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Sen To, X-Men 2
liquidbrains writes "With 'Princess Mononoke' fresh in our memories, the number one highest grossing film in Japan -ever- is coming to the US. Thanks to Disney and Pixar's John Lasseter, who has supervised the dub, we can soon expect a fine English adaptation of animation master Hayao Miyazaki's latest masterpiece, 'Spirited Away'. See the trailer here." Reader thefalconer writes "It seems that Apple has just released the very first trailer to X-Men 2 on their website. From what I've seen this movie looks like it's going to rock! Too bad I have to wait for May of next year!"
As CmdrTaco himself best said,
"anime makes you wish American tv and movies had a soul..."
What I loved about Mononoke was that there was no clear good or evil. The central character, the boy, was kind of a protagonist, except he fucked up royally and got poisoned. That mark sealed the fate of his doom. You wouldn't see something that grim from Disney. They are afraid to even say the word "death." And Lady Iboshi was pretty bitchy and greedy, but she turned around in the end. And the great forest spirit was supposed to be so benevolent and good, ended up being a total havoc wreaker. So the movie doesn't draw clear lines about who is good and who is evil.
That's the point. You're supposed to think about the qualities of the character and decide for yourself whose side your on. It gives you insight into human nature. And it's a hell of a lot more entertaining than watching some Bruce Willis action flick where the villain may as well have the snidely moustache painted on his face with the word "VILLAIN" stamped on his shirt.
Mononoke was about redemption, about good and evil, about preservation and progress, and about carrying out your duty even though you're damned to die.
And come on, did you see when he shot that guy's head off using only an arrow? Fuck all, that's badass as hell.
Yeah! We'll show those corporate bastards what we think of them by not going to see the movies we actually like! That'll teach them to make anything outside the fart jokes and bodily fluids genre!
Seriously, there are so many people who will spend money to see any piece of crap (even the latest Eddie Murphy flop had millions in ticket sales, but at least its $100 million price tag will make sure there is never a sequel) that a geek boycott would be lost in the noise floor. The only thing the MPAA will see is a spike in ticket sales (LOTR, Spider-Man, etc.).
Sure this won't do anything about the MPAA's business practices, but there is no way to have a realistic impact with a boycott - it will never gain enough support to put a dent in the billions of dollars the industry brings in each year. It is up to our legal system to resolve these issues, and boycotting the EFF, Congress, etc. isn't going to help on that front (hint, hint)...
The best reason for a boycott of this type isn't its effect on big corporations, but instead the impact on ourselves. By not spending money on crap, we have more money to spend on things we like. Instead of seeing "Adam Sandler Whines, Farts, and Beats People Up, Part XVII," you can buy a DVD of that obscure movie you love but nobody else has even heard of. Or you could buy stock in an undervalued company, or pay off some debts a little bit sooner, or get a few more minutes of entertainment at the nickel slots (ok, so maybe that one isn't such a good example). Considering the current state of Hollywood, it is easy to see how a boycott on crap could look like a boycott on the MPAA.
"If the movie stinks, just don't go!"