a thriller as a lone, aged, one-armed stranger steps off a train and into a tiny desolate town in the middle of nowhere, Black Rock, Arizona. John J. MacReedy is on a mission; locate a Japanese American named Kumoko and deliver a special message. But the residents of Black Rock don’t take kindly to strangers and obviously less kindly to Japanese Americans and their sympathizers.
For those familiar with “High Noon†there is the same sense of limited time that the main character may have due to the fact that everything appears stacked against him, including his disability. There are those in the town who you can’t stand due to their complacency and others who are so despicable you want to see them hurt in only the worst way. There are only a few standouts that struggle with the morale implications and they are frustrated along with MacReedy to do what’s right. As expanse as the scope of the film is, a disturbing sense of claustrophobia begins to develop as MacReedy runs into roadblock after roadblock leading him down an ugly alley with nowhere to go.
Once again, as with my other reviews, I do not want to hamper your viewing pleasure by riddling this with spoilers. What I will reveal is that MacReedy is told by several members of Black Rock that Kumoko was sent to an internment camp. Most of the townsfolk also relay that everybody would be better off if Macreedy just left as well. MacReedy is not easily dismissed since he is a survivor of the war himself. He questions the town and challenges the bullies when his back is against the wall. The handling of this is genius. Spencer Tracy underplays the part of Macreedy so well that you have no idea how or if he can ever get himself out of this situation. This story is a potboiler that builds to a wonderful crescendo.
There are three levels of danger in town that Robert Ryan, Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine portray, one more lethal than the other. And, each actor wears a badge of assholiness that one must see to be believed. Even Ann Francis, who I originally dismissed as just eye candy turns in the kind of performance you just want to spit on. This is not a happy story, but it tackles timeless issues with a verve that very few movies even attempt. This movie rocks from the rousing score by Andre Previn to the expansive cinematography by 2 time Oscar winner William C. Mellor. This is one of those films where everything just seems to fit perfectly and one may wonder why it’s not up there with the other pantheon of classics like “Maltese Falcon†or “Cape Fearâ€.
As I had mentioned before, after the first viewing, many will question why this has not been remade yet. They could keep the same time period or fast forward it and use the Patriot Act as the morality key. The writer and director would have to be carefully picked since they would have to have an appreciation of the original and the foresight to engage today’s audience. James Mangold did a bang up job with “3:10 to Yuma†and he would make a great candidate. The Coen brothers could probably take this story into an interesting and memorable spin as well. The cast is key in this one and an elder statesman like Gene Hackman or Jack Nicholson as MacReedy could really turn this into a major new classic. Throw in some heavy-hitters for badass like Russell Crowe, Javier Bardem and Thomas Hayden-Church and we could have a great time watching these guys go at it.
Now for the bad part…not only is this hard to find, but the movie was originally shot in Cinemascope and never released that way. Now the good news; at one time this was even hard to find on VHS, but recently Warner Brothers had the hindsight to release it on DVD enhanced for 16 x 9 screens. Still, that does not mean you will be able to find it at your local Blockbuster. Although, Hollywood Video may have it since they have beefed up their classic division. For those interested in adding it to your collection, the only drawback is the packaging, and if you’re like me, you’ll be disappointed. Warner Brothers for either nostalgic reasons (which I doubt) or pure laziness went with a 1950’s cover that does nothing for today’s audience. They could have easily given it the call-to-action it so deserves that they did with “The Adventures of Robin Hood†or “Casablancaâ€. I urge all of you not to wait any longer and rent this abandoned puppy as quick as possible. Happy viewing.
Comments: 3 Comments
3 Responses to “Trailer Park: Why Is Batman Aligned With Chicago?”Leave a Reply |
July 12th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Bad Day at Black Rock- one of my top ten films. The people I run with often have a giant question mark floating over their heads when I mention it. And that’s a shame. Especially when they were alive when it was in theaters and I wasn’t.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
When pictures of the initial Nolan Batman effort started leaking, someone saw the Illinois plates on one of the vehicles in the film and thought they’d found a “gotcha.” I, on the other hand, was impressed, that Nolan was getting it right on an elemental level. Although I doubt Bob Kane originally meant it that way, back in the sixties it was generally acknowledged that Metropolis was DC universe for New York and Gotham City was DC universe for Chicago. As long as you were going with the pseudonymous nomenclature, you may as well geographically spread out your superheroes, one of the few instances where DC’s approach made more sense than Marvel, who grouped – with only one or two exceptions – all their superheroes in New York. I’m surprised this isn’t better known.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Ardee-El: Good point. One of the things that I know about New York, and I’m fairly sure it wasn’t an accident, that the book, Gotham: A History of New York City, (Find it here if you like, http://www.amazon.com/Gotham-History-York-City-1898/dp/0195116348) was how inexorably intertwined Batman was with a proto-New York circa the late 70’s. Gotham, from what I can tell by the limited number of issues I’ve read, seems seedy, tawdry and filled to the veritable brim with sleeze. How that jives with Nolan’s mind’s eye association with Chicago’s landscape is still beyond my ken.
I’m not taking contention with the fact, mind you, I loved seeing little places in the background I used to haunt and seeing that old Brach’s Candy building (Did you know that where I used to work in Chicago there were open bins filled with a variety of differently tasting caramel and hard candy that Brach’s put out with little bags so you could fill up and bring to the counter but also had a little coin box based on the honor system that if you wanted 5 pieces of any wrapped candy all you had to do was pop in a quarter? I don’t think that could ever fly now…but I’m digressing) being blown up was pretty sweet too.
There have been lots of papers based on the Jewishness of Superman’s character, on the Greek hero myths that so many comic books are based on but I am at a loss to find any good literature on the nature of geography with regard to superheroes. Thanks for writing…