Looking for a good movie? You better get to the theater soon; time is running out.

Any movie that the studios think might be an Oscar contender is in theaters right now, in hopes of keeping it fresh in the minds of Academy members.

That’s not to say that Oscar contenders are the only good movies, or even that most good movies become Oscar contenders. But there is a certain type of film— touching, well-written, dramatic — that tends to be released from around the end of December to the beginning of February.

The Oscar season is just one of the many seasons of the motion picture industry.

If you want to take the young ones, or even yourself to a children’s movie, you better be going between Halloween and Christmas. Oh sure, there will be an occasional “A Bug’s Life,” or maybe even a “Transformers: The Movie” during the summer, but for the most part, you’re S.O.L.

After all, summer’s the time for big, action blockbusters. That, and the annual “Will Smith: The Movie.”

Do you know what my favorite Will Smith performance was? The time when he played Will Smith. Oh, wait, he plays Will Smith in every fuggin’ movie!

This trend of seasonal movie releases is not a new thing, but lately it seems to have gotten even more intense. As Hollywood is forced to compete against home video, the Internet, and the hundreds of other movies out at a given time, it has begun to focus even more on marketing.

The way a film is marketed can make or break it. Mediocre films do huge box office sales, and good films are ignored all because of how they’re promoted. “Fallen,” starring Denzel Washington, was introduced to the public via a trailer that looked like lost scenes from “Seven.” When the film failed to perform as well as hoped, however, a new trailer, featuring a brighter look and the Rolling Stones’ “Time Is On My Side” took its place.

On the flip side of the marketing coin, take the summer smash “The Blair Witch Project.” As soon as Artisan purchased the low-budget film, it began an incredibly savvy marketing campaign that created huge anticipation among moviegoers.

Most big-time Hollywood films, such as “Fallen,” barely break even. The studios continue to sink big money into them, however, because the few that become hits will make them millions.

Unfortunately, sometimes we are the ones who suffer for the marketing strategies of the big studios, especially when it comes to seasonal marketing of films.

In larger communities, with more access to independent films, the way Hollywood chooses to market its films is not such a big deal. Unfortunately, in Ames we see almost nothing except the latest Hollywood flavor-of-the-month.

The good people at Cinemark have taken over all of the theaters in town, and variety is certainly not their goal. Movies 12 frequently fills multiple screens with the same, big-budget Hollywood film. After a few weeks, the film moves on to one of the smaller screens at Movies 12 and stays there for upwards of four years.

Lately, it seems that the films at the Varsity Theater have been aimed more at a college market. In other words, some of them are actually good movies. For the most part, however, we in Ames are doomed to nine screens of “The Sixth Sense,” and waiting three months to see “American Beauty.”

What can we do about it? Well, not much. About the only thing we can do is to make sure that we get out and support the few non-mainstream films that find their way into Ames.

Don’t forget there are alternatives to Cinemark as well. SUB films present an interesting feature every weekend, and they could always use your support.

Whenever things look their bleakest, and the latest Will Smith vehicle is the only thing in town, fear not: There is always home video.

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Ben Godar is a senior in sociology from Ames. He is assistant arts & entertainment editor at the Daily.