Here is a page where I post what I would like to call "My Rants." These ususally include things that really really irritate me about Hollywood, movies in general, or something that I really like or admire about Hollywood and the movie industry. I don't know how often I'll update this, but I'll try to write one up once or twice a month for those people that actually care.
October 22, 2000:
Well, this will be my first installment of the Rant and to kick it off, I think I will do one in praise of hollywood. I don't know why though, I just feel I should start off with something good for a change.
Why 1999? Why that year? The year 2000 has STUNK for movies... I can only think of a few good movies (most of which I've only heard good things from others) that have been released, and none of them compare with the line-up from last year. Mind you, I'm not complaining about 1999. In fact, I'm commending the motion picture industry. Why can't they churn out movies like that every year? If they did, they'd make a helluva lot more money (not that they really need it). The inspiration to write this rant came from hearing that last year was a record-breaking money=making year for Hollywood. No wonder! Geez, if I'd heard otherwise, I would have been surprised. Anyways, hopefully in the near future, Hollywood will return to releasing good movies, instead of turning out the garbage they usually do. That's just my opinion though, you don't (and shouldn't) listen to me... K.R
October 31, 2000 - The Hollywood Actress
I guess in order to celebrate Hallowe'en, I have decided to put up my next rant. And this time, that's what it is (scared yet?)
My beef this time is actresses in Hollywood. Let me stress something: I am NOT a misogynist, but I can't really say that I like many actresses. In fact, that's where the inspiration for this rant came from: there isn't a single decent female leading actress that I can name that doesn't play in stereotypical female roles. Women are often portrayed, nay I will go so far as to say EXPECTED to play the romantic, soft and teary counterparts to their male lead actors. Even when they are cast in the lead role, they are always weepy, over-emotional wrecks who are out to A:) Find Romance, or B:) Set someone up. For some reason, I think I have described Julia Robert's entire filmography.
Why is this the way things are? I admit, I realize that many male actors are cast in the same roles as are women, but at least they get good roles. Think about it: what actress do you know that can have the acting power of say, Kevin Spacey, or Mel Gibson. Left stunned for names yet? You should be... There are only three actresses that I can think of that don't play in weepy, over-dramatic and over-romantic roles: Courtney Love (who kinda is disqualified, because she's more musician than actress) Anette Benning, and to a lesser extent, Elizabeth Shue. Even these three good actresses cannot escape the stereotype. What I would like to see if one, ONE movie in which a strong female actress shines in a role not wholly concerned with romance, in fact preferably in a role with NO romance plot at all. Oh yes, and I think the actress should be young, because it seems that the older an actress gets, the better their filmography becomes (for example, name a brilliant young female actress? Lost for words again?).
If things can change, and our society can get its ass out of the 19th century and recognize the prejudice and bigotry that we show towards each other, then perhaps, just maybe I'll be able to answer the question "Who's your favourite actress" without awkwardly leaving it blank on those numerous hotmail surveys. - K.R
June 30, 2001: The Death of Cinema?
I know it has been awhile since I made a foray into my webpage, but this time I couldn't help it. Recently, I have been watching some of the older movies, movies in which acting, plot and deeper meaning took precedence over action, violence, sex and 'hot titty' as one of my friends would like to say. What happened to those days? True, once in awhile a truly good movie does come out, (such as Traffic ) but for the most part, movies are content to stay within the secular realm. Very few movies written and filmed today rise above this.
I guess I should clarify what I mean by 'rise above.' When I say rise above, I mean above our normal life. Movies that open our eyes and show us how the world really is are always the best movies out there. Why? Because the other movies we watch try to hide this from us. After all, every single action movie which exists out there has body counts in the hundreds (well, not hundreds, but pretty high). Honestly, how believable are those movies! 100 or so people died in Oklahoma in the bombing a few years back, and that still gets headlines. Nothing along the lines of an action movie could possibly exist without massive media overkill, which makes them even more implausible.
And yet today someone would rather go and watch a movie such as Pearl Harbour than watch a movie with some meaning. Just recently, I watched a movie called The Seventh Seal; a subtitled movie from the fifties. I don't know a single friend of mine who would like this movie, and yet with its strong connotations to do with death, life and the gaiety humans must try to retain in the face of death, there is not a single theme there that wouldn't concern them.
There is no solution for this malaise, and I do not propose one, save that at least once a month, one should sit down and watch an old, or a difficult movie, and just see - you might be surprised, for most are pretty good.
- K.R