Inventory of Non-Original Films From the Last Decade

My goal in selecting films (especially at the movie theater) is to generally support original films. This is a necessity in a moviegoing landscape in which there’s barely air to breath for non-I.P. films.

However, I don’t bat .1000 and there is certainly a certain amount of films that are worth seeing anyway. Chris Nolan was originally hesitant to direct the Batman series because he didn’t want to be hemmed in. He eventually decided that he could make Gotham anything he wanted it to be and didn’t have to be beholden Tim Burton’s vision. It’s under that attitude that a lot of auteurs take these projects, and there is the plus of bigger budgets and paychecks . Or at least say that in hopes of stomaching the bigger paychecks.

However, there are limits in terms of the absurdity of these concepts. Perhaps to my detriment, I would not see Lego Movie no matter how good people said it was. A franchise based on toys that openly admits in the title that it’s a cash grab for merchandise sales? No thanks.

I looked through every non-original film I've seen in each of the years since I started keeping track of my movie viewing habits around 2002.

It should also be noted that some very acclaimed films like The Joker, Anatomy of a Fall, All Quiet on The Western Front, Mad Max Fury Road, Star Wars the Force Awakenings, Departed and Chicago were all unoriginal, so it's not necessarily an indicator of bad quality and there are levels to which these are original or unoriginal.

2024:

Borderlands-Video game Adaptation

Gladiator 2-Sequel

Wicked-Broadway adaptation

Madame Webb-Comic book adaptation

Inside Out 2-Sequel

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire: Sequel

Dune 2: Sequel

Best: Wicked certainly capitalized on the technical capacities of cinema. The color palette, richness of sound, and technical effects are more than enough to justify this cinematic adaptation. Not to mention, the Kubrick-like task of hand planting every rose for the multi-colored theme in the opening scene.

2023:

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny-Sequel

Asterisk and Obelisk-Comic book adaptation

Super Mario Brothers-Video game/TV adaptation

Haunting in Venice-Sequel (Remake)

Mission Impossible 7-Sequel

Book Club 2-Sequel

Anatomy of a Fall-Remake (Anatomy of a Murder)

Best: I applaud Haunting in Venice for going in new directions with the same character and theme. But the winner is Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny for doing so many things that one would think impossible for an action film with an 80-year-old lead. The film works with Harrison Ford’s age and continues to deliver realistic action scenes; it blends historical intrigue into its plot masterfully; it matches the tone of the original; it exhibits excellent chemistry between the leads; and it continues the motif of moving the film forward a decade and playing around in the entrapping of the 60s.

2022:

Enola Holmes 2-Sequel (Spin-Off)

Death on the Nile-Sequel (Remake/Literary)

Rosalie-spin-Off (Romeo and Juliet)

Dr Strange and the Multiverse-Sequel/Crossover

Valet-Remake

Top Gun Maverick-Sequel

Knives Out: Glass Onion-Sequel

Hotel Transylvania 4-Sequel

Batman-Reboot

Winner: Obviously, Top Gun. The film doesn’t aim for depth but feel-good summer fun with a dose of “USA Rules!” sentimentality, and it works. Tom Cruise never has to do much acting to simply be Tom Cruise, but the cast is a murderer’s row of younger stars and watching them have the time of their lives is where the party is.

2021:

Tick Tick Boom-Broadway Adaptation

Cruella-Live action remake

Space Jam 2-Sequel/Reboot

Legend of Shang-Tsi-Comic Book Adaptation

West Side Story-remake

Winner: Space Jam 2. The good-natured LeBron James can only carry the movie so far, but it’s really about these archetypic cartoons and the visual humor of the animators keeping up with them in the story. 

Edit: I forgot West Side Story, so yes, that. Remaking a classic is no easy task, and Spielberg and crew do an amazing job of reinventing each dance number with greater context and (I’m not going to say better; how can you top Jerome Robbins?) unique panache. The film is prescient and rich without feeling too bluntly political.

 

2020:
Bill and Ted Face the Music-Sequel

Rebecca-Remake

New Mutants-Spin-Off

Birds of Prey-Spin-Off

Prom-Musical Adaptation

Borat 2-Sequel (TV adaptation)

Enola Holmes-Spin-Off (Public Domain)

Downhill Remake (Force Majuere)

Sonic the Hedgehog-Video Game adaptation

Winner: Bill and Ted Face the Music is a sequel with a 29-year lag, so this was extra special watching it in a movie theater. It has a very unique sense of humor that harkens to the airheads of the 1980s with the twist that they are heroes on a cosmic scale: The fate of humanity somehow rests on them.

However, the American remake of Force Majuere is just the right combination of cringe humor and pathos to hit me in the right places.

2019:

Aladdin-Live Action Remake

Zombieland 2-Sequel

Men In Black International—Spin Off

Terminator Dark Fate-Sequel/Spin-Off

X-Men Dark Phoenix-Sequel (Reboot)

Jumanji Next Level-Sequel (Game Adaptation/Remake)

What Men Want-Remake

Joker-Spin-Off

Dumbo-Live Action Remake

Frozen 2-Sequel

If I went off my top ten list, it would be Joker, but is that really an intellectual property work. It’s mostly just a grand manifesto on the origins of violence marginally disguised as a superhero flick. I applaud it’s marketing and the fact that it could use the DC Comics banner to dupe a lot of low-literacy movie goers into seeing a more sophisticated film.

