I’ve always been pretty critical of Hollyweird, but I’m beginning to think that there may be some method to their madness. As you may have noticed over the past month or so, I’ve been rather annoyed by the slate of horrible movies that we’ve been bombarded with lately (Alpha Dog, Norbit, etc…). But it suddenly occurs to me that there might be a reason why Hollywood’s been slinging so much shit at us recently. Perhaps it’s because we’ve all been so busy catching up on all of the great Oscar-nominated films that we probably wouldn’t have been spending our money on new movies even if they weren’t complete crap.

Indeed, this is probably the exact reason why on the first weekend after the Oscars, we get two of the most interesting movies that have come out since, well, before the Oscar nominations. I just love that on the on the first week that I find myself craving some fresh, non oscar-related, blood, I find none other than Zodiac and Wild Hogs waiting for me to bite into.

Now, I understand that not everyone will agree with my including Wild Hogs in the same category as Zodiac, but let me explain my reasoning.

There was a time in the movie biz when successfully “packaging” a film meant simply putting together a huge Hollywood star with a huge Hollywood director. But more and more, it seems like a really good movie has to have three or four great actors all working side-by-side (this year’s best picture winner is a perfect example). I’m not sure how these movies are able to pull this off financially, but I don’t really care. I think it’s a wonderful trend, and I hope it continues.

Which brings me to Zodiac and Wild Hogs. To be honest, I would have seen Zodiac no matter who was starring in it, because I love David Fincher and I’d watch his home movies if he let me. But the fact that this film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo…hell, I’d sell my first born child to see that.

And as for Wild Hogs, I realize that the whole roadtrip thing has been done to death (as has the mid-life crisis thing), but I’m too focused on this odd collection of actors to really care. I mean, John Travolta, William H. Macy, Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence?? Are you serious? Normally, I would say that a studio should fire any casting director who makes decisions while under the influence of narcotics, but in this case, it’s so ridiculous that it works…perfectly. While the actors in Zodiac are the perfect collection for the seriousness and intensity of that movie, the collection of actors in Wild Hogs is absolutely perfect for the ridiculousness of a movie about four middle-aged guys who become bikers.

As you may have guessed, I’m going to say SEE IT for both Zodiac and Wild Hogs. I’m so happy we’ve finally got some good movies coming our way, and I think that these two films were the perfect choices to lead the pack. Good job, Hollywood. You’re not as dumb as I thought.

Zodiac (rated R) and Wild Hogs (rated PG-13) both open on March 2. (Official Sites: Zodiac, Wild Hogs)