I am virtually 100% in sync with your opinions here. Great stuff!!

As for Scott getting with Knives, Wallace said it best: “You’re too good for him.”

What makes you think I’d see Nick and Norah after tolerating him in Superbad, Juno and even Year One? N&N, another flick that doesn’t interest me in the slightest…simply because of Cera.
Call it close minded if you like, but what sort of person would watch something starring someone they can’t stand? I’m only considering it for SP because Edgar Wright directed the thing. I saw the trailer for Nick and Norah though…he was still punchable, nothing will convince me otherwise.

It’s no problem, I just don’t like that aesthetic and can’t stand the lad’s acting style. Come now, you have no genre you dislike or no actor you can’t stand? If Cera was a secondary character It would be fairly easy to ignore his bits, but he’s the fucking lead, he’s the focus. It’d be like hating Tom Cruise and going to see Top Gun, are you telling me you’d be perfectly objective if you hated him?
And another thing, why would someone be a close minded jerk for not appreciating comic related movies? Guess what buddy, not everyone enjoys what you happen to enjoy. Not everyone can suspend their disbelief when watching Batman or Daredevil and simply find costumed heroes to be stupid. Everyone likes different things pal, and calling people names because they won’t sit through stuff they have no interest in is the jerkiest thing I’ve seen said here so far. Wright is aiming for a completely different audience with this flick than either of his previous efforts, it’s nothing to do with opening your mind and all to do with personal taste. It’s that kind of snobby, snotty attitude that rubs people up the wrong way – “You don’t like what I like? You’re a close minded jerk, Nyah!” I’d argue you are the close minded one with comments like that.

I think you nailed it for me on the villains in both these movies. To use wrestling terms, Expendables really did a terrible job of putting its villains “over” – Scott Pilgrim did exactly that. Every evil ex crushed the hell out of Scott Pilgrim initially, and looked like a legitimate threat. The villains of the Expendables never once seemed like a threat to me, and I think there was one very simple reason for that: NONE of the main characters got killed. Hell, they never even got HURT – and no, Stallone’s brief but completely ineffectual beating at the hands of Steve Austin’s character does not count.

I realize we were dealing with an ensemble cast here, but come on – if you want people to be invested in your villain, your villain has to kill at least ONE of the heroes. Waterboarding doesn’t count, I don’t care how “topical” or “horrible” it is. Sure, it was a brainless action movie – but I just can’t buy into any action movie, brainless or no, if the villains aren’t a threat.

Scott Pilgrim was a success where Expendables was a complete failure in this regard. Every evil ex was a dominant force compared to Scott, even overwhelming in certain cases – and (spoilers?) the main character is even “killed” by the villain at one point, something which never even comes close to happening with the four or five main characters of the Expendables. That’s what an action movie NEEDS to be successful, brainless or no.

One hundred percent agree on this one Noah, as one of the many scott-like losers floating out there in the world. Check out the comics as soon as you get the chance, they’re equally awesome.

Hot Fuzz is awesome.. i mean I get why Scott is a good movie, because its meant towards those audiences who like animated real life action type movies like Kickass (Yes I said it) and Big trouble in lil china,.. Edgar Wright is just a great director i mean watch “Spaced” where he directs every episode..and the show is funny (thanks to Simon Pegg also) but overall I get it Spoony, Brad and Joe should have different opinions..it kinda sucks they don’t see eye to eye, even if they do like the same old retro games and movies, but thats why they all have their own website.

I’ve gotta say, I LOVED this movie. I agreed with pretty much everything Spoony said, I can’t really add more. However, i have a funny little story from when I saw this.

Ok, first, I apologize for the vagueness of this, but to anyone here who’s seen spvtw, you may share this experience.
When i went to see this, I saw it with a few friends in a packed theatre, “lucky to get all of us in” kind of full. The trailers began, as with spoony, with the green hornet. i was unimpressed, however that level of unimpressedness was quickly dashed by the next trailer, Hell in an Elevator. I sat there, slackjawed at how stupid the premise was. Suddenly, JUMPCUT! From Director… Who? WHO? Name fades in; M. Night Shyamalan.

Son of a bitch…

The ENTIRE THEATRE, not exagerating, lets out the deepest, most unbeleivably heartfelt, groan of disappointment in an already stupid idea. I couldn’t help but join them.
Now, this leads me to believe that this was either a jilted crowd from the last airbender, or an entire theatre full of Spoony fans. In a fair sized theatre, in a medium sized city, mostly filled with people from small towns(I knew a lot of them). In Canada. If that’s not proof of how widespread Noah is known, I don’t know what is.

Hot Fuzz is awesome.. i mean I get why Scott is a good movie, because its meant towards those audiences who like animated real life action type movies like Kickass (Yes I said it) and Big trouble in lil china,.. Edgar Wright is just a great director i mean watch “Spaced” where he directs every episode..and the show is funny (thanks to Simon Pegg also) but overall I get it Spoony, Brad and Joe should have different opinions..it kinda sucks they don’t see eye to eye, even if they do like the same old retro games and movies, but thats why they all have their own website.

It’s logical that different types of people like different types of movies. Even if those are supposedly marketed at the same market. (Which, let’s face it, is not the case here. Expendables is for those living in the past whereas Scott Pilgrim is pretty much a movie made for the year 2010.)

The bottom line is that the Cinema Snob has pretty much b-taste all around: look at the movies he punishes himself with.
Do you really want to compare your tastes to a man that’s better known for loving Bruno Mattei? Gjah, don’t even try to reason with him, man.

Wow.

I’m a pretty big fan of your reviews, Spoony. Even if I disagree, you usually provide an interesting (or at least amusing) perspective. I had to stop watching this review halfway, though, because it somehow ended up being … masturbatory? I don’t really know. I’m happy for you and all the millions of other people out there who LOVED the Scott Pilgrim movie, but that still doesn’t make it the kind of amazing, life-changing masterpiece that damn near every non-Brad Jones reviewer seems to believe.

Also, can someone please offer some sort of evidence that Michael Cera can act? Spoony? Someone else? Maybe it’s addressed somewhere later in the review (if so, please let me know an approximate time and I’ll look for it), but Michael Cera really shouldn’t be put into movies. Superbad was great. Arrested Development was–and still is–one of the finest shows to ever air. But the boy is a one-trick pony, and the “standing near some actors and being himself” trick isn’t all that impressive.

How do you equate “being wrong” with “having a different opinion” though? Let’s not be unjustly harsh here…

You were SPOT ON with your original assessment of the Expendables. Don’t back off man, you called it and you should feel good for calling it right. Force movies to raise the bar instead of turning out the same old crap.

