* The latest Comics Comics Cage Match is up, in which Frank Santoro, Dan Nadel, and Tim Hodler slug it out over David Heatley’s My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down. (Dan and Tim are for it, Frank is agin it.) The comment thread features guest appearances by Tom Spurgeon, Dash Shaw, Heidi MacDonald, and yours truly, wherein I say the following:
I haven’t taken a look at my copy of the collection yet, though I was kind of gobsmacked to find out about the censoring of “My Sex History.” It seemed to me that the whole point of that strip was to be completely un-censored. It’s the sexual autobio equivalent of a real splatterfest like Dead Alive, where the constant, vulgar spectacle of it all takes a Louisville Slugger to your brain until it’s beaten into a new way of reacting to what you’re seeing. The over-the-top-ness is the point. Isn’t it?
I should also add that I always wished he didn’t label his dream comics as “dream comics.” They’d be much more interesting without that disclaimer.
* There’s a new Watchmen poster and a new Watchmen trailer. I will probably enjoy this film.
* Mikey Way gets it. And yes, I know it’s annoying when people put it that way.
* Runaways like Goonies for the superhero-movie era? Sure, I’ll eat it. There’s no reason why Nico or Gert or Karolena can’t be some kid’s first crush object a la my imaginary relationship with Andy. The Scott Pilgrim movie will probably blow this door open anyways.
* My experience with Friday the 13th is entirely limited to watching the “all the kills” montage, so I’m not attuned to whether the upcoming remake/reboot/reimagining/rewhatever whose trailer you can see here represents an affront to the original the way the Texas Chainsaw and Halloween remakes seemed to. Not an affront, that’s not the right word–just a needless modernization, I suppose. This appears to be shot in that same dreary hyperrealist style, to swipe an adjective from CRwM, but I don’t see why you can’t use a franchise whose only goal was to provide jumpscares and the dubious pleasures of gore and T&A and hypocritical moralism to do all of that over again but with the tools of the modern filmmaker at your disposal. (I think most of the other iconic horror films that have been remade thus far had a lot more going on that the Jason movies, you know?)
“…but with the tools of the modern filmmaker at your disposal.”
I can’t wait for this new version of the film. And while all the new remakes have been hit or miss for me (TCM – yay; Hills Have Eyes and Halloween – boo), I know what my personal reasons are for being excited.
But in the quote above, strictly cause I’m interested, what examples of “tools” do you mean? Like effects technology? New takes on storytelling?
And as for that new trailer: Hey-soos Chris-toes! Rorschach in action! Sean, hey. Seriously. I’m considering getting in line tonight for this.
Daniel Craig or Kerri Green, Sean–who will you choose?!
Rickey: I just mean that Hollywood is very good now at making every movie look expensive. I know that the ramshackle nature of a lot of the slasher flicks is part of the charm, but I don’t suppose there’s any reason not to spit-shine it into a state-of-the-art thrill ride kinda thing courtesy of modern technology.
Ben: Who is this Kerri Green of which you speak? Down here, it’s Andy. It’s Andy down here.
You, sir, are dodging the question!
Oh shoot, you’re right! It was not intentional, believe me. Andy by a fucking LANDSLIDE. One of my all-time great prepubescent crushes, along with Elizabeth Shue from Adventures in Babysitting, Candace Cameron from Full House, Sorsha from Willow, and Carrie Kelly from The Dark Knight Returns.
I get you. I thought you were saying you DIDN’T want to see any updates and so I wanted to know what additives you’d want to see that you hadn’t yet. My mistake, and I agree with you.
Carnival of souls
* There’s a teaser trailer for Lost season five popping up here and there around the Internet. But ABC seems intent on preventing people from seeing it, since heaven forbid, so I don’t much feel like tracking it down. I…
Somehow I don’t think this is what Bob Dylan had in mind
But the trailer’s cool! (thx, sean c.)…