tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19129587.post6621391176872445670..comments2024-01-13T08:49:14.041-08:00Comments on Myrhaf: Grand HotelMyrhafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340507405537605164noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19129587.post-91805008117158871532008-04-05T14:02:00.000-07:002008-04-05T14:02:00.000-07:00Science fiction is dead at the box office largely ...Science fiction is dead at the box office largely as a result of naturalism and nihilism. Even such movies as the Matrix or Star Wars while nominally sci-fi really are fantasy movies with super cool light shows. Look at the blockbusters of the last 10 years: Lord of The Rings, Matrix Trilogy, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Spider-man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Narnia, Transformers, etc; they are all escapist fantasy movies that whatever their philosophic flaws (and there are many) all have essential romantic elements to them. IMO naturalism really isn't the stuff of box office success, and nihilism sure isn't. <BR/><BR/>As for today's sci-fi, it all revolves around the "Singularity". The Matrix, the Terminator, Battle-Star Galactica, etc.. As Jim says "what one fears might happen." <BR/><BR/>John KimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19129587.post-10890594292671094982008-04-04T17:14:00.000-07:002008-04-04T17:14:00.000-07:00I have to disagree with Mike N, in that your revie...I have to disagree with Mike N, in that your review made me curious enough to want to see the movie. I love the old B&Ws -- His Girl Friday, Philadelphia Story, etc. -- though I probably would have avoided Grand Hotel when I learned of its overall theme.<BR/><BR/>Now I know what to expect going in and can appreciate the good parts, and then not let the rest of it ruin it for me.<BR/><BR/>So thanks, Myrhaf. And if you have any other good movie recommendations, I'd love to hear them. (or if they're already in your blog over the years, just tell me to "read the effing manual!" so to speak)C. Augusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05860759500684485756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19129587.post-33641538129440514072008-04-04T15:47:00.000-07:002008-04-04T15:47:00.000-07:00My boss is from Michigan and she speaks glowingly ...My boss is from Michigan and she speaks glowingly of Mackinac Island (the final c is silent; pronounced as <I>mackinaw</I>). It sounds like a fabulous place to visit in the summer.<BR/><BR/>Wikipedia informs us that the Grand Hotel on Mackinic goes back to the 19th century, so the filmmakers might have gotten the name from it.Myrhafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16340507405537605164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19129587.post-24725487658477345842008-04-04T14:17:00.000-07:002008-04-04T14:17:00.000-07:00Myrhaf: Sorry bout that. I thought it was about th...Myrhaf: Sorry bout that. I thought it was about the GH on Macinac Island. Shows how wrong one can be.Michael Neibelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15321103608597264855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19129587.post-82899229210605433102008-04-04T09:21:00.000-07:002008-04-04T09:21:00.000-07:00Up to the 1950's there were SF stories that imagin...Up to the 1950's there were SF stories that imagined flying cars by the year 2000. The New Wave, which brought naturalism to SF in the '60s put an end to all that.Myrhafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16340507405537605164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19129587.post-71327504046173055712008-04-04T08:33:00.000-07:002008-04-04T08:33:00.000-07:00Your comment to the effect that today's Hollywood ...Your comment to the effect that today's Hollywood could never make a movie like that anymore reminds me of an essay I wrote about why today's leftist auteurs can't do good science fiction anymore; science fiction is IMO the one genre that lives and dies with an Enlightenment/Romantic worldview. <BR/><BR/>It is by definition concerned with "what could be", which unavoidably splits into two answers: what one fears might happen, and what one hopes will happen or believes <I>ought</I> to happen. The latter is pure Romanticism; the former eventually must degenerate into cheap horror flicks. And what do you know -- nearly everything done as "sci-fi" these days is exactly that! It's no wonder that Lord of the Rings was such a huge hit; fantasy is explicitly "escapist" are, and is now the only refuge of romantic work.<BR/><BR/>That is why Star Trek had to die in Rick Berman's hands; where Gene Roddenberry was an "old guard" liberal with strong elements of an Enlightenment viewpoint, Berman is a modern leftist to whom such views are incomprehensibly alien. He tried to parrot Roddenberry without understanding him, and failed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19129587.post-35146192749763686612008-04-03T19:41:00.000-07:002008-04-03T19:41:00.000-07:00The movie is about a fictional hotel in Germany, I...The movie is about a fictional hotel in Germany, I believe.Myrhafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16340507405537605164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19129587.post-81124483507908086632008-04-03T19:33:00.000-07:002008-04-03T19:33:00.000-07:00Thanks for the review Myrhaf. You have convinced m...Thanks for the review Myrhaf. You have convinced me not to see the movie if ever that chance arises. The wife and I spent a weekend there some years ago and I have the finest memories of it. Everything was indeed elegantly grand. We were treated like royalty but without any gaudy pomp. Perhaps I'll post on it someday. But I don't think I could stand watching that movie if it attacked or spoiled my great memories.Michael Neibelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15321103608597264855noreply@blogger.com