Entertainment

A preview of coming films

I love movies.  Although I have not been able to watch many movies since I moved to Korea, I still keep up with the film industry and occasionally watch movies I find irresistable.  I am impressed with a gaggle of new films that will open soon.   The Christmas movie season is filled with a much better selection of movies this time around than it did last summer.  At that time, movie studios suffered from low box office revenues, largely due to the fact the fare they offered was generally unappealing.  This season is different.  I saw previews for several upcoming films and am impressed, not because they are original, per se, but rather that this holiday season is not dominated by comic book movies, television show flicks, Christmas stories, or yet another sequel.  Of course there are some staple films such as "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," but all in all, Hollywood did a fair job of straying from formula and doing it well.  
 
Here are some of the upcoming films I think could be the best in their categories.  Click on the links to view the trailers (Quicktime required).
 
Science Fiction/Fantasy
 
King Kong.  Peter Jackson, director of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, returns in December with an updated version of the cinematic classic.  I am not a big "King Kong" fan, but I love Peter Jackson’s work and think this movie showcases Jackson’s brilliant filmmaking. 
 
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.  After the success of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, someone was bound to bring "The Chronicles of Narnia" to the big screen.  Disney will give it a try in December with the first book in the "Chronicles."  I wonder if they’ll turn all seven books into films.  As a big fan of the "Narnia" series since childhood, I am really hoping that the film is more than a disappointment.  The preview leaves me hopeful.
 
Comedy
 
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World.  The trailer for this movie to be released in January 2006 is absolutely hilarious!  Any film that dares to broach such a potentially explosive subject is worthy of a second look.  Albert Brooks is a master of deadpan comedy.
 
The Producers.  The Broadway hit comes to the big screen in December.  Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprise their Broadway roles, and Uma Thurman is wickedly sexy.  After "Kill Bill I and II," I never thought Uma could pull it off.
 
Drama/Suspense
 
Munich.  This Steven Spielberg film due out in December chronicles events following the massacre during 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, when Israel athletes were assassinated by terrorists.
 
Memoirs of a Geisha.  I absolutely loved this book.  The movie appears to capture the spirit of the novel, although it will probably not fully realize Arthur Golden’s masterpiece.  Due in December.
 
Animation/Children’s
 
Curious George.  It is really nice to see a good old-fashioned cartoon animation film amidst all the me-too computer-generated films such as "Madgascar."  I am so glad that they didn’t turn George into a CGI creature and turned Will Farrell’s voice into "The Man With the Yellow Hat" instead of having Farrell himself play the character.  My son loves this preview, so I’m positive that kids will love it.  Scheduled for release in February.
 
I like a good horror film, and I’m also an action/adventure fan, but I just didn’t see any upcoming films that I would recommend in either of these genres.  A few honorable mentions that piqued my interest include "V for Vendetta," "North Country," and "The New World," but none are enough of a draw to earn my money this holiday season.

Why the box office phunk?

I love movies.  Between Korea and my son, I haven’t had much time to keep up with the latest offerings churned out by Hollywood.  Perhaps even more than watching movies, I enjoy following the movie industry.  For example, I love playing a game called Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX), a free game site where you "invest" in upcoming films and "hot" actors.  It’s a great way for me to test my investing mettle against my potential as a movie studio executive.  Although I’ve been too busy to play lately, my ranking is still in the top 4% of HSX traders.  I’m a methodical, patient investor who makes modest bets on movies.  I recently read that Hollywood studios suffered through their 18th straight decline in weekend box office revenues, a modern day record.  What gives?  Why have movie box office receipts declined so dramatically this year?  Is it because Napster has undermined the movie industry and people are skipping movies because they can download them for free to their iPods?  Hardly.  This box office decline is due to a confluence of factors.  I see this trend continuing unless the movie industry changes its business model to accommodate a new reality.  An industry that routinely hundreds of millions of dollars in investment on films is vulnerable to failure and business downturns, and it needs to adjust because its market is moving away from it.

