I think people are finally getting tired of astronomical ticket prices & having to watch 15 minutes of commercials & trailers before each movie. Let's not even talk about the fact you have to take out a bank loan to afford popcorn & soda for 2 or god forbid a family of 4
The fact that the picture appears to be a bigger turkey than the Macy's Thanksgiving Turkey balloon also factors into it
I think it's because it got such horrid reviews and people pay more attention to reviews than the movie industry would like to admit. I have to say I'm a bit surprised because I thought that because of a lack of better movies it would have gotten more business on the holiday weekend.
I have to abashedly say I saw this movie, although I was half dragged. It's saving grace was the fact the POTO trailer played before it.
I think that perhaps the battle scenes are not spectacular enough to please that crows, but it's not enough of an epic to please the other crowd. It also seems that Ms. Jolie delivers her lines campily...but I think that could be a lot of fun!
Alexander the (not so) Great fails to conquer America's homophobes By John Hiscock in Los Angeles and James Burleigh 29 November 2004
It has been ridiculed by critics and shunned by cinema-goers but the latest film from the controversial director Oliver Stone has still managed to raise hackles across the US.
Alexander has proved to be the Thanksgiving weekend's biggest flop, and while it is a portrait of a legendary leader who ruled far-away lands more than 300 years before the birth of Christ, it has brutally exposed the cultural and moral divide which slices America in two.
The three-hour, big budget epic, starring Colin Farrell, Colin Farrell's shockingly bad blond hair-do and Angelina Jolie has dared to suggest what most historians have long taken for granted - that Alexander was bisexual. And that gets rather different responses in different parts of the US.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation says the $150m (£79m) film breaks new ground for a big budget epic because it shows boyhood friend Hephaestion "as the true love of Alexander's life". A line from the film says: "Alexander was defeated only once - by Hephaestion's thighs."
But conservative Christians have loudly denounced Alexander as "pro-gay" propaganda from Tinseltown, insisting that Alexander was a firmly hetero hero. To add to the film's problems, the public has stayed away from what was to be the big movie of the Thanksgiving weekend.
Since opening, it has grossed just under $20m (£10.5m), leaving it in sixth place in a table of the most popular current films behind National Treasure, The Incredibles, Christmas with the Kranks, The Polar Express and even The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
The mainstream press has also ridiculed the movie - calling it everything from a "noble failure" to an "indifferent epic".
It is being suggested that a film about a global warrior with dyed blond hair and waxed legs was never going to conquer an America fresh out of a presidential election in which gay rights became a major issue.
The film is a blowsy biography of the Macedonian conqueror, long on emotional speeches and short on battles. But the poor script and suspect casting is only partly to blame.
According to one online critic,Alexander is a flop because he is "as gay as a maypole". Christians considering seeing the film have even been urged to "speak to your pastors immediately because Satan is attempting to enter your mind".
At the other end of the spectrum, militant gay groups are condemning Stone for not being more explicit in his depiction of the gay love affair - there is not even a kiss between Farrell and his co-star Jared Leto, while Alexander and his wife Roxane, played by Rosario Dawson, share a graphic sex scene.
Stone, no stranger to controversy after directing films including JFK and Natural Born Killers, has responded stoically: "I don't think it's hypocritical. As a dramatist, I wasn't interested in it because it was suggested from the beginning that they were lovers. I think it's all there. You don't have to rub it in the faces of the audience."
Adding to the circus have been the protests of a group of Greek lawyers who are threatening to sue Warner Bros. over the film's suggestion of Alexander's bisexuality. They have written to the studio and to Stone to demand that a notice stating the film is a fictional tale is included in the title credits.
Rather than boosting the film's popularity, however, the publicity and the Greeks' entry into the protests have had the effect of turning the entire project into something of a farce.
While the movie, for the most part, is not entertaining those who are paying money to see it, at least it is giving others a good laugh.
The New York Post labelled it "Alexander The Gay", describing Farrell's Alexander as being "Light in the sandals" and the film "like something out of Queer Eye for the Macedonia Guy".
While the film-makers and the militants are probably the only ones who do not see the humour of the situation, the protests have serious undertones.
They echo the swing in the US towards conservatism and reflect what Americans view as the corrosive effect Hollywood and popular culture have had on the nation's values and moral standards.
