Pacific Rim Beaten by Adam Sandler at Box Office

[DerangedHobo]

I am not mainstream America.

Sometimes, I'm very, very glad of this.

It's hard to resist the urge to rage. It's so tempting to scream at the 33% of high school graduates who never read another book after graduation and the 43% of college graduates who do the same. The people who make "Honey Boo Boo" and "Jersey Shore" into major success stories.

To snarl the ever-popular, "This is why we can't have nice things!!"

But what will change from my snarling and sneering? I mean, if giant robots fighting sea monsters is just a little too high-brow fer yeh, how am I ever going to change your mind by moving my face-parts? (And I'm perfectly aware that posting this on The Escapist is largely preaching to the choir.)

*sigh*

Why would you read a book? We have the internet, we have video games, we have movies, we have much much more effective ways of conveying an idea and emotion. The smugness and sense of superiority over 'the mainstream' is palpable.

Ok hold the hell up. Did you just say books are irrelevant? Did you REALLY say that what practically is the building block for human education and literacy is irrelevant?

I hope that was just a poor point you pulled up to respond to a mocking quote. You are saying that reading is only done by people with a "superiority" complex. News-flash. Every single person who has ever been thought of as intelligent EVER in the modern world has read a book.

Einstein read books. Newton read books. Stephen Hawking read books. Pasteur read books. That doctor you go to see when you catch the flu has read a book.

The list goes on infinitely.

CD roms have become outdated, replaced by DVDs and even that is soon to be replaced by blu-ray. Yet I am willing to bet at least 80% of all the people in the world who has ever owned a media player owns a CD rom. Regardless of irrelevance.





Back on the point. It appears that many people are confused why everyone is fed-up how GU2 beat Pacific Rim ( initially anyway ). Pacific Rim is an original IP. It wasn't fantastic yes, but was it a good film? Debatable, it had pretty lulzy scripting and it was a cliche melting pot. Was it a fun film? Definitely. It was a fresh IP and a breathe of fresh air in the movie industry, which has thus far been filled with the same old superhero movies and generic action movies.

GU2 is everything that is wrong with the movie industry. Its a sequel of an already horrifically bad IP. It sells almost completely off celebrity status. There is absolutely nothing in it that makes me want to sit-up and take notice. It is a generic, faceless comedy which contributes nothing to comedy at all. At least despicable me 2 contributes to cutesy and subordinate humor. GU2 is a bleached grey slate. And yet people still go and see it.

For the 20th time in this thread.

THIS IS WHY WE CANT HAVE NICE THINGS.

I'm pretty sure I never said books are irrelevant, I just said that the attitude of 'IF YOU DON'T READ BOOKS YOU'RE A RETARD, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO HELL, LOOK AT THESE STATISTICS, CURSE THE MAINSTREAM!' is pompous, to say the least. Of course books aren't irrelevant, books have been away of spreading information and ideals for 99% of human history, I just said that you don't need to read books to get such information and that books, as a medium for spreading information/as an entertainment medium, books are obsolete. People who read vs people who don't read is no longer a black and white situation, people who have probably never picked up a book of their own accord is probably far more intelligent and well informed than you or I. You want to know why all those great people read books? Because they didn't have the internet, they didn't have terabytes of information on all of the subjects of humanity at their fingertips, I am of the opinion that the internet is a far more effective and better learning resource (and entertainment resource) that books have or ever will be.

As for the GU2 and Pacific Rim thing, being impressed that something with old repackaged ideas and a new name slapped on it is really sad and indicative of the piss poor state of the entertainment industry, I mean fuck I think most gaming enthusiasts are impressed when a game's colour pallet doesn't consist of shit and shit grey. I don't see the problem with GU2, on a base level they're both old shit ideas crammed into a movie made to appeal to the stupidest of movie going audiences, one is just action and big things beating up other big things and the other one is just a bland comedy. Whichever one you like depends on your tastes but to suggest that one is good and the other one is 'everything that is wrong with hollywood' is like claiming that one paint is better than another paint because you don't like the colour.

 

[Lictor Face]

I'm pretty sure I never said books are irrelevant, I just said that the attitude of 'IF YOU DON'T READ BOOKS YOU'RE A RETARD, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO HELL, LOOK AT THESE STATISTICS, CURSE THE MAINSTREAM!' is pompous, to say the least. Of course books aren't irrelevant, books have been away of spreading information and ideals for 99% of human history, I just said that you don't need to read books to get such information and that books, as a medium for spreading information/as an entertainment medium, books are obsolete. People who read vs people who don't read is no longer a black and white situation, people who have probably never picked up a book of their own accord is probably far more intelligent and well informed than you or I. You want to know why all those great people read books? Because they didn't have the internet, they didn't have terabytes of information on all of the subjects of humanity at their fingertips, I am of the opinion that the internet is a far more effective and better learning resource (and entertainment resource) that books have or ever will be.

