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| Scene from Cloverfield Paradox |
While 2018 has produced a lot of great content, there were still a few things that came up a bit short. In today's entry, it's time to explore the entries of film and TV that failed to deliver on the exciting promises they held. This isn't a compilation of the worst moments of 2018, but more a list of things that had the chance to be great, but came up a bit short. In some cases, both intersect, but most of these entries have some good in them, but they were buried underneath missed opportunity. This is a remembrance of the year that was in terms of shrugged shoulders, which is about the best way to describe these entries.
Star Wars "fans" overreact to EVERYTHING
On one hand, it was a great year for Star Wars. Many considered The Last Jedi to be one of the all time greatest films in the franchise. However, there's also a loud contingent who made this victory lap a bit tiresome, reminding people of the George Lucas backlash that came with the prequels. Many saw Solo: A Star Wars Story's less than incredible box office as a sign of diminishing interest. However, it was also the launchpad for other controversies throughout the year, all overblown. Twitter trolls masquerading as Star Wars fans openly attacked The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson as well as bullied actress Kelly Marie Tran, one of the first prominent female Asian characters in the franchise, into leaving the internet. In the realm of Solo, there was backlash over Phil Lord and Chris Miller leaving the film and many attacked producer Kathleen Kennedy in ways that could be summarized as misogyny. Add in that reports later revealed that Russians meddled with the chaos, and you get an understanding why Star Wars "fans" are seen as loathsome. Their criticism has gone beyond whether they like or hate a movie, and it hurts those that just take it as quality entertainment.
Cloverfield Paradox ruins its incredible release strategy
In an alternate universe, Cloverfield Paradox would've been a massive success. Considering that J.J. Abrams has twice before thrown the franchise into brilliant marketing techniques the choice to collaborate with Netflix for a post-Super Bowl release was the smartest move yet. There was no time to scrutinize advertising because the film would soon be available. However, the good will that many had received from the first two films quickly disappeared when the third hit the streaming service. It was, at best, a step down from the other two film as an intergalactic story. At worst, it was a misuse of the franchise and mostly got attention for name recognition. With mediocre effects and a lackluster story, this film ruined the idea of spontaneous release in a way that Beyonce has been doing so much better in the music industry for years now. Abrams could bounce back since the franchise has limitless potential, but it will take some great maneuvering to fix things.
Marc Maron picks a fight with comic book fans
Few voices are as essential to the podcasting realm as Marc Maron. However, this summer featured one of the most bizarre Twitter feuds in a year where Kanye West got mad at everyone. Following an interview for Ant-Man and the Wasp star Paul Rudd, Maron was accused of not liking comic book movies. It would be a fair argument, especially given the subjectivity of media. However, he addressed his critics over and over and over for several episodes straight, feeling self-righteous about such a trivial opinion. It came to the point that, more than four episodes later, he gave a convoluted insult to those he had been arguing with. He suggested that those who got sensitive over comic book movies being criticized or not liked were "Brain-raped by He-Man." It was a commentary on consumerism and stunted growth that could've been poignant, but came after what felt like a childish tirade played out over several podcast episodes. To add insult to injury, Maron was cast in the 2019 Joker movie less than two days later following his "Brain-rape" tirade. He admits that "karma is a bitch" if the movie bombs, but it feels insensitive to give him a pass for attacking something that he would come to embrace. It's one of the biggest hypocritical moments of the year for sure.
James Gunn gets fired for outdated jokes
There were a lot of people who got fired over the past year over upsetting previous behavior. Some of it made sense, such as Roseanne Barr diving down a hole of racism, or Kevin Hart failing to offer a professional apology for his problematic past. However, there was something especially odd about James Gunn's departure, which was all started when Nazis on Twitter sought out old posts full of poor taste humor. It dropped him from the much beloved Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and has left many to wonder where the line is. When are people allowed to not be held accountable for jokes or comments from the past that in no way impact the present? Gunn has moved on to other movies, but there's still a pain that comes with knowing that his crucial impact to the Marvel Cinematic Universe was able to be ignored that quickly in favor of appeasing bullies. To that I say to watch out for Robert Downey Jr., who was a former and notorious drug addict. Also, Sarah Silverman's jokes in Jesus is Magic *could* be deemed offensive. Come on, Disney. Stand by your talent and don't cherry pick who stays based on Twitter posts that aren't entirely representative of the people who work for you.
