John Carter of Mars

[Anand]

Well, with it sitting at 49% rotten (Top critics 35%) status on Tomatometer, I don't really think it ever got any "solid" reviews from the critics, as mentioned in the "Lorax box office" story on the main page.

[Dacey]

Hello, Anand.

Yes, not all critics liked it, but there were still a good number of them who did. The Hollywood Reporter gave it a thumps up, and ComingSoon.net--generally considered a well-respected movie site--gave it not one, but three very good reviews. So even though it's not technically "fresh" according to RT's overall average, it still got some solid reviews.

[GeorgeC]

Critics, shmidicks!

People are staying away from the film in droves and that's what counts.

Forget about box-office ranking and Rotten Tomatoes and so forth... The reality is, nobody can predict a hit 100%.

Many of the films that LOOKED like they were going to be big hits and seemed to have everything going for them have historically failed.... (usually for good reasons after people start sobbing and investigate what went on behind the scenes.)

Good book to read about this sort of thing -- "Adventures in the Screen Trade" by William Goldman.
If one of the best-known screenwriters in the last 40+ years can't teach you a bit about the reality of the movie business, then I don't know what school course or other book will.

Fascinating read. The whole decay of the movie business really started after the success of "Jaws". L & S were the beginning of the end of film cycles with serious films and the dominance of comic-book movies (definition is NOT what you think).

Darn shame, too.... No way they (the current Hollywood system) would make The Godfather today but they still turn out pretentious crap nobody sees, too, in addition to fluff movies!

[Whippet Angel]

Good book to read about this sort of thing -- "Adventures in the Screen Trade" by William Goldman.
If one of the best-known screenwriters in the last 40+ years can't teach you a bit about the reality of the movie business, then I don't know what school course or other book will.

Fascinating read. The whole decay of the movie business really started after the success of "Jaws". L & S were the beginning of the end of film cycles with serious films and the dominance of comic-book movies (definition is NOT what you think).

Hmm.....



Off to Amazon!!!

[Randall]

I saw JC, and as far as I can tell, anyone who disliked it is on crack. No offense, just sayin'. It seems that once all the bad buzz started, critics just wanted to pile on. In truth, it's a dandy pulp adventure and I enjoyed it very much. I'd give it, say, 7.5/10.

[EricJ]

L & S were the beginning of the end of film cycles with serious films and the dominance of comic-book movies (definition is NOT what you think).

(...Lilo & Stitch? )

[GeorgeC]

Off to Amazon!!!

Heh...

I've got an alternate image take on that caption!

[Vernadyn]

I enjoyed John Carter quite a bit. Of course, there are differences from the book, but I think they worked for the most part (especially the characterization of "the incomparable Dejah Thoris", who is little more than a damsel in distress in the book). However, there is an excursion down the River Iss that drags a little and I thought it could have been trimmed. The final battle was also anticlimactic, little more than a skirmish that basically takes place in one room.

But overall, I think Stanton did a commendable job with adapting this story into an entertaining film. Giacchino delivers with a great score, though I've noticed that his style has become more streamlined and less lush since Star Trek. Willem Dafoe's character is wonderfully expressive, and the interaction between live action and CG characters is seamless. I know that some reviewers didn't like the film, but after a run of disappointing films this year (Man on a Ledge, Haywire, Gone, Safe House, This Means War) John Carter certainly comes as a welcome escapist offering.

[Ben]

Going Monday night, and can't wait!

[Macaluso]

I liked it. It wasn't great or anything, but it was a fun movie. The problem with it was that the entire thing felt like you were watching someone play an adventure videogame. he goes from point A to point B to point C to point D back to point B then on to point E, with boss fights thrown in throughout.

I had a fun time, but there wasn't really anything great about it.

Except the dog alien thing, that guy was awesome.

[estefan]

I very much liked John Carter, so its box-office is greatly disappointing me. Definitely a film that should be doing a lot better, but it's not capturing audience's attention for whatever reason.

And Disney must be stinging right now, since Hunger Games made more on its opening day than John Carter's entire domestic run so far. 21 Jump Street will also surpass Carter's domestic total this weekend. Ouch.

