 |
| Not missing much / Philld |
There is nothing more depressing than reading a list of the latest offerings from Hollywood. Imagination is a rare quality there and the trends are easy to figure out. A film gets some unpredicted success and then the studios compete to produce more of the same and, as if that wasn't bad enough, churn out sequel after sequel.
Looking through the cinema listings, featuring items like, Bad boys 2, Halloween 7, Saw 4 etc one gets the impression that you're reading the football results from a bizarre league. Ocean's Eleven was followed by Ocean's Twelve, but some sequels just won't be made. Would Friday the Thirteenth be followed by Saturday the Fourteenth? could The Day After Tomorrow lead to A Week Next Wednesday?
Usually the sequels are numbered sequentially so the brain addled target market can work out what they've already seen in the video store, but recently there have been more 'branding conscious' methods, such as Harry Potter and the unfeasibly long subtitle.
If that's not bad enough, there is a trend to remake films that either should never have been made, or were made so well that nobody in their right mind thinks anyone could improve on them. Take Psycho, Hitchcock's finest moment. Gus Van Sant decided to remake it, duplicating each shot exactly. The difference is that this time it would be in colour. Reviewers described the film as 'pointless'.
Other classic films have undergone similar indignities, notably Get Carter, a grim sixties film starring Michael Caine, one that set his reputation. This was recently remade, starring Sylvester Stallone. Words fail me, as they also did for the leading man. What next, the wartime submarine drama, Das Boot, to be remade starring Will Smith?
I'm sticking to books from now on.
No comments:
Post a Comment