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As we approached the year 2000, the world of the Cinema was in the wake of an entertainment revolution; films were beginning to stun and amaze their audiences to the extremes, pushing the boundaries of action movies and coming up with some truly spectacular visual feasts.
Possibly the greatest example of this new wave of film making can be attributed to The Matrix; a movie which dazzled its viewers with its super-slick fight scenes, clever digital effects of 'bullet time' and the ground-breaking steps it made in bringing action sequences to the screen in a style that no-one had seen before.
Audiences were amazed and enthralled by the Wachowski Brothers' vision, and many other films have aimed to follow in its footsteps. The power to captivate an audience with such breathtaking scenes is after all the goal of all action films. For example, what sold Star Wars Episode I to the public were the spectacular Pod Race scene, and the ultra-cool final lightsaber battle.
Most recently, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon amazed everyone with its fast and beautifully choreographed fight duels, again pushing the boundaries to astonish the audience even further. Now, the task facing the big blockbusters of the future is how to 'Wow' their audiences more than the last film did, how to impress them with something even more frantic and amazing, and how to give themselves an attribute which is individually unique.
As such, Hollywood's movies are being pumped ever more full of special effects, with CGI becoming the main ingredient of any successful blockbuster. The Mummy Returns is a typical example of this; the film was packed so full of furious action and magnificent computer animation that it exhausted itself in its aim to over-entertain its viewers, and ended up as nothing more than a farcical rout.
The next few years will see the arrival of even bigger blockbusters; The Matrix Sequels, Episode 2, a possible sequel to Crouching Tiger and countless others which will burst onto the scene boasting even greater effects, or even more mind-blowing fight scenes. The point is, how far can we be repeatedly amazed? There will come a time when, we too will become exhausted, and the Hollywood studios will have nothing new to throw at us.
Possibly the greatest example of this new wave of film making can be attributed to The Matrix; a movie which dazzled its viewers with its super-slick fight scenes, clever digital effects of 'bullet time' and the ground-breaking steps it made in bringing action sequences to the screen in a style that no-one had seen before.
Audiences were amazed and enthralled by the Wachowski Brothers' vision, and many other films have aimed to follow in its footsteps. The power to captivate an audience with such breathtaking scenes is after all the goal of all action films. For example, what sold Star Wars Episode I to the public were the spectacular Pod Race scene, and the ultra-cool final lightsaber battle.
Most recently, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon amazed everyone with its fast and beautifully choreographed fight duels, again pushing the boundaries to astonish the audience even further. Now, the task facing the big blockbusters of the future is how to 'Wow' their audiences more than the last film did, how to impress them with something even more frantic and amazing, and how to give themselves an attribute which is individually unique.
As such, Hollywood's movies are being pumped ever more full of special effects, with CGI becoming the main ingredient of any successful blockbuster. The Mummy Returns is a typical example of this; the film was packed so full of furious action and magnificent computer animation that it exhausted itself in its aim to over-entertain its viewers, and ended up as nothing more than a farcical rout.
The next few years will see the arrival of even bigger blockbusters; The Matrix Sequels, Episode 2, a possible sequel to Crouching Tiger and countless others which will burst onto the scene boasting even greater effects, or even more mind-blowing fight scenes. The point is, how far can we be repeatedly amazed? There will come a time when, we too will become exhausted, and the Hollywood studios will have nothing new to throw at us.
People have been feared for a long time that one day computers would overpower and control humans. Well that time has come or at least it has for Hollywood producers. Can not anybody in Hollywood produce a good "blockbuster" without the aid of CGI? and do all new animation feature films have to be Computer generated?, Does nobody in Hollywood have any talent or inspiration anymore?
Personally I would much rather watch a Stereotypical British film than a film which bases it's entire appeal on 90 minutes of CGI special effects or an animation feature which has clearly not been animated.
Personally I would much rather watch a Stereotypical British film than a film which bases it's entire appeal on 90 minutes of CGI special effects or an animation feature which has clearly not been animated.
Which is when everyone starts watching decent films from The Coen Bros, Luc Besson, Jeunet & Caro and I get annoyed because I have nowhere to sit in the cinema anymore.
I pray that the majority of people keep going to Mcfilms, that way I know I can steer clear of them and watch the smaller, indie films with audiences that are there to watch the movie and not just there because they had nothing else to do.
Crouching Tiger - Ang Lee's latest. I watched The Ice Storm and Ride With The Devil in a cinema that was full, but with cinephiles, absorped in the movie, not a stir.
Then Crouching Tiger came out, The Sun droned about it and I go to see it, only to hear "Hur Hur Hur...Superman!" and "It's all in bloody Chinese!".
At which point I had to grab handfuls of that chimp's hair and drive my knee into his forehead.
Big stupid summer films are fine, they let those that appreciate film as more than a couple of hours away from the rain see something that will say something.
But, like you said, they're running out of ideas.
BIGGER!
LOUDER!
MORE CGI!
Crows stuff popcorn into their gaping maws and moo at the screen whilst Lara Croft jumps about, and go home happy.
I'm waiting for a film called "The Man Who Wasn't There".
The Coen Bros latest one, in black and white about a barber in '40s America that doesnt say much.
And I know when I go to see it, I won't be asking someone to shut up every 2 minutes, because these films are watched by serious cinema goers.
I'm sorry to sound snobby, but it's true.
The smaller, more inventive films are bypassed by the crowds, whilst rubbish like The Mummy Returns and The Klumps are sold out.
Occasionally, these little films get noticed.
Crouching Tiger. A kung-fu flick in Mandarin, set in Feudal Era Japan.
It took the world by storm. EVERYONE watched it and loved it.
Did they then carry on with that feeling and go watch "Dark Days" or "Ginger Snaps"?
No, they went to watch The Mummy Returns and complained.
