America Loves Manly Men Not Metrosexual Emos
by Ben Shapiro***UPDATE: Ed. Note: After two years my worst nightmare came true and a post accidentally went up under my name (I have to load them in the system) in error for a long period of time. My apologies to the great Ben Shapiro who is the one and only author of this excellent piece. — JN
I am constantly bemused by the attempt to re-set Superman. The original comics are classic pieces of Americana. The original movie with Christopher Reeve was wonderful in almost every way – the first forty minutes of the original Superman is pure magic. And the movie is true to the comic book sensibility: Superman is conflicted about his identity, and wants to tell Lois the truth, but he’s also supremely powerful and uncompromising about his defense of truth, justice, and the American way.
One of my favorite moments in the movie comes when Superman utters that famous phrase:
Superman: I’m here to fight for truth, justice, and the American way.
Lois: You’re going to end up fighting every elected official in this country.
Superman: I’m sure you don’t really mean that, Lois.
He’s sincere in his belief in America.
Just as importantly, Superman is sincere in his masculinity. He doesn’t wax his chest, he doesn’t whine about having to do his job, and he will literally turn the earth backwards in order to save the woman he loves.
Fast forward thirty years. Now we’re hearing that DC Comics wants to reshape Superman. According to the New York Post, the Man of Steel will now be “a conflicted 20-year-old who’s trying to find his way in the world … He wears hoodies, has smoldering eyes and, as a lanky Clark Kent, wears low-cut pants and hipster skinny ties.” Even more disturbingly, according to CNSNews.com, the new Superman will be an emissary of the international way which presumably will be more in line with multicultural norms and practices. “I was raised in this country. I believe in this country,” Supermetroman will say. “Does it have its flaws? Yes. Does it have its moments of greatness? Yes. Bottom line is, it’s my home and I’ll always carry those values around with me. But if I do what I can do just for the U.S., it’s going to destabilize the whole world. It could even lead to war.”
Yeah, that has best-seller written all-over it.
But that’s the way our culture has been moving in terms of its heroes. Our movie stars are now metrosexual rather than men’s men. John Wayne is out. Jude Law is in.
It’s been a long transition, a transition that began with the androgynous heroes of the 1970s – testosterone-free actors like Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson became pop culture icons, replacing the Errol Flynns and the Marlon Brandos. Now we’ve left androgyny and asexuality behind altogether, and we’re casting men who look like chicks (with the notable exceptions of Christian Bale and Russell Crowe). Slap a wig on Taylor Lautner and you’ve got Lea Michele. Johnny Depp can swishbuckle with the best of them because if he shaves, he looks a good deal like Kiera Knightley.
And yet these so-called stars can’t bring in audiences. Four of Depp’s last five films not involving pirates have underperformed at the box office (the lone exception was Alice In Wonderland, in which Depp played Jack Sparrow with red hair and slightly less coherence). Jude Law hasn’t headlined a hit in his entire career (Sherlock Holmes was Robert Downey Jr.’s show, start-to-finish). Leonardo DiCaprio makes hits because he works with actors directors who are more famous than he is – Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorcese and James Cameron don’t need DiCaprio, he needs them. And that’s not even looking at the worst of the lot: Ashton Kutcher, Robert Pattinson, Hayden Christiansen, to name a few.
This isn’t a rip on any of these men’s acting abilities (except Kutcher, Pattinson, and Christiansen, who suck). They’re all talented, particularly DiCaprio, who hasn’t yet fallen into Depp territory in terms of mannered performance. But Hollywood can’t seem to understand why it isn’t developing stars with actual appeal, even as it wastes cash on the next Michael Cera flick.
The solution is right before their faces. Sylvester Stallone rolls out of bed after making virtually nothing for almost a decade, then churns out Rocky Balboa ($155 million), Rambo ($154 million), and The Expendables ($257 million). Bruce Willis strolls through RED and Live Free, Die Hard, and the movies pick up a fortune. Clint Eastwood is still an enormous draw. America’s newest action star is Liam Neeson, who is 58 years young. More people will still shell out bucks to see Harrison Ford (as long as he stops the metrosexual post-Calista Flockhart crap) and Sean Connery than they will to see Robert Pattinson sans fangs.
