Which Film Owned 2019?

[Wor-Gar]

Oh okay so you mean defining on a person by person basis. Well then yes each movie can certainly have a single top pick for any given person. Which typically just means "what was your favorite movie that year out of the ones you saw." I took the poll as seeking a more generic and objective answer. Like Titanic in 1997. I mean it certainly wasn't my favorite that year nor did it impact me as much as a handful of others but if a reporter walked up to me on the street and said "sir which film would you say 'owned' 1997" then I'd immediately say Titanic without hesitation.

I pretty much guarantee you almost any woman of a certain age you ask on the street what film was 1977... they'll say Saturday Night Fever. For them, that was defining. That's what I mean.

What do you think a comic book/Star Wars forum about toys will pick as 'pic of the year'? Different paradigms.

 

[Laney74]

Joker by name only, if the movie was called The Clown it wouldn’t have made a difference. Hoping to see the real Joker in DC film at some point.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I fear DC will find a way to muck up this triumph and extend it unnecessarily into other films.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

I fear DC will find a way to muck up this triumph.

Don't have to wait long. In a few weeks Birds of Prey comes out.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

I was wrong about 1987. Three Men and A Baby was the biggest film of the year box office wise. However, Fatal Attraction was THE movie that owned 1987. Lethal Weapon was definitely popular and culturally relevant too, creating a franchise. Predator and Robocop made little money and zero impact in pop culture at the time but we're fans of it because we have a preference for that genre.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Don't have to wait long. In a few weeks Birds of Prey comes out.

Ugh... looks like Margot Robbie's Tank Girl.

 

[Zurdo95D]

Captain Marvel.

So fierce. So sassy.

You go girl.

Captain Marvel is my personal favorite from yesteryear. Of course the film(s) defining the year would be one with most grandeur and/or superb filmmaking such as A:EG, Joker, The Irishman, Parasite, etc.

I still haven't bothered watching Joker, and Endgame was forgettable. Alita: Battle Angel was the film that defined 2019 for me personally.

I quite like Alita too, a solid adaptation.

 

[ironwez20]

Joker by name only, if the movie was called The Clown it wouldn?t have made a difference. Hoping to see the real Joker in DC film at some point.

It?s an elseworkds story. Heath ledger wasn?t comic accurate either . Idk why people don?t get this. Did they really want fall in the acid bleach skin joker? Damn that origin is stupid

 

[SvenDokki]

I pretty much guarantee you almost any woman of a certain age you ask on the street what film was 1977... they'll say Saturday Night Fever. For them, that was defining. That's what I mean.

What do you think a comic book/Star Wars forum about toys will pick as 'pic of the year'? Different paradigms.

Okay, so what are the criteria - is it the film you liked best, the film you feel reflects the times that year, the film that you felt was most artistic, I mean there are a lot of ways films can be judged. I'm trying to understand why Joker is even in the running...

 

[DiFabio]

Damn that origin is stupid

**** you, I love that origin.

 

[ironwez20]

**** you, I love that origin.

No **** you. That origin is lame. Guy falls into acid then turns into a clown and can?t stop laughing. That origin will forever be cheesy. It?s best when u don?t know his origin

 

[SvenDokki]

To be fair, it probably is the best origin story I've seen for the Joker. It has more humanity to it, about a man lost in the shuffle... something I suspect many can relate to. But taking up a gun and shooting people... THAT I pray is not something too many people can relate too, because it's already happened far too often in places it never should have, with tragic consequences.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Okay, so what are the criteria - is it the film you liked best, the film you feel reflects the times that year, the film that you felt was most artistic, I mean there are a lot of ways films can be judged. I'm trying to understand why Joker is even in the running...

Its not for me to decide. My point is, there's any number of ways to designate a year by film. There's almost never a singular film experience that crosses every culture and generation in one year. So there's no wrong answer... I think that was what I was trying to says a couple days ago.