The Academy Awards question their relevance with a Best Popular Film Oscar
By the end of the year, it seems like The Academy Awards have shifted into a full-on state of identity crisis. Following the firing of host Kevin Hart (the third public firing by ABC in 2018), there's a belief that they're just going to have nobody host. If that wasn't bad enough, it comes at a time when the beloved film institution wants to expand their base by cutting down on awards time and handing out a Best Popular Film award. There's no certainty on what that actually would've been, but it does suggest that there's an insecurity with the current group who long to have bigger ratings and diverse audience. It's not a bad thing to want, especially with Black Panther predicting to dominate this season. However, the way that they have gone about trying to become trendy is embarrassing, becoming their biggest controversy since the Oscars So White taboo of a few years ago. It's likely that The Academy will recover, but this hasn't been their best year in terms of publicity.
Netflix teams up with auteur filmmakers, proceeds to botch theatrical releases
It was a great miracle that Netflix finally broke out into major Oscar categories at this year's ceremony with Mudbound. With the foudnation in place, there was curiosity of where things would go from there. They're working with Martin Scorsese and Guillermo del Toro in the near future. They're releasing the long delayed Orson Welles film The Other Side of the Wind. Most importantly of all, they were releasing the heavyweight contender Roma. It's a film that has been called one that needs to be seen in theaters, for the cinematography and sound design are immersive and would be undone by impatient audiences on their phones. The good news is that Roma did play in theaters, but the theatrical release model was so poor that those wanting to see it had to deal with limited releases often significant drives away. It's going to be tough to see Roma as being as serious of a contender as it is because Netflix wasn't able to treat it like a traditional prestige release. It's likely to be buried under the competition because seeing it at home takes A LOT away from the experience. Better luck next year, Netflix.
Westworld
For the first time since its release, the HBO mega-hit Game of Thrones took a year off in order to focus more on its triumphant, towering final season. Many have been speculating what that means for the future of the prestige drama network, and many have hung their hats on Westworld, which came from Jonathan Nolan and mixed philosophy with western and cyber elements. The first season was smart, often ambitious in a way that played to the best of what genre could be with a budget. However, the second season was not entirely abysmal, but was the quickest fall from grace of any HBO show since True Detective. The show no longer made sense and often had a meandering pace that drew audiences away from the story. It's difficult to enjoy when the best episode of the season featured characters who were both not prominent or spoke English. The story's finale reminded those still on board how confusing and hackneyed the show would become. It doesn't seem likely that this will remain their triumphant centerpiece for much longer, which makes post-2019 HBO a lot more interesting as a grounds for hit dramas.
FilmStruck Shuts Down
There's one simple truth about streaming services: there are indeed way too many. Beyond Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, it seems like everyone wants to have their own niche network of programming that is expensive and exhausting to keep track of. However, there is something that hurts about the closure of FilmStruck, which was the partnership between TCM and Criterion Collection to bring great cinema from Classic Hollywood and modern hits from around the world. Few services were as well curated as this one, and it provided a rich variety to stream that was sorely missed elsewhere (and only getting worse). As sad as the news is that there wasn't enough love for quality movies to sustain their current business model, the group promises to rebrand themselves and come back in 2019 as The Criterion Channel. There's hope that things will be restored and more beloved this time around. Only time will tell.
Alita: Battle Angel and Under the Silver Lake get delayed
In the grand scheme of things, a film getting released isn't all that much of a controversy. It happens enough due to reshoots or simply releasing at a point where it would be the most profitable. However, there's two films that were primed for a 2018 release that just didn't happen. Alita: Battle Angel has been marketing itself since December 2017 and is currently scheduled for a February 2019 release. That's 14 months of waiting for what looks like a decent genre film from Robert Rodriguez. What's even more baffling is the story behind Under the Silver Lake, the long awaited follow-up form the director of It Follows. It has been released internationally, but not in anywhere depicted in the film. Considering that the cursed production of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is getting released BEFORE Under the Silver Lake does is a bad sign of A24's confidence in a film that's played Cannes. It's all a mess, but more importantly it's too much of a tease for fans of cinema that challenges the norms in exciting ways.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power annoys men who don't like realistic body images
In the grand scheme of things, there's nothing funnier than watching "adults" get bitter over children's programming. Star Wars had it so much that it became insufferable. However, those attacking She-Ra and the Princesses of Power are doing it for reasons that maybe reflect poorly on their views of women. The spin-off series reflects an upgrade to contemporary animation more reminiscent of Steven Universe than the He-Man muscularity where She-Ra originated. What is great about the show is how honestly feminine the show is, managing to convey more realistic body images, where Glimmer has bigger thighs and She-Ra has broader shoulders. It may be disconcerting for those who've expected a certain type of woman, but those striking back deserve some applause. The show is a warm hug not only because of its stories, but because it doesn't feel cynically mandated on outdated 80's imagery. It's a show appealing to young girls, and it's frankly a bit creepy to make She-Ra anything but girlish.
