The 4th Annual BOX OFFICE THEORY Awards: Official Ceremony

[baumer]

Is that Tele piece in English?

[WrathOfHan]

[Ethan Hunt]

Star Wars won score? 

 

[Ezen Baklattan]

Oh, what a tribute! What a lovely tribute!

 

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

 

 

“Discussing Mad Max: Fury Road is difficult, not just because it engenders an amazing emotional connection with its audience, but also because it’s such a layered film. There is so much THERE that it’s like picking at an errant thread in a sweater factory. You can just keep tugging and tugging and it never ends. Books could be written about it and not fully explore it. Actually, in the future they probably will. There will be college classes in the coming years that focus on it, for a variety of subjects: film theory, women’s studies, creative writing, sociology, economics. You name it. I could see a reasonable argument for building an archeology course around it.

 

But we certainly don’t have that kind of time.

 

An interesting context to take the film is to compare it to those it is superficially similar to. While any given year will have a large slate of sequels, 2015 had several films that were new, largely nostalgia-driven entries into venerable series. Star Wars and Rocky both had their seventh films, Terminator its fifth, and Jurassic Park and Mad Max their fourth. All attempted, to greater or lesser degrees, to connect both to older fans while offering something to appeal to a newer, more diverse audience. This isn’t to say that all were successful, but you can see the evidence of Hollywood group-think in their overall construction. There was a consensus that this was the year to bring old things back, bigger and better than ever.

 

But Fury Road diverges rather starkly from there. Unlike the other films, while it allows nostalgia to exist within its framework, it isn’t driven by it. Every other film brought back an old, familiar face (or more): Harrison, Arnie, Sly, and… the T-Rex, I suppose. Those elements were front and center for the film. While Fury Road has things that tie it back to the original trilogy, they’re often more cute asides than a critical feature. And even in the case of something like Max’s Interceptor, the film nearly goes out of its way to say “nostalgia isn’t important” can be discarded in a fiery explosion.

 

Every other film was an attempt to erase some sort of mistake that existed in between the original great(s) and the present. And while you could argue that Thunderdome is a bit of a mixed effort compared to the first Mad Max films, it’s still managed to generate one of the most enduring pop culture references. No, George Miller wasn’t trying to correct a mistake. He didn’t have a prequel trilogy to contend with.

 

Even so, the film did have to prove it was worth watching to the older viewers. Unlike the other films, he didn’t (or couldn’t) bring back his familiar star. Max needed to exist, but he wouldn’t have Mel Gibson’s presence. This didn’t prove to be a detriment, however. Miller’s approach, even back with the original films, was less concerned about internal continuity and more about consistent theme. Max isn’t the hero of a single saga, but a protagonist of multiple stories that may or may not actually connect to each other. In many ways, the Mad Max series bears more in common with classic myths than it does with any modern film franchise.

 

There is an obvious disadvantage of this approach. Nostalgia allows a film to rest on past successes, and by taking a deliberately different path, Fury Road needs to stand on what it brings to the table itself. It’s easy to see why this might make a producer nervous. There are many ways that could go wrong, not least of which is that fans of the originals may take umbrage and start the negative word of mouth early.

 

However, thankfully, Fury Road doesn’t misstep. If anything, it manages the near impossible: discarding all but the barest elements of the original films and still surpassing them. Engaging viewers, new and old. An implied message is, “this may not be entirely familiar, but it’s still for you. Come along on this ride.”

 

Managing to hit this near mythical sweet spot happens because of an absolute attention to detail. Every element of the film’s construction is chosen to mesh into a greater whole. By doing the work at every level, from storyboarding to production and costume design to filming to editing, it’s created a deeply layered experience. It’s possible such an effort can go wrong. Try too hard to control for everything and a film can feel stifled and overly controlled. But George Miller and John Seale and Margaret Sixel and everyone else involved managed to pull it off. Even if at times it seemed to be falling off course, there was that perfect mental vision holding it together, pulling the elements of construction in just the right way to become this fuller, layered whole.

