Just saw The Rocketeer for the first time. I read the first issue of the comics in the bookstore a while ago and I was hooked so I watched this. Let's just say the pleasing aesthetics part of my brain was having loud orgasms. In the future, I also want to try to lobby for the continuation of (maybe possibly helm) this series after learning about how Disney was being a bunch of moronic schmucks, and how they ruined a potentially long-lived franchise.
Saw Splice. It's bad don't watch it, unless someone else is going to pay for your ticket and you go with friends who are just going to make fun of it. It starts out like it will be average to above average then within the last 35 minutes or so it goes downhill and never comes back up.
At least everyone else where we saw it was making fun of it so we were able to make fun of it somewhat loudly too.
Could you please elaborate on that point a little more, please?
The Wizard of Oz is classic. There have been attempts to build on the franchise, but they've been poor. The Lost World was nowhere near as good as Jurassic Park, and Jurassic Park III was an abortion. Don't get me started about The Matrix. The Jaws franchise ably demonstrates the law of diminishing returns. Have you seen Psycho 2? Teen Wolf Too was one of the worst films ever.
Fight Club does not need a sequel. The Goonies was left blessedly sequel-less. Once Quaid used the reactor, that was the end. Maverick and Charlie lived happily ever, for all we know. Have you ever heard of Groundhog Day 2: Groundhoggier? No, you haven't. E.T. was untarnished by a (film) sequel, although when I was in second grade I read a sequel novelization about E.T. coming back for Elliot. Blade Runner should never have a sequel. Big Trouble In Little China? The check is not in the mail.
Sure, there's the occasional winners. You could invoke the holy trinity of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Back to the Future. The Spy Who Shagged Me was by far a better film than International Man of Mystery. James Cameron can be argued for both sides: T2 was twice the movie The Terminator was, and T3 was half.
Fun fact: The Land Before Time has 12 sequels.
Look, I could go on. The fact is that Hollywood is sequel and remake crazy right now. It's a trend we see every time the economy tanks. In those bust cycles, certain movies have gotten great sequels that we're all better off having seen. More often than not, though, in my opinion, some timeless classic will just get its head bashed on the rocks of some producer's greed.
Let's look at the sequels in development right now, with my annotated expectations for their quality: Tron Legacy (good), 300 2 (wretched), Alien 5 (lukewarm at best), Bourne 4 (nope), Crank 3D (I'm not saying the first two were worthwhile), Ghostbusters 3 (awesomesauce), Indiana Jones 5 (someone assassinate George Lucas right now), Men In Black 3 (the second one just about ruined my honeymoon), Saw VII (saw none, no interest), Scream 4 (stab me), Star Trek XII (I just had an orgasm), Rambo 5, or whatever (bad), American Pie (horrible), another Batman film (I'm not sure it can equal The Dark Knight).
Here's all about reboots/remakes being shopped around H-Town: The Black Hole (due for an update, so great), Conan (dismal), The Crow (The No), Dune (can't be worse than Sting), Fletch (without Chevy it's dooooomed), Highlander (cut off my head), Honey I Shrunk the Kids (a little bad), The Neverending Story (one of the best ideas on this list), Robocop (too soon?), Short Circuit (one of the worst ideas on this list), Teen Wolf (I'm howling mad).
The truth is that the more content you create in any one universe, the greater the chances that franchise will fail, or at the very least its cache will decrease. Let's use as an example the old Star Wars versus Star Trek argument. Star Trek has five television series and 11 movies. The percentage of crap in there has enjoyed lots of time to fester. Season three of TOS was abysmal. Seasons six and seven of TNG were crud. We can banter about DS9 all day, but Voyager was a decline and Enterprise was a low-rent reflection of the glory days. The movies are half and half.
Meanwhile, Star Wars was epic, just fucking epic, as a trilogy. Then Lucas got cocky and started branching out with his grubby paws. The Ewoks cartoon, the holiday special, the Ewok Adventure, the prequels, the Clone Wars movie -- these spoiled the virginity of the previously unbesmirched films. The more the Star Wars universe expands, the more cracks show in the facade.
So my point is that all these things considered, it's nice that in some rare cases, as is such with The Rocketeer, there is a one-shot, stand-alone, 90-minute go that encapsulates everything we know about the characters. It's simple. It's untouched. It's classic. It's pure. In a world where The Matrix: Revolutions exists, those exceptions to the rule can be precious.
Wow...I don't think your's truly ever even gone on a tangent of that magnitude, but that's beside the point. I almost completely agree with everything you say and having seen the monumental amount of examples you have provided; now I really hope no one continues The Rocketeer. I would like to make a few comments on the examples, not that it will further or detract on the topic as a whole, more along the lines of my thoughts and opinions on them.
Indiana Jones 5 (someone assassinate George Lucasright now)
What did you expect? He can't make a movie anymore.Sure there was a time he could (one example being American Grease which is incredible) but that flame has been snuffed out.
300 2 (wretched)
WHY?! Xerxes doesn't need a movie! Snyder really has no shame.
