Man, it really pisses me off when such a movie with such heart has tons of flaws to it. First off, the beginning of the movie threw me off so much. I mean, classic rock in medieval times? While two knights joust, we see the crowd of peasants and noblemen pounding their fists on the wooden banisters to the beat of Queens “We Will Rock you.” Am I missing something?
Jason X (2002)
In the movie we fast- forward to 2008 where we see Jason whose finally been caught by The Crystal Lake Research Facility. Scientists have decided to freeze him forever until they find out a way to kill him. Scientists decide that instead of freezing Jason and storing him, they want to research his regenerating power for the good of mankind. Rowan played by Lexia Doig disagrees and urges them to freeze him. Mistakenly, Jason breaks free from his shackles and slaughters all the scientists and now begins chasing Rowan. She is cornered in the cryogenic freezing room and lures Jason into the chamber and freezes him. But when she think she’s safe, Jason stabs her through the chamber and accidentally makes the chamber leak, freezing them both. Fast- forward 455 years into the future where space researchers go on a field trip into the now abandoned facility where they discover the frozen Jason and Rowan.
From Hell (2001)
An adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore, and based upon the legendary serial killer “Jack The Ripper”, inspector Frederick Abberline investigates the mysterious murders of prostitutes within the White chapel district of London. Abberline who can sense when Jack the Ripper will kill someone. So he and the British police go on a manhunt to track him down and stop his terror once and for all. If anything, “From Hell” has great atmosphere.
Why We Do It
“Great films are not happening because some mid-level schluphead wants to hold onto his expense account. He doesn’t want to risk it on a decision, or on somebody who hasn’t already made 10 hits.”
– Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles, The Iron Giant
I don’t think movies should be tailored for audiences. They should be created, made, filmed and then whatever audience it appeals to, then so be it, and that should make for a movie’s success. Movie’s are treated as a product by companies and studios. While they do have potential many times for franchises and money making opportunities, they aren’t a product, nor should they be subjected to scrutiny by audiences who decide something is good or bad in the story, or the characters.
Movies are works of art, moving works of art, thus they should be on display for onlookers to observe as works from artists. Should we still call movies works of art if they were immensely tailored for audiences? Trim the climax, keep the storytelling to a minimum, change this character to fit a better profile. It’s all basic bullshit. Davinci never went around his village asking people which shade of black they’d prefer on the Mona Lisa, and Stephen King never asked people which ending they’d like better in “Carrie”, so why should movies be subjected to such ridiculous routines such as testing audiences?
Texas Rangers (2001)
In yet another attempt on Hollywood’s part to re-create the incredible western genre that is rapidly dying, James Van Der Beek of “Dawson’s Creek” fame plays Lincoln Dunnison, a boy who witnessed his entire family get slaughtered by ruthless bandits, for some unknown reason. His life is spared and he now sets out to on a journey to join the famed army of the west, the “Texas Rangers”. Dylan McDermott plays the ex-leader of the famed Texas rangers who is asked to reform them because of a new threat. This bad it’s, really bad.
Amelie (2001)
In this French comedy, we meet Amelie (Audrey Toutou), a reclusive beautiful young girl who relies on her imagination to take her into her own magical worlds. When she discovers an old tin case in her wall containing relics of the past belonging to someone, she decides to make herself a deal: she finds the owner, if they are happy with discovering the relics, she will do nothing but good deeds from now on, if they aren’t happy, she will return to her reclusive life. Well, the owner loves the relics, and now decides to take her screwy life filled with screwball characters and do good deeds for them. This movie garnered tons of Oscar nods when it appeared on the scene, so when it came on, I was more than anxious to check it out.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
In the academy-award winning biography picture, John Nash played by Russell Crowe is a shy college student who is considered somewhat of a genius by his peers and a bit of a odd man. He soon gets recruited by a secret government agent (Ed Harris) to encode secret documents and codes for the rival government. He then meets Alicia (Jennifer Connelly) who falls in love with him. But soon, John begins to discover that things in his life aren’t as they seem. Finally, that academy decided to award Ron Howard with the best director Oscar at the awards and did he ever deserve it. What struck me the most about this movie is the incredible style in which Howard directs.