Today South Africa!
It's another dud weekend of movie releases in South Africa. Well, OK, to be fair, it's another weekend of releases that don't interest me at all. From High School Musical 3 to Death Race, from Righteous Kill to Lakeview Terrance, there's been nothing new over the past fortnight or so that motivates me to make a date with the movies... as opposed to waiting for the DVD release.
And I'm afraid today's 2 high profile cinema releases trigger the same "meh" reaction as far as I'm concerned.
First up is Disaster Movie.
Good Lord Jesus, no! Not another wretched spoof! If you've been to the cinema any time in the last 2 months you've probably been subjected to the trailer for this monstrosity.
For anyone who cares, and isn't an officially diagnosed moron, here's the plot synopsis:
In "Disaster Movie," the filmmaking team behind the hits "Scary Movie," "Date Movie," "Epic Movie" and "Meet the Spartans" this time puts its unique, inimitable stamp on one of the biggest and most bloated movie genres of all time - the disaster film.
"Disaster Movie" follows the comic misadventures of a group of ridiculously attractive twenty-somethings during one fateful night as they try to make their way to safety while every known natural disaster and catastrophic event - asteroids, twisters, earthquakes, the works - hits the city and their path as they try to solve a series of mysteries to end the rampant destruction.
Taking aim at everything and everyone, from "Indiana Jones" and "Iron Man" to Amy Winehouse and "High School Musical," "Disaster Movie" lampoons the blockbuster movie, pop culture icons and public figures along the way as Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer satirize everything as only they can.
I'm sorry, but when I think Disaster Movie, I think of Cinema's disaster epic golden age of the 1970s, which included The Poseidon Adventure, Airport, The Towering Inferno and Earthquake. I'm pretty sure the intended audience for Disaster Movie haven't even heard of these films, let alone seen them.
This juvenile audience may be marginally more familiar with the genre's revival in the 1990s, which produced such films as Independence Day, Twister and Volcano, and, a little later, A Perfect Storm, The Day After Tomorrow and The Core.
This said, Disaster Movie seems to have fuck all to do with the disaster movie genre. Instead the film makers seem to be throwing any and every "current" pop culture reference they can think of at the audience. Iron Man. High School Musical. Hannah Montana. The Hulk. Enchanted. Hancock. Amy Winehouse. The Dark Knight. Juno. Sex and the City. What relevance do any of these things have when spoofing the disaster movie genre? They seem to be present merely to trigger some kind of warm fuzzy recognition in the minds of ADD-inflicted 13 year olds with the memory of a goldfish.
Not surprisingly, Disaster Movie has scored a massive 2% on Rotten Tomatoes. Watch it at your peril...
Second up is Body of Lies.
Body of Lies at least sounds like a class package. The action-thriller is directed by Ridley (Black Hawk Down, American Gangster) Scott and teams acting heavyweights Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe onscreen for the first time.
Here's the film's synopsis:
Based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius' 2007 novel about a CIA operative, Roger Ferris who uncovers a lead on a major terrorist leader suspected to be operating out of Jordan. When Ferris devises a plan to infiltrate his network, he must first win the backing of cunning CIA veteran Ed Hoffman. Although ostensibly his ally, Ferris questions how far he can really trust Hoffman without putting his entire operation - and his life - on the line.
I'm always a bit ambivalent about these kinds of gritty, twisting CIA thrillers set in the Middle East. The trailer didn't even do much to excite me, which is a bit concerning as I'm a big fan of the three big names involved in the project. Clearly the American public shared my sentiments because Body of Lies was a massive box office disappointment in North America when it was released a few months back - being squashed by Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua of all things.
Body of Lies did at least score a very average 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, so it may still be worth your while. It's not high on my viewing priority list though.
Anyway, at least we have Quantum of Solace to look forward to in a week and a half. Bring it, Bond, bring it!
And I'm afraid today's 2 high profile cinema releases trigger the same "meh" reaction as far as I'm concerned.
First up is Disaster Movie.
Good Lord Jesus, no! Not another wretched spoof! If you've been to the cinema any time in the last 2 months you've probably been subjected to the trailer for this monstrosity.
For anyone who cares, and isn't an officially diagnosed moron, here's the plot synopsis:
In "Disaster Movie," the filmmaking team behind the hits "Scary Movie," "Date Movie," "Epic Movie" and "Meet the Spartans" this time puts its unique, inimitable stamp on one of the biggest and most bloated movie genres of all time - the disaster film.
"Disaster Movie" follows the comic misadventures of a group of ridiculously attractive twenty-somethings during one fateful night as they try to make their way to safety while every known natural disaster and catastrophic event - asteroids, twisters, earthquakes, the works - hits the city and their path as they try to solve a series of mysteries to end the rampant destruction.
Taking aim at everything and everyone, from "Indiana Jones" and "Iron Man" to Amy Winehouse and "High School Musical," "Disaster Movie" lampoons the blockbuster movie, pop culture icons and public figures along the way as Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer satirize everything as only they can.
I'm sorry, but when I think Disaster Movie, I think of Cinema's disaster epic golden age of the 1970s, which included The Poseidon Adventure, Airport, The Towering Inferno and Earthquake. I'm pretty sure the intended audience for Disaster Movie haven't even heard of these films, let alone seen them.
This juvenile audience may be marginally more familiar with the genre's revival in the 1990s, which produced such films as Independence Day, Twister and Volcano, and, a little later, A Perfect Storm, The Day After Tomorrow and The Core.
This said, Disaster Movie seems to have fuck all to do with the disaster movie genre. Instead the film makers seem to be throwing any and every "current" pop culture reference they can think of at the audience. Iron Man. High School Musical. Hannah Montana. The Hulk. Enchanted. Hancock. Amy Winehouse. The Dark Knight. Juno. Sex and the City. What relevance do any of these things have when spoofing the disaster movie genre? They seem to be present merely to trigger some kind of warm fuzzy recognition in the minds of ADD-inflicted 13 year olds with the memory of a goldfish.
Not surprisingly, Disaster Movie has scored a massive 2% on Rotten Tomatoes. Watch it at your peril...
Second up is Body of Lies.
Body of Lies at least sounds like a class package. The action-thriller is directed by Ridley (Black Hawk Down, American Gangster) Scott and teams acting heavyweights Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe onscreen for the first time.
Here's the film's synopsis:
Based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius' 2007 novel about a CIA operative, Roger Ferris who uncovers a lead on a major terrorist leader suspected to be operating out of Jordan. When Ferris devises a plan to infiltrate his network, he must first win the backing of cunning CIA veteran Ed Hoffman. Although ostensibly his ally, Ferris questions how far he can really trust Hoffman without putting his entire operation - and his life - on the line.
I'm always a bit ambivalent about these kinds of gritty, twisting CIA thrillers set in the Middle East. The trailer didn't even do much to excite me, which is a bit concerning as I'm a big fan of the three big names involved in the project. Clearly the American public shared my sentiments because Body of Lies was a massive box office disappointment in North America when it was released a few months back - being squashed by Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua of all things.
Body of Lies did at least score a very average 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, so it may still be worth your while. It's not high on my viewing priority list though.
Anyway, at least we have Quantum of Solace to look forward to in a week and a half. Bring it, Bond, bring it!
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