I’m supposed to put an introduction here, but I think the title is sort of self-explanatory, so I’ll just jump right in. I trust these two sentences are padding enough for those of you who crave intros.
Well, 2008 was supposed to be the biggest year for movies in a long time, but a combination of factors changed a lot at the last minute. As the big ball in Times Square dropped and we all marveled at how devoid of franchise films 2007 was, we were supposed to see the releases of Indiana Jones, Batman, James Bond, Harry Potter, and Star Trek films within the same year. Each of these films was highly anticipated, either due to the dormancy of the respective franchise for a long time or the wild success of the previous entry… or, in Indy’s case, both. Not to mention some major contenders for the box-office crown, most coming from comics pages (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Hellboy II), with the exception of the ultimate chick flick, star-studded Mamma Mia, which would somehow become a phenomenon despite opening against juggernaut The Dark Knight, but I’ll get to that.
But I digress. Star Trek, anticipated largely due to J.J. Abrams’ name in the trailer, was bumped to May 2009 for the likely and legitimate reason of avoiding competing with proven lucrative franchises, as the fate of the entire Star Trek universe hinges on its performance. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was eventually knocked from the holidays 2008 to July 2009 for reasons that change depending on who you ask. Warner Bros. initially claimed that they needed the extra time to polish the film due in part to delays of the Writers’ Strike. That’s probably the last dying gasp of a studio executive who got used to blaming the writers for everything, probably just bitter about having to settle for a 6-disc changer in his Jaguar instead of a 10-disc. The slowed economy rears its ugly head. But I digress again. The fact is that the claim of the strike affecting the film doesn’t make much sense, since that statement was made after principle photography was completed and months prior to the release of the film. The more likely reason was probably two-fold: Between parties celebrating the massive success of The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. execs sobered up and realized that the upcoming Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, could do to Harry Potter what The Dark Knight did to Hellboy II. Knowing that they’d still turn a profit, but fearing that the revitalized Bond franchise might be a bigger box-office force than it seemed, they chose to bump the movie to the relatively franchise-free summer of the following year to maximize profits. The second reason was eventually admitted by one of those very execs, and while annoying to Potter fans, it makes good business sense: “We just needed a summer movie.”
(Sidenote: I’m making reference to things I’ve read over the course of the year, so I don’t have links to prove my references. You’ll just have to take my word for it at this point, and to anyone it concerns, no copyright infringement is intended. Feel free to stake your claim in the comments.)
And so it was with quite a bit of studio drama and four opening paragraphs that 2008 began. The Writer’s Strike was in full swing, and probably the best case for adequately compensating writers came with Abrams-produced Cloverfield. A narrative diamond in the early 2008 rough, Cloverfield is creative, engrossing, and altogether very satisfying to watch. Generally, the only films of high quality available in january are Oscar contenders from the previous year (indeed, that’s when I saw Atonement and There Will Be Blood), which makes a strong entry like Cloverfield very refreshing.
Unfortunately, I was let down by the major releases for the next few months. The best-looking comedy, Be Kind, Rewind was little more than watchable, and attempted actioners Jumper and 10,000 B.C. fell flat, with extra contempt reserved for the latter. Even sexy, well-acted The Other Boleyn Girl managed to be bland and unsatisfying. About the only film that at least met my expectations was rom-com Definitely, Maybe (there sure were a lot of commas in those movie titles, weren’t there?), which was adequately charming and less predictable than most of its kind. My favorite surprise of the pre-summer season was Horton Hears a Who, which was flawed but fun, and does the source material justice with its visuals, narration, and both Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell in top form. Not to mention that any movie that animates a mouse to look like Seth Rogen somehow is worth the time.
Still, there wasn’t a whole lot worth seeing – until May. And that, my friends, is where we’ll pick up in the next installment.
Next time: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Narnia, Indiana Jones, and the crown jewel itself, The Dark Knight. Plus, the triumph of animation in 2008.
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