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Movies are trash tier entertainment at the moment

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I

Imp the Dimp

Member
I loved watching movies up until ~2013 I think. At some point my eagerness to go to the theater on a regular basis subsided to the point where I basically only went when invited by friends.

None of the movies I've lately seen stuck with me. Don't Breathe, Star Wars, James Bourne, Star Trek, Independence Day 2, Southpaw and what have you. Just utterly forgettable. I couldn't come up with memorable scenes in any of them to save my life. Perhaps I'm watching the wrong stuff (and these films are not doing a particularly good job of convincing me to dig deeper into the medium) but I swear going to the movies 5-10 years ago wasn't such a non-experience in comparison.
Clearly, there are good movies once in a while (I very much enjoyed The Visit; Everest wasn't bad either) but the ratio between what's good and what isn't seems to be a little out of balance unless I'm super selective or just very unlucky in my choice of pictures.

Right now, movies don't even compare to the entertainment modern games, tv shows or books bring to the table in my humble opinion. I think these three forms of entertainment are in a really good spot at the moment but movies are lagging insanely behind. Most of the stuff I watched lately wasn't even worth my time to be frank, let alone good.
 
D

Discotheque

Banned
Imp the Dimp said:
None of the movies I've lately seen stuck with me. Star Wars, Don't Breathe, Mission Impossible, Star Trek, Independence Day 2 and what have you. Just utterly forgettable. I couldn't come up with memorable scenes in any of them to save my life. Perhaps I'm watching the wrong stuff
Click to expand...

no shit.

no chance in hell is tv better, even during the 'golden age' too. the people who always say this tend to just stick to big movies, in which there is a dearth in quality at the moment for sure. it would be like saying tv is shit right now...but i only watch superhero shows.
 
B

Betty

Banned
Imp the Dimp said:
Right now, movies don't even compare to the entertainment modern games, tv shows or books bring to the table in my humble opinion.
Click to expand...

Well yeah, TV has been better than most movies for a while now, and games are just more fun and longer lasting.
 
C

ClivePwned

Member
OP, have you seen Whiplash, Sicario, Hateful 8, John Wick, Birdman, Big Short, etc?

Nothing wrong with not liking the output of a particular medium over a certain period of time.

also OP stands for
Oh, Precious
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
"Movies" by and large means Hollywood. Their DVD market dried up a few years ago, and right now it's all about the international box office.

That means special effects + superheroes, because these are understandable to people who don't speak English and who aren't, at their stage of societal engagement with film, looking for much more from Hollywood than Big Spectacle.

It's a big dumb time for movies. Better get cozy with television and indie film.
 
G

Gamer @ Heart

Member
People say this kind of bullshit about music all the time too?

Do you know how much good stuff is out there that you are making little to no effort to find or experience? Start looking outside of movies that get a wide release at your local chain.
 
D

Dio

Banned
ClivePwned said:
OP, have you seen Whiplash, Sicario, Hateful 8, John Wick, Birdman, Big Short, etc?

Nothing wrong with not liking the output of a particular medium over a certain period of time.

also OP stands for
Oh, Precious
Click to expand...

The Sicario director also just came out with Arrival, which seems to be getting a great reception.
 
O

Osahi

Member
You're watching the wrong stuff. (I liked a lot of the films you mention, but for what they are: entertainment)

I think the shit/masterpiece ratio hasn't changed over the years. Go watch stuff like Sicario, Hell or High Water, Kubo and the Two Strings, Krigen (A War), Carol, Broolyn, The Red Turtle, etc.
 
G

GAMEPROFF

Banned
BocoDragon said:
"Movies" by and large means Hollywood. Their DVD market dried up a few years ago, and right now it's all about the international box office.

That means special effects + superheroes, because these are understandable to people who don't speak English and who aren't, at their stage of societal engagement with film, looking for much more from Hollywood than Big Spectacle.

