I recently went to comic con with a friend... what a puzzle it all is. Waiting in line for coffee between Thor and a Klingon while they adjust their outfits... The amount of free swag, dizzy array of promotions, banners and unending line ups can give anyone a severe headache.Dressed up fans are treated like rockstars and the frenzy for a sneak peek of a highly anticipated movie is astonishing.
Most interesting upcoming flicks?
Probably Scott Pilgrim, Cowboys and Aliens and especially Don't be Afraid of the Dark (fantastic teaser).
It's been a pretty dry year for films, Inception was a nice change. I've seen frequent "best film ever rating" for Inception which should always be taken with a grain of salt since the person is probably 18 years old and hasn't seen a lot of films yet. It's exciting and certainly fun, similar to Paprika and a few Japanese films of the past.
Perhaps I'm a bit tired of the constant visual stimulation. After five days of watching film panel after film panel I'm left with the feeling that I've been fed nothing but vapid entertainment (Tron 2, Skyline, Battle Los Angeles, Salt, Green Lantern, Thor), rather than a true gut wrenching experience. It's sadly becoming common for Hollywood to hire commercial/music video directors who lack the foundation of storytelling and thirst for reading to truly stretch the mind. A pity.
There was a staggering amount of marketing for films and television that distributed t-shirts, books, stickers, temporary tattoos, freebie giveaways, and huge billboards plastered on hotels which will all lead to $$$.
