Not Every Movie Has to be the Best Movie Ever

I think the sentiment that every movie has to be 4/4, 5/5, or in the 90% range on the tomato meter to be worthy. Honestly, I think we see a lot of this discourse with the superhero franchises and the delusion of the stans about the real quality of the MCU and DCEU films, and that has spread to film discourse at large. Not every film needs to be defended to the death that it's great or shouted down for being bad.

Three-star films are still films people should see. People should even see bad movies, cause it's good for the film going diet, you might even find a good-bad movie, or a bad movie that you just can't stop thinking about. 

I also think this is a function of people misunderstanding how to actually read and use Rotten Tomatoes and Letterboxd. Those platforms are not meant to be the critical end all be all. I use Rotten Tomatoes rarely, but when I do,  I really scroll down to the critic's reviews and clink the links to take me to the full review on whatever site they write for, and then I spend more time on that site clicking around, or at least until I hit a paywall. I might even decide it's a site that's worth subscribing to. It really is a good starting place to find critics whose work you want to follow. Letterbox is a good way to log films you've watched, much like Goodreads for novels. Those two sites are not a place for critical discourse. It's a place to talk about things between peers, much like you would in real life. A written word of mouth, which is how movies can build momentum at the box office and gain more traction with audiences. Unless the review on Letterboxd are a professional film critic's, I don't think they should be given the same weight as a published review. Speaking of which, it's also a good place to follow your favorite critics as well, and see what they're watching and rewatching, get a real idea of their taste in film. 

Both of these sentiments I think are bad for movies across the board. If you expect movies to be 5/5 all of the time, and you build up this hype you can only be disappointed when a movie is only good or great, and angry when movies are bad. And it can lead to a frustration and an unwillingness to give a new film a chance. A healthy discourse and a healthy film industry means that the good, bad, and great films are made, released in theaters, given a chance to find an audience (and make money), and have people talk about them. 

cinema, thoughts

The Allure of the Days of Analog

I miss the days before tech took over our lives. I know I only got to experience the tail end of that time, but I keep running the thought experiment in my head. 

What really started it was when streamers decided that they were just gonna remove their own movies and television shows from their platforms, and just not release completed projects. (Justice for Batgirl!) That got me interested in building up my DVD collection, and now I've got a Google Doc two pages long of suggested titles I wish I had the disposable income to purchase every single one of. A lot of them from the Criterion Collection. It also had me rediscovering network tv, and actually watching it as it airs, or at least the magic of the DVR if I missed the original airtime. 

But it's also things like picking up an issue of a magazine, watching the news on tv. And when I'm finding articles online, I go directly to publication's sites and not just scrolling Twitter and looking at links the people I follow share. I'm also trying to read more books, but that's been a separate battle. 

It's missing the water cooler, where no one was watching things on their own schedule and we were all participating in a lot of the same conversations about it. And just flicking channels and catching a movie or watching a marathon all day while you do chores or work. The simpler times. 

So, while the studios still won't come to reality and give the WGA and SAG-AFTRA what they want and need, I will keep looking at the way I watch art and read about it. 

journal, thoughts

They Could've Just Made a Whole New Mermaid Movie

I do not like the Disney live action remakes. The only one that really added to the original and felt like there was true artistic merit in its creation was Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella. The others have largely been overstuffed retreads of the original films, with what they added not bring anything interesting to the table, ultimately giving us movies with no life. And while The Little Mermaid is a retread, it has life and it's fun. But, the details they added to flesh out the story, while they worked, I thought they were too interesting for this movie. Ultimately, I wished they scrapped The Little Mermaid and just made a brand new mermaid movie.

The new details that were added were little allusions to Prince Eric being someone who washed up on shore as a baby and taken in by the King and Queen, the death of Ariel's mother at the hand of a human, and the history of animosity between the surface world and under the sea. That could be the basis of a really interesting fantasy movie, and you can still keep the Ariel and Eric star-crossed lovers thing to add in some romance. Romeo & Juliet, but with a mermaid!

And honestly, that makes me hate these live action remakes even more. They had the seeds of a new story buried inside the shell of something they had done before. Disney can make original movies, but it seems like they're just too scared of them not making money so they're pumping out surefire box office hits, and sacrificing quality art in the process.

cinema, thoughts

I'm So Over Filter Face

Filter face needs to stop. 

