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These Days, Television Is Better Than Movies
- Thread starter Darkmakaimura
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beato_angelico
Member
this kind of thread pop up every fucking month here and I cringe every time.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
If I had known that, I would have replied and not make a thread. Never seen a thread about it here myself. But, instead of "thread whining" you're always free to just pass by it.
Femmeworth
Banned
This is plain silly, television doesn't even begin to fill the niches that movies do. Television has too high of a barrier to entry, limiting the diversity of voices that can be heard.
Karsticles
Member
On the flip side, I don't see how I am supposed to care about a character I've only known for 2 hours of my life.
TV has far surpassed movies when it comes to comedy.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
Just to make a little clearer on what I meant in my OP, I'm talking about recent TV shows in the last few years and recent movies in the last few years.... Say, around 2 - 4 years. I'm not referring to the entire history of movies and television. In the past, I personally enjoyed movies more than TV.
Good movies are excellent at emotional manipulation.
brianjones
Member
i don't like comparing mediums but i def find myself getting excited for new episodes of shows that I'm into more than movies
also i haven't been to the movies since christmas while enjoying true detective recently
also i haven't been to the movies since christmas while enjoying true detective recently
But do you mean all movies, or big blockbuster, Hollywood movies?
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
All movies that I've seen. A lot (not all) of them are blockbusters but that's only because I like a lot of sci-fi, fantasy, horror and action although that would be most of my TV watching as well.
See You Next Wednesday
Banned
Movies do not get yanked off the schedule with parts completely unaired like struggling TV shows do though.
I often feel like these arguments boil down to what you're watching. You see articles saying this, and they're comparing the best of TV with mediocre movies. Is Breaking Bad better than transformers? Of course it is, but by the same token, Inside Llewyn Davis is a hell of a lot better than the Big Bang Theory.
For me, movies still hit higher highs, and I'm surprised to see people make this argument after a fantastic movie year like 2013. Off the top of my head, Gravity, inside Llewyn Davis, Her, 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street, Upstream Color, and The Act of Killing were all as good as or better than pretty much anything I saw on TV last year (and yes, I saw Breaking Bad).
For me, movies still hit higher highs, and I'm surprised to see people make this argument after a fantastic movie year like 2013. Off the top of my head, Gravity, inside Llewyn Davis, Her, 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street, Upstream Color, and The Act of Killing were all as good as or better than pretty much anything I saw on TV last year (and yes, I saw Breaking Bad).
In terms of quality, I can find multiple films a year spanning any genre that are solid. With television, I find that too many genres are simply too procedural or under-produced to rise above the crop.
Of course, this all depends on what types of TV you're comparing to specific films as the above post demonstrates.
Of course, this all depends on what types of TV you're comparing to specific films as the above post demonstrates.
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
no
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
Go to the Toronto film festival and say this to my face again.
More importantly, recognize that there are inherent structural differences between theatrical releases and TV serials. Movies are better used for telling short-story-format plots where textual description's communicated through stylized direction and acting; TV programs are more episodic due to the nature of broadcasting scheduling. Look past Hollywood and you'll see that there's a lot of diverse movie-making today, just as commercial television is now in a golden age.
More importantly, recognize that there are inherent structural differences between theatrical releases and TV serials. Movies are better used for telling short-story-format plots where textual description's communicated through stylized direction and acting; TV programs are more episodic due to the nature of broadcasting scheduling. Look past Hollywood and you'll see that there's a lot of diverse movie-making today, just as commercial television is now in a golden age.
sixteen-bit
Member
mad men ~<3
I think you should try to broaden the horizon, before giving up on movies altogether.
Besides, i can't really think of very good Sci-fi, Fantasy or even Horror tv series.. i guess Game of Thrones is pretty good entertainment.
The only good action series i can name are Banshee and probably Strike Back (haven't seen it yet, but hear good things) and it still can't hold a candle to the best (even recent) action movies.
It seems like your tastes are more fit for movies to begin with!
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
Would you, uh, like me to bring some benzos with me to give to you when I go?
