A Blog Title

So, what's the deal with movie titles?

While browsing through Netflix (probably spending more time selecting something to watch rather than watching a movie itself) I realized just how bad movies titles can be. I happened to notice, Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown. Just say that out loud and think about that one for a second.

That's not even the worst I've ever heard though. Based on their titles alone, who would want to watch: The Men Who Stare at Goats, Phfft!, F.AR.T. The Movie and Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever? Even the highest rated movie on IMDB, the Shawshank Redemption, barely made back its initial budget when it was released. People were like "What the hell is a Shawshank and what is it redeeming?".

Bad movie titles are one thing, but it's the lazy movie titles that really bother me. Hollywood screenwriters can write smart and exciting stories with great plots and characters but when it comes down to naming their movies it's like they just give up. I feel you have to at least try and come up with a catchy title to get people interested.

Here's a list of a few of the laziest movie titles in the last couple years:
We Bought a Zoo
Man On a Ledge
Snakes On a Plain
Fighting

Then there's the, "Just name it after the main character" tactic:
Jack Reacher
John Carter
Captain Philips
Sure, it works some times, but generally it begs the question, "Who the hell is that, and why the hell should I care?!"

Imagine if these classic movies were released today, what would they get called:

Back to the Future - Time Travel Kid
The Matrix - I know Kung-Fu
Raiders of the Lost Ark - Man with a Whip
Rear Window - Spying
Memento - Short-term Memory Loss
The Shining - Crazy Guy With an Axe
Lawrence of Arabia - A Man in the Desert
Reservoir Dogs - One of us is a Cop
2001: A Space Odyssey - I'm In Space
Raging Bull - Boxing
Die Hard - John McClane

I sure hope something is done about this trend, and in the future and we get some more creative titles.

Witty remark!