Maybe you should watch the rest of the review instead of stopping half way through to ask questions that are obviously addressed.

The Green Hornet does look genuinely bad. Even with Michel Gondry at the helm (and he has done pretty damn good movies in the past. But Super Hero films doesn’t look to be his forte). But I still plan on seeing it because Christoph Waltz is the Villain. So part of me has to admit I’m partially excited just to see him in something else. Yet it still kind of boggles my mind (as well as kind of irks me off) to why he decided to do this film post-Inglorious Basterds.

I kind of predicted CinemaSnob wouldn’t like Scott Pilgrim. It didn’t seem like a film he would. And likewise I kinda expected you would like it. When I saw trailers of this movie I thought it looked damn stupid. But was suprised by how much I ended up liking it. One of the best this summer.

Awww. It’s okay that you went all soft on us there Spoony, embrace your feminine side ;) lol

OMG man I’m so relived to hear that you like it, cause I know Brad and you have very similer tastes and he didn’t like it and I thought man I hope spoony liked it cause if you didn’t I thought you would just rip it apart. So glad you liked it man :D

P.S. I now finally found someone who agrees that Shaun of the Dead is his least impressive film though when it’s still a great movie that’s not saying much :)

The funniest part is that the same people that watch/post on brads videos or the same one’s that watch/post on Spoony’s videos…. I don’t think we’d get very far if we went to war.

People keep comparing it to Twilight without actually making comparisons. I’ve never seen any of the Twilight movies or have read any of the books. Can someone please explain the parallels?

I have to admit that I was taken aback that you liked this movie, Spoony. I don’t know why, it just seemed like something you would have had some qualms with.

For me, this was a very entertaining film that delivered the crazy action. I never read the comics, nor heard of them before hand. But just the trailer alone had my interest as it showed off the fight scenes. I went into this expecting nothing more than a spectacle flick and an annoying Michael Cera. And boy, was I surprised. Personally, this was a more tolerable Michael Cera movie, in that he wasn’t a complete typecast. Sure, he was the awkward geek, but he was a bit of an asshole, which rounded him out a bit.

All in all, in terms of entertainment value, it is worth viewing. All the action scenes reminded me more of Kung Fu Hustle, which would explain why I enjoyed Scott Pilgrim.

The first time I ever had the 911 joke was in an episode of Married…with Children, where Kelly tries to frantically call 911 and because of her agitation she has forgot the number. Must have been around 1991 or 92.

woooow. You wanna talk about quick cuts, distracting editing, and overzealous camera movements? – Did you SEE Hot Fuzz? Are we watching the same fucking movie, talking about the same director? Yeah, the screenplay was hermetic, a case study (“study”, sure, in that it simulates homework that must me trudged through), more like RIGID. Rigid as a cadaver, and with an equally strong beat of the pulse in its ability to maintain interest, which worn-thin Monty Python whimsical britishness that permeated everything just brought it down rather than embue it with the nerd-cred hip factor that Shaun of the Dead banked in on big time. 80% of Monty Python obsession you see around today is faux nerdism, like people who watch ‘The Big Bang Theory’ or kids who wear old school atari tshirts without ever having played any of the games, but that’s another tangent.

At least you put SotD at the bottom. God what a fucking boring movie, what a fucking uninspired cash in on the zombie fad and American pop culture saturated Juno-style “look how fucking zany and pop-literate I am, look how many song hooks and blockbuster-video-game references I can jam into a conversation aren’t I just so fucking spontaneous” (I KNOW IT CAME BEFORE JUNO). You wanna talk about derivative?

Now I’ve seen the Pegg/Frost/Wright TV series ‘Spaced’ and loved it, so there’s no built-in antipathy. But while much of ‘Spaced’–which everyone should check out if you haven’t heard of it–hinged on the same kind of reference-cred zaniness, it was inspired and original, itself a comely portrait of a media saturated, “slacker” type in a quarter-life period of self discovery. SotD took those elements and winnowed away what made it feel genuine and replaced it with lots and lots of killing zombies. Yay. I admit, that sounds cool in writing…but it’s not as engaging in the movie if you’re older than 14. Pertinent aside re: the Juno-ness of the Simon Pegg/Wright universe, Diablo Cody was one of the commentators in the US edition of the Spaced DVDs.

Cera as the hero for a generation right? Doesn’t bother you that much, you say? Dude, what’s next, an apology for Garden State? To be frankly fucking honest I’d take that McHipster emo trash over Cera trying to lead/represent that role in a story any day of the fucking week. (Caveat: I went through a period after seeing it where I actually congratualted and, blush, identified with Braff’s characterization of post-college directionlessness and suburban ennui. But I got over it.)

Now I haven’t seen the movie, and I don’t much know Brad other than what’s come out of this little feud. But if I’m to take his suggestion that if you’ve seen the trailer what you see is what you get, welp… I am so fucking sick of the “slacker” “gamer” “hipster in a band” subculture-as-a-brand-name pandering. It’s not merely affably portraying this subculture FOR this subculture. It’s creating this environment that encourages more faux nerds–people who don’t have the temperament, don’t have the intelligence, don’t have the detail oriented, obsessive, technically-minded personalities that are the prerequisites for entrance into this subculture–to view it as hip and want to partake. The phrase “geek chic” comes to mind. For a while there in the mid-late 90s it wasn’t hard to find the guy with skate shoes and even a hoodie or shirt with skateboard branding or imagrey on it .. who didn’t actually skate for a hobby in his free time. Or worse: who did so infrequently, begrudgingly, if only to justify his fashion and subculture identification.. Yeah.

Now you can take away this subculture garnish and get to the skeleton of the story, a ‘coming of age’ one, one of maturation, and maybe it succeeds there…but is it really, honestly anything more than another bean in the ever-increasing hill of Judd Apatow beans? Michael Cera playing an emotionally retarded and dim witted youth, jeez I wonder where he whet is chops getting experience for playing such a character… Spoony, you’re aware of the irony in your judging a (albiet fictional) character’s maturity fresh off the heels of a twitter meltdown?

Anyway Spoony, to quote the late Mel Gibson, you seem to be ‘bending over backwards with your balls in a knot’ to apologize for this movie, with more than a hint of spite and contrairian feuding to your praise.

the orginal ending for the film was Knives and Scott

*slo-mo Vegan Police high fives all around*

This is really awesome, insightful commentary from Spoony. I’m kind of embarrassed that as big of a fan of this movie and the comics as I am, I had never before considered this story from the point of view of the Ramona character. I tend to focus on Scott; how the format of the conflict with Ramona’s exes reflects his immaturity and what would happen if the world really reacted to the way you felt on a literal level, how his narcissism drives the story, how he neglects his real problems to concentrate on his issues with his and her past in all the wrong ways, etc.

