Movie culture: What's trending, what isn't + JUNGLE CRUISE movie review
Two Twitter trends over the weekend said everything about the current state of movie culture.
Last week I discussed the state of the theatrical box office, which focused on the I.P. that’s drawing people back to their local cinema. I didn’t intend in following up with a second part, but what trended on Twitter over the weekend piqued my interest:
“Iron Man”
“The Last Jedi”
The Iron Man debate was over how “almost anyone with wit” could have played the billionaire hero.
The Star Wars conversation was a debate on the worth of the Sacred Texts that were burned in THE LAST JEDI.
I love Star Wars. I am passionate about the Marvel Cinematic Universe and was basically introduced to Iron Man when the film of the same name arrived in 2008. Both properties are entertaining and have created memories that will last a lifetime.
However, right now both should be irrelevant in movie culture. July has been full of new films that should be consuming the cultural zeitgeist of the big screen, ones that people are discussing on social media and with their friends and family. We should be talking about what A24 is doing, or the recent DUNE trailer, or, really, anything else. No one should be talking about THE LAST JEDI, which was released nearly four years ago, or Iron Man, who is two years out of an MCU that has moved forward. Both are beloved, yes, but for full-blown, trending Twitter conversations, especially on the weekend when families are out at the theater?
Come on.
This sounds like an old man telling kids to “stay off my lawn,” right? Well, I’m front and center to see every MCU and Star Wars property that releases in theaters or on Disney+, so I am kind of part of the problem. I try discussing what I’ve seen on Twitter or other social media platforms, but casual viewers aren’t seeing THE GREEN KNIGHT or ZOLA or PIG, so no one cares. Each film is startling and amazing in its own way, but none of them have grasped movie culture besides a few pop-up conversations online. Even with one being a story based on a Twitter thread and another starring Nicolas Cage, no one cares.
Instead, people are lured by the polarizing franchises with rabid fanbases. I can’t blame them. There are debates over which superhero is superior, who the best villain is, how many family members Dominic Toretto might have that no one knows, and copious amounts of fan theories on the future of the film franchise. It’s the only movies people are being brought to the theater for, on familiarity and marketing across every which way you look.
No one is talking about how THE GREEN KNIGHT might be 2021’s best movie or the abundance of hopefully incredible films from talented directors that are releasing before the end of the year. Most of them are not franchises and will never have the reach of the MCU, Star Wars, the Fast and Furious franchise, the Mission Impossible movies, the Disney live-action adaptations, etc. Just look at what ruled this past weekend: JUNGLE CRUISE, the latest Disneyland ride to become the focus of a feature film. It had a nearly $30 million gap between the second-place movie, OLD.
What’s it going to take to change the conversation? Probably a director like Quentin Tarantino making his 10th movie, a filmmaker who still has casual audience appeal despite KILL BILL being his closest thing to a film franchise. But that only lasts for so long before a Disney, Warner Bros., Universal or Sony property reverts the dialogue.
Even look at Netflix, which has produced a handful of critically acclaimed movies. These don’t include BIRD BOX or TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE or, um, THE KISSING BOOTH. I’m betting you’ve heard more on these films than MANK, ROMA, OLD GUARD, or MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM, although the FEAR STREET trilogy, three good horror films, controlled the conversation upon release in spurts. That was the closest I’ve seen to a healthy mix of quality and discussion for, yes, a book adaptation but new to the screen.
Yeah, I’m shouting things that won’t come into existence. It’s the lack of familiarity and the devoted fanbases of the film franchises that cap how far these “unknown” films can resonate, along with how expensive it is to see a movie in theaters, tying to how what the audience already knows is what will bring them back. The time has passed for a film to surprise and control the movie culture, and I just don’t know how it ever comes back.
JUNGLE CRUISE MOVIE REVIEW
With all that said, here’s my JUNGLE CRUISE review.
Like I said, I am part of the problem!