THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!
I'm sleepy as all hell.
Last night I was up to 2am watching Stephen King's RIDING THE BULLET and I'm pissed because it wasn't worth the trouble. I'm one of those writers who respects Mr. King for all of his many accomplishments, but ponder why he is held as such an amazing writer. I don't deny his skills; I'm still trying to master the art of horror fiction, and the sheer weight of his work is phenomenal. But, all of his stories are the same. When you break them all down, they all revolve around some kind of monster. And I don't mean "monster" like Clive Barker, but 50's sci-fi. His characterization skills are where he excels, and that's what I try to learn from, but the pay-off to his books are always a let down because of the hokey monster climaxes. Keep in mind that I'm talking about his straightforward horror tales, not Shawshank, The Dark Tower, or any of his other books that walk a fine line between genres.
The strength of King is, despite the corny ending you know is coming, you still read (or watch) him. So I watched Riding the Bullet, totally captivated by the story of this 60's college student who attempts suicide, and while hitchhiking to visit his sick mother, is plagued by these bizarre occurrences. And of course, David Arquette shows up during the last thirty minutes as the hokey monster of the story, the undead a.k.a zombie.
But, King did what he always sets out to do, he got me to sit down for two hours, and when I should have been sleeping, I was up, watching his story unfold. I guess that is the testament of a true master.
Lesson learned.
Another Japanese movie is being remade, and this one stars Mark Wahlberg and Leo DiCaprio entitled "Departed". I must ask, "Why does Hollywood remake movies that were already made?"
(I can understand remaking classics, even though they’re timeless, that’s why they’re classics. But I can get with the argument, shrug my shoulders and say, “If you want, go right ahead.” After all, who wants to watch the original Chainsaw, when you can stare at Jessica Biel for 90minutes?)
The Ring, The Grudge, The Vanishing, La Femme Nikita - why remake movies that have already proven themselves successful? Point of No Return was not as good as La Femme Nikita, and the original sell more as rentals or straight buys than their American counterparts. Blockbusters are selling out of Ringu, while it's "imposter" sits untouched. Hasn't Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon proven that Chinese and Japanese movies can come here subtitled and make big bucks? Wasn't the same proven with Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Rumble in the Bronx? I really get pissed when I read about foreign movies being remade; I see it as an ego thing on our part, or on Hollywood's. We're elitist, and unless a known Hollywood big shot is in the film, we won't even give it a proper arena for display. If I remember correctly, it was Hard Target that led to John Woo's American recognition. A movie starring JOHN CLAUDE VAN DAMME for Christ's sake! John Woo has directed movies since 1975, and he needs to work with John Claude to get any American attention.
That pisses me off.
And, if these movies are successful, little to no attention is given to the original film. Sure, you get a small credit, and any critic worth their salt opens the review with that information, but that's it. Unless you get off your ass and look for it, the original movie, writers, and directors are pushed aside for the Americans, and what the fuck makes us so special? Hey, I'm as blue-blooded as anyone, and our history in film is responsible for some of these great foreign films, but the mighty have fallen. Uranus is dead, and another pantheon is rising from the demise.
The same goes for animation, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, some incredible things are being done overseas that we know nothing about because we're too programmed to watching talking animals and molested fairytales from a mouse whose eating us out of house and home. And those that do make it here and gain some notice? Well, they suffer the same fate as our choice in movies, over saturation of a "sure thing", sex and violence. All we know (or care about) in Japanese anime is demon fucking and robot fighting, so that's all we get. Meanwhile, incredible movies like Angel's Egg, Ghosts of Steel (which does have robots in it), and Windaria (which had a small American release on VHS) will never get a piece of the limelight. But what do you expect when we shun even our American animators who try to mature the genre? Titan AE and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within are examples of that. Never mind that one had an epic story on par with Battlestar Galactica, and the other was so technologically advanced it gave us a Ben Affleck who can act, neither had a big musical number, so we couldn’t get with it and they flopped. Americans don't want to see animation made for them, but animation that remind them of what it was to be a kid again. Nothing wrong with that, unless it stagnates an entire industry! While those animes that do make it here, are lost in the subculture, giving oversexed fan boys and rebels something more to exclude them from the rest of society.
I was never a big C.S. Lewis fan. I tried reading the Narnia Chronicles, just couldn't get into it. But you bet your ass I'll be the first in line for the movie. Why? Four letters: W.E.T.A.
