The Director Watchlist

These are the directors I keep a regular eye on. They are on my radar. When I hear they're making a new film, it perks my interest. They're all in different stages of their career. Some of them are at near the end, some are just starting, some are right in the middle. Either way, I will update this watchlist whenever the previous starts to feel outdated.

director watch list

Paul Thomas Anderson, next film: "The Master" October, 2012
Wes Anderson, next film: "Moonrise Kingdom" May, 2012
Sofia Coppola, next film: "The Bling Ring" 2013
Quentin Tarantino, next film: "Django Unchained" December 2012
Jason Reitman, next film: "Labor Day" 2013
Alexander Payne, next film: "Nebraska" 2013
Darren Aronofsky, next film: "Noah" 2014
David O. Russell, next film: "The Silver Linings Playbook" November 2012
David Fincher, next film: unknown
Clint Eastwood, next film: unknown
Nicolas Winding Refn, next film: "Only God Forgives" 2012 or 2013
Lars von Trier, next film: "Nymphomaniac" 2013
The Coen Brothers, next film: "Inside Llewelyn Davis" 2012/2013
Alejando Gonzalez Inarritu, next film: unknown
Alfonso Cuaron, next film: "Gravity" November 2012
Pedro Almodovar, next film: "Los amantes pasajeros" 2013
Steven Soderbergh, next film: "Magic Mike" June 2012
Martin Scorsese, next film: "The Wolf of Wall Street" 2013
Steven Spielberg, next film: "Lincoln" late 2012
Edgar Wright, next film: "The World's End" 2013
Judd Apatow, next film: "This is 40" December 2012
Woody Allen, next film: "To Rome With Love" June 2012
Christopher Nolan, next film: "The Dark Knight Rises" July 2012
Terrence Malick, next film: "The Burial" (tentatively titled) 2012/2013
Noah Baumbach, next project: "The Corrections" (tv show on HBO)
Andrew Dominik, next film: "Killing Them Softly" September 2012
Ridley Scott, next film: "Prometheus" June 2012
Steve Mcqueen, next film: "12 Years a Slave" 2013
Guillermo del Toro, next film: "Pacific Rim" Summer 2013
Danny Boyle, next film: "Trance" early 2013
Neill Blomkamp, next film: "Elysium" March 2013
Peter Jackson, next film: "The Hobbit part I" December 2012
James Cameron, next film: "Avatar 2" 2014
Derek Cianfrance, next film: "The Place Beyond the Pines" 2012/2013

Obviously there are more directors out there, some who make films that I like. This list isn't made in gold, directors can be added anytime I want. This is just a general idea of what some of my favorite directors are currently up to. I'll revisit this again in June/July.

Why I Hate The Big Bang Theory

Bazinga!

Ok now if you're a fan of the CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" and you like this blog, stop reading. You're probably going to hate me. And look, it's not that I hate people who like The Big Bang Theory and I normally don't talk about TV shows on this blog anyway, but this is something I've been meaning to get off my chest for awhile now especially now that the show has entered syndication and is on TV almost all the time. I have tried to watch The Big Bang Theory quite a few times. I wanted to like it for what it was, but the more I watched it, the more I couldn't stand it. Seriously, I think it's the worst sitcom on TV at the moment. The characters are annoying, the jokes are incredibly lazy, and the storylines have been done over and over again in sitcom world. The Big Bang Theory doesn't offer any new or interesting twists to old sitcom formulas.

And yet, The Big Bang Theory is one of the most watched sitcoms in the country, just like Two and a Half Men which is another bad show. I don't know how CBS does it, actually. In the NYC area, it's channel 2. So maybe old people just can't find the strength to change the channel when they turn on their TV? But CBS surely isn't channel 2 in other parts of the country, it airs some pretty bad/mediocre shows, and it's still "the most watched channel in the country". Maybe it's because they're the only network that emphasizes scripted TV and none of their sitcoms or dramas have big story arcs. Their best sitcom is How I Met Your Mother and it's the only CBS show I can think of that actually does have a story arc. You can watch NCIS, CSI, and all their spinoffs at any time and never be lost. Still, there's really nothing clever about any of these shows. They have no moments that people talk about for days after their shows air. They do exactly what they're supposed to do which is make you laugh or keep you interested enough in the storyline that you won't change the channel. It's not that story matters on CBS, story beats do. That's why the shows are boring to me. They all pretty much do the same thing just with slight variations. I honestly do not know how they keep coming up with new scenarios on the CSI shows. And with their sitcoms, how many different scenarios can you come up with 3-4 single white people and their antics? A few years ago, the majority of their sitcoms were family-oriented. There was the stupid husband, the smart, bitchy wife, and the overbearing parents. But at least Everybody Loves Raymond and King of Queens had memorable characters. The only memorable character in a CBS sitcom is Barney Stinson. Oh, and Sheldon Cooper... but for all the wrong reasons.

