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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
 Posted - 10/28/2007 : 02:05:14 AM
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You've seen it happen before. A brash young writer/director will break through with something new, or at least something that hasn't been tried in a while. All of a sudden, the film industry is atwitter, trying desperately to cash in on this hot new trend. Sometimes a few of these copycat movies will even turn out to be pretty good. But eventually, the inevitable sequels and imitations turn sour, and Hollywood ends up killing yet another golden goose.
For instance: Scream. Gave the dead teen-ager genre (which was, well, dead) a fresh coat of paint. Made Kevin Williamson the new wunderkind on the block. But then everyone tried to imitate Scream's smart and sassy style, including Williamson, and the genre petered out almost immediately.
Or the Alien films, specifically Aliens. Army commandos battling xenomorph scum was an exciting idea back in 1986. Today, it's a Sci-Fi channel movie of the week cliche.
Pick any other genres where you enjoyed a particular type of movie for a while but eventually ended up saying to yourself, "Enough already!" |
Edited by - zombiewhacker on 10/28/2007 02:06:56 AM
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Ericb
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
648 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2007 : 05:32:53 AM
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I'm thinking mainly of the literary genre though it might apply to movies as well, but Cyberpunk sci-fi has certainly outlived its usefullness.
"I reserve the right to look as well as be boring." - Robert Fripp |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2007 : 11:20:30 AM
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Uh, Blair Witch anyone *g* The Saw movies and countless knockoffs probably fit that mold, not that the first one was THAT great but it was somewhat original. In each case the original filmmakers had absolutely nothing to come back with, let alone the copycats.
I don't think you can ever say a whole genre has played out, only that no one is currently doing anything worthwhile with it. Westerns were there for a while, musicals are currently there.
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2007 : 8:21:35 PM
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The only franchise I can think of that didn't go that way was Star Wars. True, there was the Corman knockoff Battle Beyond the Stars. But that was pretty much it.
Nowadays, if you come up with a trend. There will be at least 10 imitators.
On the other hand, the case could be made that Lucas jumped the shark the minute Star Wars was released.
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"Ward, the Beaver blew up the 7-11 again."
"I'll have a talk with him Dear" |
Edited by - Capt. Nemo on 10/28/2007 8:23:04 PM |
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Citizen Carrier
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
322 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2007 : 9:41:20 PM
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Hmm, this isn't as easy a topic to contribute to as I first thought.
I've recently been watching episodes of Supernatural online (don't really watch TV anymore) and I've noticed something that I think has jumped the shark. It is the "cool" demon.
I suppose this is a phenomenom of the whole "Buffy/Angel" thing were demons or devils in human form are always cool, cocky, smartly dressed, attractive individuals who always have something sarcastic or witty to say.
They are "evil", but it is like they belong to some sort of ultra-hip "Enron" style corporate Hell complete with nice interior decorating.
While I'm not an expert on Buffy or Angel or Supernatural or Reaper by any concievable notion, this does appear to be the trend in such shows aimed at younger audiences. Heck, even episodes of the sometimes excellent Millenium were like that. When did Hell become so...ironic?
I suppose I prefer my demons to be more of the Exorcist variety, but perhaps that would be just a little TOO intense for television... |
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BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2007 : 06:01:40 AM
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It pains me to say this, but I could name one Hollywood filmmaker I think has jumped the shark. Ironic term, since it's Spielberg.
I haven't seen Catch Me If You Can or Munich, and probably need to before I could declare it officially. But after A.I., he went down the tubes. Minority Report was excellent, for its first two hours, then it fell apart with a cop-out ending. The Terminal was overly precious fluff. But then there was War of the Worlds. Yuck.
Seeing WOTW was a big factor in my decision not to see Munich in the theater; I told a co-worker outright that I thought Spielberg's lost his touch. After hearing some comments he made about Duel and seeing the "special" edition of E.T., I think I've got all the more evidence to support that view. |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2007 : 08:22:30 AM
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Road Warrior. Thunderdome sucked and it spawned countless crappy post-apocalyptic imitators- even porn movies ripped it off!
