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  • Lukaschik Gleb

Coming Distractions.



Some thoughts on current American cinema.


Hollywood became a ship filled of lunatics. Perhaps, it in sinking and meagerly few of situating there note this fact. Filthy five releasing projects, which initially fated to be bombed in box-office and from them I save myself from watching.

 

I do exclusions to trailers of movies, which haven’t devastation factors only. But I usually can’t finish. I had same with many of seen last Super Bowl commercials. I can’t watch contemporary cinema, because it’s unnatural and I include digital in that. I do not interested in soulless sequels. Filthy five wants this constant method worked by looking for successful flicks of past and turning them in became frequently using “legacy sequel” or “requel”, which are commercial things themselves. Save old audience and bringing of new one. That are definitions for these two terrible things:

 

“Legacy sequel – it is when actor/actors of previous part/s don’t fit by age for attraction of young moviegoers or has/have other reason why he/she can’t keep lead the next part introduces new bunch of characters for keeping franchise active whereas previous personages also present (at least in one sequel.), but they’re behind.”

 

“Requel – retelling of storyline of previous part, which considered by majority people as good and this probably can be a soft reboot, but it’s continuation anyway. That method is safe zone in commercial sense.”

 

If before that was drama, it became rollercoaster as this turns with everything. Entertainment can be artistic, but present ones are commercial and tenuous in stories. Anyway I do not like this approach does with real people and events such of the last are The Pope’s Exorcist (a priest gets outstanding look by taking bike.) and Cabrini. I didn’t want by having believe I willn’t see a strong biopic, but I watched trailer of Franklin. A title is solid for commercial perspective. However, Michael Douglas is perfect on look and he is a brilliant performer for Benjamin Franklin, but his non-firework ambassadorship in France was made into thrilling and overdramatizing epic story. It wasn’t good before I began to watch, but even without that, that revealed in beginning seconds by preposterous dialog “You are…?” – “I am” for showing coolness of main hero. That’s a first alarm by that nobody spoke that way in this time. Installation of diplomatic relationship between USA and France in vision of coming TV series is life’n’death question (as usual.), because on them depends survival of newfounded country as protagonist tells. Everything stays on edge as a main hero dramatizes by saying that time is running out. Everybody is antagonistic to his intention. To this story adding corpses. Douglas’s Franklin gets warning on that this a dangerous game when has a pathos play chess, but he says that likes it. A lead personage demonstrated as a typical Hollywood tough person. Among his listed incredible abilities is seduction of women, which returns to typecast past of actor (which ties with his real personality.) when he played characters who got troubles after having sex with female antagonist character. Nowadays movies are impossible to be without inclusion of violence and be simple drama (there only Clint Eastwood who tells such stories.).

I heard by one interview a story in which name and films of that man weren’t mentioned, but it doesn’t matter, because this person isn’t one in approach of such pseudo-historical films. He did biography films and research made after writing script in which takes only what found as emotional part (his mind is commercial.) whereas his overall knowledge on that moment is limited. This man does follow learning only for filling details of own written. He takes this approach because doesn’t want to be distracted by extraneous details. It’s grossly offensive that real people are exploiting in commercial route.

 

I once wrote on suddenly launching Dune (2021). I didn’t tell that after publishing of written I decided to compare scenes from David Lynch’s adaptation with what I watched. I saw high quality of production the first at all. Magnificent staging and no nonsense in acts and dialogs of characters, which were in the last adaptation. Cast of Lynch’s flick in mighty men and women, young and adult. I watched some other scenes, which amaze in narrating. Dune isn’t my cup of tea in it’s story and I didn’t find it as intricate, but Lynch’s movie is high sky technically. I don’t know about novel, but I love creative elaboration in design of buildings and suits. Current adaptation, as I know in learning, does prone to tendencies in making strong females in far feminist vision. A nightmarish main girl shows that thing in spite of novel by rejecting a lead personage in the end. An example of political correct adaptation.

 

I have for cross out with independence flicks. There was hesitation to Darkness of Man when it announced. A movie was producing by companies who release movies with no entities and director-scriptwriter is no solid in making. My bet was on Jean-Claude Van Damme on that, maybe, he will up quality. After trailer I saw it will his first bad work as a screenplay author. Storyline is simple and familiar on man who seeks a kidnapped boy, which he promised to protect, and he will likely save him in the end and probably video showed a scene from final. Too many episodes from many movies before as gang enters in shop and blackmails it’s owner until protagonist neutralizes them and survived promising on troubles. Known, but nonsense, as JCVD’s protagonist does sniper shot from roof in car’s tire and it does overturn. A main personage instantly comes to still situating in automobile criminal who will come out and JCVD will put him down. I could forget on plot and watch for fights. Of course, cut in trailer and film can be different as it’s known, but I don’t believe that seen fist combat will better in flick by director and doing checking of cinematographer and editor in Darkness of Man. Fights were rudely edited. It was reel which lost shots. I had in many times that I watched again for understand what kick was. Beating itself doesn’t make amazing. JCVD isn’t a powerful factor for watch. Especially by knowing he is disrespectful to his wife (I am not interested to read such stories, but that I knew not intentionally some months ago though it’s occasion was revealed long time before.).

 

I would wish sequels such as to L.A. Confidential even though I don’t see a conception as well, which James Ellroy and Brian Hedgeland offered to Warner Bros.. Their potential flick was in approach which had before on what a studio said they don’t make such films today. L.A. Confidential was from time when artist could be free in major studios. Jean-Pierre Jeunet said that he had a creative freedom in production of Alien: Resurrection. Ellroy and Hedgeland came to Netflix and showed idea of this sequel to them, but describing of plot was complex for company’s mind what doesn’t amaze because their films are simple as wooden stick. However, old school is one on whom I rely.

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