But in terms of a film that is riding the tails off a franchise, Zombieland 2 was a lot of fun. The chemistry of the gang, the comic relief provided by the Zoey Deutsch character, and in all honesty, I’ve never seen the zombie set-up done so well for a light comic relief angle.

2018:

Wreck It Ralph 2-Sequel

Tomb Raider-Reboot

Teen Titans Go to the Movies-TV Adaptation

Ocean’s 8-Reboot/Spin-Off

Ant Man and the Wasp-Sequel (Comic Book Adaptation)

Hotel Transylvania 3-Sequel
Solo-Prequel

Aquaman-Comic Book Adaptation

Overboard-Remake

A lot of serviceable entries here but no stand-outs. Solo has the epic feel of a Star Wars production and it’s not particularly bad. Alicia Vickaner, one of my favorite actresses, brings a certain credibility to Tomb Raider. Wreck It Ralph and Hotel Transylvania are among my favorite cartoon franchises. But the award goes to Aquaman. It’s so ridiculous (particularly from a science perspective), it goes back to being good again. This isn’t to suggest that Jason Momoa is as charming as he thinks he is, but he’s serviceable and doesn’t get in the way of the plot.

2017:
Cars 3- Sequel

Wonder Woman-Comic book adaptation

Kong: Skull Island-Prequel

Murder on the Orient Express-Remake
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End - Sequel

Murder on the Orient Express is a thinking man’s tent pole. The original was directed by the great Sidney Lumet and the cast had no less than six Oscar winners along with the incomparable Tony Perkins and Jacqueline Bisset. This one also has an all-star cast with  challenging roles to sink their teeth into. It’s easy in an ensemble piece like this for the plot to become an afterthought, but I found myself more into the plot than before. Was the CGI a little overdone? Admittedly, yes. Was Kenneth Branagh a little hammy? Sure, but it’s his damn movie, so I’ll let it slide.

2016:

Inferno-Sequel (Book adaptation)

Star Trek Beyond-Sequel

Now You See Me 2-Sequel

Suicide Squad-Spinoff/Comic Book Adaptation

Magnificent Seven-Remake

Batman vs Superman-Crossover

X-Men Apocalypse-Sequel (Reboot)

Finding Dory-Sequel

Ben Hur-Remake

Dr. Strange-Comic Book Adaptation

Alice Through the Looking Glass-Sequel

Ghostbusters-Remake

I’m calling a  four-way tie.

1)      Now You See Me is my guilty pleasure. I’m sure every aspiring musician has dreams of not just wowing the audience but using his abracadabra to play robin hood, engage in ninja fighting, and be among the world’s most popular celebrities. It’s wish fulfillment at its most blatant, but I’m here for it.

2)      Magnificent Seven gives us the pleasure of allowing some acting giants (Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Chris Platt) to play on the same time for once. There’s something incredible about a Western with authentic special effects. I’m sure Sam Mendes and Christopher Nolan would be complimentary of the explosives work that went into these battle scenes

3)      X-Men Apocalypse is a battle royale that juggles multiple storylines and character arcs in a way akin to a great ensemble film. Seeing Storm’s roots in Kenya or the Callabas’s equivalent of the dark web for mutant acquisitions. Quite a lot to play with.

4)      Finding Dory-There was a definite worry in the first half that Dory was just a drag on Nemo and Marlin. She was just grating, unappreciative, and not worth the trouble. But, man, the film hit me somewhere along the way. I was cheering and crying for the eventual reunion and in the same way that Ellen DeGeneres stole the show in Finding Nemo, Ed O’Neill surprised me in a big way here. Not to mention, you never go wrong with underseas visuals.

2015:

Jurassic World-Sequel/Reboot

Man from Uncle-TV Adaptation

Star Wars: The Force Awakens-Sequel/Reboot

Terminator Genysis-Reboot

Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2-Sequel

Hotel Transylvania 2-Sequel

Hot Tub Time Machine 2-Sequel

Pitch Perfect 2-Sequel

Ant Man-Comic book adaptation

Mad Max Fury Road-Reboot/Spin-Off

Not loving the aesthetic of Mad Max Fury Road, I’m tempted to go with Man from Uncle which oozed style and sophistication. However, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was another testament to the power of JJ Abrams as a storyteller. It seemed like the Star Wars story had come to a perfect conclusion, but JJ Abrams found a new angle on it.

2014:

Penguins of Madagascar-Spin Off

X-Men Days of Future Past-Sequel/Prequel

Into the Woods-Broadway Adaptation

Jack Ryan: CIA-Reboot

Captain America: Winter Soldier-Sequel

Into the Woods is definitely an unusually dark and playful musical even if there’s almost too much tragedy to take. Considering I feel like X-Men Apocalypse makes better use of its ensemble. Penguins of Madagascar is a weak entry in the field.

Nine Notes on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Just finished this film. Once again, the critics are wrong. It's a great film that is pretty much indistinguishable from the originals stylistically. James Mangold once again gives life to an old genre:

-Phoebe Waller-Bridge is killing it, though I'm curious about Shia LaBeouf's absence. I wouldn't put him in cancelled celebrity territory, considering Honey Boy was such a self-aware work about his PTSD. Was it mostly because Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf didn't get along? Depending on how much you know about Harrison's gruff personality and dislike for working with Shia, it made for some very false notes when Harrison Ford was lamenting how much his son was lost (when we know Harrison couldn't stand his "son").

-I notice the villain is a professor at the University of Alabama which seems a cheap shot at red states: The implication being that these states were horrible to Black people, so sure, it probably makes sense they'd harbor Nazis. In real life, Nazis were harbored in Latin American countries, which were more progressive towards race than we were at this time anyway.

