Directors Who Should Retire
As far as I’m concerned, Kevin Smith retired form filmmaking a long time ago. The only post Chasing Amy film of his I’ve really liked is Jersey Girl. That’s right, Jersey Girl. It was a schmaltzy and featured a cute little girl charming her way (or trying to) into viewer’s hearts, but hey, it was better than Dogma, Zack & Miri Make a Porno, and whatever the fuck else he’s shit out lately (something with Bruce Willis, I think… looked like ass). So the recent news that he is (or is he?) retiring from filmmaking is really not too shocking. I never took him seriously as a filmmaker, but I doubt he did either. So why not retire? I applaud him going out with whatever dignity he has left.
That said, this list of other directors who ought to call it quits raises some interesting points. Really, Smith’s movies are innocent of not being too serious or demanding, thus the viewer knows what to expect: 90 minutes of dick jokes. Don’t complain about them if that isn’t your cup of tea. Now, going to see a Scorsese film these days is indeed a crap shoot, and so long as he is the Martin Scorsese some of us who remember what the man was capable of as far into his career as the 90s might hold some hope that he’ll return to form. We get our hearts broken a lot. Sniff.
My own list would include Quentin Tarantino. I’ve not liked anything since Pulp Fiction (which has aged badly) though Jackie Brown was pretty good, I think (forgettable movie that one). Kill Bill has its ups and downs. It might have been a good single feature but stretched over two separate releases it suffers from its excess and unforgivable anticlimax. On that note Inglourious Bastards sinks from its self-importance made all the worse by the scores of critics who decided to plop the thing up to higher than deserved ranks. Guys, the more you do that the more you make Mr. T. think he is doing important work. Stop.
Also on the list would be M. Night Shyamalan. He made Unbreakable, which I loved, and Signs, which I liked a lot, but otherwise… nothing. The rest is dross at best, often laughable, hardly scary or even interesting. He had something to do with Devil, a movie I quite enjoyed, so maybe he ought to stick to whatever role he had with that film (producer? story idea?) and let better filmmakers take the reins.
Clearly there are others, but I'm going to stop here as this list cvould go on indefinitely.
That said, this list of other directors who ought to call it quits raises some interesting points. Really, Smith’s movies are innocent of not being too serious or demanding, thus the viewer knows what to expect: 90 minutes of dick jokes. Don’t complain about them if that isn’t your cup of tea. Now, going to see a Scorsese film these days is indeed a crap shoot, and so long as he is the Martin Scorsese some of us who remember what the man was capable of as far into his career as the 90s might hold some hope that he’ll return to form. We get our hearts broken a lot. Sniff.
My own list would include Quentin Tarantino. I’ve not liked anything since Pulp Fiction (which has aged badly) though Jackie Brown was pretty good, I think (forgettable movie that one). Kill Bill has its ups and downs. It might have been a good single feature but stretched over two separate releases it suffers from its excess and unforgivable anticlimax. On that note Inglourious Bastards sinks from its self-importance made all the worse by the scores of critics who decided to plop the thing up to higher than deserved ranks. Guys, the more you do that the more you make Mr. T. think he is doing important work. Stop.
Also on the list would be M. Night Shyamalan. He made Unbreakable, which I loved, and Signs, which I liked a lot, but otherwise… nothing. The rest is dross at best, often laughable, hardly scary or even interesting. He had something to do with Devil, a movie I quite enjoyed, so maybe he ought to stick to whatever role he had with that film (producer? story idea?) and let better filmmakers take the reins.
Clearly there are others, but I'm going to stop here as this list cvould go on indefinitely.
posted by ZombieDante at 8:36 AM
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