Studying Studios: The Indie Six in the First Quarter

This is a fun first glance at what the larger independent studios are putting out so far this year. While there isn't a lot out there, what has been released has been fairly strong. Most of these films have been approved by the critical community and very few have been universally trashed (The Spy Next Door...). When compared to the Major film studios the biggest question seems to be: Is the critical community biased or favorable towards independent films or is the smaller film studio create an environment that produce better films.


Lions Gate Entertainment: 38%

Daybreakers: 67%

The Spy Next Door: 12%

From Paris with Love: 35%

Overture – 56%

Brooklyn’s Finest: 41%

The Crazies: 71%

Summit Entertainment: 54%

The Ghost Writer: 81%

Remember Me: 27%

Dreamworks: 97%

How To Train Your Dragon:  97%

The Weinstein Company: 68%

Youth in Revolt: 68%

MGM – 63%

Hot Tub Time Machine: 63%






Overall Score of The Indie 6 Companies: 63%


Please look for the next installment of this series at the end of June!

Studying Studios: The Big Six in the First Quarter

First Quarter: January-March

Never a ton of films out during the First Quarter so these scores are just a small preview. This post only covers the Big six and I'll cover some smaller/independent companies for the 2nd and 4th quarters. Would be fun to get people to start thinking about how these films are related through their company. Once you become familiar with the studio system and whats coming out each weekend you can understand a lot about the film business and how it operates.

(based on Rotten Tomato scores)


20th Century Fox
First Quarter Score: 48%

Tooth Fairy - 15%
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lighting Thief - 51%
My Name is Khan - 75%
Diary of a Wimpy Kid - 51%

This score isn't as strong as it seems. 3 of the films aimed at younger kids that made some money but will all be forgotten once they leave the theaters.

Universal

First Quarter Score: 32%

Leap Year - 20%

The Wolfman - 32%

Green Zone - 54%

Repo Men -23% 

A very safe spring season for Universal. Leap Year was isn't quite worth the watch, The Wolfman was fun at times but nothing special, Jason Bourne 4 was universally ignored and Repo Men is much better than it's scored but again completely under advertised and forgotten by the public before it came out.

Warner Bros.
First Quarter Score: 40%

The Book of Eli - 45%
Edge of Darkness - 55%
Cop Out - 19%

Not too bad for the spring season. Book of Eli was fun, Edge of Darkness was Mel Gibson's successful return to the revenge fantasy. Cop Out was shit on but deserves a rental for those who like buddy or cop movies.

Columbia

First Quarter Score: 27%

The Book of Eli (International) - 45%

The Bounty Hunter - 09%

Not a great first step for Columbia this year. The Bounty Hunter is the most trashed film of the year and The Book of Eli wasn't really there's.

Paramount
First Quarter Score: 67%

Shutter Island - 67%

Only one film factored into this score as you can see. Possibly the best film so far this year.

Disney
First Quarter Score: 52%

Alice in Wonderland - 52%


Another studio that hasn't done much this first quarter. Should be more exciting as the year continues.


Overall Score of The Major 6 Companies: 44%


Stick around for Wednesday's post when I review the 6 biggest independent/mini-major companies!


What's your favorite studio?
Do you prefer films from the major studios or more independent projects?
Do you think the critic's have fairly judged the studio films that have come out this year so far?

Review: Repo Men (2010): B

Nina Samone sings “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, It’s a new life for me,” as a surgeon’s hand pumps blood into Jude Law’s new mechanical heart. Oh, and you guessed it, he’s about to have a change of heart in more than one way. Repo Men is science fiction without science, but luckily for us it’s too dumb to know what it’s missing. It works because it’s fun and it inspires a thousand of “I couldn’t believe it” conversation pieces between friends when walking out of the theater. Like most entries in throat cutting genre, the film’s obvious flaws only bother people who don’t embrace them as the fun clichés that people love to hate. 