The reason why I hate The Big Bang Theory isn't even because it's a bad show. There are tons of bad shows on TV, but you don't see me writing blog posts about them. It's not because it's a popular show, the most popular shows on TV are ones I wouldn't touch with an 80 foot pole. A show I used to love and adore so much, The Office, has gotten ridiculously bad and yet it gets the highest ratings out of any NBC sitcom that airs on Thursdays even though NBC has a KILLER lineup on Thursdays (seriously, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, and Community are great shows... why hasn't America fully embraced them?). The shows that dominate the ratings on network TV these days are competition shows. You want to see some really great shows you have to tune into AMC, HBO, Showtime, etc. Cable TV is putting out some amazing shows, but with network TV, you have to really look for the diamonds in the rough.

So why single out The Big Bang Theory? Because the show is a fraud. The show actually has potentially interesting characters that could make for a quirky, cult classic of a show. It's rare to see a TV show revolve entirely around nerdy characters, but the problem with The Big Bang Theory is that, other than the fact that the nerds are interested in nerdy things, their wit and antics are so sitcomy. There's a lot of interesting ground you can cover with these characters, but The Big Bang Theory fails to go there. Instead, it's remarkably pedestrian. Furthermore, the character of Sheldon Cooper is just irritating. I can kind of understand the initial appeal of a character like Sheldon. He's a pretentious genius with many unlikable and anti-social qualities and that usually works in sitcom world. But the writers have never done anything interesting with him other than give him incredibly smart, pretentious things to say. There's no depth, no interesting quirks, he only exists to serve as a "comic" foil to his roommate Leonard. Plus, I'm sorry, but Jim Parsons does nothing except give Sheldon Cooper an incredibly irritating voice. Honestly, I can't take it for more than five minutes at a time. I have no idea how Jim Parsons has won two consecutive Emmys portraying this douchebag of a character. He's not unlikable in a funny way, he's unlikable in an unlikable way.

But it's not just Sheldon Cooper, it's the simplistic jokes that are peppered all throughout. Penny is stupid, Leonard is smart. Isn't their relationship dynamic hilarious? Sheldon is annoying, Leonard is annoyed by him. That's the show. Of course there's the two friends Howard and Rajesh. Rajesh is funny because he's...Indian, that's pretty much it. And the less said about Howard, the better. The Big Bang Theory takes these basic one-dimensional characters and they do nothing with them. They're all typical stock sitcom characters with no real personality. They only exist to make bad jokes. This is proven by the fact that the "audience" (or, laugh track) laughs every five seconds.  The show is a fraud because it presents its characters as geniuses who are interested in science and sci-fi, but the jokes that they make are so bland. The show is basically this: "Oh I get it, Sheldon said something smart... that's funny!!" Don't believe me?

Sheldon: I want to build a road, but I need wood. Do either of you fellows have wood?

[Raj and Howard chuckle]

Sheldon: I don't understand the laughter. The object of Settlers of Catan is to build roads and settlements. To do so requires wood. Now I have sheep; I need wood. Who has wood for my sheep?

That's comedy in the world of The Big Bang Theory. A dick joke, Sheldon doesn't understand it, he makes obscure reference, continues to make dick joke. Was that not enough? Actually, no...

Sheldon: Now, where were we? Oh, yes. Does anyone have any wood?

[Raj and Howard snicker]

Sheldon: Oh, come on. I just want wood. Why are you making it so hard?

THAT'S THE SHOW.

It's not just a bad show, it's insufferable. It shouldn't surprise anyone that The Big Bang Theory is a bad show as one of its co-creators was behind Two and a Half Men as well (Chuck Lorre). He has succeeded in making a show that makes its audience feel smart even though the jokes are incredibly stupid. It's the same old average sitcom that CBS has been putting out for years and years. The characters are booksmart but socially retarded and that alone is supposed to be funny. The character dynamics are the same as they are in any other bad sitcom. Haven't we moved past this? Modern Family, The Office (back in its heyday), Parks and Rec, 30 Rock... these shows don't just have characters who exist just to make joke after joke. There are actual storylines, interesting characters, and the shows are way funnier. Not only that, the more you watch these shows, the more they reveal new, previously unseen depths to you. Arrested Development only lasted three seasons and yet it's still endlessly watchable. The typical CBS sitcom formula is just old and dry and there's nothing truly creative that are coming out of the majority of the shows they put out. The Big Bang Theory is its biggest offender because it disguises itself as smart comedy and yet it's anything but. That's why the show sucks.

