Thursday, January 06, 2011

Lingering Thoughts on Movie Trends

As we embrace the new year, what are some of the best films that you've remembered from the past couple years? If you recall, "The Dark Knight" was the top-grossing film of 2008. "Avatar" out-grossed Batman the following year. And so what are some of the best, currently showing or upcoming movies in 2011? I might say that none carries the same grandness or hype that The Dark Knight or Avatar had brought to moviegoers (with a few exceptions which I will elaborate later). Looking back, 2010 just doesn't seem to have that single  die-die, MUST-WATCH film event of the year that brings everyone around you to the cinemas - which got me thinking, does the term "blockbuster" even mean anything these days? Is there a decline in movies that are worth your time to go to the theaters and money to spend on tickets? Is the movie industry (Hollywood in particular) losing originality and creativity?

Granted, I haven't seen ALL the films in 2010, and there are a few exceptions which precludes my writing (examples of critically-acclaimed films such as "Inception" or "Toy Story 3") but in general, who's to say that aren't lesser and lesser good movies out there these days? As someone who aspires to work in the movie industry, I thought I would spend sometime outlining the trends I'd observed in movies these days.

They say that "art imitates life", but in movies, it's just "art imitating art" (if one considers movies to be an art form anyway). One definitive way of determining the commercial success of a movie is to check out the box-office results. According to Wikipedia (as of November 2010), the top-grossing movies in 2010 are: 


I had came up with several observations looking at these: of the 10 top-grossing films of 2010, 4 of them are sequels, 2 "revivals" (Clash of the Titans and Karate Kid). Amongst them 4 are animated films. If one were to consider Alice in Wonderland to be a live-action adaptation of the fairytale, Inception could arguably be the live-action counterpart to the 2006 anime "Paprika", which features a similar plot about the stealing of one's dreams. These observations led me to believe that, firstly, animations are slowly becoming the top-earners in movies box-office gross, and secondly, sequels and revivals are bankable. However, the main crux of my hypothesis, that movies are losing originality and creativity, lies not in the way stories are told, as there are endless untold stories out there that could be told in a million different ways. My gripe with movies these days are its source materials - where their ideas are derived from, not how their ideas are told. For instance, one could argue that the story of "Avatar" is merely a variation of "Dances with Wolves" or "Pocohontas", albeit in a futuristic setting. The fact remains is that, more often than not, art imitates art, but it all comes down to how filmmakers could not merely imitate, but re-invent and reinvigorate existing "art". The Dark Knight is an example of how the existing story of Batman is revived and brought back to the screen, better suited for the modern audience than its 1980s predecessors (Tim Burton's Batman movies) and succeeding at it.

In essence, stories have been told and re-told in innumerable ways. The storylines in movies are crafted from screenwriters alone, or created, adapted, or derived entirely from other existing mediums, namely books, comics, TV shows, and even video games. As fresh new ideas for feature films seem to wear thin, filmmakers are looking toward these mediums to come up with fresh new films. Personally, some of the movies which I've been drawn to were derived from books, such as "Repo Men" and "Shutter Island". The "Millennium" trilogy films and the upcoming Cohen Brothers' "True Grit" which I've placed on my to-watch list were also based on novels. Movies based on original screenplay materials, and handled in the hands of seasoned directors, such as David Fincher's "The Social Network" and Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan" are also enticing to me. These are the handful of films this year that I would contest as "original" in terms of its source materials. My gripe about the hundreds of other movies produced in 2010 are that they are becoming more derivative than ever, and that there are more blockbusters out there than are rehashing old franchises or simply looking to revive old classics.

SEQUELS:
4 out of the top 10 grossing movies in 2010 are sequels, indicating that audiences are willing to go back to the cinemas to watch more of the same thing if the previous movies were good. There seems to be an increase in unnecessary sequels such as the "Alvin & The Chipmunk "Squeakquel", or "Paranormal Activity 2", which cashes in on the success of the first movie. There have also been a number of sequels to notable titles from the 80s, such as "Predators" and "Wall Street 2", both of which which were disappointing and failed to live up to the hype. The upcoming "Tron Legacy" is a follow-up to the original which was the first film to feature 3D imagery, and in this day and age, might need more than just 3D effects to dazzle today's audiences.

3D MOVIES & REVIVALS:
Another draw to movies is the 3D medium. I must admit that the first thing which lured me to watch "Avatar" in the cinemas was its 3D stereoscopic effects, which in its own right, immerses audience "deeper" into the movie, although some have labeled or criticized it as being gimmicky and when not done well (e.g. Clash of the Titans) could look fake and flat. With 3D being the next big thing since colour TVs, 3D movies are  starting to be more common. Check out "Resident Evil Afterlife 3D", "Saw 3D", "Jackass 3D" and "Piranha 3D", all released in 2010. Existing titles or old classics have become ideal candidates for revivals, revisits or reboots, such as "The Wolfman", "Nightmare On Elm Street", "Last House On The Left", "Death At A Funeral", "I Spit On Your Grave". Strangely, most of these revisits seem to be horror films (think past years Halloween, Friday The 13th, or American remakes of Asian Horror flicks) which makes me wonder if the horror genre has become stagnant or over-saturated with gory, torture-porn-slasher flicks (think Saw & Hostel) that it necessitates more violent adaptations of old classics for today's audience.

TV SHOWS, GAMES & COMIC BOOK MOVIES:
Where novels left off, TV-show, games, and comic book-inspired movies fill the gap for today's film market. "The A-Team" was based on an old American TV show of the same name, and the raunchy comedy MacGruber was based off a sketch off from Saturday Night Live. Sixth-sense director's "Last Airbender" was based off the Nickelodeon cartoon. Movies based off of popular video game titles also became the norm - "Tekken" and "The King of Fighters" are two of such movies which I felt are unworthy of the same title to the games they were based on. Lastly, comics make for adequate motion pictures, since filmmakers could practically take comic panels, which are pretty much like storyboards, and adapt it panel-by-panel for the screen. Sin City, 300, Hulk, Iron Man, Wanted, and Watchmen are just some of the prime examples of the comic book movie genre. The two prominent comic book films this year are "Kick-Ass" and "The Losers".

"PIXAR-ESQUE"  ANIMATIONS:
Pixar's movies have been the pinnacle of the 3D film market, clinching the Oscars year after year in the animated features category. Various other movie studios seem to be in the footsteps of Pixar, and along the way, one gets to witness the putrid hybrid/turd-mash of an animation called "Megamind", an unnecessary 3D trash that reeks of characters from the already-average 2009 title "Monsters vs Aliens" and Pixar's first-of-its-kind "The Incredibles", which parodies the superhero genre. Though I have yet to see Megamind ans my first impressions of the flick may seemed bias, but frankly, who would want to pay money to see the same thing that you've already seen before, now that it's in regurgitated-crap form?

Now that I've elaborated on my observations and thoughts about movies that have been lingering on in my mind, it's time for me to catch these films which I've been anticipating to watch when they're released:

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