Futures Market, Part 3

We began last time with a recap so eloquent, so succinct, we would refer you there rather than go through it again. Do not think us lazy: we only want what's best for you.

Babylon A.D. (Aug. 29, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 75%
Vin Deasel (iD&Di: 1.0) once deterred us from seeing a film, but that was before he won our hearts with The Chronicles of Riddick. Now, at the very least, we take notice when he's in a science fiction film. What else is there to say about this movie? Not a great deal, I'm afraid: very little is known. If it can cross the 75% mark, and if we hear it's amusing, we might just go see one final film at the end of summer. Assuming we can still afford to do so.

The Fall (May 9, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 80%
Every now and then the geek and the artistic align. It has, we suppose, something to do with astronomy. A year and a half ago this occurred and Pan's Labyrinth was the result. It was at once a dramatic work of art and a movie for those of us with less conventional tastes. Judging from its trailer, this may be occurring again. We set a high bar for movies such as this, and even then we tend to miss them in the excitement (it comes out, after all, on the same day as Speed Racer). But if the reviews are positive enough, and if we remember, we might just go see this one after all.

Wanted (June 27, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 75%
Their are casualties in summers like this, movies we might otherwise see but will almost certainly miss. I sense Wanted is likely to be one of those movies. It is based on a comic book, though not one we've read. It looks good and is said to be good, but many other movies look so much better. Neither the property nor its original author, Mark Miller (iD&Di: .70), are enough in and of themselves to get us to the theater, and, while certainly intriguing, there are many other options that will be available. Still, if the weather's hot enough and the right reviews are positive enough, we could end up sitting in an air-conditioned theater around June 27th after all.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe (July 25, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 80%
I want to want to see this movie. We are children of nineties here, and science fiction in the nineties, to some extent, was driven by these films. Paranoia and paranormal defined our generation, and we can't hear that music without reminiscing at least a little. Yet... those days have passed. As good as the show was in its heyday, it went downhill at the end. While we once charged to the TV screen every week, we ended up catching it only on occasion. Will we see this in the theater? Probably not. But as the original show taught us so well, anything is possible.

Well, there you have it. Every movie of the summer worth seeing. Except, of course, for that one we missed. Yes, there's always at least one that slips by us somehow, that we don't even know about until it's out. But, however things play out, this promises to be an entertaining, though expensive, year.

We'll see you in line for Iron Man, dear reader. It opens in just a few days....

Futures Market, Part 2

First, a quick recap:

As we anticipate seeing no fewer than 3D4 movies this summer, even a modest roll will surely tax our wallets. Given such a predicament, we found ourselves needing a metric to determine which movies would receive our money.

Since economics got us into this problem, we reasoned it should bare the burden of getting us out. As such, we've used the Futures Market as a model to build our own system of determining which films we would see.
Based on our initial interest, we've assigned each movie a minimum grade it will need on Rotten Tomatoes before we will consider handing over our hard earned funds. In a perfect world, of course, we would assign all movies the same minimum level. But the world is far from fair: like the first-level fighter whose highest attribute is fifteen, we must all accept the rolls fate has given us.

Without further ado, let us return to work. There are many more films than what we've covered thus far.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (May 16, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 55%
Our feelings about Narnia are complex. While fantasy is a genre we love as much as superheroes, that love does not necessarily extend to C.S. Lewis. We were underwhelmed by The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, though we enjoyed parts of it. So why is our bar set so low? Because this movie contains talking mice with swords. What's more, the leader of said swordsmice is voiced by Eddie Izzard (iD&Di: .49). This may be a deliberate attempt to win us over, dear reader: it will most likely succeed.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (July 11, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 20%
It was recently confirmed that Guillermo del Toro (iD&Di: .63) will be directing The Hobbit. That alone is reason enough to head to the theater. On top of that, we love the comics, the last movie, and every other film we've seen by this director. Is it conceivable we'll miss this? With the number of movies coming this summer, anything is possible. But it is far from likely.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (May 22, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 70%
Yes, you've read that right. We fully expect to see this movie, but only because we expect it to live up to expectations. If that isn't the case, we may need to stay home.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Aug. 8, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 50% - 80% (see below)
Some things are not so clear-cut. We in The Middle Room are a rare breed: the type who enjoy The Mummy, its sequel, and even The Scorpion King. We realize, however, that few share our opinions on this matter. Because of this, we expect the Tomatometer may not accurately gage this film's appeal to us. Why this movie receives negative reviews will be more important than the reviews themselves. We'll be weighing word of mouth and a few choice critics above anything else. Should the movie be received positively... that's a bridge will just have to approach when the time comes.

WALL*E (June 27, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: NA
We are going to see this movie.

Well, we hope that was educational and that you, too will be able to utilize economics in your own day-to-day decisions. Our look at this summer's movies is now at - wait... there's more. How can there be more? That's almost a dozen films considered already: summer is only four months long.

Oh, well. More on the way. I'm going to need a second job....

