SIX REASONS ‘STAR TREK: VOYAGER’ NEVER REALLY WORKED

Wow. This nails it. Back in 2001, I gave “Voyager” two seasons before giving up. The political correctness was beyond undermining to the show’s plots, it was stifling and insulting.

Political correctness is a cancer on storytelling. Something that makes programs like “The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “The Closer,” and “Breaking Bad” so brilliant is that this PC crap isn’t allowed anywhere near the plot.

Something that damaged the whole of the “Next Generation” for me was an episode where Picard refuses to launch a computer virus that would exterminate the Borg. In a fit of sanctimony, he likens it to genocide. Ever after, whether it was the show itself or the film “First Contact,” I blamed Picard for every innocent life lost to the Borg.

Picard’s decision might have made for interesting drama had the character been forced to grapple with the fallout. This would’ve made perfect sense in “First Contact” when he goes a little mad in pursuit of vengeance. But the producers never brought it up again.

The real problem with political correctness is that it makes decision-making too easy for our protagonist, which makes for boring, uncomplicated drama. I could’ve lived with Picard making that decision had it been presented as an impossible choice he would’ve been forced to live and deal and struggle with ever after. But the series was more interested in making a statement and, at least in my mind, suffered for it.

In other news….

‘CINEMA SEX SIRENS’ — 300 PHOTOS!

A list we can all agree on, methinks.  Women, not girls, shaped like 14 year-old boys.

Because she’s such a horrible human being, it’s easy to forget how sexy Jane Fonda was in her prime.

SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHORS FIND E-SUCCESS

Love this phenomenon:

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PIRATES DOWNLOAD FLOPS, IGNORE HITS

If Hollywood despised child rapists and terrorists as much as they do the 99%-ers who steal from movies and music from the 1%, the world would be a much better place.

PAGING ARMOND WHITE: ‘GROWN UPS’ SEQUEL PLANNED

This makes Armond White and me very happy. And if you’re looking for Armond these days, he’s writing over at City Arts. His “Week With Marilyn” review is a must-read: “A Giant Played By a Midget.”

[Michelle] Williams lacks the personality and lush physicality for successful prurience; she’s more Renée Zellweger than Monroe.

I don’t know what “prurience” means, but I sure wish I’d written that.

Anyway, “Grown Ups” made $271 million thanks to an amusing, easygoing story and a cast that blended together perfectly thanks to a chemistry that should serve a sequel quite well.

SO WHAT DOES DISNEY HAVE IN STORE FOR THE MUPPETS IN 2012?

Well, they’ve already attacked Big Oil and told us Newt Gingrich is “from the swamp,” so I’m guessing it will have something to do with helping to reelect President FailureTeleprompter.

THE 15 BEST SHOWS ON NETFLIX INSTANT

Doesn’t anyone write about popular culture anymore who was born before 1989? There are some perfectly fine choices on this list but the oldest listed is probably “Scrubs.” Where are “Gunsmoke,” “Columbo,” “Andy Griffith,” and “Mission: Impossible”? Where are “Wagon Train,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” and “Thriller”? One of the pleasures of writing about Hollywood is having the opportunity to introduce or re-introduce the classics. And I’m not that old. I’m only 45, and many of these shows that I’ve managed to discover were well before my time.

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MTV:

The former MTV.com movie reviewer recently sat down for a chat to promote the book, currently in stores. Though he didn’t change his opinions in the reviews since he wrote them, Loder did admit that his personal opinions of some of the biggest films of the past decade have changed with time. Let’s just say he might regret a thing or two he said about “The Dark Knight” when it was first released.

“I’ve definitely changed my mind about ‘The Dark Knight,’ which I was not really impressed with and now I think is one of the great movies. Just a great, great movie,” he said. 

