The last 12 months hardly represented a new Hollywood Golden Age.
Heck, this film critic nearly pulled a muscle trying to find enough movies to fill a Top 10 list.
But the industry did give us some intriguing new trends which will have repercussions into 2010 – and beyond.
Older women, slightly younger men: Thanks to the box office clout of Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep, it’s no longer a given that a rom-com actress will be paired with a much older man. Bullock was more than a decade older than her “The Proposal” co-star Ryan Reynolds, while Streep is older than both her “It’s Complicated” beau Alec Baldwin and “Julie & Julia” co-star Stanley Tucci.
Tiny budgets, big rewards: Both “District 9″ and, to much greater extend, “Paranormal Activity” cost a fraction less than most Hollywood productions. And both made their respective studios plenty of cash. Money still rules the modern movie making process, but these two hits proved a hit can be forged from very little cash.
Horror confounds the experts: “Jennifer’s Body” seemed a can’t miss horror hit – until it missed by a mile. Same goes for “Saw VI,” “Sorority Row” and “Halloween II.” Audiences are particularly fickle when it comes to fright flicks.
Direct to DVD surprises: 2009 saw films like “The Canyon” enjoy a too brief theatrical run before winding up on DVD and Blu-ray, while smart horror tales like the British import “Eden Lake” never made it to U.S. theaters at all. But each proved superior to the likes of the “Friday the 13th” reboot and the aforementioned “Body.”
Noise sells: The most disturbing news to come out of 2009 was the runaway success of the incomprehensible “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra.”
(Visit Christian Toto’s Web site at www.whatwouldtotowatch.com)
In conjunction with the “Older Women/Younger Men:”
I typically enjoy a decent foreign film more than a decent American film because foreign films (except for Ballywood stuff) tend to feature actors and actresses who look real, and that real appearance draws me into the story more. Most American films feature actors and actresses with 2-dimensional, artificial looks, and, like CGI, it’s a constant reminder that I’m watching a movie.
I was working in Germany for a month and most everyday I had lunch with a local guy. As we got to know each other better we would ask each other more and more personal questions about the others culture, and society. One of his “biggest questions” was: “Do all Americans live in huge houses?” I answered “no,” and asked him where he had gotten such a notion. He replied that every character in all our films lives in a gorgeous, huge house. I laughed! It is true, though. It’s that kind of unreality that makes American films appear less real to me. Foreign actors tend to have lines on their faces, and be out of shape, and have thinning hair; you know, they look like real people.
Precisely why I’m enjoying 70s and 80s TV shows more and more with the passing years. Sure, you had your beautiful/handsome people (Tiegs, Selleck, Tewes, Danson, etc.), but far many more “real” folks (Jack Albertson, William Sanderson, etc.). Now, the tits are amazing, and everyone’s gazing at some body part– That’s the nature of art in Butt Town.
I saw The Proposal and honestly did not notice an age difference between Bullock & Reynolds. I thought the characters were about the same age, which added to the father’s frustration with his son’s career choice. At risk of losing my membership in the “He Man Women Haters” club, I really enjoyed The Proposal. I found it very pro-family. I especially liked Craig T. Nelson as Reynold’s father. This could have been a one-dimensional, stereotypical Hollywood handling of the oppressive father, but Nelson gave the character believable depth.
On “Horror confounds the experts:” My hope is that people are getting tired of the mindless slaughter depicted in the films cited here. Of course, the libs would say that previous success of horror was Bush’s fault for creating a depressing, oppressive atmosphere. Now that we’re living in Obamao’s bright shiny land of Hopey-Changey we’re not interested in dark slaughter films.
I have never understood the appeal of slasher films. I have no interest in seeing scores of humans killed in a variety of manners unless those humans are wearing german uniforms and John Wayne is doing the slaughtering.
Re: “Direct to DVD surprises” – One direct to DVD film I’d like to recommend is Ink, which I discovered through Netflix. It is a very moving dark fantasy. It is a low-budget independent movie about a man who struggles with his role as father for a daughter from whom he has become estranged. It takes place in the real world and a fantasy dream world.
Jamin Winans did a great deal with very little. I think Ink shows that if you have a solid story, massive amounts of CGI are not necessary for an enjoyable and moving film.
Daniel,
Am watching “Ink” now … the director is based in Denver and, so far, it’s amazing what he pulled off with such a modest budget.
I also dug “The Proposal” – very solid chemistry between the leads made up for the forced situations (nearly every Betty White moment was cringe worthy, even though she’s still great)
My problem with “The Proposal” was there was no conceivable reason why he should love this seemingly despicable woman. The Future Mrs. V made me watch this due to her well known love of Ryan Reynolds…I for some reason always feel obligated to point out I could pull his arms off without so much as breaking a sweat.
Veruckt, I have the same problem with many modern films. In older films, (Doris Day, Cary Grant, Hepburn and Tracy…) there was often a plot where opposites end up together. It’s a great plot line for scriptwriters. But I never had any trouble understanding what the “nice” opposite saw in the “curmdugeonly” opposite. But now the “curmudgeonly” opposite is often shallow and patently unlikable, so I have no interest if the two get over their dislike for one another and end up together. Not a love story, but “Julie and Julia” is a great example. At the end of the day, the main character was really quite shallow and selfish. Even Julia Child didn’t like her. When one sees her life juxtaposed with Julia Child’s one loses all affection for the lead character. Julia Child worked dilligently for years to get a cookbook published with no inkling that she would ever earn more than a very, very modest sum, yet she cut no corners. The Julia girl gets mad she’s not getting attention from her peers and starts a web-site with the sole ambition of getting fame. The scene where she listens to her answering machine with offers for interviews and money was hilarious to me. It wasn’t supposed to be a funny scene, but it showed just how pampered and spoiled this girl-child’s life was compared to Julia Child’s. Yet she bitched and moaned about her circumstances constantly. No wonder Julia Child found her insufferable.
Veruckt, I don’t know if you noticed the pic above, but Sandra Bullock is very good looking. Okay, … I’ll say … I think she’s hot. I may be going out on a limb here, but for a lot of guys attractiveness goes a very long way in overcoming differences. At least at first.
Besides, the movie’s set up, about saving his job, was good enough to get the story rolling, forcing the characters together.
The more I think about it the more I like it. For one thing, Proposal is different from a lot of romantic comedies, in that it is the woman, rather than the man, who faces the greatest change to get to the HEA (‘Happily Ever After’ in romance jargon).
Daniel’s gonna hate this, but couldn’t agree more. Sandra just gets better looking with age, too, from Miss Congeniality forward — damn!