The cinema is dead

"When the popcorn outshines the movie, it's time to give it a rest."

Movie Stars with stature

 I had a telephone call earlier from a mate, asking if I fancied grabbing a movie Thursday evening and then  getting a few beers but a quick glance at the list of films playing filled me with dread and I declined, suggesting instead that we bypass the cinema. I don't think I'll ever go to the cinema again! What's the point? Movies these days are mostly shit - Is it me getting old or are the movies not as good as they used to be?

The fact that I don't have any desire to go to the flicks certainly suggests that either I or the films have changed - I've always loved the cimema,ever since childhood. There was a time a few years ago when I went at least once a week, often more. Now though, I think the last time I went to the cinema was to watch Grand Torino.

Maybe I will pop along to watch the Coen's True Grit - but I'm deeply nervous about this one. The original is a dearly loved classic and it's got John Wayne in it. Now I do think Jeff Bridges who takes the Duke's role in the new version, is a great actor but he ain't John Wayne. What's next, Sands of Iwo Jima with Tom Cruise?

You know, thinking along these lines, makes you realise that it's not only the standards of movies that are dropping with each year but the quality of actors too. These days there are no actors with the pull of say James Stewart or John Wayne, or Bogart or Cagney, Cary Grant, Errol Flynn. I guess each generation gets what they deserve and as long as we encourage the entertainment industry to peddle raw sex, unnecessary violence, vulgarity, car chases and an inexhaustible supply of gunfire by purchasing tickets or by tuning in, we continue to subsidize mediocrity.

The Muppets: Pigs in Space set

And I don't think it's an age thing - I mean most of my favourite actors and directors actually come from well before my time, and the defining film of my generation, the massive blockbuster Star Wars, I actually think is an overrated mess of a picture. I mean it's an okay children's film but it ain't nowhere near as good as The Wizard of Oz. In fact I often think that if one film is responsible for the dumbing down of the cinema then it is in fact Star Wars - Long, long ago, in a galaxy far far away, plot and story used to matter but not anymore. Take a look at Star Wars again, judge the quality of the dialogue - "travellin' through hyperspace ain't like dustin' crops, boy!".

"George Lucus couldn't direct traffic, if the truth is told."

Shit film, I am in

"Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison and me, we were all thinking the film was rubbish." Actor Anthony Daniels, C3P0

And think of the acting, Harrison Ford's most convincing performance in the whole sorry trilogy ( the original movies here, not the re-makes which I ain't even seen) was when frozen in a block of something or other. And then think back to a world when fast food tie-ins were not a part of the movie industry, when story was more important than the next big explosion.


Ahh well, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I am just getting old and grumpy.

Batman stole my thunder - Stallone claims

Sly (Judge Dredd) Stallone should know a thing or two about bad comic book movies, but the actor has hit out at the Batman franchise, claiming it is responsible for the decline in action cinema - The following is taken entirely from the Yahoo article:

"Back in the 1980s, they were the biggest stars in Hollywood, both in terms of box-office receipts and bicep circumference. But the glory days of the brawny action heroes -- Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme, and the like -- eventually faded. In their place, a new breed of '90s star took over: younger, leaner, and nowhere near as macho. By decade's end, Keanu Reeves was a huge action star (shudder to think).

Where did it all go wrong? According to an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sylvester Stallone puts the blame squarely on the caped shoulders of one comic book hero.

"It was the first 'Batman' movie," Stallone told the Times, in reference to the 1989 movie adaptation starring Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader. He went on to say, "The action movies changed radically when it became possible to Velcro your muscles on," a clear dig at how the trim Keaton was encased in a sculpted Batsuit for the film. Stallone joked, "I wish I had thought of Velcro muscles myself... "I didn't have to go to the gym for all those years."

Stallone adds that the director Tim Burton's stylish take on the superhero story changed what audiences expected from an action flick: "It was the beginning of a new era. The visual took over. The special effects became more important than the single person. That was the beginning of the end."

It's ironic, then, that Stallone will be going to this year's San Diego Comic-Con -- the center for all things geeky -- to promote his upcoming movie, "The Expendables," which is a true throwback to the action hits of the '80s. In the film, Stallone (who also directed) leads a team of mercenaries to overthrow a corrupt South American dictator. It costars Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, and even Stallone's "Rocky IV" nemesis, Dolph Lundgren.

"The Expendables" is also notable for being the first time Stallone has appeared on-screen with fellow '80s icons Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. Stallone told the Times that each of them had their own on-screen persona which made set them apart from one another: "Arnold was king of the one-liners. Bruce was witty and talkative... And I was pretty silent." He added that their differences made it impossible for him to see himself in his friend's signature roles. "Arnold was relentless, like this perfect machine. People asked if I could have played the Terminator. Are you kidding? Not a chance, I never could have played the Terminator."

As it happens, Bruce Willis will be at Comic-Con this weekend promoting his upcoming movie "Red," which also is an action flick about an aging team of experts. It stars Oscar-winners Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren.

Stallone will preview "The Expendables" at Comic-Con on Thursday, and the movie will muscle its way into movie theaters on August 13."