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Rant & Rave
WHAT a horrible, horrible summer it's been for movies. The cinematic offerings of the season have been so insipid that the hype machine has gathered rust on its cogs. Marrow in my moviegoing bones has been sapped dry of anticipation. I remember summers not long ago where every weekend a new flick was released that I was dying to see, not because of hype, but because they genuinely seemed like intriguing pictures. Now, nothing tempts me. Well, maybe "X-Men" because I was a fan of the comic books. Summer flicks
in sorry stateI know it's summer and nothing spectacular or monumental should be expected in a season when studio executives tend to cater to the desires of boys paroled from classrooms. Nothing remotely thought provoking should even be expected between June and September. And that's OK. That's what the fall and winter seasons are for (supposedly).
So throw symbolism and statements about the human condition out the window. Forget catharsis -- just tell me a good story. Is it so hard to come up with an entertaining tale?
"Me, Myself, and Irene," starring Jim Carrey, had a great number of laughs, but no story to sustain them, leaving the film as just a thin string of comedy sketches. The reasons for Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger's road trip were too vague and flimsy. The film needed a solid story.
"Shaft," another let down, had some style, but not much else. The movie came to a fork in the road and couldn't decide on a path. It was unclear whether Shaft, played in this incarnation by Samuel L. Jackson, was going after the bad guy or going after the witness and working within the system.
The fork in the road shouldn't have even presented itself. He's supposed to skip the justice system altogether and exercise his own brand of justice by going straight for the bad guy. He's a vigilante! By taking both approaches, the focus of the film stretched every which way.
The Jerry Bruckheimer productions of this summer, "Gone in 60 Seconds" (ickk) and "Coyote Ugly" (semi-ugh), as usual, showcased boys playing with their favorite toys: good-looking cars and good-looking women. Unfortunately, neither was enough to create a rewarding movie-going experience. "Coyote" came close, though. Just one more wet T-shirt and a little more skin, and it would've won best picture of the summer hands down. Boy, oh boy, let me tell you.
The one extraordinary commercial film released this summer was completely overlooked by audiences. "Titan A.E." combined mesmerizing special effects with an engaging story. And it was fun.
I know what you're thinking: Oh, it's a cartoon? It must be for kids only. Imagine that, a fun cartoon! We seem to grow out of fun movies as we get older.
Give me the explosions and the fist fights, the acrobatics and special effects. I love them all as much as does the next mindless teen-ager. But please, please use them in service of story. Don't throw them in just because the effects will look cool. Granted, it will be terrific eye candy, but that will last for 10 seconds, at most. Like a fix, that feeling of awe wears off, leaving me in the dark theater waiting impatiently for the next sequence of stunts, rather than unraveling a cool plotline. The gimmicks simply will not hold up on their own.
As dull as these films may be, they offer a bit of escapism and most people seem to be content with just that, having a little bit of spectacle dazzling their eyes for two hours.
Don't be. Demand more and you get more. That's what it is all about. Getting more out of life. I want to walk out of the theater and say, "That was a damn good movie."
Alan Khamoui is a 1999 graduate of Punahou School who is attending USC. Rant & Rave is a Tuesday Star-Bulletin feature
allowing those 12 to 22 to serve up fresh perspectives.
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