Holy Bat Criticism

Remember how bad I felt for Johnny Depp that his Tonto was being so thoroughly ignored by the movie-going public? It was enough to get Johnny all flustered, or as flustered as he tends to get. “I think the reviews were written seven to eight months before we released the film,” Depp proclaims in a new interview. Fair enough. It's the critic's fault that nobody wanted to see the film seven or eight months in advance. In the "business," this is called "word of mouth," and it's possible that the Deppster has never encountered such a phenomenon. That seems unlikely, given the existence of "The Tourist."
Still, even Johnny "Cash" Depp probably feels a little bad for his pal Ben Affleck. I assume that they're pals, since they tend to hang around in the same circles and get into the same kinds of trouble. This time it came before a frame of film was shot: Ben Affleck is Batman? Who came up with this brainstorm? Considering the number of men who have worn the cowl and cape over the past seventy years, it's hard to put old Ben at the bottom of the list until after he's pulled on his tights. That doesn't mean that some folks have already started to not line up for the new Superman-Batman team-up.
With the kind of ferocity that is generally reserved for snarky washing instructions sewn into a pair of Madhouse Fashion chinos, pop culture has turned on Academy Award winning director and screenwriter. It should be noted that neither of those prestigious trophies were acquired for acting. Specifically, they were not given out for his performance in "Daredevil." Comparing that effort ten years ago to the upcoming work as the Dark Knight is probably unfair. Ten years before he was Batman, Michael Keaton starred in a sit-com with James Belushi called "Working Stiffs." That was cancelled after four episodes. George Clooney's time in the Batmobile was preceded by a couple of stints in an emergency room, but followed by a few more Oscars. Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn't.
In the meantime, we have so many more pressing matters. Like Justin Timberlake getting back together with 'N Sync.