-Towards the beginning when Boyd Holbrook first appears with a man in a cane or crutches and he and two other goons corner Indy in a library. We don't see a shot of his death, but it's implied that he's crushed to death by several bookshelves. A bit too gruesome for an old guy in crutches? Besides if they killed the seceretery and other old professor, why not just kill Indy in that scene?

-I can see Indy being more a nominal hero in this story considering Mads' character strikes me mostly as evil because he's a scholar who happens to have been a Nazi in his past. In Raiders, Toht was planning on torturing Marion even when she surrendered and Belloq was quite comfortable killing Indy as a matter of egotistic rivalry. Mola Ram was framed as a devil worshipper (cultural relativism aside) and cult leader who had imprisoned every child within a 15-mile radius. In contrast, Doctor Voller mostly left the murdering up to the henchman, and even when he does pull the trigger, it's because of a necessity of his plan. 

-I've had so many brilliant professors in college who suffered the unbearable apathy of spoiled rich students who didn't belong in college. Oh, the tragedy. Just remember, apathetic college students, you're professor could have braved death multiple times and fought under Pancho Villa

-Props to the film for lampashading in dialogue an awareness that Indiana Jones straddled the line between grave robber and archeologist. I wouldn't want to see him completely cancelled through a modern lens, as an outdated cultural relic but some discussion of it is necessary.

-The found family trope is here and that's not a particularly deep take that Teddy is an stand-in for Short Round. However, there's a lot to be said for the fact that through five films, Indy has shown a strong affinity for every platonic relationship in his life: Sallah, Marcus, Oxley, the newly introduced Basil Shaw, and there must be some abounding sense of guilt that he wasn't there for his goddaughter. Even if Basil Shaw and Helena are canon foreigners, it's clever how one can already map out this conflict based on Indy's past relationships.

-It has to be said "wombat" is a dumb nickname. Maybe that's what chased her away

-There's nothing particularly charming about the modernization of the map overlays.

Who Should Have Been Invited to the Academy's Acting Branch (a Year-by-Year Simulation)

One of the less publicized elements of the Academy Awards is who gets invited to join the Academy every year. Every year, a press release gets sent out and it usually gets pushed down to the proverbial page six of Hollywood trade magazines. It doesn’t really get much more than an obligatory post on corresponding entertainment websites.

From digging up press releases, it appears that about 20-25 are from the actors branch. This often includes people who have just been nominated for the first time (provided they didn’t get an at-large invite).

This is the 2014 list which includes 5 first-time nominees from the year before, a nominee from 2005 (David Straithairn) who’s paperwork must have gotten lost in the shuffle, a variety of people who were hot at the moment (Josh Hutcherson coming off the Hunger Games; Julia Louis-Dreyfuss having the hit movie Enough Said) with people who had been amassing notable roles for a while (Ben Foster, Beth Grant)

Barkhad Abdi – “Captain Phillips”, Clancy Brown – “The Hurricane,” “The Shawshank Redeption”
Paul Dano – “12 Years a Slave,” “Prisoners”, *Michael Fassbender – “12 Years a Slave,” “Shame”,
Ben Foster – “Lone Survivor,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”, Beth Grant – “The Artist,” “No Country for Old Men”, Clark Gregg – “Much Ado about Nothing,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”, *Sally Hawkins – “Blue Jasmine,” “Happy-Go-Lucky”, Josh Hutcherson – “The Hunger Games,” “The Kids Are All Right”. Julia Louis-Dreyfus – “Enough Said,” “Planes”, Kelly Macdonald – “Brave,” “No Country for Old Men”, Mads Mikkelsen – “The Hunt,” “Casino Royale”, Joel McKinnon Miller – “Super 8,” “The Truman Show”, Cillian Murphy – “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Inception”, *Lupita Nyong'o – “Non-Stop,” “12 Years a Slave”, Rob Riggle – “21 Jump Street,” “The Hangover”, Chris Rock – “Grown Ups 2,” “Madagascar” *June Squibb – “Nebraska,” “About Schmidt”, Jason Statham – “Parker,” “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”. David Strathairn – “Lincoln,” “Good Night, and Good Luck.

But what if we made parlor games out of who would get invited each year to the extent that we obsess around predicting the Oscars? Wouldn’t that be fun for us? Well, I can certainly say it was fun for me when I tried this exercise out for myself for the last 15 years.

I’m going to also operate under a few assumptions:

-An actor has to have at least appeared in a film in the past year before the Oscars.

-To squeeze the pressure on the process, 12 per year

-Breakout performances by people who were unknown before will have a harder time getting in because the Academy would want to award people who’ve been at it at least for a little while. At the same time, people who are hot right now, either commercially, or just earned Oscar buzz but didn’t make the cut, would also get strong consideration so there will be a balance between these forces.

-Comedy doesn’t get rewarded at the Oscars so this will be a way that the Academy would be to even the playing field.