“The Dark Knight” isn’t the only film he changed his mind about, and some of those reviews he opted to leave out of the book to avoid confusion. Loder said he really loved “Watchmen” when it was first released, but later it came to leave a bad taste in his mouth. In fact, he ended up disliking the film so much that it ended up coloring his opinion of the graphic novel it’s based on, which says a lot because he’s a self-professed Alan Moore fan. So he decided to leave the “Watchmen” review out of his book because his changed opinion would take too long to explain.

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SIX-MINUTE ‘ DARK KNIGHT RISES’ PROLOGUE ATTACHED TO NEW ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE’?

Whoa. I’m there.

This might be the best idea Hollywood’s come up with since, well… since offering Christopher Nolan the Batman franchise to begin with.

And I dig the “Mission: Impossible” films, especially the third one.

GEORGE CARLIN ANSWERED 14 YEAR-OLD GIRL’S LETTER

Man, I miss George Carlin. About once  year I have to watch all his HBO concerts over the course of a weekend. Politics shmolitics, the man was brilliant and hilarious.

LINDSAY LOHAN’S PROBATION REPORT’

This isn’t a criticism of The Wrap, who I’ve linked above. But in general, the sport much of the entertainment media (especially the bottom-feeding gossip media) has with the Lindsay Lohans of our world makes me a little ill.

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The Washington Times is wrong. Hollywood wasn’t AWOL in the War on Terror. In fact, just the opposite is true. Hollywood summoned every ounce of financial and star power at their disposal to fight this war.

Unfortunately, they chose to fight for the other side.

If our history is written by honest brokers, this generation of Hollywoodists will be remembered as those who openly enabled evil and spent hundreds of millions of dollars making bombs for the enemy — box office bombs. Over a dozen of them, specifically engineered with equal parts lies and hate and propaganda to undermine morale at home and on the battlefield in the hopes that we would lose this war.

Never forget the crime committed in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon on that terrible day.  And never forget  how Hollywood turned on your country.

There were some exceptions, however, and chief among them was Joel Surnow, the co-creator of “24.” Each week, for eight seasons, he gave this country a hero who openly loved America, did what was necessary to protect her, and who was willing to pay a terrible price for it. ”24″ also delivered the goods. Cathartic, exciting and righteous without being self-righteous, the addictive adventures of Jack Bauer became an oasis in a cesspool of Hollywood product delivering the exact opposite message.

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Was it so long ago? In 2004, there was incredible optimism in the film business. “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy had arrived to thundering conclusion. The third installment of the series, “The Return Of The King,” had just swept the Oscars and grossed over a billion dollars in worldwide box office.

A billion!

The future for other such projects was unending. Think of the possibilities. You could have very successful films that were also vast award winners. But alas, it was not meant to be.

Through a combination of factors, many of the decision-makers in Hollywood developed a small panic. Many felt that films should be used for political advocacy and not just entertainment, while others feared all films would turn into what they called “hollow epics,” without any real narrative direction. They didn’t want to see every film become a “Troy” or “Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World.”

So sadly, because of a combination of these two factors, decisions came fast and furious in Hollywood to stop this perceived menace. Films were scaled down and many films were turned into more “self serving” modules where filmmakers could create infomercials that covered political issues, social issues, and anything else they felt was needed to change what they perceived as evil in the world. And why stop there? They even went so far as to create characters based on real-life people they despised. (“Day After Tomorrow’s” infamous Dick Cheney character come to mind).

Wow. So creative…

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From our friend Christian Toto at The Daily Caller:

Conservatives are up in arms that a film celebrating the Navy Seals who killed Osama bin Laden will hit theaters less than a month before the 2012 presidential election.

Hollywood routinely produces left-of-center content, but a cinematic reminder of the Obama administration’s crowning achievement smacks of an unpaid political ad, a cinematic October surprise.

But conservatives should partially blame themselves for the paucity of GOP-friendly films in the marketplace.

To paraphrase a great baseball film, when they show them, they don’t come.

Yes, some recent blockbusters like “300” and “The Dark Knight” were embraced by the right for their conservative strains. But unabashedly conservative films have a lousy commercial track record.