It is not the only recent film to cause such a powerful reaction among certain factions in the US - Kinsey, the film about sex researcher Alfred C. Kinsey, starring Liam Neeson, has stirred up a similar firestorm of protest. Conservatives were outraged at the film which, they say, celebrates the life of a "pervert and sex maniac".
Meanwhile, 70 per cent of those who responded to a recent New York Times/CBS poll said they were very or somewhat concerned that television, movies and music were lowering moral standards in the US.
While the sentiment was voiced by both Republicans and Democrats, it appears that the concern about a decline in values is yet another point of polarisation in American politics.
I bet those idiots took their kids to watch The Passion of the Christ, other wise known as the Jesus Chainsaw Massacre. Wholesome entertainment, indeed.
I saw it. I liked it a lot. Even in their day, biblical and historical epics never received very favorable reviews. They've always been accused of being campy, tacky, and over the top. So what? It was fun. And soooooo homoerotic. Can't wait for the Director's Cut DVD!
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
- Nelson Mandela
I saw it this weekend. Eh. To me, it was a 3 hour story that coulda been told in 1.5 - 2 hours. Colin didn't bother me much -- I thought he was okay, and looked sorta hot with blonde hair. Jared Leto looked like he smelled. Angelina Jolie's accent made her sound like the Bride of Dracula, or Miss Transylvania 345 B.C.
The battle scenes went on. And on. And on, on, and on. There's even a shot of an elephant getting his trunk sliced off. Now I ask you...
Seeing interviews with O. Stone, I understand that Alexander has long been one of his fascinations. I think he lost perspective on his film -- thinking every moment shot had to be up there on the screen. Uh, no. The film would benefit from the work of an unemotional editor.
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
The gorgeous Angelina Jolie was the best part of the movie. Though her accent was weird and sorta out of place, it was better than all the other accents floating around this movie.
It was a bad movie, dragged the entire time. The worst part was the fact that because Stone was hooked on this bi thing he felt that Alexander had to be a sissy. Alexander is supposed to be this great hero, yet he was crying or weak the entire movie.
Just not my cup of tea, I'm not a fan of crappy movies.
Mr. Robert Diamond www.RobertDiamond.com www.WisdomDigital.com www.BroadwayWorld.com 2 Gail Drive Nyack, NY 10960-1727 (845)358-5550
Mr. Diamond, (aka “Rob”)
This letter is in response to the “Temporary Access Ban” that was imposed on my account this past Saturday evening.
My complaint is simple:
You and your associates, Craig and Jose, happily use the “no foul language” and “no personal attacks” excuse to yell at, warn, ban, etc. any person that you decide to.
My problem is how this policy is not equally imposed on all board members.
I have repeatedly been called “racist”, “Nazi”, “asshole”, etc. without any bans, temporary or otherwise being dealt to the offenders.
I ask you, is this fair?
Certain board members, especially FindingNamo and CurtainUp2, have taken it upon themselves to follow me from thread to thread and do nothing but spew out insults towards me, yet nothing has happened to them.
I ask you, is this fair?
This board likes to chant the mantra “It’s OK to have an opinion”
Well, that’s true if your opinion is the right one, or should I say the LEFT one.
I express my opinion, then people attack me, then I tell them what I think of them, then I get warned. But of course, nothing happens to them.
I ask you, is this fair?
Frankly, I believe one reason for my 48 hour ban was due to the fact that you were upset that I pointed out that the advertisements on the right hand side of the screen had gotten wider. Incidentally, I notice they’re back to their prior width.
I’m sure that if you were to ban me permanently there would be a number of members of the board that would give each other some sort of cyberspace high-five due to their triumph over me. Now if you could look yourself in the mirror afterwards and say “I acted fairly” then go ahead and ban me. Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.
Incidentally, before you start shooting-off your mouth about me including your address and phone number on this thread, I just want to say that you took no steps to make such information secret as I found it at http://www.wisdomdigital.com/pr1.cfm, which happens to be the second listing when one googles “Wisdom Digital”
Sincerely,
RodneyK
p.s. To all my “opponents” out there: Before you start all your “stop whining”, “it’s their board they can do what they want”, etc. rants keep in mind that I don’t give a crap.
I only saw the clip they showed when Colin was interviewed on Ellen - but my beef with it was that his accent was showing and any actor worth his salt will be able to hide his original accent if it goes against the character he is playing. Greek accents and Irish accents are VERY different.
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!"
Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
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