Ryan McNeil
It’s August 31st, and while the calander says otherwise, today might as well be the end of summer. Tomorrow September arrives, and with it the closing of cottages, a continued crispness in the air, and thoughts of classrooms and schoolyards filling for another year.
At the movies, it means the end of popcorn season, and the beginning of awards foddor. Like clockwork every year, giant robots and plucky cartoons give way to thoughtful dramas and Weinstein-approved weepies. I’d wager most of you who read this blog are already sick of the fact that studios save their best stuff for this four month logjam, so I’ll spare you that rant.
I actually sat down this morning to complain that this summer felt like it was one of the worst I can remember at the movies. I was all set to point to the ’07-’08 writers strike as the cause, and call this summer one of the more forgettable in recent memory. But a funny thing happened on the way to the soapbox – I can’t rail against the bad films. The truth is, I saw far more good films than bad.
Between May and September, I saw seventeen films – just shy of one per weekend. Of those seventeen, I was handily impressed by ten. Of those ten, three of them knocked me on my ass (THE HURT LOCKER, 500 DAYS OF SUMMER, and INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS). So, when the three best movies I’ve seen this year all drop in the dog days, I can’t well cry in my Twizzlers, can I?
If the final summer of the decade did teach me one thing, it’s this: summer at the movies doesn’t have to be an intellectual wasteland. Indeed, we can all bemoan how insulting to our intelligence films like TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, and THE FINAL DESTINATION are…but it ain’t as though we don’t have any choice in the matter. The trick is shunning these titles for more thoughtful bits like MOON, COLD SOULS, and PAPER HEART.
And hell, who knows – if we keep going to see these smaller, quirkier, inevitably better movies…Hollywood might even make more of ’em!
Happy Autumn everybody.
This summer did see some good releases, but you definitely had to look for them. I think the general disappointment in this summer's box office leaders comes from the fact that they weren't as good as films such as last summer's Iron Man and The Dark Knight. Hopefully next summer will be better.
Part of my beef comes from living in Ottawa. We usually have to wait about a month after Toronto gets the goods before we can see them. Looking forward to "Cold Souls" opening here next week.
@ Joel… Good point, but I was thinking beyond just the one-two punch of DARK KNIGHT and IRON MAN. Lest we forget that last summer did bring quite a few disappointments – NARNIA, and INDIANA JONES to name a pair.
There were some big ticket movies that delivered this summer; STAR TREK for instance. However, even with titles like TREK and UP out there to be had, it just feels like I had to search extra hard this year for the good stuff.
Sorry about Ottawa, I take for granted that I live in a major market sometimes. At least by the time it gets out there, you get a good chance to read into whether or not it's worth your while!
"And hell, who knows – if we keep going to see these smaller, quirkier, inevitably better movies…Hollywood might even make more of 'em!"
Ah, to be young and naïve…
@ Alex… I prefer to think of myself as impish and optimistic.