Word: armageddons
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Palestinians living cheek-by-jowl in a city sacred to both isn't volatile enough, Millennial fever is bringing to town all manner of Christian fundamentalist whackos in search of apocalypse. "The major concern of the police is that some of these groups believe they need to create Armageddon in order to bring back Christ," says TIME Jerusalem bureau chief Lisa Beyer. "They plan to do that by destroying Muslim holy sites in order to provoke...
What is shocking is how bad the majority of these films are. Armageddon, Deep Impact and Godzilla cleared over $100 million each at the box office. Godzilla, which took in over $130 million according to Rolling Stone magazine, is the worst film that I have ever seen. Even The Waterboy is less than mediocre, as Adam Sandler's zany nonsequitur humor takes a back seat to highly physical comedy. Too many directors seem to have forgotten George Lucas' advice, that "special effects without a story is a pretty boring thing...
...American people want to see high-tech action flicks with hackneyed plots. The truth, however, is that we are tricked into seeing blockbuster films by carefully crafted media blitzes and the draw potential of Hollywood heartthrobs. We all can remember when we went to see a film such as Armageddon even though our friends told us it was awful. Like insects that fly into the light after watching their comrades burst into flames, we convince ourselves that a movie in which Bruce Willis saves the earth has to be entertaining...
Unfortunately, as long as Armageddon grosses over $200 million compared to the $3 million pulled in so far by Life is Beautiful, Hollywood will not have the impetus to change its ways. However, pushing for partial reform is not a pipe dream. Viewer revolt against megablockbusters has already begun in small measure. Predicted cash cows such as Deep Impact and Godzilla brought in less than expected at the box office. If the failure of these films starts a trend, then studios may begin to re-emphasize plot lines more over explosions. Though Hollywood may never become a mecca for high...
...create "high" and "low" movies. For filmmakers from Chaplin to Hitchcock, "unpopular" was not a badge of pride for movies but rather a sign that they were somehow flawed. Now, of course, we have two contenders: in that corner, weighing in at $100 or $200 million, are "blockbusters" like Armageddon; and in this corner are the 98-pound weaklings of the film industry, "independent" movies like Gods and Monsters. From the former we can expect special effects, saccharine plots and Bruce Willis; while from the latter we can expect intellectual affects, subtle plots and a British actor who just finished...