Movies

2014 Oscars – What Should Happen

February 6, 2014 By Ben Lane Hodson in Movies

Everyone says I just shouldn’t care, that the whole thing is rigged, that it’s all meaningless. And if truth be told, I don’t care all the much but I do think the Oscars are kind of fun. Ya, it’s pretty meaningless. A lot of the people that win, end up not even having a career after. But the list of nominees are usually some of the “better” films released that year.

Yes, I know they generally ignore genre films even though that’s what most people are wanting to see. They overhype films that hardly any “common” person liked. There are so few winning spots, that many quality performances get snubbed. But I still think there’s some fun to the yearly oscars.

Oscar Predictions

I won’t even begin to try and guess or predict what films or actors will win. There are so many factors, so much hype, so much personal-preference, and subjective evidence involved. If you want a detailed and thoughtful analysis of who will win this year, the guys over at ComingSoon.net did a great write-up a few weeks ago:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/weekendwarriornews.php?id=113100

It’s worth checking out.

What I’m going to do here is tell you what I wish would happen, what should happen, in my dream world, how the oscars would go based on my personal movie-going preferences for this year. I’m not going through all the categories because I don’t even know what to choose in some and others, I don’t really have a strong opinion on. So just the big ones.

Best Picture

I’m going with Gravity here because it was an evolutionary leap in film-making. American Hustle shouldn’t be on here. It was fun and I liked it but it isn’t a best picture. I feel the same way about Nebraska. Great performance by Bruce Dern but not best picture caliber.

Best Actor

I’d go with Matthew McConaughey but not for Dallas Buyers Club. He was great in it but that movie kind of tricked people because he had such a physical transformation. His best performance this year was actually in Mud. I would be happy if Bruce Dern won because I love him too.

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock blew me away in Gravity. That was a tough role where she was on her own almost all the time and yet the emotion comes through. She sells the drama. It was a powerhouse of a strong woman performance.

Best Supporting Actor

This may surprise you but Jonah Hill came out of nowhere this year to change into something else with Wolf of Wall Street. His performance was energetic, shocking, and fearless.

Best Supporting Actress

I’d choose June Squibb for Nebraska. Next to Bruce Dern, she was the best thing about that movie. Loved every minute she was on screen.

Best Cinematography

Bruno Delbonnel‘s work on Inside Llewyn Davis was gorgeous and melancholy all at once. Gravity could probably win here too but for the classic use of lighting, framing, and technique, Bruno is my pick.

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity. This one is indisputable. No one did a better, more innovative, more game-changing job directing this year than him.

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Captain Phillips was so well-paced, so full of tense moments and emotional release. It would be so hard to put that all together the way it came out. I think I was most impressed by the writing on this one out of all of them. Billy Ray for Captain Phillips.

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Her was the best written screenplay this year. The way it played with questions of what real love is, what a relationship can be, how we relate to one another. Just masterful. Spike Jonze would win.

How to Make Star Wars Special Again

January 30, 2014 By Ben Lane Hodson in Movies

Word came a few weeks back that the next Star Wars film (Episode 7) will start filming in April of this year. It got me thinking about what makes Star Wars so special and important for me personally. The jury is still out on what JJ Abrams’ Star Wars will turn out to be like.

A great video came out a few months back (amazingly well animated) describing 4 rules to make Star Wars great again. It’s definitely worth watching and makes fabulous points that nearly all fans would agree with:

Where the Prequels Went Wrong

George Lucas has said many times in interviews that the older generation of fans loves the original films but the younger generation actually prefers the prequels. Older fans are flabbergasted when they hear this. How could someone prefer the sterile, over-CG’d environments and flat acting of the prequels over the magical fantasy-based films from the 70’s and 80’s?

The main problem with the prequels isn’t the overuse of CG, or the whiney kid that would become Boba Fett, or the wooden acting, or even Jar Jar Binks for that matter. Those are all factors (among countless others) to be sure. No, the core problem with Episode 1,2, & 3 is a story problem. Anakin’s character arc isn’t even slightly believable and because we already know what happens to him from the later films, there’s no suspense as he moves towards his inevitable character change. Anakin does not become Darth Vader because of important events and character choices. He becomes Darth Vader because he needed to in order to fit into the overall storyline. The entire weight of the three prequel films rests on this story problem and the weakness by which it was handled, causes everything else to collapse around it.