It’s not because they’re old. It’s because they’re dudes. Men want to be them. Women want to be with them. They kick ass, take names, and don’t shave their chests.
Most of today’s male stars are douchefaces, in Greg Gutfeld’s terminology. They would never just ask a woman out on a date, romance her, and marry her, then provide for her and the children. Rather, they’re like Zach Braff: “the guy you shake hands with when introduced, and he smirks, or stares at your girlfriend’s tits. When you actually talk to him, you find out that he’s in a band. When you talk to him some more, you realize you want to kill him.” More precisely, they’re the guys who become best friends with a girl just to get to know her, subvert her boyfriend for two years, then when she breaks up with him, step in and provide a shoulder to cry on. In other words, Patrick Dempsey in the worst movie of all time, Made of Honor (and/or every other Patrick Dempsey movie).
Hollywood may think it’s time for the more sensitive male to take over the screen from their cavemen predecessors. As long as Americans have a say at the box office, however, there will be an enormous untapped market for male characters who actually act like dudes.
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461 Comments
I heard about the new Supes "re-boot". I blame Smallville. Well at least we have the Zach Snyder/Chris Nolan Superman movie, which will undoubtedly have a manly non-whiny actor. I hope.
I think the loss of maleness began with 'Roe v. Wade'. I mean, consider the purpose of a real man: it's to fight like hell to save a life and enforce a strong moral code. But after 1973 that was at odds with a woman's 'right' to take a life and not feel any guilt about it. So something had to give. Voila! Real men became women – excuse me, metrosexuals.
I know this may not be the real explanation but it's the only one I can come up with.
Who is Zach Braff?
Oh, never mind. I don't want to know.
I don't know if it's necessarily true that this is the way Superman is going to be from now on. First of all, these comics universes tend to have more than one kind of interpretation of these characters (Remember the alternate retelling of Superman where his ship landed in the Soviet Union instead of Kansas?) Somehow, I have a feeling that we'll survive this new retelling of Superman just as we survived the recent reboot/un-reboot of Spider-man in the comics.
FYI: I wouldn't trust CNS News to be a non-biased news source the same way I wouldn't trust the Huffington Post or any other liberal rag (First of all, the original article went for the head of the Catholic League to get a reaction. You know, this guy: http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/episodes/s1... )
I have been bemoaning the American males tack to being femininity, as well as the American's women's tack to masculinity for years. I am a tough broad, with a big mouth, but I love me a REAL man who will be able to back up my mouth. I know we are almost over the edge when Adam Lambert and Justin Beiber are considered heartthrobs, and the toughest action star on TV is in the Dollhouse.
Bruce Campbell
Yeah and American men love Feminine Women – so get your rural plow pullers off the TV will ya? Seriously TPublicans man up already and ask your women to remove their boxer shorts and put their panties back on – ya hen pecked couch potatoes : -)
If they can find the right guy to play Mitch Rapp in the upcoming movie based on Vince Flynn's Consent to Kill, we'll have a great dude.
I think the reimagining of Superman may be due to DC Comics losing the rights to the Superboy name. This isn't a reimagining of the "man" so much as the "boy." Hence the focus on him being a young 20-something. I suspect they're going to try to bring him in line with Smallville continuity with him having an emo period before finally becoming the Superman we all know and love. Except the stupid international ambassador bit. I'm sure they'll apply that to him at all ages.
"Gimme some sugar, baby."
-Army of Darkness
BEST line in a movie since, "Make my day".
Depp lost me when he wore that Che necklace on the Cover of Esquire(?) and I realized his aura of *the deep, brooding, dark and handsome man* was actually fake commercial intellectualism and pop culture elitism (typical metrosexual qualities).
Real men don't wear Che. (That and all those bracelets he always wears. Dude.)
Nah, give me a Robert Downey Jr and his tortured past turned mature MAN anyday. He might not be perfect, but you get a sense he knows who he is and that's kind of sexy. Some of the best manly men actors and characters had demons they were fighting.
As for Superman. Leave Superman ALONE! We loved him because he was true to all the best things: justice, truth and a belief in a better day. What's wrong with that?
