Comments on: “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” Celebrates & Condemns Geek Culture

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:09:29 +0000

Amazing movie, amazing soundtrack. Can’t wait to watch it again at Scotia Cinema, and then over and over again when goes to DVD.

By: Joe Yerdon

Joe Yerdon — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:04:38 +0000

One thing that I read in another review of the film that I didn’t realize until reading that (I’m slow, OK?) was that while the League of Evil Exes seems superhero-esque on first appearance, each ex represents a nagging worry everyone runs into when meeting someone new, some form of baggage to deal with. It’s a subtle and brilliant nuance to the whole thing.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:22:16 +0000

There’s a pretty strong contingent of people I see online who trash it as too “hipster.” To me, it’s not the stuff you like that makes you a hipster so much as your attitude toward it. Hitchcock and Kurosawa are great filmmakers, but if you watch them for the sole purpose of being able to say that you love Hitchcock and Kurosawa and with the hopes that it will make you into a better person than the people who still get a kick out of old Mike Meyers movies, then you’re a hipster. I feel the same way about people who praise Silver Age comic books and marathon old episodes of The Superfriends. Neither movies nor video games, nor art of any kind should form the basis of your identity (which was kind of the point of Scott Pilgrim as well). If I listened to people who thought so, I never would have seen the Crow out of fear that it would make me “too goth.” I never would have seen “Igby Goes Down” for fear that it would make me “too emo.” I never would have seen “The Dark Knight” for fear that it would turn me “too juggalo” (which is a shame because I hear the juggalos get the best helicopter rides). People who have any sense of identity shouldn’t worry about what people will think of them for liking the stuff that they like. Thankfully, this isn’t a movie that reinforces that mentality. The geek references never slow the plot down long enough for people who don’t understand them to feel stupid. And the important themes are universal.

By: Tony Barbaro

Tony Barbaro — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:43:33 +0000

what about the Expenables? Every tough guy (old and young), lot’s of stuff blowing up….I NEED to see this…..

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:23:07 +0000

You should give the comic series another shot too. The thing I disliked most about the first installment — the fact that the main character is utterly unlikeable — actually plays pretty well into the story as it proceeds (as you know, having seen the movie). The ending of the comic is more satisfying too…you get more of a sense of growth.

By: Will King

Will King — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:20:00 +0000

Kevin – I watch more TV than I should (even during the summer) and I saw the commercial incessantly, especially MTV.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:09:23 +0000

Most critics seem to like it; it’s got an 81% at Rotten Tomatoes, which isn’t too far off from Inception. I really enjoyed it myself, though I didn’t contribute to its box office take, having seen it at a free advance screening. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I had some faith, as Edgar Wright hasn’t disappointed me yet.

By: Kevin Marshall

Kevin Marshall — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:06:36 +0000

JessMarshall – Right. It struck me that so many people had seen it leading up to the film’s release. Which does something for word of mouth buzz, I suppose, but those people aren’t buying tickets either.

Henchmen24 - Good points, all.

I think, too, that there’s a greater danger in supposing that a movie’s fanbase will market the movie for you. Granted, I don’t watch as much TV during the Summer, but I still never saw any ads for the movie. Anyone else?

By: Henchmen24

Henchmen24 — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:43:58 +0000

I think they might have messed up the release of this film. I tried to see it over the weekend but every theater had 2 evening showings that were not convenient. With expendables playing every half hour it didn’t leave much room for the geekiness of Scott Pilgrim. Maybe if they pushed it back into the September box-office crapfest we have this year it would have done better. Maybe it wasn’t summer movie material.

By: JessMarshall

JessMarshall — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:36:06 +0000

I’m pretty sure part of its box office tankage came from the fact that they offered so many free screenings leading up to the premiere to it’s primary fan base. Hmm. Tough choice, even for a lazy hipster geek…