Sorry, Scarlett Johansson. I won't be there for you in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. (At least in the theater; as soon as you guys show up on HBO or Redbox, I'm there.)
I've seen a lot of good movies this summer at the box office. Frances Ha (pictured above) Blue Jasmine, In a World... (pictured below), The To-Do List, The Heat, We're the Millers, This is the End, The Spectacular Now, The Bling Ring and even Kick-Ass 2. All of these had budgets under $100 million dollars (some as low as $5 million). And I avoided a lot of movies at the theater like World War Z, White House Down, Pacific Rim, Elysium, The Lone Ranger, Fast & Furious 6, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Star Trek Into Darkness, among others.
The reason? Despite my hope of becoming Dr. Frasier Crane in my 40s, I don't really consider myself a total snob when it comes to films. Every movie has something to offer, even if it just a few "dazzling" special effects and hokey punchlines.
At the same time, however, I'm starting to get tired of being accosted with noisy blockbusters that all seem to blend together into one messy explosion. Each of the Summer 2013 Blockbusters have their supporters and I'm sure they each their own merits. I just don't want to partake in a Hollywood system that's broken and relies on launching franchises and spin-offs. I'm starting to feel that each new Hollywood movie is really just a trailer for a sequel or a trial run for a potential remake.
And, really, that's fine. I'm just an amateur blogger with little idea about how Hollywood actually works. But I want to support the film industry that supports itself with original scripts, casts chosen not just for their supermodel bodies and budgets that could realistically turn a profit.
So that's why I decided not to see any big budget Hollywood blockbusters (budgeted over $150 million) in the theaters. If that means, I'm going to miss out on some potentially exciting movies, so be it. It's a small price to pay (although to be honest, the movie I'm most excited about right now is the Nicole Holofcener mid-40s rom-com Enough Said, pictured above). Obviously, my mini-protest probably will not change anything and I doubt those Hollywood execs will ever change the system until they literally run out of money. But I will have the satisfaction of knowing that I'm not contributing to this broken system. Because while I may not be a part of the solution just yet, I will not be a part of the problem.
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