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‘West Side Story’ and the Decline of the Movie Theater
Wall Street Journal ^ | 12/16/21 | Peggy Noonan

Posted on 12/16/2021 8:34:21 PM PST by Borges

The new “West Side Story” is, so far, a box-office flop. Steven Spielberg’s much-anticipated remake of the landmark 1961 musical received rave reviews and has been called a masterpiece. Yet its first weekend theatrical release yielded only $10.5 million, which Variety called “a dismal result for a movie of its scale and scope.”

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It’s not woke, it’s wonderful. “America,” that most American of songs, so knowing but not jaded, is done differently from the original but better, more communally, and it’s just as joyous and comic.

The Journal’s Joe Morgenstern used exactly the right word to describe this movie: “Exultant.”

It’s good that this story, this music and these lyrics, enter the world again.

The whole thing makes you feel that America has a chance.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: absurdremake; bilingualrequired; hollywood; movies; moviestinks; noonan; noonaniscrap; nosubtitles; westsidestory; wokesidestory
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To: discostu

Hollywood PR firms and studios probably have paid bots all over the place boosting IMDB ratings for movies and TV shows.


81 posted on 12/17/2021 7:28:06 PM PST by Cecily
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To: Cecily

A ton of big budget Hollywood movies have low IMDb user ratings.


82 posted on 12/17/2021 10:05:09 PM PST by Borges
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To: TChad

No one minded that Nancy Kwan was singing in that towel and showing off her figure in 1961

Nancy Kwan - I Enjoy Being A Girl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JigBfoDtzY


83 posted on 12/17/2021 11:20:56 PM PST by minnesota_bound (I need more money. )
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To: ifinnegan

arrrgh...

Barack Obama Picks Woke Box Office Flop ‘West Side Story’ as One of His Favorite Movies of 2021
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2021/12/17/barack-obama-picks-woke-box-office-flop-west-side-story-as-one-of-his-favorite-movies-of-2021/


84 posted on 12/17/2021 11:28:59 PM PST by minnesota_bound (I need more money. )
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To: Borges
No.

It isn't.

But Sell-Out Peggy would not know a good movie if she was hit over the head with it repeatedly.

85 posted on 12/17/2021 11:49:23 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (add a dab of lavender in milk, leave town with an orange and pretend you're laughing with it)
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To: Borges

I don’t care if it was popular. It revolves around 2 story elements I just never find interesting by anybody ever: forbidden love, and dumb teenagers doing dumb teenager shit.

I don’t care about “pure cinema” if it’s telling a story I don’t like I ain’t watching it. I’d be distracted by “gawd these are stupid and I don’t care what happens.”


86 posted on 12/18/2021 5:31:16 AM PST by discostu (Like a dog being shown a card trick )
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To: Cecily

Nah, no reason to waste energy on that. Like I said, by getting reviews from people who want to see something it’s naturally going to gravitate to positive reviews. Just how humans work.


87 posted on 12/18/2021 5:32:22 AM PST by discostu (Like a dog being shown a card trick )
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To: discostu

I meant breakthrough artistically. RJ is where Shakespeare became Shakespeare. New psychologically astute use of soliloquy etc. The central couple in this film are adults btw. Both over 18. Characters I mean not just the actors


88 posted on 12/18/2021 6:54:57 AM PST by Borges
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

It actually is very good. (The film I mean)


89 posted on 12/18/2021 6:56:10 AM PST by Borges
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To: Borges

And again DON’T CARE. It’s a story about stupid teenagers doing stupid teenage stuff in forbidden love. I can’t stand any story that has EITHER of those qualities. I’m not saying it’s bad, I’m saying I hate it. I hate every story I’ve had to consume that had either of those. And as I get older I find them MORE annoying.


90 posted on 12/18/2021 6:58:25 AM PST by discostu (Like a dog being shown a card trick )
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To: Borges

Now you have gotten me interested enough to watch it. Based on your recommendation and stout defense.

Confining the discussion to movies released in 2021, is this your nomination for the best of the year? So far, at least ... .


91 posted on 12/18/2021 8:21:54 AM PST by sphinx
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To: Borges
No.
92 posted on 12/18/2021 10:51:23 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (add a dab of lavender in milk, leave town with an orange and pretend you're laughing with it)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

Have you seen it?


93 posted on 12/18/2021 2:30:25 PM PST by Borges
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To: sphinx

I haven’t seen enough to make a judgment.


94 posted on 12/18/2021 2:31:19 PM PST by Borges
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To: P.O.E.

I went to an early music Christmas concert the other day...but the crowd was self selected. People with manners.


95 posted on 12/18/2021 2:36:45 PM PST by Chickensoup ( Leftists totalitarian fascists are eradicating conservatives)
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To: JennysCool

Chicago was what? 30 years ago? Different much more musically ignorant crowd now.


96 posted on 12/18/2021 2:41:04 PM PST by Chickensoup ( Leftists totalitarian fascists are eradicating conservatives)
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To: Borges

It actually is quite an improvement over the original which I was never a fan of. Kushner’s script fleshed out a lot of things that were implied in the first and also flowed better.


97 posted on 12/18/2021 2:42:33 PM PST by Clemenza (I have no tolerance for tolerance)
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To: 9YearLurker

Spanish (a Western European language) was spoken in what is now the United States before English was. Just sayin’


98 posted on 12/18/2021 2:44:07 PM PST by Clemenza (I have no tolerance for tolerance)
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To: 9YearLurker

Spanish (a Western European language) was spoken in what is now the United States before English was. Just sayin’


99 posted on 12/18/2021 2:44:09 PM PST by Clemenza (I have no tolerance for tolerance)
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To: Borges

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=rodgers+and+hammerstein+sound+of+music&&view=detail&mid=06FD46407888CC87637506FD46407888CC876375&&FORM=VRDGAR


100 posted on 12/18/2021 2:44:30 PM PST by Varsity Flight ( "War by the prophesies set before you." I Timothy 1:18)
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