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Showing posts from December, 2010

Dear Battle Movies, Be Epic Or Fuck Off.

I hated " Gladiator ". Which is probably weird because: - I like Ridley Scott - I don't mind Russell Crowe - I fucking love epic battle movies, sword fights, savage beatings, crazy weaponry, etc. And here's a surprise... I love hot, sweaty, half-naked guys. But really, I don't like Hollywood's bottom line (making money VS making smart, original stories or creative re-inventings of existing material). "Gladiator" just feels like crap to me. It was a big-budget ($103 million) summer block-buster. Is that bad? Only if you have a brain and you want it to be stimulated while watching a movie. Traditionally, "summer block-busters" are the film equivalent of the greasy corn you devour while watching them. They reach the masses by meeting only the lowest common denominator. You sit down, turn your brain off, and turn your eyeballs into sponges just soaking up the pretty colors. Let me just interject here: I have a soft-spot in m