I don't think I need to explain filter face because every time I've dropped this descriptor to people, they understand, but I think I'll do it anyway. Filter face is when a person gets work done to make it look they're in an Instagram filter. If you need a visual aid, just go watch most reality shows, and you'll be able to spot it. I would recommend Love Island, for reference. 

What I keep imagining is what happens to your face as you age with all of that work done to it. Faces are supposed to change as you age, not stay frozen at 25. Age gives you character, and that makes me think of character actors. Actors who show up in supporting roles and steal the show because they don't look as glamorous of the leads. And how strange would it be to see those glamorous leads who've had work done in a period piece? That's not very historically accurate. 

Now this isn't to diminish plastic surgery as a specialty, because there are countless examples of plastic surgery being used to save and/or better lives. There's a story my dad tells about a company picnic years ago where the 19 year-old assistant got hit by a car and was left with a huge gash on her face, and at the ER, he told the doctors there to get a plastic surgeon to sew up her face so she wouldn't have a nasty scar. 

I just think we are losing the "unconventional" beauty with all these cosmetic procedures taking over the images we see every day. 

thoughts

I Have Been Processing My Thoughts on Dear Evan Hansen Since 2017

Dear Evan Hansen is closing on Broadway and it's got me really starting to formulate my thoughts on this show fully in a really long time. I was one of the fortunate who got to see the original cast (Mike Faist!). I say fortunate just because to be able to get tickets to a blockbuster musical during the original cast's, especially with someone giving a performance like Ben Platt, is fortunate. Honestly, a lot of his problems of being wrong when it came time to the movie was that awful hair. Not to knock the understudies or new casts, because some of the performers we discover or come in for a run are phenomenal, and in this show specifically I would've loved to witness Jordan Fisher perform "Waving Through a Window". But to be able to get a ticket to the original run of a production is always a special thing. So I'm glad I was able to see it while it was a hard ticket to get. All that being said, now onto my issues with it. 

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cinema, the theatre, thoughts

Can MTV Put Back the "Music" in Music Television?

On most days when you turn to MTV, it's usually Ridiculousness filling up the airwaves. And I get it, Ridiculousness can be fun, but not for all hours of the day. And it really makes you think of MTV's current programming slate compared to it slates of days gone by. There is the MTV Classic channel, which plays a lot of old music videos, but it’s not been a part of MTV’s programming really since TRL ended in 2008. I know television ratings aren't what they used to be, for every network, so I get the cost benefit analysis for all of the Ridiculousness. And especially in the seemingly unstable age of streaming. But, there seems to be no effort to do any sort of music programming. And I am saying this as a casual observer of the network who really only watches MTV for The Challenge.

But there’s so many interesting things happening with music right now, they could go back to being Music Television.

Since there is no longer a monoculture where everyone is watching the same stuff, you don't have to go for juggernaut ratings, and you can get more creative with what you put on the air. Especially with Paramount+ as their parent company’s streaming service as a place where their programming can be made available. TRL doesn't have to be hitting the same numbers it was when it was the show. It can be retooled. It could be prerecorded, with maybe live specials if a major artist wants to do a big promotion for their video or album. Something to take us through the week in music. With this, you could bring back the VJ. Program music videos and performances of now and yesterday, and have the VJs guide us through it all. It would also make the Video Music Awards kind of matter again, too. It feels better to hold them when MTV is actually airing music videos on the network. And make MTV Unplugged a bit more of a regular event. NPR's Tiny Desk Concert gets a lot of views so there is an audience for an artist doing an acoustic performance. 

Bring back MTV News. There could also be roundtables with music critics and music writers. Whether it be a round up of music of the week, or talking about what's happening in music at the moment. A major bit of programming MTV News could do is festival coverage. With the amount of festivals that are being put on right now, that's an opportunity to send out reporters to talk to artists, festival goers, report on the highs and lows of the festival on the ground. I don't think we're in danger of another Woodstock 99 happening, especially after the HBO doc and the Netflix docuseries about it, so it would be safe to have your crews there. 

Another thing they can do is to redo all those old VH1 countdowns. Top 100 albums, artists, women in music, music videos, break it down by genre. As many topics as you can think of. Even bring back the I Love the Decade franchise. Do you know how many days I spent glued watching those when they would rerun them on weekends. Again, if you want to break up the Ridiculousness reruns, make of these and you can really diversify the days. But, really, doing some programming about music history and pop culture can be very instrumental. Lots of people love music docs, so produce or squire docs on artists, eras, events, and keep all that music alive for people. 

