2014 - The year lesser known directors ruled

[Joelist]

An interesting note about last year was that the three top films in terms of quality (and they also made up three of the top 10 boxoffice draws) were from directors that studios took big chances on as they were lesser known.

Guardians of the Galaxy - James Gunn

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Matt Reeves

Godzilla - Gareth Edwards

Of them, only Reeves had any prior big studio experience (Cloverfield). Gunn and Edwards came direct to the big time from indie films.

What is also interesting is three different big studios were involved (Warner Brothers, Disney and 20th Century Fox). Of course, in the case of Warner it was actually a subcontract as the actual studio was Legendary Films, and they have a reputation for trying out new talent in the directors chair.

Of the three, I'd say Gunn overall did the best work. Reeves was close behind him and Edwards third - while he also did good there were some issues in his film that were classic "inexperienced director" types of things.

Makes one wonder if this type of success with studios taking multi-hundred million dollar flyers on new blood is making some of the "names" just a little bit nervous....

 

[shavedape]

I'm all for studios taking chances on "new blood". New guys work hard because they have something to prove. This is a good thing.

 

[Bluce Ree]

I'm all for studios taking chances on "new blood". New guys work hard because they have something to prove. This is a good thing.

Note that Joe said "James Gunn overall did the best work." Could it be because, maybe, he was the only one NOT MAKING A REBOOT?!?

 

[shavedape]

Note that Joe said "James Gunn overall did the best work." Could it be because, maybe, he was the only one NOT MAKING A REBOOT?!?

Just saw a commercial tonight for a reboot of The Odd Couple. I know it's not a movie but still, I just had to roll my eyes. The reboot thing has gotten indescribably pathetic, from TV shows to movies there's a dearth of original ideas.

 

[Joelist]

It's possible not working a reboot helped Gunn by giving him more leeway to work in. Of course the new PotA is ranging pretty far afield from its source too so Reeves likewise has a fairly open slate. Edwards with Godzilla had some elements that were set by legal contract with Toho (after what Sony did to Goji in the Broderick fiasco they wrote some of the components of Goji's look as well as some overall plot concepts right into the franchising contract), but really he had a fairly open canvas after that as well.

My ordering was purely opinion. Gunn actually transitioned a fair amount of his indie film style from films like Slither and Super into GotG. The slightly twisted sense of humor is there, the getting you to care about the characters is there as also is the habit of unexpected tonal shifts. Reeves told it very straight in Rise of the PotA because the script needed him to do that. Edwards gave Godzilla a foreboding, very Inoshira Honda like feeling throughout. That said, of the three Edwards also showed the lack of big studio picture experience the most, with problems with pacing (the second act was WAY too long), too many characters and lack of depth in the ones he had.

 

[ecgordon]

While it is always nice to see relative unknowns get a chance at the big time, it also causes them to lose some of the charm and originality of their earlier independent efforts. I didn't care for Godzilla, but would rather have seen Edwards do something similar to Monsters instead. And in years past, we've seen others do less interesting work on higher budgeted films; Duncan Jones' Moon was much better than Source Code, and the same for Neill Blomkamp's District 9 vs. Elysium.

 

[Joelist]

I think that's part of the charm of Guardians of the Galaxy - it may be big budget but at its heart it's still a James Gunn movie.

I agree that Source Code and Elysium were dreck. Elysium was especially offensive because Blomkamp let it turn into one of the heaviest handed political lectures I ever had to suffer through.

Godzilla I liked despite the pacing and character issues, principally because Edwards got the character of Godzilla dead on and also because it was a VERY respectful homage to the Toho films I still love to watch.

 

[Jim of WVa]

Just saw a commercial tonight for a reboot of The Odd Couple. I know it's not a movie but still, I just had to roll my eyes. The reboot thing has gotten indescribably pathetic, from TV shows to movies there's a dearth of original ideas.

Is the reboot going to be on Broadway? Rebooted plays tend to work well. Somewhere on this planet, there is a remake of Hair going on.

 

[Overmind One]

Just saw a commercial tonight for a reboot of The Odd Couple. I know it's not a movie but still, I just had to roll my eyes. The reboot thing has gotten indescribably pathetic, from TV shows to movies there's a dearth of original ideas.

It's so odd....back when The Odd Couple came out in the theater, it was a social bender of sorts. Two recently divorced older men share a place and discover that just about every element of their personalities and habits are polar opposites. Okay. Why would that premise have any impact today in 2014 with this new dumb audience?

 

[Overmind One]

Just saw a commercial tonight for a reboot of The Odd Couple. I know it's not a movie but still, I just had to roll my eyes. The reboot thing has gotten indescribably pathetic, from TV shows to movies there's a dearth of original ideas.

Some of the young people watching a reboot for the first time (not knowing about the originals) will say "OMG Really? This was made before?". And a huge number of these reboots are really pathetically bad.

 

[ecgordon]

The reboot of The Odd Couple is a CBS sitcom with Matthew Perry as Oscar Madison. I wouldn't be surprised it it's the first mid-season replacement to be canceled.

 

[ecgordon]

Godzilla I liked despite the pacing and character issues, principally because Edwards got the character of Godzilla dead on and also because it was a VERY respectful homage to the Toho films I still love to watch.

Probably my main problem with Godzilla is that, other than the original Gojira, I am not a fan of the franchise.

 

[shavedape]

Is the reboot going to be on Broadway? Rebooted plays tend to work well. Somewhere on this planet, there is a remake of Hair going on.

I'm pretty sure it's going to be a TV show starring Matthew Perry and that guy from Reno 911. As it is there's no way this incarnation can survive for very long. The commercial was painfully bad to sit through so I don't see how an entire episode could possibly keep viewers.