Summer of Sequels (AKA the Summer of Cack)
Monday, June 11th, 2007It’s a safe bet to go with the tried and tested. Why create new characters when people already love existing ones? Why bother taking a chance when a sequel is almost guaranteed to sell well?
Cos a sequel is unlikely to be better than the original. But who cares about my opinion? I’m just a solitary cinema patron, my £6.50 ticket isn’t going to make anyone rich. And the chances are, I’ll probably still go to see the sequels as there’s not much else to watch, and I do like watching a big blockbuster at the cine.
So first there was the cackfest called Spiderman 3.
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Then came Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, which was actually better than the aptly named Dead Man’s Chest. I especially liked the naughty monkey (bien sûr) and the surreal Jack Sparrow doppelgang-bang scenes.
There’s an extra scene after the credits, but you can see it on youtube, so you don’t need to stick around if you’re in a hurry to catch the bus home or whatever.
Urban Recluse Rating: 




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Next was Ocean’s 13. I wasn’t too bothered about 11 and 12, but I’d seen them on DVD at home, which isn’t quite the same as watching at the cine.
I especially liked how they had an American with a dodgy British accent (Don Cheadle) and a Brit with an equally dodgy American accent (Eddie Izzard); that was an inspired touch. (Like a secret commentary on the corrupted bond existing between the British and America governments?)
It was appropriately clever and slick, but to me it felt like trying to keep a mouthful of candy floss in your mouth (an elusive sweetness).
Urban Recluse Rating: 




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And what’s next in this season of unoriginality?
Shrek the Turd
Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer (there’s something off about that title, just can’t put my finger on it)
Etc.









2:58 pm on 12-Jun-07
I saw Spiderman (blah), and I might see Fantastic Four.
The movie I really want to see is Judd Apatow’s “Knocked Up”. That looks hilarious!
7:24 pm on 12-Jun-07
Yep, blah is the mot juste to describe Spiderman 3. Knocked up looks interesting, at least it’s something different.
7:49 pm on 12-Jun-07
Isn’t a “silver surfer” an older person (senior citizen) who surfs the Internet? - The title conjurs that image in my mind - no matter what the poster looks like.
8:54 pm on 12-Jun-07
LOL, I’m with you on sequels — once in a while they’re pretty good, but usually they aren’t much compared to the original. And a weird phemonenon has been at work in the U.S. lately re: films — remaking all kinds of seventies shows and sitcoms into movies, i.e. Bewitched, Dukes of Hazzard, gah! Originality seems to be sadly rare in Hollywood these days.
10:37 pm on 12-Jun-07
Lillian: you’re absolutely right!
Hey Thomma, we should get together with SW and write a awesome blockbuster, featuring Bruce Willis and The Rock…
2:50 am on 13-Jun-07
my dad used to always call this boy in my elementary school billy the turd. He was, of course, named after his father, who was named after his father. … flashback.