At first I thought this shouldn't be too hard because I tend to think that ~97% of movies don't succeed at being good, leaving me a very small pool to select from. One of the reasons that most movies don't succeed in ways that another similar one might to me boils down to the fact that movie making in America is ultimately a capitalist endeavor. Giving the people what they want while also giving them what is good is a very narrow space to work within. When millions of other peoples' dollars and a very limited time schedule are at stake, the space gets much narrower. My list is comprised of the films of my generation that hit the sweet spot...they told the right story in the right way and managed to successfully navigate the treacherous waters from concept to an appreciative paying audience. We here at Big Empty are all too aware however that just because something is good and has a large audience does not mean that said audience appreciates what is good about it. But as I alluded to earlier, one of the reasons that posts exist on this blog is because I wrote what I wanted to read but couldn't find elsewhere.
But enough about why. Let's dive right in to how this will work. There will be a post for each of the categories listed below. Each category will cover the top three examples of what Big Empty considers to be virtuous in the art of storytelling and there will usually be an honorable mention to one that got serious consideration. These will mostly be movies released from 1977 and later, because this is my blog, and it's a series about movies my generation grew up with and continues to value. There will be a post every few days over the next month or so (I'm not a full-time blogger and this blog is not monetized...this will get done as time permits). Last, one of the things I'll touch on often is who or what is the real star of the show. It won't be something or someone that you can find in the credits, at least not explicitly.
So without further ado, the categories will be:
- Sports Movie: this genre is more fraught with cliches than any other, so this is a great place to start. There are a couple that stand out from the herd and there's a reason they do.
- Drama: By far the biggest pool to choose from offers the biggest challenge when narrowing down to three. I'll do my best to dive into what stood out as memorable to me as a cultural touchstone.
- Comedy: Defining what is and isn't funny is a constantly shifting and moving target. There are a couple that are notable for capturing lightning in a bottle.
- Horror: As a genre, this is one that I have the least respect for. This makes it one of my favorite categories to explore and the gems that do exist served as the inspiration for this series.
- Biopic: It's very difficult to avoid the formulaic trappings of this genre. Some succeed by subverting them, others by being good enough to make me not mind.
- Documentary: It's obvious to me why I would be a fan of documentaries. Many of the criticisms that I'll level throughout this series will indicate my strong distaste for manufactured drama. If the real story isn't interesting enough so you feel you have to start making shit up to sell your picture, that either means you've chosen a poor subject, or your ability to represent it is limited. If the story stands on its own, it should be told and won't need any special enhancements. Documentaries have it in their DNA to succeed or fail in this space.
- I, to this day still wonder why the story of a beautiful luxurious ship with some of the greatest technological advancements of its time and a passenger manifest that is a literal who's who of historically significant figures sinking on its maiden voyage can't be told without making shit up. This isn't interesting enough for public consumption?
- Sci-FI: Like horror, this can be another genre that can be hard to respect. Getting an audience to willingly suspend disbelief is a tough thing to do. Sci-Fi either depends on doing this sincerely and barring that, has to find a way to lampshade it. There's seasons upon seasons of broadcast programming involving two robots and a human imprisoned on a spaceship lampooning the everloving hell out of the features that did not respect these rules. With all that said, there are a few that did it right through disciplined effort to hold to a few basic truths.
- Romance: I'll do my best
- Superhero: This seems like a fitting place to end. This genre, combined with horror and sci-fi completes the holy trinity of movies with potential to be remembered only for being unintentionally funny. I chose this as the last topic though because I truly love something about the right kind of superhero movie, and to me, both the creators and fans of these movies are oblivious that the genre is in a freefall that may be fatal. Will a hero show up in time to save the category?
Check back soon for the top three sports movies.
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