It's a big dumb time for movies. Better get cozy with television and indie film.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the stupid foreigners are at fault, right?
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Not really feeling the "it's just you/seek better stuff" responses.

It's widely acknowledged by industry watchers that Hollywood's interest has taken a sharp turn towards seeking big unsophisticated international box office in a way that previous eras did not.

Of course, if the suggestion is "ignore Hollywood".... I can agree.

GAMEPROFF said:
Yeah, the stupid foreigners are at fault, right?
Click to expand...

Nice try.

The corporate mandate "we have to sell something to 100 countries.. what big spectacle will sell in 100 countries" logic is at fault.
 
J

Jito

Banned
Surprisedsed you'd rate The Visit over Don't Breathe, it was a return to form for M.Night but it wasn't that good. But yeh like everyone else has said, you just watch the latest Hollywood movies by the looks of it.
 
N

nubbe

Member
I find it hard to watch movies since there are quite a few great series now.
You can only do so much with 2 hours to fill with context, drama and action.
13 hour shows is where I spend my time nowadays.
To many blockbusters have been "why am I watching this?"
 
KonradLaw

KonradLaw

Member
teruterubozu said:
2 hours is taxing for the modern attention span, that's for sure.
Click to expand...

People say that, but it seems like the kind of commonly accepted fact that's actually dead wrong. In recent years people heave been liking long form storytelling more and more. We're in the golden age of tv, the binging became a common thing, the book market is increasingly flooded with series and even among movies the most popular ones these days are series/shared universes. It's visible even on Youtube, where the most popular youtubers are those who create longer videos.
 
J

jett

D-Member
You need to watch better movies.

But I agree that TV is on top right now. We're living through a golden age of television this century, where the production values, acting, writing and directing and better than ever (on the format). And with the longform storytelling that TV offers, you obviously get more detailed character development and engrossing stories. When it comes to the stuff that actually matters, I honestly believe the best of TV has superseded the best of Hollywood in recent years. And sadly, when it comes spectacle, the one thing movies truly offer over TV, movies have been in the proverbial shitter.
 
D

Discotheque

Banned
i just saw two movies in the last week alone that were better than any drama series i've seen on tv in 2016 (and I loved a lot of tv this year). from a writing AND acting perspective for sure.

the disparity is still heavily skewed for films right now. like if we had multiple shows on sopranos/wire level every year then it would be a different story. but that aint happening.
 
T

teruterubozu

Member
KonradLaw said:
People say that, but it seems like the kind of commonly accepted fact that's actually dead wrong. In recent years people heave been liking long form storytelling more and more. We're in the golden age of tv, the binging became a common thing, the book market is increasingly flooded with series and even among movies the most popular ones these days are series/shared universes.
Click to expand...

True but they still come in doses. And what does that say about the desire for variety in today's audiences? Not much.
 
I

Imp the Dimp

Member
Jito said:
Sutprirsed you'd rate The Visit over Don't Breathe, it was a return to form for M.Night but it wasn't that good. But yeh like everyone else has said, you just watch the latest Hollywood movies by the looks of it.
Click to expand...

Yes, I only ever go to the movies when my friends go so clearly, the movies we watch are usually the lowest common denominator. I'm aware I could delve deeper into movies and find stuff that might suit my needs, but I swear going to the cinema and finding a good or at least a good-ish movie was not so hard 5-15 years ago. I barely like anything I watch these days.

I found Don't Breathe predictable and slow. Didn't like it very much.
 
S

Sheentak

Member
KonradLaw said:
People say that, but it seems like the kind of commonly accepted fact that's actually dead wrong. In recent years people heave been liking long form storytelling more and more. We're in the golden age of tv, the binging became a common thing, the book market is increasingly flooded with series and even among movies the most popular ones these days are series/shared universes. It's visible even on Youtube, where the most popular youtubers are those who create longer videos.
Click to expand...

