The Paucity of Good Movies Has Left Me a Cinematic Pauper

I checked out the movie listings for the weekend, really wanting to see a movie, and there’s nothing out there of any interest, let alone merit.

There’s George Clooney’s “The American” with the oft used hunter becomes hunted. Clooney, like Tom Cruise, are “B” movie actors that have parlayed movie technical wizardry into a handsome income. It’s like a singer with a middling voice becoming a pop star because of all the sound filters and reverbs and whatever. I stay away from Clooney vehicles too because he sounds off on political issues, with the standard useful idiot statements of America bad, leftist dictators and neo-fascists good. He wouldn't get my money even if he accidently made a good movie.

So far this weekend, “The American” is the number one movie. Second is the vile racist anti-American “Machete”. I liked “Grindhouse”, a fun and funny send up/parody of that movie genre. This is a spinoff, and is nothing more than a hate filled racist rant against white Americans and US immigration policy. Really, the assassination of a senator just because he believes immigration law should be enforced is a good plot? I saw an early trailer with Danny Trejo saying nasty things about Arizona’s SB1070 immigration legislation. The Jessica Alba character states that if an American only believes in legal immigration, they “should be cut down”. This movie advocates for a revolution against America and the overthrow of our government. A group like the Minute Men is portrayed as cold blooded killers that hunt down Mexicans and murder them. In one scene they shoot a pregnant Mexican woman and comment, “Welcome to America”. Really. This is good cinematic fun?

“Takers” that’s supposed to have an all star cast about a detective going against some idealized robbers. Saw the trailer; that’s about the whole movie. Ever get the sense that the trailer is the movie, and feel duped when you get out of the movie itself? Everything worth seeing in the movie was in the trailer. Well, I’m not a taker on this movie either.

Then “The Last Exorcism” yet another plot done to death. I think horror movies are horrible by definition, stupid and time wasting. Last one I saw was “The Exorcism” with Linda Blair. It was possibly the last innovative horror flick.

Romantic comedies Hollywood just needs to stop trying to make. They aren’t funny, and are just vehicles for bad writers to make juvenile sexual innuendos. Even the trailer for this last attempt, “Going the Distance” I couldn’t wait to end. Drew Barrymore could be a good if not great actress, but has decided to bank on bad romantic comedies.

I actually read “Eat, Pray, Love” which was supposed to be a story of self growth and revelation, turned out to be nothing more than self obsessed navel gazing. She went though all those experiences and still was a selfish, intolerant Leftist. Julia Roberts, who portrayed the character, now claims to be a Hindu. That’ll pass, she’s an empty vessel, and something else that takes no effort will come along and she'll think that's fulfilling and meaningful too .

So I’ll stay home and read some good books and articles on line; and do some blogging. Time better spent. There are great plots and stories to be told. I wish Hollywood would bother to tell them, and find good actors to portray them.