 
Here are some reasons why Hollywood’s box office has declined:
  1. The rise of alternative entertainment options, particularly gaming.  The gaming industry, fueled by Sony’s PlayStation, Microsoft’s Xbox, Nintendo, Sega, and a slew of game makers such as Electronic Arts is fast capturing the eyeballs of America.  Individual game releases are viewed in the vein of movies–they are costly to make, are preceded by marketing blitzes, and have a limited shelf life.  A successful game like "Grand Theft Auto" or "Halo" can make millions.  Legions of Gen Y’ers and Gen X’ers ages 10 to 40 are increasingly turning away from sitting in a movie theater to other entertaining pursuits.  They want interactive experiences.  Aside from being there for the occasional epic moment such as the end of the "Star Wars" saga, or the highly anticipated "The Matrix" sequel, they prefer to read the book or wait for the video.  Movie studios need to consider how to make their offering more interactive beyond movie web sites with flashy online content.
  2. Movie tickets are expensive and theaters are too inconvenient.  Hollywood may have reached the near-term limit on how much it can get away with charging for a ticket.  When it costs you $17 for a movie ticket, a small popcorn, and a soda, you know you’re paying too much.  And that’s just for yourself!  Plus, movie theaters are too far away and too much of a hassle for many people to bother with nowadays.  Movie studios need to figure out how to bring their product to the masses, rather than expecting the masses to come to them.  The movie distribution network and ticket-revenue schemes inked between studios and cinema owners is as outdated as the traditional automobile dealer network.  It needs to figure out how to deliver content dynamically; for example, combining the concept of pay per view with movie distribution.  Would you pay as much or more than a movie ticket to watch that brand new movie release on your digital cable?  The answer is probably yes.  The studios need to work with the likes of Comcast and DirecTV to offer another outlet to distribute original features.
  3. Studios are not producing original, compelling content.  You’re probably read this time and again, but it is so true.  Just look at the top movies so far this summer.  Another "Star Wars" film, another "Batman" film, a remake of the TV series, "Bewitched," a remake of "Herbie, the Love Bug," another zombie sequel, and another CGI animated film featuring cute animals.  Can’t wait to see that remake of "War of the Worlds," another alien disaster flick, or yet another comic book turned into a movie ("Fantastic Four")?   "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" is the only high-grossing feature with a somewhat original theme, although it borrows heavily from classics such as "The Scarecrow & Mrs. King," "The War of the Roses," and Schwarzeneggar’s "True Lies."   Just like television needs to lay off its incessant urge to turn everything into a reality show, the movie studios need to throttle back on the number of remakes and sequels it makes.  Indie film makers are keeping alive the flame of originality, although there’s no reason why Hollywood can’t make an original film that appeals to mass audiences.  Start by reworking the canned plotline we all know and expected:  develop character, key moment in character’s life, character responds, climax, happy ending.

Time to get a TiVo?

I took a break from Christmas card writing and studying Korean to do a little channel surfing on cable TV.  I do that sometimes when I take a study break.  My wife thinks I’m great at finding interesting things to watch on the “stupid box.”  (“Stupid box” is the North Korean word for television; it is such a fitting word!)  There wasn’t much on at 1 p.m. on a weekday before Christmas.  I surfed until I came upon the classic movie “Tremors,” the Kevin Bacon featuring oversized worms that eat anything that moves (literally).  It’s probably the umpteenth time it’s been broadcast on cable.  I think the cable movie stations have it on permanent rotation.  It’s one of those movies cable features over and over.  Other films that are cable standards include Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s “Kindergarden Cop” and “Predator”, “National Lampoon’s Vacation” featuring Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo and “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” starring Steve Martin and John Candy.  Although I don’t watch TV that often, I’ve probably seen parts of “Vacation” dozens of times.  I always seem to stumble upon “Tremors” and “Vacation” halfway through the movie.  Whenever I turn on the TV and find  Kevin Bacon, Reba McIntyre, and Michael Gross talking in cheesy southwestern accents perched atop buildings or vehicles and fighting off grotesque earthworms with tentacle tongues.  I almost always stumble upon “Vacation” when the Griswold family is driving through Kansas en route to the Grand Canyon.  I usually turn it off after they drop dear old Aunt Edna off at their cousin’s home in Arizona.  Although I’ve seen these movies’ endings dozens of times, I rarely have a chance to catch the beginning.  Take the movie “The Ring” for example.  HBO aired the show ad nauseum a couple months ago, and I always found it on TV mid-way through the movie.  I’ve seen the ending about 4 times, but I’ve never seen the beginning.  I even thought about renting it so I could see the beginning of this intriguing flick, but why would I when I’ve seen the ending so many times?  I’ll wait until it cable airs it again, and maybe I’ll go see the next installment of “The Ring” due out next spring.  Maybe it’s time to get a TiVo and a TV guide so I can pre-record these shows and watch them in their entirety.  Until then I guess I’ll have to be content with watching half reruns.