I'm most upset about Andrew Stanton, since he's my favourite of the Pixar team and I imagine the Mouse will keep a tighter leash on him unless he returns to Pixar (which is probably very likely). The only positive I can think from the disappointing box-office is that studios will be more likely to spread the dollars around to a variety of projects rather than spending a whole load of money on one risky enterprise.

Looking at peoples' responses as to why John Carter didn't do well, the only perplexing one is the lack of stars. I think we're the past age of films doing well because of a popular actor being in it. Really, the only true stars in the old definition of the word that exist, are Will Smith, Adam Sandler, Denzel Washington and The Rock. Those are the only actors that exist nowadays who can pull people in on their name alone. I'm pretty sure The Hunger Games isn't a smash hit because they cast Mystique from "X-Men: First Class" in the lead. It's a massive hit because it was a well-marketed film based on a book series that's incredibly popular at the moment. It says quite a bit when a film I had no interest in seeing a week ago, has suddenly made me curious to read the book and then see the adaptation. On the other hand, how many people have heard of or read the "John Carter of Mars" books in this day and age?

[Ben]

I agree on Hunger Games...I didn't have any interest in it until I started seeing more promo for it.

I really liked John Carter. I'd got a Time Machine remake kind of vibe from it and that came true with the movie itself. I don't have time to go into everything now, but there wasn't much I could find wrong with it other than maybe being a little overlong.

I expect to hear Finding Nemo 2 announced any time soon, while I also suspect Disney will take another bath on The Lone Ranger, the next big film they're resting everything on. That one has a big, big star in Johnny Depp, but it's a big gamble...

[Randall]

The fact that so many more people want to watch a dystopian tale of a bunch of teens forced to whack each other off, instead of a grand pulp adventure, just confuses the heck out of me. (Seriously, as a non-fan, I don't understand the appeal of Hunger Games; apparently the books are good, and I have nothing critical to say of them as I haven't read them, but the subject matter doesn't seem all that appealing--- how'd it become such a mass market hit? Even the author must be stunned.) But once John Carter got that bad buzz going, it seemed destined to fail. So sad. Of course, the ridiculous budget is a big issue, given that the film needed to earn over $700M worldwide to even start making money. But still, JC has not been anything close ot the hit it needed to be.

[estefan]

Reading the book, the appeal is more in the strongly-written teenage characters than the fight-to-the-death storyline (which is actually quite suspenseful and the most page-turning parts). In fact, the whole part of the book where the teenagers start killing each other doesn't begin until Chapter 11. The first act of the book consists of them getting ready for "the big show", so to speak as it's one big commentary against the superficiality of reality television. The two lead characters also provides a break from the usual romance, since it's uncertain where they really do love each other or it's all for show. Again, going back to the obvious acting that goes on behind reality series.

At least, I gather that's the appeal there. I keep seeing The Hunger Games often compared to Harry Potter, not because of themes per say, as it tackles much darker material, but because it's able to appeal to both genders. Unlike the likes of Twilight, which only hit one specific demographic very hard.

As for The Lone Ranger, Disney already cut the budget down severely. But I wouldn't be shocked if they told Gore Verbinski and his producers to try to keep the budget as low as possible. Since it's simply a western that probably won't require any massive special effects, I don't see how it's impossible to get it down to a realistic $100 million or so price-tag.

[EricJ]

Reading the book, the appeal is more in the strongly-written teenage characters than the fight-to-the-death storyline (which is actually quite suspenseful and the most page-turning parts).

I'm in a writing group for YA, and among the girl HS/college crowd, NOBODY's writing vampires anymore. They've been staked. (Now we just have "Fallen angels" to get rid of, and they're on the way out.)
The new national female pubescent fantasy is to fight your way through a no-future (and Bush-like) dystopia with your own Brave bow...And on that side note, Pixar, you don't know how good your timing right now is.
In our group right now, we have three girls all writing the same story--usually about races being the only way out of post-apocalyptic landscapes--and we tease them about how different their stories are!
The other joke is that the literary agents, who once complained "No more vampires!" are now asking for "More dystopia!" and we joke among ourselves whether they really know what that means. We're not sure if they do, but they know it means Hunger Games.

And it's pretty easy to figure out why: Twilight got the fourteen-yo. hormones flowing, now those same girls have moved up to self-image to deal with....And empowerment-fantasy tells them that the future is NOT going to be looking for some brooding troubled hunk that sparkles.