The film is essentially a few psychotic ideas and unnecessary Sci-Fi references strung together with a poor excuse for a plot that somehow make for fun ride. The lack of narrative is probably while so many critics have attacked it, but the film’s greatest moments are enough to make its Rotten Tomatoes score a bit misrepresenting. On that note, let us keep in mind that Daybreakers is the only action film to get positive reviews so far this year from the critical community, which is absurd. There’s no significant difference in quality between the Ethan Hawke Vampire Movie and this Jude Law Hitman Health Care Movie. It just goes to show that when it comes to critical reception these days for action flicks, there’s not a lot of difference between two thumbs up and two thumbs down. You can’t throw a “buy it”, “rent it”, or “burn it” rating on this movie. If you’re watching it with friends and their not afraid of a little bit of blood you’ll have a good time.

Ya Wanna Be A Star Don’t Ya?

Some people assume that film critics always wanted to be filmmakers when they were young. Creating art, instead of commenting on it. To be honest...

I didn’t have Spielberg in my heart.

I didn’t have Kubrick in my brain

I didn’t have Bay in my cock.

I’m a writer. One who just happens to love movies and a steady paycheck. That makes my most desirable career film criticism.

It doesn’t matter if journalism accepts my style or if the audience accepts my ideas. I write about these things because I feel the need to. It’s not a passion or a calling. Not a drug or escape. It’s food and if I don’t feed I’d starve.

Like any other 19 year old, I’m hungry.

Peace.

P.S. - Other Popular Cliches

Actors want to direct but they have shit for brains.

Directors wanted to act but look like shit.

When you’re writing screenplays you wish you were writing novels.

When you’re writing novels you wish you had money.

2010 - 1st Quarter: Comedy and Action Flicks

Percentages according to Rotten Tomatoes

Comedies
1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid - 52%
2. She's Out of My League - 49%
3. Leap Year - 20%
4. Cop Out - 19%
5. Valentine's Day - 18%
6. When In Rome - 17%
7. Our Family Wedding - 16%
8. Tooth Fairy - 15%
9. The Bounty Hunter - 9%
10.  The Spy Next Door - 9%


Action
1. Daybreakers - 67%
2. Green Zone - 53%
3. Frozen - 47% (considered Action?)
4. The Book of Eli - 45%
5. From Paris With Love - 35%
6. Repo Men - 20%
7. Legion - 19%
8. Cop Out - 19%
9. The Spy Next Door - 9%
10. The Bounty Hunter - 9%

(Daybreakers is the only film on both these lists to receive a Fresh Tomato!)

Obviously not a very strong start to the year, but the lists say something else that I don't think most see. While most of these films aren't worth today's high ticket prices, it also reflects the insane expectations critics bring to these genres.

Is it fair that only a few action and comedy flicks per year get a thumbs up from the critics? Every week features at least one indie or drama that gets high or excellent praise.

Comedies don't have to make us piss ourself from laughing in order to recommend it. Were lucky if we get one Hangover per year. That can't be the only praised film of the year.

Obviously we haven't hit primetime for either of these categories. I'm attending to update these lists as the year goes on and I encourage others to follow them as well.

This list does not include Hot Tub Time Machine. I think the film should have the power to break the bad streak comedies have had with critics this year. It even has potential to be one of the Top 5 Comedies of the Year.

Television: Scooby Doon't

Okay, Scooby Doo is a bunch of bullshit. Lies and deceit.

Nobody could solve all these mysteries without...
A. Sticking around each state to testify at each of the individual trials
B. Gain suspicion towards themselves as criminals, since everywhere they go there is a crime going on. Did it occur to any of us that maybe these meddling kids are committing the crimes and then framing/blackmailing people into admitting it. Everywhere they go someone is getting ripped off.

Fred and Daphne - Clearly banging.
Velma - Clearly a lesbian.
Shaggy - Clear Shagging Scooby.
Scooby - Can't actually talk.
Mystery Machine: Pedophile Wagon

Things the show Falsely Promotes,
1. People taking the law into there own hands. When you think you have evidence of a crime, call the police.
2. Don't set traps for criminals that could kill them. If you catch the guy, thats great...but if he's injured he can sue. Don't be stupid.
3. Ghosts are real. For a monster/ghost/ghoul crime fighting team they haven't seen many episodes of Ghost Hunters (the REAL pursuers and expellers of spirits haunting a certain location).