"…When you talk to him some more, you realize you want to kill him.”
That pretty much sums up most of the leading "men" in most of the films I've bothered to see in the last couple of decades.
I prefer the "Gust" types from "Charley Wilson's War."
He could give a 5#1t about sartorial splendor because he's too busy gittin' it done.
"What are you? An infant?" That line is one of Hollywood's all-time greats, IMHO.
Amen to this. For years I thought they all seemed boyish to me because I got old enough to be their mother, but these actors are not manly. In the posters for Matt Damon's new movie, he looks like he's in junior high.
And the women are still beautiful, but these boy-children aren't good looking, either. Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Gary Cooper–they take your breath away.
"More precisely, they’re the guys who become best friends with a girl just to get to know her, subvert her boyfriend for two years, then when she breaks up with him, step in and provide a shoulder to cry on."
I had an idiot like this in my life constantly disrupting my romance with my high school sweetheart many moons ago. I eventually cornered him, beat his ass, and let him know that I disapproved and furthermore would start breaking bones should he continue with his shenanigans. My girlfriend at the time expressed how much she disliked how I acted in words, however her actions were the exact opposite if you take my meaning.
The rise of the metrosexual, or feminized man, coincided with the rise of the masculinized woman in both Hollywood and fashion. Leading men and male models started getting softer and prettier while leading women and supermodels were becoming wafer-thin boys with breasts (ass-kicking action hero boys with breasts in the movies). I have my own theory as to why Hollywood and the Fashion District might view the standards of beauty as feminine men and masculine women. Discuss amongst yourselves.
The only "man" in H'wood under the age of 40 is the Rock, Jabronie.
He appears to be the action star of the next generation. Even Sly says so via his twitter.
Depp lives in France voluntarily. 'Nuf said.
This article hits the nail on the head. I'm sick of seeing guys in low-rise jeans so tight that it's obvious they've been shopping in the junior girls dept. Remember the good ole' days when upon meeting a man you didn't have to ask yourself "gay or nay?" and the words "manscaping" and "metro" weren't a part of the American lexicon? I blame alot of this on a generation of parents who instead of telling their sons "to rub it in the dirt" (like my dad did, and I'm a girl) instead were coddled and probably fed hot chocolate with extra marshmallows when the slightest thing went wrong. I like my guys wuth a pool stick in one hand and a beer in the other while watching Football on Sunday, not a guy with manicure who watches "Desperate Housewives" while drinking an apple martini. If I wanted to date a woman I'd be a lesbian,and some of those are even more masculine (e.g. Rachel Maddow). As for Depp he's an ex-pat who now lives in France..calling him a pansy would just be redundant.
Hey, I thought Jude Law was pretty good in Sherlock Holmes…..
I'd add Denzel to the list of manly dudes. The guy can do it all, and do it better than most.
Also, filmmakers might want to cut back on the eye makeup for leading men, that might get the manly dude ball rolling…
Gotta love The Rock, seems like a good guy too.
Years ago, when the 'Men's Adventure' section disappeared from the bookstores, I knew there was trouble brewing.
I never thought of that, I think you have a very valid point
While I want Superman to stay Superman, I can't get too worked up over this. This version of Superemo is a one-shot book. They're not changing the character for their core monthly books. DC is just trying to cash in on the latest trend.
Yes the current crop of male leads in big budget films today are a sad lot, I watch a lot of action movies and martial arts movies where it is really hard to feminize the lead actors. Very few leading men can do their roles justice!
LMAO….
I can vividly remember the first time I got hit real good playing ice hockey as a kid, I picked myself up off the ice and looked in the bleachers right at my dad. He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, "Rub some dirt on it and get back in the game!!"
Think a Ray Ramano stunt double, but whinier & less funny.
"Good Ash, bad Ash – I'm the guy with the gun."
Exactly!! Cause hockey's a man's sport..unlike soccer
The wussification of America continues apace, at least in the minds of Hollywood. Real men scare Hollywood, they’re so damn certain, this confuses the metrosexual.
I think I know what you mean. And certain people won't be GLAAD if we discuss it.
