Let's Go to the Movies!
When I was around ten years old some of the best movies ever made were put on the big screen. In fact, I remember one big hit after another. We were introduced to Indiana Jones, Darth Vader, E.T., The Blade Runner, Mad Max and Christopher Reeve's Superman. These movies were inventive and thrilling. I would spend a day in bait beds digging up thousands of nightcrawlers to attend.
We've had some one hit wonders since then but not all quick fire like in the late 70s early 80s. The Matrix amazed me. I really enjoyed the second Spider-Man with Tobey Mcquire and Kirsten Dunst. Doc Octavius was marvelously realized. Braveheart by Mel Gibson moved me emotionally.
I enjoyed the "Lord of the Rings" movies but tired of watching actors walk around New Zealand. The first Iron Man seemed to be the role for Robert Downey Jr. After Iron Man, I felt there were too many characters with inconsistent powers that were not fleshed out enough, in my opinion.
New superhero movies were coming out fast and furious, no pun intended. The quality of the writing was poor from the get-go to me.
I went to Furiosa with a free movie ticket not expecting much. I thought the movie was fun taking us on another tour through the dystopian world of Mad Max, even though he was on the screen for two seconds.
There was me and one other guy watching the movie at 7:00 pm on opening weekend. Great for us but not for the future of movie theatres. What's going on?
Covid happened: People don't want to get all close and chummy with folks they don't know. We still have a preset comfortable distance in our brains.
Politics: People that enjoy film like me go to the movies to escape the world around us for a couple of hours. My favorite things about movies are the beautiful symphonic music, the visual artistry, new ideas to think on, and interesting stories.
I don't enjoy the fringe politics of the right or the left in my escapist entertainment. So, if politics are introduced into a movie they should be done in a creative and interesting way. Not the same bipartisan drudgery.
The duel between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi, with their mastery of the Force and lightsaber combat, is far more captivating than the politics of Federation Trade Routes.
Now Hollywood seems to be using most of their movies to preach their political stance. ZZZzzzz! That is not what I leave my comfortable couch and Costco 44 bags of microwave popcorn for. For the last decade they are using many of their movies to be the political arm of the extreme liberal left. Boring.
You've made your message clear. We get it. We agree to disagree. Please move along if you want our hard-earned money.
If they continue to use their stage as a pulpit, movie theatres will continue to lose money. We are paying for entertainment, not political grandstanding.
Most of these entertainers don't have much education and pretend to be someone else for a living. They are also puppets that are told what to say and do by directors and writers for a living. When they speak off screen for themselves it ain't pretty.
It ruins the character of Snow White when the actress is snarky and hateful toward men in real life. Why would I want to watch a movie when the creators tell me the movie is made for a small eccentric audience?
Poor Writing: I watched the Count of Monte Cristo from 1934 the other night. It's been released on Amazon Prime video. Even though the movie was in black and white I was interested. They really fleshed out the villains and the intricacies of Edmond Dantes' revenge. The court scene at the end was riveting.
All the movie had was good writing. The film has aged, and the sound was not that good. I put on closed captioning. Nothing visually to feast on or listen to compared to the movies of today. I understood issues that were unclear in the newest rendition of the movie with Jim Caviezel and Richard Harris.
The older version was better written, I think.
If this movie was written today, the focus may be on Mercedes (Edmond's Love) and Count Mondego (Edmond's backstabbing friend) with Edmond Dantes being a background character. Mercedes might be in love with a female servant due to the neglect of both Counts.
Napolean Boneparte and his politics vs. Mercedes' political stance might be written into the dialogue. Edmond would probably be a black man and many other characters would be strangely very diverse for Marseille. The three villains would still be white American men stereotypes, though. The women would have current hairstyles of gay women in Hollywood.
Mercedes might swordfight Napolean and Mondego at the end of the movie. Surprisingly, she is a master of fencing and defeats both swiftly. Her prowess with the sword might not be explained. Nevertheless, she would convey to The Count of Monte Cristo that her affections had changed after sixteen years apart, and then sail into the sunset, hand in hand with the maid.