This is Forty trailer

The new Judd Apatow film, the "sort-of-sequel" to Knocked Up. Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel star in it. Looks like Judd is continuing down slightly more dramatic territory although there's still that typical Judd Apatow humor. Comes out in December.

September movies and a discussion on Hollywood's release strategy

The last two years have seen some pretty solid movies get released in September, which wasn't always the case. September used to be the dumping ground for Hollywood films, but now it's become an extension for awards season. Part of this is due to the ever-growing prominence of the Toronto International Film Festival as well as festivals in Venice and Telluride. The Departed premiered in September 2006 and wound up winning best picture.

Keep in mind, this is still a very recent thing. 2009 only had one good film released in the month of September. But then 2010 had at least four (Machete, Never Let Me Go, The Town, Easy A).

And then 2011 had the best September ever when it came to movies: Contagion, Warrior, Drive, Moneyball, 50/50, Take Shelter.

So what does 2012 have in store? At least two very solid, promising movies Killing Them Softly and Looper. Then there's "Trouble with the Curve" which features Clint Eastwood's first acting performance since Gran Torino.

Sure, three movies isn't nearly enough to consider September a great month for movies but I hope 2011 and the success of those three movies encourages more studios to release interesting films in the month of September. As of right now, January and February are still weak months for film. April has gotten weaker and weaker as the years go by. August had a brief run of interesting summer movies for the majority of the 2000s, but it's now starting to become a weak month as well. What does that leave us with?

March, for some reason, always has at least one big blockbuster film that serves as a precursor to summer movie season. Then May officially begins that season. This year, The Avengers gets the coveted first Friday of May slot. Then the rest of the month, you have Dark Shadows, The Dictator, and Men In Black III. June continues that string of Hollywood blockbusters, but lately, it seems that June has become a less interesting month for summer movies as opposed to July. Mid-July has lately become "Christopher Nolan time." As since 2008, he has had three huge films come out around that time (the third one being the upcoming Dark Knight Rises).

October officially starts the awards season. At this point, all the main festivals have come and gone (except for the New York Film Festival). Generally speaking, October has been a strong month for drama.

November and December are both big months for movies and they're almost always reliable months when it comes to finding high quality films. They have both blockbuster films for the holiday season as well as more serious fare poised to become Oscar favorites. Lately though, December has become a huge cluster for movies trying to get awards attention. In my opinion, this practice has to stop as not only do some good films get lost in the shuffle, but they also lose box office luster. Would The Adventures of Tintin have done better if it wasn't released too close to another Spielberg film? Could We Bought a Zoo have made more money if it was released in August or October? What about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? A dark film featuring rape scenes released on Christmas? As much as Hollywood wants to have counter-programming on Christmas, it just seems like people aren't going for that.

We will see whether or not Quentin Tarantino's film "Django Unchained" winds up being screwed over in the box office due to it being released on Christmas. Don't get me wrong, Dragon Tattoo did pretty well, probably as good as a movie with such dark subject matter could do and it at least came from a popular, best-selling novel. Django Unchained, however, is a completely original movie from QT dealing with slavery. Could it have benefited more from an October or November release? Inglourious Basterds came out in August and did amazingly well. Why not give it an August or September release?

The practice of Hollywood studios releasing all their best movies in December has to stop. It's ok if it's more controlled like it was in 2010 where movies like Black Swan and True Grit did great after being released in December. But 2011 just had way too many new releases and I honestly think it screwed some films over.

Besides, if Hollywood is going after the Oscar by releasing their movie in December, it's not working for them. The last December movie to win best picture was 2004's Million Dollar Baby. Crash, The Departed, No Country For Old Men, Slumdog, Hurt Locker, King's Speech, The Artist... NONE of those movies had a December release. They were all released earlier and then gained buzz overtime. December movies simply do not have the time to gain enough buzz and press to win as many Oscars as it could have.

It's stupid though, isn't it? That a release date is so important in determining a movie's box office and/or awards success? Unfortunately, that is absolutely the case.

Looper trailer

 Looks so good. September has recently become an underrated month when it comes to movies. I'll delve into that a little later. And WOW, blogger just updated the way you compose blog posts and they've made it really annoying and confusing.

Lawless trailer

No. 5 on my summer movies list.

Tom Hardy, Shia Labeouf, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce... Tom Hardy with an awesome Southern accent. This looks good. Comes out on August 31st.

Complete 2012 Summer Movie Coverage

Just to make things neater, here are the links to all my summer movie coverage so you can navigate through it better.

Top 10 Summer Movies to Watch
Honorable Mentions
Trailers to most of the movies
Other Summer Movie Notables