-Actors who are successful in another medium like TV or Broadway will get in a bit more immediately once they make a good film

-As with the Oscar nominations, your chances of getting in will go up if you’re attached to a film that gets a lot of awards

-Child actors Hailie Steinfeld and Quevenzhane Wallis were not invited to join the Academy after being nominated. This is probably because they would need parental approval to even watch the other nominated movies and attend Academy-sanctioned events, so I’m assuming the Academy would have a preference for adults

-The Academy would have a need for international diversity to an extent. It would be hard enough for a critical mass to gather around an obscure film from, say, Bangladesh, but the kinds of international films that make dents at the Oscars would gain advantage. After #oscarssowhite, I’m assuming that there was a shift from international diversity to racial diversity

I’ll show you one example of my picks:

2008:

Aaron Eckhart-Eckhart broke out in the 1997 indie film In the Company of Men and had been more of a B-list leading man (someone who might carry an off-beat film) than someone at the top of the casting charts. This pick would be a response to Dark Knight being the biggest hit of the year and spillover from a number of leading roles in less successful films like Thank You for Smoking and No Reservations.

Ann Savage-An 87-year-old actress who dazzled in the 1945 film Detour before languishing in obscurity and being rediscovered at a screening of her film (literally: People didn’t know she was in attendance). She was cast in the indie My Winnipeg.

Brendan Gleeson-Today, Brendan Gleeson is a lot more visible considering his starring role in Mr. Mercedes, his guest role in his kids’ series Frank of Ireland, his lead in the dark morality tale Calvary, and his Oscar-nominated role in Banshees of Inisherin. He had a string of memorable supporting roles but it’s arguable if Cold Mountain or Gangs of New York would have caught the attention enough to meet the threshold.

Dev Patel and Frida Pinto-I’m assuming that the Academy’s love for Slumdog Millionaire also includes a wake-up call that they have few South Asians among their ranks.  

Hiam Abbass-Abbass got some Oscar buzz for the Oscar underdog  The Visitor which managed to land Richard Jenkins one of the unlikeliest lead actor nominations I’ve ever witnessed. She went on to play the mom in Ramy.

James Franco-It’s highly possible James Franco could have gotten earlier considering Spiderman was such a big sensation when it broke the $100 million mark in 2002 and he had a big presence in all three films. He also did headline his first film Annapolis in 2006, but 2008 is when he starred in Milk (garnering significant  Oscar buzz) which was a BP nominee and showed off his comic (pot-smoking) side in Pineapple Express.

Mathieu Alarmic-Rose to prominence the year before with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (hello, indie cred) and then was a Bond villain (ironically, in one of the franchise’s more arty attempts with its en media res beginning and brooding pathos) so the commercial box is checked as well.  

Oliver Platt-Frost/Nixon was a BP nominee that featured four character actors who had not been nominated. Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, and Sam Rockwell. I’m assuming Bacon (who has been acting since the 80s) would have made the cut by now. Although a lot of people like to reverse engineer Sam Rockwell’s career since his Oscar win to suggest he was always hot shit, he was more of a cult figure who was consistently reliable but rarely on the top of the marquee. Sheen’s biggest roles required him to be overshadowed by a bigger personality (Queen, Frost/Nixon). Platt has been one of the Three Musketeers and headlined his own TV show but has he ever had his day in the sun?

Karen Allen-Without checking IMDB, can you name the highlights of Karen Allen’s career outside Indiana Jones? It’s actually not a bad list: Starman, In the Bedroom, Malcolm X, National Lampoon’s Animal House, The Perfect Storm and the Sandlot, although these roles are all pretty small. Still, being a solid working actress for the preceeding 25 years combined with one certifiable pop culture icon as Marion Ravenwood is enough to get her in.

Shia LaBeouf-The only disadvantage would have been youth in 2008. As the heir apparent to Indiana Jones and the leading man of Transformers, LaBeouf was killing it commercially and still made room for a number of smaller films like Eagle Eye, Disturbia, Bobby, and a Guide to Recognizing Your Saints over the past three years.

Thandiwe Newton-Playing Condolezza Rice in W. was a pretty high task even if it didn’t garner Oscar nomination (that director Oliver Stone peaked between 1986 and 1991 all but ensured that none of the actors from W. would never be considered). There wasn’t as much of a push for racial diversity, but there was still some and she was the female lead in Run Fatboy Run the year before and had appeared in the best picture winner Crash. She'd go on to win an Emmy for Westworld.

Runners-Up: Scott Glenn, Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sam Rockwell, Michael Sheen, Omar Benson Miller

 

2009:
Danny McBride, Emily Blunt, James Gandolfini, James McAvoy, Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, Maya Rudolph, Melanie Laurent, Michael Stuhlbarg, Melanie Lynskey, Ryan Reynolds, Sam Rockwell, Zoe Saldana

Runners Up: Paula Patton, Rachel Harris, Daniel Bruehl, Dianne Kruger, Rachel McAdams, Bradley Cooper, Rosamund Pike

2010:

Andrew Garfield, Daniel Radcliffe, Dwayne the Rock Johnson, Emma Watson, Emily Mortimer, Jason Schwartzman, Jon Hamm, Mila Kunis, Paul Rudd, Rachel McAdams, Vincent Cassell, Zach Galifianakis

Runners-Up: Olivia Williams, Michael Cera, Patrick Wilson, Steve Carell

2011

Anthony Mackie, Armie Hammer, Beth Grant, Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Jay Zhao, Justin Timberlake, Ian McShane, Kristen Wiig, Michael Fassbender, Steve Carrell, Tom Hardy

Runners-Up: Olivia Wilde, Wendy McLoven-Coverly, Matt Lillard, Judy Greer, Ed Helms, Missi Pyle, Rose Byrne, Chris Dowd

2012:

Anne Dowd, Amanda Seyfreid, Aubrey Plaza, Ben Whishaw, Eddie Redmayne, Jason Schwartzman, John Ortiz, Kerry Washington, Martin Freeman, Matthew McConaughey, Rashida Jones, Suraja Sharma

