Is 100 Million Dollars At The Box Office Still The Achievement It Once Was?

After reading a story about how The Help had made over 100 million dollars domestically, it made me start thinking about that particular accomplishment.

There was a time when having a movie make 100 million dollars at the domestic box office was a huge milestone and an indication that the film in question had made a major impact with audiences.

But I don't think a movie crossing that threshold is necessarily news anymore unless there is an additional reason why it might be notable. For example, low budget thriller Paranormal Activity making 100 million dollars domestically was indeed worthy of notice because of just how little it cost to make the movie in the first place.

Or from another angle, when My Big Fat Greek Wedding crossed the 100 million dollar mark, it was also worthy of a story because it had a really small opening and word of mouth turned the movie into a hit after a longer run.

I know not every movie makes it to 100 million, but it seems to be much more common these days so perhaps this isn't something that everyone should be celebrating, and the goal posts should be moved to reflect the effect of higher ticket prices and production costs. Like maybe a quarter billion should be the new achievement level that movies should be striving for, especially given their increasing costs.

Then again, I remember fellow pop culture blogger Jeremy Barker tell me as people outside of the industry, we shouldn't really care about the business end of things. How much money a movie makes doesn't and shouldn't ultimately determine the value of the actual movie watching experience for any of us. If a movie made a profit, there is an increased chance that it may get a sequel, and if it is a movie we enjoy, that is a good thing or if it is doing well at the box office, there is a longer window to see a particular movie on the big screen, but other than that, it is a largely inconsequential matter.

Oh, Bethesda Is Never Going To Hear The End Of This

A few days ago, Bethesda announced that the upcoming Elder Scrolls game, Skyrim, would support marriage between the player character and any number of NPCs.

The thing that is news though is the fac that marriage wouldn't be restricted by gender, so if your male or female character developed a long term relationship with a member of the same sex, then in that world, you could get married.

So that alone is going to be something that the same people who were getting bent out of shape about things like the bit of consensual sex in games like Mass Effect are going to have a field day with this.

Because it isn't going to be just the gay marriage angle that is going to end up being controversial, though that will likely be the main focus.

You see, there are many species of humanoid sentient beings in the world where these games take place, so outside of interracial marriage within members of the same general species (you know, white humans marrying black humans and fair skinned elves marrying Dark Elves etc), there is also the possibility that a human or whatever could marry an Argonian (a humanoid lizard/fish species) or a member of the Khajiit (a humanoid feline species).

And then you put same sex marriage on top of that. Yeah, some people's heads are going to explode.

I mean, I can almost hear a particular news network taking this ball and running with it. And it will be hilarious when they do. I could even see some presidential candidates, really go to town with this.

And I especially look forward to the response from the gaming community when that happens. That part is going to be sweet. The stories that I've read reporting the seeming freedom of marriage in Skyrim have all been followed by a stream of wonderfully snarky comments that indicate that in general, players have no problem with this being added, or they welcome it. That is an amazing sign.

To me, it is a non-issue. It is a role playing game, and if in the game you want your barechested Nordic hero to marry his longtime Khajiit lover, then more power to you. What you do doesn't affect my own gaming experience, and the fact that you will be able to do that, well, it shows a great deal of flexibility on Bethesda's part. They make games that are wide open sandbox affairs, so to have all those relationship options makes things even more interesting and likely adds some replay value to the game for some people.

Granted I would probably never really marry an NPC in a game unless it was necessary for the plot...

Um, what was I saying again?

Note: All screenshots in this post, both linked and attached are from Morrowind.

Sunday Video: Funk Makes Everything Better

Can some righteous funk make North Korean propaganda films interesting? Click play to find out.

And this is the song in question.

Awesome Game of Thrones/Sucker Punch Picture

Becca at No Smoking In The Skullcave posted this a few months ago, and I loved it then and I love it now.

This is how out of the loop I am. I actually thought before Game of Thrones premiered that that was an actual character from those books... like it was some post-nuclear holocaust fiction or something. So silly, so silly.

Midweek Video: No Escape

I Didn't Know James Spader Was In Contagion

Oh wait, that's Gwyneth Paltrow. That is a really bad shooting angle.

News About The Long Kiss Goodnight Sequel

It is no secret that I love The Long Kiss Goodnight with a passion.

And once again, the idea of a sequel is being bandied about, this time with the pen behind Burn Notice taking over for the fabulous Shane Black. Given how much I love the original, and how quotable it is, I do have some concerns about the level of quipping in this potential sequel.

I also have concerns about the theoretical character dynamic in this movie.

