Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be - except in Hollywood 16 August 2007
Posted by primus in : Posts , add a commentThis summer has been a bizarrely regressive experience for me so far. It began in a small way, seeing Spidey take on Venom in Spider-Man 3 at the start of the blockbuster season, bringing back memories of reading comics in the 80s. Then along came Die Hard 4.0 which, whilst in no way resembling its predecessors, recalled some more fond memories. But then nostalgia overload really took off when Transformers arrived at the multiplex.
This was a film that I had only ever dreamt about in the dim and distant past, but never imagined in a million years would actually happen. Growing up, I lived Transformers. Bought the toys, collected the comics, annuals and books, watched the cartoons, stuck the stickers, pinned up the posters… you name it. When dear old mum gave away my toy collection to a charity shop after I had outgrown them, without my knowledge, I was mortified (only on the inside of course).
When I was at university in the mid-90s, and the internet began to take off in a big way, my first few surfings uncovered rumours of a live-action spectacle. Back then of course, there were rumours of anything and everything. Movie gossip sites like Ain’t It Cool and (the now defunct) Corona’s Coming Attractions regularly reported utter nonsense, and had nothing like the credibility they do today. “Transformers?” I thought, “That would be amazing, but are they even still going? Who would pay to see a movie based on an 80s fad that no-one remembers anymore, apart from me?”
It turns out - quite a few. Flash forward a few years, and Hollywood is snapping up any reasonably well-established franchise they can lay their grubby little hands on. Their calculation was: well known brand name = ready-made market. Having churned out comic book adaptations for the last few years, with varying degrees of success, it was inevitable the toy market would also benefit from this frenzy for guaranteed money-earning properties. And Transformers had everything: a rich history of money-making via a variety of media, not to mention a fanbase of several years standing (numerous versions came and went after the initial craze died away; Beast Wars for example). I can just see their line of thinking: “Suckers like me who remember the original toys and stories would surely pay to see this film, plus they might even bring along their kids who can get hooked on all the new marketing gimmicks - sorry, tie-ins - we put out. Eeeeeasy money.”
Sorry if this all sounds quite cynical; I was over the moon when they officially announced it. Even the hiring of Michael ‘Armageddon’ Bay couldn’t dampen my enthusiasm that much. I can’t say I prefer the new look Transformers to the old ones, but I guess some changes were inevitable. When I finally saw the movie, I really liked it. My jaw dropped on several occasions - no mean feat in these days of CGI. But the main thrill was finally to see the Transformers come to life on the big screen. And it really did feel like a Transformers story: maybe it was Steven Speilberg’s influence as executive producer, but the story had a very 80s vibe to it, being told from a kid’s perspective. I had niggles of course, like any fanboy: the action was occasionally confusing, we saw far too little of Cybertron, and Optimus Prime had a touch too much humour for my liking (why is “My bad” so prevalent in scripts at the moment?). But it got far more right that it got wrong, and as an introduction to a new universe, it worked great. And with over $300m in the bank in the U.S. alone, it worked financially too.
Now, when I walk down the high street, I see Transformers merchandise everywhere. It’s suddenly cool to like them again. I can’t explain why it is both weird and fantastic to see little ‘uns pointing up at toys of Optimus Prime, desperate for their mum to buy it. Maybe I feel vindicated in some perculiar way. Is this the way all hardcore geeks feel when their beloved property of choice gets the Hollywood treatment?
Anyway, who cares? Thanks to Hollywood’s creatively bankrupt commercial sensibilities, which often come under fire for producing brain-dead entertainment (and rightly so of course), I actually got to see my dream up on the big screen. Let’s hope a sequel is on the way. Thank you Hollywood!
Spotting the signs of obsession 8 August 2007
Posted by primus in : Posts , add a commentA blog I link to below, The Windknotter, is written by an old university chum of mine, whose dedication to the art of angling rivals (or possibly even exceeds) my own love of all things movies. Now what, you may reasonably ask, has fishing got to do with cinema? My honest reply would be: not a great deal. A River Runs Through It, starring Brad Pitt and directed by Robert Redford, was quite good if memory serves. But that’s by the by. What they really have in common is the passion they stir in those who follow their chosen interest.