American Horror Story: Apocalypse
For most people, the idea of every American Horror Story is a disappointment on some level. If it doesn't start out that way, it slowly devolves into something incoherent and strange. Considering how strong of a time Ryan Murphy has had in recent years, it's unfortunate that Apocalypse feels like the most incoherent season that they've ever produced. In an attempt to make a shared universe, the show fails to really develop any memorable plot, relying on Coven characters as they recall just about every other season for posterity. For fans of these characters, there's something to get out of it. However, it's still not a particularly exciting show about the apocalypse it sets out to explore. There may be bigger chunks of mediocre American Horror Story, but it was never done this haphazardly.
Julie Andrews stars in Aquaman, is unrecognizable otherwise
There was plenty to be excited about regarding Aquaman's first solo movie. It was a chance to see a much mocked character finally get taken seriously. The opinions are... divisive (I personally hated it), but there's something that is more confusing than a scene where Aquaman catapults a bell with his head. It isn't the Pitbull song, which samples Toto's "Africa" in a lazy way. No, it's the inclusion of Julie Andrews. The famed actress has gone on record in saying that she didn't star in Mary Poppins Returns because she didn't want to overshadow Emily Blunt's performance in the titular role. That's fair enough. However, there's something more confusing on her choice to star in Aquaman in the first place. Was she a big fan of Justice League and Jason Moma saying "My man" a lot? Something has to add up. However, the more confusing thing is how insignificant her casting seems. It disappears in the film. Go ahead, tell me what her role was without Googling. Most of you can't, and that's an insult to an actress of Andrews' stature.
Orange is the New Black
On one hand, it does make sense that Orange is the New Black would have this inconsistent of a track record after six seasons. Jenji Kohan is a writer notorious for shows going off the rails after awhile (see: Weeds), and it's thankful that her prison drama hasn't fully gotten there yet with one season to go. However, it's still a far cry from what the show used to be, especially as the plot feels like it has become more meandering with time. The early run of this season felt like vintage OITNB, even including a fun cameo with Alex Trebek and the singer of "The Cha Cha Slide." However, it soon became about playing ball in an empty lot with some of the worst inductees in the show's history. There's plenty to still like, but it's fading fast. This isn't as bad as the time that Ruby Rose came on the show and became a meaningless love interest, but it's a bummer given how strong the season started.
Disney ceases operation with Netflix
It was only a few years ago that there was a deal that was considered groundbreaking on first read. Netflix was doing a partnership with Disney. Considering how strong of a monopoly they have over the industry, this was a big deal. That is, until you realize what they're actually saying. Their partnership only covered recent releases and is now coming to a close with the 2019 launch of Disney+. This may not seem like an issue given Netflix's great variety of programming, but parents of children know the value of Disney movies, whether they be the animated stuff or the superhero films. Netflix has been a towering giant when it comes to finding entertainment for kids to watch while parents work. With the recent departure of Moana and the news that the deal only covers everything released before Ant-Man and the Wasp, it's going to be dark times going forward. Netflix will still have things to entertain the young'ins, but without Disney it feels like the incentive to keep it has shrunk just a little.
Slice
There's a lot to love about an A24 movie release, especially in the realm of horror. Hereditary is the most recent example of horror doing well for the studio and helping to gain Toni Collette a potential Oscar nomination. However, there was an oddball film that felt like a bigger deal than it ended up being. Slice was supposed to be a crazy supernatural story that had one great selling point: it was to be the movie debut of Chance the Rapper. The musician has had an incredible run of things in recent years and the idea of seeing him take on a new field was just as exciting. However, A24's release strategy reflected how much confidence they actually had in the film. After a one night theatrical release, the film hit V.O.D. and dwindled away after that. It wasn't the worst film of the year by any stretch, though the make-up was bland and the supernatural elements weren't inspired enough to make it brilliant B-Movie material. It was fine, but Chance the Rapper is not the next Will Smith, no matter what anyone says.
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