Why the Original Films are So Important

Now, I don’t hate the prequels the way many do. I saw Episode 1 in the theaters at least four times and really enjoyed it. I don’t know if it was that I was just so happy to see Star Wars back on the big screen again but I remember being really jazzed. It wasn’t until Episode 2 and 3 along with some personal reflection that cracks began appearing in the shiny Mandalorian armor.

The greatest accomplishment of the prequels (besides bringing back Star Wars into the worldwide consciousness) was showing how great the original films were. Even as great as they are, if Star Wars (episode 4) had been the only film, it might not have raised Star Wars to the epic proportions that it reached. It was only with the brilliant sequel Empire Strikes Back (the best film in the series) and the satisfying climax of Return of the Jedi that made the original films one of the best movie trilogies in film history.

The prequels might have taken the shine off but there’s still room for more great stories in the Star Wars universe.

3 Ways to Make Star Wars Special Again

Bring Back the Magic
Star Wars has always been as much fantasy as science fiction (if not more). So explaining the force away as a blood condition was a disastrous move. What’s done is done but the best thing the new films can do is to distance themselves by avoiding any discussion of midichlorians and focus on the magic of the force.

High Drama
George Lucas is an idea guy. He’s a story guy. He’s the greatest film technology innovator of our time. He’s not a great screenwriter and he’s an even less great director. The prequels were plagued by wooden acting and awkward scenes. They were also missing a key ingredient, real, emotional, drama. The reveal that Darth Vader was Luke’s father caused audible gasps in theaters. Nothing in the prequels even came close to that. We need that kind of drama back.

Go Intimate instead of Geo-Political
Instead of having universe-wide conflict that spends more time on government squabbles and galaxy-spanning wars, focus on a few characters and their problems as they try to survive in the galactic frontier. Focus in on a collection of characters that we care about in a dangerous world.

In Defense of Ewoks

January 23, 2014 By Ben Lane Hodson in Movies

I feel I need to address an important issue that has long been a source of (sometimes) violent debate among Star Wars fans. For years now, naysayers have declared that the downfall of Star Wars began with the introduction of the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi. Giant teddy bears defeating a highly organized and powerful galactic empire just doesn’t seem plausible.

And I’ve got to admit, when it’s put that way, it does sound pretty ridiculous. But allow me to lay out a case for why the Ewoks were great and deserve more credit than they’re typically given.

They were originally Wookies
The first drafts of George Lucas’ story for Return of the Jedi had the final battle taking place on Kashyyyk‎ (the Wookie’s home world). Wookies would assist the rebels in defeating the Empire. After some consideration, Lucas realized it wouldn’t seem like much of a challenge (especially given how poorly storm troopers aim) to have Wookies in the final conflict so George switched to a species that would have a much greater challenge fighting the empire, Ewoks. It definitely ups the tension by having a less threatening species.

They’re Hunters
The Ewoks live in a hostel forest where they are top of the food chain. They kill what they eat and aren’t opposed to killing higher lifeforms even. They cook animals alive for dinner (as Han Solo almost found out). That’s pretty hardcore. They’ve been compared to teddy bears but a better comparison would be to sentient grizzly bears. They’re first instinct is to kill. They appear docile but actually tend to be pretty bloodthirsty.

They were a distraction
It’s important to note that the Ewoks didn’t actually defeat the empire. They weren’t instrumental in the battle from a fighting-standpoint. In fact, Chewie probably killed more troops than all the Ewok attacks combined (and that’s while he was fighting his two Ewok companions from touching the controls of the AT-ST). They were the ultimate distraction, underestimated by the empire, and used by the rebels as the distraction at the perfect time in the battle.

They had big hearts
As a great counterpoint to the heartless empire, the Ewoks stand as a shining example of goodness, family, courage, and honor. They love a good story (especially with golden god sound effects). They’ll die for something they truly believe in.

They knew how to party
Every day appears to be a celebration in their village. They celebrate when they bring Han, Luke, etc. back as captured prey for the day. Its like a holiday feast as they prepare to cook them. They seem to have no clue what space travel or technology is (nor do they appear to care) but they are happy to use said technology as musical instruments and bonfire kindling.