Reading The Windknotter’s delightful posts entitled “Spotting the signs of obsession” and its sequel, “The most unpromising circumstances”, it became apparent that I had slightly underestimated m’colleague’s love of standing by the sides of bodies of water and attempting to hook small slippery creatures. And yet, despite my utter lack of fishing knowledge, I totally understood it, because we’ve all been there. All of us who are devoted to something - whatever it is - have finely tuned our brains to absorb incoming data and filter it into something more useful; specifically, to relate it to our passion/hobby/nerd domain. Even when said incoming data is in no way related to the passion/hobby/nerd domain. Mr Windknotter, stuck at a rather dry IT training course, salvaged something from the day by receiving a sturdy memory stick case and re-imagining it as a box for storing assorted fishing equipment.
So how do I, as a film fan, display these signs of obsesssion? Mrs Ark (as I’ll call my other half) would I’m sure quite happily point them out to you, as she does to me on an infrequent basis. Perhaps you too have been here? Please add your comments if you recognise any of these, or want to add your own…
- Secretly planning the evening’s entertainment schedule during the day which you’ll casually suggest during conversation over dinner that night (”Well, I thought as Ocean’s 13 is coming out next week, we could watch the original…?”).
- Spending far too much time scouring the online dvd stores looking for that one dvd you need to complete your collection - a collection which, if you were honest with yourself, will never, ever be completed. Can you rationally explain why I would ever buy Candyman 3: Day of the Dead?
- Calling cinema booking lines and negotiating the telephonetics service in the vain hope that you might be able to find out if the film you want to watch is playing in your preferred screen in the local multiplex.
- Keeping posters for films, even though there’s not a chance in hell you’ll get away with hanging them up at home.
- Memorising the release schedule of all the films you want to see for the next two months.
- Wondering if you can financially justify upgrading your old dvd of that film you quite like to the new one they’ve just released, just so you can get rid of that bloody awful cardboard snapper case.
There are probably more, but I’ll close for now by repeating The Windknotter’s final note:
“Any of this sound like you? No? Good. Then quick, get out of here and take up golf while there’s still time!”
Shiny New Goldfinger 1 August 2007
Posted by primus in : Posts , 1 comment so farLast night the Summer of British Film season kicked off across UK cinemas with the re-release of the classic Bond movie, Goldfinger. Over the next few weeks, Brief Encounter, Billy Liar, Henry V, The Wicker Man, The Dam Busters and Withnail and I will be showing in cinemas up and down the country in brand new digital presentations, each one representative of a particular genre: Thriller, Romance, Social Realism, Costume Drama, Horror, War and Comedy.
I’ve been looking forward to the season: I haven’t seen Billy Liar or Olivier’s Henry V before, and the rest I’ve only watched on the small screen. The choice of film for each genre isn’t bad at all, though obviously everyone has their own private wishlist. In the War film category for instance, I would much rather have seen Zulu or Lawrence of Arabia, both of which would really benefit from a big screen. But never mind.
The one I was least looking forward to was, ironically, last night’s Goldfinger. Not that I don’t enjoy the film - on the contrary, it’s one of the most entertaining in the Bond pantheon. But umpteen TV viewings had made it much less of a must-see than, say, The Wicker Man which I’ve only seen once or twice. I can also think of other British films that are far better thrillers than Goldfinger: The Third Man for one, a sublime yarn set in post-WWII Vienna, and a film that truly deserves the label Classic. But again, never mind. Opinions will never agree on subjects like this. Anyway, I thought it would still be fun to see Connery as Bond on the big screen, in one of his best outings.
I came away absolutely gobsmacked. Not at the film you understand, which was as entertaining as expected, but at the quality of the digital presentation. It was absolutely incredible. If it wasn’t for the SFX and fashions on show, you would never guess this was a film over 40 years of age. The sound was a touch quiet, but perhaps that was the screen we were in. Hats off to whoever were responsible, because it made the film far more involving.
If the standard is maintained for the remaining films in the season, then I heartily recommend you seek out your nearest participating cinema, especially if any of the films showing is a favourite of yours. I guarantee jaw-droppage.