What We Learned This Week: April 2-8

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LESSON #1: THE FIRST STEP TO FIXING A PROBLEM IS RECOGNIZING YOU HAVE ONE— True to the quoted mantra of this lesson, a major movie studio did something I don’t think I’ve ever seen in recent memory.  They cited and accepted blame on an actual fault that the rest of us in the general public have known for months and could have told them the first moment it began.  After a dismal third place finish at the box office and parallel to the horribly tone-deaf Pepsi advertisement this week, Paramount Pictures exec Kyle Davies admitted that the “conversation regarding casting impacted the reviews” for “Ghost in the Shell.”  He wasn’t going to call it “whitewashing,” but we can read between the lines.  Maybe “Ghost in the Shell” becomes the public blemish example that pushes studios to change the way they do business.  One can only hope, but it was going to take a showy financial loser that stung someone’s bottom line before anyone noticed.

LESSON #2: HAVE A SCRIPT BEFORE YOU MAKE A MOVIE— Two little news nuggets about stories and screenplays pinged on my radar this week.  One was positive, in my opinion, and one was negative.  On the plus side, renowned and polarizing filmmaker Terrance Malick stated in an interview that he is “backing away from that style” of making movies without scripts.  He elaborated that “there’s a lot of strain when working without a script because you can lose track of where you are.”  You don’t say?!  Anyone who has seen “The Tree of Life,” “To the Wonder,” “Knight of Cups,” and “Song to Song” knows what I’m talking about.  As beautiful and experiential as those films are, they are absolute disorganized messes.  On the other end, “Transformers” steward Michael Bay revealed that 14 (yes, 14!) future “Transformers” movies already written.  Compared to Malick, way to be prepared.  Still, can someone light that shoebox of cocktail napkins written in crayon on fire and save us the future misery?

LESSON #3: THE MTV MOVIE AWARDS ARE STILL A JOKE AND WILL ALWAYS BE A JOKE— This year, MTV is merging their TV and movie award shows together into shared categories.  Here is the complete list of categories and nominees.  What’s the result of that?  All I see is compressed crap.  I think TV and film are two entirely different mediums of artistry and performance that shouldn’t be compared together, but what would I know?  I’m over the age of 24, have a full-time job, and don’t have a man-bun.  There’s a place for fan-centered awards, certainly, but stay fun and don’t pretend to be important.  The Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards get it right.  I’m more shocked that the MTV Movie and TV Awards actually have a Best Documentary category than their usual silly categories like Best Kiss.  I know I’m stepping to #getoffmylawn territory, but 90% of the Millennials watching MTV haven’t seen a single one of those nominees.  Stop already.  Shows like this feel like a slap in the face to recognizing real talent and real quality.

 

DON SHANAHAN is a Chicago-based film critic writing on his website Every Movie Has a Lesson.  He is also one of the founders and the current President of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle.  As an elementary educator by day, Don writes his movie reviews with life lessons in mind, from the serious to the farcical.  As a contributor here on Feelin’ Film, he’s going to expand those lessons to current movie news and trends.  Find “Every Movie Has a Lesson” on Facebook, Twitter, Medium, and Creators Media.

What We Learned This Week: March 19-25

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LESSON #1: SEE A MOVIE BEFORE YOUR JUDGE IT— I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t hear as many “Beauty and the Beast” ranters this week as I heard and read the week before the film came out.  Too many people can work themselves into a lather over the smallest sample size of an actual film generating by a film’s marketing.  It was very encouraging for me to see the film itself and its monster box office debut silence a large majority of its false haters who judged from clips and trailers before seeing the entire film.  I know we operate in a news cycle where stepping out with a hot take or being first in clickbait gets traffic and eyes, but so much of that buzz sours to silliness when a film finally comes out and proves people wrong (not everyone but most).

LESSON #2: WHEN A FILM DOESN’T SCREEN FOR PRESS, THAT IS NEVER A GOOD SIGN— Aaron and I, on this website, have active press credentials and get to see films ahead of time for review.  It’s rare when a film doesn’t screen for critics and it’s normally never a good sign.  Fire up the disaster siren warning for “CHIPS” this week.   Buyer beware and run for the hills!  Proceed at your own risk.

LESSON #3: PAY ATTENTION TO THE SXSW FILM FESTIVAL— I’ll echo advice I gave in January on the Sundance Film Festival and turn my spotlight to Austin, Texas.  The trendy SXSW Film Festival is quickly gaining attention, buzz, and notoriety as not just a good time with flashy red carpet premieres, but a legitimate film festival with quality offerings.  Keep an advance Oscar eye on the SXSW award winners, beginning with Grand Jury narrative winner “Most Beautiful Island” and documentary winner “The Work.”

LESSON #4: TERRANCE MALICK IS ONE OF THE MOST POLARIZING DIRECTORS WORKING TODAY— Speaking of SXSW, “Song to Song” arrives in theatrical release this week after its Austin premiere.  Any new Malick film brings out the worshippers and haters from all directions.  There are staunch critics who, more often than not, refuse to downgrade the man and his extremely experimental and non-traditional work.  Mark me down in the column of people that refuse to bow at his altar.  While I really do get what he’s doing, I find the man’s work lost and tirelessly repetitive even if it’s absolutely gorgeous from a visual style.  You get to be your own judge because there are not many film experiences more rigorous than a Terrance Malick film.  Best of luck.  Let’s compare notes afterwards.