Saw VII (saw none, no interest)
I have pieces of toe fluff better than those movies.
Jurassic Park III was an abortion
I find this statement rather humorous, not because that it's invalid (it is valid), but that the same guy who directed The Rocketeer made this. You really wonder where he went wrong.
Dune (can't be worse than Sting)
While I do have gripes with some of Lynch's choice of casting, some were just fine (Kyle MacLachlan was perfect as Paul Atreides). I honestly felt in some places it was superb, but a lot of places it really flat on it's back. I'm rather mixed about them pitching this idea.
The Neverending Story (one of the best ideas on this list)
I wholeheartedly agree with this statement as it will finally do the book justice.
Robocop (too soon?)
Possibly. But I feel it's got a huge amount of credibility considering Darren Aronofsky is still attached to this and he could possibly do interesting things with it (especially considering he almost got Lone Wolf and Cub made until it sank).
The Black Hole (due for an update, so great)
Can't complain one bit, as the original was vastly ignored. That was a real shame considering it really did a lot of cool things and had a great cast, as well as a very heavy core that manifested near the end. I can't wait to see what they're gonna do with this.
Crank 3D
It's just a gimmick, it'll do fine regardless of the 3D.
another Batman film (I'm not sure it can equal The Dark Knight)
Normally I'd agree with that, but on the other hand I find that that's a rather unfair statement. There is no denying that The Dark Knight is a masterpiece (Scrym, quit hiding behind the original, despite how great it is. It's what you want isn't it, it's on par with Frank Miller, right?), but I'd like to point out that that's what a lot of people said when Batman Begins first came out and boy were our expectations blown right away.
Tron Legacy (good)
They've got the right idea and they have taken good care of the Tron franchise numerous times in the past. Especially since Jeff Lebowski and Bruce Boxleitner is coming back for it.
Blade Runner should never have a sequel.
Technically it did have literary sequels but that doesn't really count in the long run due to the medium it was presented on.
Overall, I feel Hollywood is stuck in a rut that will only continue to fester for a long time.
While I do have gripes with some of Lynch's choice of casting, some were just fine (Kyle MacLachlan was perfect as Paul Atreides). I honestly felt in some places it was superb, but a lot of places it really flat on it's back. I'm rather mixed about them pitching this idea.
This movie pisses on the memory of Frank Herbert. Rain on Dune? It'd kill the worms! Lynch had never even read the fucking book.
While I do have gripes with some of Lynch's choice of casting, some were just fine (Kyle MacLachlan was perfect as Paul Atreides). I honestly felt in some places it was superb, but a lot of places it really flat on it's back. I'm rather mixed about them pitching this idea.
This movie pisses on the memory of Frank Herbert. Rain on Dune? It'd kill the worms! Lynch had never even read the fucking book.
I've only ever seen the movie, but even if I haven't been well-versed in the source material, I know it's a poor substitute for the true enjoyment of the work (I'm planning to rectify that shortly however). So I can only speak having seen the technical design of it, so I'll have to read it to get a better idea.
What did you expect? He can't make a movieanymore.
To be honest, He never could, and the only reason he managed it before was because there was a studio and a whole bunch of people telling him "No, that's fucking stupid, George, don't do that, or we're not giving you any money/help" - but now he has umpty hojillion dollars, and can do whatever he likes - and look at the results.
I want a remake, but only to do Dune justice on the big screen.
I absolutely understand that feeling. That is what I want done with The Chronicles of Prydain because Disney fucked up and did not do those books the justice they deserve.
For all this reboot rage, I think A-Team looks pretty awesome and even the new Karate kid movie looks like a decent re-imaging of the original for that age group.
And while Iron Man 2 was not as tight as Iron Man 1 it still was a really fun movie.
Posted By: JasonIndiana Jones 5 (someone assassinate George Lucasright now)
What did you expect? He can't make a movie anymore. Sure there was a time he could (one example being American Grease which is incredible) but that flame has been snuffed out.
I agree, his older films are far better. I strongly recommend THX 1138 to anyone who hasn't seen it... p.s. I assume you were referring to American Graffiti there..
Just finished watching Ip Man and Ip Man 2. They're semi-biographical films based on Yip Man, Bruce Lee's master. The first one deals with the Sino-Japanese War and the second with British Imperialism. They were without a doubt the best movies I've seen in quite some time.
Revisted Desperado the other night. That movie still holds up to my amusement and entertainment. I think I might check out the sequel and its predecessor soon.
I just got back from seeing Get Him to the Greek. It was pretty funny, but no where near as funny as Forgetting Sarah Marshall. In fact, I want to go watch that now.
Just watched Black Dynamite. I have not laughed so hard in a very long time. I was almost in tears during parts of the movie.
The movie is from 2009 but it was filmed and edited to look like it was filmed in the early 70's. It even has bad edits thrown in on purpose.
The more I reflect back on this movie the more I realize what a great parody it is. Many of the elements are so subtle that they are easy to miss.