Dittos on Denzel.
Maybe the definition of "manly" is too narrow. Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr., Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, and Matt Damon in the Bourne movies all strike me as pretty "manly." (I know some people despise Damon for his politics, but if Jason Bourne isn't manly, who is?)
It seems to me there's a range of actors from the overtly macho types like Daniel Craig and Jason Statham and Kiefer Sutherland, to the more understated but still "manly" types like those listed above, to the metrosexual types. Isn't this a good thing? Variety is good, no?
It's a sad comment on America when the manliest actors like Christian Bale, Russell Crowe & Liam Nesson are all from other countries. Is being a man "a job Americans just won't do?"
*Shrugs* Its a different time. Action movies tend to be more CG-tastic nowadays. Nowadays there aren't many people willing to see tough guys tossing off one liners as they kill a thousand people. The Expendable's box office of 254 million strikes me as pretty modest, less than some of its stars made in their prime.
I like movies with guys who give the impression that he could kill me with his pinkie in real life and such movies are still being made, but unless they star an established name almost nobody pays attention to them. For example, Tony Jaa (Ong Bak, The Protector) was amazing (I say was because according to Wikipedia, he recently became a monk) but I doubt that most American action movie fans could pick him out of a lineup.
What's my point? Hollywood isn't necessarily leaving money on the table by not putting tough guys into leading roles.
Chris Claremont of The X-Men fame had a great comment about Superman in why he never wrote for the character: "Angst is easy to write. Nobility is hard."
Even playing a navel-gazing loser, he's got cojones. Watch Bubba Ho-tep if you don't believe me.
and cheerleading….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNMjYVQO-QI
Good Column Ben!
As your Colleague Dana Loesch proclims -"I LOVE THE DUDES!!!!"
Rarely can an actor do a role where I completely hate him (Denzel was an excellent bastard in Training Day) then turn around and do a role that has me cheering for him (fill in the blank)….
Hollywood is full of sissies. Real men are a dying breed in Hollywood. That's sad.
Demon: "I'll swallow your soul."
Ash: "Come get some."
Interesting hypothesis.
Cheerleading was for gays and girls' who's bra size trumped their I.Q's..your anecdote made me laugh, It reminded me of when my dad coached my softball team and I hit a foul ball off of my hand rather than the bat, I ended up breaking a finger, he told me I had to still play and not to worry about it because "I had nine more"..That clip was hillarious, his outfit was reminisent of Wham's George Michael's "Choose Life" outfit in one of their early videos
France is a beautiful country and especially magnificent if you are wealthy and can pay accountants to keep your taxes low in overseas accounts. Having said that, most of my friends from France are to the left of communists (a little tongue in cheek) and honestly think Americans are nothing more than obese, hyper consuming, peasants–so there is that.
The magazine was GQ where Depp wore the Che necklace.
"Alright you Primitive Screwheads, listen up! You see this? This… is my boomstick!"
Problem is they'll probably find him in Australia or England….
The contrast between "The Expendables" and "Machete" was classic. Also, there's the metrosexual Tony Stark in Iron Man, and the incessant sympathy face of Adrien Brody in Predators, a stark contrast to Arnold. Eastwood's character in Gran Torino was brilliant, in spite of the painfully cartoonish barber shop scene, because Hollywood is a vacuum for masculine characters.
The leading "men" mentioned in the above article were all white, only because the white population of America is, as of yet, still a majority. Hollywood likes the idea of a more submissive white America, eg, Obama's apology tour and Hollywood's support of the Obama ethic, but Obama's still cool cause he's apologizing for white America, not himself, and his wife will condescend to give America a gold star for electing her husband. This is Hollywood and the American Left's idea of reconciliation and path to assimilation – white America, just give up and accept your role as the impotent and perverse great Satan of history. It also reminds me of the paradox of popularity of socialist rock and capitalist rap. Demonizing America is the faux rebellion of the path of least resistance, and that's cool, and without tooth or backbone, or even the masculinity of Madonna's biceps.
Well all the sports represented had on those shirts……"shuttlecock….." LMAO
And with a vagina….
"Yeah, that has best-seller written all-over it." Sums up the direction this is going quite nicely. How to lower the birth rate to zero.
