With so much at stake, the studio instinct would be to make The Avengers as big, stupid, and loud as possible. This is called "broadening the appeal," which is a polite term for dumbing a movie down.
Last Call at the Oasis explores the reasons why humans are polluting and consuming more fresh water than nature can replenish. I spoke with Yu, discussing some of the scarier facts she learned and how we need to shift our thinking about water.
The greatest risk of a movie like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel would be the one-dimensional fetishizing of the country, where India is held up as a magical bazaar. Thankfully, the movie doesn't do that.
Bobcat Goldthwait is mad as hell, and he's not going to take it anymore. At least, the two main characters of his dark comedy God Bless America won't.
Battleship succeeds in being big, dumb, and extremely loud, and after The Avengers, we should all be expecting a lot more.
The Dictator is further proof that it's important to laugh at tyrants, not just fear and hate them. The problem is that this doesn't necessarily make for a great movie.
Why, ten years after an underperforming sequel, is there a Men In Black 3? Are there burning questions about agents J (Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) that were left unresolved? Is there an arch-nemesis still on the loose?
By making Driss and Philippe fully realized characters (the film is based on a true story) with histories and lots to learn about life and each other, The Intouchables manages to escape the trappings of the Magic Negro genre.
