Low Budget Films are In

These days, it is not uncommon to see films being made on a low budget, and than absolutely tearing up the box office once they are released. Just recently, Paranormal Activity 3, the third movie in the Paranormal Activity series, followed in the footsteps of the first two films to do this again. The first Paranormal Activity, released in 2007, was made on just $15,000 and grossed over 200 million! We've seen this done with other films like The Blair Witch Project which was made on about $60,000 and grossed almost $250,000! Other examples include films such as, Napoleon Dynamite, Clerks, and the original Mad Max. All these films were made on a small budget and grossed huge results.

When I see this, I ask myself, "why do studios continue to make incredibly high budget films that flop at the box office (Catwomen, All the Kings Men, The Assassination of Jesse James to name a few) when it has been proven that low-budget films--when done right--can be just as successful, if not more than big name Hollywood titles? These days, producers are focused on spending tons of money on making the movie look good, and getting big name stars, but are doing so at the sacrifice of good-quality film making. I would love to see the industry embrace small-budget films and start making more, because as the films I named above have proven, you can create an exceptional film without spending millions upon millions of dollars.

One of my favorite films of all time, The Lives of Others, a German film, was made on just $2 million dollars, with all of the actors making a fraction of what they are used to, but the result was possibly the best film I've ever seen. The acting was superb and the plot was incredibly well thought out and gripping. The film grossed $77 million, and is an example of how actors (in Germany at least) are willing to take less money for a film of great potential, and then deliver performances worth far more than they received. Low-budget films revive the idea of acting for the love of doing so, not acting for a paycheck.

Rise of Netflix

If you could watch a variety of different TV shows and movies right from your house for just 8 dollars a month, would you? Fortunately, with Netflix you can. Over the past few years, Netflix has been rising in popularity with its ability to watch shows and movies right from your living room or computer. It is becoming an incredibly popular alternative to going out to the movies, and why not? Netflix's monthly charge is less than the price of one movie ticket (not including price for food and drink) you can watch almost any movie or show right at your convenience. Granted they don't have every movie available for instant watch (and you still have to wait for movies to leave theaters before they're available) but the convenience of Netflix is something people are running to, and I too am a part of it.

My brother has a Netflix subscription I often use and I have to say I love the convenience of being able to watch almost anything, whenever and wherever I want. That said, I don't think it will pose a serious threat to movie theaters any time soon, since they still have the advantage of getting the new movies first. It is, however, an interesting trend for movie watchers today and if Netflix continues to do well and evolve, it may one day become the standard for movie watching. I think that is a long way away, but it could be possible. Imagine watching a new movie the day it came out, right on your living room TV...

Where's the Plot?

These days, I rarely find myself going out to the movies. With such high prices for tickets, and the ever-evolving convenience of Netflix and other online sites to watch films, I just don't find it worth the time and money. If there is really a movie I am itching to see when it first comes out, than I will make time for a trip to the theater, but for the most part I am finding there are less and less movies and really make me want to go see it when it first comes out.

Another reason for this is, from my perspective, films these days just aren't high enough quality for me. I can be a picky movie watcher, so when I do go to the theater, I want it to be something with a well thought out plot, highly developed characters, and messages and themes that can really make me think. The problem is, current movies just don't fulfill this criteria for me. It seems to me that Hollywood is content putting out films that are of high quality aesthetics and image quality, and largely ignoring what truly makes a film--the plot line. One example that stands out is Horrible Bosses. A movie I actually did see in the theater. It was good for a few laughs, and wasn't really a bad movie per say, but it wasn't anything special. Sure it looked great aesthetically (as with all modern films these days) but I didn't leave the theater thinking I just saw a fantastic piece of film making. What I saw was rather an average comedic plot with nothing to make it really stand out in my mind as a film watcher.

This is just one example, but I feel that this is the direction Hollywood films are going in. Sacrificing the quality of the film itself and settling for a run-of-the-mill piece of work that looks great on screen but fails to deliver in getting a message across in the mind of the viewer.