A TV show is a hour compared to a movie you can watch one episode a day.
 
KonradLaw

KonradLaw

Member
teruterubozu said:
True but they still come in doses. And what does that say about the desire for variety in today's audience? Not much.
Click to expand...

Actually it says a lot. People don't value variety all that much. They tend to prefer new story with familiar characters than something completely new.
It's why short stories are going extinct these days. Since every story is requring you to start from scratch.
 
karasu

karasu

Member
You're crazy. There are a ton of great films out there. Do yourself a favor and don't limit yourself to Hollywood either. There are great films being made all around the world.
 
S

supernormal

Member
Games and TV are doing way better than they were before, but they still don't come anywhere close to movies for me. Production/cinematography is still worlds apart in most cases. Most shows/series still can't shake that cheap as fuck sheen off.
 
UberTag

UberTag

Member
I challenge you to watch Moonlight later this month and tell me that it's trash tier with a straight face.
 
I

Iceman

Member
Every year there's about 10 really good/great movies, but no more than that. We've already had Everybody Wants Some, Hell or High Water and we soon have Elle, Hacksaw Ridge and Arrival on the horizon which all promise to linger - not easily forgettable. (And Moonlight)
 
S

SlickShoes

Member
I barely go to the cinema, when I do it's usually to see some sort of big huge release with some exceptions.

TV shows there always seems to be something going about telling me what to watch, I can find some good things quite easily just browsing on demand services.

Movies now that I am out of the loop I find difficult to locate the good new stuff, probably none of it is on the services I subscribe to either for TV shows and I just don't have the time to go trawling the internet for them when everything else is available on demand.

Saying all that the last thing I saw at the cinema was Neon Demon, which is hardly a blockbuster but it was total shit and about 40 minutes too long.
 
J

JimmyRustler

Gold Member
2013? Wut?

Late 90s and early 2000s was where Hollywood was in a golden age.

This trend of horrible cinema has been going on for quite some time now. 2 weeks ago I saw Purge 3 and I can't believe this shit actually made it on big screen. A decade ago this was straight to DVD material.

Yesterday I saw Sausage Party in the Sneak Preview. Walked out after 30 minutes. This was only the 2nd time I ever walked out of a movie.

Sad thing is that the current output seems to be working for Hollywood when you look at the box office. Baffling.
 
G

GAMEPROFF

Banned
BocoDragon said:
Nice try.

The corporate mandate "we have to sell something to 100 countries.. what big spectacle will sell in 100 countries" logic is at fault.
Click to expand...

Then cut the crap with "People who dont speak english". American TV shows are consumed around the globe. Mostly In English.
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
Imp the Dimp said:
Don't Breathe, Star Wars, James Bourne, Star Trek, Independence Day 2, Southpaw and what have you.
Click to expand...

Imp the Dimp said:
Perhaps I'm watching the wrong stuff
Click to expand...

Perhaps! ;)

It's funny how people who deride the state of movies almost always tend to stick to blockbuster films. It could be down to location, that you're not near arthouse or indie cinemas, but then you can see plenty of non-blockbuster films at home. Broaden your horizons. Check out foreign films (you might have to read!). Even just look up the highest Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic scores for films in a year and check them out.

For example, you gave an example of a horror movie. Go see The Witch, It Follows, The Babadook, Conjuring, etc.

You gave an example of an action movie. Go see Raid 1 and 2, Mad Max Fury Road, John Wick, Dredd.

You gave an example of a sports movie. Go see Foxcatcher or Raging Bull.

You gave an example of a sci fi movie. Go see Europa Report, 2001, Ghost In The Shell, Paprika, Alien, Sunshine, Contact, Stalker, Solaris, Eternal Sunshine, Moon, Primer, Interstellar.

Oh, since you mentioned Independence Day, be sure to check out Arrival when it comes out (soon!) by the same director of Sicario, Enemy, and Prisoners.
 
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