And all of that is true, but Spoony’s comments about Ramona are right on the money as well. She’s relocated in an effort to get a new beginning and leave the past behind her (we’ve all known people who have tried to do that at one point or another), and Scott really starts off as her token rebound guy just to get her her bearings and help her move on. But what she learns here is that you can’t just turn your back on the past whenever you feel like it, because the past isn’t this subjective thing that happened only to you, the past is other people who have their own feelings and points of view and might not appreciate you blithely trying to “move on” without giving them any thought.

In the scene with Roxie, her lines about how it “meant nothing” are played for laughs, but if you think about it it really is a shockingly callous thing to say when the other person is right there. Ramona seems like she’s more mature than Scott but she’s prone to a lot of the same mistakes and liable to neglect other people’s feelings the same way he does, in fact, she’s sort of a Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come showing how his life could turn out if he doesn’t wise up. Their arch is really the same, and while Scott just starts off as the rebound guy, when she sees what her mistakes, past and present, are doing to him it gives her the kind of perspective she’s lacked before.

So I really have to thank Spoony, because if not for him I might not ever have considered this very, very important angle on a story that I love. I’m also impressed by how much it seems like he really opened up here. That stuff about how you have to make mistakes and how people will always get hurt sort of makes me wonder about what kind of skeletons are in his closet. But it’s not surprising that he went there, because that’s the kind of thing this story does for you, it holds up a mirror and lets you see yourself in the character’s behavior, and it calls you out on the selective editing you do when accounting for your own mistakes. It can get uncomfortable, but that’s why it’s so valuable. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been a little rattled the last few days because it got me to consider a few things in a light I never had before. Sounds strange when you’re talking about such an oddball movie that’s largely a lot of deadpan comedy and kinetic action scenes, but it’s true.

So yeah, awesome commentary, and it’s great to see someone with a prominent platform giving this movie the level of attention it really deserves. It did pretty well with critics, but most of them, either because the format of their reviews didn’t accommodate a lengthy analysis or just because they didn’t put that much thought into it, didn’t really scratch the surface of what this movie is actually about.You can treat “Scott Pilgrim”, movie and comics, as just a humorous romp or a cool action spectacle, and that’s a fine way to enjoy it, but if you put the thought into it there’s a lot more going on and a whole lot of pathos to be found in this seemingly simple, silly little story.

He didnt say it was bad, he just said it wasnt the best of that particular directors work

I’d just like to say that. Please give the man a break, Critics have to be impartial and relate the subject matter in a way points out the good and the bad in a film,media or any other subject matter being reveiwed ….and frankly some films have very little good in them. Unfortunately in the role of being a critic you are always sure of one thing… You are going to piss someone off…no matter how good of a critic. No matter how right or wrong you may be. Someone is going to not like what you have to say. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and most of them tend to stink…

They actually had the Jackie Chan stunt team choreograph the fights :)

I love this movie, too! I saw it twice!

No.. the planets have not aligned… you’re an asshole. Bitching about everything. I don’t watch your reviews anymore. I hardly visit the site since you became a self-centered-too-full-of-himself bastard!

To Spoony:

The deal with Brad: I saw his review of “Scott Pilgrim” too and I though it was bizarre that a guy who made a movie about retrogamers would not catch on to that in the movie, but then it hit me that Brad Jones was never a hipster to begin with and marriage is moving him further from that sort of rootless, “in the now” lifestyle. The other thing about hipsterism is irony; you never know if things are authentically liked or tolerated by hipsters, or if they are just being ironic (case in point: are they keeping Pabst Blue Ribbon around just because they like it’s barfwater taste, or are they “too cool” to try other beers?) Brad has never seemed to me to be deeply invested in irony beyond having characters from his various shows interact with each other.

The Green Hornet movie: this may be this generation’s chance to sit through a Shadow/Phantom/Rocketeer-like movie, a flick that sets everything up for high adventure and falls flat on it’s ass. If it’s going to be a comedy, let’s see if it’s as cringe-inducing as any of the late 1970s “Pink Panther” movies (though that one scene where Burt Kwok and Peter Sellers destroy a sushi restaurant in slow motion made up for a lot.)

Pretentiousness: ….is in the eye of the beholder. Brad might have two copies of “Caligula”, but you have a Hungarian “2001″ poster and a French one for “Videodrome” in the background. Nothing wrong with that, but I’m just saying.

You surprised me allot in this review, for one you said your favorite movie was big trouble in little china……… ME TOO!!!! It’s all in the reflexes, also how you went so in depth into this movie, I just saw this as a comic in movie form (and I’ve read the comic about 80 times mind you) but you bought up so many little things about it that I didn’t think of. If most movie critics were as in depth as you then I think Avatar wouldn’t have a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (Its probs not 90% but whatever dont get technical, plus I just hate Avatar). Also when you were talking about musical cues I was kinda thinking “mention the warriors one, mention the warriors one” and you did!!!! That is another of my favorite movies.

I really like the way you talked about and explained Ramona and Scot’s relationship and character, it was pretty much perfect. Although, I’ve read the comics, and I thought the ending there was a bit more optimistic on their relationship then you described. I haven’t seen the movie yet, which to be honest is kinda eating at me right now. I freaking love the book, and have been waiting sooooo long for this movie. Too bad I live in a rural area which had to chose between Expendables and SP, and The Expendables won out. :(

How could you fall for such an obvious hipster trap spoony, oh well i’ll just sit here and wait another four weeks until your next wrestling update.

great review Spoony …. guess i’m on your side this time……oh yeah one more thing

ADAM WEST BATMAN IS BATMAN

I noticed that too. It’s important to keep in mind that the books have much more time to explore Scott and Ramona’s relationship. They clearly spend more time together, and they even move in together. The movie version is more about their struggle to be able to date at all, to even try. In the movie we are left not knowing what will happen down the line. They just need their chance to grow up and give the relationship a try. I think it’s important to learn how to do that, to just be okay for the moment and not always need to think about forever. At the end of book 6 I had no doubt that Scott and Ramona would be together forever, the book and the movie have two different messages (both are welcome, just different).

Glad to see he’s in lesbians with this movie.

You don’t sound like a woman, you sound like a philosopher. I’m really surprised at how much this movie made you think. Perhaps that’s why Brad doesn’t like it, he disagrees with the philosophy, that’s just a guess though.
There really should be a philosophy of movies or something.

Heh. I’m actually surprised you’ve read the comics (I assume from the way you talked about them). I know you don’t really read manga or such things and I wasn’t sure if the art style of the comics came too close to that.

