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Upcoming movies show promise... but they’ll first have
to sidestep the pitfalls of their recent predecessors.
Warning: This article contains what are known as spoilers - key plot
and storyline information - on recent movies. While all of the films
mentioned here have ended their original theatrical run, they have only
recently been released on DVD... so, if you are the type of person who
prefers to avoid the expense of movie-ticket prices in favor of waiting
for the latest hit to show up at your favorite video-rental store,
proceed at your own risk.
The month of May has the honor of officially ushering in the summer
blockbuster season, with the Memorial Day holiday weekend traditionally
kicking off the opening salvo. However, with Marvel’s much anticipated
Iron Man slated to start its run on May 2, Hollywood may be moving up
that timetable... and for this year, it’s none too soon. For the past
several months, although a number of movies have had breakout potential,
all seem to have failed at reaching that level of excitement and quality
which translates into a huge box-office success. My friends and
acquaintances have all related the same general disgruntled attitude
toward the movie industry’s current lack of appealing fare.
Based on my experience, I would have to say part of the problem may lie
with the storyline of the latest crop of films. For some reason, dark
and grim is what Hollywood marketers seem to feel is “hip” these days,
and when it comes to the latest batch of strongly-promoted movies,
that’s what we’ve been getting.
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem started the whole mess. The November - April
expanse can sometimes be a barren stretch for good films, as the movie
industry generally holds its potential blockbusters for the summer... so
this eagerly anticipated sequel was hoped to be a bright spot in a
generally dry patch. But, aptly described by a Rotten Tomatoes reviewer
as “mean-spirited,” AvP: Requiem seemed to take delight in gruesomely
dispatching traditionally innocent victims like women and children. In
one particular scene that can only be described as grotesque,
inhabitants of a hospital’s maternity ward are used as breeding grounds
for the film’s Alien queen. That, combined with less-than-spectacular
battle scenes and a weak ending, left viewers with a film that
ultimately failed to deliver.
Most people had higher hopes for I am Legend, Will Smith’s latest
sci-fi, action-horror flick. Although Smith’s acting was nothing short
of superb, Legend’s storyline was particularly dark. Some people will
argue that the movie’s ending, with the cost of the cure obtained
through the death of the protagonist, stays true to the book which
inspired it. However, that ending is actually simpler than the
originally-shot ending, which is now available online and in the film’s
special-version DVD set. The original ending, which was labeled by some
as “controversial,” leaves Robert Neville alive, but also forces the
audience to reconsider the film’s vicious antagonists - and possibly
even Neville himself - in a new light... and it is this very
reassessment which is one of the central themes of the novel. With this
film, Hollywood essentially “wimped-out.”
Cloverfield was next. Based on the previews, many people were expecting
a retread of Godzilla. However, this movie’s creature design was
actually quite original, and it even featured some fairly compelling
characters, to boot. But I was irritated by the almost systematic
elimination of all the characters... and if that wasn’t bad enough, the
entire story was wasted with the film’s “reality-style,”
home-video-as-documentary footage (a technique popularized by The Blair
Witch Project). The movie might have been more tolerable of at least
some of it had been shot traditionally: a friend and I actually had to
close our eyes during several particularly dizzying action scenes as the
camera is moved wildly about (supposedly) by the character filling the
role of reality-journalist.
Video wasn’t much help. Someone persuaded me to get The Mist, Stephen
King’s latest horror thriller out on DVD. I am generally not a fan of
King’s work, so I rented this movie against my better judgment. The film
quickly confirmed to me that taking leave of one’s senses is generally
not advisable. One of The Mist’s primary purposes was to showcase the
nature of human behavior against the backdrop of a catastrophic
breakdown in safety and societal law-and-order... and unfortunately, it
seems to go out of its way to highlight all the negative aspects. The
movie’s ending is nothing short of hideous - not because of gore, but
rather because of its rejection of hope and general lack of esteem for
the human condition.
Movies have the capability to frighten, thrill, horrify, cheer, and even
inspire us. But what a lot of movie-makers seem to be forgetting in this
day and age is that one of movies’ primary purposes is also to entertain
us. While there are those few who may thrive on the dark, gloom-and-doom
films that seem to be currently in-vogue in Hollywood, many of us
actually use movies as a legitimate escape from the grit, grime, and
grimness of everyday life. This fact is reflected in the relatively
unspectacular box-office results from these latest films. Movie makers
would do well to remember the very apt advice given in an old
screenwriting manual I read long ago: “The ideal story is one which
neither enshrines fantasy nor denies hope.”
See you at the movies!
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