The Letters to the Editor department is intended to be a forum for our readers to express their own opinions and ideas. While we appreciate the many complimentary letters we receive each day, you won't find them on this page. Instead, you will find letters that go beyond or even contradict what we have written, letters that offer a different perspective and provide a different view of science fiction. If you would like to submit a letter, please use our feedback form or send a message to scifiweekly@scifi.com.
-- Craig E. Engler, Editor
What's your idea of a "good" movie?
agree in part with your review of the movie Armageddon. However, I wonder exactly what in your opinion constitutes a "good" movie? Firstly yes the sound was way too loud, but I have come to realize that in all of the movies they seem to think that the dialog must be "noised" over. However, there is a couple of things that surprised me though at the time. I did not realize that it was PG-13. It was a good movie without excessive foul language and the love scenes were less risque then on the daily soap operas, so I guess one can overlook a little flag waving, tear jerking, etc. things that seemed to turn you off on this movie.
Must a movie have explicit sex and totally foul language or violence against people to be a great movie? The people I went to the movie with were my husband, and two friends (male and female). The women (us) cried and cheered at the correct times and also laughed when we should have. The men (them) were entertained and did everything we did except cry. We have seen a lot of films in the last year and this one was very very entertaining.
Bobbi Amann
amann@execpc.com
Armageddon is worth the price of admission
'll keep it brief. All reviewers, including yours, seem to have a single brain. Armageddon is a thrill ride, with fun-to-watch characters, an interesting story and some nice "we are the world" sequences.
When it was over I questioned the science, but no more than I question the "sounds" of star fighters, or the "explosions" from photon torpedoes. This 2-1/2 hours passed quickly and the swooping, moving camera just added to my experience in "space."
I enjoyed the action, my 12-year-old daughter enjoyed the love story. For the matinee price I paid, I got my money's worth.
Look at the move for what it is...no deep thought, no Oscar winner, but an action flick with the Earth's life at stake. Good times and we survive, not bad.
Willie Vogt
wvogt19@idt.net
Movies are all about escapism
read the review on Armageddon. Give me a break. I sincerely believe critics today wouldn't honestly know how to actually enjoy a movie. They've all forgotten what movies are all about. Escapism. A little time away from reality. A movie's purpose is to entertain us, amuse us, scare us, thrill us (and yes sometimes even bore us). If we want true science, we can tune in to the Discovery Channel. If we want the meaning of life, there must be 20 or 30 religious shows to watch each week. No, what we want is to escape from reality for a little while.
Armageddon lets us do just that. People ride a rollercoaster for the ups and downs and the excitement. Armageddon attempts to give us a little bit of the same thing. Just a thrill ride with a little humor, a little sadness, and a lot of action. if you want or expect more then go rent Fargo or Beavis and Butthead. Two excellent statements of the mentality of critics today.
I enjoyed Armageddon. My wife (not really an SF fan) enjoyed it. Everyone I've talked to that saw it enjoyed it.
Stuff your dictionaries and encyclopedias back in the closet and just try to enjoy a movie for once. Remember what science fiction is all about--the key word being fiction.
Joe Castleberry
ironwolf@inow.com
The Truman Show wasn't a comedy!
read the letter that Randy Welch wrote to you saying that The Truman Show "stinks" because it utilizes sick humor. Well, I have some bad news for him: The Truman Show wasn't a comedy! The movie in question was meant to mirror the way that the world has evolved from watching sitcoms and dramas and now the new big entertainment kick is "realistic television," where you get to see robberies as they happen, or see someone being beat up, all thanks to the miracle of hidden camera. Well The Truman Show takes that idea to the extreme, to show how far we would (or should) go to be entertained. So rather than be upset because the movie wasn't funny enough, we should be glad that someone finally had the balls to stand up and say that maybe we as a people have gone too far just to be entertained, and maybe we should worry more about our own lives before getting wrapped up in the lives of the images we see on the screen of the almighty television.
Douglas Hood
ratiug@webtv.net
The Truman Show was phenomenal!
andy Welch bashed the film The Truman Show. He called a society that could enjoy the film, "sick." I find this pretty disturbing. He must have some pretty personal issues with Jim Carrey.
Jim Carrey's performance was great! He actually played the straight man to the picture's outlandish plot, and he did it beautifully. Truman was a pretty low-key character; not once did Mr. Carrey speak from anywhere other than his mouth (unless you count his heart).
It's a shame that Mr. Welch won't allow himself to enjoy Jim Carrey. He's silly, but he's a treasure, and The Truman Show was phenomenal!
Fred Morris
Abashai@aol.com