What are you favorite episodes and have I now ruined them with these fundamental truths?

2 Kickass Solutions to Hollywood's Problems

Since apparently most films these days either need a super hero (for the guys) or Robert Pattison (for the girls), I've decided to express my own desire for where I want each franchise/genre to go.

Ideas


1. First One To Touch Robert Pattison Wins:
The one Pattison movie that I could actually enjoy. Girls/Freinds A, B, and C in Smalltownville decide that because of their passion for Pattison and Reason X, they decide to have a competition . First one to find him and touch him wins. Whoever wins, they get The Prize. 


*Climax of the movie must be all three girls jumping toward him in slow motion

It'd be a lot like Rat Race mixed with Fanboys mixed with Mean Girls.

Someone make this movie.

2. The Last Movie You'll Ever Need To See

Stumbled upon this Golden Nugget on the interweb this morning. If Hollywood is insistent on simply turning out franchises, remakes and reboots why not go all out? Release 52 episodes/feature films per year of Batman fighting Jaws/Giant Sharks with a light saber. I won't complain. I'll review each one. It'll be glorious and I can stop taking my film history and media writing classes.

The Dark Knight: Attack of the Shark Clones.

The Dance

Romantic Comedies are a dance. Everyone knows the steps because itt’s fairly straightforward. Not a lot of twist or turns. Not a lot of room for improvisation.

Some people think the dancers don’t know what their doing. Other people may think the dancers don’t see the flaws in their steps. They may think the dancers don’t know how many people have done this dance before in almost the exact same groove.

The truth is that the dancers know. They are DANCERS. They know how they’re doing it and how others will see it.

Romantic comedies are not interpretive. It’s not social expression or a spiritual performance. It’s not ballet.

Romantic comedies are Dance Dance Revolution. As long as you care about the two people dancing, you’ll leave the theater happy. 

Fear of Water For Sale

$=Priceless

Directed By: A Cruel Man

Rating: PG (Panic and Gore)

Language: Human

Tagline: “dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum DUM dum dum dum DUM dum dum dum ”

Plot Synopsis: Beast Hunts Man. Man Cry. Man Hunts Beast. Man Cheer. 
This Shark wants to eat you. Sharks want to kill you and tear you into tiny tiny tiny little pieces and devour you the same way they have for millions of years in a supreme dictator style. But it’s not because they hate you, it's because they can.

Special Features: A Beach’s Safety for Sale, Bare Breasts for Sale, A Swimsuit for Sale, A Small Town’s Fear for Sale, The Mayor’s Greed for Sale, The Mother’s Regret for Sale and Suspense for Sale,  A Police Chief’s Responsibility for Sail, The Fisherman’s Skills for Sail, An Audience’s Shock for Sail, Scuba Diving Gear for Sail, A Sunken Ship for Sail, A Scar in the Ocean for Sail and The Smell of Red Water for Sail.

Quotes:

            “I care very little for this species because of this movie.”

“Coastal vacations are no longer an option for me.”

“He twists our guts with false alarms.”

“Achieves a number of cheap thrills at the expense of the mechanical shark.”

“Promises a boring life because you will never get to swim, water ski, surf,  or maybe not even shower again.”

“Highest Grossing Movie of All Time until the 1997 film about the big ship sinking.”

Blogging the Business: The Big Six

2010 Major Picture Releases From the Major Six Film Studios
According to Rotten Tomatoes


Critically Approved Movies: Shutter Island – Paramount

Critically Non-Approved Movies: Death at a Family - Columbia
Alice in Wonderland - Disney
Percy Jackson: The Lighting Thief and Tooth Fairy – Fox
She’s Out of My League – Paramount
Green Zone, Leap Year, The Wolfman – Universal
Cop Out, The Book of Eli and Valentine’s Day – Warner Bros.