The point is, we're in a different age where I think MTV can shift back to their original mission statement. Music Television. That's not to say you have to abandon all their reality stuff. Keep The Challenge going for as long as it's good. But there could be an appetite for music television again.

the telly, thoughts

Can We Stop Giving a Shit About the Kardashians?

Why do we still follow them after all this time? This is a serious question. I’m not being facetious or cutesy about this, I genuinely do not understand why we still give a shit what they do and what they ‘say’.

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thoughts

Release Batgirl, You Cowards

It was revealed that the new Batgirl movie that was originally going to stream on HBO Max, maybe have a theatrical release, is no longer being released. And I think that’s the wrong the decision.

Since this movie was made under a different regime, I guess they’re taking stock of what they have in the pipeline. And their reasoning for scrapping Batgirl is that they want DC movies to be big theatrical events. This is a movie that has the live action film debut of Batgirl, Brendan Fraser as a villain, and Michael Keaton back as Batman. How is that not an event?

I think what they’re trying to say is that it’s not a blockbuster event like the majority of superhero movies. One reason people say they have superhero fatigue (*ahem*) is that all these movies feel the same. Wouldn’t it bring more interest to your movie if you present something different? I want to see a smaller scale superhero movie in theaters. It’s why I like Birds of Prey so much. It was ground level and character driven, and isn’t that way Batgirl is all about?

cinema, thoughts

No One Wants to Let Stories End Anymore

Being in this age of franchises, stories don’t end anymore. We're just waiting for the next installment, teasing the next installment, theorizing about the next installment. I think it's one of the major factors in my blockbuster fatigue. It's the never ending story and it is exhausting.

There is a beginning, middle, and end stories, and we've been stuck in the middle of stories for the last twenty years it seems. Constantly making sequels and spinoffs and reboots. Some new faces in the super suits, but the same heroes populating our screens. It would be easier to deal with if smaller movies were getting theatrical runs and not being squeezed out of movie theaters and onto streaming, getting lost in the shuffle. 

And this isn't just a movie problem, it's a problem in television, too. What with the Lord of the Rings show, all the Game of Thrones spinoffs in development along with House of the Dragon premiering soon. If there's actually a new take on the material or a story you want to explore in a prequel or sequel series, go for it. But a lot of these shows reek of having the intellectual property and a built-in fanbase and just needing something on the air. 

We need the finality of an ending as viewers. Because instead of excitement for these movies and shows, I feel nothing but obligation to watch, or maybe not. Maybe I won't watch them anymore, and I'll watch other shows and movies that aren't never ending. 

cinema, the telly, thoughts

Trying to See as Many Non-Blockbusters in Theaters as Possible

Over the last couple of years, the pandemic has accelerated the changed in the theater-going experience that were happening over the last decade or two. Mid-budget and smaller movies getting small theatrical windows or heading straight to streaming, and blockbusters dominating theaters. 

After 2020 when theaters were closed, and 2021 when for most of the year it wasn't fully safe to be in a packed theater, it was nice to be in a packed theater for a blockbuster again when I saw In the Heights. I did see Promising Young Woman in a theater in its December 2020 theatrical run in a practically empty theater while wearing my mask. I didn't get popcorn, just a drink so I could slip the straw underneath my mask, and it just wasn't the same. 

So, now that theaters are back in full-swing, I'm going to do my best to see as many movies that aren't the big blockbusters in theaters. The only movies I see in theaters can't be the blockbusters. I've talked before about my blockbuster fatigue here, and I think in order to combat that, I need to prioritize seeing smaller movies. 

No matter how great a blockbuster is, it can get repetitive when they're the only movies dominating theaters, especially when three of them are coming from the same studio. Sorry, Marvel, but I'm #TeamScorcese, now. This doesn't mean I'm discounting the work of the actors, writers, directors, and crew, which is not what the people who are criticizing Marvel movies are doing. But, most of the movies have felt the same. You can only watch a series of films without much deviation for so long. 

What I'm considering a blockbuster are superhero and big time action franchise sequels. While In the Heights is blockbuster in nature, movie musicals are not the draw that those films are. So, sorry Marvel and the Fast & Furious franchise, my dollars are not going to you in the first week of release anymore. I'm going to be looking at movies like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Men, other small movies I don't know about yet, because that's the joy of seeing what's coming out. You don't have the release schedule mapped out years in advance as part of some grand plan. You find out a month before or maybe a couple weeks into its run, and find gems. 

I want to find gems. 

cinema, journal, thoughts