The weather is getting colder. The days are getting shorter. The darkness of night is beckoning quicker with each passing day as the end of the year draws nearer.
Writers are striking. Petrol prices are getting higher and higher. The war on terror goes on (and is being shoved down our throat in the cinema). People all over the country are getting more and more stressed with each passing day over what to buy their loved one’s for Christmas as the mass commercial shopping rush begins.
And I’m sitting here as a film fan, just wanting… almost begging to be entertained on these cold nights.
I’ve only seen two films since September. I am now experiencing the slowest period of my movie watching experience this year.
LIONS FOR LAMBS looked boring. BEOWULF looks lifeless. HITMAN looks shocking.
I’m really struggling to find something to entertain me. And after a horrendous summer of bad movies, that is not a good thing at all.
There’s a report today in Variety detailing the disappointing DVD sales of things like SPIDER-MAN 3 (the biggest opening movie of all time by the way) and FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER which were both expected to sell extremely well as soon as they hit the shelves.
Well there’s a simple reason for this. BOTH MOVIES SUCKED.
For SPIDER-MAN 3 to be struggling in the DVD charts after so many people attended the opening day screenings just really goes to show how much of a turn off the film was for so many people.
Here’s a quote from Warner Brothers home video (that title seems dated in the DVD age doesn’t it?) president Ron Sanders speaking about the lack of DVD sales this year.
“The expectation was that the big summer at the box office would translate into the biggest fourth quarter ever, but it doesn’t look like that will happen.”
Experts say that a 5% drop on DVD sales from last year is expected by Jan 1st. 2008.
I’m sorry but that’s an absolute disaster. In a year that brought more sequels and huge blockbusters than we have ever seen in the history of film… with franchises like PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN, SPIDER-MAN, HARRY POTTER, TRANSFORMERS, SIMPSONS, BOURNE, DIE HARD, FANTASTIC FOUR, OCEAN’S, 300 and GRINDHOUSE (which they really fucked up with on DVD) and carry overs from last year’s late entry’s like CASINO ROYALE and THE DEPARTED, that’s an unforgivable disappointment.
2007 has not been a good year for film. I will speak more of this upon my ‘end of year’ review but looking ahead to 2008… I just want to be entertained and studio’s just haven’t done that this year.
Please don’t let me be here this time next year saying the exact the same thing. I expect much better next year, especially from the blockbusters and big studio releases because there is something going disastrously wrong in developing movies that should entertain us.
With the popcorn films like INDIANA JONES, THE DARK KNIGHT, STAR TREK, IRON MAN, SPEED RACER, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THE MUMMY 3, WANTED, NARNIA and THE HAPPENING… I don’t God damn expect Shakespeare, just something I can sit and enjoy and not regret spending my hard-earned money on.
I just want some solid entertainment. No matter how much you push CGI and special effects, there is nothing that beats a well told story. Don’t forget that and hopefully this disastrous DVD drop in sales is a WAKE UP CALL to you that we will not put up with the lackluster movies you are releasing for much longer.
10 Comments
You tell em’ Matt! Cinema is in a bad way, here in Newcastle we only have one actual Cinema to pick from to view our movies and that’s one of those horrendous commercial Empire cinamas in a dodgy fucking mall called the Gate, it charges an absolute extortion to get in, hence I dont go to the cinema any more.
(It’s a bit like cutting your own balls off for a movie fan!)
That leaves purchasing DVD’s for me and I’m one of those people who prides himself in never paying more than £2-99 for a DVD (Thank god for piracy!…only kidding.) actually thank god for Amazon.com.wich pretty much allows me to replace all my fav films from VHS to DVD for a decent price.
All the blockbusters of this year were terrible and I carn’t remember seeing anything else new this year(Oh I caught Black Snake Moan on DVD that was good)other than that nothing.
It’s a sad state of affairs cinema today.(Oh I forgot to mention how much our local fucking rip off Blockbuster charges to rent a movie for one night, un-fucking believable.
Yeah and I’n completely sick of hearing about Bush’s fucking war on terror aswell, really dont want to see any films about it either.
The whole movie going thing is a bit shit right now isn’t it!?
Fuck! that was a bit of a rant.
