Posts Tagged ‘Three Days of the Condor’

Metro In Focus: Crunch the numbers and see through Hollywood’s sequel scam

screen-shot-2016-11-29-at-4-23-07-pmBy Richard Crouse – In Focus

This weekend, for the first time all year, none of the new films on release have a number or a colon in the title. That means no sequels, prequels or reboots cluttering up screens. Hollywood hasn’t suddenly decided to change their tactic of squeezing every dime out of every tried-and-true concept in their back catalogue. Nope, it’s because after American Thanksgiving, one of the biggest movie times of the year, the studios figure everyone ate too much turkey to bother going to the movies this week.

That means we have smaller, not-ever-likely-to-be-sequelized movies like Lovesick, Antibirth and The Other Half on offer. All, depending on your taste, are worth your dollar and each ticket bought sends a message that moviegoers won’t be content with constant rehashes of stories we already know.

Recently a tentative deal to make Bad Boys 3 and 4 was announced. While the prospect of a third and fourth movie in that decades old series is about as welcome as a plantar wart, we did this to ourselves by supporting endlessly repackaged stories and ideas.

Hollywood wouldn’t spend the time or effort to make photocopy quality sequels if we didn’t line up to see them, so why not your buying power to demand better movies? Read these easy-to-follow rules for sequel avoidance:

  1. Generally speaking, shun movies with numbers in the titles. This sounds straightforward, but movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Three Days of the Condor, 8½, and The Seven Samurai muddy the waters.

By all means go see or stream those, but when choosing a movie beware of titles containing colons (Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace), the word “part” (Friday the 13th Part 3: 3D), unless of course it’s The Godfather Part II, a subtitle like “This Time It’s Personal” (Sister Act: Back in the Habit), roman numerals (Superman IV: The Quest For Peace) or any combination of the above (Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan).

Other trouble spots include titles containing the words “Beginning” (Psycho IV: The Beginning), “Bride” (Bride of Chucky), “Return” (Return to the Blue Lagoon), “Vs.” (Gamera vs. Jiger), “Boogaloo” (Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo) or “Revenge” (Jaws: The Revenge).

  1. Worse than numbered sequels are movies which substitute a homophonous word for the number (Look Who’s Talking Too, Teen Wolf Too).
  1. Avoid movies that recycle ideas while simply changing the tense of the movie title. Examples? What was funny in Analyze This became less so in Analyze That and there is a reason I Still Know What You Did Last Summer sits at a 7% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
  1. And finally, as a matter of principle, steer clear of any movie in which Ben Stiller plays supermodel Derek Zoolander.

Of course I’m joking, except about Zoolander. Any movie that subtitles itself with “No. 2” is really asking for it. Go see whatever you want, but keep in mind when supporting bad movies the joke is on us. It feeds the notion that audiences are as creatively bankrupt as the studios. Not so. If you are given a steady diet of dog food, pretty soon you get a taste for Alpo, but if occasionally you have something better, soon enough you’ll crave foie gras. Sequels are the dog food of the movie industry. Don’t let them force feed you.

Assassins come in all shapes and sizes In Focus by Richard Crouse FOR METRO CANADA September 03, 2010

max-von-sydow-in-three-days-of-the-condorThere are many types of movies about people who deal in death to make a living. There’s the cold blooded killer story, the revenge drama and even comedic takes on killing for fun and profit. Assassins can be men, women, children and even robots.

In this week’s The American George Clooney plays another kind of murder engineer, the troubled, introspective assassin. There are as many kinds of cinematic killers as there are kinds of weapons for them to use.

Here’s a look back at the philosophies of some of the screen’s most memorable death merchants.

Charles Bronson, as the skilled slayer in The Mechanic (soon to be remade with Jason Statham and Ben Foster), teaches his young protégé, played by Jan-Michael Vincent, some basic hitman lessons. “Murder is only killing without a license,” he says, adding that when you shoot someone do it right. “You always have to be dead sure. Dead sure or dead.”

That’s key killer advice, but slow down, there is a progression to becoming a hitman. In The Professional Leon (Jean Reno) details the system. “The rifle is the first weapon you learn how to use,” he says, “because it lets you keep your distance from the client. The closer you get to being a pro, the closer you can get to the client. The knife, for example, is the last thing you learn.”

Along the way movie assassins also learn that relationships are verboten. Remember what happened to Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie)? “Your aim’s as bad as your cooking sweetheart,” taunts John to Jane, “and that’s saying something!”

Day of the Jackal’s would-be Charles de Gaulle assassin (Edward Fox) adds, “In this work you simply can’t afford to be emotional,” although sometimes feelings inevitably get in the way. Just ask Prizzi’s Honor’s Charley Partanna (Jack Nicholson) who memorably said, “Do I ice her? Do I marry her?”

Once they’ve learned the ropes, one question remains: Why do movie assassins kill?

Max Von Sydow plays one of the great movie killers in Three Days of the Condor, Sydney Lumet’s classic story of conspiracies and murder. His reasoning for doing what he does is chillingly simple. “The fact is, what I do is not a bad occupation,” he says. “Someone is always willing to pay.” The Matador’s Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan) agrees, “My business is my pleasure,” he said.