Futures Market, Part 1

Like an asteroid on an unstoppable collision course, summer draws ever nearer, ever closer. We in The Middle Room have been trying to remember a year which filled us at once with such hope and such dread.

There are many movies about to be unleashed upon us this year, and already our wallets grow thin. On top of everything else, we have recently been reminded there are other expenses on the horizon, as well.

There are more than a dozen films coming between May 1 and August 31 which have caught our eye, and yet... with ticket prices as high as they are, it seems unlikely we will be able to justify seeing them all. With that in mind, we have turned to economics, to the market, to try and construct a system capable of helping us make what promise to be very difficult choices.

But the market alone is not enough. As much as we're weary of their methods, there are times we must turn to the critics for help.

Merging the worlds of the stock market and film criticism, we have created developed a system incorporating the wisdom of economics with the fluctuations of critical response. We shall set a target price, and should that price be reached, we will most likely go see the film in question.

Only we can't use "prices" per se. We require a system quantifying critical response. Fortunately, such a system already exists.

We turn to Rotten Tomatoes. We shall set a percent, and if that metric is met once twenty critics or more have weighed in, we will hand over our hard-earned money. Probably.

Let us consider some films set to be released:

The Dark Knight (July 18, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 20%
It is difficult to image a Batman movie we wouldn't go see (unless, of course Schumacher were to direct once more). If the reaction were truly awful, we can imagine waiting for the DVD, but even in such a situation we would most likely go to see it for ourselves. After all, it is Batman.

The Incredible Hulk (June 13, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 40%
Really, most any superhero film is given the benefit of the doubt. We did, after all, go see League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in the theater. Twice. It is highly unlikely we won't see The Incredible Hulk at least once. Unless, that is, our money is gone and the reviews leave us so indifferent we decide to skip it. On any other year, I would describe this as an impossibility, but there are so many films between now and then, that many things are up in the air.

Iron Man (May 2, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 40%
Iron Man, as a character, does not make the list of our top 50 favorite superheroes. To be fair, ours is a long list, and many deserving characters don't appear for several hundred spots. In fact, if we knew nothing more about the film, we might demand Iron Man be backed by 50% or 60% of critics before agreeing to see it. But we know much about this film, and all that we know is promising. Who are we kidding? We'll probably see this before we so much as glance at Rotten Tomatoes.

Kung Fu Panda (June 6, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 80%
Kung Fu Panda has enjoyed a great deal of positive publicity, and it has caught our attention. But we are cautious of computer generated movies which are not made by Pixar. We have been hurt before. Were WALL*E not coming out as well, we would be more forgiving. As it is, we demand justification for our expense. Should 80% of critics agree it is warranted, however, we expect we'll find our way to the theater.

Speed Racer (May 9, 2008)
Minimum Tomatometer: 45%
We are not huge fans of the original program, but we respect history. Likewise, while having mixed opinions of the Wachowski brothers' (iD&Di: .78 and .79, respectively) previous work, they have seldom disappointed when it came to spectacle. The colors and images in the previews alone count for more than fifty percent of critics alive. If the other half don't at least find it interesting, however, it is possible (however unlikely) we may save our money.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Aug. 15, 2008)

Minimum Tomatometer: 55%

We spent no small amount of time considering this. On one hand, it is Star Wars, and for all that has come before, the brand still carries a great deal of weight. On the other hand, this was created as episodes of a television show then moved to the big screen for money and publicity. That isn't as much a deterrent as you might think, but we it does call for a higher bar than we might otherwise set.

Let it not be said that we lack standards. If these movies fail to reach the levels above, they will not add our money to their coffers. Unless, of course, the previews look really good. Or someone recommends them.

Or we just happen to change our mind. We in The Middle Room are notoriously unpredictable.

Join us next time when we consider several more films awaiting release this summer. Even if the critics are feeling less than generous, this is destined to be a long and expensive season.

Fallibility

The Middle Room prides itself on being respectful of religious differences. However, as we recently discussed, our charity has a limit. Let us repeat, once more, the most important rule for those wishing to keep our friendship:

Unless you are an established super-villain, you do NOT mess with our superheroes.

Today, bright and early at 9:30 AM, we rushed from our beds and turned on our televisions to watch the Spectacular Spider-man on the CW. What we saw shocked and horrified us. No webslinger graced our set, no super-villain attack, or anything of the like.

Just coverage. Live news coverage. Of Pope Benedict XVI (iD&Di: .04). He's holding mass, and the CW, along with every other television station in New York City, feels the need to cover it live, complete with commentary analyzing each action and scheduling decision as though this were a sporting event.

We should not have been surprised. The last few days have been nearly round the clock coverage of the Pope: where he's going and what he's doing, analysis of his papal style, and speculation on what he'll say. We appreciate the importance behind this one man, and until now have viewed the whole thing in good humor.

