When Fan Passion Goes Awry...

It's great to have passion. Intense feelings drive people to set out on missions. Sometimes, those missions are a bit misguided. Take for example, the bat-lash, backlash from Ben Affleck landing the role of Batman. Starting a petition isn't going to change anything, nor should it. The man just won an Oscar for directing "Argo" and has the acting chops to pull off Bruce Wayne/Batman. Unconvinced? Just watch "To the Wonder". It's a beautiful film and he pulls off a whole range of complex emotions with very little dialogue. Besides, "Daredevil" was a long time ago and everyone deserves a second chance.

I still remember the cyber-response to Heath Ledger landing the role of the Joker. It was insane. Some people were terribly ugly about it. They didn't want to give him a chance, instead resorting to hopelessly uncreative insults like "Jokeback Mountain." Never mind the fact that he was hugely talented. Everyone had an opinion and most of them were nasty. As expected, his detractors were silenced by one of the best performances of the year, one that the Academy chose to honor with a tragically posthumous Oscar.

Although I understand the passion that drives movie fans to revolt at casting decisions, I do wonder how that passion could be channeled into something more productive. Is starting a petition really going to do any good? Couldn't that energy be harnessed into writing a book or a script? Go work in the movies if you want to be in control of the creative decisions. The point is, leave Ben Affleck alone. He's more qualified than most of us.

Defending The Lone Ranger: Updated

Photo courtesy of IMP Awards

After seeing The Lone Ranger this weekend, I've come to the following conclusion: It got sacked for no reason other than its big budget and bad press. I'm not saying it's perfect. It's longer than it needs to be and the story gets a bit convoluted. However, that doesn't justify the universal mocking it received when it opened. In fact, I can think of three things that make the movie worthy of a viewing.

First, Armie Hammer deserves to be seen in this iconic role. His transition from bumfuzzled District Attorney to masked outlaw is believable on every level. Not only that, the chemistry between him and Johnny Depp is terrific.

Second, the film is not cluttered with CGI. Sure it's there, but it's not overpowering like it is with other big budget movies. It's more enhancement than anything else. I'll never look at my pet rabbit the same way again.

Third, William Fichtner. I pretty much adore him in everything he does. He's one of the best character actors out there. The brief time he shares with Heath Ledger in that opening sequence of The Dark Knight is one of my all time favorite scenes in any movie. His Butch Cavendish in TLR is every bit as terrifying and charismatic as the Joker.

That said, I think that history will be friendlier to The Lone Ranger than the critics were.

Update: Quentin Tarantino picked TLR as one of his top ten of 2013:

http://www.tarantino.info/2013/10/05/quentin-tarantinos-top-10-films-2013-far/