That said, I’m actually kind of glad you agree with me in the review. I went to see the movie a few days ago, because I loved the comic series and I wanted to see how the movie would turn out. I was initially apprehensive of a live-action version of it, but the second trailer mostly calmed me down in that regard. I loved the film and oddly enough, so did my mother, who’s not in the target demographic by any means.

I still prefer the way things went in the comic a little more, mostly because I think the Envy Adams subplot was handled better.

Wallace is not only my favorite character in this particular story, but probably my favorite gay character, period. The other thing I kind of doubted in the trailer was the glimpse I had of Culkin playing him, but once again my fears were put to rest.

Kinda running out of things to say here. I haven’t really watched Angry Joe or the Cinema Snob all that much. I guess I haven’t found that magical video of theirs that hooked my interest and made me want to burn through their archives. For you, that was your review of The Thing (remember that?), which is ironically completely amateur compared to what you’ve turned out since you moved out of your folks’ place.

Stay cool, and remember, it’s all in the reflexes!

I am very much looking forward to see this movie after your review

When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol’ Jack Burton always says at a time like that: “Have ya paid your dues, Jack?” “Yessir, the check is in the mail.”

-Awesome jacket by the way!

Play a game of Deadliest Warrior with Brad to settle the score. :V

So Scott Pilgrim has basically no income, but can still spend 3000 dollars on a Rickenbacker?
Or is it inherited?

What follows is a weird rant: it is long, and anyone who glances at it may want to skip it.

The thing about comic book movies is that they are judged not only on the basis of the movie itself, but how accurately or responsibly it conveys the comic book into a new media. I mean, I LOVED V for Vendetta (one of my favourite movies ever (now THAT is pretentious!)), but I wasn’t a big fan of the comic books. I know that’s pretty much sacrilege (go to hell Alan Moore), but there were things about the comic that I didn’t like which the movie addressed. Yet, BECAUSE it changed things it was pretty much disowned by all hardcore fans of the comic. Differently, I really liked the Constantine comics, but I also really liked the movie (yeah, sue me) because it was an entirely different take on Constantine while still keeping the spirit alive. Yet again, I liked Watchmen BECAUSE it was so close to the comic (again, Alan Moore can bite the fucking dust), while I really didn’t like the Sin City movie cause it was so close to the comic (which I’m fond of) and I didn’t like how the characters and story conveyed across the media! I may just be freaking fickle and hypocritical as all hell (in fact, I pretty sure I am), but there are broken fanbases over ALL the comic books and the movies I’ve mentioned. Comic book movies are just that variable depending on who is watching them and how they are made! There will always be clashes in opinion over comic book movies because both comics and movies are similar in that they use visual portrayal to convey the story, and you will rarely find a fan base who is happy with the interchange between the two with a common story.

I’ve read some of the comic, Scott Pilgrim, but haven’t seen the movie yet. I’m gonna try to judge it on its own merits, but if someone hears about an axe being thrown through a movie screen in Australia, that will probably be me (most likely… either me or the evil scizzor monster that lives in my closet. He really likes his axes for some reason (which is strange because he has no shortage of scizzors…)).

Anyway, great review, nice analysis and philosophical interpretation and deduction on the character and story premise.

P.S I’ve said it once, I’m gonna say it again, the Expendables was okay. Loved the action sequences, but the plot and characters were… er, a little confused. I kinda felt like I skipped the movie where these characters were introduced.

P.P.S Keiran Culkin is actually a good actor (I know! shock! Horror!)

Ah, it seems that we have an interdimensional traveler from the world where Spoony didn’t start out as a ranting video game reviewer. Fascinating.

I know how you feel about Seth Rogan. I feel the same way about Jonah Hill

I died a little inside when I saw the poster for Gulliver’s Travels

Well when I wrote that I was lining up my sights and taking aim. Spoony’s hostility in the opening of the review set the mood and triggered some latent hate. If it hit home it must’ve worked. It’s been said before by Noah that TSE fans have a reputation for being assholes and I think his viscous snark plays a role in attracting such folks, eg yours truly. You must be thinking of your “everything I do must be indie” friends cause I, like Spoony, will brag as loudly and shamelessly about my love of Ace Ventura 2 and Cool Runnings as quickly as I would an Antonioni or Tarkovsky flick.

I’ve always felt Shaun of the Dead did a disservice to the British popular conception in America. That their American centric cultural references border on the self loathing – a thick case of “cultural cringe” if you really want to be pretentious. For my part Horizon BBC documentaries are my favorite non fiction programing today, I grew up with MrBean and the Monty Python sketch shows on cable, I saw Layer Cake and Sexy Beast again recently (unapologetically British much), the Red Riding Trilogy is the best cinematic experience I’ve had in 2010. I enjoy watching Benny Hill and Fawlty Towers for the cultural curio factor (if one looks for it they can serve as documentaries of culture/time/place and I’m a glutton for those details) as much as for the comedy. I’ve seen much of the Black Books series, a dozen English standup acts. I (an American) continue to look up to British natural dialog and wordplay as a child looks up to an adult. Lastly, your reply to my first dirge was just utterly wrong in your indier-than-thou pigeonholing. You get pissed off by Americans mocking British accents? You don’t see your arrogance in saying we’re not allowed to mock you since we “don’t understand your humour” and can’t “judge how ‘British’ something is”? My hate for SotD is that it’s not as authentically British as it ought to have been, and that they used the wider audience from post-SotD-popularity to follow up with something so British as to be inaccessible, and IMO just a bad movie on its own merits.

I gakking love this movie. I really wasn’t expecting much but I was really blown away. The characters were great and the humor spot on. The subtly was fantastic as well. I was shocked how near the end I really cared how it would all be resolved. It has been a long while since a movie made me care about characters and the plot. I pretty much agree with everything Spoony said so I won’t prattle on. Everyone should see this movie though, help its box office, people!

Alan Moore seems to be going the way of Frank Miller. The guy wrote Sin City and, you know, I liked that, but EVERY comic he’s done since (or at least the ones I’ve seen) are taking that same premise, similar characters, and the same damn story and running it into the ground. Badly. I mean, Alan Moore has always been a better writer than Frank Miller, but since watchmen, which was the best he’s ever done, he’s been going the same way. EVERY comic book author has been trying to cash in on the idea of ‘deconstructing the superhero.’ And all they’re really doing is mixing a melodramatic soap opera plot in with a superhero story. And it gets REALLY bad when they take established characters and then simply destroy them in a completely out-of-character way just to justify a ‘deconstruction’! A while back I was actually watching one of Linkara’s reviews on “JLA -act of god” where the writer(s) tried to do this. He burnt the comic.

