At first glance my watching Cutthroat Island might seem a bit out of place with the purported purpose of this website. My goal was to watch lesser known films, specifically films I knew nothing about going into them, in the hopes of finding the occasional gem as well as simply taking a few risks when compared to my standard movie watching habits. I’m as guilty of being selective as anyone else and this seemed like a fun way to test the cinematic waters. And, well, watching one of the biggest financial flops in film history certainly has its own brand of appeal. How often do you get to watch a movie that killed an entire genre of film?
The pirate film, as most probably know, had a long, rich and financially successful relationship with Hollywood since Hollywood’s inception. They would have been considered the “blockbuster” films of their day, at least in comparison to modern day films. Big stars, big sets, bigger production budgets and big, big profits. While over time the popularity of pirate films, and the assured giant box office takes, fluctuated within Hollywood, their were few genres considered as sure as a thing as the pirate film.
By the time Cutthroat Island was being made the pirate film’s greatest glories had long since passed. While they were still being produced with regularity, they hadn’t dominated at the box office in years. So, as production began on Cutthroat Island, word soon began to spread that it would mark a return to Hollywood’s Golden Age, a time when people of all ages could lose themselves in the wonder of the movies. Cutthroat Island, it was promised, would mark the first step of many to a new Hollywood Golden Age.
Even years later I still remember being inundated with the marketing push for Cutthroat Island. TV spots were everywhere, and I specifically remember all the television tabloids like Inside Edition and Access Hollywood offering numerous “exclusive” behind-the-scenes looks at the film. Geena Davis, whose star had steadily risen for years, was being pushed as the next Hollywood superstar, an actress who could excel in both dramatic and action roles. Her husband, and Cutthroat Island’s director, Renny Harlin, was being touted with equal fervor. As the next “it” action director. The press simply couldn’t get enough of this husband and wife duo battling to resurrect a cherished but slightly forgotten genre. Cutthroat Island quickly became a looming juggernaut. A Christmas film that simply could not fail. Would not fail. That is, until it failed. Rather spectacularly as it turns out.
It has been years sine I’ve played Dungeons & Dragons. So long in fact that it might be easier to count in decades rather then years. Oh sure I’ve played video games based on the D&D universe, I’ve dabbled in HeroClix and of course devoted several glorious years to playing Robotech, but the king of tabletop games has somehow proven elusive.
I’ve had a few opportunities to play over the years, though my anti-social behavior never helped matters, but the biggest problem was I just haven’t had much desire to play. The ancient red box version I had grown up on had long since evolved into a far more complicated and costly version that held little appeal for me, that is, until a mage named Jim Darkmagic appeared and changed everything.
You see Jim Darkmagic, of the New Hampshire Darkmagics, is the greatest D&D character of all time. He is played by Mike Krahulik, best known as Gabe from the uber popular web comic Penny Arcade. With the recent release of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, Wizards of the Coast attempted a defacto “celebrity” D&D campaign that was recorded and released online as an eight part podcast. The team of adventurers, dubbed Acquisitions Incorporated, was comprised of Krahulik’s Jim Darkmagic, Jerry Holkins (Tycho from Penny Arcade) as the cleric and CEO of Acquisitions Inc, Omin Dran and Scott Kurtz (creator of the comic PvP) as the dwarf fighter Binwin Bronzebottom. As might be expecting, much acquiring ensued. The first podcast proved so enjoyable for all involved that a second was done, this time Acquisitions Incorporated added a new intern, the Eladrin Avenger Aeofel “Al” Elhromanë (aka Wil Wheaton).
But while the celebrity aspect and the streamlined 4th Edition rules piqued my interest, it is Jim Darkmagic that makes both of these podcasts great. Self absorbed, self aggrandizing to the point of renaming his spells after himself and constantly referring to himself in the 3rd person, Jim Darkmagic is inspired role playing, made even more impressive by the fact that Krahulik had never played D&D in his life until sitting down for the first podcast. That he was able to pick up the game play so easily, while concurrently able to role play the crap out of Jim Darkmagic, the fire to play D&D was easily rekindled.
And with that I began to start recruiting friends to play D&D, many of them having long left the game similar to me, while others have never played yet are eager to try it out. Right now we are working at putting together a campaign, and it looks like this could be something that we might all be able to play on a regular basis. I’m excited about the possibility of playing D&D again, and I can thank Jim Darkmagic for that.
Since I tend to be deliberately vague in my ratings of the films I’ve watched (the better to cover my ass when I change my mind later) I thought it would be worthwhile to do a Top Ten for all the films I reviewed for this site last year. The idea is that if you skipped over any of the reviews when I originally posted them that this would provide you an opportunity to give the best movies I watched another chance and hopefully check them out for yourself.
This is one of those rare children’s films that neither pander to its core audience nor bores adults. While much maligned during its initial release, this is a rich film that shouldn’t only be re-evaluated, but treasured.
I’ve always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with Shakespeare. He was full of interesting ideas and his plays contain “timeless” themes that show up in film even today, but he always comes across as so … uhh … stuffy. Even Robert De Niro’s friends refer to him as Bob or Bobby (the better to prove to everyone that they are friends with him) but does anyone talk about Billy Shakespeare? I didn’t think so.
Let me be honest for a moment, while Shakespeare Is quite capable of being sharp witted, poignant and surprisingly invigorating the means in which he delivers these messages can be hampered by his flowery prose. Now I understand that for purists this is the only way to enjoy Shakespeare, but I fully admit that I typically prefer adaptations that focus on the themes and story lines of his work, but not the phonetic ballyhoo that would otherwise accompany it. Even more directly put, why would one watch King Lear when you can watch Ran instead? Or read A Midsummer Night’s Dream when Neil Gaiman’sSandman is beckoning me to open it instead? For me Shakespeare has simply always been more enjoyable when used as a building material, rather then as a finished product.
When I was growing up in Wisconsin I would often times kill time at my local video store. I would roam through the aisles, looking at the VHS boxes, searching for something interesting to watch. I was fascinated with genre mash-ups and Ralph Bakshi’s films and quickly immersed myself in them. But Waukesha wasn’t exactly stationed along the cutting edge of pop culture, so I had some rather sizable gaps in both my film knowledge and exposure.
It wasn’t until college that I began meeting people who were giving enough to introduce me to German Expressionism, Italian neorealism, and Turner Classic Movies. From then on I always have had great respect for people who introduce me to new and exciting things, especially when it comes to films.
Which brings me to my girlfriend, Anna. I found my first excuse to talk to her when she was reading Watership Down, which was one of my favorite books (as well as animated films) as a child. Much to my delight she had never read it before so it afforded me the perfect opportunity to lay down some serious knowledge, and from there we soon began introducing each other to all sorts of of new experiences. One interesting thing to note is she was far more open to trying out my recommendations early on then I was with hers. This is quite simply explained. She likes Bjork, Dogville, and Ayn Rand. I like cool crap.
At first glance my watching Cutthroat Island might seem a bit out of place with the purported purpose of this website. My goal was to watch lesser known films, specifically films I knew nothing about going into them, in the hopes of finding the occasional gem as well as simply taking a few risks when compared to my standard movie watching habits. I’m as guilty of being selective as anyone else and this seemed like a fun way to test the cinematic waters. And, well, watching one of the biggest financial flops in film history certainly has its own brand of appeal. How often do you get to watch a movie that killed an entire genre of film?
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