The portion of the year between Halloween and Thanksgiving may be the most optimistic for movie fans. With the coming of Thanksgiving, Hollywood will spend the next month parading out what it thinks are its most quality, entertaining products. Although many films will not live up to the sense of anticipation they inspire, there are always one or two movies that go the distance. But this is also the time of year for reflection, and for giving gratitude for what has been given to us over the past year. It's extremely easy to fall into the trap of dwelling on the negatives of Hollywood today, and many (myself included) are guilty of it. In no particular order, here are cinematic aspects we should bow our heads to before we eat our respective turkeys.
By all logic, the zombie genre should have been exhausted of any originality long ago, yet zombies continue to create great films. The \Dawn of the Dead"" remake was one of the best horror/action movies in recent memory. Screenwriter James Gunn should be applauded for giving the world a horror script with intelligent, adequately developed characters rather than just creating stereotypes whose sole purpose is to be mauled. On the other end of the spectrum, ""Shaun of the Dead"" is the funniest film of the year thus far, yet still has a definite creepy vibe about it. Director Edgar Wright's comic spin on familiar turf is a prime example of how any two genres can be combined into something great.
Although no one was ultimately surprised by the parting of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, film lovers can breathe a sigh of relief that their next potential project never came to fruition: a remake of ""Casablanca."" Although nothing had been inked, both Affleck and Lopez were in talks to remake the film and star in the leading roles made famous by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The very thought of remaking the film is blasphemous, and it's hard to think of a worse pair to portray Rick and Ilsa. Thankfully, Ben and J.Lo's love is as dead as Affleck's career, and another tepid remake has been avoided.
Even if you don't agree with all the changes George Lucas has made to his films, it's nice to finally have the trilogy in a cleaned up, digital format. ""The Empire Strikes Back"" is largely untouched by Lucas meddling, and has always been the best of the three, so the price of the box set is worth it for that alone. Even if his other actions are debatable, George Lucas knows how to make a quality DVD release.
Throughout its history the Oscars have rarely given best picture nominations to genres such as science-fiction or fantasy, and neither of those genres had ever won the award. So when ""The Lord of the Rings"" third installment took home the biggest handout of the night, it was a boost to the respectability of all films outside the usual genres the Oscars reward. Perhaps now the Academy can start rewarding comedies once again, as the last comedic best picture winner was ""Annie Hall"" in 1977.
Technically it isn't fair to judge this film yet, as it won't be released until Christmas. But the trailer alone is funnier than most other comedies released this year, so we can be thankful for that. Between the preview and Wes Anderson's current track record, ""The Life Aquatic"" has the potential to be just as hilarious and oddly touching as ""The Royal Tenenbaums"" was. This picture has the best chance at being that rare movie that lives up to the expectations it inspires.
ddmarfield@wisc.edu.
