Monday, July 13, 2009
Well I went to Transformers 2 with Stavis (who hadn't seen the first yet! big mistake) on Saturday. We checked it out in IMAX, which is always the preferred venue for action flicks like this.
The movie was no where near as fun as the first, which I thought deserved consideration for top awards the year it was released. This was a typical second film in a series -- tons of action and effects and none of that boring "plot" stuff. In fact, the plot in this thing was confusing at best, with none of the charm of the first film. And what up with the two ghetto bots? Hello? I half expected a Jar Jar Binks-bot to step out at any second. Is there an Ewok-bot in store for the third installment?
But the stand out absurdity was yes, it's true, they did erase Israel off the map. Usually I understand that, being a politically obsessed blogger with a focus on the Middle East, I may see subtexts even where not intentional, but I didn't expect it to be so obvious. They literally show a map several times with Egypt and Jordan prominently displayed, and...nothing in between. And what about those quick shuttles between the pyramids and Petra?
I guess somebody is pandering to the Arab boycott in the hopes of better overseas box office. Spielberg where were you when this was going on? Overseeing it, probably. Slimy.
Don't look to Spielberg for help on this. He's no friend of Israel, though he claims to be. Having hired the very anti-Zionist Tony Kushner as screenwriter for the movie Munich, can you wonder at the movie's subtle anti-Zionist message?
It's interesting to compare the behavior of the creators of this blockbuster with the guys who made Independence Day way back when. In that loud, summer crowdpleaser, the film makers went out of their way to show Arab and Israeli soldiers (pilots, actually) putting aside their differences to fight a common enemy of humanity (i.e., giant flying saucers with fragile death-ray cannons that relied far too much on their force fields). Now, nearly 20 years later, Hollywood's attempt at "messaging" seems to have fallen prey to fears of damaging overseas distribution markets.
Perhaps the next step will be the release of an international version of "Milk" that edits out all references to homosexuality out of fear of damaging rental numbers in the Magreb?
"Inglorious Bastards" sounds interesting.
IMNSHO 99% of todays movies are absolute CRAP.
Explosions, guns, car chases, crashes, overuse of obvious CGI, gay crap, really low language that is popular in British circles (like the "C" word).
My personal vow is to boycott any current day British movie - esp. any movie with vanessa redgrave.
That's why I only watch movies on TCM (Turner Classic Movies).
Assholes like self loathing tony kushner hate the Bible for explicitly condemning his sexual tastes.