Editorial - Does Avatar have a chance at Box Office Success?

As I sit here writing this editorial, we are essentially 6 weeks away from the release of James Cameron’s long awaited return to filmmaking, Avatar.

But in that time the anticipation has gone two ways, those like myself who can’t wait to see if Cameron still has the Midas touch or if it will fail spectacularly under it’s own weight, for that we’ll have to wait and find out.

But what I want to ask is does the film stand a chance at that most important of champions: Box Office, this year alone has seen many underwhelming movies that still returned a profit for their distributors due to the fact that they carry a safe and comfortable audience, this film doesn’t and to my eyes this could hurt it’s chances of being a money maker, especially when Transformers 2 despite venomous reviews went on to make $400 million dollars at the US Box Office.

Another matter that complicates this is the runaway success of Cameron’s last film Titanic, which still sits at the top of the US Box Office with $600 million dollars and almost anything that doesn’t reach that mark is certain to fail, so I suppose it’s just a matter of waiting and seeing how this goes, hopefully it will all turn out for the best.

Film Review - 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)

3000 Miles to Graceland stars Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner as two ex-convicts who along with some associates steal $3.2 million dollars from the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas during an Elvis impersonation weekend, but when that type of money goes missing, some unexpected parties decide to want a piece of the action.

This movie starts off with some interesting ideas in regards to the use of Elvis as well as the hijack but quickly falls apart like a house in cards through its endless gun fights and snappy camera tickets as well as the standard “I’ll take you all on” climax.

In short, this movie is a mess and didn’t do much to entertain me so I’m giving it a 1 and a half out of 5.

In Memorial: Edward Woodward

As the worst year for celebrity deaths in recent memory marches to a close, one more of our greats is claimed, British actor Edward Woodward who has died at age 79.

Woodward had a long and varied career behind him, starring in such films as the original Wicker Man with Christopher Lee, the TV series the Equalizer in the 1980’s, Callan another TV series, the Australian film Breaker Morant and most recently he was seen as Tom Weaver, civilian liaison for the Neighborhood Watch Alliance in 2007’s Hot Fuzz, which is in the running for my one favourite film of the decade.

May Edward rest in peace and his family find what they can to deal with their loss.

Film Review - Crimson Tide (1995)

Crimson Tide stars Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington as the captain and XO (Executive Officer) of the USS Alabama which after an attack from a Russian submarine loses it Communications grid and with it, final orders on whether to launch its compliment of nuclear weapons on Russia, what follows is high stakes.

And high stakes is what you could say to describe Crimson Tide, as Washington and Hackman take centre stage in their fight for the Alabama with Viggo Mortensen the key to it all, now Crimson Tide is well made, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and the late Don Simpson and directed by Tony Scott, it recalls the feeling of Das Boot, the German WW2 submarine film with its use of close ups and tracking shots.

Bit it also feels very bombastic with its constant use of music and bright lights, which undercut the tension of the scenes, something that John McTiernan’s Hunt for Red October had in spades, one also gets the feeling that Simpson, Bruckheimer and Scott made this film to get revenge on Red October, which outdid their Days of Thunder at the 1990 Box Office.

Overall though, Crimson Tide is well made but only scores a 2 and a half out of 5.

Strange Sensations: Next Time, Gadget, Next Time

And now for the launch of a new segment called Strange Sensations, which has some stuff written for it that would have served under this new banner but here is the first official editorial under this banner.

And it deals once again with one of these topics I think up for fun or because of some movie I saw that made me think this way, and this is about what I like to call the “Next Time, Gadget” Ending.

And what is said ending you ask, well it has to do with the Gadget TV series, at the end of every episode Dr. Claw said “I’ll get you next time, Gadget, next time” which left it very open ended for Claw to have his revenge, how this is relevant to movies has to do with the way a lot of them end in this climate, which is that they are very open ended with the bad guys getting away or not being killed off, this is done to really set up the next movie much in the same way that Claw’s getaway set up the next episode.

And there you go folks, the first of the Strange Sensations.

Editorial - The ACTA Proposal and it’s lasting effects

As an internet user and film fan, I was deeply disturbed to read about the recent news that leaked out of a meeting in Korea earlier this week.

And that is classified negotiations in regards to global copyright agreements, normally as far as I know they depend on local laws in regards to copyright and as long as the content has not been sold by the person copying it for their own use, then law officers are powerless to do anything about it as technically, they haven’t really broken any laws.

But if this new treaty is signed by world governments from places like Australia, Japan, Canada and the US to name as examples then they would be obliged to enact “three strikes” laws in which if you’re accused of infringing copyright, you’re internet access will be cut off, even if the accusation turns out to be completely bullshit.

