Movie Review Monday

Clash of the Titans came out last weekend. I had planned to go see it, but the reviews from my trusted friends were less than inspiring. The reviews online were just as bad. Even some of the nerdiest sites that I usually agree with completely dogged the film. I was quite disappointed. I was really excited about this film. Sure it was a re-make of a sub-par film, but I thought it would be fun. I was hoping they would fix the mythology they messed up in the original. I'm a huge Harryhausen fan, but was looking forward to seeing what they would do with the monsters. Instead(WARNING:spoilers from this point on), I read & hear that they completely ran from the original mythology as well as the 1981 screenplay. There seemed to be no motivation for Perseus, Pegasus got 10 to 15 minutes on screen, there was no relationship between Andromeda & Perseus, no special helmet or shield, no Bubo (the owl), the CGI monsters were lame, & most people thought the characters lacked depth & any sort of spirit. Wow. I just can't understand how someone can take an ancient story that has stood the test of time & completely ruin it. Why do these Hollywood types never adapt what is already there? Why is it, that not one single movie ever made has successfully captured the awesomeness of Greek storytelling? Not one. Isn't that crazy? These stories are some of the greatest ever, yet every time some moron thinks he can make them more relevant or make them better & ends up losing the soul of the tale. Look at Troy (which I sort of liked), Alexander, & now Clash of the Titans. Ugh. Now, to be fair, I haven't seen Clash of the Titans. I steered clear & saved my money. Unfortunately, I haven't heard one single good thing I can pass on to you guys. Go see that cute CGI Dragon movie. "How to Train Your Dragon", I believe it's called. I've heard wonderful things about it. People LOVE it. I might just find myself going into the Film & Video studies program just to make a Greek masterpiece come to life. Somebody sure needs to. Someone who gets it.