But anyway, I think it’s true that if you’re going to adapt a story whether it be a comic book or just a novel, you HAVE to love or at the very least respect the subject matter. If you can’t understand and devote yourself to what you’re trying to adapt, all you’ll ever get is a superficial impression that may bare a passing resemblance to the original source, but if you dig into it, has no depth and no real life. And yes, then you get resident evil.

Oh god. Resident evil.

I may just go bang my head against something very hard. Like a wall. Either that or I need to find someone that can invent a machine that can erase certain undesirable memories.

Maybe because he’s not 14?

True that AFTER Watchman their have been a plague of his lesser indie graphic novels that weren’t so impactful or well done to say the least, but your saying it like that’s the only recent hit he’s ever done. Try reading Lost Girls, if child-porn doesn’t stir your stomach.

Damn, I haven’t seen BTLC in so long… may have to bust out the vcr for that one this weekend!

I’m glad you like Scott Pilgrim :) it’s coming out in the UK soon and I can’t wait to see it!

Buuuuut, I have to disagree with you when it comes to The Expendables! I had so much fun watching this movie, it was brilliant! Technical shit and other things I don’t understand aside, it was a good movie! As soon as you mentioned how badly shot it was I was just like, ohhh you snob ;p

SotD not authentically British? Well in that it draws a lot of inspiration from the chiefly American-driven zombie movie genre, perhaps, but I considered it a skillful transplant of that very American concept of the zombie apocalypse to a British urban setting. In Dawn of the Dead the mall is the obvious hideout in Shaun it’s the pub.

The idea of British authenticity is an odd one seeing as we’re a very transatlantic culture these days anyway and aside from some very glaring differences our pop-culture is very similar, I’d say a good 40% of British TV are American shows and movies and so what you’re seeing is Shaun is damn close to Greater London urban life. Half the point of the film is that London might as well be populated by zombies for all the difference it would make to how people trudge dully through the urban sprawl anyway..

You seem to appreciate a wide range of UK shows but I don’t suppose you’ve ever seen an episode of Midsomer Murders? If so you may understand half the humour behind Hot Fuzz: combining a mystery show about genteel murder in some vague middle-England rural county with US-style police action movies. The Sandford of HF is no more Authentically British than the setting of Shaun of the Dead but it captures an idea of how England is portrayed in TV fiction and, to a British audience, that’s an important part of the satire.

Some groups label themselves and others are labeled….I think they got that title because they wear an amalgam of other people’s stuff and they seem to be distant from the things they like AND they don’t like being labled, so other groups just called them “hipsters” and the name stuck*. There may be a load of subcultures in America that go nameless because none of the people in the subculture want to live up (or live down) some title.

______________________________________________________________________
* Wikipedia claims the opposite; that the first 1990s hipsters (the term had been used for jazz fans in the 1940s) openly called themselves that, but it seems to earnest for the hipsters I’ve known.

Ok. Gotta see this movie when it comes out in Finland. I checked out the trailers and this seem to kick ass :)

..alright, I saw the movie. 48 hours ago I hated the first half of the first book, I hated Cera and this movie was cemented to me as just shit… and now I not only really liked it but I even feel that Cera has grown as an actor and that this movie has a deeper lesson about romance and treating others than most serious movies and it does it without beating you over the head with it. Last slice-of-life movie i saw was Adventureland, only because those commercials made it seem more like a comedy, and that movie was not only way more hipster-fuel than SP but the final resolution to the dilemma was so stupid. I really can’t believe a movie where Cera swings around a flaming sword and makes bad guys explode into money felt that grounded and real in it’s characters

Hahaha I’m just busting your balls man. Reccoact can attest to the sarcastic sense of humor.

Ok as much as I love your work Spoony, I’m going to have to disagree on every area you showed. To me the book was nothing more than just a webcomic that made it big, kind of like Megatokyo, only Megatokyo was far superior and it actually is still going, whereas Scott Pilgrim just kind of stopped after 5 and really hasn’t gotten around to doing the last book. Second, Michael Cera I kind of like in this movie, he’s playing the slacker kind of guy because he’s typecast as it, and really could you see him doing Hamlet any time soon? The movie itself was kind of funny, but other than that I got really bored with it, I saw all the in jokes, the video game references and the first thing I thought was “Gee, I wish I were reading Penny Arcade right now.” That’s it. But I found it hilarious that you are doing the exact same kind of thing with the relationships that the Twi-Hards are trying to explain to everyone for Edward/Jacob/Bella. All the things you praised about the love story in Scott Pilgrim, you tore into in your Twilight reviews for being pretentious and dumb. That is pretty hilarious. However I thought the love story was pretty weak, but the action and (some) jokes made me stay. Overall I’d give it a solid 6/10, not really in love with the movie, but I’d watch it again on tv while waiting for something else.

Why is everybody saying it’s a flop? Highly rated everywhere… even Rottentomatoes, where the reviewers are rarely 14 years old kids. It’s not so much of a flop, it just seems like it is because of the premise and what it’s based on, also because of the reputation of the previous movies of the genre.

I haven’t seen the movie, I LOVE THE GAME… so I’ll probably watch it.

It’s a flop because it finished 5th place over the weekend, beat out by two films that have been out for a few weeks to a month. Critically it is stellar, but financially it is by definition a flop.

Unless of course the word of mouth spreads and it fights it’s way back to number one this weekend or the next, a la How To Train Your Dragon.

The DVD I have only has craptastic features. Not that I care because I only got it for the movie, but there’s no deleted scenes or anything. There’s just a commentary with Carpenter and Kurt.

OH MY GOD THIS IS THE GREATEST MOVIE I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!!!

I love Kurt Russell. Dude is so alpha, its ridiculous.

Hell, its the only reason I even bothered to watch Death Proof.

Thank you Spoony,thank you!I have already seen this movie,and thoroughly enjoyed it,but I could have never been able to explain it to anyone because it was so in depth.This is why I’m so glad you reviewed it,because this is(if I were to explain it)how I would want to explain Scott Pilgrim. So again,I really loved your review,and I’m ecstatic that you liked Scott Pilgrim v.s. The World as well.

Uh no.., to everything you posted.

“Scott Pilgrim is the most important comic series to be come out in the past fifteen years.”

Well Spoony, can’t say I disagree, but it was nice knowing you.

The joke of Anna Kendrick’s character was that despite being Scott’s younger sister, she is far more mature than he is. Which is also why she calls him little brother.

I think that a lot of this stuff is really good because it is right from the comic, which is a really good comic.

The Amazon.ca joke may be old, and not so funny, but I am glad it’s there, because it is in the comic, and really works there showing how disconnected Scott is.

You’d be surprised. If I recall, BTiLC completely tanked at the Box Office, which is unfortunate because it is an amazing film.

