So this afternoon I went to see Ghost Rider.
Like most flicks these days, I'd have probably have been content with catching it on DVD at some point in the near-future. I'm glad I bothered though because this is pure Wide-screen, Oscar-immune Surround-Thyself-with-Salted-Snacks-style entertainment (I had a large nachos with everything on) ... and given that both DVD-hire shops within hog-riding distance of Chéz Sonique have simultaneously closed down of late, I'd probably never have seen it at all.

I've not been overly impressed by comic/graphic-novel characters brought to the silver screen in the past. The Spiderman movies look good but for me there's too much emphasis on the Lurv-Interest. Some notable exceptions though are the first X-Men, Hellboy, and Batman Begins. Top-class all, particularly the latter, and I'd put Ghostrider somewhere amongst those. Despite it's $120m budget, it somehow still manages to evoke the tone of a comic-book.

On a musical note, the wide-eyed optimist in me hoped that Suicide's rendition of the song of the same name might get used in there somewhere, but given that the score turned out to be largely orchestral, I quickly forgot such foolishness.
However, a brief trip to Youtube made me think again. Take a look at THIS pop-kids, and tell me it's not a perfect marriage of Sound & Vision. Sadly not featured in the movie itself but 10 out of 10 to whoever put this together.

Even Nicolas Cage's crazy-ass wig couldn't put me off, and it was good to see him incorporate some of those Elvisly Yours moves (used to great effect in Wild at Heart) into the Johnny Blaze character, who is basically an existentialist pairing of Evel Knievel and Elvis.
What this means is that he gets to look moody and preoccupied a lot whilst wearing a white leather jump-suit with flashes on it... and goddamit, don't we all want that?