Am I the only one who thinks I.L.M. has reigned far too long, finally being kicked off by the underdog no one thought could do it? Whenever I see a movie they've (I.L.M.) worked on, I see a fat king on a throne that's overconfident. Then, I'll see some small film, or a huge production, like LOTR, and get blown away by some new company that came out of nowhere. It's a sad day when you can recognize a company's work by its ineffective attempts at suspending your disbelief. I was looking at the Star Wars trilogy over the weekend and the first three movies look more real than the prequels. And when they spoke of how Lucas wanted the "lived in" look for his sci-fi epic, I noticed that the new movies go against that. Isn't it funny how, the more a computer can imitate life, the less we believe it? I don't think people hate Jar Jar because he was stupid, I think they hate him because he was obvious. He was so unreal it was annoying to watch. The same thing could have happened to Gollum in LOTR, but didn't. Why? Well, there's the skill involved, Jar Jar was so badly done, we saw nothing, but a machination from scene 1 and Gollum, looked more real. But, there's more...
From the get go, you knew Andy Serkis was Gollum. From the get go, you knew how they did Gollum, using Andy in every way possible, even having him act out the scenes and computer capture on the set. From the beginning, you knew that behind Gollum was a man, an actor, named Andy Serkis.
Who was Jar Jar Binks?
Point made.
So, all this negativity, what am I looking forward too?
Batman Begins - Three reasons, Christian Bale, David Goyer, and Chris Nolan. I loved Tim Burton's movie (I'm one of the few that do) and I love Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne. But it's a new time, and we need a Batman for a new generation. In the 90's it was cool to be fucked in the head. It was in the music (hence the grunge rock phase) and you saw it on television, depression and fractured psyches was the thing. Now, we need a hero who's strong, and sure of himself, who's so moved by passion and force of will that he'll do anything to avenge his parents and safeguard everyone else…
Hmmm, and how did Bush Jr. win again?
Sin City - Robert Rodriguez is the draw here, the man (like Quentin) can do no wrong. Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, and Frank Miller are just the icing on a big ass cake.
Cursed - Give me a break; it's the first decent werewolf movie we've had since 1994. Of course I want to see it. Plus, it’s Wes.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - The lightsaber duels are the only reason I'll give this a try. But you know what they say, “Twice burned…”
War of the Worlds - Tom Cruise is the man!
Fantastic Four - I have to, or I'll get my comic geek membership revoked.
And Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe - As before, WETA!
JPG.
Last night I was up to 2am watching Stephen King's RIDING THE BULLET and I'm pissed because it wasn't worth the trouble. I'm one of those writers who respects Mr. King for all of his many accomplishments, but ponder why he is held as such an amazing writer. I don't deny his skills; I'm still trying to master the art of horror fiction, and the sheer weight of his work is phenomenal. But, all of his stories are the same. When you break them all down, they all revolve around some kind of monster. And I don't mean "monster" like Clive Barker, but 50's sci-fi. His characterization skills are where he excels, and that's what I try to learn from, but the pay-off to his books are always a let down because of the hokey monster climaxes. Keep in mind that I'm talking about his straightforward horror tales, not Shawshank, The Dark Tower, or any of his other books that walk a fine line between genres.
The strength of King is, despite the corny ending you know is coming, you still read (or watch) him. So I watched Riding the Bullet, totally captivated by the story of this 60's college student who attempts suicide, and while hitchhiking to visit his sick mother, is plagued by these bizarre occurrences. And of course, David Arquette shows up during the last thirty minutes as the hokey monster of the story, the undead a.k.a zombie.
But, King did what he always sets out to do, he got me to sit down for two hours, and when I should have been sleeping, I was up, watching his story unfold. I guess that is the testament of a true master.
Lesson learned.
Another Japanese movie is being remade, and this one stars Mark Wahlberg and Leo DiCaprio entitled "Departed". I must ask, "Why does Hollywood remake movies that were already made?"
(I can understand remaking classics, even though they’re timeless, that’s why they’re classics. But I can get with the argument, shrug my shoulders and say, “If you want, go right ahead.” After all, who wants to watch the original Chainsaw, when you can stare at Jessica Biel for 90minutes?)
The Ring, The Grudge, The Vanishing, La Femme Nikita - why remake movies that have already proven themselves successful? Point of No Return was not as good as La Femme Nikita, and the original sell more as rentals or straight buys than their American counterparts. Blockbusters are selling out of Ringu, while it's "imposter" sits untouched. Hasn't Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon proven that Chinese and Japanese movies can come here subtitled and make big bucks? Wasn't the same proven with Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Rumble in the Bronx? I really get pissed when I read about foreign movies being remade; I see it as an ego thing on our part, or on Hollywood's. We're elitist, and unless a known Hollywood big shot is in the film, we won't even give it a proper arena for display. If I remember correctly, it was Hard Target that led to John Woo's American recognition. A movie starring JOHN CLAUDE VAN DAMME for Christ's sake! John Woo has directed movies since 1975, and he needs to work with John Claude to get any American attention.