They’re fearless
When Chewie steals the AT-ST with his two Ewok companions, there seems to be no fear whatsoever from either of them. One might say that they were too stupid to know what’s going on but they appear to be having the time of their life as they blast away at the empire’s forces. One of them will take on an entire squad of Speeder-bikers and steal a bike without any idea how to drive it. Wedge could learn a thing or two about not backing down from a battle from the Ewoks.

They were magical
The Ewoks are very aware of the mystical and magical qualities of their planet Endor. If you’ve seen the Ewok Adventure, you know how many run-ins they’ve had with magic over the years. They seem to honor the force. Their most important man in the village is Logray, their medicine man and spiritual advisor. At least they believe in the force, that’s more than many other Star Wars-races believe in.

They are a symbol of the rebellion
It is no coincidence that the in-tune-with-nature, low-technology, horribly outnumbered Ewoks are important to the final battle with the empire. They are symbolic of the rebellion itself. A key theme of Star Wars ever since Luke switched off his targeting computer was how the non-technical/spiritual can defeat the immense technical power of the empire.

The cynical will say that George Lucas created the Ewoks to appeal to children. They’re right but not for the reason you might think. George wanted to create a fairy tale for his generation and the Ewoks are a part of the magic of Star Wars.

10 Movies of 2013 that Were Better than You Heard

January 6, 2014 By Ben Lane Hodson in Movies

I’m fully aware that not everything is great (or even good for that matter) at cinemas these days. But there were a few films that were hurt by bad reviews or even outright bombed at the Box Office that I think were better than you heard. At least I liked them.

Only God Forgives

Director Nicolas Refn’s follow-up to Drive (which I also liked a lot) is virtually impenetrable and yet, I was entranced. The cinematography blew me away. Gorgeous. I fully admit I can understand why some hate it but I thought it was great, challenging cinema. Huge Kubrick influences here (check out the framing and choice of music/tones).

The Last Stand

Arnold’s return to the movies since being governor (you can’t really count the Expendables cameos). He’s got his charisma and I like that they played up his older age now in an action movie. The bad guy here is pretty dumb but there’s some great chemistry between Arnold and his co-stars that made this pretty fun.

Gangster Squad

A lot of people hammered on two big things against this movie. Sean Penn’s over-the-top gangster bad guy and Ryan Gosling’s high-pitched voice. I liked both. Sean Penn was intense and ridiculous just like a gangster bad guy should be. Ryan Gosling is always good. He knows how to work a scene just off facial expressions alone. I liked the setting too.

Bullet to the Head

The great Walter Hill (48 Hrs, Red Heat) who virtually invented the buddy cop genre, directs a new take on the now tired genre where a cop and a hitman have to join forces to fight a bigger threat. Stallone’s one-liners are laugh out loud. Jason Momoa is a force to be reckoned with as the unstoppable bad guy.

To The Wonder

I’m a huge Terrence Malick fan and I have the attention span to not only sit through but even enjoy a contemplative long close-up. I loved the story of the priest who had lost his faith. I wish Malick had even kept more of those scenes in. They were captivating. Ben Affleck is actually quite good in this. Gives me faith in his upcoming Batman.

The Call

This one flew under the radar and I honestly went into it expecting it to suck pretty bad so I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a great little thriller. Halle Berry sells her scenes with some strong emotion and a lot of heart put into it. The ending is pretty lame but up until that, it’s a taught suspense film.

Jobs

Despite Ashton Kutcher going a little overboard with his speeches about Steve Jobs, I really liked this movie. Being in some of the same situations in companies I have been a part of (sitting on boards where there is a lot of political maneuvering going on), I was mesmerized by Jobs rise, then fall, and subsequent re-rise to power at Apple. I know the overall story is accurate but have no idea if the “behind-closed-doors” things were actually said. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Lone Ranger

Yes, there are some big problems with the story, especially a subplot involving supernatural elements that goes nowhere and some throwaway characters that bloated the running time but this was MUCH better than you heard. The issue here was that the movie isn’t the classic telling of The Lone Ranger. It’s a reboot and gives a lot more running time to Tonto’s story and I loved the idea. The last 20 minutes of action is some of the best I saw this entire year.

