Sunday, August 19, 2007

Blockbusters gone bust?

"Sick of Bloated Blockbusters, Filmgoers Flock to Small Teen Comedy 'Super-bad'"
Well, it also looks pretty funny, doesn't it? I don't know if I'd pop the champaigne yet over the improving tastes of filmgoers. Wasn't Brokeback Mountain a small, slow-paced character drama too? And that did pretty well. It still didn't slow the relentless tide of idiotic comic book movies.

Blockbusters can be great fun- I still love the Indiana Jones films, and we had a great time at the most recent Harry Potter film. But they can also be wearying. There was something very soulless about the last Pirates of the Carribean film. It was filled with amazing effects, but barely made any sense. And it was just assumed that we wouldn't want to watch these characters interact for very long before we'd yearn to see more CGI. And who in their right minds has Johnny Depp playing the most entertaining character in years and decides to cut his role down to a cameo?

Anyway, I'd love to see a return to character dramas. Apparently, I'm different than the current generation of moviegoers in being endlessly fascinated by the human face.

4 comments:

Holly said...

I can't say I hold out much hope that audiences will relinquish their taste for films explicitly engineered to please crowds. However, and it's a big however, I *can* hope that audiences' tastes will mature in some regards, or at least seek some new flavors. Technically, Shakespeare was all about the blockbusting, too...

All that said, I'm actually a fan of the big budget B movies. The films that have NO obligation to sense-making, but are all about the eye candy. Pretty much anything made from a comic, graphic novel, epic novel (or series of novels), old tv show or cartoon, or folklore is going to be in this category. I find it enormously therapeutic to watch stuff blow up for no obvious reason.

Rufus said...

For me, they're like a Big Mac- I like them, they taste good. But I can't eat them every day.

The problem is that all of the movie theatres around here show nothing but these movies. For this reason, when we do go, Claire and I are the oldest people in the theatre. Similarly, our video store insists on getting 80 copies of Norbit, but won't get good movies unless I ask them to. Obviously, I have to start using Netflix like everyone else.

That said, obviously someone who is thrilled that a theatre in Toronto is showing Night of the Creeps on the big screen next month can't complain too much about other people's tastes. I just need a break from the Big Macs, you know?

Holly said...

I do understand, but I can't resist: You DID say you live on junk food...

Somehow, I find myself profoundly grateful that I have no idea what Norbit is.

No, don't tell me.

Rufus said...

I know, and it's probably worth mentioning that we're going into Toronto today to look at dopey horror movies. Not to mention the fact that my favorite movie so far this year- INLAND EMPIRE- was damn near incomprehensible in places. So, alas, I contradict myself. I am vast. I contain multitudes.