::sigh:: January, what can you do?

[trinityvixen]

My movie-a-week resolution was going along swimmingly until this weekend. There is literally not a single movie I want to see. I scoured the smaller-venue listings when the major studio releases all appeared to be made of fail. I had held out hope that the mindless Jason Statham movie The Mechanic would be serviceable, but all the reviews say not. I wasn't so interested in it that I'll bother if reviews are that poor.

The problem is not that the indies look dumb; it's that they look depressing or, worse, boring. A fictional film about child soldiers in Africa? Interesting, but I'll probably be reduced to suicide by the end of it. Or they look boring, if appropriately liberal-guilt-easing, like movies about a Woman Doing It On Her Own In A World (in this case, country) That Will Not Tolerate It.

Not a great start to a year's resolution to be thwarted so early on. I have, easily, a movie-a-week I can see from March until July, but I've got to figure out how to survive fucking January and February first. February is, at least, short, and there are several movies that are actively of interest. Despite knowing that it will probably suck (the director himself is saying things aren't exactly Shakespearean in his film), and despite knowing where it came from, I still want to see I Am Number Four. Liam Neeson kicking ass, taking names in Unknown is enough to make up for January Jones being in it. (January! My nemesis!) And even though Season of the Witch made absolutely no goddamned sense and wasn't bad enough to make it fun, I'm still totally on board for Nicholas Cage in Drive Angry. Hopefully, not in 3-D.

But this will be the first weekend I have no movie to see. Help me, Oscar Showcase. You're my only hope.

Comments

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Does BAM or one of the museums have something playing that might be palatable?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

That's a thought. I'm trying not to see too many movies that are available on DVD. I wouldn't count, for example Airplane!, even though there's a showing in the theaters this weekend and next week. I'm trying to make it about getting to see new things as much as possible. I should see what some of the museums are offering.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Did you see my e-mail about Airplane playing this weekend? Also, Ghostbusters is playing tonight... Or do they have to be new movies?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

They wouldn't count. I mean, I'll give myself some leeway with movies on DVD already that are in the Oscar Showcase, but I'm trying to make it new-to-me movies as much as possible.

I did see your e-mail. I was more tempted by Ghostbusters, as that, more than Airplane! will benefit from a big screen. Ultimately, I think I have to bow out for either. I need to get some work done tonight.

[six-demon-bag.livejournal.com]

Maybe you could make up for the weeks you miss by watching two movies some other weeks?

Too bad Season of the Witch sucked -- I wasn't going to see it in the theater, but I was intrigued. Where did I Am Number Four come from? Ah, Liam Neeson kicking ass is always good stuff. I should break out my Darkman DVD. : )

Good luck!

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I'm going to have to do. I more or less knew that this would happen, I just didn't think it would happen so soon into the new year's resolution.

I Am Number Four is based on a young adult novel that came out of James Frey's writer sweatshop. Frey, if you remember the hubbub a few years ago, wrote a purportedly nonfiction book in which he talked about kicking addiction. Turned out it was actually fiction, and he (and possibly whoever bought it to publish it) lied about it because he wasn't getting anywhere with it as a novel. That's bad enough, if that sort of thing bothers you. (Unless it's trying to make a political point, I could care less myself.)

What's really dick is that he set up a sweatshop with the idea of giving desperate writers exposure. Basically, he gives them the plot of a book and they write it for a pittance with the idea that the book is geared to being made into a movie. From which he will make about 99% of the money, far as I could tell. The guy who did the actual writing on I Am Number Four sued and managed to negotiate a better deal when the books took off. For the full skinny on James Frey and why he's a bastard in many, many ways, NY Magazine did a great write-up (http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/69474/).

Liam Neeson kicking ass. Must hold out until then.