The Bittersweet Anticipation of the Super Hero Movies

http://captainamerica.marvel.com/
http://thor-marvel.com/


Ok.
I've waited 40 years for this to happen, and I better not be disappointed.  I'm just saying.

2011 and 2012 could possibly present the biggest and most soul-satisfying movie-going summers of my entire life, and I say that with no undo hyperbole, friends and neighbors.  Those of you that know me understand that I am and always have been a certified, dyed in the wool comic book enthusiast. Not a Fan, with pointy ears and a geeky smirk and that "i've-never-seen-a-boobie" look on my acne-smeared face, but an Enthusiast, one who truly appreciates the medium as an art form, a hobby, and an investment to certain extents.  As a teacher, I was always a proporter of the comic as a way to get students reading -- as many curriculum make reading a chore and could take the fun out of sharpening a pencil, I always encouraged my students to read anything they wanted to read, within reason.  Comic books not only encourage students to read with high-interest material, they foster an appreciation of art; drawing; form and structure; writing; sequence of plot; formulaic storytelling; mythology; science; ethics; morality; societal roles; and more.  And during the last 10 years or so, this art form has been adapted with mixed results to a new medium, that of motion pictures.

It has been a rocky road, this love affair between Hollywood and comic books.  And the results have not always been fireworks and fanfare like the first Spider-Man movie.  Many have been crash and burn flops boardering on the insipid, like the uber-shlocky Elektra. Jennifer Garner owes me $8.50.

I was not happy with the Hulk attempts, and felt bad for Ed Norton (the second Mr. Banner, like a smarter, angrier Dick York), who wrote the second movie's script and then had it hacked to pieces once out of his grasp.  The Fantastic Four movies showed promise with Micheal Chicklis, or whatever his name is.  But Jessica Alba was about as convincing a Sue Storm as Martin Lawrence is a an elderly black woman.  The only thing of redeeming quality was the flip and flirty Chris Evans as the Human Torch.  He did a good job in that.  And then Iron Man came along, and revitalized my faith that such collaborations could be created if MovieLand just stuck to the core material to begin with and did not try to "refresh" aspects of the mythologies which they deemed replaceable.  Note: Dr. Doom is not a morphing metal madman. Bruce Banner's dad is not the Absorbing Man. Nick Fury is not Samuel L. Jackson (and I know somebody's not gonna agree with me on that. But the Ultimate Universe is not the Marvel Universe, and the two should never cross. So shut the hell up.). 

Iron Man was such a hit that it fueled the creation of more super-hero movies.  And to my giddy excitement, movies that piece together like a great, four-color puzzle.  See, The Hulk and Iron Man were founding members of one of my favorite comics, The Avengers.  This is a team of heavy-hitters comprised of these two big guns, Thor, some incidental characters I'll mention in a minute, and my all-time favorite comic book character: Captain America.  SO, now we have the new Thor movie set to show in May, and then the new Captain America, all in anticipation of the Avengers movie next year.  The new Cap movie is actually titled "Captain America: The First Avenger" to whet the appetites of the faithful.

And for those who actually thought Seth Rogan was a convincing Green Hornet (you putzes), he's actually slated to play Hank Pym as Ant Man, one of those "incidental characters" I mentioned previously.  If there is a God in Heaven, this movie will never be made.  Seth. Listen, buddy.  Produce, write, make little stoney flicks with crude humor and semi-ad-libbed scripts. But stop with the super hero thing. Some of us care.

So I'm ready. Ready to be amazed and ready to be disgusted. The movies will either meet my extreme expectations or fall ridiculously flat.  And its my own fault. I know too much about movie making and I know too much about comic books and the core subject material is closer to me than most people are to their football teams. 

But I've seen the trailers. Even football fans saw them as they watched the Super Bowl. And I've attached the links at the top for you to see them.  And thus far....I'm amazed.  The Cap trailer has the Red Skull looking fairly cool as he pulls off a rubber-faced disguise (a trade-mark of his in the early books), and tanks with Hydra insignias (a big Cap enemy group), and even Cap leading the Howling Commandos in WWII, which should have been Nick Fury's job, but they had to reboot that to cover for Samuel L. Jackson! [I'm waving my clenched fist in the air here, but you can't see it.] But who plays Cap?  Chris Evans, the aforementioned Human Torch from the FF movies!  Really?  Really, Hollywood?  There was no body else who fit the suit?  Huh.  I'll be damned. Well, let's hope he's the right man to fill Steve Rogers shoes and does an amazing job.  Personally, I think he'd make a better Hawkeye, but I've already lost you I'm sure with too many comic referrences, so let's suffice to say I'm trepidacious, but optimistic.

And the Thor trailer is up there, too.  And it looks pretty damn good, too, except that I have no idea who this bohunk is playing Thor, and Natalie Portman is in it, ensuring her appearances at Sci-Fi Conventions 20 years from now if this Black Swan thing doesn't pan out, and the fact that it's in 3D.  Christ, enough with the 3D already!  We get it!  Stuff looks kinda realish, but not quite.  Got it.  But Sir Anthony Hopkins is in it, which is cool, as Odin, Thor's father. I'm interested in seeing how he does. And they show the Destoyer, too, which flitted my little 10-year-old heart when I saw that classic Thor villian.  And in the trailer, Thor is being questioned by that same robotic SHIELD Agent from the Iron Man movies, so I know there's going to be some good sequences of Thor vs. the Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-Enforcement Division.  oh, god...i am a geek, aren't i?

So take a look at the trailers and let me know what you think.  I'll be here, getting the popcorn and the hari-kari sword ready.