The thing I loved about Mitch Hennessey was he was just some ill-dressed private eye who got in way over his head helping what he thought was just some mousy housewife with amnesia, and yet, he still managed to kick ass and save the day a few times, despite being second fiddle by the end because of his client's sudden recollection of her past, and her skills. As I said in an earlier post, "He is a relatively unimportant man thrust into a situation which is really beyond his talents or experiences, and that's what makes it so great." But with Mitch helping Sam/Charly's daughter hunt down the people who killed her mother, it looks like he will be the character totally taking the lead, and I really don't like that.

Then again, I am also uncomfortable with the idea that Caitlyn has trained with her mother and became a badass herself.

So I have some reservations about this sequel now, though I also had some trepidation going into the upcoming p/remake of The Thing, and I have warmed to it after seeing the trailers, so while I am worried about this movie now, I have to see how this develops now.

In the meantime, I still have the original movie to satisfy me.

Am I The Only One...

...shocked that the whole expensive Kardashian wedding over the weekend was actually profitable for the couple?

I mean, how many people actually make money on their own wedding? That's just bizarre. And a little sickening truth be told.

Sunday Video: Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions

I was watching a bunch of videos by The Lonely Island this weekend, and this one was amongst them.

I think I can identify all the movies in the video.

Review: The English Is Coming: How One Language Is Sweeping The World

The English Is Coming: How One Language Is Sweeping The World examines the rise of the English language as a true global cultural phenomenon, one which has not only become the international language of business, aviation, diplomacy and science, but also one that has absorbed so many words from other languages to make it a language connected to every region of the globe.

The path that the author, Leslie Dunton-Downer, has taken to explore the subject is to pick 30 words and recount their origins, and in doing so, reveal how English has become the language it is today, one which adapts to changing conditions and assimilates new terms within a short span.

It is an intriguing journey, learning how elements from disparate groups and time periods have come together to build the language that has become the first truly global lingua franca. But the stories presented by Dunton-Downer aren't dry and scholarly, rather they demonstrate the vibrancy of the English language through intriguing anecdotes and examples. In many ways, it reminds me of James Burke's Connections and The Day The Universe Changed on a smaller scale, in that by using these specific words, it paints a much broader picture of how English became the language it is today and the historical events that encompassed them, like how the word "bikini" is linked not just to swimwear but the atomic bomb as well, or how the word "blog" is intrinsically linked to a decision Tim Berners-Lee made early in the development of the World Wide Web (or as he had originally referred to it, the Information Mesh).

This approach, of telling the stories of a selected group of words, also means that Dunton-Downer is revealing the narrative history of English in a different way than, say, Bill Bryson in The Mother Tongue, who told the story of the language in a more linear manner. In fact, the two books would seemingly complement each other well. There are some longer passages to introduce each set of words which fills in some of the gaps, and it helps establish a fuller picture of the history surrounding English.

The final chapters are devoted to how the English language could develop over the coming decades as non-native speakers from China, the Middle East, and other areas of the world start altering the language around the world with their own spin on things. It is an interesting thought experiment, but as even Dunton-Downer seemed to concede, the next major shift that the English language may take is likely to be one we can't foresee based on the current global conditions. A new technological breakthrough or the rise of a new regional power may alter the language in ways we cannot imagine.

All in all, The English Is Coming was a fascinating look at the development of the language which is slowly uniting the world, and I highly recommend it for readers who love reading history or about language. It is also the kind of book that will enrich an avid reader's enjoyment of literature in general.


Article first published on Blogcritics.

Midweek Video: This Is Hardcore

I've always loved this video. I love the fact that the song is about pornography, but the video blends 1950-60's cinematic melodrama, film noire and a Busby Berkeley dance number. I just wish the uncensored version (with the full version of the classic Chinatown line at the beginning) was higher quality.

Why Not Reboot The Critic?

With the reboots of Charlie's Angels and Bewitched in the works and the resurrection of Family Guy and Futurama in the past decade, I started thinking about another series that I would love to see come back to television.

Why not bring back The Critic?

I don't mean bring back The Critic as an animated series. No, I mean bring back The Critic as a live action comedy starring Jon Lovitz, since Jay Sherman was also physically modelled on him in some ways (and Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert too).

The way I was thinking about it was have the events of the original series be canonical, and have everyone age to a somewhat appropriate level, so Jay's sister would be heading towards 30 and his son would be in his early to mid-20's. Of course, those roles would have to be recast from their cartoon counterparts, but that is to be expected, since Nancy Cartwright and Christine Cavanaugh aren't really in keeping with those two characters in real life.

