Results of Ruminations

In the first part , I set up a rewrite for Batman v. Superman  to try to salvage what happened in that film. Obviously, this is not a unique exercise, and there are a lot of others out there who have done similar things. I haven't read or watched those thought exercises, so if there are parallels between my ideas and others, it's happenstance. Part 2 Batman's unsatisfied, so he breaks into Luthor's office to see this "curiosity". He hacks (because it's this easy) the files, but doesn't have time to decrypt them as the alarm goes off (of course) and he has to do his disappearing bat-trick to keep from being caught. Now, however, he's on the trail.   Back at Lexcorp, Luthor figures out what Batman has done. "They know." He places a call, then says to the scientist fellow from earlier, "We have to move forward the Doomsday Protocol."  "To when?" asks the tinny voice on the other side of the call. "As...

Note: I'm assuming most people who care about Batman v. Superman  would have seen it by now, but I guess I should say I'm talking about that film in this essay. So...spoilers on it, Man of Steel, and  Wonder Woman , y'know? I tried " script doctoring " Jurassic World , so I thought I'd throw out some ideas about what I would have done differently with Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.  Because multiple different films are contingent on the BvS  as the flagship, tent pole, or whatever metaphor you want to use for the entire DC Extended Universe, there are likely parts from Zack Snyder's film that had to be in there as setup for the other films. In fact, that setup is part of what makes BvS  such a hard film to follow. (In essence, DCEU went the opposite route of Marvel: What if The Avengers  had been the third film in the franchise, with only Captain America and  Iron Man  coming before it? It wouldn't have worked the way that it did. DCEU is...

If you don't subscribe to Netflix, here's a write up about the documentary Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press from The Atlantic .  The documentary is pretty good, though, if you're sensitive to profanity and frank discussions of awkward experiences, you may not enjoy it. There are some problems (like most documentaries, it manipulates via music what you're supposed to feel throughout certain sections, and the second half feels too heavy on "broad strokes" style storytelling since the ostensible focal point is Hulk Hogan, and that section is finely detailed. Still, it's a worthwhile viewing. I don't want to talk about free speech, though. I'm interested in a strange, protracted argument that Terry Bollea (the man most people identify as Hulk Hogan) gives during his time on the witness stand. The details are embarrassing, but it isn't the details that Bollea is giving that made me sit up a little, it was the crux of the argument: According ...

A YouTuber named Nerdwriter--whose eclectic video essays span a gamut of fascinating topics, from how to read art to linguistic analyses of songs to deconstructions of film--has a great video about how Batman v. Superman  in particular, but Zack Snyder specifically suffers from eye-catching and memorable scenes, but fails to deliver on genuine moments. I rewatched Man of Steel  tonight, and I think Nerdwriter's points apply to the first foray into Snyder's take on Superman. I still like that movie. I'd never argue that it's well written (some of the dialogue is horrible, and their aversion of the word Superman  throughout almost the whole thing is weird) or not rife with problems, but I still enjoy the film. Part of it stems from my unapologetic joy at "building punching"--sequences where people throw other people through buildings. It can be monsters versus robots (like Pacific Rim , or, as I like to call it, Robot Monster Punch Punch ), or monsters vers...

Disclaimer: I stole the title of this post from Batman and Philosophy and I think you should buy it and read it.  After I watched Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight  last night, I had a hard time going to sleep. Over the years, I've put some effort into learning about what works so effectively in the film, hoping to glean some storytelling tricks to try to improve my craft. Many years ago, I listened to this podcast about the Hollywood Formula and I found it really enjoyable and enlightening. A couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon this video , which reignited my interest in the film. Every year, I review the Hollywood formula with my students, about half of whom have seen The Dark Knight  and can get a lot out of what we're talking about. Every year, discussing the film makes me want to rewatch it, and I finally found the two and a half hours (!) needed to do so. It really is a great movie. Thinking of the two aforementioned analyses about the film kept me engaged i...