Poor Movie Selection
Having recently read an article on Ron Howard's position on the state of today's large movie studios and the insight from Hollywood giants George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, I was left with a continuing distaste for todays growing movie community.
'If audiences want ambitious work on the big screen and not just their TVs, they need to take a stand by showing interest in non-superhero movies.'
Check out Ron Howard's insights on the state of big movie studios.
Superheroes are all the rave right now on the big screen. Personally, I enjoy the movies but the comics and graphic novels are much better. Want to know why people go see movies instead of read? Simple. It's easier. People are much more prone to go see the movie then spend a day reading a good book, or god forbid, flip through a heavily illustrated graphic novel.
Living in a smallish town, I'm given very little selection of quality movies to see. With the local Cineplex playing movies for the masses, movies such as Fast & Furious, Iron Man and anything else that is a prequel, sequel or includes a cape, there is little to no screen space for movies that are fresh, intelligent or truly captivating.
Don't get me wrong here people. I'm a fan of Christopher Nolan's Batman, I enjoyed Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, but I still think F&F has gone on on 5 movies too long. I just wish the movie masses would be willing to go out to see movies that don't end in a number or have some form of 'super' involved with the plot.
I get why movie studios limit releases on quality movies. They're worried about their returns. Their primary concern is butts in seats. I get that, but the state of the movie industry shouldn't rely on people watching movies that are easy to follow or overly filled with lens flares. I think movie studios should help educate people, engage them with creativity, insight, provoke them even. Isn't that why movies continue to flourish after 100 years?
Here's just a few movies I wish people would have shown interest to see in my town, just so I could have gone to the theatre to watch and gotten the full movie experience:
Moonrise Kingdom - one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. So much so, I watched it again when I finished it.
Silver Linings Playbook - Not sure this even made it to Chilliwack until the movie got major Oscar buzz. It was already a great movie BEFORE the nominations came out, some people just like the hype.
Robot & Frank - I loved this story. It was slow paced, but thoughtful. It was really made for an older crowd, but it had me from start to finish. This never saw screen time in my town and should have.
Safety Not Guaranteed - I loved this movie, simply because it was completely unique and had an interesting cast. Overall, it wasn't a GREAT movie, but it was worth my money in the box office, had they even given it a chance here.
Which movies do you wish you saw in the theatre this last year?
Matthew A. Hawkins