How to Recommend a Movie
Added 2024-07-22 07:00:02 +0000 UTCMissy read this comic and pointed out that she’s never seen The Black Hole. My description here doesn’t make her want to rectify that.
In the comic, I’m pretty harsh, but in real life I have a hard time just bagging on movies and TV shows anymore. I realize they’re such big, complex projects that even the worst will have some examples of talented people doing excellent work, even if the final product isn’t good. The Black Hole is a good example of this.
The Black Hole features some beautiful special effects, some great production design, and a genuinely haunting theme song. I also think the actors probably did a fine job of executing the instructions they were given, which is the most you can ask of them in that situation. But there is no Oscar for “Best Performance in a Misguided Production,” or else Nicolas Cage would win almost every year.
I just got a laugh out of Missy by asking her, “Who’s an actor who’s very good, but is in a lot of terrible movies? I already have Nicolas Cage.” That’s good. I’ve built up a little good will. Not, I’d point out, nearly enough to get her to watch The Black Hole.