 

What results is a viewing experience that’s matched by very few films. Fury Road is a film that encourages and rewards multiple viewings. The car chase action is riveting enough to provide enjoyment in early viewings, but beyond that you can tease away at the design elements, hinting at the worldbuilding and backstory and character connections that may not be apparent at first. And then you can look into the actual filming practices used. How the shots are framed and cameras centered. What cuts are made.

 

It almost feels limiting to call Fury Road the best action film ever made. But I truly believe that’s the case. Not only that, it’s one of the best films ever made, period. It is, without hyperbole, “perfect in every way.””

-DamienRoc

 

 

“Mad Max Fury Road, had one of the best trailers I've ever seen and well as many of you know Tom Hardy is my favorite actor ever so I was already super hyped for Mad Max. I am not what you would call a huge fan of the originals though I saw the first one after I saw the trailer for Fury Road and liked it, and well I still have to finish Road Warrior.

 

 

but in my humble opinion, Mad Max Fury Road is the best action film ever made, some people complain that it had no story and was just mindless violence, I strongly disagree... haven't you ever heard of visual storytelling? every shot in the film was meticulously placed. Every scene was telling some more than what was on the surface, I am shocked at all the character development that was interwoven into the story with such little dialogue. and the action sequences themselves are just out of this world. George Miller did in my opinion for the action genre what, Peter Jackson did for the Fantasy epic, he took his post-apocalyptic idea and made it a fully realised dystopian world. with strong layered characters, and fantastic performances from Tom Hardy, Nicholas Hoult and Charlize theron. This movie sour my spirits high and I am waited in the gates of Valhalla!”

-Kalo

[Ezen Baklattan]

And now, let's explore how characters came to be. Here are the nominees for best makeup and hairstyling.

 

Cinderella

 

Crimson Peak

 

Mad Max: Fury Road

 

The Revenant

 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

And the boffy goes to...

 

 

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD!

[Ezen Baklattan]

Speaking of character formation, what they wear is integral to the develop of their own world. Here are the nominees for Best Costume Design.

 

Carol

 

Cinderella

 

Crimson Peak

 

Mad Max: Fury Road

 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

And the boffy goes to...

 

 

CINDERELLA!

[WrathOfHan]

Mad Max is picking up a lot less than I expected.

[Ethan Hunt]

Yas! @ Cinderella

[Ezen Baklattan]

To round out our cinematic design circuit, the nominees for overall look of the film, Best Production Design.

 

Cinderella

 

Crimson Peak

 

Ex Machina

 

Mad Max: Fury Road

 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

The Boffy goes to...

 

 

 

CRIMSON PEAK!!!!

[baumer]

Sticky this spaghetti 

[Jake Gittes]

I was lukewarm on Crimson Peak but its costumes and art direction were a feast for the eyes if I ever saw one. Glad to see it picked up at least one of those.

[Ezen Baklattan]

It's time for another write-up!

 

INSIDE OUT

 

 

 

“2015 was by all accounts the year of nostalgia. We all went to see Jurassic World and The Force Awakens (although opinions on the former are quite divided). Baumer got hyped for Creed and it delivered. I don't even need to say anything about Tele and Mad Max: Fury Road, do I? But what was my personal nostalgia coming from? Well, when I was a wee child, the biggest treat of the year was going to see every Pixar movie in theaters. They never disappointed, and from Toy Story 2 (my earliest memory at the theater) on, they never disappointed... until 2011. Since 2011, I've never been wowed by a Pixar movie, until this year.

 

To compare Inside Out to previous Pixar movies would be unfair. After all, the Pixar movies of Toy Story 3 and before have settled in the public conscious in such a way that they're considered classics despite their recentness. The more recent Pixar films are utter trash compared to Inside Out. Inside Out is the type of the film that changes the way you view your world. The personifications of emotions have been drilled in my head so that if I choose to, I can imagine moments in my life being viewed by these emotions. It helps that the film is perfectly cast, without a weak point. Seriously, the weakest performance I could say is in this is Mindy Kaling, but that's more because she's barely in it. After all, since every character is perfectly cast, Docter uses these characters in the just right amount, so I can't even knock Kaling.

