Going to the Movies

I consider myself something of a movie buff. That's not to say that I think I know everything about movies, only that I've made a point to see a lot of them. That being said I'm a frequent visitor of IMDb, the Internet Movie Database website, which is the best source for film information on the web, at least in my opinion. While visiting the website today, my eyes glanced over to the Top Five Movies this week at the box office. They are as follows:

1. Shrek Forever After
2. Prince of Persia
3. Sex and the City 2
4. Iron Man 2
5. Robin Hood

What's interesting here is that Shrek Forever After, Sex and the City 2, and Iron Man 2 are all sequels to previous films, Robin Hood has been done at least four times before on the big screen and Prince of Persia... well, that's based off a video game. That's not to say that Prince of Persia is automatically a bad film because its based of a game, simply that the concept of it is not original. None of these films are entirely, 100% original. I know that's a problem with movies, particularly today, but its still depressing. I remember a few years ago when some of my friends were dying to see The Women with Meg Ryan and Annette Bening, oblivious to the fact that the film had been done before in 1939 with Norma Sheerer and Joan Crawford. It happens all the time, movies being remade or given sequels, and it comes to a point when you wonder when or if some of these stories will ever end. The majority of the movie industry today seems to be falling under the same scenario that plagues soap operas, recycling old ideas with 'new' characters or maybe adding more sexual connotations or violent situations. People wonder why the Academy Awards doesn't get more viewers, its because they have been leaning more and more toward smaller, independent and original films in these last few years. The exception is this last year, in which the Academy (aiming for more viewers) expanded the Best Picture category to 10 nominees, nevertheless The Hurt Locker, a brilliant war film that scored a mere $40 million at the box office took home the gold statue. Will this continue to be the trend for years to come? Original films being awarded best picture or will Oscar succumb to what the masses seem to want?