What happened to 2010?

For most of the year, my biggest complaint has simply been…where are all the great movies in 2010?  Other then Inception, The Social Network and a small handful of other films, 2010 has been a very weak movie year.  After talking with some of my movie buddies, I know I’m not alone in this sentiment.  With such an amazing selection of great movies in 2009, the question remains…what happened to 2010?  While an exact answer will probably never be known, and interesting theory was brought to my attention by a close friend.

The decline in 2010 cinema may be caused, either directly or indirectly, by the 2007-08 Writers’ strike.  On November 5th, 2007 more the 12,000 writers went on strike and did not go back to work until February 12, 2008.  Obviously, movies can take up to a year or longer to complete, so it’s not far fetched to think that it would take almost 2 years to feel the ripple effect of a strike that last over 3 months and involved 12,000 writers.  I truly hope that Hollywood looks back at 2010 and sees this year’s crop of so-so movies as the perfect example why they should do everything they can to avoid future strikes. 

As for the rest of 2010, things might be looking up a bit.  The overall critical reception for Clint Eastwood’s new film Hereafter has been pretty positive, and there is a lot of excitement surrounding the Coen Brothers new film True Grit, which is scheduled for a Christmas day release.  So hopefully these last 2 months will be a pleasant surprise, and Hollywood can salvage this 2010 movie year.  We shall see…

ADDENDUM: I would just like to add that after finally seeing Clint Eastwood's new film Hereafter, I must recant my hopeful statements about it possibly assisting in the salvage of the 2010 movie year.  Hereafter is dreadfully boring and only adds to my frustration about this movie year.