LESSON #5: WOULD YOU PAY A LITTLE MORE MONEY TO SEE THEATRICAL NEW RELEASES AT HOME?— This lesson paraphrases a headline from a provocative topic presented by /Film this week that put a few fingernails to heads for itch-scratching.  Over the last 10-15 years of HD capabilities possible in home entertainment technology, this is not the first conversation from studios to consider digital access at home.  VOD platforms have continued to evolve, leaving price point as the one tricky and crucial factor in play.  How does $30 sound to watch, say, “Beauty and the Beast” at your leisure on the couch this weekend?  If movie tickets are $12 and you have a family of four, spending $30 compared to $48 before travel and concessions is beyond tempting.  You’re trading saving money for the incomparable experience of the big screen with a captive audience.  How do you feel about that?

 

DON SHANAHAN is a Chicago-based film critic writing on his website Every Movie Has a Lesson.  He is also one of the founders and the current President of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle.  As an elementary educator by day, Don writes his movie reviews with life lessons in mind, from the serious to the farcical.  As a contributor here on Feelin’ Film, he’s going to expand those lessons to current movie news and trends.  Find “Every Movie Has a Lesson” on Facebook, Twitter, Medium, and Creators Media.

What We Learned This Week: March 5-11

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LESSON #1: THE SUCCESS RATE OF INDIE DIRECTORS STEPPING TO BLOCKBUSTERS IS IMPROVING— Other than Marc Webb stepping up from “(500) Days of Summer” to the ill-fated “Amazing Spider-Man” double bill and “Moon” director Duncan Jones bombing on “Warcraft,” the recent push of larger studios’ farming of indie directors to helm blockbusters have gone pretty successfully.   All of the greats started small (take Christopher Nolan going from “Memento” to Batman), but the trend is swelling lately.   Colin Treverrow turned “Safety Not Guaranteed” into “Jurassic World” and J.A. Bayona will be moving from “The Impossible” and “A Monster Calls” into the dinotastic sequel.  “The Kings of Summer” director Jordan Vogt-Roberts cashed up to “Kong: Skull Island.”  This list goes on and on, and 2017 is full of more.  Rian Johnson flips “Looper” for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and Taika Waititi goes from “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” for “Thor: Ragnarok.”  Jon Watts of “Cop Car” hopes to not pull a Marc Webb with “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”

LESSON #2: BIGGER IS BETTER— Speaking of “Kong: Skull Island,” the head honchos at Legendary Entertainment found the easiest and most irresistible route to selling a new Kong film: Make him bigger.   The powers that be have smacked an invisible label on the cinematic Cheez Whiz jar that reads “now bigger than ever,” jacking up the normally and plenty-imposing 25-foot gorilla into a gigantic 100-foot bipedal behemoth.  That changes everything when it comes to the monster’s capacity for destruction and man’s impossible chances of opposition.  Go see the film.  It’s a blast.

LESSON #3: KEEP AN EYE ON THE SXSW FILM FESTIVAL— For nine days and 125 features this month, Austin, Texas becomes the center of the independent film scene with the annual South by Southwest Film Festival that is starting to rival January’s Sundance Film Festival for exclusive films and a Hollywood-level red carpet.  This year, you’ll get the premieres of the latest films from Edgar Wright (“Baby Driver”), Terrance Malick (“Song to Song”), and Ben Wheatley (“Free Fire”).   SXSW’s merger of the arts is becoming a hot ticket with good gets.

LESSON #4: THE WHITEWASHED CASTING OUTRAGE IS STARTING TO SMARTEN STUDIOS UP— I think the combination of warranted complaints,  butthurt rants, and internet courage-fueled protests are starting to work.   Movie news reported this week that director Guy Ritchie will seek Middle Eastern lead performers for Disney’s live-action “Aladdin” re-imagining and Niki Caro looks to be doing the same for “Mulan.”   If you look past the animated curtain and beyond all of its inherent entertainment value, “Aladdin” is one of the worst perpetrators in film history for white-washing.  I’m intrigued to see something different and call these active attempts an initial victory towards improved diversity.

LESSON #5: LET’S MAKE UP A NEW WORD: “BRITWASHING”— Piggybacking from Lesson #4, race relations also have a national vs. international bend to them from time to time.  Samuel L. Jackson just stepped out in an interview to criticize the casting of black British actor Daniel Kaluuya to play an American African-American guy in “Get Out” and wonders about missed opportunities.  Honestly, the man isn’t wrong and, as I coin the term, “Britwashing” has been a quietly unsettling trend when you see the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis, Christian Bale, Henry Cavill, Andrew Garfield, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, and David Oyelow playing real and fictional American heroes.  One has to wonder if there is a talent gap between the Brits and the Americans.  What do you think?  How do you feel about foreigners playing American figures and heroes?

DON SHANAHAN is a Chicago-based film critic writing on his website Every Movie Has a Lesson.  He is also one of the founders and the current President of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle.  As an elementary educator by day, Don writes his movie reviews with life lessons in mind, from the serious to the farcical.  As a contributor here on Feelin’ Film, he’s going to expand those lessons to current movie news and trends.  Find “Every Movie Has a Lesson” on Facebook, Twitter, Medium, and Creators Media.