Incredible
This weekend, SockHobbit and I went to The Incredibles and it was, well…incredible. This movie seriously pushes the level of animated movies to a new level – the illustration, 3D work, dialogue…even the action was good. Most kids’ films (of which I’ve seen tons) seem to falter in one of those categories. Finding Nemo was hilarious and beautifully written, but the action scenes were somewhat lacking (“Let’s bounce off of jellyfish! Whee!”). Same thing with Monster’s Inc. Both are fantastic movies, but when it comes to those freewheeling, exhilaratingly adrenaline-infused sequences that really make up define an action film, they both kind of fall short.
I’m not a dolt, I know that these are kids’ films and bloody limbs are generally eschewed in the genre for smiling faces and morale-laden stories. However, go and see The Incredibles and you’ll see what I mean; this is really one of the better action movies out there, with nary an obvious, groan-inducing morale to be found. Sure, there’s bound to be a few, but compared to most Disney flicks, The Incredibles seems like a Bruckheimmer film.
Now, the one bad thing about the movie was its pre-movie trailers. Where do I start? First off, being in Portland, we don’t have much of a choice for movie theaters. We have something like 30 Regal cinemas, and two (much, much better) Century theaters.
Usually I despise going to anything Regal-cinema related, because they contain all that is evil in the world of movie-going goodness: THE TWENTY. Now, I understand this concept; I work in advertising and understand how most of this stuff works. And can certainly see the benefit to movie theater advertising: a captive audience that has nothing better to do than to sit there because they don’t want to lose their seats.
However, I am completely and irreversibly convinced THE TWENTY is the devil. Right wing, evangelical types have it ALL wrong: Satan/Beelzebub/etc. exists, not in Hell as was previously and erroneously thought, but in the form of a horrendous spectacle of poor sound, over-energetic voiceovers, awful editing, and worst of all, a complete and utter disregard for demographics that happens to take place twenty minutes (by the way, how DID they come up with that name?) before a movie begins.
There is nothing worse than sitting in a theater with my mom, awaiting a film that has subtitles and a fair amount of plot complexity, and have Britney Spears provocatively gyrating herself to her “new single.”
Awkward doesn’t even begin to describe the situation. Why not just add some dollar lap dances and a cheesy DJ while my mom asks for a light?
Oh, wait…they already have the DJ…
Besides the whole audience-ignorance thing, THE TWENTY (why is it ALL CAPS, you wonder? Have you seen THE TWENTY?) is also guilty of another advertising transgression: it doesn’t take advantage of the medium. Image not showing images on TV, or buying space in a magazine, only to let it sit there with no imagery, type, logo, or anything. It makes absolutely no sense. Same thing with THE TWENTY.
Here you have people who are paying money to be entertained by means of watching a gigantic screen and listening to incredible sound emanating from surround sound systems that make most home theater systems look like boom boxes. Why not, oh I don’t know, here’s a wayward thought…ENTERTAIN them?
And yet, THE TWENTY insists of pimping upcoming TNT and NBC shows, with a music video or two tossed in to mix things up. This is a fine concept that fails to do one key thing: entertain. I have never met anyone who looks forward to THE TWENTY. I understand what they’re going after, I do. I don’t immediately resent it and am willing to watch anything if it’s entertaining. If I want blatant self-promotion, I’d enjoy Terrel Owens a whole lot more. But the fact is, to date, I’ve only seen two commercials that THE TWENTY has sprinkled in: a VOLVO commercial and a Toyota Tacoma teaser. Both were produced in widescreen formats and featured in beautiful, immersive sound. Two features that THE TWENTY fails to take advantage of. Plus, they weren’t screaming, waving, or pleading the viewer to watch some ridiculous reality TV cut or a “very special Will and Grace season.”
THE TWENTY could learn a thing or two.
Or twenty.
I’m not a dolt, I know that these are kids’ films and bloody limbs are generally eschewed in the genre for smiling faces and morale-laden stories. However, go and see The Incredibles and you’ll see what I mean; this is really one of the better action movies out there, with nary an obvious, groan-inducing morale to be found. Sure, there’s bound to be a few, but compared to most Disney flicks, The Incredibles seems like a Bruckheimmer film.
Now, the one bad thing about the movie was its pre-movie trailers. Where do I start? First off, being in Portland, we don’t have much of a choice for movie theaters. We have something like 30 Regal cinemas, and two (much, much better) Century theaters.
Usually I despise going to anything Regal-cinema related, because they contain all that is evil in the world of movie-going goodness: THE TWENTY. Now, I understand this concept; I work in advertising and understand how most of this stuff works. And can certainly see the benefit to movie theater advertising: a captive audience that has nothing better to do than to sit there because they don’t want to lose their seats.
However, I am completely and irreversibly convinced THE TWENTY is the devil. Right wing, evangelical types have it ALL wrong: Satan/Beelzebub/etc. exists, not in Hell as was previously and erroneously thought, but in the form of a horrendous spectacle of poor sound, over-energetic voiceovers, awful editing, and worst of all, a complete and utter disregard for demographics that happens to take place twenty minutes (by the way, how DID they come up with that name?) before a movie begins.
There is nothing worse than sitting in a theater with my mom, awaiting a film that has subtitles and a fair amount of plot complexity, and have Britney Spears provocatively gyrating herself to her “new single.”
Awkward doesn’t even begin to describe the situation. Why not just add some dollar lap dances and a cheesy DJ while my mom asks for a light?
Oh, wait…they already have the DJ…
Besides the whole audience-ignorance thing, THE TWENTY (why is it ALL CAPS, you wonder? Have you seen THE TWENTY?) is also guilty of another advertising transgression: it doesn’t take advantage of the medium. Image not showing images on TV, or buying space in a magazine, only to let it sit there with no imagery, type, logo, or anything. It makes absolutely no sense. Same thing with THE TWENTY.
Here you have people who are paying money to be entertained by means of watching a gigantic screen and listening to incredible sound emanating from surround sound systems that make most home theater systems look like boom boxes. Why not, oh I don’t know, here’s a wayward thought…ENTERTAIN them?
And yet, THE TWENTY insists of pimping upcoming TNT and NBC shows, with a music video or two tossed in to mix things up. This is a fine concept that fails to do one key thing: entertain. I have never met anyone who looks forward to THE TWENTY. I understand what they’re going after, I do. I don’t immediately resent it and am willing to watch anything if it’s entertaining. If I want blatant self-promotion, I’d enjoy Terrel Owens a whole lot more. But the fact is, to date, I’ve only seen two commercials that THE TWENTY has sprinkled in: a VOLVO commercial and a Toyota Tacoma teaser. Both were produced in widescreen formats and featured in beautiful, immersive sound. Two features that THE TWENTY fails to take advantage of. Plus, they weren’t screaming, waving, or pleading the viewer to watch some ridiculous reality TV cut or a “very special Will and Grace season.”
THE TWENTY could learn a thing or two.
Or twenty.
posted by The Haiku Review at 11:19 AM
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