In a world full of sequels, reboots, soft reboots, adaptions, and re imaginings one movie stands alone. All hyperbole aside I am looking forward to Alpha coming September 14th. I have been waiting for a good movie set at the dawn of man for a long time. This movie really piqued my interest because it appears to explore the start of the age old relationship between man and dog. I love dogs and have had several over my life. A dogs unerring loyalty has always intrigued me, they seem to trust humans implicitly, sometimes to their detriment, and I have always wanted a look at how that relationship started.
Another reason this movie caught my eye is simply sequel fatigue. It seems like almost all of the movies that have come out over the past few years are are just tired retreads of good movies that have come before. It's refreshing to see an original concept getting a wide theater release and not being shoved off onto Netflix. Sure originality is no guarantee of quality but it already has a big leg up in my book just because it isn't something I have seen a thousand times before. I'm not saying we haven't had some good movies over the past few years but it just gets harder and harder to get excited about these constant sequels and "cinematic universes". For instance I love Jurassic Park, but I have more anticipation for Alpha than I do Fallen Kingdom. I think one of the biggest detriments to cinematic universes is that they establish a baseline. You always know at least partially how the movie will go and for me that takes a lot of the fun out of waiting for new releases. You just lose that sense of wonder about being sucked into a whole new world you nothing about.
Even if Alpha turns out to be a bad movie, I have already gotten some enjoyment wondering how it might be, what interesting things it will explore, and what surprises are in store. So I'll leave you with the trailer and a question. What stand alone movie are you looking forward to this year?
Thanks for reading, a big Thank You to my followers, and have a great day.
You have no idea how much I fucking despise this new wave of not creating original IP. I understand why studios do it, why gamble on something new when people are going to see something they already know? Even if it's trash, you're going to see it anyway cough Last Jedi cough.
I never used to mind re-imagining pre-existing IP, but I swear it is the exception and not the rule anymore. I would make the argument that movies now are on average much better than they used to be (due in part of budgets being insanely high for a few productions instead of many smaller budget films), but I feel like I'm not watching anything new and inspired anymore. There used to be a lot of trash, but that was fine because the films that stood out were amazing.
At least the original IPs coming out now are half decent. Shape of Water, La La Land and John Wick come to mind. It also gives me time to watch some of the classics I have never gotten around to before, started watching The Next Generation recently and just loving it.
Can't go wrong with The Next Generation, thanks for reading.