Movies like “The Undefeated,” “Atlas Shrugged,” “I Want Your Money” and “An American Carol” failed to ignite the box office in ways that would make movie studios scratch their chins with interest.

“The Undefeated,” the most recent pro-conservative film, used a guerilla marketing campaign to spread the news of its theatrical release. Yet after 28 days, the documentary highlighting former Gov. Sarah Palin’s political ascent earned only $116,381, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

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Ed. Note: Please welcome longtime commenter Andrew Price to the front page. — JN

It may sound strange to assert that many conservatives don’t understand what makes a film conservative, but the evidence is all over the web.  More and more conservative websites are listing their top conservative films, but few of the films they list can actually be considered conservative.  It’s as if they just picked films they like and then struggled to find something. . . anything they could call conservative within each film.

Indeed, you’d be amazed how many people identify leftist propaganda as conservative because “that film rocked” or because it has a tough guy or advocates revenge. When was conservatism ever about revenge?  And many are mistaking errant lines of dialog for conservative themes. . . a serial-killing, eco-terrorist Marxist does not become a conservative hero just because he spouts off that he doesn’t trust the federal government to provide quality health care.

“I’m just not sure ObamaCare will work?”

So what are conservative values?

Well, surprisingly, this is where people get lost.  Many simply want to attribute everything good to conservatism and everything bad to liberalism.  Others claim things like patriotism, bravery, and even religious belief as conservative values.  But these aren’t uniquely conservative values. Indeed, many liberals have fought bravely and died for this country, and there are even leftist churches, and the truth is that both sides claim to believe in these things. . . they just see them differently. It’s in that difference where we need to look to decide whether a film is conservative.

To bottom-line it, conservatives believe in the individual over the collective but temper their belief in individuality by requiring people to act according to a code of conduct based on traditional morality.  Liberals believe in the collective over the individual and, where they allow individuality, they disdain traditional morality or personal responsibility.  Thus, uniquely conservative values tend to be centered around:

(1) faith in individual rights over collective rights,

(2) an acceptance of cause and effect, and a willingness to let people bear the good and bad consequences of their actions,

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Reality isn’t always very fun. Because of that many people turn to comic books for a little escapism. But there’s escapism and PC indoctrination. Sadly, it appears that DC Comics’ Batman is angling for the latter and not the former. You see, Batman has decided to hire a Muslim to “save France.”

First the reality. The country of France is having serious domestic problems between its immigrant Muslim community and those natural-born, European Frenchmen. Immigrants have been rampaging across the country for several years now. Clashes between police and large groups of rioting Muslim youth have wreaked havoc on the Gallic nation. Violence is all too common — it is woefully common for hundreds of cars to be lit afire in these riots and dozens of arrests to be made. It has the country split and frightened.

It has gotten so bad in France that in some parts of its cities, those parts controlled by marauding gangs of Muslim youths, whites never enter for fear of their lives. Not only that but not even police dare enter these areas. This dangerous situation does not seem anywhere near being solved. In fact, it’s just getting worse.

Now for the fantasy: enter The Batman.

DC Comics recently launched a series called “Batman Incorporated.” Essentially, Bruce Wayne (well-known as Batman’s alter ego to comics fans) is cruising the world setting up a “Batman” for major cities across the globe. These Batman figures, though, will not be vigilantes. They will be sanctioned by whatever local police force is in charge of the area in which the new Batman is operating. In the case of Detective Comics number 12 (Part one) and Batman Annual number 28 (Part two), Bruce Wayne has come to Paris, France to find a “French savior.” (more…)

The two highest-grossing movies in the United States from 2009 were “Avatar” and “Transformers 2.” The special effects and the anticipation before both films helped propel these films to earn hundreds of  millions of dollars. Much of the media coverage about both films (especially “Avatar”) focused on their special effects rather than their stories. With that in mind, one of the unfortunate legacies of 2009 at the movies may be that strong stories and great characters are seen as no match for visual excitement at the box office.

