Never heard of Eloise? You have to pick it up.

I think that’s a big part of Dick Tracy’s appeal: the film’s aesthetic is rather amazing, even in mid-90s standards. It’s definitely great to watch at a younger age, where its easier to ignore the awkward plotting.

Hahaha, in a way, I think that’s why I did like Madonna. It’s bad, but for something like Dick Tracy, bad worked in her favor. Her lack of skills somehow makes her stand out more than Warren Beatty’s serious-but-not-that-serious approach.

Interesting points. I think that they both represent a city-wide unity to a common threat, which is somewhat different than self-fulfilled, individualistic meaning and purpose. Spider-man utilized a post-9/11 sentiment of collective urban power to overcome the enemy (or, at least empower Peter Parker), while Ghostbusters (it’s been a while since I’ve seen it, so bear with me) was more or less cheesy nationalization (at least the sequel).

In either case, it’s not the celebration of the overall location that’s the issue, but the fact that it seems incapable of thematically imparting “values” to an individual (or a couple, if we’re talking rom-com) upon visiting or living there.