However, the episodes on Atom Films which don't seem to be available anymore would probably not be canon however. But instead of the delightful absurdity that the original cartoon series had, I could see a live action version going in a slightly different direction.

We live in an age where comedy based on awkwardness and geekiness really works and can draw an audience, and Jay Sherman as played by Lovitz seems perfect for this time. Shows like Extras, Louie and the like have set a particular mould for this kind of comedy, but there is one series that I think would provide the real spiritual basis for a live action reboot of The Critic.

I am talking about The Larry Sanders Show, because the way I saw it in my mind, Jay wouldn't work for Duke anymore, but for another cable network, and the drama and comedy behind the scenes of the series, along with his conflicts with other critics as well as actors and directors would drive the show, and going to film festivals and such.

Oh, and he would also be dealing with the internet, because I am sure like many critics, he would also use the internet to propagate his reviews and various other items which interested him, and I could see some of the drama being derived from those interactions.

Of course, if it was actually developed, I'd love to see it get picked up by HBO or Showtime since they both would allow things to go a little further than network television, so the series could really take some well-placed shots at things like torture porn, 3D movies and the like with a little more venom, and with fake clips that could go further in terms of swearing and violence than what a network show would be able to get away with. I don't think you need to go extreme with things, but having that little extra space to work with wouldn't hurt (nor would having to worry about ratings when the series began once again).

I think the world is ready for The Critic to come back.

And I thought it would be fun to see how many people would like that idea too. So I started a Facebook page based on getting people behind this idea at https://www.facebook.com/LiveActionCritic. If you want to join the community, feel free to do so.

Does This Look Like Someone Famous To You?

I installed a graphics mod for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind last weekend, and when I happened to visit a particular Mages Guild, I ran into this NPC.

My question is, am I the only one who noticed that this character has more than a passing resemblance to Olivia Wilde?

Oh, and if you have Morrowind for the PC, the graphic mod, which is awesome, can be found here. And you can watch a video to see what the mods look like together too.

"Sunday" Night Video: Be There by UNKLE f. Ian Brown

It is still technically Sunday, so this late entry still qualifies as a Sunday Night Video.

I loved this song more than the more famous Rabbit In the Headlights video which preceded it.

Mike Myers Returns To Austin Powers

After some of the crappy and unprofitable movies Mike Myers has been doing the past decade or so, it seems that the star has come to his senses and is learning a lesson from his turn as Shrek.

He is going back to the well and is going to revisit Austin Powers yet again. And there is no shame in that. In fact, I had advocated that he make a 4th movie for a while now, especially since there was still some story left to tell at the end of Goldmember with Scott Evil's turn to full on super villainy.

I admit that Goldmember wasn't the best movie either, but even a subpar Austin Powers sequel would likely do wonders for Myers career (not to mention pocket book) with the official end of the Shrek series. Verne Troyer could probably use the work too.

I support this move.

The Cartoon/Prime Time Mashups We All Wanted To See

I also loved the one for Walter's Laboratory

via: College Humor

Midweek Video: Deep Shag

This reminds me of Factsheet 5 and zining back in the late 1990's.

NBC Is Bringing Back Bewitched

Did they learn nothing from that Will Ferrell-Nicole Kidman debacle?

Wait, this is NBC... they don't learn from anything.

(and yes, I lauded ABC's relaunch of Charlie's Angels... I admit I may be hypocritical, but it is my right to be that way, especially since I am owning up to it).

Fanboyism and My Take On Remakes

Aaron Davis posted an article at Hobo Trashcan which I really agree with regarding the nature of a particularly vocal set of fans. The kind of fans who cannot be satisfied by anything, especially when it comes to comic book movies. They find fault in everything.

After reading the article, I started to think about my own vocal objections with remakes in general, and I tried to hold myself to the same standard I am holding fanboys to by proxy.

And you know what, I think I do have a case for feeling this way.

I think in the majority of cases, the reason I get upset about remakes, aside from the fact that I'd rather see something new, is the fact that I am generally happy with the original version of a movie to begin with, so on some level, I think a remake cheapens that vision, even when it is a movie that had a lower budget or lacked star power.

That is my main objection. I think it is a fair one as well. I am not overly negative about this issue, though sometimes I exaggerate for comedic effect. It comes more from a place of disappointment rather than anger.

I am also capable of standing by my principles. I won't see a remake just to see how bad they screw something up, and I am willing to give the few that might be interesting a chance, and I am willing to admit when I am wrong... I think that is a huge difference.

I Love This Costume!

You know, if I was the type of person to go to conventions, I think this is the kind of cosplayer I would talk to.

