BEST OF THE YEAR!!!

One of my favorite things about movies opening in January is how they twist marketing in their favor. See, the MAJORITY of films opening in theaters in January are the expansions of everything that needed to be released prior to 12/31 to be considered for a 2006 Oscar. So a lot of January will be filled with things like Babel, Pan's Labyrinth, etc. But hidden amongst the gems are things like...


BEST OF THE YEAR!!!, originally uploaded by macslost.

"THE CLEANER is the best comedy of the year!"

"FREEDOM WRITERS is the most touching drama of 2007"

"HAPPILY 'N' EVER AFTER is the number 1 family film!"

And they get to boast whatever they want for about 1-2 months before any real benchmarks are set.

My love for this started back when Leprechaun came out and Saturday Night Live, during Weekend Update, hailed it as the greatest movie of the year, as it was the only thing to open that weekend. Ever since, it makes me laugh when the January crap sneaks out amongst the Oscar contenders and tries to polish their shit with half-truths. It's marketing well-played, I tell ya.