Now again, this did disturb me as I feel that Hollywood studios who simply refuse to adapt with the times in fear of losing their profits (not that they’d lose much anyway as if it can be gotten legally at the right price, people will go for it) have no right to judge my private internet connection, hey I condemn online piracy and pretty much every disc, tape, whatever has been legally bought but I can understand why people do it for these reasons:

1. People simply don’t have the time to do stuff like this, I talked to some friends about the issue of online piracy recently and they sympathized as well when I told that they do long hours, sometimes working from 8am to 6pm and after that, you would feel so exhausted that the last thing you would want to do is go to a cinema.

2. Even if people had the opportunity to do that, most people also work Saturdays and their Sundays are already taken by having to clean their house, do the grocery shopping, pay the bills, scrub their toes and so on and so forth, so again most people I know probably won’t have the time and/or money to travel to a cinema to see a film.

3. And lastly, there’s also the issue of the pricing, now I don’t consider myself a great supporter of the video game industry here in Australia for two reasons, first there is no R18+ rating for Games and as a result, games have to be toned down to get the MA15+ rating and second, games are just too expensive, ranging from the $100-$120 mark on average, which for my money is simply too high for most games.


But it’s doubtful that most studio executives would care about such matters as they want the world to revolve around them and to stop all of the progress we’ve made over the last 10 years because they’re too scared of change, well I’m sorry but there can be officially be no going back to the ways things were before the internet existed as the medium has opened up the world in a way we could never imagine in terms of communications, distribution, financial opportunities and educational methods.

Treading on this in a big way will have very dire consequences for the world economy and may even threaten the chances of economic recovery as one of it’s biggest assets would be shut down because of Hollywood studios wanting more money, well this to me is totally unacceptable and must be fought at every possible turn or these studios will get their way and turn the internet into another broadcast medium and that is NOT what it was designed for, it was designed as a service like the post office and telephone networks and we must fight to keep it that way for the good of all mankind.

Film Review - Titanic (1997)

Titanic is based on the world famous maiden voyage of the aforementioned ship which also sunk after hitting an iceberg, here the tale is told from the point of view of two people: a rich but depressed woman played by Kate Winslet and a wanderer wanting a way home played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Director James Cameron has made some of my most admired movies with his two Terminator films, Aliens and the Abyss, this film sits right on the shelf with those as again I sat there thinking “I hate it when he does this” as the movie worked, setting up a brilliant framework within the first 20 minutes that prepares you for what’s to come, the chemistry between DiCaprio and Winslet is some of the strongest I’ve ever witnessed but on top of that, the finale is masterfully made with sections of it recalling Aliens and Terminator in your mind, which proves that when it comes to action, Cameron is still one of the masters.

Yes folks, I enjoyed this movie even if it doesn't hold up on repeat viewings but in terms of my rating I’m going to give it a 3 and a half out of 5.

Twitter me this

Hello all,

I am pleased to report that the Cinema Scene is now operational on Twitter, and you can be in on the fun.

Link is here: http://twitter.com/thecinemascene

A Guide to Critic Proof Movies

As I like to do here, I talk about the trends of movies both big and small and whether they’re good or bad but there is an important one that has surfaced in recent years that I feel deserves some attention.

And that is what’s known as Critic proofing and what is Critic proofing you ask well it is essentially when the reviews from critics like Roger Ebert and Mark Kermode to use as examples are totally disregarded by people as they want to see that movie despite the fact they may be right and here I would like to present just a few examples as there are literally heaps to draw from:

The Matrix Reloaded: Opening in 2003, ending a 4 year wait for this sequel, the sequel to the popular 1999 Sci-Fi hit arrived in cinemas across the globe to many lukewarm reviews feeling that it didn’t live up to the first and too much emphasis on the philosophy and long winded speeches rather than the high concept Science Fiction that helped make the first film so popular, but hey most people wanted none of it and the film made a principal’s ransom at the box office.

Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest: Opening in 2006, this sequel to the surprise 2003 hit reunited all the key players and despite many terrible reviews from both fans and critics with many saying that the film was too long and bloated with the endless CG effects, everyone that saw the first film pretty much went to this movie regardless, as they couldn’t wait to see the further adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: Opening in June of 2009, this sequel to the 2007 worldwide hit from director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg was greeted with some of the most venomous reviews ever given to a motion picture which is best summed up by the quote from Ebert’s review saying that it was “a horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments” and Kermode saying to a live audience at the Edinburgh Int. Film Festival “I HATED IT” which then received a standing ovation, even fans of the first film didn’t think much of this sequel at all, but did most people care, nope, they all wanted to see it regardless and as a result, it’s made $400 million dollars at the US Box Office.

And because of that last statistic, expect this trend to increase and press showings of big movies to become few and far between as other studios will hope for a similar reaction from movie goers, it’s been said that when such a thing happens it’s normally a bad sign but Hollywood seems to have reverted to its excessive roots so one could say as someone who loves the movies that it’s a bit of a disappointment.