Runners-Up: Billy Connolly, Andrew Sachs, Kyle Chandler, Carmen Ejogo

2013:

Benedict Cumberbatch, Channing Tatum, Daniel Bruehl, David Oyelowo, David Warhofsky, Dwight Henry, Jennifer Garner, Lake Bell, Margo Martindale, Michael B Jordan, Michael Kelly, Simon Pegg, Steve Coogan

Runners-Up: Idris Elba, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Sarah Paulson, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, Kathryn Hahn, Greta Gerwig, Sharlito Copely

2014:

Chris Rock, Chris Pratt, Gugu Mbuthu-Raw, Kim Dickens, Lindsey Duncan, Neil Patrick Harris, Oscar Isaac, Peter Dinklage, Riz Ahmed, Rene Russo, Scoot McNairy, Timothy Spall

Runners-Up: Kristen Stewart, Charles Dance, Matthew Goode, Paddy Considine, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Strong, Merritt Weaver

2015-2022

I'm going to keep this part of the list under wraps for now because I want to either invite guests or submit this elsewhere

The 10 DVD game

I bought something like 10 DVDs recently on a couple different trips to Blockbuster and FYE. I've had the luxury to splurge a little. Here is the following list with reasons why I bought them in parenthesis separated by commas. In the comments section, take some time to discuss what you just bought or are planning on buying (if you can get to 10, that sounds great) and why you bought it. Understanding the film industry is about understanding our choices as consumers. Also, please click here on my helium article because that's the only way I get my revenue.:
1. King of California:
-I haven't seen enough good films from 2007
-Sounds like a good story
-Michael Douglas is an actor I haven't seen anything good from in a while)
2. Be Kind Rewind:
-It's one of my 4-star films from 2008
-The sweeded portions of the films were very rewatchable and i wanted to know what was up behind the scenes.
-The concept of sweeding that the film helped revolutionize would probably be better explained. I imagine the extras would not dissapoint
-Probably entertaining on rewatch
3. X-Men 3:
-I love the X-Men trilogy
-I have a mild interest in whether Brett Rattner is actually a good director or not since he seems mildly hated by other film buffs and I thought that the DVD commentary would provide insight
-The action scenes are always great to rewatch on DVD
-The deleted scenes might ne extensive since there are so much story they chose to cut
4. The Break-Up:
-I caught a little on TV and it was good so far,
-A supporting role from Jason Bateman looked intriguing
-I wanted to laugh and Vince Vaughn guarantees that for me
-Vince Vaughn as an actor also drew me in
5. Elizabethtown:
-I saw about 90% on TV and thought it was ripe for rewatching
-I read into some symbolism from the film that I wanted to check which the commentary would provide
-It was just a solid film. Not a 4-star film, but relatively lightweight and enjoyable
6. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:
-I've watched this film 1 1/2 times and my general rule is only get a DVD of something you've seen once but I felt it got better on the second viewing so I could see it having a long shelf life
-Indiana Jones is a legendary trilogy (or whatever you call it now) and there's just a need to own a piece of it
-Hearing Lucas and Spielberg in action sounds like a great idea. I've read so much about it here.
-It was a complex storyline that would probably make more sense if you view it over again
-I thought others might like it
7. Orange County:
-I saw it in 2002 and think it's a film with a lot of great lines and funny moments that I think I might appreciate more in retrospect
-I also want to rewatch it to see all the cameos
-I have a greater appreciation for Jack Black now
-Just the themes about how being educated and going down the conventional track for success isn't all it is cracked up to be need rewatching
-Tom Hanks' son before he hit it big with Mad Men
8. Kingdom of Heaven:
-I saw a few minutes on TV and I was impressed with the cinametography
-Wanted to dig my teeth into some historical fiction
-I wanted to be surprised by something that could be great and it had potential
-I haven't seen enough Ridley Scott
-I remember a friend talked wildly about how great of a film it was right after it came out so word-of-mouth
9. Religulous:
-I like Bill Maher's political views a lot
-As a member of a religious minority I love it when people pole holes in Christianity
-I thought it might make my top 10 list of 2008 if I got around to seeing it, even though I already made my top 10 list)
10. Ghost Town:
-I just watched the Extras series and now have a fascination with Ricky Gervaise
-I wanted a not-too-ambitious comedy to enjoy
-Gotta love Greg Kinnear and Tea Leoni
-One of the films from 2008 that intrigued me that I haven't seen

