Archive for September 28th, 2005
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Just because summer’s over doesn’t mean the studios aren’t trying to squeeze in some of their outright stinkers before Oscar season heats up.
Into the Blue, for example. A treasure-hunting picture with Jessica Alba and Paul Walker. Wouldn’t this move have been more interesting if it were released in June or July when the weather is warm? It must be a real turkey. In fact, Tom’s convinced he’ll be in sore need of something if made to watch it.
Today’s comic isn’t about Into the Blue specifically, but about the abysmal state of commercial movies in general this year. I only had Jared list a handful of the worst offenders this year, but could have gone on indefinitely. There were a lot of bad movies this year. A lot of sequels and a lot of retreads on franchises that already had footing in television or books. Very little in terms of original screenplays were put in front of audiences this year and I think the industry was punished accordingly with some of the lowest box office receipts in the last 10 years.
I’ve gone on in the past about Hollywood needing to provide more in terms of fulfilling content when in competition against satellite television, video games and even themselves with the Goliath DVD market. Give us something to care about, something we’ve never seen before. We’ll come back. We promise. People are still hungry for authentic theater experience, but there is only so many obstacles you can put in front of them before they decide it’s not worth the effort.
Thank goodness for the autumn. More cerebral films are starting to fill up the multiplexes. I feel like I can start using my brain again.
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I didn’t really know where else to put this, so I’m just putting it out there as kind of a fun F.Y.I. blog post.
I was very tempted to do another comic about Serenity for Wednesday based simply off the amount of referral traffic coming in from Firefly and Serenity LiveJournals and fan sites. If Joss Whedon fans – Firefly fans, in particular – are anything, they’re dedicated.
I was actually kind of worried that you guys would read my musings and find them unfair, but many of the notes I’ve read and e-mails I’ve received have been very even-handed. Several of you appreciated an "outsider’s" perspective – curious yourself if Serenity would play beyond the initiated.
One thing that I’ve gathered from all this is that even the people who weren’t fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel got a heck of a lot out of Firefly. Usually being drawn in by a friend who was already hooked, they became hooked themselves. I can’t count the number of recommendations I’ve had just to sit down and watch the series. After all, there’s only 12 or 13 episodes, right? I’ve never been adverse to this suggestion, I just never made the time. Now might be the opportunity to do so.
A lot of people I know have seen advanced screenings of Serenity and speak highly of it. Most of these people are already fans, so you kind of have to take it with a grain of salt. I’ve yet to read a report or review from someone who wasn’t already familiar with the franchise, so it’s still kind of a question mark as to how it will go over.
But like I said, those who’ve seen it and are already fans say they love it. It doesn’t completely ostracize non-fans, but it doesn’t play so over their heads that they can’t appreciate its finer qualities.
That said, I’m more interested in David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence. And no, not because my Google ads have been replaying that little flash advertisement about a million times. It’s actually getting really good reviews!
It’s essentially a meditation on the effects of violence in society. Does violence beget more violence? Is it a natural born tendency or something civilization can overcome? It’s getting great notices for Cronenberg’s direction. Not a wasted frame, they say. And the ending leaves things open for interpretation. It leaves the audience to come to their own conclusions. I love that kind of stuff. I’m sick of being spoon-fed answers. Thank goodness for fall movies! Besides, any film that features Ed Harris as a mysterious government spook gets points in my book.
Now here’s hoping that Cronenberg doesn’t pull out some sort of gross body revolting FX like he did in The Fly or Scanners. His thematic fascination with the body turning against itself creeps me out like no other. But then, it might be a little out of context in this film.
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