2018 Films and Oscars

[CA Dreamin]

Nobody's posted here in a while, plus BEA's Top Films of 2018 poll has ended. So I think it's safe to assume we've all moved on. So I'll post some notes of closure regarding 2018 in film and the Oscars.

1. I thought 2018 was a meh year for movies. Overall I give it a C or C+ grade. I like the way my list turned out, but I can't help but notice 4 of my Top 12 were actually 2017 festival releases that weren't released locally until 2018 (Death of Stalin, Thoroughbreds, You Were Never Really Here, and First Reformed). If I remove those titles and put them on my 2017 list, it makes 2017 look even better and 2018 look average. Of course this my opinion. What did you all think? Was 2018 a good year for movies, bad, or average?

2. Marvel is might. Or more specifically, Disney is might. Domestically, between Marvel and Pixar, Disney had the top 3 box office movies of the year, each with over $600M. The next closest was nearly $200M behind. Clearly the tent-pole structure is alive and well. But man, what would happen if tent-poles started flopping? Nobody knows, but Spielberg said it would cause huge changes.

3. Internationally, the box office seemed pretty healthy anyway.

4. 2018 was supposed to be a make-or-break year for MoviePass. Turned out it was neither. It seemed the company was gonna become a major force in the industry in the early part of the year. But, as many could foresee, they had to retract their unlimited plan by the summer when they realized they were burning too much cash and rival subscription services arose. They became so much of a dumpster fire, some thought MoviePass would disappear by the end of 2018. But they're still here. I used it to see Captain Marvel and Climax last month. I think they've finally found stability in their current model.

5. The Oscars were trying way too hard to attract a bigger TV audience with their Popular Film idea and their categories during commercials idea. They retracted both proposals. And hey, the ratings went up anyway. Who knew that all they had to do was nominate Black Panther for tons of awards? Oh right, everybody.

6. Spike Lee turned his back to the stage while the Green Book cast and crew were up there accepting statues and making speeches. Priceless. That should be the moment of this year's Oscars that should go down in history. And yet, it wasn't even televised.

7. The Academy, despite losing credibility and audiences, still has a lot of power in the industry. I think they brought Netflix to their knees over Roma. 2017, Netflix campaigns for Mudbound for Oscars, but doesn't release it in theaters. Result, next to nothing. 2018, Netflix campaigns for Roma for Oscars and does release it in theaters. Result, 10 noms and 3 wins. Coincidence? I don't think so.

If anyone has something to add, or just wants to keep talking about last year's cinema, go for it.

If not, I'll start a 2019 Films and Oscars thread in the next couple weeks, and we can talk about 'Us'.

[PurpleHazel]

[CA Dreamin]