when i was a little guy, the only superhero movie to speak of was superman. which was campy, and over the top, but he was an A-lister. no questioning that. there was an unfortunate aspect for me that his nerdy alter ego was a guy named clark, with weird hair, and glasses. all that tied in neatly to who i was, and kids need far less encouragement to be jerks than all that. even though i lacked the ability to bend steel and fly. i still can’t. someday…..

but that was then, and this now. drought and deluge. are superhero fans spoiled now, or has the genre been watered down with return trips to the well? i don’t know, i just feel bad for my nerd brothers who have to accept ben affleck is daredevil and batman, ryan reynolds is green lantern and deadpool. though it makes sense that the people who decide what movies get greenlit, think there are a limited pool of ideas to draw from, and that there is only a few handsome men to play them. it just goes to a lack of creative thinking, and safe investing. i guess people get more scared the higher the budget. we can ill afford another ‘john carter’. 1/3 of a billion dollars, people. right down the ole’ corn chute. thank god that money didn’t go to medical research or something.

why am i bringing all this up? i don’t know. i guess sometimes the fact that disney owns star wars and marvel sticks in my craw some days. it’s kind of like having a monopoly on adult virginity. and anyone over 30 is having the bones of their childhood picked clean, while anyone younger hoping for something original is paying the price. cause there’s no real answer to all this aside from being critical of what you give your money towards, and becoming impervious to people who call you a hater just cause you had a rant over the new robocop having nothing on the original, and i do know how to enjoy myself, Randall!

i’m just kidding, there’s no Randall. i don’t have any friends. but i like to think i just blew the mind of some guy named Randall.

on that subject, here’s a film very much worth your time. it’s….

‘Wild Tales (2014)’

wild talesi loved this movie, partially cause i expected nothing. so, if that’s enough, don’t read on. if not….

it’s spanish, so be prepared to read a little, but you’ve got to paragraph 4 or 5 of my little blurb, so i think you have it in you. it’s dark, funny, well written, well acted and the twists don’t knock you over the head with a sign that says ‘pay attention, something interesting about to happen’. it’s a collection of short stories, which make them perfect little morsels of set up and resolution. it’s a format i appreciate.

since i was already on the subject of money, it cost 3 million to make. so, for 1 john carter, you could get roughly 100 of these films which scored 95 on rotten tomatoes. if you care about that sort of thing. it’s on netflix right now, so enjoy. unless you find the lack of comfortable characters from well worn franchises disconcerting. in which case you can watch the new fantastic 4. it got 9 on rotten tomatoes. which is a lower number. but still, just a number.