The movies

[Thomas Eckhardt]

Doug replied to Mike Janson (whose post has not reached the list, has it?):

> Take your quibble to Salon.com, amigo; I didn't write this.
> I'm not really a Batman movie fan, either, although I enjoyed the comic
> books when I was a kid.

Doug,
this is not really a quibble, it is damn serious (insert emoticon for being
slightly ironical here): Joel Schumacher is the second worst director under the
sun (the crown, of course, still sitting firmly on Luc Besson's head). The
prospect of him directing a film version of "On the Road" is therefore less than
exciting.

Tim Burton, on the other hand, is one of the best among the Hollywood big shots
(others include the eternal exception Martin Scorsese and the likes of John
McNaughton and Sam Raimi, whose last movie I have not seen, but whose "A Simple
Plan" is one of the best at least of the last decade). The first two
"Batman"-movies are immensely watchable. The first one has its flaws, but the
second one ("Batman's Return" or "The Return of Batman") may well stand as the
most disturbing picture Hollywood ever offered to a young audience. It is also
very, very good. After this, not surprisingly, Hollywood decided to let Joel
Schumacher direct, and have Michael Keaton, an odd but brillant choice for Bruce
Wayne, replaced by Brad Pitt and later George Clooney.

The other perfect film by Tim Burton is "Edward Scissorhands", but everything he
has put on film, even "Mars Attacks", is well worth watching. Let's see what he
will do with "Planet of the Apes"...

Thomas

P.S. There are two movies in pre-production now that are based on novels by
James Ellroy, "The Black Dahlia" and "White Jazz". Ellroy with "American
Tabloid" and his latest, "Cold Six Thousand", which I have not read yet, seems
to be getting into Pynchon and DeLillo territory now, at least as far as
political conspiracy is concerned. Any opinions (on Ellroy, the movies etc.)?