So many movies this year just seem to go through the motions (theater, Hollywood)

[Darthfrodo]

I understand that this is my opinion, and I know others will surely see things in a different light, but it seems that with the exception of Now You See Me every movie I've been to has either fallen way short, or just not been all that good.

Examples:

Man of Steel.............lots of noise but lousy lousy pacing.
Star Trek Into Darkness........I love the reboot, I do, but Khan as a metrosexual???
The Wolverine.........Why go through all that killing? He could have just said, "Logan, come to my factory I want to show you something."
Iron Man 3.........Fake Mandarin??? Bad Marvel !!!!! BAD!!!!
After Earth.........yawn
Elysium........What??? Who??? Why didn't they do this.........????
Pacific Rim..........Show me the MONSTERS!!!
Oblivion............Close to being good, close.
Riddick............Why'd you kill the dog????
The Family..........Ha ha ha ha ha....blam blam blam.......Oh dear!!!
We're the Millers...............ok, two good movies this year.
Oz the Great and Powerful.............He's just such a slime bag, it's hard to like.
This is the End...........Let's just make this one up, and add special effects at the end.
R.I.P.D.....................uh...........
Side Effects..................Ok, Ok, that's 3 good movies I've seen this year.

Now, I'm sure some readers here have really liked some of these movies, and I'm glad you enjoyed them (It's what we watch movies for, entertainment) but in my opinion, it's been a mediocre year.

To be fair, I am holding out hope for Machete Kills, Lockdown, Thor 2, and Hobbit 2. Movies I have yet to see.

Chime in if you like

[banjomike]

Our movies aren't made only with the thought of making money in the U.S. anymore. While we may be growing tired of flicks that are loaded down with special effects and have very thin plot lines and cardboard cut-outs for characters, audiences in Burma, China, Argentina, Finland, Russia, and Mozambique are flocking to them.

This is especially true in India, Korea, and China, all strong motion picture producers of their own. A movie here can still rake in millions in other countries even if it just breaks even here. Increasingly more of our movies open at the same time all over the world now, for that reason.

The other big thing is: Here in the U.S., movies face a lot of growing competition now from other entertainments.

The flicks that put butts in theater seats are going to be copied more than ever, and the movie business has always run this way. They cost a lot of money to make, and are always risky investments.
The demographics are shifty now; younger kids were the biggest movie-goers for a long time. For a while, younger girls and women went to more movies than boys, so movies were geared toward them. Then younger boys and men became the largest demographic, so the movies changed to suit their tastes. The flicks that could capture both genders always did the best.
Lately, the older generations have become the most frequent movie-goers. They prefer less special effects and stronger stories, elements that cost less to make but may be riskier if the story doesn't catch on. The kids are now watching their flicks on computers, iPads and cell phones.

But everyone will still go see a flick like Gravity. It's a true theatrical experience, has a real good story, and is very well done. It's exactly the kind of movie Hollywood still does best, and one the entire world will enjoy.

[Darthfrodo]

Thanks for your input Mike. I think it's true about the change in target audiences over the years. Blockbusters do seem to have taken over the Cineplex. Although with some of them not making huge amounts of money (The Lone Ranger anyone?) maybe studios will put more emphasis on the writing instead of all the glitz. One can always hope anyways.

I'm going to catch Gravity next week.

[BU191433]

You seem to go to the wrong movies. See Gravity, Rush, Captain Phillips, Prisoner, Mud, The Way, Way Back. And see if they are just going through the motions

[oeccscclhjhn]

Originally Posted by Darthfrodo

Oblivion............Close to being good, close.

i agree. what made that movie for me (saw the netflix dvd) was andrea riseborough's performance. she carried t. cruise and the cgi to make the movie worth seeing, imho, ymmv.

the only movies i saw at the theater from your list was man of steel and star trek into darkness.

man of steel - loved the story, and i agree that the smash'm up fighting city destroying scene was over done after the first few seconds / minutes. but, diane lane. amy adams. hot!

almost went to see after earth.