I liked Hot Fuzz, and Shawn of the Dead, but I’m gona give this one a pass, Micheal Cera always comes off as a whiny hipster douchebag, I would go see it if Simon Pegg was in it.

Every movie that Jack Black stars in is another sign of the end times.

The commentary track is fine, but The Coupe De Villes music video…. not so much :D

well, when i said deconstructing the hero, i didn’t really mean “superhero” exclusively. league of extraordinary gentlemen is just turning a bunch of classic novel characters into perverts and degenerates, where as america’s best comics is turning a bunch of pulp characters into perverts and degenerates. or he writes original stories like lost girls…about perverts and degenerates. that’s really the unifying theme i guess. alan isn’t about deconstruction as much as he just has a burning psychologicial need to write about perverts and degenerates

and let me clarify, i said “dark knight returns” not “dark knight strikes again’ there’s a HUGE difference. and since you mention linkara;s review i have to assume you are confusing the two, because even he, with his hatred of miller admits that “returns” is good. and i stand by my assessment that DKR is better tha v for vendetta because dark knight didn’t act like sominex in print form for me. and btw, i never actually saw the movie, i just was put to sleep by the book. though people (who aren’t obssessed with every little discrepancy between comic and film that can’t except their sacred cow being touched anyway) have told me that the movie moves along a lot faster and is less of a “wah wah wah the world is horrid and there’s no point to anything” crap that seems to permeate through moore’s work. but then, it could just be complete dogshit. it is the wachowski brothers after all, and they think they are just as deep and pretentious as moore does, so it’s a real toss up on who’s the bigger dipshit in that equation

in shot alan moore bores me. i’ve read a fair amount of his stuff, and at the end of the day, he;’s as much a hollow shell of his former self as frank miller has become. and i find him tiresome. i loved the watchmen, i loved the comic, i loved the movie. after that, he kinda lost me. he’s wierd for wierd’s sake and that’s never done anything for me

and hellblazer. again. snooze fest. yeah there was a good line here and there, yeah there were some original concepts on display about the nature of the supernatural, but other than that, it was a 180 some issue sleep aid. and a bummer at that. i’m one of those guys who isn’t impressed by existentialism, deep naval gazing, or whining about the pointlessness of being. i don’t need my comics to be shiny happy flash gordan bullshit, but i just can’t get behind whiny nihilistic comics. if i want to be reminded how much life and the people in is suck and can’t be trusted, i’ll go sit on a park bench and see it for free, i don’t need to spend 4 bucks and issue for that haha

and when i said change has to be for the better, i didn’t mean all change is good, i meant “don’t change it unless you have a better idea” ya know? obviously the changes to steel and catwoman were terrible ideas and should have never happened. but the changes to blade and iron man were not only nice fits, but helped to improve the public consiousness of the characters on a whole. it’s all about how it’s applied

Seriously? How could I miss that? Those are my two favorite bands and I’m I bass player too. Serious fail on my part.

Same thing happened in my theater. My friends and I were seriously going: “How the hell can they make a whole movie happen in an elevator?” A lot of groans and laughter when Shyamalan’s name came up.

No way is Big Trouble his favourite movie, not Spoony the guy who could nitpick Citizen Kane to death. He’s just saying that to deflect all the people who accuse him of being a snob and hating everything. But on the other hand if it’s true all I can say is “he’s a complicated man, no one understands him but his woman.”

Well, no, it isn’t end of story. You haven’t said why.

Now I haven’t seen Spoony’s total review yet, as I just got back from watching it myself and I generally don’t like spoilers, so I can’t comment on his specific points besides saying that I too loved this film, as did my brother. He was laughing so hard at one point (the window/not home bit) that he literally blacked out for a couple of seconds and had to ask me what he had missed. Was the film bizarre? Undoubtedly. Was it geared more for the old school gamers who will actually recognize all the little sound bites and references? At least in part. Not a film for everyone, but for what it was, the film freaking rocked.

You know I probably could really like this movie but I effing HATE Micheal Cera. I don’t know if I can see though the depth of that loathing to appreciate it.

I guess I’ll go over what i liked and disliked about the movie as long as I’m on this website at 5:09 am.
I liked the pop-art feel, the screen direction was great, as far as casting goes this was great. Michael Cera as Scott took some getting used to though, but he did so well that the joke “what’s that one movie where Michael cera plays an awkard teenager?” is no longer valid. It translated well into movie form, keeping the feel of the comics. It did a lot of the jokes well, like the crash and the boys conflict with Wallace. The bolly-wood musical part was great, so good that I would say if it wasn’t done like that it would feel awkward. I disliked the lack of real character development, but that’s just opposed to the development in the comic. A few of the jokes fell flat, like the “I’m in lesbians with you.” one. nega-scott was just a joke rather than a manifestation of Scott’s past dickery. But it was over all solid flick and is a must see for fans of Edgar Wright and comics in general.

Oh, and if you don’t go see it because you dislike Michael Cera you don’t deserve to go anywhere near cinema.

Let me explain to you how I assume this works. This is in his vlog section, which means it’s not technically a part of his official reviews. meaning he’s giving a legitimate run down of something rather than diluting his points with jokes.

Agree, but I also think when ANY net-based critics from TGWTG or elsewhere that we know complain about how ANYTHING comes across as “pretentious” or “hipster” is a seriously hypocritical pot-and-kettle situation.

It’s almost like they don’t like it because its looking into a mirror for them.

I don’t feel he is bitching. He’s stating his opinion on a movie. It’s something that some people whol ike movies like.

Now Spoony, I’m going to throw something at you: given the interpetation of the movie and that there lives will ultimately continue after this movie, does that not mean you could interpet this movie as a tragedy? Not a full tragedy, as no main character dies, but this whole section of his life as a tragedy, where the resolve is only there to bring him one step closer to not being tragic? As being with Ramona is just a step up on the scale of tragic. Also; do you think he realizes this and is predicting the out come of his life, but has finally came to the conclusion that you need to live in the momment, but since he never use to, he can now see that the momment he is living is not exactly good for him, but because of how far behind he was, he realizes he has to go through it to catch up and for the same reason he can see it? As in, in one aspect of maturaty he just grew up so fast that he can completely explain his situation and by doing so will move one step further. I like to compare this to the character of Dr. Manhatten (sp?), actually.

I like to think that this is the perfect example of real life; where depending on the viewer events can be seen as tragic or comic. Think about everything he went through then go watch it again with the mindset this is a tragedy and tell me it isn’t. If you do, all I can say is it’s real life: it’s both tragic and comic, because if it weren’t there would be nothing to learn.

