Ridley Scott’s new post-apocalyptic thriller The Dog Stars hits theaters August 28, and the first wave of reactions out of its London premiere shows a filmmaker once again leaning on visual polish to paper over a screenplay critics can’t defend.
Hollywood has utterly lost its way. The nepotism, cronyism, gatekeeping, ego, entitlement, greed, and out of control DEI has gutted everything.
Items 1-3 have made the rot generational and inescapable. The system doesn't exist to give talented people opportunities, it exists to give the friends and children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren of talented people opportunities.
It's not just actors. It's directors, writers, producers, editors, studio heads, assistants, skilled crew, stunt crew, and even down to the union crews pushing equipment crates and running cables.
The whole system is so grossly inbred that every picture looks like the Hapsburg jaw, feels like a fit of epilepsy, and bleeds red on the accounting books like a hemophiliac.
That woman had no business being anywhere on that set. Shame on her first getting someone killed. Shame on whoever hired her. And shame on her daddy for pulling those strings.
Her father had a great reputation. DECADES. And this spoiled little princess not only shredded it but - through negligence - cost people their lives and livelihood as well. The Hapsburg Jaw writ large.
We saw a sneak showing last night, it is not a bad movie, but it is not a good movie. Way too many plot holes, even my wife was pointing out stupid things that someone with limited would never do. And it was about 30 minutes too long, really needed a tightened up script. Lots of tropes, not many original story beats. Cinematography was nice, but I felt even that could have been better. Spoiler alerts, if you saw a military or tactical uniform, you knew that the you were either looking at a bad guy or the character was going to do something you were not supposed to like. Obviously zero technical advisors that knew anything about weapons or tactics. The anti-bourgeois scene seemed like an insert to make liberals happy in a shoot-em-up move. We also laughed in the car later several scenes that appeared to be the result of the memo to central casting to "send me one of everything". The kumbayah ending was unrealistic and about the only trope subverted. It felt like Scott wanted to make a zombie film without zombies, several elements felt like Day of the Dead lifts. I would say wait for it to come out on cable.
These guys are failing for the exact same reason the rest of stock Hollywood is failing; they are chasing something that is non-existent, the modern audience! For the love of God Hollywood, how many epic failures do you need to realize that you screwed up? There is no "modern audience:! it is as mythical as most of your content!
This is the price society pays when ideology supersedes common sense and reason. Germany faced it during the era of the Nazi's rise to power and so to is America doing the same stupid BS.
At this point Hollywood deserves t rash and burn in full and take every major studio with it that has not fled that hell hole! I for one did NOT want to see AI defeat Hollywood but Hollywood is going to help AI wit defeating it due to its complete stupidity and idiocracy!
Hollywood has utterly lost its way. The nepotism, cronyism, gatekeeping, ego, entitlement, greed, and out of control DEI has gutted everything.
Items 1-3 have made the rot generational and inescapable. The system doesn't exist to give talented people opportunities, it exists to give the friends and children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren of talented people opportunities.
It's not just actors. It's directors, writers, producers, editors, studio heads, assistants, skilled crew, stunt crew, and even down to the union crews pushing equipment crates and running cables.
The whole system is so grossly inbred that every picture looks like the Hapsburg jaw, feels like a fit of epilepsy, and bleeds red on the accounting books like a hemophiliac.
And don't forget the armorers. What happened to Alec Baldwin on RUST was due to nepotism as well.
100%.
That woman had no business being anywhere on that set. Shame on her first getting someone killed. Shame on whoever hired her. And shame on her daddy for pulling those strings.
Her father had a great reputation. DECADES. And this spoiled little princess not only shredded it but - through negligence - cost people their lives and livelihood as well. The Hapsburg Jaw writ large.
We saw a sneak showing last night, it is not a bad movie, but it is not a good movie. Way too many plot holes, even my wife was pointing out stupid things that someone with limited would never do. And it was about 30 minutes too long, really needed a tightened up script. Lots of tropes, not many original story beats. Cinematography was nice, but I felt even that could have been better. Spoiler alerts, if you saw a military or tactical uniform, you knew that the you were either looking at a bad guy or the character was going to do something you were not supposed to like. Obviously zero technical advisors that knew anything about weapons or tactics. The anti-bourgeois scene seemed like an insert to make liberals happy in a shoot-em-up move. We also laughed in the car later several scenes that appeared to be the result of the memo to central casting to "send me one of everything". The kumbayah ending was unrealistic and about the only trope subverted. It felt like Scott wanted to make a zombie film without zombies, several elements felt like Day of the Dead lifts. I would say wait for it to come out on cable.
Jacob Ohlordi as in "Oh Lordy, not this gay guy again."
These guys are failing for the exact same reason the rest of stock Hollywood is failing; they are chasing something that is non-existent, the modern audience! For the love of God Hollywood, how many epic failures do you need to realize that you screwed up? There is no "modern audience:! it is as mythical as most of your content!
This is the price society pays when ideology supersedes common sense and reason. Germany faced it during the era of the Nazi's rise to power and so to is America doing the same stupid BS.
At this point Hollywood deserves t rash and burn in full and take every major studio with it that has not fled that hell hole! I for one did NOT want to see AI defeat Hollywood but Hollywood is going to help AI wit defeating it due to its complete stupidity and idiocracy!