Art or businness??

Art or business??

Today I will try to differenciate comercial movies from art movies. When we go to the cinema and pay to see the latest sequel, superhero or whichever star´s latest movie (or all of the above) are we truly witnessing art or simply making someone rich??? Although some commercial movies are actually good (not the mayority) is it accurate to say they are art?? Is pure entertainment art??

I, for one, think that an art movie is the one that is made for the pure fulfillment that it brings to both the viewer, but mostly to the creator, without any expectations on making a profit out of it. This is the reason why so many commercial movies are not considered good movies by many movie buffs. Even though they may not lack in entertainment value, they are mostly made to gain money.

Having said that, it is also important to note that not all independent movies are good movies. The art of moviemaking requires so many skills and characteristics that it is very hard for a film to accomplish all of these. Most movies don´t, and so they are judged by how much they get close to achieving perfection.
At the end, it all comes down to a personal opinion. The common moviegoer might regard a film as good quality, depending on what they are looking for: laughs, screams, tears or just a way to spend some time. That is where the art of a moviegoer gets its role. It is not only the art of laughing, screaming or crying, but the one of appreciating every little detail and every single frame that is presented to us viewers on the big screen.

True... so true.

Not too long ago I stumbled upon this video, and thought it was genius. It has absolutely every cliche in movie history and truly makes the characteristics of academy award winning movies stand out. It just shows how the academy doesn´t get out of the conventional. I love it. Enjoy.

The importance of profit

I just read an article in which a very interesting topic is discussed: why is the price of cinemas the same for all movies? Is it a wise choice? What could be changed? I was very intrigued by this discussion. I also read the comments, where many interesting thoughts made me reflect upon this.

One of the ideas that instantly caught my eye was that of a adjusting the costs of movie tickets based on what the budget of said movie was. Should a smaller budget film cost less to watch than a big budget film? This would bring problems such as, as one of the comments mentioned, the many times wrong idea that a low budget movie would be a low quality movie. If I pay less for watching this film, does it mean it is not as good?

As multiple examples have shown throughout the history of cinema, movies that cost less are many times better, as far as art and technicality (except for effects, of course) and story, characters, among many other things considered in this art form. While it is proven that movies backed up with big money are many times triumphants at the box office, quality is never a guarantee.

By making a low budget movie less expensive, wouldn´t that scare away people? Personally, I think it is a matter of the public, not the industry. The film companies give people what they want, and if a big movie with big FX and a well known cast is what the public wants, that´s what they will give to them. At the same time, one must consider: the most profitable movies ever made were small budget movies. Films such as the Blair Witch Project have made big money out of a minimum budget. Maybe small quality films should be considered by distribution companies after all.

How about you? Do you prefer watching big budget movies, small budget movies of middle budget movies? Why?

You can find the link to the article I talked about and where I got some of the info right here:

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/10/the-.html

http://blog.knowyourmoney.co.uk/index.php/2009/06/10-movies-you-should-have-invested-in-the-most-profitable-films-ever-made/

Does Avatar really deserve it??

Before this gigantic movie came out (according to price, earnings and length) I was so excited to finally see it in the gloriousness that is an IMAX theater. I went there two hours early to make sure I got the best seat there was and got myself comfortable and ready for the ride of my life.

I immediately got immersed into this world of wonder and excitement, where everything felt fun and real. I could not believe my eyes and ears as I was marveling at this experience. I did not feel I was in the theater until the lights were turned on again and I exited the room while Leona Lewis sang that wanna-be MyHeartWillGoOn song. The problem was that as I left, I was not only leaving the room itself, but my whole experience I had with the movie. I had nothing to take home and ponder about other than how real everything looked and felt.

I am conscious of the nature awareness theme which many people bring up as an excuse for the lack of originality of the film, but in reality, nowadays we are bombarded with world preservation messages, so the story didn´t seem that great to me. I suddenly felt as if I was watching some sort of Pocahontas 2. The message it is trying to get across is an important one, but it could´ve been told much better, with more emotional depth and better character development.

I guess at the end of the day, my question is this: Does a movie truly deserve to win best picture just because of the outstanding technical achievements? For me, one of the most important part of a film is the story it is trying to tell. If you´re not transmitting anything worth wile, why bother? Avatar didn´t even get nominated for best screenplay (as it should be), but yet it is still a big contender for the big prize.

I know the Oscars many times give awards according to their political agenda, but even if Avatar does win, does it deserve it? What do you think?

Vote on the poll, do you think Avatar should win???

Why do this??

Currently, I am very interested in everything that involves movies and filmmaking. They are everything to me. I have created this blog with the purpose of expressing my opinion on any film as well as getting the opinions of others. As this is an area of my interest, I just want to know everything about this dang thing!

Periodically I will be posting reviews and my take on certain movies and hopefully get feedback from you people.

Hope you enjoy it!