The 10 DVD game

I bought something like 10 DVDs recently on a couple different trips to Blockbuster and FYE. I've had the luxury to splurge a little. Here is the following list with reasons why I bought them in parenthesis separated by commas. In the comments section, take some time to discuss what you just bought or are planning on buying (if you can get to 10, that sounds great) and why you bought it. Understanding the film industry is about understanding our choices as consumers. Also, please click here on my helium article because that's the only way I get my revenue.:
1. King of California:
-I haven't seen enough good films from 2007
-Sounds like a good story
-Michael Douglas is an actor I haven't seen anything good from in a while)
2. Be Kind Rewind:
-It's one of my 4-star films from 2008
-The sweeded portions of the films were very rewatchable and i wanted to know what was up behind the scenes.
-The concept of sweeding that the film helped revolutionize would probably be better explained. I imagine the extras would not dissapoint
-Probably entertaining on rewatch
3. X-Men 3:
-I love the X-Men trilogy
-I have a mild interest in whether Brett Rattner is actually a good director or not since he seems mildly hated by other film buffs and I thought that the DVD commentary would provide insight
-The action scenes are always great to rewatch on DVD
-The deleted scenes might ne extensive since there are so much story they chose to cut
4. The Break-Up:
-I caught a little on TV and it was good so far,
-A supporting role from Jason Bateman looked intriguing
-I wanted to laugh and Vince Vaughn guarantees that for me
-Vince Vaughn as an actor also drew me in
5. Elizabethtown:
-I saw about 90% on TV and thought it was ripe for rewatching
-I read into some symbolism from the film that I wanted to check which the commentary would provide
-It was just a solid film. Not a 4-star film, but relatively lightweight and enjoyable
6. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:
-I've watched this film 1 1/2 times and my general rule is only get a DVD of something you've seen once but I felt it got better on the second viewing so I could see it having a long shelf life
-Indiana Jones is a legendary trilogy (or whatever you call it now) and there's just a need to own a piece of it
-Hearing Lucas and Spielberg in action sounds like a great idea. I've read so much about it here.
-It was a complex storyline that would probably make more sense if you view it over again
-I thought others might like it
7. Orange County:
-I saw it in 2002 and think it's a film with a lot of great lines and funny moments that I think I might appreciate more in retrospect
-I also want to rewatch it to see all the cameos
-I have a greater appreciation for Jack Black now
-Just the themes about how being educated and going down the conventional track for success isn't all it is cracked up to be need rewatching
-Tom Hanks' son before he hit it big with Mad Men
8. Kingdom of Heaven:
-I saw a few minutes on TV and I was impressed with the cinametography
-Wanted to dig my teeth into some historical fiction
-I wanted to be surprised by something that could be great and it had potential
-I haven't seen enough Ridley Scott
-I remember a friend talked wildly about how great of a film it was right after it came out so word-of-mouth
9. Religulous:
-I like Bill Maher's political views a lot
-As a member of a religious minority I love it when people pole holes in Christianity
-I thought it might make my top 10 list of 2008 if I got around to seeing it, even though I already made my top 10 list)
10. Ghost Town:
-I just watched the Extras series and now have a fascination with Ricky Gervaise
-I wanted a not-too-ambitious comedy to enjoy
-Gotta love Greg Kinnear and Tea Leoni
-One of the films from 2008 that intrigued me that I haven't seen

A plausible line-up on Oscar night

Pitcute: Slumdog Millionaire (I'd love to see a quasi-Bollywood film win)
Director: Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Actor: B Pitt, Benjamin Buttons (I think it could be anyone's game, who knows)
Actress: Winslet, Revolutionary Road (finally, let's see Winslet get it)
Supp. Actor: Ledger, The DK (posthumous award sounds interesting, also )
Supp. Actress: Cruz, VCB (It would give Woody Allen another supporting actor/actress win, and I like Penelope Cruz. I like seeing Latinos be rewarded and she's been paying her dues for a while. Certainly better then Selma Hayek, IMO)
O Screenplay: Rachel Getting Married (Milk? if Milk is original or adapted i don't remember, Rachel Getting Married screenplay wouldn't go to Johnothan Demme, but it would make him look good, so why not? Besides i don't want to see O Screenplay go to a dramedy/comedy AGAIN (i.e. Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, Sideways, Lost in Translation))
A Screenplay: Benjamin Buttons (I'd like to see Ben Buttons and Slumdog be the top 2 award getters of the night so throw Ben Buttons the screenplay, even though there's much to
Editing: Frost/Nixon (I wouldn't mind seeing Frost/Nixon walk away with a win, and it's a little better edited than Dark Knight, IMO)
Score: Slumdog Millionaire
Song: Wall-E (Wall-E was a unique film, i'd like to see it get more wins than just animated)
Cinematography: Dark Knight or Slumdog (I'm torn, I understand that Dark Knight had revolutionary new methods and innovations in cinematography, but Slumdog was amazing and traditionally the best picture gets at least 2 or 3 other wins for the night)
Art Direction: Benjamin Buttons (that makes 3)
Costumes: Australia (Australia deserves a technical, i don't want to see it go all Memoirs of a Geisha and sweep the technical awards when it clearly wasn't a deserving picture as a whole, but one technical award sounds right)
Make-Up: Dark Knight (2nd for Dark Knight. I would've liked to see it win cinematography but what can you do
Sound: Wall-E (I had no idea how to judge best sound until I heard Wall-E and knew that the film was great, in part, because of the sound)
Sound Editing: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (I'd like to see it get a technical award somewhere, maybe Lucas and Spielberg couldn't make a great story out of their efforts to revive the Indiana Jones
Animated: Wall-E
Documentary: Encounters at the End of the World, Warner Herzog (I don't even know if it's eligible, but it was my personal favorite)
Special Effects: Iron Man (when you think about it, Dark Knight has a lot of drama, and a small amount of explosions, but nothing in the way of Iron Man)
Foreign: Waltz with Bashir (catchy name for a film. reminds me of Dr. Bashir on Star Trek, so I'll go with that)

Artistic integrity can't interfere when tentpoles are at stake

Three is no longer the fitting number for movie sequels when it comes to maintaining artistic credibility. It's now a matter of how long the studios can keep making money from these sequels because Hollywood is just too addicted to tent poles and the instant stream of revenues they create to be able to maintain any artistic integrity anymore. What comes to mind when I say this is the fact that Shrek, Spiderman, and Pirates of the Carribean are all going to be releasing a fourth installment of their series in movie theaters, despite the fact that despite great starts and sophomore outings, most critics and viewers agree the franchises all sputtered out of gas by the time they hit the back-ends of their trilogies.

