[LNH] Deja Dude / Master Blaster Special #10

[Tom Russell]

It's hard to review a review series.  So, instead of the usually
literary commentary, I'll just make commentary on Martin's commentary.


Martin Phipps wrote:
> Deja Dude / Master Blaster Special #10

> everybody can relate to.  Hell, some people would even
> question my OWN preferences and say I was sick."
>   "Um, Dude," Master Blaster said, "you like watching
> lesbians take a pee together."

I guess whether or not it could be considered sick would depend where
the lesbians were located spatially in relation to one another, and the
trajectory of the urine.

>   "Maybe," Master Blaster said, "but Dark Pheonix was
> freakin' lame!  Where were the fire effects?"

I've only seen the first X-Men movie; frankly, I outgrew the X-Men (and
Claremont) several years back.  Still, I haven't heard that many good
things about it.

>   "Well, most people watching the movie wouldn't have
> expected Jean Grey to catch on fire and might ahve
> been confused if she had.  But Jean Grey's red hair
> did look like a halo of fire when it was lit from
> behind."

The question of adaptation is a tricky one.  I know someone who was
very upset that the Juggernaut was not Prof. X's brother in the movie.
And, really, I think that's a nittling concern: the crystal gem of
Whatever is too much to slip unassumingly into an ensemble movie.

It's the same thing with the Dark Phoenix Outer Space Death Story
Suicide Extravaganza: there's no way you're going to introduce the
Shiar and the Imperial Guard and the Blue Area of the moon and not lose
hundreds of people.

The thing that counts is, for me, is the adaptation faithful in spirit
to the source material?  For example, I can buy that Peter Parker has
organic web-spinners, and that Juggy isn't Prof. X's half-brother, so
long as Peter Parker *is* Peter Parker (at times unlucky, strong sense
of responsibility, anger problems, genuinally moral and heroic) and so
long as Nothing Can Stop The Juggernaut.

>From what I've heard, Jean Grey in the film is Evil, and That's All
There Is To It.  Which really isn't faithful to what is arguably the
only good bit of writing Claremont did in his long career.

(Sorry if I'm getting down on Claremont today, X-Fans: I just reread
his first year writing the Fantastic Four, in which the FF gets roped
into old X-Calibur and X-Men subplots.  I'm more of an FF-fan in theory
than in practice, but the best way _not_ to write the FF is to have
them fighting the Technet and getting stuck in Genosha.)

>   "I don't watch comic book movies," PC Person said.
>   "You don't?" Master Blaster asked.
>   "Comic books and comic book movies alike glorify
> violence."
>   "So what do you like to watch?" Master Blaster
> asked.
>   "I enjoy the dramas shown on the Hallmark Channel
> and Lifetime."
>   "Ugh!"  Master Blaster pretended to throw up.

Actually, I think THE SILENCE OF ADULTERY is the best work Kate Jackson
has ever done.  It's certainly on par with THE SCARECROW AND MRS. KING.

More seriously, I like the use of PC Person here-- his arguments are
the kind of crock often used to dismiss nerd-movies (splatter, zombies,
superheroes)-- and it's very canny of Martin to point out that the
movies he's levelling these complaints against are actually commenting
on them.

--Tom