Olympus Has Fallen

This movie is what Die Hard 5 should have been. It’s got the classic terrorist bad guys, a ridiculous international crisis, and an everyman good guy named Mike that ends up saving the day. The action is fun with some inventive gun fights. Gerard Butler delivers his one-liners with gusto. One of the better classic action movies this year.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

This movie had no right to be as fun as it was. This should have been a complete disaster but somehow manages to be clever, creative, and adventurous in many ways. The CG is better than you would expect. The story moves fast and keeps your attention. The costumes are excellent for a movie like this. Not Lord of the Rings caliber but much better than you’ve heard.

10 Most Fun Movies of 2013 – Part 2

December 30, 2013 By Ben Lane Hodson in Movies

In my previous post, I counted down the top 10 movies I had the most fun watching in 2013 (numbers 10 to 6). Here’s the rest of the list including my number one.

5) Elysium

I did a bit of a rant a few months ago wondering why Elysium took so much heat when it was better than you heard. Is it heavy-handed? Yes. Are there some obvious parts to the story? Yes. Is it as good as District 9? Not quite. But darn it if I didn’t have a blast watching it. Sharlto Copely’s Kruger is a revelation, chewing the scenery in my favorite bad guy performance of the year. The special effects are jaw dropping and the story compelling. I was thoroughly entertained.

4) Pain & Gain

Michael Bay’s best film in… Well, since I can remember actually. I was dying laughing. The Rock, Mark Walberg, Tony Shalhoub, all were used to the best of their comic abilities with great effect. Another one of those true stories you can’t believe happened. (I know it was a loose adaptation but these guys the film is based on really were complete idiots). I had such a blast watching this. Michael Bay, forget Transformers. Make more like this.

3) Gravity

Wow. That was all my brain could muster after watching the first unbroken and jaw-dropping scene. Gravity takes the film cliche “thrill ride” to a whole other level. Sandra Bullock is outstanding as the main character and George Clooney is at his most charismatic. I knew it would be good because Children of Men is still one of the best films of the last decade but even my high expectations were exceeded. I couldn’t tell where the “reality” ended and the “visual FX” started.

2) About Time

About Time hit me hard. I’m a big fan of Love Actually by the same director so I was anxious to see this one. I don’t care if it was sentimental, I cried and loved it. What a life-affirming film about really living, taking time to enjoy, using the limited time you have to make yours and other lives better instead of wallowing in negativity and pointless pursuits. I was truly touched.

1) Pacific Rim

This was so up my alley I saw it three times in the theater. The scene where they get into the jaeger to go to battle for the first time is beyond exhilarating. If I was 14 years old, this would be my all-time favorite movie. It taps into something visceral that captured my imagination. The plot twists keep coming. The stakes keep going up. The characters all look and behave like they are in a live-action anime (which they are). I cannot tell you how much fun I had watching this movie. In Del Toro I trust. Such a blast.

10 Most Fun Movies of 2013 – Part 1

December 26, 2013 By Ben Lane Hodson in Movies

This isn’t a list about the best films of 2013. It’s not a list about the most important or the movies that deserve awards. There are countless lists for those categories. No, this is the list of the movies I had the most fun watching in 2013.

Above all else, movies are entertainment. I go for the escape, the fun, the imagination just as much as the art, the message, and the presentation. So why not put together a list of the movies I had the most fun experiencing this year?

Did I see everything? No but I’ve seen a lot. Probably above average. This time of year, all of the “important” films get released for awards competition. I haven’t seen several of them yet but usually “important” is not synonymous with “fun” so I’m pretty sure this list won’t change a whole lot.

10) The Place Beyond the Pines

I love a great story and I adore interesting characters. The Place Beyond the Pines has both. I was mesmerized by the interlinking stories and the passage of time. The actions and decisions the characters make cause ripple effects that feel earned and compelling. I’d put this up with one of the greatest movies about consequences ever, A Place in the Sun (1951).

