Maybe they can link it to the John Carter sequel.
As a big Firefly fan, I wouldn’t.
The best thing about Firefly was the way Whedon created an ensemble of characters you really cared about from the get-go, the way the characters were growing from there, the way we were gradually getting to know them, and the way their relationships were developing. But you need the more leisurely format of a TV series to do that right.
That’s what I’d like to have seen more of, if it had been possible to convince Fox, a dozen years ago, that it was making a big damn mistake by canceling the show.
I love a number of the individual scenes in the movie (e.g. the showdown with the ‘nihilists’, or where they’re negotiating with the mortician), but on the whole, I find this movie to be less than the sum of its parts. And I just don’t find The Dude to be that compelling a character. OK, he abides; so what?
So I’m glad I’m not the only one.
Big Trouble in Little China. Loved loved loved the character of Jack Burton. The swagger and confidence of a guy who is in over his head, and is completely ignorant of the fact.
Just saw this for the second time last Friday (the first time I saw it when it was released in the theater)-my 12 year old son loved it, and my feelings about it haven’t changed: I thought it was kinda boring. Perhaps seeing it the first time as a jaded high schooler colored it for me (maybe), but compare it to the better written “Stand By Me” that had more realistic dialogue for the kids, and it lacks a lot.
That being said, a well-written adventure story with kids sounds great, and I think it could really improve on the original.
It only bombed because it was torpedoed from within Disney before it was even released, with negligible marketing (try and find the usual pre-release “action figures” and similar marketing stuff), no internet buzz generated, skimpy trailer and commercial placing, and the like. The story of the infighting that lead to its being abandoned (even though they knew it would cost the studio dear) is well documented in books and websites.
They even replaced the gorgeous art titles that had featured in the trailers with the most boring possible title font. I’ve seen corporate reports that had more stylish intro titles. If ever there was a movie that deserved something on the Indiana Jones/Star Wars level of titling, this was it.
Sometimes there’s a man who, well, he’s the right man for his time and place; he fits right in there; and that’s the Dude in Los Angeles. And even if he’s a lazy man – and the Dude was certainly that, quite possibly the laziest man in Los Angeles County, which’d place him quite high in the runnin’ for laziest worldwide – but sometimes there’s a man; sometimes there’s a man – hell, I lost my train of thought there.
I dunno. I get why most cult movies appeal to their audience, even if it’s a movie I actively detest (Napoleon Dynamite, for example, or most horror movies). But Lebowski… it has so many good elements, and it’s Coen, fa chrissakes, and I can see why it would be admired among their quirky little movies, but… the sheer awesomeness some people see in it just eludes me. There’s so little there when you actually sit and watch it and don’t just sit around saying “The Dude abides!” knowingly.
Thanks, you’ve made my day! 
But he DOES abide, dammit! Oh yes, the dude abides.
NM
The movie is the Coen brothers remake of The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.
Galaxy Quest wouldn’t have been anywhere near as funny if you had never heard of Star Trek.
I was disappointed they didn’t continue with the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy films after the first one. It got ok reviews and doubled it’s budget.
Have you also considered that it was…you know…not very good?
Also according to Wikipedia, Disney spent over $100 million marketing JC. For all the finger pointing, I think there just wasn’t a lot of interest in an olde timey sci fy film.
msmith537:
I’m not, I thought it did Douglas Adams (well, his memory, at least) a terrible disservice. I highly suspect that any reviewer who liked it didn’t read the books.
Don’t know about you, but I loved it. Thought it was great, capturing the spirit of Burroughs while managing to make him relevant to the modern world. It’s precisely why I’d like to see a sequel (they originally planned to make three films, which sort of echoes the way the first three Mars books make a single completed story).
The film got a 60& popular rating on Rotten Tomatoes, was nominated for six awards, winning two for its music.
No, I don’t think it’s bad film at all.
I would love to see another Van Helsing movie!
I loved the movie, and have read all five books in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker trilogy multiple times.
I think the fifth book might make for the best movie, despite (or maybe because of) the note on which it concludes.
Actually, Sahara was the second Dirk Pitt book made into a movie.
I agree with you that a Dirk Pitt film series would be awesome in theory and with other poster who said it just won’t work, because of Cussler. Oh well.
I, however, would like to see a sequel to Monster Squad.
They have said they were waiting for the right script. Apparently they found one. Good on them for waiting.
RTFirefly:
And personally, I hate the fifth book. It felt to me like something Douglas Adams didn’t really want to write but instead wrote it to stop people from pestering him to continue the series ever again.
I guess that’s what the phrase “YMMV” was made for.