Time to kick some crab-people butt, at the box office and anywhere else you see them.
"Slap a wig on Taylor Lautner and you’ve got Lea Michele."
Didn't know Lea Michele had 200 pounds of muscle.
I don't mean to defend Lautner, but if you're going to go after a star of Twilight for not being masculine, you should've picked Robert Pattinson.
// (I know some people despise Damon for his politics, but if Jason Bourne isn't manly, who is?) ///
Don't care about his politics, but I do care when H'wood is presenting a five foot nothing/150 lb. girlie-man as a bada$$. All the spy stuff is kinda cool & the part where he was in the guy's office & calling him on the phone….yeah, dug it. Love Good Will Hunting, too. But, sorry, Matt Damon couldn't beat up a cast member of Glee, much less be some bada$$ who beats up everyone and some director have him fake it on camera ain't gonna make it so. At least make him a kung-fu expert or something like Jet Li, so that the size factor is eliminated, otherwise I'm supposed to think someone the size of a WNBA point guard is a tough guy.
He's one step up physically from Leo DiCaprio, which ain't saying much.
BTW, Gene Hackman needs to be added to the alpha actor list.
If you're going to Twilight to find masculine, you're going to be very lonely.
Nothing good has come out of that decision. I swear, this country's decline can be measured by its passing.
// Didn't know Lea Michele had 200 pounds of muscle. ///
Please. Taylor Lautner is nowhere near 6' tall.
tallr.org/2010/01/09/how-tall-is-taylor-lautner-no-really/
Having low body fat & thus showing abs does not equate to having muscle tone. For someone that height to weigh 200 lbs, he'd have the body type of Karl Malone, not Rahm Emmanuel.
At MOST he's 175 lbs. And that's with him soaking wet & holding a few phone books. Probably closer to 160.
Yeah, I agree on Jude Law. Not my favorite actor by a long shot, but I wouldn't include him in this list. Actually, I'm not sure I would even include Leo DiCaprio. Most of the others, though, definitely belong (especially Robert Pattinson–don't even get me started on….ack).
To be fair, i dont think you're giving dicaprio an honest shake. He started off as that kind of actor but hasn't been so in more than awhile. Perfect example? The departed. He actually took the time to look like a man when the role called for it. In his other roles, most just havent been as action oriented.
On the superman part, they are already testing that title in something called Superman: Earth One. Which, for my money was a bland read. Hopefully it wont sell and that will give everyone a clue.
The real thread that ties these masculine men together isn't muscles facial expressions, it's the fact that they know right from wrong without a moments hesitation and their inability to suffer weak willed jelly spined fools who are so wrapped up in shades of gray that daylight is a mystery to them (kind of like the MSM). Hell, Edna Mode, the seamstress from The Incredibles was more masculine than this current batch of wimps.
Adrien Brody as an action hero? good lord, he's too emo for a Bobby Fisher biopic, what the hell is Hollywood thinking?
A lot of the metrosexual problem in Hollywood has to do with the roles for men today. Instead of the masculine swashbuckling pirate played by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., we have the fey, mincing Jack Sparrow. Instead of Eastwood's Dirty Harry or Bronson's Paul Kersey, we have a never ending supply of pale, brooding anti-heros who spend more time with the blow-dryer than with a woman.
I remember when Americans were tough and proud of being ONE NATION UNDER GOD, now they are turning into a bunch of progressive, politically correct, whiney babies!
Remember the guy who wouldn't take the flag down? http://usataxpayer.org/htm/vids.asp?A=82201116
It all starts in public schools. They are taught there is no God, murder your baby, praise homosexuals, be politically correct, global warming, embrace illegals and big government is the answer to everything. Of course the kids can't speak, write or form a cognizant thought… but that doesn't matter, they know all the rappers by name and are prepared for sexual activity as early as grade school.
IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN IN PUBLIC SCHOOL YOU WILL BE STUNNED!
House Bill HR4530 – The Progressive Plan for Your Children… http://usataxpayer.org/?0092081630
Christopher Reeve the original Superman? I don't think so!
