Dean Van Nguyen: With the rise of the blockbuster, movie stars have lost their lustre
Big-screen audiences are now opting for brands, franchises and intellectual property rather than choosing to see a film on the basis of their star-driven quality
During the initial and most severe round of Covid-19 restrictions, the population – including you, probably – indulged in various strange activities to pass the hours. Hosting weddings for their pets, that kind of thing. Me? I started watching Michael Douglas movies.
In no particular order I screened 19 in total, chronologically spanning The China Syndrome (1979) to Haywire (2011), skidding through classics Falling Down, Traffic, Wall Street (plus its solid sequel), Wonder Boys and The Game, to mature dramas Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, A Perfect Murder and Disclosure. There were three films co-starring Kathleen Turner, The West Wing’s big-screen predecessor The American President, projects that probably shouldn’t have made it past the development stage such as The Sentinel and The In-Laws, and one baffling, buck wild cult cyberpunk flick, Black Rain.