As for the GU2 and Pacific Rim thing, being impressed that something with old repackaged ideas and a new name slapped on it is really sad and indicative of the piss poor state of the entertainment industry, I mean fuck I think most gaming enthusiasts are impressed when a game's colour pallet doesn't consist of shit and shit grey. I don't see the problem with GU2, on a base level they're both old shit ideas crammed into a movie made to appeal to the stupidest of movie going audiences, one is just action and big things beating up other big things and the other one is just a bland comedy. Whichever one you like depends on your tastes but to suggest that one is good and the other one is 'everything that is wrong with hollywood' is like claiming that one paint is better than another paint because you don't like the colour.

Ok fair enough. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just wanted to make sure you didn't write off books. That, in my opinion, is quite stupid.

Secondly. Pacific Rim MAY NOT have been 100% original ( Probably 60% to be honest ), but at least it was an ATTEMPT to try something new. Hollywood these days are not even TRYING to create new IPs and, for the sake of greenbacks, keeps rehashing the same goddamn formula again and again and again. Hell, you could say COD does the same thing. Same premise and gameplay, new content. I just want a movie that does not feature generic grumpy men with guns shooting whatever that is on todays menu ( Zombies, Terrorists, Generic criminal Syndicates ) and a movie that is a "reimagining" of some ancient classic ( Lone Ranger, Great Gatsby, )

Additionally, films should sell based on the film premise and impression. Not on which celebrity straps itself to it.

 

[DerangedHobo]

I'm pretty sure I never said books are irrelevant, I just said that the attitude of 'IF YOU DON'T READ BOOKS YOU'RE A RETARD, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO HELL, LOOK AT THESE STATISTICS, CURSE THE MAINSTREAM!' is pompous, to say the least. Of course books aren't irrelevant, books have been away of spreading information and ideals for 99% of human history, I just said that you don't need to read books to get such information and that books, as a medium for spreading information/as an entertainment medium, books are obsolete. People who read vs people who don't read is no longer a black and white situation, people who have probably never picked up a book of their own accord is probably far more intelligent and well informed than you or I. You want to know why all those great people read books? Because they didn't have the internet, they didn't have terabytes of information on all of the subjects of humanity at their fingertips, I am of the opinion that the internet is a far more effective and better learning resource (and entertainment resource) that books have or ever will be.

As for the GU2 and Pacific Rim thing, being impressed that something with old repackaged ideas and a new name slapped on it is really sad and indicative of the piss poor state of the entertainment industry, I mean fuck I think most gaming enthusiasts are impressed when a game's colour pallet doesn't consist of shit and shit grey. I don't see the problem with GU2, on a base level they're both old shit ideas crammed into a movie made to appeal to the stupidest of movie going audiences, one is just action and big things beating up other big things and the other one is just a bland comedy. Whichever one you like depends on your tastes but to suggest that one is good and the other one is 'everything that is wrong with hollywood' is like claiming that one paint is better than another paint because you don't like the colour.

Secondly. Pacific Rim MAY NOT have been 100% original ( Probably 60% to be honest ), but at least it was an ATTEMPT to try something new. Hollywood these days are not even TRYING to create new IPs and, for the sake of greenbacks, keeps rehashing the same goddamn formula again and again and again. Hell, you could say COD does the same thing. Same premise and gameplay, new content. I just want a movie that does not feature generic grumpy men with guns shooting whatever that is on todays menu ( Zombies, Terrorists, Generic criminal Syndicates ) and a movie that is a "reimagining" of some ancient classic ( Lone Ranger, Great Gatsby, )

Additionally, films should sell based on the film premise and impression. Not on which celebrity straps itself to it.

Pacific Rim did try to do something new-ish and create a new LP but at the same time it does it in a very riskless way, chances are anyone who sees transformers and liked it would go see Pacific Rim anyway and it has some good stars to draw in their fans, it's a cash cow just as much as GU2, I suppose you could argue that Pacific Rim is more original and therefore better but they don't do any big risks, they're both guaranteed to get profit. Hollywood would never take a risk and they would only approve of a project if they were going to get profit.

 

[Drake the Dragonheart]

I have a friend who is in what likely is very small territory. That would the the territory that overlaps the audiences of pacific rim and Grown-ups 2. Yes he saw in theaters, and liked both movies. Though I admit I paid his way for Pacific Rim.