I think it doesn't really reflect reality; it's just a politically correct attempt to invert the gender roles because somehow that's more "fair," since portraying masculine (not necessarily macho) men and feminine women is "heteronormative racist-sexist-homophobic" or whatever it is academics are saying now.
I've said it before & I'll say it again – BH's own Adam Baldwin was born to play Mitch Rapp. Tall, dark & handsome 100% American badass.
OMG! How right you are! Robert Mitchum was a real man! How about William Holden and Lee Marvin?
Today we have pretty boys, not men, and they don't hold a candle to the guys from years gone by. I have just about quit watching movies these days # 1 because there are no plots and the current actors can't act.
Yes yes yes. I say this all the time. PLEASE give me movies with MEN.
A while back, my friends and I were imagining what an A-list cast for Atlas Shrugged would look like. Or Fountainhead, for that matter. We literally could not think of a SINGLE young male in Hollywood who could pull off the manly main characters found in those films. We could think of plenty of women to fulfill the roles, and plenty of emasculated guys to take on the pathetic, wimpy characters, but not one to play Howard Roark or John Galt.
And that, I think, makes the point.
Cheerleading was for gays and girls' who's bra size trumped their I.Q's..
Actually, considering how common cheerleading injuries are, those girls are tougher than you think.
Granted, cheerleading is still highly feminine, but don't assume that they're all princesses who are afraid of physical risk. This isn't some feminazi statement — I'm just giving credit where it's due.
Fair enough. But my underlying point remains: if you were to slap a wig on Taylor Lautner, he'd be a very muscular looking woman. Robert Pattinson is infinitely more feminine.
I've made my piece with DiCaprio, he's become a fine actor IMHO. Not that I'd run to the theater just because his name is on the marquee, but I trust his ability. I like Jude Law, but he needs more on his resume. I think he's very capable of doing anything. He was sufficiently creepy in Road to Perdition, and I thought his chemistry with the mighty RDJ in Sherlock was spot-on. I'd love to see them at it again in a sequel.
Anyone, repeat, ANYONE that portrays a sparkly vampire is automatically on the metro list….
If you're a metro you might as well be a eunuch.
If you're a metro you might as well be a eunuch.
If you're a metro you might as well be a eunuch.
Agreed, Pattinson doesn't even need the wig…
I gotta say that Brody was an odd choice for Predators. Then I saw it and I believe he pulled it off fairly well. The russian guy stole the movie though….
This is an excellent quote. It will take an extremely talented team to bring the classic Superman (and Captain America as well) to the screen (or any other media, for that matter). Detached ironic hipsterism is ubiquitous now. Brooding anti-heroes are the rule. Superman isn't Batman. The differences between them (and the fact that Supes was the archtype and Bats the antitype for the most of their history) are what made them great. Nobility, sincerity, genuine optimism and humility – I can't even imagine the effort it would take to display these characteristics in a blockbuster comic based movie made today.
It was George Reeves, right?
You know what really pisses me off about Roe v. Wade?
9 Men behind a closed door decided that We The People have no say in the matter. In a nation that is founded on the principle that government's power is derived from the consent of the governed, we've been told, no, we're too stupid to decide this issue, so the really super smart people in Washington will decide what's best for us.
God that infuriates me.
You're right, you don't want to.
Mangina.
I respect your point, it does require athleticism, however you have to admit a certain type of girl is drawn to be a cheerleader and I still would rather play a sport than cheer from the sidelines..and I'm not a feminazi either.
Every news organization is going to have bias, because they are staffed by humans who will always have bias.
I don't have a problem with bias. I have a problem when people insist they don't have a bias, especially when they obviously do.
One of the things I love about Rush Limbaugh. When I first started listening to him he said 'hell yes I'm biased. The only difference between me and Dan Rather is I admit it.'
Bias I can live with. Dishonesty I can't.
Check out the manly men on the rebooted Hawaii 5-0. From the few episodes I've seen they appear to have the 'nads.
Army of Darkness is such an awesome movie. I love it!
Hey, Australia gave us Crocodile Dundee and England gave us 007.
Not too shabby.
He rocked in Independence Day.