9) The Iceman

Michael Shannon is a favorite actor of mine (even though he wasn’t given much to work with in Man of Steel this year, he did his best). This is the movie to watch if you want to see a character with some meat to him. I love true stories that are so crazy you almost can’t believe they’re true. The true story of a hit man leading a double life as a loving family man. Not even his family knew the truth. Look for a scene-stealing performance from Chris Evans (Captain America himself) as well.

8) John Dies at the End

Don Coscarelli is one of my favorite directors. Not only did he make the Phantasm series which is all kinds of crazy horror ideas mixed together and Bubba Ho-Tep (a Bruce Campbell masterpiece), he also made a childhood favorite, The Beastmaster. Don’s never had the kind of budget that would do his work the justice it deserves but the guy does more with a few million than many films with budgets north of $50 million. The film is totally bizarre (as expected) but also a blast. So much creativity. You will never be able to guess what happens next and that’s the way I like it.

7) Phantom

I’m a huge fan of submarine movies and Phantom doesn’t disappoint. Ed Harris plays the captain of a Soviet submarine. I love that they didn’t force the actors to speak in Russian accents. It’s got tight quarters, lots of close-ups of people sweating, claustrophobia, and suspense. It’s great to see David Duchovny playing a slimy party-hack who’s the ultimate foil to Ed Harris’s haunted captain. This one flew under the radar but I loved it.

6) World War Z

On paper, World War Z should be a complete disaster. Massive reshoots at the latest possible minute. Rewrites and actor confusion. Whole parts of the story thrown in the garbage. Massive overages in the budget. These are usually tell-tale signs of a box office disaster. I had low expectations going into this but I was pleasantly surprised. Liked it so much we saw it several times. Is it like the book? Nope. Is that okay? Yep. The PG-13 rating doesn’t hurt the suspense and sometimes adds to it because you don’t get to see everything. Your imagination can be much worse. But what takes this one over the top for me is the hugely gutsy decision to end on a slow-burn, intimate final scene. The action goes from gigantic to close and personal and I love it for that.

Here’s part 2.

8 Most Underrated Christmas Movies

December 19, 2013 By Ben Lane Hodson in Movies

We all know about Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated), and Charlie Brown’s Christmas. Those are the beloved favorites everyone looks forward to each year. But what about some lesser known Christmas movies?

Here’s a list of some Christmas movies I consider underrated. These are films that deserve more attention. Some of them you may not have seen or even heard of before.

8) Arthur Christmas (2011)

What a huge surprise this film was in 2011. On a whim, I went with the kids expecting to have to suffer through a children’s film with bathroom humor and self-referential movie spoofs. What I got was a heart-warming and clever story that had me smiling ear to ear when grandpa steals the sled and makes a break from the North Pole with Arthur. Ardman Studios (the people behind Wallace and Gromit) prove once again that they have a knack for great characters.

7) Scrooged (1988)

Bill Murray spouting sarcastic dialogue about Christmas while playing a TV executive with a crazy twist on the classic Christmas Carol story? I’m in. This is so “80’s” it couldn’t exist in any other decade. If you like Bill Murray’s sense of humor, you will absolutely love this one. If not, well…

6) The Small One (1978)

Brilliant Disney animator, Don Bluth (The Secret of Nimh) directed this lesser-known film about a boy who is trying to sell his donkey “small one.” The animation is classic Disney, the story inspiring, and the ending where you find out who ends up buying the donkey is the perfect Christmas tie-in.

5) Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

Worth watching for the title alone, this is the all-time most ridiculous Christmas movie. Martians come to Earth and kidnap Santa because they don’t have anyone on Mars to deliver presents to the Martian children. Yep, a rock-solid plot. This film is dripping with camp. It’s a laugh-out-loud movie disaster the whole family can enjoy.

4) Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (1977)

This list would not be complete without at least one puppet movie. None other than the legendary Jim Henson directs this movie with a lot of heart about a poor otter family that risks everything to try and win a Christmas talent contest. The songs are now modern-day Christmas favorites. The pacing is a little slower for younger kids but if they can make it through, the warmth of the ending is truly a Christmas gift.

3) Mr. Krueger’s Christmas (1980)

James Stewart is my all-time favorite actor. Towards the end of his brilliant career, he did this little short film for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This movie brought me to tears the first time I saw it as a kid. Stewart’s scene with the Christ-child in the nativity where he expresses his love for Jesus and talks about his own weaknesses is one of the most powerful Christmas scenes I’ve ever seen acted.

