Monday Morning Quarterback Part II
By BOP Staff
October 9, 2013
Matthew Huntley: I know it's a bit of a cliche to say so, but to me Quentin Tarantino fits that description with Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown and Kill Bill (Vol. I and II), and I think it'd be fair to go even further by book-ending that list with Reservoir Dogs and Inglourious Basterds. Not everyone would agree, I know, but he came immediately to mind.
Another cliche, but appropriate choice in my opinion, is Christopher Nolan, who just keeps batting a thousand, and has been ever since Memento. His most obvious string of high-quality hits are Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight and Inception. And yes, I would throw The Dark Knight Rises onto the end as well.
Felix Quinonez: I'm a little torn about this question. I get the feeling that it's equating "high quality" with good reviews. Although I think there is some merit to that approach there have been plenty of times when I didn't agree with the consensus from critics. There have also been some movies that have been trashed but then are appreciated later on, even by some of the same critics who initially dismissed it. The reason I point that out is because I get the feeling my first choice might not be something a lot of people will agree with.
Anyways, I think Bryan Singer had a similar string of high quality films with X-Men, X2, and yes...Superman Returns. With X-Men, Bryan Singer helped kick off this comic book movie renaissance that we're still enjoying and hopefully never ends. He took back the superhero movies from the dayglo, high camp, low brains ghetto that killed the Batman franchise and put many people off superhero movies. He treated the source material with respect and proved that these movies could be blockbusters. He gave us an awesome Wolverine and even influenced the source material itself. Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men had the team sporting black leather suits that were influenced by Singer's take. X2 upped the ante without losing any of the brains or heart. I still think that Nightcrawler opening is as awesome as the first time I saw it on opening day.
And I know Superman Returns is a divisive movie but I absolutely love it, even more so after seeing Man of Steel. I know there were a lot of complaints but I think the biggest one was that it didn't have a lot of action. But complaining about a movie just because it doesn't have enough action is like dismissing it because you didn't like the ending. What about everything else? And Superman Returns has a lot more. Superman Returns managed to be new and still reverential to the past films. It made him relatable. He might have all this power but the world still survived without him. While he was gone everyone essentially forgot about him and that’s a big part of the movie - his quest to find his place in the world. And we can all relate to that. Plus it was bold enough to re-imagine Superman as a sort of divine character. He didn't just come to earth; his father sent his only son to save humanity. He is a Christ-like figure who hears everyone crying out for a savior. The movie also had great performances by everyone…except Kate Bosworth. And the score was great, especially in the scene when Superman flies away after he overhears Lois say that she never loved him.
I think that Superman Returns shines because it wasn't just an action movie. It was moving and sad but also really entertaining...OK, I'll stop now.
Another director I would put in is Christopher Nolan. The only movie of his I would even hesitate to include is Insomnia. I would also put Guillermo del Toro. Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy 2. Steven Spielberg. Too many to name and like David, I loved AI. But for the sake of the argument. Consecutively there was Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, and Temple of Doom.
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