Friday, July 10, 2015

When Sharks Emerge

Tonight's marathon is in honor of shark week. This marathon is a combination of some of the greatest shark movies ever made beginning with the 1975 classic that started it all titled Jaws. Jaws is a significant film because it began the summer blockbuster trend that's ran a grand total of 40 years, and launched the career of legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg. It also spawned several different offsprings of films with similar plot themes for better or worse. Tonight's marathon is a celebration of some of the most iconic shark movies to grace the big screen regardless of their quality. For tonight's marathon, we have on the following menu:






 





 
 It is important to note that this marathon is self aware that not all of the films here are on the same quality of magnificence as Jaws, but that the whole thing is staged in a way where the situations get more exciting and outrageous as they go. Jaws was such a powerful and amazing film that it made people scared to go into the water for years. Just when they thought it was safe to go back in the sequel came out in 1978. Jaws is a film that symbolizes so much about pop culture and the way we look at films now. The summer of 1975 began a tradition that continues to dominate the box office to this day, the summer season. Jaws was also the film that put Spielberg on the map and began his incredible career of turning into one of the most influential filmmakers in movie history. Starring Roy Scheider,  Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, and Murray Hamilton, Jaws centers around a small town being terrorized by a great white shark on the beaches of Amity Island during the 4th of July weekend. It is up to a police chief named Martin Brody, a police chief, a marine scientist, and a grizzled scientist to capture and kill the great white shark. Jaws was nominated for a total of four academy awards including best picture, and won three including best music. It also became the first movie in box office history to make over 200 million domestically pulling in 260 million domestically. The second movie in the lineup is the strong follow up to the 1975 classic titled Jaws ll. Picking up a total of three years after the events of the first film, the sequel finds Roy Scheider reprising his role as police chief Martin Brody fighting to protect the citizens of Amity Island once again after a second shark appears on their shores terrorizing the citizens once again. Jaws ll is not the masterpiece that Jaws is known as in film history but it spawned one of the most iconic movie quotes in history. The tagline on the movies poster says "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water." Jaws ll was not the huge blockbuster the first movie was but still made a huge splash on American audiences back in 1978 with 103 million domestic intake. Jaws ll is the only sequel that is worthy of being viewed with the first film because it follows a similar pattern and feels like a continuation of the events of the first movie. The third movie of the marathon is the 1999 thriller titled Deep Blue Sea. Starring Samuel Jackson, Ll Cool J, Stellan Skaragard, and Saffron Burrows, the film centers around a group of scientists searching for a cure to Alzheimers disease with them suddenly becoming the bait as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back. Made for a budget of 60 million and grossed 73 million domestically, this film presents the sharks as being more intelligent and menacing than the previous two films in the lineup. The fourth movie of the marathon is the controversial film titled Sharknado made in 2003. Generally considered a film that's so bad its really good, Sharknado centers around a freak hurricane impacting Los Angeles. The twist with this hurricane is that it unleashes deadly killer sharks from the sea onto the mainlands, attacking and harming thousands of people due to the powerful force of nature. The fifth and final movie of the lineup is the much anticipated follow up to Sharknado ll. The sequel to Sharknado centers the story in New York City with the same kind of weather pattern from the first movie striking the mainland and unleashing killer sharks within the population. It is up to the citizens of New York City to band together and fight back against the killer sharks emerging from the sky.


So what is this iconic and exciting marathon trying to say with all it's movies? It says that sometimes the one place you automatically assume would be a safe place would be one of the most dangerous. People need to understand the dangers of what's infront of them, organize and learn to fight back with teamwork. Never underestimate the power of human nature.

 













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