At the end of December 2009, Yahoo compiled a list of the top grossing movies of the year domestically. (Because the list came out in December, “Transformers 2” is featured as the highest grossing movie of the year, rather than “Avatar.”) The Yahoo list featured four sequels, one franchise revival (“Star Trek”), and one James Cameron movie about a planet with blue aliens on it. That latter film, along with “Transformers 2,” will not likely be remembered for its story or its characters, a disappointing realization for moviegoers who want great stories to go along with grand special effects. (more…)

“John Boot” at Pajamas Media:

With more than a billion dollars in global ticket sales, Avatar can’t be ignored as a cultural chord that is resonating around the planet. And anytime a movie sells more than $350 million worth of domestic tickets, it seems safe to say that a lot of American conservatives are lining up to see it. Are we being tricked into paying to see an ecologically correct story about imperialism, military brutality, and corporate greed? Or should we just shut up and enjoy the film like everyone else? I say the latter, despite the movie’s overtly partisan politics.

Although some liberals deny that director James Cameron has loaded up the left side of the scale, all doubt is expunged when the evil Marine commander (Stephen Lang) commands his troops to “fight terror with terror” (the phrase “shock and awe” is used, too) by attacking the peaceful, innocent blue sweeties, the Na’vi, who ask only to continue living in the tree/goddess/apartment complex they call home. The Marines are tools of a heartless corporation dedicated to mining the invaluable resource under the tree, called “unobtainium.” (more…)

The crowing we’re seeing from leftists over the belief that the roaring success of the anti-American, military-bashing, feast of political correctness that is Avatar represents some sort of validation of their worldview or a comeback for liberal film-making only begs one question: What took them so long?

You can’t blame them, though. After years of watching helplessly as liberal films flopped at a heartwarming 100% rate while conservative-themed films such as “Rambo,” “Gran Torino,” “Taken,” ”Knowing,” “and “Dark Knight” made money, it only makes sense that to lost-in-the-desert Lefties, Cameron’s garishly colored 3D cartoon makes hamburger look like a steak dinner.

There’s little doubt Avatar will end up as the number one or two top moneymaker worldwide of all time, out-performing the conservative Dark Knight (#5) and another epic that frequently finds its way on to a number of conservative movie lists as a favorite: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (#2).

So the question is: Do politics have something to do with the an event film’s box-office success? To a point, I think so. But does the fact that the exponentially more awful but pro-military, pro-American, anti-Obama Transformers 2, which was also a monster hit this year, cancel Avatar out? For argument’s sake, let’s say not. (more…)

Using reader scores, IMDB ranked their top 15 films produced since 2000. Other than “The Departed,” which along with “Mystic River,” “Crash,” “Crash,” and “Crash,” ranks in the top 5 over-rated films of ever, there’s little to quibble over. Taste is a subjective thing.

My personal Top 15 are ranked as my favorites always are — based on nothing more than re-watchability. “Rocky Balboa” might not be better written, photographed or acted than any number of films not on this list, but I’m going to watch it a helluva lot more, that’s for sure.  

1. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) – Ever since the lights came up after that first screening, like a drug this lyrical, gorgeously photographed piece of myth-making has tugged me back for another taste. This isn’t easy to admit, but I think I admire Andrew Dominik’s directorial debut even more than John Ford’s “Young Mister Lincoln” (1939), which it resembles in so many ways. Were this also a listing of the greatest performances of the new millennium, Casey Affleck’s portrayal of Robert Ford would rank #1, as well.

2. The Passion of the Christ (2004) – Easily, the purest and rawest emotional cinematic experience I’ve ever had. The Left’s bigoted, venomous attacks combined with the film’s eventual blockbuster success were almost as satisfying as the re-election of George W. Bush. (more…)

You know, people, I really wish I knew what the story was regarding President Obama’s puzzling diplomatic approach to Islamist Iran. Inquiring Minds Want To Know. This ain’t no movie, and I really don’t like the storyline to date. Haven’t since 1979. So what’s the script? White House Productions seems to be holding the storyline in blackout mode, and at this point I’m ready to put former FOX reporter Roger Friedman on the job of rooting it out. He sure did a bang-up job on “Wolverine.”

