Theory Thursday: Bill Murray the Actor (Not the Person) is Overrated

Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Welcome to a weekly column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

Review: "The Monuments Men" is a Safe Look at Art's Influence on Culture

George Clooney

After being moved to 2014 due to need for more post-production work, director George Clooney's The Monuments Men finally opened this month. It is in the midst of an Oscar season that it was once in the discussion of, which may be problematic for its chances next year. As evident by the past, films opening before June (and this year: October) are doomed to not even receive any recognition. While it could be that the largely competitors of the time are throwaway cash cows, it is also just because it is too early in any given year to be thinking about next year's ceremony. This isn't so much a problem for Clooney, whose prestige within the Academy has recently been recognized with a producer win for Argo. However, his star-studded World War II film is another story and one that does open the debate for next year's ceremony.

Now "The Monuments Men" Gets Moved to 2014

George Clooney

It has been quite a day for movies getting switched around. Earlier today, The Wolf of Wall Street confirmed that it was coming out just in time for Christmas and thus qualifying for this year's Oscar race. As discussed in that article, it is going to be a packed season of films and there is a good chance that it will be hard to see them all. While this was why Jack Ryan was moved, it isn't so much the case with the latest announcement. Director George Clooney's war film The Monuments Men will not be around this holiday season. Much like The Wolf of Wall Street, the reasons are good enough to justify this shift.

"The Monuments Men" Debuts with an Exciting, Star-Studded Trailer

Left to right: Matt Damon and George Clooney

It seems like we're in a recent winning streak with trailers right now. In the past week alone, we have gotten stuff for American Hustle, Her, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and now one of the surefire Oscar contenders: director George Clooney's The Monuments Men. While it has been hyped since January as one of the films of the year, it is largely because Clooney is one of the biggest threats to competitors in general. As we'll discuss later on, he may not be the most decorated Oscar nominee/winner, but his presence and contribution is fascinating and the fact that this looks to be another strong entry only makes it harder to deny his charisma.