Death of the Sequel

To be living in such a recession, we sure are seeing a lot of crap movies made. When you can walk into a theater, and more than half of the movies that you see advertised are crap, obviously set up for a fall, it makes you wonder, What the heck are they thinking?? Today's cinema is flooded with remakes and adaptations, which are hit or miss, but the selection of even remotely original or refreshing material is becoming slimmer by the minute.

However, there is a shred of light, through which those of us who actually Care about good movies can still find hope. This light comes from the occasional film that gets to us. The true test of a hit or miss is how you feel when you walk away from the theater, either wondering how many comics you could've bought for the $10 you just wasted, or catching yourself still thinking about this scene or that scene 30 minutes after the credits. A good movie goes home with you, even if it's not a Great movie.

To my point (which I've taken too long to get to anyhow), it's the Good movies that break my heart. Why's that? Because you don't have to be Iron Man 2 to be a good movie; the first Iron Man showed us that. You also don't have to be praised by Rotten Tomatoes to be a good movie. What happened to just sitting down and enjoying a movie? Why does it have to be "too contrived" or "take itself to seriously" or the like?

Last night, I sat in a theater and watched "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" , played by the upcoming Jay Burachel and Nic Cage, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and I've gotta say, it was Good. Of course it wasn't movie of the year, and sure it had some predictability to it, I mean after all it was a Disney movie. But fact of the matter is, I opened myself up to the possibility that it wasn't going to be groundbreaking when I bought the ticket, and you know what I found? A surprisingly fun and refreshing film, that I just purely enjoyed watching. It was fun, funny, and it tied into my own interests enough to really pull me in to the characters, and an hour after the credits, I was still smiling at the concept of a good movie, an experience I haven't felt from an original, non-seque/remake story since Kick-A**.

So what's my point? What's the "Death of the Sequel"?? Three words: Nanny McPhee Returns. Yes, you read correctly, Nanny McPhee. She's back, and some of you never even knew she was here. She's the source of my sorrow today, and why? She's coming back in full stride, the 4 minute trailer showing plenty of CGI and the like to beef her budget, and as I walked away from a fun, refreshing movie that I could've gladly taken more of, I feel the box office sting of a flop. Whether you blame Disney or Nic Cage or whatever, the Sorc. Apprentice didn't bring home the bacon, And so, another fun, somewhat original summer movie bites the dust, to live on only though DVD sales. Hollywood won't take another blink at this one, but Nanny McPhee... She's a goldmine! Seriously? Come on! I'm not gonna hear anymore of the bull, that this just "wasn't a success" or anything of the like from you over there, if there's room for another McPhee in the movie-verse, there's room for these! So the Last Airbender wasn't amazing, it was okay! Stop teasing those of us that care about these things, stop dangling hopes over our heads and crushing them! If our stories can't carry on, neither should there's. Yes, I'm whining like a 12 year old girl, but somebody's gotta do it, it may as well be me. Get with it Hollywood, stop killing originality, and just follow through already. You heard me, or else Seth and I will compile all of the copies of Batman and Robin #2 and send them to your houses. And trust me, that's a fate worse than death.