By:  Hannah Johnston ‘16
Opinions Editor
Movies; they are everywhere. They are previewed on billboards, commercials, bus stops, and sometimes even in other movies. The entertainment industry is massive, and movies are a huge part of it. During your next night in or out though, I advise you to steer away from the mainstream movies that have been completely overdone. Do not contribute to the Hollywood money machines that are destroying true filmmaking. Film is not the must-see movie everyone is talking about; it’s not even the most glamorous red carpet event. Start looking at film for what it truly is: an art form. Amidst the unoriginality of the film industry, there are beautiful movies that truly deserve to be the blockbusters.
So far in 2014 out of the top ten grossing movies, six are sequels (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Transformers: Age of Extinction, X-men: Days of Future Past, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, 22 Jump Street), two are adaptations (The Lego Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy), one is a spinoff (Maleficent), and one is a remake (Godzilla). The amazing thing is that most of the sequels are not even continuing the storyline of an original film, but they are sequels to remakes, a whole new level of unoriginality. I am not saying that all of these movies were bad. The Amazing-Spiderman 2 was a great new take on the Spiderman franchise by strictly following the comic book series unlike the original movies. The real problem is the extent to which unoriginal movies have gone. The DC/Marvel Comic realm is a ‘been there done that’ exhaustion. The Transformers series has been dragged on far too long considering robo-car battles lost its charm halfway through the first movie. The Planet of the Apes had its glory in the 60s and 70s and the world only needs so much of animated monkey domination. None of these movies are originals, showing the true decline in the art of film. Not everything is entirely the public’s fault though considering the fact that “we have been brainwashed by corporations and have been taken to a place where our entertainment is based on the best graphics, biggest explosions, and most money spent on advertising,” says Annie Adair of firstshowing.net.
It’s not all over though. We can save ourselves from high pitched Disney songs and idiotic undercover cops. Comedy does not have to be subpar and acting does not have to give way to pointless special effects. Although, “we’ve been swimming in the Blockbuster Mentality since 1980 and it’s only intensified since,” and “Hollywood has dug its heels in, only to continue reproducing the same existing properties – thus limiting both the imaginations of audiences and filmmakers” (Landon Palmer of filmschoolrejects.com) there are still films that have come out completely unique and unaffected by the perils of Hollywood.
The One I Love(2014),directed by Charlie Mcdowell and staring Elisabeth Moss and Mark Duplass, tells the story of a couple with a marriage on the brink of falling apart. They are sent by their therapist to a weekend couples retreat. Although this may seem like another told and told again story, a strange happening on their weekend makes for a completely unique plotline. Although I can’t reveal too much about the plot as Duplass himself says it’s “obvious this movie plays better when you don’t know what’s going on,” I can say it is definitely worth the mystery. With the movie only having three main actors, the message is the more important aspect of this film, something that true art has but 21st century films have often left behind.
Another interestingly original film that has survived the overflow of artless movie making is Boyhood(2014),directed by Richard Linklater and starring EllarCaltrone, which is a project twelve years in the making. Boyhood follows the life of a young boy named Mason, and is one of the few films ever to truly depict the passage of time.The New York Times claims Linklater“isn’t fighting time but embracing it in all its glorious and agonizingly fleeting beauty,” as he gathered his four lead actors for a three to four day shoot every year, working on the script as they went along. The closest counterpart to Boyhood is Michael Apted’s multipart documentary project, the “7 up” series, that has dropped in every seven years since 1964 on the same British men and women since they were seven. Although Apted was the first to create a series of this nature, Linklater was the first to fictionalize it. Although the film may have a few inconsistencies considering it was not fluently shot; Boyhood is overall an excellent piece of artwork that shows the development of a young child brilliantly.
In essence, next time you are craving a movie, steer clear of the action-packed number one film in America. Often times these movies are made to target the lowest common denominator, and too many people are buying into it. Look deeper than that; search within the unlocked vault of true cinematic masterpieces.