It’s a shame how the name ‘AMITYVILLE’ became franchised
Nov 28
It’s a shame how the name ‘Amityville’ became franchised over the years. The original myth, book and even the original film were pretty decent. Can you believe there have been NINE sequels/spinoffs of The Amityville Horror since the book and film in ’79? All of them rather dull and unimaginative.
I wasn’t at all surprised by the 2005 remake (amongst the remake trend) but it predictably fell flat. So, how can we rectify this? asks Weinstein Co and Dimension — they’re planning another remake. Yes, a remake of the 2005 remake of the original. Keep up.
Perhaps the question to ask is: Do we really give a shit? I guess horror enthusiasts might get excited about this news, but after that mediocre remake just-on five years ago, I’m wondering what they think they can do differently to improve on this story for audiences today. One can’t help but ponder that the recent success of a certain film about paranormal activity might have the studio(s) thinking we’re in the mood for more spooky bumps and thumps.
Looking back, the original film only sort of worked in ’79 because, at the time, people believed it was based on a true story (as the book and film itself boast). Now, however, there’s evidence to suggest the Lutz family might have been clever at connecting some dots and scoring a publisher.
I can understand the thinking behind leaning towards using a ‘known’ name to ensure a safety net for a film. But goddamnit, how about making a whole new supernatural story and kick-starting a whole new franchise. After all, it’s not like Amityville is a name worth much these days. Those sequels and that remake have tarnished it a great deal.
Source: Bloody Disgusting, Slashfilm
Starring Johnny Depp exactly like you’ve seen him plenty of times before
Nov 17
Disney have been rolling out these banners for Tim Burton‘s Alice In Wonderland. It’s been pretty boring. But now they are finished so you can see them all as one big one (it’s thrilling. Honestly.) The final one released was of Johnny Depp in his Mad Hatter character makeup.
Hands up if you’re looking forward to seeing Johnny Depp play Mad Hatter in this ’3D epic magical adventure’? Feel slike you may have already seen the performance before? You’re not alone. I’m right there with you.
They’ll keep making trash as long as we keep buying it– and we do
Nov 15
The Hollywood Reporter earlier this week had this interesting tidbit:
“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” has stormed into the No. 1 position on the national DVD sales charts.
The action film scored a whopping first-week North American sales tally of 3.8 million discs, 500,000 of them on Blu-ray, during the week ended November 8.
Some of those units wound up in as rental items, but the majority were sold directly to consumers, making “G.I. Joe” the third-biggest title so far this year in first-week sales, behind “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “Twilight.”
“G.I. Joe” handily trounced the competition on both the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart and the Nielsen VideoScan Blu-ray Disc sales chart.
Did you read that closely? The to three selling DVDs and Blu-rays (so far) this year are:
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
- Twilight
- G.I. Joe
Now, I’ll admit right now that I have not seen G.I. Joe. I just cannot justify dropping the dollars on what I know will be a complete waste of time, so, I’m not really allowed to rip into it. But, judging by online response and general consensus, it was a stinking pile and I was right in giving it a miss so far. (I might see it one day…)
I have seen Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Twlight, both of which were mediocre and cumbersome–yet there is no doubting they have an audience. I just had no idea the audience was THIS big.
It’s no wonder ‘Hollywood’ keeps turning out utter cheeseball films – they’re getting permission to do so! Free reign, go for it, cock it up — they’ll buy it anyway! And we do. In droves, it seems. Someone reading this right now has all three of these titles on their shelves.
It goes to show that the majority rules. The majority out there aren’t in it for the art form, or the discussion or the comparison. They aren’t keen to critique. They do not care as much as we do. You’re here now reading a random film blog (thanks, by the way!) because you give a shit more beyond some action sequences and special effects. The majority do care about those things, and so long as they can be wowed in such a brainless manner, they’ll continue to come to the cinemas then follow up with disc purchases.
It’s just frightening that there is no end in sight.
Leap Year trailer gives it all away
Nov 15
Do you think, when the screenwriter– in this case Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) finally finishes their work and gets it sold to a studio, that they actually believe it could something different and unique? Or does the studio insist on such predictable, been-there-seen-that material because they believe it’s fool proof (based on what, I do not know… Love Actually, maybe?)… I mean, after Slumdog Millionare you’d kind of expect something a little more insightful. And who know, perhaps Leap Year is. But the trailer doesn’t suggest so. And I haven’t double-checked, but maybe Leap Year was actually written before Slumdog? Or maybe I’m clutching at straws. There has to be some explanation.
Leap Year stars Amy Adams (Doubt, Julie & Julia) and Matthew Goode (Watchmen), comes out on January 8 and the trailer that sticks to the stock-standard for this genre is unfortunately embedded below. Be warned, if you are going to go see it, just about ever act, scene and twist is revealed–
Harvey Keitel will be a Little Focker
Nov 12
THR reports that Mr. White, The Wolf, The Man himself Harvey Keitel will be joining the cast of Little Fockers, the second sequel to Meet The Parents (2000). Keitel will join cast members Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Robert DeNiro, Blythe Danner, Owen Wilson, Jessica Alba (yow!) and Laura Dern.
In it’s own special and weird way, Meet The Parents was painfully funny as required. If you were to compile a list of funnies for the past decade (and hey that’s not a bad idea…) then Meet The Parents would be on it.
While it got panned while still turning a profit, I still found the lesser sequel Meet The Fockers quite funny and entertaining– thanks largely in part to Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman’s comedic imbalance (see Wag The Dog (1997) for similar, albeit darker, comedy from these two legends.) It’s with that in mind that I hope Keitel can hit a similar stride in Little Fockers to at least come through it unscathed.
I find the casting of Keitel – an actor known for his intense approach to his performances on stage and screen – very interesting. Especially seeing as this would be an all-out comedy and it’s a third film in what is now a franchise. I trust he would have signed on based on a solid script and a character he can sink his teeth into… but hey– It’s not like Harvey hasn’t appeared in stinkers before.
OPINIONS COUNT