To be fair, I actually gave the President credit in this March 26th opinion piece entitled “Is President Obama Turning The Tables on Iran?” See, it occurred to me that the President might be undertaking a very brilliant strategy toward the Islamic Republic. If the President offers the Iranian regime nothing but carrots and gets nothing but sticks in return, then the regime is exposed as the hard case it really is. Nobody could say the President hadn’t tried every means at his disposal to make peace. (more…)

Despite early polling data showing a distinct lack of enthusiasm toward the Star Trek movie reboot by J. J. Abrams (Lost, Alias, Cloverfield, Fringe, Felicity), the film had an excellent opening weekend at the U.S. movie box office.

The film took in an estimated $72.5 million over the weekend. Even when adjusted for inflation, that’s far more than any of the previous Star Trek movies took in.

This has cultural significance beyond the fortunes of the Star Trek franchise and its studio. As I noted in writing about an Abrams interview last fall, Abrams said “he was drawn to the idealism behind the franchise. He hopes to make a more optimistic point of view as popular as the somewhat bleak vision of The Dark Knight was.” (more…)

Match me, Sidney.

8pm PST - Sweet Smell Of Success (1957) – A crooked press agent stoops to new depths to help an egotistical columnist break up his sister’s romance. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, Marty Milner Dir: Alexander Mackendrick BW-96 mins, TV-PG

You could fill pages about the complete greatness of this film, but when all is said and done what impresses most is how so much character and so many plot turns all fit into 96 minutes. As Burt Prelutsky points out in this essay, the all important art of pacing has pretty much vanished in Big Hollywood. When raunchy sex comedies start clocking in at 126 minutes, the canary in the coalmine to warn you something’s gone horribly wrong is long, long dead. (more…)

Benjamin Button??? You gotta be kidding me. I spent three days watching Benjamin Button one evening and if that’s not the emptiest, most meaningless piece of high gloss semi-entertainment produced last year than I don’t know my American Idol. I mean, Brad Pitt’s a great actor who’s had sex with Angelina Jolie, I concede that. But what was the movie about? People don’t actually get younger, right? So it had to be a metaphor for something. But what? As near as I can make out, it was Hollywood’s take on what marriage is like: You hook up when you’re both hot then she loses her looks and he starts acting like a child.

Slumdog Millionaire? Yeah, I enjoyed it—then promptly forgot it: it’s a little, you know, light. And though I sympathize with Muslims getting persecuted in the world’s largest democracy, I can’t help noticing that Hollywood almost completely ignores all the Christians getting persecuted by genuine tyrants like the Myanmar junta and the ACLU. (more…)

Only in a political vacuum would anyone be surprised “The Dark Knight” was all but snubbed by Academy voters this morning. The defense will be that it’s a comic book movie, as though “Frost/Nixon” isn’t.

What happened to all the “modern day masterpiece” talk? This, perhaps?

If you look at today’s Best Picture nominees and ask yourself which one of these nominees people will still be watching a few years from now, the best possible answer is, “Lemme think.” Throughout its 81 year history, the Academy has overlooked a number of timeless films for best picture nominations; here, in my opinion, are the five best films completely overlooked, not counting “Dark Knight”: (more…)

With its stubborn refusal to nominate Dark Knight, the second-highest grossing movie of all time, for Best Picture, the Academy seems determined to fade into irrelevancy.

This year’s Oscars will be the lowest-rated ever. How do I know? For one thing, the average box office gross of the Best Picture nominees is the lowest since 1984. Considering that today’s ticket prices are more than double what they were then, that’s stunning.

Also, Hugh Jackman is hosting. Who? Exactly. But hey, he was great hosting the Tonys. And we know how popular those are.

Of course, the Academy shouldn’t nominate films based solely on box office. But there was a time when critical success and mass appeal weren’t mutually exclusive.