I've been going to the movies a lot more than usual, so it's time once again for movie reviews. I will start with the movie I actually liked, followed by the one I hated.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Although I felt it could have been rewritten at certain points, I have to admit I found it enjoyable, nothing more than old-fashioned popcorn entertainment with something in it for everyone. The fact that they got ride of the characters of Will and Elizabeth turned out to be an excellent improvement. This movie allowed the audience to just relax and enjoy the kind of adventure story they would have loved as kids. (The addition of cannibal mermaids was also a great touch, I must admit.)
The Hangover: Part Two
A brief story before my opinion of the movie: A couple of my friends and I had been planning to go bowling at one of the off-Strip resorts the night we saw this movie. When we arrived at the hotel's bowling lanes, we discovered that the entire bowling center had been reserved for some beer company-sponsored event, and that we would be unable to get an open lane until 10:00 that night (I showed up at 6:20 when we discovered this). We decided to see a movie at the hotel theater instead. For lack of any other ideas, I decided to go along with the majority vote to see The Hangover 2, and we walked to the theaters. We bought our tickets an hour before the show. As we waited in the lobby, I looked at the movie posters that adorned the walls, and could not help but think to myself: Did the public lose all appreciation for humor, originality, and taste at some point in the past decade? Did Hollywood stop pretending to search for original, thought-provoking, trailblazing screenplays? Almost every movie poster I saw was advertising some remake, sequel, adaptation, or sequel to a remake. Anyone looking forward to Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes? (Because we all remember the 2001 remake and what a modern masterpiece it was, Right??) Or for that matter, the upcoming remake of Fright Night? This is not to say that all sequels and remakes are terrible. Sometimes they can actually exceed the originals. And I certainly cannot exactly claim to be a great screenwriter, but as I was looking around the theater, it was hard not be dismayed. And when we watched the movie we paid to see, my suspicions about the state of cinema were confirmed. I must admit, I enjoyed the first "Hangover" when it came out years ago. As many of you know, I absolutely hated "Due Date" by the same director. Now, having seen Hangover Two, I finally realized that I had no reason at all to like Hangover One, and that this director is a complete hack. He specializes in movies in which likable, honest people are put through horrible situations by mindless, insensitive man-children. The kind of movies that the people who create think are "edgy" and "provocative",when in fact, they attack soft targets and come off as mean-spirited to everyone else . Hangover Two is the perfect example of this. During the closing credits, when we see a photo montage of the events that happened during the characters' drinking binge, two photographs are shown that are supposed to parody two infamous Vietnam War photographs. The fact that the filmmakers thought this was funny shows how spineless they truly are, because you can just imagine how they would react to a movie with a photo montage that parodies the disgusting photos from Abu Gharib.(Food for thought: They found nothing objectionable with the Vietnam jokes in the closing montage, but the filmmakers had the balls to fire Mel Gibson because the cast and crew "refused" to work with him? This is their idea of "conscience"? Give. Me. A. FUCKING BREAK.) So needless to say, I hated it. I'm not a snob or philistine, but all I can say is this: The film industry had better start thinking about the quality of the films it releases, because people WILL turn on Hollywood more and more if we continue to receive god-awful frat-boy "bromances" (does anyone still say that? I sincerely hope not!), loveless crap "romantic" comedies, and remakes.
With you 100% on this J. Hollywood has just got fat and lazy. Its 'safe' to make sequels and prequels (because they know a certain proportion of the original audience will inevitably turnout). Similarly with remakes. That's why the best American films in recent years have come out of small studios, indy film-makers and the film festival fringes:
ReplyDeleteLittle Miss Sunshine, Juno, Slumdog Millionaire, Traffic, Brokeback Mountain, Winter's bone etc
Winters Bone cost $2 million and made $6.5 mn in the US and another $2mn globally showing that indy movies that are thoughtful and provoking can make money. My Big Fat Greek Wedding cost $5mn and grossed over $240 million!!!
I hate the bro-mance comedies, the gross-out stuff etc etc. I loved the original Hangover because it was so different, but refused to go anywhere near the sequel. For a start the plot is identical the only difference is the location? And personally I find a joke is not as funny when told the second time.
Thankfully we have Indy makers... oh and the Cohen Brothers :-)