She just seems so lovably nerdy. She isn't trying to sex things up, and she just comes off like a real fan of the game. I love the costume, and it shows her commitment to that game.

Sunday Video: Blue Monday covered by Hannah Peel

I really should add a subtitle to this blog... chronicler of Blue Monday covers. But dammit, I love this song in nearly every form I've heard it.

It is charming too.

The Wire As A Hanna Barbera Cartoon

Jeremy Barker posted this a while ago, and I thought it was superawesome, so I am sharing it with all of you.

Just another lazy Saturday. If it was a day later, I'd at least have the possibility of having some cupcakes and red vines.

Culture Kills Jokes About Brett Ratner Producing The Oscars

-I guess Bryan Singer was going to do it, but he decided to work on the Emmys instead

-I hear they are going to lock the doors after the show starts and just film celebrities trying to get out. Luckily, Angelina Jolie had a map of the theatre tattooed on her back

-If Jodie Foster is nominated for an award, she is going to be played by Julianne Moore

-Do you hear that sound? I think it is Chris Tucker begging Ratner for the chance to host the show

-Did you hear that the memorials are going to be cut together to Madonna's Beautiful Stranger?

-I guess the closest Ratner is ever going to get to an Oscar is producing this show

-I look forward to the hour long fight between Jackie Chan and the English language

-I guess if Peter Jackson can get to the Oscars after Meet The Feebles, then Brett Ratner can produce them after Santa's Slay. Now, will someone tell Goldberg to stop twisting my arm.

I Might Start Podcasting Again

This week, I was listening to MP3's on my computer, when I heard a song I don't ever remember hearing before. It turned out it was something I had downloaded sometime between the end of 2005 and 2006 based on the folder it was in.

However, where I had gotten it was bugging me, since it was clearly a song I had gotten from a site which featured it in a promotional sense...

...so I took a look around a bunch of sites, including a few which were the ones I had gotten the music for my podcasts from.

And after being elbow deep in so much music, I've come to a decision... I may be starting up that old podcast again.

I am not making any promises here, but it could very well be in the cards. Of course, if I do this, I will likely be editing a lot less, so I am going to sound a lot dorkier than I did on the first batch. Less editing means it is easier and less stressful, so I am more likely to keep up with it.

And I actually have a computer which is capable of going on iTunes now, so I can actually submit them the proper way.

Midweek Video: Black and Jewish

I think this sounds even better than the original song.

Why Won't Anyone Believe Me?

I saw previews for a particular game on a few game sites a couple weeks back, and I immediately figured out that it was a game being developed by auteur designer Suda51, the same guy who was behind No More Heroes, and I really wanted to play it.

I then learned this week that this same game was being written by James Gunn... you know the guy who did the PG Porn shorts and wrote the Dawn of the Dead remake. And that made me want to play the game in question even more.

And yet, when I tell people I want to play Lollipop Chainsaw and they see a screenshot or concept art from it:

They give me a look that says, "Yeah, I know the real reason you want to play that," because the other reasons don't matter because it is a game about an attractive cheerleader killing zombies with a chainsaw.

It doesn't matter that Joss Whedon made a career off of a vampire-battling cheerleader because that was different. If I professed a love of Buffy or a desire to watch it, then I wouldn't have to weather those kinds of looks.

But because I'm a gamer, well, the fact that I might want to play a game made by a designer I like is irrelevant. I'm a perv because it is a game about a blonde cheerleader.

I sort of don't like this double standard.

Cameron Crowe Talking About A Say Anything Sequel

I am sure there are quite a few people from my generation who would absolutely love to see more of Lloyd Dobler. I am not one of them, but I can certainly understand the appeal.

Well, in a recent interview Cameron Crowe revealed that the idea of a sequel had come up, and he had discussed it with John Cusack, which sounds promising.

However, I've also heard rumors that in some interviews with Cusack around the time of the 20th anniversary of the movie, he didn't even want to talk about it, so let's say I have my doubts that he would be totally down for doing a sequel, though truth be told, it seems that he has a crappy attitude about all the movies from his early career that helped make him the star he is today.

But then again, he may make the decision that it would be a good move for him to make for his career. I guess we'll just have to see.

What My Twitter Feed Says About Me

You know, if you were to judge my interests solely on what I said on Twitter, you'd probably conclude the following:

-All I do is watch wrestling (I haven't watched it really since late 2009)

-I'm really into Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Kate Beaton

-Everything I say is responding to or mentioning someone else... I don't really post new stuff

-And the gaming talk (OK, that isn't any different)

But yeah, I should probably put a little more time into my twitter feed since I haven't been doing a lot with it lately.