It seems to me that critics have declared wars against the 6 big companies. Paramount , Warner Bros., Fox, Disney, Universal, and Columbia have only had one critically acclaimed movie so far in 2010. Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island is the only movie to gain a positive reception from Rotten Tomatoes and that’s hardly a surprise. Even critical reception and support for a Martin Scorsese movie was surprisingly less than I expected. Good or bad this countries critical community seems to be moving away from the most mainstream films.

It could be that Spring is becoming more and more the dumping grounds for shitty studio films, but the trend is too strong to simply ignore. Either way, I’m excited for summer where hopefully the big movies won’t be shitty or shit on by the critics.

Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer

Compliment towards maker. Pointing out small mistake. Giving new compliment and reassurance of coolness.

My Boy Peyton Reed Directed This New Video By She & Him

Starring Zooi Deija Nel and Him 
(A Robert Downey Jr. Look Alike).

Live Blogging/Complete Coverage of Galifianakis on SNL

Question: Hey Mike/Film Rubbish, isn't live blogging just for big events that people want second to second coverage of?

Answer: False. Mike could live blog his attempt at growing a mustache and it would still be groundbreaking journalism.

Well this event is actually a bit more significant then my (lack of) mustache. This is the first time Zach is hosting SNL and I have a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Oh and I didn't tell anyone about this live coverage of mine. Which make this whole live process a bit awkward...like a live concert with one sad audience member...me.

Opening Monologue: He starts with stand up. Laughs at himself and moves to his piano. Fame has not changed him and I couldn't be more relieved. I never want to see him in Land of the Lost 2 being chased by big dinosaurs and chasing an even bigger paycheck.

First joke attacks the hipsters. Another brilliant move. He has no group, he simply is.

The entire opening monologue, he stuck to his guns and the audience loved it.

Hoobastank joke...classy.

The Beard. The One Liners. The Dude.

Father Yankovic: One of the sketches where the entire cast kisses each other repeatedly. Bill Hader stole the show but Galifianakis had no problem keeping up.

I'm already tired of typing Galifianakis...its a doozy.

I'm not sure if that sketch takes balls. Definitley takes some tongue...

The Baday: Started funny but got a little old.

He should stick to more outrageous/wierd stuff.

NBC Montage: Hilarious! One of the funnier things I've seen on SNL this year.

"Freeze!" in the Gay Snake accent. Priceless.

3/4 as far as sketches go!

What's Up With That: RJ Sizzle rocked that flute harder then Ron Bergundy.

(Wow Jude Law next week. Should be a blast of British accent that pleasures the ladies and leaves the straight fellas cold.)

This sketch seems invented to waste time that the show can't cover.

The Situation Room: Maybe I'm just a sucker for this guy. He Dances. I Laugh. Perfect frat boy dance.

Even his Vampire Weekend Intro's are great. Dramatic "fade away" that cuts to the band.

Pageant Talk: He Shaved The Beard! This episode just got real.

He should be on this show fulltime!

Then he throws it back on for the finale!

The Conclusion: Definitely met my expectations, which were high to begin with. He is the best host of 2010. Unfortunately, Tina Fey will be on in a few weeks and it'll be hard to beat her at her own game.

Well it's been a crazy night filled with a few sketches that produced multiple semi-witty comments that I really enjoyed chuckling at after writing down. I like rating the performance of the SNL Hosts. I might do this more often.

Oscar Coverage Part Uno: Best Picture

(The same picture that every writer has used the past bijillion years for  covering the Oscars)

The picture the public wants to win: Avatar. It was the biggest economical success in film’s history. The movie was an experience that the vast majority of its viewers enjoyed. It was the cinematic experience of the year.

The picture that critics want to win: The Hurt Locker. This is the smallest film to ever be nominated for this category.  It’s this year’s “Slumdog” in the sense that everyone who’s seen the movie has enjoyed it and the only problem is…very few have seen it. (It’s not quite as universal as Slumdog, because it s a War/Action, instead of Drama/Romance. However, the War/Action audience (also known as “men”) is a fairly large one, and many have missed the film.