It makes me kinda sad in a way because the comic I have written (still in process of drawing) goes along with this so well that I feel if it ever gets out people will unjustly compare it to this story in the sense of being a rip-off, where it is actually a lot different, just based on the same line, and I can honstly say that, weather you care or not, I never heard of Scott Pilgrim until I was done writing my story, and haven’t read a single issue of the comic. All I can hope is people will see mine for what it really is.

This review showed to me that you truly know what you are talking about to your real audience.

Pretty much actually.

I haven’t seen the movie, but I read the comics.

I never liked how Scott and Ramona seemed to be the heroes of the story but seemed extremely underdeveloped. I was wracking my brain trying to understand the point of it all, because at the end, Scott and Ramona decide to stay together, but because of what we were presented, (how they acted all throughout the books) they don’t really seem to have matured at all, it only led me to believe that they would continue to repeat the same immature mistakes and that they had no real future together or maybe it’s left open ended for people to ponder and discuss.

BUT! Maybe the movie handled the ending differently (as I’ve heard) and they don’t leave it so open ended and they conclude it in a “And so they all matured thanks to the grounded and stable supporting cast.”

I will repeat what Spoony said: If you’re not part of the specific crowd that this was written for, you won’t get it, or like it. Which is fine, you’re entitled to your opinion. But so are other people. Don’t say t connected to other people shallowly just because it wasn’t your thing. If you’re so passionate about your hate that you have to insult people who liked it, please keep your opinions to yourself. I don’t mean to be a dick, I just don’t like people calling me shallow just because I liked something.

I love video games (since the NES days in the 80s) and I was a total 90′s kid. But I still didn’t love this movie. I didn’t hate it. I felt some scenes dragged on a little. It was an okay movie and I don’t regret buying the movie ticket. What I really don’t understand is how people LOVE this movie to death and claiming it to be one of the year’s best. It was a cool flick and had some great visuals, but definitely overrated by the targeted demographic.

Well, ironically enough if you hate those character traits i think you will love the ending but of course the comic books might be more satisfactory since its ending explains a little more about why Knives and Scott didn’t get back together (which seems to be everyones’ big bitch when it comes to the movie ending) but, yes, they start off as shallow people with histories most people would find “offensive” for lack of a better word, however i wouldn’t shun this movie for it.

The ending will satisfy you in that regard, they grow as people and become adults and by the end of the story they come full circle and understand why how they acted was wrong.

The thing that bugs me about this is I feel like I’m the intended audience; A 20 something, anime and retrogaming fan who plays bass guitar. I think I’m about as “specific crowd” as it gets and I still really dislike this film. I also think its unfair for you to say I’m insulting people. Just because I think the film is really shallow doesn’t mean I think you or other people who really liked it are. I just personally felt insulted by its use of video game references and things like that, which felt like a shallow way to appeal to me, and that I was expecting it to be a much deeper experience by the end of it, expectations which it did not hit in my opinion, though it did try.

I am sorry if I misinterpreted what you said. You’re entitled to your opinion, and if you didn’t like it, at least you went to see it, instead of being one of those asshats who says it’s crap before they see it because of Michael Cera. I do suggest reading the books, though, they seem to tell the story better. Also, one thing about the “serious bassist” thing, he isn’t a serious bassist, which is the point.

First off, I am a huge fan of your Spoony. I watch your reviews when I have the time. I do agree that Scott Pilgrim was better than the Expendables. I do agree with the screenplay spot on, it felt like a Scott Pilgrim film. The casting was great, I adored Knives and Wallace (gay roomate) although I do not agree with Micheal Seras playing Scott, that’s just my opinion.

There are some points I have to disagree with you. Wright made a mistake when this movie was being made.

When this movie was being produced, Book 2 from the Scott Pilgrim was released. Originally the director wanted Knives and Scott to be together and he admitted to it. However, when the final book was made, Scott and Ramona end together. Wright had to change it to where he ended being with Ramona.

There was so much the movie could have shown if it was extended. There were some scenes should have been shown such as Kim’s true personality that shined in the graphic novels (book 5). I was not satisfied by Scott’s confrontation with the twins. In a way, the twins didn’t really have a spot with the movie, they had no character development like the other ex boyfriends.

I’m a huge fan of Scott Pilgrim and I love Wright’s work. They are pure genius, but I felt in a way Scott Pilgrim could have been better.

Kung Tai Ted, Spoony

WHO…IS…DEADLIEST?

Find out next week, on THE DEADLIEST WARRIOR!

Frankly I also dread the Green Hornet the reason being that I know they’ll mess it up, I was a fan of Bruce Lee and this comes across as a giant “F*ck you”

Great vid as usual

I LESBIAN SPOONY!!! lol

Bought the Blu-ray when it came out and watched it again, then re-watched Spoony’s vlog on it. Agree with pretty much what Spoony said. Regarding the original ending – since the final book wasn’t out when they were writing the script the original ending was Scott and Knives ending up together (you can see the original footage). However on finding out how the comic ended they had to re-shoot. When Edgar Wright contacted Ellen Wong about the reshoot she said she felt that the original ending didn’t make sense as Knives had realized she was too good for Scott.

And for all those people who refuse to watch a film just because they hate Michael Cera, get over it – you’re missing a great film. He did good in this film and looked good kicking ass – something I’d never expected to see him do.

I did see this movie in theaters but I got it when it came out on DVD. I am so glad I did I loved every minute of it. And you are spot on about the psychology of this movie. I think the reason a lot of people didn’t get this movie is because they over thought and therefore the relatively simple message went over their heads.

Loved this movie, I thought this was easily the least “Cera” of Michael Cera’s performances, and the best Edgar Wright film

In all honesty, I think Seth Rogen is funny in only a different type of roles, such as Superbad, but he shouldn’t be portrayed as a superhero, it doesn’t work. Or maybe he should go back to directing…i dunno…

I can definitely see the Jackie Chan feel in this movie. Remember Matthew Patel’s entrance and he did that thing with his leg? That’s definitely a scene from Jackie’s Drunken Master film (I think that’s what it called. Can’t remember now).

I adored this film, i adored all of it.

and one thing that i want to say is how well the cgi was, it was actually necessary and DIDNT run the plot but was woven in to the plot to create the story and atmosphere they wanted, and after reading the comics (which is the funniest damn thing ive ever read in a comic next to deadpool) they got it spot on!

Edgar Wright is a damn genius

I adored this film, i adored all of it.

and one thing that i want to say is how well the cgi was, it was actually necessary and DIDNT run the plot but was woven in to the plot to create the story and atmosphere they wanted, and after reading the comics (which is the funniest damn thing ive ever read in a comic next to deadpool) they got it spot on!