I think one of my favorite lines was when BD and his girlfriend were talking to the two girls jumping rope. (paraphrasing)
BD - "I'm Black Dynamite." Girl1 - "My mama says my daddy's name is Black Dynamite." Girl2 - "My mama says my daddy's name is Black Dynamite too." BD - "Lots of cats have that name. It's pretty common." [cut to BD's girlfriend taking a closer look at the two girls]
The movie is so full of parody at aimed at the blaxploitation genre. I might have to watch this one again.
Comments
At least everyone else where we saw it was making fun of it so we were able to make fun of it somewhat loudly too.
Fight Club does not need a sequel. The Goonies was left blessedly sequel-less. Once Quaid used the reactor, that was the end. Maverick and Charlie lived happily ever, for all we know. Have you ever heard of Groundhog Day 2: Groundhoggier? No, you haven't. E.T. was untarnished by a (film) sequel, although when I was in second grade I read a sequel novelization about E.T. coming back for Elliot. Blade Runner should never have a sequel. Big Trouble In Little China? The check is not in the mail.
Sure, there's the occasional winners. You could invoke the holy trinity of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Back to the Future. The Spy Who Shagged Me was by far a better film than International Man of Mystery. James Cameron can be argued for both sides: T2 was twice the movie The Terminator was, and T3 was half.
Fun fact: The Land Before Time has 12 sequels.
Look, I could go on. The fact is that Hollywood is sequel and remake crazy right now. It's a trend we see every time the economy tanks. In those bust cycles, certain movies have gotten great sequels that we're all better off having seen. More often than not, though, in my opinion, some timeless classic will just get its head bashed on the rocks of some producer's greed.
Let's look at the sequels in development right now, with my annotated expectations for their quality: Tron Legacy (good), 300 2 (wretched), Alien 5 (lukewarm at best), Bourne 4 (nope), Crank 3D (I'm not saying the first two were worthwhile), Ghostbusters 3 (awesomesauce), Indiana Jones 5 (someone assassinate George Lucas right now), Men In Black 3 (the second one just about ruined my honeymoon), Saw VII (saw none, no interest), Scream 4 (stab me), Star Trek XII (I just had an orgasm), Rambo 5, or whatever (bad), American Pie (horrible), another Batman film (I'm not sure it can equal The Dark Knight).
Here's all about reboots/remakes being shopped around H-Town: The Black Hole (due for an update, so great), Conan (dismal), The Crow (The No), Dune (can't be worse than Sting), Fletch (without Chevy it's dooooomed), Highlander (cut off my head), Honey I Shrunk the Kids (a little bad), The Neverending Story (one of the best ideas on this list), Robocop (too soon?), Short Circuit (one of the worst ideas on this list), Teen Wolf (I'm howling mad).
The truth is that the more content you create in any one universe, the greater the chances that franchise will fail, or at the very least its cache will decrease. Let's use as an example the old Star Wars versus Star Trek argument. Star Trek has five television series and 11 movies. The percentage of crap in there has enjoyed lots of time to fester. Season three of TOS was abysmal. Seasons six and seven of TNG were crud. We can banter about DS9 all day, but Voyager was a decline and Enterprise was a low-rent reflection of the glory days. The movies are half and half.
Meanwhile, Star Wars was epic, just fucking epic, as a trilogy. Then Lucas got cocky and started branching out with his grubby paws. The Ewoks cartoon, the holiday special, the Ewok Adventure, the prequels, the Clone Wars movie -- these spoiled the virginity of the previously unbesmirched films. The more the Star Wars universe expands, the more cracks show in the facade.
So my point is that all these things considered, it's nice that in some rare cases, as is such with The Rocketeer, there is a one-shot, stand-alone, 90-minute go that encapsulates everything we know about the characters. It's simple. It's untouched. It's classic. It's pure. In a world where The Matrix: Revolutions exists, those exceptions to the rule can be precious.
Overall, I feel Hollywood is stuck in a rut that will only continue to fester for a long time.
And while Iron Man 2 was not as tight as Iron Man 1 it still was a really fun movie.
I agree, his older films are far better. I strongly recommend THX 1138 to anyone who hasn't seen it... p.s. I assume you were referring to American Graffiti there..
The movie is from 2009 but it was filmed and edited to look like it was filmed in the early 70's. It even has bad edits thrown in on purpose.
The more I reflect back on this movie the more I realize what a great parody it is. Many of the elements are so subtle that they are easy to miss.
I think one of my favorite lines was when BD and his girlfriend were talking to the two girls jumping rope.
(paraphrasing)
BD - "I'm Black Dynamite."
Girl1 - "My mama says my daddy's name is Black Dynamite."
Girl2 - "My mama says my daddy's name is Black Dynamite too."
BD - "Lots of cats have that name. It's pretty common."
[cut to BD's girlfriend taking a closer look at the two girls]
The movie is so full of parody at aimed at the blaxploitation genre. I might have to watch this one again.