Valleys and Troughs

Avatar is shaping up to not suck, if you can believe it.

We've been following the discussion surrounding James Cameron's Avatar for a while now, on a personal if not a public level, and in the past few days a surprising trend has taken shape: amazingly, people are reporting that - despite reasonable assumptions otherwise - it's actually pretty good. It's held up with an 84% on rottentomatoes, maintaining its lofty rating well after the oft-skewed early sample-size period has passed. And a couple days ago the people at Defamer went so far as to issue an apology for all the Avatar-bashing they've done over the past few weeks:

Hollywood goes for epic in just about every tentpole it churns out, but somehow the ginormity of a Transformers 2 or a 2012 production, leave them feeling small — with a shrunken spirit and core that quashes their monstrous pretensions. Avatar, while certainly not without flaws, manages to create a sense of true epic scope in which the journey becomes greater than the sum of its effects.

They go on to say that Avatar is not without a certain cheese-factor, but it is overshadowed by the magnificent spectacle of the film. Which defense we can probably get behind. And so we will see it, and approach it with an open mind, as we attempt to do with all things. If nothing else, it will probably be an entertaining diversion, which is something we can all use in times like these.

VALLEY, it seems.

via Defamer, as we said.

Iron Man 2 trailer released, and man does it look awesome.

Ah. Nothing like a good movie trailer. Especially two in two days! And while we're sort of excited about Robin Hood, we have to say that the Iron Man 2 trailer is... it's just unbelievable. You can download a bigger version from apple if you so desire, and we suggest you do. There are almost no words to describe how awesome it is. We won't provide you with a play-by-play, but some highlights include Tony Stark yukking it up at what appears to be a congressional hearing, a brief appearance by Scarlett Johannson, and Iron Man and War Machine brawling back-to-back a the end. Man. Our eyes are glazing over just thinking about it. We have a feeling this is going to be a good one, and there will almost certainly be some cameos setting up the next films in Marvel's arsenal (Thor and then the Avengers, specifically). Yeah, not a bad day for comics fans. Big things are on the horizon.

VALLEY.

Morning Marginalia: Robin Hood trailer.

It's been a long time since Ridley Scott's Robin Hood - starring Russell Crowe - was announced, and we remember reading somewhere that it was delayed for the usual reasons (read: dead hooker in Ben Affleck's trailer). Pretty standard role for Crowe, who's joins up once more with Scott after the pair worked together on Gladiator all those years ago. Cate Blanchett plays Maid Marion, which is an interesting choice. If nothing else, we know that Russell Crowe has the ability to carry a period-fiction piece. It is what the man does.

VALLEY

Best video ever. No, really.

We have actually been trying to work in the above video - which we will say without hyperbole is the single-greatest video we have maybe ever seen, and if you have a few spare minutes in your day (and who doesn't, really?) you would do yourself a disservice not to watch it, for it will expand your idea of what the human body is capable of - for quite some time, but the moment just never seemed right. Well, that moment is upon us. Mashable, "The Social Media Guide," rated the video - following trials rider and superhuman Danny MacAskill through the streets of Edinburgh for Inspired bicycles - as the single-most innovative viral video ad of 2009. Impressive, but it hardly sums up the mind-bending awesomeness of what this man does on a bicycle, nor the sheer beauty of the cinematography and soundtrack (The Funeral by Band of Horses). Well, if this hasn't convinced you to watch the video (or watch it again, if you've already seen it), we can't imagine what will. It is truly epic, one could almost say life-affirming, and we hope you enjoy it.

fertile VALLEY

UPDATE: Dock Ellis and the LSD no-no heading to Sundance.

One of our very first posts highlighted a short film produced by New York's own fashion and media bonanza NoMas, which animated short film tells the story of the no-hitter pitched by Dock Ellis in 1970 while he was on LSD. LSD. It's a great piece, and it's been selected for the Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary Shorts section. It's really one of the better stories in baseball's long and hallowed history, especially in light of the fact that LSD has got to be one of the least-performance-enhancing drugs out there. Bravo.

VALLEY

via indieWIRE

Morning Marginalia: Epic films revisited.