Matt, I understand what you’re saying, but remain patient! Here in the States, we are getting “No Country For Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood” released over the next few weeks. These are almost assured of being instant classics.
There have been some other good films released this year. “Ratatouille” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” were both skillful summer films. “Harry Potter” and “The Simpsons Movie” were both fairly well done and entertaining.
Sure, there has been a lot of shit released this year, but there have ben some gems, too. And those two movies I mentioned will be AWESOME, trust me.
Atonement? Ratatouille? Knocked Up? Superbad? Stardust? Bourne Ultimatum? Zodiac? Waitress? The Nines?
Not saying EVERYONE will like ALL of those films, but plenty of people dug each one.
It’s been a decent year for movies, and most of the Oscar contenders start coming out this month.
But this summer blockbuster crap? Stop paying so much attention to it, maybe it’ll go away.
Why put so much stock into the major studios? I think it’s a pretty widely known fact that they couldn’t give a care less how entertained you are by their products, so long as the revenues are up. What I do agree with is the notion that these executives shouldn’t be surprised at the low figures that have trickled in for them. Their products are piss poor, and why they can see that is simple: They are not artists. They are businessmen that have lost touch with their consumers, we the audience. Aside from the Weinsteins’, Spielberg’s and Katzenberg’s, there’s not an original microbe in the executives bodies.
They’ve insulted you by undermining your intelligence, and you continue to allow it by buying into their promises. Words like ‘franchise’ and ‘blockbuster’ have sullied the industry into an unreliable factory of sub par film making all in hopes of striking the next big thing; and once the next big thing is found, it will be run into the ground. Consider this: Ferris Beuller has no sequel, and should never. The film stands on its own, eventhough one may be open to see another entry. The audience was satisfied, and no outcry for a franchise has been heard. Why, then, must every film released today be warranted a sequel and more often than not, a trilogy?
Why did they make [Live Free] (feel free to substitute the title of the summer sequel of your choice)? Because they knew your dumb ass would watch it, and they were banking on your dumb ass to buy the dvd, too. They don’t care if you like it or not; they’ve got your money. You can bag on them all you want to about how shitty Spider-Man 3 was, they still fucked you straight to the bank.
I think this article is wasted pretension. Summer movies were sucking as far back as the early 90’s and later, and I’ve been hearing this same argument since then; every fucking autumn. What’s dumber, studios putting out bad films or the people who continually watch them?
I have to say, I’m pretty much with this DirtyLungs fella. Matt, give the studios the boot and go for some of the new wave of indie (and studio-appropriated indie) films coming out. Wristcutter: A Love Story is worth a look, i’m foaming at the mouth waiting for The Darjeeling Limited and No Country for Old Men looks pretty good… (I’m seeing it tomorrow so I may revise my opinion then.)
What is wrong with heading over the water and visting Tyneside Cinema in Gateshead, TheGlove, if you’re so against the Gate ;-)
As for movies I have actually really enjoyed everyone of my past few visits to the big screen. Stardust, Control and Ratatouille were my last 3 movies and I loved them all. Other mentions since September for 3:10 to Yuma and Atonement. I also managed to catch American Gangster, and I don’t even need to say just how excellent that was.
Who the fuck can afford to pay up to 7 quid these days to be constantly dissapointed with most of the crap that comes out
so called movies, it’s not really a case of going over the river several miles away to see a movie.
I used to go to that cinema years ago and it’s just as bad an experience as going to the Gate and just as expensive,my last visit to the cinema was Spidey 3 and that pretty much finished me off.
I think I mentioned Black Snake Moan before(A great film!)but was only on release here for about a week I think and I missed it.(It wasn’t even on at the Gate! the so called cater for everyone’s tastes 10 cinema.)
If you haven’t been since Spiderman 3 you have missed some great movies. Go see Stardust while you still can, it’ll restore your faith in good old entertaining cinema experiences.
The prices are a joke though I agree. Fortunatley for the time being I have a Student card which saves a quid or 2.
Orange Wednesdays people……it’s the only time I bother going to the cinema.
Yawn another boring article of whining and moaning!!!
Spiderman 3 was brilliant, do try to get at least abit of taste. It was massive seller on DVDover here so you are talking complete shit!!!
Then that does appear to be your forte looking at your appalling movie reviews!!!