2) Love Actually (2003)

I don’t care if it is sentimental, I love, Love Actually. There’s humor, romance, and a clever collection of stories about love in all its many varieties. My favorite story is probably the one with Liam Neeson and his love-struck son but each part has its own appeal. If nothing else, if you are a Walking Dead fan, it’s worth watching just to see Andrew Lincoln as a love-sick best man who’s in love with his best friend’s bride. He even speaks in his native English accent!

1) A Christmas Carol (1984)

And my number one favorite I’ve watched nearly every year since it was released is George C. Scott’s genius portrayal of Scrooge in the 1984 version of A Christmas Carol. Scott’s final phase of his career had several brushes with the horror genre including the criminally underrated The Changeling. And this version of the classic Dickens story doesn’t shy away from the macabre. There is a definite creep factor with the ghosts, Scott is the quintessential Scrooge, his change at the end feels earned and real, the ghosts are perfect, Tiny Tim isn’t too annoying, and the Victorian setting feels lived in and believable. My favorite interpretation of this classic.

The End of Blockbuster Video

December 5, 2013 By Ben Lane Hodson in Movies

The writing’s been on the wall for a long time now. Physical media is going away. It happened nearly 10 years ago with music. MP3’s drove a stake into the heart of CD’s. It took a while for movies to catch up. DVD’s held so much more information than a song track and bandwidth wasn’t fast enough to transfer the size of files a digital movie required. All of that’s changed now.

This past month, we witnessed a major step towards the end of all physical media. Blockbuster video, the oftentimes despised nationwide video rental chain has closed their doors forever. Judging by the reactions on social media, it was a joyous occasion for most. The endless late fees, coupled with poor customer service and an anemic video selection of mass market titles made it obvious years ago that Blockbuster’s days were numbered.

What Video Rental Stores Used to be Like

My memories of renting videos are much different from the experience a big rental store like Blockbuster (or Hollywood video – remember them?) offered. As a kid, we didn’t own a VCR. If we did well on our grades or for other special occasions, we would go to the corner video store and each get to pick out a VHS movie (we thankfully missed the early Beta craze). Along with our video rentals, we would also rent a VHS player to be able to watch them on our TV back at home. Not having gone to a lot of movies in the theater, home video seemed miraculous back then. Just being able to watch The Empire Strikes Back after it had left the theaters was worth it alone.

Later in High School, DVD’s hit and the back catalogs of older films became easier to find. We spent a summer watching nearly all 100 films from the AFI’s Top 100 Best Films of All Time list. We owned a DVD player by then and even had surround sound installed (a big deal at the time). It was almost like being in the theater.

But the best thing of all was going to the video store to find something to rent. We’d walk the aisles for hours, uncovering all kinds of bizarre films we didn’t even know existed. The pulpy DVD covers of the late 70’s and early 80’s were magical. You could get lost on the horror aisle where every cover promised a night of terror and dismemberment. Every science fiction cover showed a new unexplored world, with many of the covers actually being more interesting than the film itself.

A Bittersweet Goodbye

So why am I not joining in the shouts of joy over Blockbuster’s demise? On the one hand, we now have many great films available on demand and in HD to be played whenever you want. On the other hand, we’ve lost access to a lot of great films that were only available on VHS or DVD. For all the great things about Netflix, its streaming catalog is still shallow.

I think about an amazing independent video store like Scarecrow Video in Seattle who is on the verge of going out of business and I worry about all of the great undiscovered titles that we won’t have access to anymore. Unless you’re looking for a movie less than 6 months old and very mainstream, Redbox won’t have it either.

I wouldn’t know about some of my all-time favorite movies if it weren’t for video rental stores. So it’s a bittersweet goodbye, not because I loved Blockbuster but because it represents an end of a memory. Will we be able to access all of these old and hard-to-find titles one day on-demand? I hope so, but for now, Blockbuster was one of the last places where you could discover something you’d never heard of before and actually hold it in your hands.