That pisses me off.
And, if these movies are successful, little to no attention is given to the original film. Sure, you get a small credit, and any critic worth their salt opens the review with that information, but that's it. Unless you get off your ass and look for it, the original movie, writers, and directors are pushed aside for the Americans, and what the fuck makes us so special? Hey, I'm as blue-blooded as anyone, and our history in film is responsible for some of these great foreign films, but the mighty have fallen. Uranus is dead, and another pantheon is rising from the demise.
The same goes for animation, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, some incredible things are being done overseas that we know nothing about because we're too programmed to watching talking animals and molested fairytales from a mouse whose eating us out of house and home. And those that do make it here and gain some notice? Well, they suffer the same fate as our choice in movies, over saturation of a "sure thing", sex and violence. All we know (or care about) in Japanese anime is demon fucking and robot fighting, so that's all we get. Meanwhile, incredible movies like Angel's Egg, Ghosts of Steel (which does have robots in it), and Windaria (which had a small American release on VHS) will never get a piece of the limelight. But what do you expect when we shun even our American animators who try to mature the genre? Titan AE and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within are examples of that. Never mind that one had an epic story on par with Battlestar Galactica, and the other was so technologically advanced it gave us a Ben Affleck who can act, neither had a big musical number, so we couldn’t get with it and they flopped. Americans don't want to see animation made for them, but animation that remind them of what it was to be a kid again. Nothing wrong with that, unless it stagnates an entire industry! While those animes that do make it here, are lost in the subculture, giving oversexed fan boys and rebels something more to exclude them from the rest of society.
I was never a big C.S. Lewis fan. I tried reading the Narnia Chronicles, just couldn't get into it. But you bet your ass I'll be the first in line for the movie. Why? Four letters: W.E.T.A.
Am I the only one who thinks I.L.M. has reigned far too long, finally being kicked off by the underdog no one thought could do it? Whenever I see a movie they've (I.L.M.) worked on, I see a fat king on a throne that's overconfident. Then, I'll see some small film, or a huge production, like LOTR, and get blown away by some new company that came out of nowhere. It's a sad day when you can recognize a company's work by its ineffective attempts at suspending your disbelief. I was looking at the Star Wars trilogy over the weekend and the first three movies look more real than the prequels. And when they spoke of how Lucas wanted the "lived in" look for his sci-fi epic, I noticed that the new movies go against that. Isn't it funny how, the more a computer can imitate life, the less we believe it? I don't think people hate Jar Jar because he was stupid, I think they hate him because he was obvious. He was so unreal it was annoying to watch. The same thing could have happened to Gollum in LOTR, but didn't. Why? Well, there's the skill involved, Jar Jar was so badly done, we saw nothing, but a machination from scene 1 and Gollum, looked more real. But, there's more...
From the get go, you knew Andy Serkis was Gollum. From the get go, you knew how they did Gollum, using Andy in every way possible, even having him act out the scenes and computer capture on the set. From the beginning, you knew that behind Gollum was a man, an actor, named Andy Serkis.
Who was Jar Jar Binks?
Point made.
So, all this negativity, what am I looking forward too?
Batman Begins - Three reasons, Christian Bale, David Goyer, and Chris Nolan. I loved Tim Burton's movie (I'm one of the few that do) and I love Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne. But it's a new time, and we need a Batman for a new generation. In the 90's it was cool to be fucked in the head. It was in the music (hence the grunge rock phase) and you saw it on television, depression and fractured psyches was the thing. Now, we need a hero who's strong, and sure of himself, who's so moved by passion and force of will that he'll do anything to avenge his parents and safeguard everyone else…
Hmmm, and how did Bush Jr. win again?
Sin City - Robert Rodriguez is the draw here, the man (like Quentin) can do no wrong. Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, and Frank Miller are just the icing on a big ass cake.
Cursed - Give me a break; it's the first decent werewolf movie we've had since 1994. Of course I want to see it. Plus, it’s Wes.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - The lightsaber duels are the only reason I'll give this a try. But you know what they say, “Twice burned…”
War of the Worlds - Tom Cruise is the man!
Fantastic Four - I have to, or I'll get my comic geek membership revoked.
And Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe - As before, WETA!
JPG.
posted by QABBAL at 11:37 AM
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