Edgar Wright is a damn genius

Finally checked out your review. FANTASTIC! And yes, Edgar Wright mentioned in the commentary that he was influenced by Jackie Chan. Damn Noah, you’re good!

Spelled Mortal Kombat with “c”. That’s just wrong.

first time poster. you nailed this completely. I’m very impressed with how right you got it here.

excellent review man!!!!

there is one screw up in this movie I only noticed after watching the DVD a second time. If you watch the back story for Todd ingram Ramona says “I was only with Lucas till the moment Todd walked by” When its actually the opposite the picture showed her with Todd and its lucas Walking by. Minor screw up but I love the film this scene just irked me with the mix up

I got talked into watching The Green Hornet, and MY GOD IT WAS HORRIBLE. Seth is painful to watch.

But about Scott Pilgrim, I hated it and it was painful. Everyone I know loves it, and technically it beautiful. I’ll agree that it started bugging me with the two main characters being unlikable, and what you said about that I’ll buy into. But I still have issues with the actual exs. The stereotypes and flatness made it impossible for me to sympathize with them at all in the movie, and the vegan jokes were just fucking painful. It was really disappointing for me. But I also think that I am probably not in the group of people that the film is marketed to. I’m definitely glad I watch it though.

I actually liked Scott Pilgrim, but not for the characters. Yes, they are brutally honest, but with that true-to-life honesty comes the true-to-life blandness. Even in the manga, there are way too many people to keep track of (again like the real world, thanks Facebook), and a lot of the characters are superficial.
What I liked about this movie is that it represents our generation perfectly, just like the manga. It mirrors our current society all too well, how we notably less mature and less grounded than the generations before us. This is why all the bleepy, bloopy video-game effects from our childhoods were used, and why all of characters are drawn to look so young in the manga.

However, Scot Pilgrim’s mimicry of our generation goes too far, and gets in the way of cohesive, well written story structure. The best example of this are the MANY characters in the story, and how we are constantly updated on their activities, no matter how insignificant. I know this is meant to show how much more socially connected our generation is, but it makes the story so much harder to follow. This inability for the writer to compromise his message hurts his story.

I can’t even give a free pass to the director, who’s job was to copy the comic as closely as he could in movie form, without making it long. The director had the perfect opportunity to cut out all the pointless subplots and characters, but succumbed to the message-over-storytelling trap that the original writer fell into, and gave us a needlessly dense movie.

This problem can get in the way of a lot of moviegoers, and can even come of as pretentious. But it never got bad enough to prevent me from enjoying Scot Pilgrim, in both the manga and the movie.

I couldn’t agree with you more on every single point. Edgar is a living ledgend!

I thought the “point” of Scott Pilgrim, about emotional maturity and self-delusion, comes across more clearly in the graphic novel (manga, comic, whatever). I thought there was a bit of a parody in both media that we are too enamored with these “manic pixie girls” with a lust for life (Ramona) or the “adorkable” guy who can’t catch a break (Scott). These people both are presented that way, but don’t do much to earn that adoration. I thought that’s well done in both, playing with our perceptions and our desire to place people (including ourselves, like Scott does) in idyllic, be they heroic, funny, or beautiful, roles.

I enjoyed both the movie and the comic series, but neither quite resonated with me. For me, it was length and the ending. Neither ending fully satisfied me (but really, no good reason for it). I felt the movie was too short to explain certain points, and I felt the comic dragged some things out too much. Just my personal opinion; I still enjoyed both.

As for the Expendables, I was just bored. No pretension, or wanting something “deeper” from a movie that doesn’t intend anything of the sort. I think that what 300 does do well, even though it’s not a great movie IMO, is getting you quickly invested in characters and excited in the “last stand” mentality. The moments in The Expendables where I’m clearly supposed to holler with excitement, for example when one character uses his automatic shotgun to clear a room, I just don’t care.

One thing I did like about the movie was that Jet Li’s character was “too small.” I thought that was a good subversion of the wise, Eastern kung fu is better than a strong, heavy combat pragmatist. It was a little funny, and made Jet Li an underdog to root for, which is an unusual experience.

I thought the “point” of Scott Pilgrim, about emotional maturity and self-delusion, comes across more clearly in the graphic novel (manga, comic, whatever). I thought there was a bit of a parody in both media that we are too enamored with these “manic pixie girls” with a lust for life (Ramona) or the “adorkable” guy who can’t catch a break (Scott). These people both are presented that way, but don’t do much to earn that adoration. I thought that’s well done in both, playing with our perceptions and our desire to place people (including ourselves, like Scott does) in idyllic, be they heroic, funny, or beautiful, roles.

I enjoyed both the movie and the comic series, but neither quite resonated with me. For me, it was length and the ending. Neither ending fully satisfied me (but really, no good reason for it). I felt the movie was too short to explain certain points, and I felt the comic dragged some things out too much. Just my personal opinion; I still enjoyed both.

As for the Expendables, I was just bored. No pretension, or wanting something “deeper” from a movie that doesn’t intend anything of the sort. I think that what 300 does do well, even though it’s not a great movie IMO, is getting you quickly invested in characters and excited in the “last stand” mentality. The moments in The Expendables where I’m clearly supposed to holler with excitement, for example when one character uses his automatic shotgun to clear a room, I just don’t care.

One thing I did like about the movie was that Jet Li’s character was “too small.” I thought that was a good subversion of the wise, Eastern kung fu is better than a strong, heavy combat pragmatist. It was a little funny, and made Jet Li an underdog to root for, which is an unusual experience.

LOVED Scott Pilgrim, and thought it kind of was defining our generation.

Can anyone tell me what software I need to play this video in Internet Explorer 9? All I see is a blank white screen with the QuickTime logo.

Last September, I went to stay with some of my geeky friends
and they told me how awesome this franchise is and how I should check it out. I
took their advice, watched the film and loved it, then bought it quite cheap
about eight months ago. I showed it to some of my non-geeky friends, one of
whom had seen it and agreed with me about its awesomness. Another didn’t mind
it but a third just couldn’t get into it; I even had to explain how Scott comes
back from the dead. Now granted there are some elements that may confuse people
(I had to quickly explain who Nega Scott was, which I agree wasn’t explained
too well in the film), but I do agree with what Spoony said about it being targeted
at a specific sub culture. From my experience, if you don’t have that interest
in what inspired the comic and film, it’s just not really going to appeal to
you (as Spoony said).

i dont like how they left out so many things from the comics that explain certain things in the movie

I’m inclined to side with you in your opinion of Edgar Wright as the most skilled, most exciting WRITER-DIRECTOR working right now, but I can’t say that he is the best director; not while David Fincher is making movies.