What most viewers don't know is that except for the two Star Wars trilogies (the prequels and the originals), Shrek, Pirates of the Carribean and Spiderman have been the three biggest trilogies ever to hit the box office, boasting a combined four films in the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time and 8 in the top 30, so far. Even when the quality of their films declined heavily in poorly reviewed third installments, they were still able to gross monstrous amounts based on name recognition alone, when viewers set massive opening weekend records in May of 2007 when all three film trilogies came out. Before anyone qeven had time to tell their coworkers when they got back to work on Monday, just how bad the films were, these films made their money back in three days, and that's likely what will happen when the franchises come back again in part IV, until people wisen up and break their moviegoing habits.

Even worse in this trend is that studios can't afford to give their star properties much breathing room anymore. Look at The Incredible Hulk, Star Trek, James Bond, Batman and the previously mentioned Pirates of the Carribean in comparison to Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Indiana Jones and Star Wars were films that essentially stopped after their stories were done being told. Due to fan demand and an appropriately long enough hiatus, these two franchises came back 16 years later in the case of Star Wars and 19 years later in the case of Indiana Jones. Part of the justification was that the stories could be introduced to a new generation. Although neither one of these franchises were particularly good when they were rebooted, one can't deny that the hype, anticipation, and ultimately, their opening weekend grosses, were far greater than that of any of the films in the first category.

In the first category of films, there was virtually no time to wait until a generation had passed. Hollywood tides move much faster than they used to and no one can afford to wait 15 or more years to not capitalize on a hot property of theirs. Thus we have:
-James Bond rebooted after a measly four years (Die Another Day 2002-Casino Royale 2006)
-Star Trek reappearing in theaters after only a 7 year break (Nemesis, 2002) and a 4-year break since the Star Trek franchise dissapeared on TV (Enterprise in 2005)
-Batman taking only a seven year break between Batman and Robin (1999) one of the decade's biggest failures and Batman Begins
-Hulk rebooting after only a five-year break without even pretending to be any sort of sequel or prequel. It was simply marketed as a "do over."
-Pirates of the Carribean set to appear only three or four years after Pirates of the Carribean III was lampooned by most critics

Self-Analysis: Why I watch the movies that I watch....

I think the best strategy to maximizing your chances at the box office, is to do extensive surveying by people over what films they chose to watch over a period of time and why. I don't think there's enough emphasis on this in box-office analysis. The two measures that box office analysts look at are actual opening weekend numbers and cinemascore (the grade the moviegoer gives the film upon walking out of the theater). As far as I know there's not much surveying being done as to what drew the moviegoer into the theater in the first place.

Nevertheless, here's what drew me to the films I wanted to see this year. This has no relation to whether I was satisfied by the films or whether I actually made it to the movie theater. I admit the second factor is important, but sometimes circumstances determine whether you see the film in a theater or not (for example, was I busy that weekend, did I have anyone to go with). Coincidentally, if someone drags me to a movie, that doesn't mean it's a movie I wanted to see, so I didn't include those films. As you read this, think about what draws you to a film:
Disclaimer: I'm going to be doing some rambling here



Be Kind Rewind: Movie enthusiasts naturally want to see films that are self-reflexive and are about the movies and while the movie's main draw was that it would present 2-minute parodies of classic films, that you might also be able to see on youtube, the whole theme seemed very intriguing. In this day and age, anything that's a compilation of sketches and skits does not bode well in movie or tv form, considering you can watch great 3-minute pieces of entertainment all day. Movies are about wanting to be entertained by a 90-minute arc and that can't be found on youtube. Anyway, I'm going on a tangent here.....Be Kind Rewind also had Jack Black who I absolutely love and Danny Glover, and the setting of a video store resonated with me since I worked at Blockbuster the summer before

21: Bringing Down the House: An interest in seeing a new side of Kevin Spacey combined with the fact that I've heard much about this interesting story. Of course, as the film got closer to the premiere date, I heard on chasingthefrog.com that it has absolutely nothing to do with the actual story, so I lost considerable interest.

Iron Man: If I knew that Jon Favreau directed it beforehand, I might have had second thoughts (yes, I knew he directed Elf), but it's a standard superhero film and when it hit #1 and broke records, there definitely was a bandwagon aspect. You want to be on board the next big thing. A lot of people talk about the unconventional casting of Robert Downey Jr but I don't think that's so unconventional: Nothing about Tobey MaGuire, Ed Norton or Ben Affleck ever screamed out "action star." It's been the standard for the last decade to have an A-list actor with box office draw as opposed to an action-hero type: Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, or Vin Diesel. Besides, Robert Downey Jr. was by no means a down-and-out actor. Rather, the inclusions of Gwenyth Paltrow and Terrence Howard were points of interest to me. The overall visual look of the film and the idea of self-made superhero as opposed to superhero through scienctific freak accident.

The Happening: M. Night Shamylan's films are always original and inventive, whether they're hit or miss, so even if it ultimately doesn't hold up, I tend to appreciate the effort. Mark Wahlberg is also a fascinating actor and this felt like an out-of-his-element kind of role

Indiana Jones: How could you not see it, considering Indiana Jones is my favorite movie series

Get Smart: Fan of the TV show and the supporting cast struck me as an insanely interesting combination: You have the standard SNL guys in Koechner and Kevin Nealon, the action hero trying to expand himself into comedy in Dwayne Johnson, the nerd from Heroes in Masi Oka, and the established comic vet in Arkin, who alone is enough reason to want to go see the film. Oh yeah, and the guy from Borat. There's also the allure of the James Bond-like gadgets.

