Digital
Media FX News Archives
Friday
- May 25, 2001
- Pearl Harbor Slammed by Critics
- Now Playing
- The Mummy Returns
Makes Impact Overseas
- Tomb Raider Given PG-13 Rating
- News Link of the Day
- The Syn-Thespians Are Coming
Pearl Harbor
Slammed by Critics - Now Playing
(by
digitalmediafx.com) Pearl Harbor opened today in 3,214
theaters to almost unanimous negative reviews, with some newspapers
like the New York Post, referring to the movie as Pearl Horror.
Here are quotes from various media reviews regarding the three
hour movie:
"Yes,
the 40-minute attack sequence in "Pearl Harbor" is as
spectacular as you could imagine - but come prepared to suffer
through hours of soggy, corny, predictable and interminable romantic
drama." ~ Lou Lumenick of the New York Post.
"Ships,
planes and water combust and collide in Pearl Harbor, but nothing
else does in one of the wimpiest wartime romances ever filmed..."
~ USA Today.
"This
is an exploitation picture hiding behind the flag, a national
tragedy turned into a billion-dollar video game. What a shame
that it takes a couple of hucksters to remind this country that
pride and honor are actually supposed to mean something."
~ Paul Tatara of CNN.
"Its
all told in shorthand, as if the filmmakers assumed we were so
hip to the conventions of movie romance that they neednt
bother laying the relationships emotional foundation. Without
the familiar prop of action to fall back on, Bay seems worried
that we might get bored. He doesnt let his scenes breathe,
and they come off feeling both fussy and truncated. The first
hour of Pearl Harbor looks like a highlight reela
trailer for itself." ~ David Ansen of Newsweek.
"When
a Japanese military officer reports that "the task force"
is 320 miles north of Pearl Harbor, we're one hour and 20 minutes
into the movie. By then, you're ready to bomb something yourself.
Perhaps they should have called this 'Bore-a, Bore-a, Bore-a.'..."
~ Desson Howe of The Washington Post.
"...after
an hour of absurd, lump- in-the-throat romanticism, the arrival
of the enemy comes as something of a relief. The crashing of bombs
and the whine of bullets at least pushes Hans Zimmer's oppressive
score into the background, and, in a further service to humanity,
quiets the thundering bombast of Randall Wallace's dialogue."
~ A. O. Scott of The New York Times.
"The
three leads are victims of bad dialogue and predictable plotting.
With each new film, Mr. Affleck grows increasingly bland. At times
you suspect that what was once said about a certain West Coast
city is true of Mr. Affleck: There is no there there..."
~ Philip Wuntch of The Dallas Morning News.
Analysts are
predicting that Pearl Harbor will make nearly $100 million in
its 4-day opening weekend. The negative reviews, however, should
benefit DreamWorks Shrek, which actually expanded into more theaters
in its second weekend than last weekend when it opened to near
record numbers for an animated film.
Michael Eisner
isn't fretting, however, as he thinks Pearl Harbor will be Disney's
biggest movie ever. In a letter to employees, Eisner stated, "'There
are no sure things in the entertainment industry, but this comes
close,'' Eisner said in a letter to employees. ''I've been telling
anybody who would listen that this will be our biggest live action
film ever.''
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The Mummy
Returns Makes Impact Overseas
(by digitalmediafx.com) Universal Studios' The Mummy Returns
movie is making a big splash overseas after opening in several
countries last weekend. The
FX-filled adventure had a gross of
£5,929,146 at 454 theatres in the UK and Ireland (including
paid previews) for a massive £13,060 per screen average,
making it the eighth-biggest opening weekend ever in this market.
In the U.S.
market, The Mummy Returns surpased the $150 million mark
Wednesday, on its way to becoming the first mega-blockbuster ($200
million or more) of the 2001 movie season.
In other Universal
Studios news, the company claims that it has yet to make a profit
on last year's highest grossing movie, How the Grinch Stole
Christmas. According to the Wall Street Journal, this is in
part due to back end guarantees the studio gave key filmmakers,
allowing them to take a percentage of the money the film made.
A similar process was used for Touchstone Pictures Pearl Harbor
(Touchstone is a subsidiary of Disney).
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Tomb Raider
Given PG-13 Rating
(by digitalmediafx.com) Tomb Raider, which goes head to
head against Disney's Atlantis:
The Lost Empire on June 15, has received a PG-13
rating by the Motion Picture Association of America.
The official reason for the rating is for "action violence
and some sensuality." Tomb Raider has been hit with
several recent setbacks, including a last minute change of the
film's composer, resulting in 100 minutes of music having to be
rushed for the film (including orchestra recordings of select
pieces) in just 14 days.
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News Link
of the Day - The Syn-Thespians Are Coming
According to the New York Post
"Hollywood's
freshest new face is a giant fake. Nothing about her is real -
not her bobbed black hair, her pixie nose, flawless complexion
or knock-out bod. She was born in a computer, but Dr. Aki Ross
is poised for real-life stardom as the virtual heroine of Final
Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Columbia's $100 million new sci-fi
epic.
The brainy
bombshell has already graced the cover of Maxim's Hottest 100
supplement (in a string bikini!) and women's magazines are clamoring
for her beauty tips
"
Click
here for the full story.
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