Top Ten Hollywood Movie Stars of All Time

I was watching television the other night, and there was some awards show on. (I couldn't even tell you which one it was, they all look so similar. I'm fairly certain that if you just spliced together segments from five different awards shows into one long program, no one watching would be able to tell.) So I watched, remote teetering precariously in my hand, mouth slightly open, eyes glazed with indifference, for about three minutes as some sparkling sequins in the shape of a woman bantered on inanely about concepts fed to her from an unseen tele-prompter. She really seemed to have no clue as to the ideals the prompter aspoused, as was evident to me as she faltered over several multi-syllabic words. Who is this chick, I wondered. Should I know her? Is she important? Is she on TV or in movies, or what? I mean, am I so far removed from the entertainment loop now that there's a whole new crop of talent that I'm completely unaware of?
And as she stumbled on, faigning composure after her third mispronounciation, I found her so mindless; so inconsequential; that it got me thinking. (Ok, it got me mad and then it got me thinking. That's how it works.) But here's what I realized: There are no Stars left in Hollywood.

There.
I said it.
Somebody had to. We used to have Stars, but not any more. Paul Newman's death was a harbinger; a tolling of an iron bell sounding the end of a Hollywood as we once knew it. We used to have Celebrities. They were the Royalty of the American Cultural landscape. We cared about what they did, where they went, what they ate, and who they were. (When Clark Gable disrobed in "It Happened One Night" and he wasn't wearing a tee-shirt, national tee-shirt sales for men dropped by 30%.) But now we have nothing; bupkiss; dick.


As a society, we have replaced the once brilliant luminessence of our celebrity Milky Way with the dim, christmas-bulbed flicker of pop idols and two-dimensional pan flashes. The tintilation of behind the scenes gossip has been replaced by smutty who's-the-daddy scandal that passes for "entertainment news." At 7:00 pm nightly, this parade of cultural clap-trap is spewed out by self-indulgent automotons like Ryan Seacrest who hurl jagged headlines at us in rapid succession, so quickly and with such ablomp that we become covered in it; layers of it; hardening around us like a thick insullation of shit. We become jaded to the boldness and audacity of teenagers and young adults with little to no accernable talent who now pass as the closest thing we have to stars.


And they are not. They are not Stars. Stars have class. Stars have dignity. Stars have a sense of personal privacy and societal mores. Stars are afraid of shame, but have the guts to stand up on their own when the going is tough. I don't see a lot of that anymore.


Stars appear in movies and legitimate television programs; not cable-based abominations and scripted "reality shows." Stars gain respect for their accomplishments and reputations for their blunders; they don't become famous simply by appearing in front of cameras and labelling themselves celebrities. (Here's a hint: If you've ever called yourself a Diva...You're Not. Look up the definition of the word before you apply it. Aretha Franklin is a Diva. Paris Hilton is not.) Stars contribute to the cultural touchstones of our American fabric; they are not the loose strings on the fraid edges of fringe belief systems adding no more to the lexicon than fart referrences. Stars have legacy, not infamey. Stars are filmed, not digitally recorded on cell phones.


It is a tremendous honor and responsibility to be a Star, and to shoulder that golden burden every day, every where. And if you can't do that, then don't apply for the job. And don't apply if you don't have a resume, either. Respect used to have to be earned. We ain't giving it away just because you decided you'd get out of bed today.


So here, for once and for all, and for use as a back-board for all of the wannabes, woulda-beens, posers, and poor excuses, is the definitive collection of Hollywood Stars.
This is the Top Ten American Movie Stars of All Time.


First off, let me eliminate the Icons. Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, John Wayne. Sorry, but I'm talking about Movie Stars here; not American Icons of Film History. Dean was a great actor, true, but he never had the opportunity to explore the depth or range of his potential to make his way into my list. He died before he'd done half a dozen films! Sorry! Movie Stars have Legs. They are not Shooting Stars. They are fixtures in the constellation called Hollywood. And I took into account not only acting chops, but also diversity in subject matter. Bruce Willis makes damn interesting choices in the roles he plays, as did James Cagney. John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, on the other hand, as much as I personally love them, generally play themselves in their movies.

So let's sum it up. Stars have legs, chops, humility, strength, and a commitment to their craft that is endless and boundless, if not sometimes quiet and restrained. They are not one trick ponies, flashes in the celebrity pan, or self-important jerk offs. And with that said, here, in no particular order, are the Top Ten American Movie Stars of All Time.

Bette Davis
Robert DeNiro
Douglas Fairbanks
Meryl Streep
Paul Newman
James Stewart
Tom Cruise
Jack Lemmon
Anthony Quinn
Katherine Hepburn

I'm sure that should get a few of you fired up.
Please. Tell me what you think. I look forward to hearing your thoughts....

Change is Good

Ok. I'm changing things up.

It has always been my contention that people with a Blog had way too much of several commodities of which I consider myself short on: Time. Hot Air. Self Importance.

But things change.

I've decided to branch out from just the automotive information and delve into other aspects of American life that I have thoughts of, on, or for. Why? Let's call it Doctor's orders. I need to vent, or I'll explode. There's just too many issues I've remained mum on over the years, and I feel that certain areas are just getting a little "overgrown," shall we say. Like weeds in a neglected area of the societal lawn we all share.

I've decided to create a series of Top Ten Lists. My take on the best and the worst of things, from Cars to Cartoons; Food to Fashion; Movies, Books, TV Shows, and more. These'll be my personal takes on the greatest things America has to offer, both past and present. And upon what criteria am I basing my judgements? The name of this Blog is Scott Said So! for a reason.

So let me know what you think of my choices. I'm always willing to hear another side to the story, no matter how sad and off-base it may be. Ha!