Wall-E: I like sci-fi dystopian movies, and the idea of making a children's cartoon out of that is highly intriguing. Not to mention the good reviews and the fact that I missed out on Ratatouille last year.

The Dark Knight: Heath Ledger as the Joker sounded like an interesting choice, and the Joker vs Batman is a great matchup. Besides, I usually see sequels of films I like. Simple as that.

Hancock: Will Smith always makes it a point to infuse blockbusters with humor and fun. I also love genre deconstructions, particularly superhero spoofs. Jason Bateman has become gold in the last year and a half and never lets you down. Also Charlize Theron is a wonderful actress. So Bateman, Smith, Theron struck me as a trio with potential.

Pineapple Express: To be honest, I don't think I've ever really seen a film that's so exclusively about pot, so I thought that would be interesting enough in itself. I wasn't a humongous Superbad fan, but I think that Seth Rogen is a capable actor (not a great writer, IMO) and the idea of a cross-hybrid between stoner and action was an interesting blend. Plus, I was in the mood for something really dumb, really lightweight, really funny, and perhaps a little action-oriented.

Step Brothers: Anchorman is one of my favorite comedies of all time, and Talladega Nights is one of the best of its year, so it's safe to say I'm a big fan of the improvizational style of the McKay-Ferrell writing team. It seemed like a lackluster concept, but on the upside, Mary Steenburgen cusses a lot in this film!

Bottleshock: I'm not particularly interested in wine, but I would like to see wine culture scrutinized and possibly parodied. I also liked the period aspect of it, even if it was 30 years ago, and it seemed like a good ensemble piece.

Encounters at the End of the World: I don't usually see a lot of documentaries at the theater, but when it comes to a documentary, the key is picking a subject that is a) interesting and b) something which we don't know a lot about, and Warner Herzog found the perfect subject here. Explorers in the Arctic: neat stuff

Burn After Reading: I didn't really want to see another Coen Brothers film and I have zero interest in seeing more of George Clooney on screen but two things that drew me to this were: 1) Brad Pitt was acting really wacky in the preview and 2) It takes place in Washington D.C. where I'm from, and the Coen Brothers usually incorporate a strong sense of place into their films

Ghost Town: Seemed like a lighthearted comedy with a good concept. Also Ricky Gervaise is relatively funny and he picks his projects carefully. I knew he wasn't doing this for a paycheck. I also like Greg Kinnear

Blindness: Fernando Meirelles is someone I have only seen one and a half films of and I absolutely think he's genius, so that was a good reason. Julianne Moore is selective about her roles, so that had a certain stamp of crediblity. I also felt the whole humanity fighting against a large force of nature concept carries interesting appeal to it: I liked Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day, for example.

Religulous: I have to see this. I love Bill Maher, and I'd be curious for a good examination on the state of religion. I also like that he's going to be equal opportunity about offending the three main Western religions.

W: We see so much parody of the president, but I see very little portrayal of the man's past. Even if Stone might be biased (or maybe he isn't), it would be a highly eye-opening look into the man.

My 2 favorite films: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade & Touch of Evil

This is what I wrote for the AFI's 100 Years fan opinion survey:

I’d say that it’s a tie between two movies that are sequels to greater films.

I think that Indiana Jones is the classic American hero: he’s intelligent, reluctant to take responsibility but will do it if he has to, and because luck isn’t always on his side, he’s more vulnerable and more likeable than James Bond. I also think that the adventure/action epic is one of the best types of movie-making.

As for why I chose Last Crusade? While Raiders of the Lost Ark was more of a milestone in the genre, Last Crusade I liked more. I liked that the villaness’s allegiance was more ambigous, I found the Sean Connery/Harrison Ford chemistry touching and hillarious and I loved the opening scene which introduced us to Indiana’s childhood. I also found the historical context is richer and the beam of light that Indiana Jones walks on in the end is such a great twist: The scientist making a leap of faith when he absolutely has to.

Touch of Evil isn’t so much a sequel as a sort of swan song to what started as the most promising career of any Hollywood director and Orson Welles. People don’t give enough credit to Orson Welles the actor who is really brilliant here. I think the Henry Mancini score and the setting of the Mexican-American border really makes the story that much more invigorating and every frame of the film is so beautifully shot. The story, which delves into everything from drugs, police corruption, and racist politics, is so well-constructed and some of Marlene Dietrich’s lines are so profound (i.e. “Aren’t you gonna read my future?” “You haven’t got one.”)

Are John Huston films a lost genre?

I just saw Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and all I can say is I love John Huston's movies. Beat the Devil, Key Largo, Man Who Would be King and African Queen are the ones i've seen, and they all are great adventure rides. Part of the fun of the story is being taken off to some far exotic land (The Florida Keys were more exotic back then) and seeing it in a way that you wouldn't have otherwise seen it.

Like Alfred Hitchkock, John Huston could be said to have been in a genre of his own (although nowhere near as prolific or as well-received by academics, of course).

I don't know if that genre of films still exists. We had Indiana Jones though or Romancing the Stone and that might have been the closest that we have had in the blockbuster era to John Huston. Maybe, the era is lost or maybe with the world having become more and more global
in the last 20 years, exotic places no longer exist. Still we can do that movie in a retro era.