Let's talk about movies: Does box office determine how good a movie is?

Let's talk about movies: Does box office determine how good a movie is?: As we have found out recently, Star Wars has passed Avatar for biggest movie domestically. So does box office determine how good a movie rea...

Does box office determine how good a movie is?

As we have found out recently, Star Wars has passed Avatar for biggest movie domestically. So does box office determine how good a movie really is, I personally would say no because if you look at some of the biggest movies based solely on box office, they may be entertaining but are no classic. Of course if I had my way more independent movies would be included in this discussion. If you've followed my top movies of the year you'll notice how diverse the list is and that's not because I'm trying to make a statement, it's that I love movies. I realize that not everyone is going to like the same movies that I like but just maybe it will get you to watch something you might enjoy. So where am I going with this, I guess luckily for now smaller movies are still getting made but if more people don't watch and support them they may disappear and all we be stuck with is a bunch of Transformers movies.
Shawshank Redemption is considered one the greatest movies of all time and it was not a box office hit and yet if you ask most people it's in their all time list of great movies. I could mention a couple of old movies that are considered classics that didn't do well at the box office such as The Wizard of Oz and Citizen Kane but these won't matter because I'm sure most of you have never seen these movies. There were a few recent movies that I was hoping would do well at the box office because I would have loved to see those characters in sequels such as John Carter which I happen to enjoy and was hoping to see more movies. Another one was Judge Dredd which more then made up for the cheesy Sylvester Stallone one. This one was darker and grittier and the story was a lot better but I don't think I'll be seeing a sequel anytime soon.
 The last one I'll mention is Mr. Brooks which is based on a series of books and is a precursor to Dexter the T.V show, I really liked the character and was looking forward to seeing where he might go.
I cannot deny that there are some great movies that have done well at the box office and I love blockbusters just like anyone but as I get older I want more then just special effects, I need a great or at least a very good story. As you may know I am not a fan of The Transformers movies and that's my fear that all we'll be left with is a bunch of fluff and no substance. I will say this though I am a fan of the old Transformers cartoon movie.
Well enjoy watching movies because you know I will.

Let's talk about movies: That time of the season

Let's talk about movies: That time of the season: Well as it is every year, all the movies geared towards the oscars are being released now and I'll say this, so far I seen six really go...

That time of the season

Well as it is every year, all the movies geared towards the oscars are being released now and I'll say this, so far I seen six really good films. I not saying that there hasn't been some great ones already released because there have been quite a few such as Dope, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Straight Outta Compton, The Gift, Kingsman and Mr. Holmes just to name a few. My friend Chris and I were discussing why the studios always release the oscar movies at the end of the year and not throughout the year and the reality is when they are released at the end of the year it's fresher in the academies mind.
The six films I was referring to earlier are The Martian, Sicario, 99 Homes, The Walk, Steve Jobs and Bridge of Spies. Each one of the films offered a rich and compelling story that makes going to the movies everything I hope it is when the lights go down.
I forgot to include another movie I saw recently which was Pawn Sacrifice, Toby Maguire and Liev Schreiber are great playing Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. It's just more proof how compelling these movies are during this time of the season.
At work recently I had a discussion about the movie Black Mass which came out a little over a month ago and one of my co-workers was saying that Johnny Depp was going to win the oscar for best actor this year.
Well after seeing the movie I can tell you that this is not true, I'm not even sure he'll be nominated, yes he does finally do some acting rather than play a character. Of course I know he's acting even when he plays those characters and he does bring a certain menace playing Whitey Bulger but overall the movie is good not great which I was hoping for. Now a movie like Steve Jobs is where you can see some great acting because obviously Michael Fassbender looks nothing like Steve Jobs but just watching that performance I got sucked in, plus that ensemble, all give such great performances.
We're not even at the end of the year so there's quite a few more movies coming out that will probably be in my top twenty list for the year and I can't wait, bring them on!
I'm going to go off topic now and as you know with a prior blog it's my wish to do a movie marathon and I guess I would also like to get a movie club started as well, I can't help but think how much fun it would be to talk about movies and maybe learn about some I've yet to see. So if anyone is interested in being apart of such an endeavor maybe we can figure out a place to meet or even just watch movies at the theater.
In regards to the marathon I figure maybe I'll have to consider kick starter to help with funding, I'm going to have to do my research.
Well until next time, keep watching movies because you know I will.

Let's talk about movies: Movie Marathons

Let's talk about movies: Movie Marathons: Anyone who knows me, knows movie marathons are something I look forward to. It has come to my attention that Marvel is going to host a 27 ho...

Movie Marathons

Anyone who knows me, knows movie marathons are something I look forward to. It has come to my attention that Marvel is going to host a 27 hour marathon of all their movies on April 29 starting at 6:00 pm and ending sometime after 10 pm on April 30th. Am I crazy enough to attend such an event, well I am seriously considering it. I doubt I'll have anybody willing to go with me but if anyone wants to go let me know and we'll go from there. I've always enjoyed watching multiple movies, in fact when I go to the movies I feel like I've been short changed unless I watch at least two movies. As I write this I'm trying to remember the first marathon I attended, I remember watching the marathon with the first Avengers movie and that was 16 hours and the place was sold out and I had a blast. I'm always asked how I do it and when you love movies like I do it just seems easy. I mean I'm in my element watching movies and I've been lucky that these crowds are usually respectful and we're all there to enjoy movies. Let's get one thing straight, no I don't dress up like any characters but I do enjoy seeing everyone else in costume.
This brings up something I would love to do which would be having my own movie marathons, in which I would introduce various movies to people that they may never have seen and group them with similar movies. Now I'm not talking about 27 hours worth of movies but like a triple feature of different themes, something that would bring people out to have a good time watching movies. I just need to find a venue for this endeavor, I thought about the community center or at Solano Community College because obviously I'm not looking to make money with this but somewhere that people will feel comfortable attending.
My friend Rich and I were discussing different movies to put together and we came up with a few, but I'm open to suggestions with movies and places for this type of venue. Again this would be a blast for me showing movies that I don't think ever got their due respect and because I love movies.
I'm am curious to see if I'll have any takers in regards to the Marvel marathon, well until next time.

Let's talk about movies: Expectations and Oscar talk

Let's talk about movies: Expectations and Oscar talk: It's that time of the year again, a time I both love and get frustrated with and you may wonder what I'm talking about, well it'...