#JokerLeto, I'm Not Sure I Can Dig You (Alternate Title: Joker or Juggalo?)

When it comes to early looks at various elements of production design for movies, I try to be a "wait and see" kind of guy.  So many things can change and some things wind up looking a lot better on the screen than expected.  Hell, sometimes images leak or get thrown out there and shit that looks really dope comes across as totally lackluster when the movie finally arrives.  Having said all that, and with my Bat bias* thrown to the wayside, I'm not feeling it.  You know what?  I think Jack was the best, and I've got Cesar Romero higher on my list than you guys do.  Yet I'm not some crusty old dude who hates the new stuff.  I didn't hate the idea of Ledger in the role like many of you did.  I thought he would make it work.  I didn't dislike the initial images that I saw of him in character.  Can you say likewise?  But--you knew it was coming--I have to be honest here, kids, I'm not feeling this shit. 

Please let the joke be on us.  Get rid of the grill and the tats and maybe we can talk.  Until then, it's just not happening for me.  Now, I'm still buying Leto.  I think he's talented enough to make it work if they trot him out there looking like Ronald McDonald and have him rap with the Fresh Prince over the opening credits.  He'll kill it, I'm putting money on it, but the production team doesn't have to make it hard for him.  Personally, the tats just don't do it for me, but some of these are downright ridiculous.  The "J" tear?  Do what?  The smile?  The "HaHaHa" tats?  "Damaged" on his forehead?  Are you dead fucking serious right now?  He looks more like some Joker-obsessed scene-kid than the Joker himself.   

I'm seriously hoping that this is a trial run and not a finished product.  I'd rather not see the Joker covered in tats, but it might work better with tats that weren't so self-referential and dopey.  And let's drop the grill.  Come on.  I look at this, and I imagine the production team trying different things out while some dude with a lot of influence kept saying "It's getting better, but we still need more Flavor Flav."  Like I said earlier, I'm still down with Leto in the part, but I'm asking nicely: can we please avoid saddling him with a silly look? Yeah, it will generate a lot of short-term buzz, but it will probably yield a lot of long-term "we shit the character design bed" guilt as well.

*Honestly, I'm a comics guy, so it's not like I hate Batman or anything.  He's a cool character and he has a nice rogues gallery.  Some of you motherfuckers, though, wow.  The craziest and goofiest Spider-Man fan on the planet is a very normal cat when compared to roughly 40% of Batman aficionados.  Those dudes who are always ready and willing to tell you at length about how Batman could defeat _________** with enough time to prepare give the rest of us comic book lovers a bad name.

**Just fill in the blank.  It could be another comic book character.  It could be Godzilla.  It could be a black hole, an earthquake, . . . it doesn't matter.  These people and their Batman worship will never bow to reason.

"Jimmy's right, I did it better--and I didn't even shave my moustache!"

Short Attention Span Review: I Am Legend (2007)

Right off the bat, I want to say that I'm a huge fan of the Richard Matheson novel that this movie is based on.  The book is an absolute classic and you can check out a "Top Vampire Movies and Books" piece I did for RVA Magazine here for more on it.  Suffice it to say that it's a work of fiction that I hold so near and dear to my heart that I shied away from this Will Smith vehicle for quite some time.  Of course, I'm actually a big fan of Charlton Heston's The Omega Man from 1971 (also based on the book, and also a very loose interpretation of the material) as well as the more faithful (but cheaply made) Vincent Price version entitled The Last Man on Earth from 1964, so I couldn't avoid the most recent attempt at bringing this tale to screen forever.  And you know what?  I liked it.  I honestly think it was probably a better picture than either of the previous versions to grace the silver screen, but I still favor The Omega Man.  Will Smith does an awesome job in the 2007 version, but he's not quite in Heston's league.  Smith is modern cinematic royalty, and it's close, but Heston was one of best ever and I preferred his take on the character of Robert Neville.  Anyway, this most recent version of the film exchanges Matheson's vampires for CGI mutants with a powerful thirst for blood and Spider-Man's ability to run, jump, and climb walls.  The CGI can be a little problematic, but the powerful (and heartbreaking) tale of Sam the heroic dog offsets any shortcomings so far as the effects are concerned.  The plot zips along at a nifty pace and there are several rousing action scenes in the mix.  There's also a compelling story and a worthy conclusion--a pair of them actually, as I thought the alternate ending featured on the Blu-Ray I watched was equally potent.  Legendary?  I think not, but definitely worth a watch.  Just be sure to dig up a copy of The Omega Man if you like what you see.

Final Grade: B