Kevin Licht

Could you maybe expand on this comment? I’m not sure why this would be an issue. I’m not a comic-book reader so maybe that might be part of it as it pertains to faithfulness of adaptations?

However, from my understanding of the comic book world the stories tend to take liberties themselves in taking different story lines, killing characters, etc.

I would just like more detail on why it’s bad to kill off villains and if this is bad for any movie that kills its villains?

I agree, although I would say this really depends on how one prefers their Peter Parker. I’m not a follower of comics so I only have the viewpoint as a viewer of the films, but I have heard some say that the wit/sarcasm/arrogance displayed by Garfield is preferable.

Interesting, but I think an argument can be made that along with X-Men, Spider-Man was the first of the comic book movies to bring the quality a audiences have come to expect from the Marvel universe. While it is likely none of the Marvel films will be considered classic examples of artistic film, very few of them are complete duds any more.

Great point. It was an excellent premiere night and was great to sit through the 2 hour block and it just flew by. The lineup sort of differs from the traditional big network lineups where you’ll have the comedies first and then have the CSI/Mystery/Murder show go one after. HBO typically flips that and has the drama on before the comedy. Also, I can’t think of any networks that keep the quality consistent throughout the night AND have a mix of comedy and drama. Tuesday nights for Fox may be something one could point to but that’s pretty much solely for the comedies.

I don’t want to continue to go on for too long, but I think with this particular lineup it’s fairly safe to say HBO is as strong as ever and isn’t going anywhere for quite some time.

I think your cynicism regarding YA fiction, specifically the science fiction adaptations, is well-founded, especially after catching a showing of Divergent a few weeks ago. That film made me feel like Shailene Woodley, who I thought was great in The Descendants, isn’t ready to carry a film. It certainly appears The Hunger Games series is going to be the outlier in these types of movies.

I’m not sure I’m with you on your take of Noah though, but it really depends on what was meant by it being a “friendly” story. If you mean it’s supposed to be familiar and some of the CGI and additions may alienate some audience members then yes, I could see that. After viewing the film, though, I do believe the disclaimer that was added to the end of the promotions for Noah was accurate.

Yes we’ve seen plenty of long tracking shots used in film but this is more about how the show is affecting television. There is a clear emphasis on filmmaking in True Detective unlike anything I’ve seen before… on television.

While I do agree with a majority of your observations as to the direction of the show, the one disagreement that I have is about it being a disappointing direction. To me this show started with Leslie having big dreams and this season is establishing that her, and the other characters have outgrown Pawnee and it’s time to move on.

While Pawnee will always be there home, these characters all have so much potential that has been run down by the town (something that may be apparent based on Andy’s stay in London).

Based on a recent interview on the Andy Greenwald podcast, Jim O’Heir (Jerry, Gerry, Larry?) said there is something big coming up after the Olympic break, so there may be a saving grace for folks who are losing faith, but in my mind this is still the best television show out there.

Loved the use of sound in this film, particularly how it was used to mix elements of the horror genre into the story. I find the reference of Alien in your title quite fitting for this particular topic.