Have there ever been THIS many different commercials for a fantasy film pre-release? Add in all the DVD-style featurettes about the different creatures and you’re looking at a pretty packed DVD/Blu-Ray edition in what, eight months or so? Talk about overkill, WB!. Anyway, no, I haven’t yet seen John Carter, but in talking to a few folks who have, it’s a divided nation indeed. Most actually liked what they paid to see and some have even read the original stories, so at LEAST they have context and can respect the film for what it is (unlike some bash-friendly folk that have been going after the film since it was announced).

As for Wrath? I’m not planning to pay to see it, but if I get a screening invite, I will write a fair review. I thought the first one was kind of OK (a bit heavy on the CG, but what can you do) and even though I respect Ray Harryhausen a HUGE amount, his best work on the original was the still scary Medusa sequence. Yes, as noted, this one is darker and grimmer, but these days, that’s nearly every sequel going for the throat with as many effects shots as they can get in while still having actual actors yell out a few lines in close up. The more interesting thing here is there’s no video game tie-in, which is only mildly shocking… unless you played Clash of the Titans, which was a great guilty pleasure more than a spectacular game experience…