And I would feel that this movie strays too far from the meaning of Alexandre Dumas' French novel. Even if well made, the movie would not resonate with us much. We would not feel excited to attend movies made by this director and actress in the future.
A movie about lesbian lovers and extreme in-depth politics is not interesting entertainment to general audiences, in my opinion. Little current politics and uncommon sexuality in movies goes a long way with most men and women. Especially children.
I enjoy movies that interest plebians. Interesting stories first. Like over 90 percent of people out there. If they want me to attend, they need to stop writing weird and uninteresting scenarios in more than 5-10 percent of films. And please label them. Hmmm. Yes.
Maybe one more rating? We added PG-13 because of "The Temple of Doom". How about "NA" for not intended for general audiences. I would really appreciate it. Another might be "FR" which means you are going to see some fringe stuff, especially with sexuality and politics. If they want movie attendance to improve, they had better come up with some kind of solution. I don't want to pay for movies about characters I don't understand and don't care about. Sorry, we are all just human. Most movies are losing our interest because we can't relate.
Expensive with Inflation: In 1980, I went to "Empire Strikes Back" for 2 bucks matinee price. I am about to go to "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" with my daughter. The cost of the ticket is 8.25 matinee price. Not too costly compared to other theatres in other areas.
I already eat before I go because concessions are ludicrously priced. The secret to making popcorn taste like at the movies is an unhealthy amount of salt and corn oil. 8 bucks for popcorn and 7 bucks for a drink. I can't imagine going to the movies with a family today.
That would be 25 bucks or more just to pay for the tickets for a normal sized family. 50 dollars or more to round up the family for a boring poorly written entertainment most of the time.
Streaming and VOD: Moreover, for 5 bucks we can watch the same movie one month later (or less lately) on our 65–100-inch 4K LED television with a 300-watt soundbar. The soda and popcorn are plentiful and cheap from Superstores. With their prices for pop, water and corn they must think the theatres have a monopoly on this stuff.
Also, streaming services are releasing movies from the beginning of cinema till today.
Something grotesque or offensive presented can be instantly skipped. You only pay a 5 dollar "Stupid Tax" instead of 50! Then families never watch another presentation from this producer, actor, or whatever. Some streaming subscriptions include the latest releases with a relatively low cost of 12 to 15 bucks monthly.
Disney Plus is of special note as I blog:
"We want to make men cry"
"The Force is Female"
"Star Wars is Gay"
"The Prince in Snow White is a Stalker"
These statements are from Disney's actors and directors! Are these folks about making a profit anymore? If I was Disney, they would be fired and sued. Or sued then fired.
What's going on with this company? They are basically saying "we hate men" and "our shows are not for you, Ted". "We only want gays and girls coming to our movies". Okay, as you wish.
I digress, but not much...............................
There are plenty of movies, TV series and miniseries that I missed in the past. I've never seen "The Maltese Falcon", "Flight of the Phoenix", "Robinson Crusoe", "1989 Lonesome Dove", "Justified", "V" the complete miniseries", "Blue Bloods, Season 10", "The Graduate" and on and on.
The first 4 Star Wars were the only ones that I was giddy to see anyway. "The Phantom Menace" was good but not great like the first three, to me. The Mandalorian was the last interesting one.
I just noticed "The Man in the Iron Mask" starring Richard Chamberlin on Amazon Prime video. Cool.
I wonder what their take on Alexandre Dumas' story will be? I'm sure that in 1978, CBS didn't have statements like "Turn off your Television, men!" I think it was "Don't Touch that Dial, everybody".
What's this? "The Disney Acolyte", "Two Women Conceive Twins". What the Crud? Too weird for this guy. And how is this achieved? Don't Care!
That's why movie theatres are empty and will continue to be.
I'm tired......................................I wonder if this movie can keep me interested?
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