The picture that is a combination of box office success and critical acclaim: Inglorious Basterds. This is the true underdog of the category. It would be a huge upset and history will frown upon the fact that Tarantino didn’t receive an award for his “masterpiece”.

The picture that is able to entertain, teach and satisfy the entire audience: District 9. It won’t be taking home the award but if you had to recommend one movie from this year to somebody, without knowing anything about them, it would have to be this film.

Dirty Little Secret (In case you didn’t know)

Best Picture Nominees
Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, and Up in the Air.

1

1.  but…

Best Director Nominee

1. The Hurt Locker

2. Avatar

3. Inglorious Basterds

4. Precious

5. Up in the Air

^The truth is that this is the real list of Best Picture Nominees this year. If you’re cheering for The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, A Serious Man, or Up it’s just not going to happen.

Trending Rubbish

Catch your favorite Film Rubbish writer on the Trending Cinema podcast with Jon Tilton (the American) and Simon Miraudo (the Australian). Here's the Link to the Episode.

Two (Three today) strangers from opposite sides of the globe, united by the cornerstones of Web 2.0 (Twitter, Facebook and Skype). Putting aside decades of international tension (mostly sparked by that episode of the Simpsons where Bart moons the Aussie Prime Minister), Jon and Simon (and Mike) examine the weird and wonderful world of film from their unique perspectives. Funny, honest, easily distracted, well-informed (kind of). At the very least, they always endeavour to keep the conversation Trending Cinema.





In this episode we talk about Black Dynamite, Julie and Julia, insult Galapogian listeners, discuss why Jon hates The Godfather, ponder the horribleness of the It Television-series, confess their pleasure for The Phantom Menance, and end on a big cliffhanger that might not ever be answered...

Finding McClane

There’s a certain fear when it comes to talking about escapism in film. The immediate reaction is to label it as a negative characteristic and argue that art should be grounded in or commenting on reality. This fear is based on the idea that our culture uses film as a drug to escape our present situation.

I could drone on about how we have a responsibility to be a more conscious film community, but instead I’m going to take a more open minded approach to the issue using my dear friend Officer John McClain.

The (real) reality is that some director’s are chasing a reality (let’s count how many times I say the word reality) that doesn’t intrigue today’s audience. Some art is praised as capturing a more “real” vision of the world or a conflict, but who decides what’s more realistic? The critics?

The public votes every weekend on this issue. When they decide to go to a flick that helps them get to a more entertaining place. It’s simply reflecting that we live in a suppressed culture. It can be the best part of our day and while it’s not a substitute for reality, it’s a nice supplement to the complex world we live in.

For me, Die Hard (1988) is an example of a perfected dose of male-fantasy escapism. None of us want our family’s to be held hostage by terrorists, however if they were captured by terrorists this would be the coolest and most entertaining way things could play out.

Bruce Willis’s portrayal of Officer John McClane  stays with you long after you leave the theater and it’s a benchmark character other films should aim to create. McClane is ultimately a superhero with a fairly small superpower. When people push McClane down, he gets up. 

He’s not the strongest, smartest or fastest. He can’t fly, shoot webs, or tear down buildings. It’s a simple but unique characteristic, that when placed in an ordinary person, has the ability to make them extraordinary.

(As the Die Hard series continued McClane’s strength, endurance and plain dumb-luck increased to an absurd amount but most would argue that our first meeting with McClane was strong enough to forgive his future flaws.)

I’m not going to give examples of films that dive too far into escapism because it’s completely objective to that audience’s background and culture. However, when searching for films just make sure you’re aware of what you’re looking for. If you are, you’ll have a better appreciation of the film’s that really speak to you. 

When looking to escape from a bad day know that while films can’t cure your disease, they can make the day a little bit better.

Be proud Film Junkies. Be Proud.