Is it just me?

[Nerdius Maximus]

Or has this been a pretty crappy year for movies? There's been hardly anything that's interested me enough to see in the theater. I see trailer after trailer for movies that just leave me thinking "who cares?" It's a pretty sad state of affairs when someone asks me "What's the best movie you've gone to see this year?" and I have to honestly reply "Hot Tub Time Machine."

 

[ialfan]

There've been a few good movies this year but yeah not as many as I'm used to. This year the only movies I've really been happy with so far are Date Night, Kick Ass, Eclipse and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Hopefully Harry Potter 7 in a couple months too.

 

[PsychoPere]

I've seen twenty-six films so far this year. While I would not consider all of them "great," I could not possibly imagine ever being in a position to say that Hot Tub Time Machine was the best movie I've seen. Frankly, I think that's more a statement on you (or your geographical location, since that can often be to the detriment of good films) than it is on this year's cinematic offerings.

 

[cultcross]

Kick Ass has been the only real highlight for me so far. Summer has been very poor. I enjoyed Scott Pilgrim, but it wasn't anything that special imho. Looking forward to HP7, I think they've reached the most 'film' like book, so my expectations are sky high.

 

[Kirkman1987]

Inception was an A+ film.

Outside of that, it has been kind of meh. I did enjoy Kick Ass however, and The A-team, Machete, and The Expendables offered enough cheap thrills to keep me going.

but yeah, outside of Inception, nothing I would consider really great.

 

[DarKush]

I also agree that this year was lackluster. I was looking forward to Iron Man 2 and Clash of the Titans and both of those films were disappointments. I had zero expectations going into Kick-Ass and it wound up being my favorite movie this year.

Despite my misgivings, I've still gone to the theater quite a bit, though not as much as last year. I think it has been a good year for action films though, with Expendables, A-Team, Losers, Salt, and Machete. I also think some of the other genre films like Book of Eli, Splice, and Daybreakers have been good.

Inception was good, though I can't say I loved it. It was well made, a bit plodding, but it was ambitious and thought-provoking, or tried to be, so I give it points for that.

Overall, a decent year so far, it's just that I haven't really been blown away, except for Kick-Ass. The fall films don't seem to be all that must-see either, though I do plan on checking out a couple of them. Next year looks very, very promising though.

 

[Gaith]

Really, guys? Harry Potter and the Deadly Hollows?

I agree that it's been a weak year, and the reason? Too few sequels. No Bond, no Trek, and only one superhero installment, though it was awesome.

In fact, most of the year's biggest movies have been flicks designed to lead to sequels:

How to Train Your Dragon
Despicable Me
The Karate Kid
Clash of the Titans
The Last Airbender
Salt
Robin Hood
The Expendables
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
The A-Team
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Predators
Kick-Ass
Machete
Jonah Hex
Pirahana 3D

Total: at least 17


And how many sequels did we get?

Toy Story 3
Iron Man 2
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Shrek Forever After
Sex and the City 2
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
Step Up 3-D
Resident Evil 4

Total: 8

In other words, only three sequels not primarily aimed at kids or women. Oh, two of those were two of the top-grossing three movies of the year so far. Coincidence, I'm sure...


That just doesn't cut it these days, Hollywood. When we see heroes we like and enjoy, we want to see them again and again. Where's Hobbit, Bond, XXX, Indy, Hulk, Spidey, Fantastic Four, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Mummy, Pirates, etc.? Now, I know where all these are; it's a rhetorical question. But since non-sequel movies by definition stand alone, it's far easier to mark the passing of summers and years by franchise installments. And for whatever reason, Hollywood failed to bring the sequels this year, which, IMO, is a big, maybe even the primary reason, why this year has seemed so "meh" thus far.

 

[Dac]

I think this year was just as good as last, if not better. In 2009 we got Star Trek, District 9, The Hangover, Watchmen, Up and Crank 2. Not all of those films are "greats" but I enjoyed the hell out of watching them at the Cinema.

So far this year, I've seen Iron Man 2, Inception, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Green Zone, Kick ass,the A-Team, Toy Story 3, Predators, The Expendables and Resident Evil Afterlife. Again, not all of these I would consider "great" but once more I did enjoy going to see them.

Plus, I still have Tron Legacy, 128 Hours, RED, The Social Network, Jackass 3D, Black Swan, Skyline and Harry Potter to look forward too.

For me, on sheer numbers its a better year for films I want to see.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I agree that it's been a weak year, and the reason? Too few sequels.

Wow, I don't see this argument very often.

 

[Australis]

^ That's true!

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Inception, Toy Story 3, and Scott Pilgrim have been real highlights for me this year. I don't think this year as a whole has been any better or worse. It may just seem that way since there were fewer big tentpole films in the summer.

 

[Gaith]

I agree that it's been a weak year, and the reason? Too few sequels.

Wow, I don't see this argument very often.

Most truths start out as heresies.

 

[Aragorn]

I agree that it's been a weak year, and the reason? Too few sequels. No Bond, no Trek, and only one superhero installment, though it was awesome.

What was the awesome superhero movie? Off the top of my head, I can't recall any other superhero movie this year besides Iron Man 2.

 

[Gaith]

If Downey, ScarJo, Paltrow, Rourke as a crazy Russian, Rockwell, lots of suit action and more don't satisfy... than perhaps we as a culture should take a step back and realize how good we have it.

 

[PsychoPere]

Iron Man 2 was barely more than a commercial for The Marvel Movie Universe in general, sadly.

 

[cultcross]

Inception was an A+ film.

Outside of that, it has been kind of meh. I did enjoy Kick Ass however, and The A-team, Machete, and The Expendables offered enough cheap thrills to keep me going.

but yeah, outside of Inception, nothing I would consider really great.

Inception was... so-so for me. I enjoyed it, but I thought it was trying way to hard to be clever and I rarely get on with films that have a 'gimic'. Memento being a notable exception.

One I did forget to mention was Toy Story 3, I really enjoyed that and it was definitely a worthy addition to that franchise.

Gaith has a point about the sequel thing. When there are few movies in an established franchise that have 'pre built' buzz and characters/plotlines you're already invested in, it is harder for the movies to grab you - especially when they're trying, as they were this year, to suck you into brand new franchises like Salt. Although he wouldn't agree on this part the move I'm most interested in this year is HP7, and that's largely because of its position in a series and the draw of the familiar. The same could be said of Toy Story 3, I don't think I'd have gone to see a kids film about living toys if 1 and 2 hadn't done the gorundwork already.

 

[Mr Light]

This has been a disappointing year for movies. There weren't any true A Plus Event movies. The closest thing was what, Inception or Iron Man 2? Inception was cool and all but it wasn't the greatest thing ever, and IM2 was disappointing.

Next year is jam-packed with event movies though :thumbsup:

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Do you not think we're just suffering the effects of the writer's strike? Films can be in development for a long time, so we had the films that were already in production then rushed out after the writers strike and now we're suffering the badly written, quickly commissioned and greenlighted films that had to be made to make sure they had something this year?

 

[cultcross]

^ Could have a point there; certainly some of the "comedy" that's been out this year has made me think "Who green-lighted that?"

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

Kick Ass has been the only real highlight for me so far. Summer has been very poor. I enjoyed Scott Pilgrim, but it wasn't anything that special imho. Looking forward to HP7, I think they've reached the most 'film' like book, so my expectations are sky high.

So "Kick Ass" is pretty good? I'm thinking about watching it.