OMG

Surrogates.

I... I... think I love it.

Don't hear you proposin' nothin'.

Much less having Muppet-based art to back it up.

The Romans had theater too, full of fake death and spectacle but everyone knew that was artificial.   

It's professional sports that's the modern equivalent of gladiatorial games, it's just that we're "civilized" now so we don't require the ritual combat to end in actual death. 

But really, that's a bit hypocritical - because when someone does die in a sport, we get ALL up in that.   Or even when someone just snaps their leg in half - boy, did Twitter go batshit over that one a couple days ago.  Gore?  Lemme see!

And District 12 mines coal - already a major industry in the 19th century, and one that still fuels much of our world today.  Some of our real-world Appalachian coal miners don't live that much differently than the fictional District 12 folk in the movie as it is - and that's without a fictional dictatorship intentionally keeping them enslaved.

oh, correction: Roeper reviewed GI Joe on Ebert's site.  Ebert's last review really was The Host.

/goddammitsomuch

It's really been interesting finding out (retroactively) which projects Unca George apparently was keeping afloat because he liked them, vs projects that actually made sense.   Now that Disney has control, they're clearing the dead brush as fast as they can.   

3-D rereleases?  Nah, that's a money-loser - gone.
Clone Wars?  Five years is plenty, we can syndicate that.   Done.
Star Wars Detours - George thinks you're a hoot, Seth.   But not one other human on the planet thought that teaser was funny.  Clean out your desk.
LucasArts - Great once, hasn't had a hit in years.   Sayonara.

I wonder how many other money sinkholes will get filled before the purge is over.   Not ILM surely - they'll keep ILM to make Star Wars movies, at least for now.   But any other division better be making bank, 'cause the bean counters are on the march.