I haven't given up on movies entirely but I'm sure not excited about anything. Pretty much all of the sci-fi, superhero and action flicks I've seen from 2013 ranged from mediocre to just plain awful and I've seen almost all of the movies in those genre for that year.I think you should try to broaden the horizon, before giving up on movies altogether.
Besides, i can't really think of very good Sci-fi, Fantasy or even Horror tv series.. i guess Game of Thrones is pretty good entertainment.
The only good action series i can name are Banshee and probably Strike Back (haven't seen it yet, but hear good things) and it still can't hold a candle to the best (even recent) action movies.
It seems like your tastes are more fit for movies to begin with!
You are right in that my tastes seem more fit for movies. That's why I used to think the opposite but it's only recently I find TV a lot more enjoyable than film.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
I was exaggerating, but the point remains that one should know where to look for diversity in the film market.
Net_Wrecker
Member
You're overrating most action movies. Strike Back holds it's own in that category.
I think you should try to broaden the horizon, before giving up on movies altogether.
Besides, i can't really think of very good Sci-fi, Fantasy or even Horror tv series.. i guess Game of Thrones is pretty good entertainment.
The only good action series i can name are Banshee and probably Strike Back (haven't seen it yet, but hear good things) and it still can't hold a candle to the best (even recent) action movies.
It seems like your tastes are more fit for movies to begin with!
Say what?
Discotheque
Banned
At the moment yeah. But then something like that double header of the raid and dredd comes along
Or the fast and furious franchise
Falling Skies is garbage though wtf, and honestly I wasn't a fan of what I saw of fringe. I think drama wise mad men and sopranos is something I prefer over many recent films but there are still plenty of great films coming out yearly
And better call saul? Fuck that. New Fargo miniseries looks entertaining though
Good sci fi and fantasy films are scarce in film but even more rare for tv at the moment. It had a good run in the 90s and early 00s but has died down
Netflix original series and amc (aside from mad men) is laughable at the moment
Extra Sauce
Member
Fringe and Falling Skies as examples of television being better than movies? No.
Net_Wrecker
Member
I covered myself by saying "most." There are definitely still great action movies out there, but there's also a ton of toned down, CG, disposable crap. I'm not saying TV is the home of action though, it's definitely not.
The cable business model let's writers work on their stuff over a longer period of time with fewer episodes, without having to run things through a blender of script approval and focus testing. Studio films and network TV have the same types of issues on different scales.
For that reason, TV has been better than film for over a decade, especially when it comes to character driven drama.
For that reason, TV has been better than film for over a decade, especially when it comes to character driven drama.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
Compared to the junk sci-fi movies I've seen from 2013? Absolutely.
This conversation comes up about once a year I think, and I find it mostly useless because the points don't really change and they come off as completely wrong to me-- neither is better than the other because they're different mediums with different purposes.
there's a lot of good TV nowadays thanks to there being so many platforms/pipelines and due to the lower stakes that allows more writer/producer-controlled programming to make it onto the air. at the same time TV tells stories that are completely different from movies. the long-form format means they rely more on tensions between serial and procedural and on character over duration and variating a theme. film has advantages where TV has disadvantages. sometimes a story is better served by being shorter, film can allow for specificity and nuance in a way that a repeated TV story can't. Plus, not having to return to status-quo at the end of each episode (or at the very least establish a new status-quo) means film can generally be more narratively adventurous
all your post is saying is "I watch only blockbusters and mainstream films, mostly superhero and sci-fantasy works, without making any effort to find the 100 or so good movies released in a year that aren't advertised on taco bell cups and are actually critically acclaimed and recognized as remarkable. I do watch plenty of TV though"
Which is fine if you want to throw your hat in with TV right now is a great time to do it. but to decide there aren't good movies out there is letting yourself down a bit
As much as I loved True Detective, Fringe, Breaking Bad, Mad Men--I would take 4 or 5 of these over any TV show.