For me, 2019 will be Joker.

Unless for some odd reason I decide a few years from now that I really do like Endgame much more than I think I do now. Which I doubt. For me, Endgame, like TROS, simply signifies the end of a major franchise in 2019. That's huge. And a bit of a relief, because I like adventure movies and actions movies of all types and was getting quite tired of the Marvel machine cranking out its three-movies-a-year at the expense of newer, fresher action/adventure movies that weren't getting made and couldn't play against the MCU to justify a budget.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

G- Zeus, why do people have to over analyze a simple gawddamn question or premise?

While the concept of ONE film dominating a particular year is somewhat subjective based on preference, there is a legitimate argument that isn't subjective regarding a film's financial, critical, and more importantly, cultural impact on any given year. A lot of years have several movies that accomplish what we're talking about.

Example, 1993. Jurrasic Park and Schindler's List both dominated the headlines, awards, and popular culture that year, over most other films.

1985 - Back to the Future and Rambo: First Blood part II were the two biggest films financially, but also culturally speaking.

2018 - Infinity War and Black Panther

2017 - Get Out dominated the narrative

Some years like 2015 or 16 are tough because there's no single movie that struck a nerve, critical acclaim, or cultural impact, but even in those two years you get Deadpool, La La Land, The Force Awakes, Leo getting attack by a Bear...ect.

It's "subjective" to an extent, but there's legitimacy to a film domination a year even if you're not a fan of said film, case an point, Titanic and Avatar.

 

[Wor-Gar]

There's not too many of those years though -- where a single film like Titanic so dominantly overwhelms the year.

Jaws 1975
Star Wars 1977
E.T. 1982
Batman 1989
Jurassic Park - 1993 (despite Schindler's List, the dinos seemed to be everywhere that year)
Titanic 1997
Avatar - whenever it was, 2009?

There might be another two to three I'm missing depending how far back you want to go, but that's about it.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

There's not too many of those years though -- where a single film like Titanic so dominantly overwhelms the year.

Jaws 1975
Star Wars 1977
E.T. 1982
Batman 1989
Jurassic Park - 1993 (despite Schindler's List, the dinos seemed to be everywhere that year)
Titanic 1997
Avatar - whenever it was, 2009?

There might be another two to three I'm missing depending how far back you want to go, but that's about it.

I would add TDK in 2008. That was huge too. I remember it on the news and even on sports talk shows on ESPN talking about the film. Avengers 2012 is another rbig one.

If we go far enough there's The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Psycho, the Graduate etc.

The thing is, I can remember films being culturally impactful in a particular year, yet today, those films might not be as popular, but they did own those years regardless of their status today.

Some examples, Jerry Maguire in 1996. That thing was annoyingly popular. That year also had Independence Day, which had the biggest shot of the year, the white house blowing up. Mission Impossible was popular too. Scream, maybe the most famous opening to a horror film, and a film that was parodied to death. I don't know that any of those films are popular today tho.

1999 was all about American Beauty, the critical darling that nobody remembers today, but there was also The Blair Witch Project, Fight Club, The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, TPM, Austin Powers, The Green Mile, The Mummy. Very difficult to pick just one at the time, but today I choose, Matrix, which had a legitimate impact in the 2000's action genre.

I think 2019 was a weak year overall, but there's no denying that there's something about Joker dancing on the steps that stands out as one of if not the most memorable image of the year.

 

[Khev]

If we go far enough there's The Wizard of Oz

Actually there was a *slightly* larger movie (for decades on end) that came out that same year.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Actually there was a *slightly* larger movie (for decades on end) that came out that same year.

Frankly my dear, Khev, I don't give a damn.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Endgame was the most enjoyable cinema experience I've had since Rogue One. Joker is great, but I haven't rewatched it since. It's just not something you would revisit.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Still don't understand the love for GWTW. I've never -- not to this day -- been able to sit through the entire movie in one sitting.