Why ‘Hereafter’ is amazing and people are generally ignorant, stupid morons

The goal of a film’s trailer is generally to make it look appealing towards its established target audience, yes? And surely most people would agree that the average trailer is successful in that regard a very good percentage of the time. The films demographic take the bait, see the film and enjoy it while the rest of the world scoffs and forgets said trailer forever. It’s a fairly routine system that appears to work most of the time (read: most of the time). But every so often, the studios prove that they have so little faith in their product that they feel the need to dress it up like some lame ass movie-of-the-week, thus dooming it to poor word of mouth from people expecting something completely different from what the got. The last major instance of this would be M. Night Shyamalan’s misunderstood masterpiece The Village, and we find ourselves with another case nearly as outrageous, this time concerning Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter.

Hereafter tells the story of three separate storylines where the protagonist of each either experiences or is faced with a situation involving death in some way. Think of the trailer for this film like if Slumdog Millionaire was advertised to look like a James Bond film. If I were to make a comparison to a now realized genre classic, I’d say this film is this generation’s The Shining. Surely if the audiences who saw The Shining back when it was first released in theaters had Facebooks, their statuses would’ve read “The girlfriend and I both hated The Shining. So boring” and “Latest Stanley Kubrick movie: S – L – O – W” etc. However, a more recent comparison would be to say that it’s this years Funny People – as in the wrong people watching it, and thus spreading negative word of mouth, where the people who would really respond to this film brush it off as exactly what the trailer made it out to be.

But what I think upset audiences the most was Hereafter’s overall position, or lack thereof, when it comes to the various theories concerning what comes after death. The film doesn’t take any concrete position on the afterlife but rather allows the viewer to reflect parts of what they believe into the material the film exposes them to. It’s not the fault of the film, nor anybody involved, for failing to provide answers to the mystery of the afterlife. Because really, anybody who think they’ll get an answer to THE question by watching movies is bound to be disappointed

So what do I think the future holds for Hereafter? Very minimal, if any awards recognition. Reasonably mild critical/public reception and doomed to be dismissed as one of Eastwood’s lesser works. Perhaps an eventual cult following will materialize in the near future, just like The Village (high five!), but it’s certainly doubtful. The point is that whatever fate has in store for this film, it’s far less than it deserves. But in a society where Scott Pilgrim vs. the World makes less money than Vampires Suck, could you really expect anything less?

Recent updates about my life

Okay, I'm not even going to try to avoid the fact that I've been terribly neglectful over the past few months. But I am going to start picking up the slack once I get some more things over here at M'ville on track. Expect a sudden flourish of postery to come your way over the next few weeks. But until then, here's some shit about my life for 'ya.

- I’ve decided to cancel the ongoing “2010 Films” series, for a couple of reasons. First off, I’ve seen too damn many, at least between now and the last update. Most of which weren’t very good or memorable to be honest. And with the ones I didn’t really care about, my critique was usually just “It was decent. Better than it looked, but still average.” It was a good idea, but just wasn’t as inspiring as I was hoping.

- All of my classes are going well. For a little refresher, I have English Composition, Intro to State and Local Gov’ts, International Linguistics Studies, Astronomy, and Musical Appreciation. They’re fine, I s’pose. It is what it is, you know?

- I still have no roommate, or the faintest idea of what the hell ever happened to him. Mu guess is that he was an upperclassman who got an apartment at the last second and neglected to tell somebody. Whatever the case, he still ain’t here.

- I’ve been to movies a more lot lately than I usually am. I’m sure it all has to do with a shuttle bus on campus stopping at this one plaza where there just so happens to be a movie theater. Speaking in film buff terms, I’ve actually see my Top 3 of the year up to this point during my span of living on campus. Neat-o.

- In addition to seeing movies theatrically, I’ve also made proper use of the library and its infinite selection of DVDs.

- I finally learned how to tie a tie, all on my own this time. You see, every Friday in my Gov’t course is formal wear day, where if you come dressed all formal-like, you’ll get extra points. Being about all well educated in the inner mechanisms of Gov’tal workings as a footstool, I’m thinking some extra points couldn’t hurt. So I learned how to tie my own ties for the class and hopefully gain a whopping .24755332uwejvqn8 234 4297 extra points onto my overall grade.

- I bought this awesome Kermit the Frog hat, for when it gets super cold outside.



- I’ve recently starting keeping an expense journal for my debit card, which is a huge pain in my ass. I’m always forgetting things and mixing up amounts spent and all that bs.

That’s all for now. I promise I’ll be back at least once more before the wonderful month of October ends.

"The Future"

Ah, yes. “The future.” The subject of many-a science fiction novel/film, and the ominous force looming over our heads always. Well, I’m not here to talk about THAT future. The future I’d like to briefly discuss is the one we’re always being old about. The one we’re supposed to fear and look forward to our entire lives. And every time we reach said future, it always slips away into another 10 or so years.

Well, I got news for y’all. The whole “future” theory… it’s overrated. Don’t get me wrong, there IS such a thing as a future. Just not that ominous presence that everyone and their mother warned us about. Right now, I’m living the future I was told of 10 years ago. The future I’ve been working my butt off through 12 years of schooling to reach. Yeah, it’s here, and I have to say that it’s rather underwhelming. Without neglecting to acknowledge some drastic changes in lodgings and overall living situation, I’m doing basically the same shit I’ve BEEN doing for most of my entire life, more or less. Wake up, go to school (or something relative to an educational facility), do work, come home (again, something relative to a home). Lather, rinse, repeat.

I’m not even sure if there’s a point that I’m trying to get across here. All I’m saying is that all these years of being told to fear what’s awaiting for us around the corner isn’t very daunting. I met my future a long time ago and it wasn’t very intimidating. I think I can rest easy now and not have to worry about what else the big, bad future will hold for me. I’m sure I’ve dealt with worse.

Announcment

Hi there. First off, I'll be apologizing for my recent lack of commitment. I know full well that I'm usually more dependable than just lists and photo compilations. But being a college bound individual and all is a bit jarring, as I'm usually up to my elbows in school work or other things I need to get done.

Anyhow, I've also returned to tell y'all that I've obtained a postition on the Millersville University newspaper staff. Most of the time, I'll just have random article topic assigned to me and I'll just run with them. But occasionally, I'll get the opportunity to write about a subject of my choice. Being a newbie on staff, I doubt I'll be picking my own shit very often, but that's fine with me. So for my first assignment, I got stuck with the sacred topic of the difference between left & right handed people. So whenever I get something of value published, I'll just repost it here or your viewing pleasure. Until then, enjoy my pointless lists and picture compilations.