Tonight, I'm off to watch Evolution.
I know the place will be packed with people chatting, and that's ok, I cant complain because it's a loud, empty film that doesnt need any thought.
But when I went to watch Oh Brother, nobody chatted, everyone loved it and was there for the movie, not for the evening out.
So Hollywood, keep churning out these floaters please, at least that way I can see the movies I want to without having to murder people for talking.
I pray that the majority of people keep going to Mcfilms, that way I know I can steer clear of them and watch the smaller, indie films with audiences that are there to watch the movie and not just there because they had nothing else to do.
Crouching Tiger - Ang Lee's latest. I watched The Ice Storm and Ride With The Devil in a cinema that was full, but with cinephiles, absorped in the movie, not a stir.
Then Crouching Tiger came out, The Sun droned about it and I go to see it, only to hear "Hur Hur Hur...Superman!" and "It's all in bloody Chinese!".
At which point I had to grab handfuls of that chimp's hair and drive my knee into his forehead.
Big stupid summer films are fine, they let those that appreciate film as more than a couple of hours away from the rain see something that will say something.
But, like you said, they're running out of ideas.
BIGGER!
LOUDER!
MORE CGI!
Crows stuff popcorn into their gaping maws and moo at the screen whilst Lara Croft jumps about, and go home happy.
I'm waiting for a film called "The Man Who Wasn't There".
The Coen Bros latest one, in black and white about a barber in '40s America that doesnt say much.
And I know when I go to see it, I won't be asking someone to shut up every 2 minutes, because these films are watched by serious cinema goers.
I'm sorry to sound snobby, but it's true.
The smaller, more inventive films are bypassed by the crowds, whilst rubbish like The Mummy Returns and The Klumps are sold out.
Occasionally, these little films get noticed.
Crouching Tiger. A kung-fu flick in Mandarin, set in Feudal Era Japan.
It took the world by storm. EVERYONE watched it and loved it.
Did they then carry on with that feeling and go watch "Dark Days" or "Ginger Snaps"?
No, they went to watch The Mummy Returns and complained.
Tonight, I'm off to watch Evolution.
I know the place will be packed with people chatting, and that's ok, I cant complain because it's a loud, empty film that doesnt need any thought.
But when I went to watch Oh Brother, nobody chatted, everyone loved it and was there for the movie, not for the evening out.
So Hollywood, keep churning out these floaters please, at least that way I can see the movies I want to without having to murder people for talking.
As we approached the year 2000, the world of the Cinema was in the wake of an entertainment revolution; films were beginning to stun and amaze their audiences to the extremes, pushing the boundaries of action movies and coming up with some truly spectacular visual feasts.
Possibly the greatest example of this new wave of film making can be attributed to The Matrix; a movie which dazzled its viewers with its super-slick fight scenes, clever digital effects of 'bullet time' and the ground-breaking steps it made in bringing action sequences to the screen in a style that no-one had seen before.
Audiences were amazed and enthralled by the Wachowski Brothers' vision, and many other films have aimed to follow in its footsteps. The power to captivate an audience with such breathtaking scenes is after all the goal of all action films. For example, what sold Star Wars Episode I to the public were the spectacular Pod Race scene, and the ultra-cool final lightsaber battle.
Most recently, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon amazed everyone with its fast and beautifully choreographed fight duels, again pushing the boundaries to astonish the audience even further. Now, the task facing the big blockbusters of the future is how to 'Wow' their audiences more than the last film did, how to impress them with something even more frantic and amazing, and how to give themselves an attribute which is individually unique.
As such, Hollywood's movies are being pumped ever more full of special effects, with CGI becoming the main ingredient of any successful blockbuster. The Mummy Returns is a typical example of this; the film was packed so full of furious action and magnificent computer animation that it exhausted itself in its aim to over-entertain its viewers, and ended up as nothing more than a farcical rout.
The next few years will see the arrival of even bigger blockbusters; The Matrix Sequels, Episode 2, a possible sequel to Crouching Tiger and countless others which will burst onto the scene boasting even greater effects, or even more mind-blowing fight scenes. The point is, how far can we be repeatedly amazed? There will come a time when, we too will become exhausted, and the Hollywood studios will have nothing new to throw at us.
Possibly the greatest example of this new wave of film making can be attributed to The Matrix; a movie which dazzled its viewers with its super-slick fight scenes, clever digital effects of 'bullet time' and the ground-breaking steps it made in bringing action sequences to the screen in a style that no-one had seen before.
Audiences were amazed and enthralled by the Wachowski Brothers' vision, and many other films have aimed to follow in its footsteps. The power to captivate an audience with such breathtaking scenes is after all the goal of all action films. For example, what sold Star Wars Episode I to the public were the spectacular Pod Race scene, and the ultra-cool final lightsaber battle.
Most recently, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon amazed everyone with its fast and beautifully choreographed fight duels, again pushing the boundaries to astonish the audience even further. Now, the task facing the big blockbusters of the future is how to 'Wow' their audiences more than the last film did, how to impress them with something even more frantic and amazing, and how to give themselves an attribute which is individually unique.
As such, Hollywood's movies are being pumped ever more full of special effects, with CGI becoming the main ingredient of any successful blockbuster. The Mummy Returns is a typical example of this; the film was packed so full of furious action and magnificent computer animation that it exhausted itself in its aim to over-entertain its viewers, and ended up as nothing more than a farcical rout.
The next few years will see the arrival of even bigger blockbusters; The Matrix Sequels, Episode 2, a possible sequel to Crouching Tiger and countless others which will burst onto the scene boasting even greater effects, or even more mind-blowing fight scenes. The point is, how far can we be repeatedly amazed? There will come a time when, we too will become exhausted, and the Hollywood studios will have nothing new to throw at us.