Or, more elegantly than all this above:
there's a lot of good TV nowadays thanks to there being so many platforms/pipelines and due to the lower stakes that allows more writer/producer-controlled programming to make it onto the air. at the same time TV tells stories that are completely different from movies. the long-form format means they rely more on tensions between serial and procedural and on character over duration and variating a theme. film has advantages where TV has disadvantages. sometimes a story is better served by being shorter, film can allow for specificity and nuance in a way that a repeated TV story can't. Plus, not having to return to status-quo at the end of each episode (or at the very least establish a new status-quo) means film can generally be more narratively adventurous
all your post is saying is "I watch only blockbusters and mainstream films, mostly superhero and sci-fantasy works, without making any effort to find the 100 or so good movies released in a year that aren't advertised on taco bell cups and are actually critically acclaimed and recognized as remarkable. I do watch plenty of TV though"
Which is fine if you want to throw your hat in with TV right now is a great time to do it. but to decide there aren't good movies out there is letting yourself down a bit
Flight was atrocious, just straight-up rotting garbage. some good movies from the past couple years: Inside Llewyn Davis, Before Midnight, The Act of Killing, Spring Breakers, Her, 12 Years a Slave, Girl Walk // All Day, Certified Copy, American Scream, Oslo August 31st, The Social Network, Scott Pilgrim, Exit Through The Gift Shop, Dogtooth, The Raid, Magic Mike, The Innkeepers, Holy Motors, Shame, Beginners, Attack the Block, A Separation, Take Shelter, Tabloid, Weekend, The Tree of Life
As much as I loved True Detective, Fringe, Breaking Bad, Mad Men--I would take 4 or 5 of these over any TV show.
there's been a ton of indie sci-fi and horror and action the past couple years. I said The Raid already, there's a whole underground scene of DTV action that's acclaimed as being superior to any hwd action filmmaking led by directors like John Hyams, there's the horror movement that's being labeled "mumblegore" after the fact with directors like Adam Wingard and Ti West, there's experimental sci-fi like +1 and Upstream Color. and hell, the Fast and Furious movies are box office juggernauts and also incredible, high soap action spectacles. I highly rec looking outside of superhero movies and YA adaptations. I'd also like to hear what action movies you saw that were mediocre to plain awful, or the sci-fi that was junk, just to get a better idea of where you're coming from. For instance, if you haven't seen The Raid or Attack the Block but think action and sci-fi movies from the past couple years are garbage, then you're just not watching movies that are actually getting positive impressions
Agree on all this. even on the comedies part: I think TV offers more opportunity for alt comedy. Because movies used to have that in more mid-budget works, and there's really no lane for that anymore. But on TV? Birthday Boys, Comedy Bang Bang, Portlandia, Community, Parks, Broad City, Review, Party Down, Always Sunny, Louie, more more more. But yeah, that's just a current condition thing. As mediums they're simply different.
Or, more elegantly than all this above:
.
Yeah i'll get to that, probably this week, since Banshee is done for this year!
Numerically speaking, still more decent action movies come out than there are good action TV series.
We're talking recent TV and recent Movies.
If i think about recent (last 4-5 years) sci fi TV series, i can't really come up with a lot of good stuff.
Then again, different people have a different definitions of good, and sci fi has not been very good in movies, either.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
No, my post says that I've watched mostly blockbuster films of the sci-fi, superhero, horror, etc. genre nor do I say I watch plenty of television. Actually, I don't have the capability to watch TV and usually have to use Netflix, Prime or Hulu when I can.
Also, Flight being garbage really is personal opinion. It was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor (Denzel Washington). It generally received positive critical reviews. The movie was surprisingly better than I expected.
A lot of movies you listed I haven't seen, I admit. I'm not much for indie movies but I am willing to give it a chance so I'll have to check out some of those you listed. I have seen Social Network and yes, I did like that movie and even seen it twice. I also saw Scott Pilgrim and it was a fun ride while I was drunk. The choreography with FX was the best thing about it. But like I said, I tend to dislike most independent movies I've seen.
Oh, also saw you mention the Raid. I have not seen that but would like to. I have heard that Dredd is similar (story-wise) and, despite thinking it was going to be hot garbage, I actually liked Dredd. It was nothing special but compared to a lot of other action, sci-fi, etc. I've recently seen, it was pretty good.
