The Return of Good Movies

Ahh, the movies. Don't you just love to go to watch a film and eat popcorn? To laugh, cry, cheer, scream and yell with the action as it unfolds?! To feel everything right there with the character? Eh?! I know I do! But sadly, not a lot of folks are going to the theaters as they use to. There are a few reasons for this:

The Economy/Recession: Thousands and thousands have lost their jobs. (It's getting so bad that some are committing suicide.) People are struggling to pay for their cars, insurance, rent, mortgages, gas and electric bills. Now food purchasing is like a bill now. Usually whatever is left over is considered money for entertainment. Even then, it's not a hard decision to choose between a ten dollar movie ticket and two gallons of gas.

It's too expensive: If you go by yourself it's not that bad, just ten dollars. That's if you don't buy any food or drinks. A regular drink could cost between three dollars and five. Water is two dollars. (That's funny. There is always water fountains right beside the restrooms.) Popcorn is two to four dollars. You want candy? That costs around three dollars. When you go with the family, someone inevitably gets incited by hot dogs or soda. By the time your done, the lint in your pocket is cold and lonely, since there's no money left to keep it warm. What if the kids want to see a film in 3-D or at I-max? Forget about it, that's five dollars added to each ticket.

No good films: To put it other words, the scripts are bad. A few years ago, hardly a month went by without a good QUALITY film being released. It was usually the thing for me to do, plan out weeks ahead for a night at the theaters. I would spend fifteen dollars for three films and stay there all night. Now there are only two films at most that are any good, released every few months. Is it because of the acting? Not likely. Actors are always in films, regardless of what it's about. I would blame it on the screenwriters. There just isn't enough good scripts to go around. You know how many remakes have come out just last year? Either writers are running out of ideas, or some studios are getting lazy to film a new movie.

The demographics: When a film is made, it is geared towards age groups. R-rated films are geared towards adults, PG-13 rated films are geared towards teenagers, and PG and G films for youngsters. Most films nowadays have a PG-13 rating and up. There's many family's out there, and this makes up a lot of the ticket-buying share. If there are no films in the PG rating that everone wants to watch, most likely no-one will watch it. What about the older folks? They are not likely to watch Terminator: Salvation. That's why studios are selective about releasing R-rated films. They are trying to target a certain age group. Wolverine could easily have been R, but to get those sales, a PG-13 rating was necessary.

The good news: It seems that this summer is filled with blockbusters, and more are being released by the end of the year. It seems to me that Hollywood is stepping up their production values and hiring new talent for screenplays. Instead of shooting films on the old L.A. back lot, some movies are being filmed in Canada, Mexico, and New York. Writers like J.J. Abrams, (Cloverfield, Star Trek 2009) are giving movie-goers quality films. New franchises have been started up, like G.I. Joe. Many more films for families are being released, like animated features and comedies. Also, to get a cheaper ticket it's best to go before four or five. Tickets are cheaper.