 

There are elements in it that might be considered derivative of other Pixar films, but it perfects these elements in a way that they feel fresh and add such emotion to it. Emotion. Perhaps I shouldn't use that word for a movie literally about emotions, but Pixar managed to make one of the funniest movies of the year and one of the saddest of the year, but it meshes together in a glorious way. The animation is glorious in how the mind world and the real world look totally different in physics and design. There's a sequence near the end of the film, when Joy enters a tube, rising high in the air, but then the film cuts to Riley walking down the street, "shot" handheld style. I remember my jaw-dropping as I was on the edge of my seat in the theater.

 

I didn't even mention the score, which is evocative in a wonderful way. Seriously, Inside Out is an astounding film. It's the masterpiece of 2015, and a true work of art. Spoiler alert: it's my favorite film of the year, and it's Pixar at the top of its game. Just entirely incredible.”

 

-Blankments

 

 

“Stands up to any of Pixar's great films. It's not perfect - because this is arguably Pixar's most abstract premise, the movie feels the need to constantly explain itself and make sure everyone understands what's going on almost every time it takes the viewer to unfamiliar territory, which is handled about as well as could be, but it's still noticeable. Visually it could have also been a bit more adventurous (I'm thinking one or two more sequences in the vein of the abstract thought scene, which is a stand-out), plus that dumb Brazilian pilot scene from the trailers is still in there, though it goes down better in the film.

 

Those are small issues though, and on the whole the movie is a captivating journey that's funny, poignant, and bursting with energy and imagination from start to finish. Unlike more than a few Pixar films, it's very internally consistent (i.e. neither the first or the third act is obviously stronger or weaker than the other), and what I really appreciate is that it 1) has no antagonists, and, more specifically, makes Bing Bong one of the saddest characters in Pixar history instead of a twist villain, which would be really cheap at this point; 2) makes an explicit case for the value of sadness/Sadness and thus doesn't attempt to bullshit anyone in the audience, most importantly kids, for a minute; and 3) makes Riley herself an engaging, well-realized character; you could cut all the scenes taking place inside her head and still end up with a great 20-minute short film about a young girl's anxieties while growing up.”

 

-Jake Gittes

[Ezen Baklattan]

And now, back to original Box Office Discussions, here are the nominees for most disappointing box office.

 

Avengers: Age of Ultron

 

The Good Dinosaur

 

The Hateful Eight

 

The Hunger Games: Mocknigjay - Part 2

 

Steve Jobs

 

 

And the boffy goes to...

 

 

Pixar's lowest grossing film to date, and a loss of money too. Poor Tribefan.

 

 

THE GOOD DINOSAUR: ~$125m/$300m Total

 

 

[The Panda]

Loving the ceremony so far man, good job.

[Ezen Baklattan]

But there is hope! Here is the most awesome box office run of the year. The nominees are...

 

Furious 7

 

Inside Out

 

Jurassic World

 

The Martian

 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

 

And the boffy goes to...

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

THE FORCE AWAKENS: $915m/$2.05b Total

 

It's Star Wars. Nuff said.

 

[WrathOfHan]

So you think TFA had a disappointing run?  

[Ezen Baklattan]

And now, what goes up must come down. Here are the nominees for worst film of 2015.

 

Fan4Stic

 

Jupiter Ascending

 

Jurassic World

 

#Mortdecai

 

 

And the Boffy goes to....

 

[Ezen Baklattan]

And now the nominees for Best Animated Feature are...

 

Anomalisa 

 

The Good Dinosaur

 

Inside Out

 

Shaun the Sheep Movie

 

When Marnie Was There.

 

 

The Boffy goes to....

 

Take a fucking guess.

[Alpha]

2 minutes ago, Spaghetti said:

The Boffy goes to....

 

 

Hidden Content

 

1

 

Hmm...Minions?

[The Panda]

2 minutes ago, Spaghetti said:

And now the nominees for Best Animated Feature are...

 

Anomalisa 

 

The Good Dinosaur

 

Inside Out

 

Shaun the Sheep Movie

 

When Marnie Was There.

 

 

The Boffy goes to....

 

 

Hidden Content

 

 

Minions???