Overpriced Popcorn

Introduction It's been a whopping thirty-three years since Dan O'Bannon and Ridley Scott gave us a seminal film in both the science fiction and horror genres: the classic (some say masterpiece) Alien . The film was not only a commercial success, but has gone on to near universal accolades, including a laundry list of award nominations and wins in 1979. Wins include the 1979 Oscar for visual effects, and a nod for art direction.  It won Saturn Awards for best sci-fi film, best director, supporting actress, and got a nod for Sigourney Weaver.  It also was nominated for best makeup, special effects, and writing. I could go on--there were nominations for the BAFTAs, Hugo Awards, Golden Globes and on and on and on. The film spawned three sequels and two spin-offs with "Sister" franchise, Predator .  In general, and with the arguable exception of Aliens , the sequels are all considered generally inferior to the original. Aliens is an interesting case, in that it smartly...

So the only two flicks coming out this weekend are Mirror, Mirror and Wrath of the Titans, neither of which I have any real desire to see.  For once I’ll agree with a local film critic, Sean Collier, and say that Wrath of the Titans is the sequel that nobody asked for.  Based on the trailer I kind of wanted to see it for a hot minute, then I remembered how much I hated the remake of Clash of the Titans, and came to my senses. As far as Mirror, Mirror goes, it looks just too tongue-in-cheek to me.  I like my fairy tales darker and less Disney (except for the awesome TV series Once Upon a Time, which is both Disney and dark, and if you haven’t seen it, you’re missing out). So I’ll wait for Snow White and the Huntsman for that. For anyone who was hoping I’d review one of these pictures, sorry—movie going is a rather expensive hobby these days and right now this site isn’t supporting itself.  If I ever get enough followers I may introduce a “send me to the movies” ...

Obviously, to keep this blog going I’m going to have to do more than just film reviews, as I don’t see movies every day (or even every week); it’s just too expensive a habit for an Administrative Assistant and aspiring Librarian to upkeep.  So between reviews I’d like to discuss topics directly related to films and the film industry.  I hope that’s all right with everyone. For my first “filler,” as I prepare to write my review of John Carter for you all, I wanted to explore a theory I have—or, rather, something I have noticed over the past few years which seems to hold up and represents the development of an hypothesis. You can tell by the TV spots whether a movie is going to succeed or bomb at the box office.  There’s a patently obvious “tell” that gives it away, which makes me wonder if somehow, these things aren’t predetermined.  I mean, of course you can’t really make up an audience’s mind in advance, but I don’t know. It just seems odd to me. Here’...