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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Representing Labor
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
62 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2007 : 08:33:54 AM
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If Spielberg had any sense, he'd get Lucas to edit all his movies for him. I can't think of a single Spielberg movie made in the past ten years that wouldn't benefit from a shorter running time.
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2007 : 10:28:36 AM
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Tarentino-type films, safe to say, have jumped the shark, Pulp Fiction being the shark. (Ironic, then, that its star was named Bruce.) Immediately after it opened, Hollywood rushed out to make their version of the ironic, post-modern film noir. Grosse Point Blank was one example, but there are countless others. Now that genre has pretty much played itself out.
Needless to say, Titanic was the Bruce of current disaster films... as the makers of the Poseidon remake know all too well. |
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nshumate
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
464 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2007 : 10:46:29 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Capt. Nemo
The only franchise I can think of that didn't go that way was Star Wars. True, there was the Corman knockoff Battle Beyond the Stars. But that was pretty much it.
And Starcrash and Star Odyssey and the Star Trek movie franchise (changed from being a planned revival TV series upon the success of Star Wars) and Battlestar Galactica (which was kicked off as a theatrical movie in non-U.S. markets) and Corman's Space Raiders and Flash Gordon and War of the Robots and The Ice Pirates and Krull and Outland and the Buck Rogers TV series and...
Nathan Shumate
http://www.coldfusionvideo.com |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2007 : 2:24:50 PM
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| Nathan is quite correct, though I think Outland is too sui generis to be fairly counted as a Star Wars knock-off. Critics dismissed it as "High Noon in space". A more apt capsule description would be Alien... without the alien. |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2007 : 5:28:55 PM
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Outland is a decently done B-movie. I always found it to be a decent time waster. Did it start the cliche of the huge, multi-pane glass wall that the good guy gets the bad guy to shoot and thus blow said bad guy out into space?
I think the several strangers' lives intersect for a day with dramatic consequences movie has run it's course. Flipping through the movie channels one night, I think a full 50% of the movies were based on that premise.
Spielberg has lost his touch. But, virtually all directors who get carte blanche do. What did he say about Duel? He and Lucas should pay for the E.T. and cantina scene changes.
- While science has societal benefits, science is not a social virtue. - |
Edited by - Terrahawk on 10/29/2007 5:30:32 PM |
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BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2007 : 7:30:29 PM
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In the DVD for Duel, the stereo surround mix is head-and-shoulders better than the old mono mix for 80 of the 89 minutes. But I go with the mono mix every time.
The new mix takes out the roar. If you've seen the movie, you know exactly what I'm talking about. In an interview, Spielberg says that he now thinks the roar was "too on-the-nose." My argument would be, who gives a damn?? If it works, it works, never mind whether it's on-the-nose or not. And that roar damn well worked.
I recall Spielberg also saying that Close Encounters is the only movie of his that has dated, since he's now a family man and would never write a scene where the main character abandons his family. I wondered if he'd seen the film recently. As I recall, Richard Dreyfuss tried to get his family back, and if they'd shown the least bit of support, he'd've turned his back on the aliens. His family abandoned him. I was pretty shocked by the lack of insight he showed here, and moreso in the interview about Duel. |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 10/30/2007 : 02:41:57 AM
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Dreyfuss' wife took off because he'd had a nervous breakdown. That's no excuse for Dreyfuss to abandon his kids for the rest of his life.
But you remind me... ET probably is the Bruce of alien visitation movies (the friendly kind, I mean).
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 10/30/2007 : 08:10:07 AM
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Dreyfuss in CEotTK was a self absorbed, narcissistic a-hole and his wife was an obnoxious whiny shrew. They deserved each other.
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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Altair IV
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
Japan
110 Posts |
Posted - 10/30/2007 : 1:01:33 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Sardu
...even porn movies ripped it off!
But then again, porn rips off everything.
[url="http://www.subgenius.com/bigfist/answers/articles6/X0026_The_Greatest_Porn_Pa.html "]The Greatest Porn Parodies Ever[/url] |
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