Word: hollywoodizations
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...aside, never before had the world seen what was essentially a kid's story told with such earnestness and excitement on the big screen. For better or worse, Lucas revolutionized the film industry, making the telling of myths and fables not only acceptable, but also extremely lucrative. But if Hollywood storytelling is going to be revolutionized again today, Lucas is not the one to do it. And The Phantom Menace was certainly not the movie to do it. It's not that it is a bad movie. For all the critics' gripes, I found it surprisingly entertaining. But the original...
...Here's a Hollywood rule of thumb--when you have more than two screenwriters, the movie will either be a) incoherent b) choppy or c) spotty. Sometimes, in particularly lame cases, the movie will be incoherent, choppy and spotty. Like Runaway Bride. Not only wasn't it as good as Pretty Woman, it rivaled The Haunting for the I-want-my-money-back award of the summer. Even five screenwriters couldn't come up with a decent joke--the only good gag was so contrived that a FedEx truck had to appear out of nowhere for the damn thing...
...pleasant surprise. Pierce Brosnan has no intention of demonstrating any range over his career, but that's fine with me as long as he continues to find intriguing costars like Rene Russo to play off of. Russo is one of Hollywood's best kept secrets. Almost every movie she's in (save that monkey mess Buddy) is a bonafide hit. But Russo tends to hide her beauty (even though, ironically enough, she once was a supermodel) by taking goofy roles--she's usually a clumsy, awkward underdog. In Thomas Crown, she leads with her sexuality, and the chemistry she ignites...
...never quite certain what to do with films like American Beauty--the ones that strive to reach beyond the grasp of understanding, the ones that confound. They are difficult and impressive but almost always flawed. Genre movies and silly Hollywood "products" are easy: you always know what you are going to get when you hand over your two bits and your two hours. There is a deep satisfaction in getting exactly what you pay for: a quick roller-coaster, or a good cry, or the fantasy of another life. Often, these pleasures don't even have to be shallow; some...
Still, according to those in the entertainment industry, Hollywood's fascination with Harvard makes the red tape worthwhile...