2006 Doesn't Look Good Either...
Once again, the Oscars monopolized a little time earlier this evening. I don't really watch it for the glamour or the fine ladies in fantastic gowns or any of that shallow nonsense, I watch it because I like to study the winners. I have come to the conclusion that 2005 was a bad year for movies as there was no real clear oscar "winner" as there has been in the past. From a personal standpoint, I can't really point to any movie that came out that really shook me. For me (And a couple people I know), my stamp of approval for a movie is for me to actually go out and plunk down money for a copy. Of all the movies released in 2005, I can think of only one in which I would possibly go out and buy (Batman Begins). On the flip side however, I can point to a LOT of movies which were absolutely terrible.
I'm suddenly reminded of how much I need to stop doing this opinionated bashing of all film. During college, I was notorious among my friends for that. People would take me to a movie and afterward they'd all connect with it on some level and I'd be the one who hated it. They'd 'ohh' and 'ahh' condescendingly as I picked the film apart piece by piece. At one point, I decided to stop being so outwardly opinionated because I realized it annoyed people. I still hate 90% of all movies that come along the line, but I don't really blab about it anymore. If someone asks me about a certain movie and I have an opinion, nowadays I usually just answer with a simple, "ehh" or "rent it first" or "woo!"
With all that said, I'll continue with the Oscars dialogue. Crash, a movie I've heard next to nothing about, appears to have pulled the impossible out of thin air and stolen the best picture award from Brokeback Mountain. For weeks, everyone believed BM would win. I mean, people can't shut up about the movie and it's won every other major award elsewhere in Hollywood since it came out. I can only imagine the pure shock BM producers must have had when Crash won. I bet they were sitting there with their acceptance speech in their hand ready to go and the muscles in their legs prepared to lift them out of their seats. They were probably mentally preparing for their ascent to the podium by counting the stairs they'd have to climb and also getting ready to hug their entourage. I haven't seen Crash myself, but apparently it's one of those movies you either really love or hate. I find it strange that the underdog won. Deep down, I'm happy. Brokeback Mountain has been talked about and talked about and talked about... It seems like I've already seen it and I'm not impressed. Time will tell. I'll be using my new Blockbuster Online rental account for some of these movies.
But yea, 2005 was a bad year. You don't have to take my word for it, look at the actual box office ticket sales. For the first time since 1991, the industry took in less money than it had the previous year. Furthermore, it's the largest percentage fall since complete records were officially kept in 1980. Why did this happen? Are consumers becoming as critical as I am about cinema? Have people had it with rising ticket prices for weaker movies? Are they asking themselves questions like, where is the Titanic of the 21st century? Where's the next "Lord of the Rings"-caliber epic? What the hell went wrong with the War of the Worlds remake?
It's hard to be an optimist when 2006 doesn't look good either....
I'm suddenly reminded of how much I need to stop doing this opinionated bashing of all film. During college, I was notorious among my friends for that. People would take me to a movie and afterward they'd all connect with it on some level and I'd be the one who hated it. They'd 'ohh' and 'ahh' condescendingly as I picked the film apart piece by piece. At one point, I decided to stop being so outwardly opinionated because I realized it annoyed people. I still hate 90% of all movies that come along the line, but I don't really blab about it anymore. If someone asks me about a certain movie and I have an opinion, nowadays I usually just answer with a simple, "ehh" or "rent it first" or "woo!"
With all that said, I'll continue with the Oscars dialogue. Crash, a movie I've heard next to nothing about, appears to have pulled the impossible out of thin air and stolen the best picture award from Brokeback Mountain. For weeks, everyone believed BM would win. I mean, people can't shut up about the movie and it's won every other major award elsewhere in Hollywood since it came out. I can only imagine the pure shock BM producers must have had when Crash won. I bet they were sitting there with their acceptance speech in their hand ready to go and the muscles in their legs prepared to lift them out of their seats. They were probably mentally preparing for their ascent to the podium by counting the stairs they'd have to climb and also getting ready to hug their entourage. I haven't seen Crash myself, but apparently it's one of those movies you either really love or hate. I find it strange that the underdog won. Deep down, I'm happy. Brokeback Mountain has been talked about and talked about and talked about... It seems like I've already seen it and I'm not impressed. Time will tell. I'll be using my new Blockbuster Online rental account for some of these movies.
But yea, 2005 was a bad year. You don't have to take my word for it, look at the actual box office ticket sales. For the first time since 1991, the industry took in less money than it had the previous year. Furthermore, it's the largest percentage fall since complete records were officially kept in 1980. Why did this happen? Are consumers becoming as critical as I am about cinema? Have people had it with rising ticket prices for weaker movies? Are they asking themselves questions like, where is the Titanic of the 21st century? Where's the next "Lord of the Rings"-caliber epic? What the hell went wrong with the War of the Worlds remake?
It's hard to be an optimist when 2006 doesn't look good either....