When I think back, 2013 was so disappointing for me. I know listing off the movies I've seen and disliked would get me a lot of rolled eyes, but that's honestly how I feel. Again, I just want to re-iterate that I'm really talking about the last couple of years at least. I used to always prefer film over television.
For me it's a pacing thing, I mean I don't mind sitting through half a season in one go but watching one 3 hr movie can be exhausting. I don't like the network standard of 45 minutes though, 1 hr for a serious drama is the sweet spot for me.
But this is highly dependent on what you saw last year. Did you see Upstream Color? How about Gravity?
Also, you're taking one year. Fringe was on from 2008 to 2013. During that time, we got Moon, Inception, District 9, Attack The Block, and Looper. And that's just from a quick Google search. I really enjoyed Fringe, but I think you're making an unfair comparison.
I also feel like a lot of people remember the highlights of TV shows, but not the down time. Even I'm guilty if it, and I'm amazed how often I go back to a show and realize how much of it I've forgotten, and how I genealogy only remember the highs.
Extra Sauce
Member
So because 2013 was a poor year for sci-fi movies, "Television is better than Movies these days". Gotcha.
Anyway, if you're going to make such bold claims you need much better examples. Fringe and Falling Skies have mediocre (Fringe) to bad (Falling Skies) characterization and dialogue, most of the films I have seen this year were superior in that department.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
Yes, actually Gravity was the last movie I saw and I absolutely hated it. Inception was average and I did not care for District 9. The latter was made even worse because my ex-gf recently broke up with me and I lost my job and depressing movie as it was, it was the last thing I needed.
arts&crafts
Member
How bad is Falling Skies, I feel like most tv SciFi shows it will be horrible. Fringe was awesome though.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
I've already seen Dredd. It says it right in the post you quote....
Depends on what you want.
For sure deeper stories and better character arcs etc, but at the same time, nothing beats a really well done movie.
I prefer succinctness and the real skill of telling a strong tale in a short time.
It's hard to do bit when it's done right...
Also these days I just don't have the time to sit through hours and hours of a TV series.
A barely have time for a movie, but it's much more likely I'll finish a movie than a TV series.
For sure deeper stories and better character arcs etc, but at the same time, nothing beats a really well done movie.
I prefer succinctness and the real skill of telling a strong tale in a short time.
It's hard to do bit when it's done right...
Also these days I just don't have the time to sit through hours and hours of a TV series.
A barely have time for a movie, but it's much more likely I'll finish a movie than a TV series.
Okay, I'll just chalk this up to different taste. Don't get me wrong, I like Fringe, but it's kind of amazing to see it held up as the pinnacle of science fiction. It had some great episodes, but it also had a lot of mediocre ones. By far the best thing about it was John Noble.
Anyway, I'll leave this now since I think we just enjoy different things. FWIW, The Raid is much better than Dress. Still not much story, but The action and construction of the film is far superior. Of course, not sure how much my recommendation will mean.
Doctoglethorpe
Member
I think both (and music too) are in this weird state where the vast majority of content is some of the worst ever created (all the mindless explosion movies and all the reality tv) but at the same time there are gems popping up in both mediums that are arguably some of the best ever made. And perhaps it is the fact that there is so much garbage out now that they more easily shine through, idk. Though I do think the television gems shine easier then the movies. The movie gems are the ones that have limited theatrical releases so are less accessible. Maybe thats why you think tv is better, you just haven't found many of the film gems.
ok but countering with "well actually I haven't seen much TV either" doesn't really make the "tv is better than movies" stance more well-founded...
as for Flight, the oscars have been largely irrelevant to actual quality for...ever? they're decided by a bunch of 80yo white men, Flight was pretty heavily derided by a decently sized contingent
and if you're not going to even list the movies you've seen in the past couple years there's really no point in even discussing, what are you going for here. if that's honestly how you feel it'd be constructive to get a frame of reference. like if the independent movies you saw were InAPPropriate Comedy and A.C.O.D. it's kinda on you. you can't expect to go anywhere in this if you're going to stop at "well I think TV is better than movies, though I don't watch much of either and I won't tell you what movies I saw"
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