Sequels, Prequels, & Reboots

November 28, 2013 By Ben Lane Hodson in Books, Comics, Gaming, Movies

Spend any amount of time reading comments at a movie news website and you’ll notice endless opinions lamenting the end of creativity in Hollywood. Wailing over the latest reboot to a classic film that didn’t need a reboot. Weeping at the next prequel to a movie we loved, that contains absolutely no tension because we already know how it ends. Gnashing of teeth at studio executives working on a sequel to a film that already has three films and is growing more tired with each entry.

How do I know there is so much anxiety over this? Because I’m one of those vocal people that bemoans the lack of unique and creative ideas whether it be movies, books, comics, or even video games. But as much as I’d love to have movie studios and publishers take more risks with untested and innovative projects, I’m afraid the general public has seriously out-voted me with their dollars.

Take a look at this graphic that shows the highest grossing films so far in 2013:

Notice anything familiar? In the top five alone, we have four sequels and one reboot. Of the 22 films listed here, over 2/3 are either sequels or reboots or based on existing properties in another form of media such as books. So why is Hollywood repackaging the same things over and over to us?

Because we buy them. They are a safe bet. For all the complaining from audiences about the lack of creativity, when Hollywood takes a risk on a new property, it won’t even come close to what they can make from an established franchise. The numbers prove that although we say we want more creativity, we don’t support it at the same level.

Why is Hollywood Obsessed with Blockbusters?

Vulture has a great article that describes this phenomena: Why Hollywood Is Caught in the Blockbuster Trap — and Won’t Break Free Anytime Soon. The bottom line is that they are running a business, and businesses want to limit risk as much as possible, and by focusing on established properties, they have the best chance to make the highest profits.

The Paradox of Creative Projects

There’s a bit of an ironic twist to new properties that find success. Pacific Rim, for instance, is a film this year that has a fun and interesting take on the monster / robot genre while not being based on any specific previous film or book. It did well at the box office (although not as well as a sequel would have). But here’s the ironic part. After Pacific Rim was released, fans turned out in droves to talk up the film online. They pleaded for movie-goers to get out and watch the film to support it. Why? So that it could get a sequel!

It’s all about the franchise.

When Will this Trend End?

Not anytime soon. The model is still working. In today’s market where more media is competing for your limited entertainment dollars, safe bets are the first priority. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have been saying for a while now that what it will take to break this trend is a couple of big budget failures, all in one year, that cripple the studios and force to them to take a look at this business model.

When you have all your eggs in a few baskets and they crack, you are forced to re-examine your strategy. The hope is that the long term trend will be more of the big budget spread across smaller films instead of spent on one giant tentpole. This gives room to take smaller risks that have a higher chance to, at least, break even.

The best way to get Hollywood (and any other media publisher for that matter) to produce more new creative ideas is to vote with your dollars. Support the things that are new and innovative. Avoid the sequels, reboots, and prequels if you don’t want more of them.

Trailers should just be a short cut of the Movie

November 21, 2013 By Ben Lane Hodson in Movies

There’s an encouraging trend lately in movie trailers to just show a short clip from the movie instead of a bunch of disjointed cut scenes that usually include bold lettering and obnoxious voice-overs. The other big problem with modern-day trailers is giving away too much of the story. Long gone are the days when trailers would just give you enough to be intrigued and want to see the movie. Now they play like a cliff notes version of the actual film.

The Ender’s Game trailer is a good example of giving everything away. The last frames of the trailer actually show the ending of the movie. Kind of ridiculous.

In a previous post, I mentioned that my all-time favorite trailer is Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove. What I love about it, and trailers like it, is that it gives you a sense of the film without telling you too much. Also, being a comedy, it’s nice that not all of the funny parts of the film are in it (there is a LOT more funny in that movie).

But I’m encouraged as of late with some really effective trailers that were just a cut of one of the scenes from the film. Here are a few this year that were simple, straightforward, and powerful.

Gravity

How to Train your Dragon 2

Hell Comes to Frogtown

And for the uninitiated, the 1988 film, Hell Comes to Frogtown, is a bizarre and classic B-movie. I did a little cutting to make my own trailer for it. Watch this and tell me you are not dying to see the film after only this short clip. Frogs, guns, beautiful girls, action, love story. What more could you want and all in 30 seconds. And you have no idea how this is going to end. Perfect.

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