Dr. Grant catching the eye of the T-Rex here (they can't see you if you don't move) is part of a pretty outstanding collection from Empire magazine, in which they celebrate their twentieth birthday by recreating scenes from blockbusters of the same period. Seeing Jurassic Park on the big screen when we were ten years old left an indelible mark on our psyche, and we applaud both empire and Sam Neill for plunging us once again into that era when dinosaurs ruled the earth. And because we are unabashed fans, here's a little of this too:

The rest of the gallery is pretty fantastic. Highlights include Mel Gibson as William Wallace (which very narrowly lost out to the above, we just love Viggo and the fact that he probably carries the sword with him everywhere he goes) and the Governor reprising T2. Not sure how Empire got them all lined up. One hell of a birthday party.

VALLEY

Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow pictures. Cause why not?

There's one thing one should never have to apologize for, and that's pictures of Scarlett Johannson. It's just one of those rare situations where everyone wins. In what we will laud as the best casting job in any superhero movie to date, Scarlett Johannson (whom we believe may well be the most beautiful woman on the planet, maybe ever) is playing the Black Widow in the upcoming Iron Man 2, set for release May 7th. Way back in the sixties when Stan Lee and co. created the Black Widow, a Soviet spy that would eventually defect to America, we imagine they would not have predicted this. Who could have? The Black Widow is trained in martial arts, espionage, marskmanship, etc. You get the idea.

And in even better news, she will reprise the role in the Avengers movie, scheduled for release in 2012 (barring armageddon). This could be the beginning of an exceedingly beautiful thing; May 7th can't come soon enough.

VALLEY, big time.

via superherohype

Morning Marginalia: Star Wars art.

R2-D2 tagging a wall is part of an installation by Art Asylum Boston called Art Strikes Back, in which 30 artists re-envision characters and scenes from the trilogy. If you happen to be in Boston between now and the 6th, you can check it out.

VALLEY

via io9

Highlight of the Night: Iron Man 2 poster unveiled.

That's the official Iron Man 2 poster, with War Machine in the background, released today to set the collective crotch of the internets ablaze with anticipation. We actually can't remember the last time we were anywhere near this excited for a movie poster, so well done, gentlemen.

VALLEY

via OliviaMunn

Superman thwarted - for the present.

Fans of the Man of Steel will have to keep waiting for another big-screen portrayal of their favorite costumed hero. Due to an ongoing legal dispute between Warner Bros. and the Siegel and Shuster families (Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster having created Superman in the thirties -Ed.) the details of which we can only imagine are obscenely boring to anyone not personally involved, any further installment of the franchise has been indefinitely delayed:

The debate continues to rage about what Warner Bros. should do with the DC Comics super-hero. Fans have been clamoring all over the web for a complete reboot. Warner Bros. execs believe that the last movie didn’t break the mold and wound up in some kind of middle limbo. They want to start over from scratch. While
Kick-Ass writer Mark Millar did pitch himself (to scant interest), WB in-house faves the Wachowski brothers and their protege James McTeigue were never approached. (It’s hard to imagine such hard-R types taking on what one blogger described as the “Big Blue Boy Scout.”)

It's no surprise that this process has staggered along, legal purgatory or no. The last time we saw the son of Jor-El in theaters was the 2006 Superman Returns, written and directed by Bryan Singer - the man responsible for the first two X-Men films (the good ones). Reception was mixed, to say the least, and though not a disaster the movie woefully underperformed as far as Warner Bros. was concerned. We happened to enjoy the film, going so far as to purchase it on DVD when people still did that sort of thing, and thought the acting especially was pretty solid all-around (especially Jimmy Marsden - can't get enough of that guy). And though Superman has never been our favorite character, we find ourselves looking forward a little anxiously to the next theater appearance of Clark Kent. Superman represents nothing if not the glorious and blinding embodiment of brilliant excess in every way, the spectacle of which lends itself so naturally to film. So in a way we hope that this process isn't rushed, and that the final product reflects some care and discretion. There have been some horrendous blockbuster superhero movies in the fairly recent past (read: Spiderman 3, which Christ isn't actually that recent now that we think about it. where does the time go?) and we'd hate to see the same happen to the prodigal son. He is, ultimately, too good.

TROUGH

via: toh!

As a postscript, those in need of a Superman fix are directed to All-Star Superman (named recently by The Onion AV Club as one of the best comics of the aughts), written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Frank Quietly - a fantastic team.