Gen. Gray: [indicating the glass panel in front of the alien] Is that glass bulletproof?
Major Mitchell: No, Sir!
[pulls out his gun and starts blasting the alien through the glass]
I loved it!
Matt Damon is 5'10". And he's got some muscles.
I found the whole argument in the article silly. The person your were responding to made an impressive list to prove the whole premise of the article wrong. Jude Law is just today's Paul Newman. There were always these good-looking softer types in Hollywood, who were known to be refined. Look at Roger Moore. Really there are others, if you take the time to think about it.
The real error in the article is deciding the worth or success of the actor by how many blockbusters he's in. Blockbusters these days are usually dumb action movies that are good for a single viewing, and two if you're curious. And I say usually they're dumb, because once in a while, a smart blockbuster comes along, such as Inception. What I think Nolte did was provide facts when they fit his piece, such as providing the the box office receipts for some while overlooking the receipts for the films with "metrosexual" stars. DiCaprio has some very fine movies, which he selects. He's got the skills and the gravitas to sell them. The directors pick him because he's bankable; it's a case of a semiotic relationship. Believe it or not, a lot of us don't particularly care for dumb brutes and we look for someone to convey intelligence. That's an attractive trait, too. Yes, we do. And there's nothing anti-American about it. These actors are famous for a reason.
Those big dumb action movies are mostly for young males, and it's a phase they'll eventually grow out of. A movie like Red is based on a graphic novel (a comic book for grownups), so it has a built-in audience.
The whole article was crap.
Agreed on both counts. I loved Sherlock Holmes and I loved Downey, Jr. as Sherlock Holmes. But the chemistry between he and Jude Law was essential to the film working.
An excellent point. You're right. A different time. Smarter times.
The Christopher Reeve SUPERMAN films were awful and your first quote from the film illustrates just why they were so awful.
France has had issues with America since it lost the French and Indian War. Back in the late 1700's some French dude came up with a theory that since the largest animals in the world were located in the old world (African elephants, rinos and such), that proved the old world had superior sun light, air and soil, therefore by definition, America must be inferior.
One of the reasons Jefferson funded Lewis & Clark was he was hoping to find a living mastodon, skeletons were starting to be excavated on the east coast, and he wanted a live one to shut up the French.
Public schools do not teach children that there is no God. That's simply not true.
You want good, modern Superman? Then watch Superman: The Animated Series, with the caharcter carried forward In Justic League and Justice League Unlimited. The voice acting, animation and stories are superb. S:TAS, building on the excellent Batman: The Animated Series, 1) reimagined Lex Luthor as a dangerous Machiavellian man, not the clowns portrayed by Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey, 2) reimagined Braniac as the computer system of Krypton that lets the planet die and goes out in the universe to collect all information, and 3) introduced the now-canon character of Mercy Graves, Luthor's right-hand woman.
As for Supes, the very last episode of Justice League Unlimited is one of the most satisfying bits of animation ever done, where Superman beats the crap out of Darkseid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoJ2Bd41zsw
In related news, here are some of the costume designs for Tim Burton's unmade "Superman Lives".
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/11/01/costume-...
For me the most disturbing part is the costume on a Nicholas Cage mannequin.
Karl Urban would work great for the role-
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0881631/
Playing the role of "company man" in RED sets him up perfectly for Mitch Rapp.
Yet again, not American-
he's from New Zealand
Amen. Ben Shapiro, Amen. Anyone else love the "The Man from Snowy River"? It's an Australian movie, but the main character is all MAN, adn the woman isn't any less a woman, she's tough as nails too. Great movie, with real _characters_.
The funny thing about ZB being mentioned in this article is that the theme song for his show specifically says "I'm no Superman." Can't spell it out any clearer than that, can you?
Truth, Justice and The American Way . . . Leave it to hollywood to screw that up.
Better clip of Superman vs Darkseid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoejLjTx8hQ&fe...
Interesting, my daughter did sort of the same thing with her former best friend who kept hanging around her boy friend. She basically told her to knock this sh!t off.
Yeah but Mitch Rapp is decidedly American. It would suck to see the actor in an interview with a foreign accent….
ooooooh…..excellent choice!!
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