But that all changed today at 9:30 AM when Spider-man was bumped for more coverage. As we said, we have nothing but respect for the Pope. But - let us be honest here - he is no Spider-man. When has the Pope fought Electro? When has he wrestled with the Lizard to redeem Dr. Connors? There can be no comparison: Spider-man is a true hero, and deserves better than this oversight.

We ask you, in all seriousness, which of these two men has done more for New York City?

Which leads us to ask: who do we blame for this outrage? Is it the Pope's fault? No, in truth, he is only doing as he has ever done.

We in The Middle Room believe we know. The fault, of course, lies with the CW. Frankly, they have forgotten their origins and abandoned their responsibilities: oh, yes fans of Spider-man know something of responsibility. There were many other stations covering this, some of which, unlike the CW, have reputations as news outlets. There was no need for them to join in. There was no need for any of this.

We do not expect much from the CW, but we expect to be able to watch our Saturday morning cartoons at the arranged hour. This is a disappointment, to say the least.

Dangerous Times

Yesterday we discussed the possibility that Ghost in the Shell could be remade as a live-action American picture.
Were this not part of a larger trend, our discussion would have ended there. But this is far from an isolated incident. Beginning with the release of Speed Racer next month, we will soon be bombarded by remakes and revisions of Japanese animation and manga. Some, we expect, will be good, some will most likely be bad, and others... well... we have no idea what to expect.

(As a side note, we are well aware that the cartoon The Last Airbender is not based on is not true anime. But it's close enough).

What to make of this coming wave? Well, we do not concern ourselves with trivial fears that the movies may be awful. Other properties have faced far worse, dear reader, and lived to tell the tale.

What worries us is science. We in The Middle Room know evolutionary theory well, and we are aware what can occur when two species compete to occupy the same niche.

Our normally friendly attitude towards anime dramatically shifts as soon as our superheroes are threatened.

This attitude may strike some as paranoid, but we have seen genres fall before. What became of the action films of the 90's when superhero films became the norm? I ask you, where is Jean-Claude Van Damme (iD&Di: .19) now?

Superheroes are now the rage. They are the chosen property, and they seem truly invulnerable. But the public is fickle and films are expensive. It would not take much to cause producers to shift their money to a new trend.
Certainly the superhero genre will not die out entirely, but it could easily fade to a shadow of its current glory should the best filmmakers abandon it.

James Cameron (iD&Di: .30) and Steven Spielberg (iD&Di: .47) have already cast their ballots. How many will follow?

We truly hope there is room enough at the theaters for both genres. We hope that both are able to flourish and provide the Geeks of the world, both those within The Middle Room and those beyond, with a banquet of diverse films. But we are not optimists here: we have thrown enough dice to know the old adage holds true: for every twenty, there is a one.

And the icosahedron is always turning.

Hatched

Ghost in the Shell is not our favorite work from Japan: that honor rests with the even stranger Serial Experiments: Lain.
But Ghost in the Shell would certainly rate in our top five. It is a work of visual beauty and philosophical depth. It avoids the more comical aspects of its genre, developing and maintaining a start tone reminiscent of Blade Runner. Indeed, it owes much to the work of Phillip K. Dick.

And now, for better or worse, it may be remade as a live-action motion picture.

Intellectually, this strikes us as a poor idea. The spectacle of the piece could just as easily be drawn from a hundred other sources, while the ideas and tone which make it stand out will be difficult to capture. Even if the result is successful, it is hard to image it as anything more than a facsimile of the original: thematically appropriate, perhaps, but not particularly advantageous to viewers already familiar with the story.

Yet emotionally we find ourselves excited by this announcement. There is little to explain this reaction rationally, but there it is nonetheless. We fully expect to be disappointed by the final product, and yet, until that occurs, we will await it eagerly.

Required Reading

Here in The Middle Room we tend to overlook intelligent reflections on religion. It isn't that we find such things dull: nothing could be further from the truth. It is only that such quandaries can distract us from our mission: to seek out new comics and new films, and boldly roll where no man has rolled before.

Ours is a study of Geek, and if we forget that, we risk losing our path.

But to consider today's discussion we do not need to leave the road. This one is on the way. Gabriel McKee's observations rate among the most intelligent we can remember reading on the subject of science and religion. That they are rooted in science fiction makes them all the more enticing. His comments are brief and elegant, reminding us that the battle between religion and science is often waged by less subtle forces. His indictment of fundamentalism accomplishes more in a couple sentences than most writers could accomplish in an entire book:

Religion, in fact, does not inherently believe that it knows the full and complete truth. The best theology, from Plato to Augustine to Alfred North Whitehead, depends on speculation, thought experiments, and best-guesses; the biggest crime of fundamentalism is its theological laziness.

Of course, no less would be expected from Gabriel McKee, whose recent work, The Gospel According to Science Fiction, belongs on the bookshelf of every self-respecting geek on Earth. Perhaps beyond.

So take a minute off from work to glance through his posts. If your boss yells at you, just say he's oppressing your freedom of religion.