Too Many Movies? (film, dvd, watching, Colorado)

[Gil3]

Mike From Back East wrote:

Movies today are nauseatingly insipid. Anything by Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler is butt-wipe. Don't even get me started on whack job Tom Cruise (major YUCK). Sometimes I think hollywood actually TRIES to make movies that are dreadful just to show their contempt for the viewer by seeing how many idiots actually pay to see the crap, i.e., the joke's on the viewer

I couldn't agree more..This is why I have been gravitating more and more to the independent films. I know at least 95% of the time I won't be disappointed. Granted, many Hollywood actors perform in these, but by and large, the films don't have that generic Hollywood blandness and homogenity. It appears the creators and writers are given a lot more leeway express from a creative standpoint.

Broken Flowers is an exception..I wasn't too impressed with that one, even though Jeffrey Wright more or less stole the show. Despite this, Jarmusch is still one of my favorite directors

[McGowdog]

I think I have seen what's going on with supposed blockbusters of today that are ruining everthing; it's the previews.

By the time the movie finally hits the screen, everybody has seen so many clips of the movie that you're already burnt out on it and the movie just comes off being so flat.

Too much marketing and advertisement. It's like they're trying so hard and it gets so blown up. Maybe not so much with the Independent films. Just a thought.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

I think I have seen what's going on with supposed blockbusters of today that are ruining everthing; it's the previews.

By the time the movie finally hits the screen, everybody has seen so many clips of the movie that you're already burnt out on it and the movie just comes off being so flat.

Too much marketing and advertisement. It's like they're trying so hard and it gets so blown up. Maybe not so much with the Independent films. Just a thought.

Yes, sometimes I feel that I don't need to see a movie because I already saw the highlights on preview.
Stephen King made a valid point about the difference between hype and buzz.
Hype is the previews and other advertisement--it is bought and paid for.
Buzz is the good word of mouth.
Hype can happen with independent film, too.
I actually thought that Broken Flowers was a bit overrated, but I still like Jarmusch.

[FlourChild]

I had this discussion with someone a few days ago. Specifically, I'm weary beyond expression with superhero movies, especially Marvel's tripe. Is it too much to ask that someone make a movie a grownup isn't embarrassed to see? ENOUGH with the CGI; it doesn't impress me much anymore, and movies that do it as badly as "The Incredible Hulk" are just mortifying. They should have titled it "Edward Norton Pays Some Rent". I loved him in "The Illusionist", but it's sad to see him (and Liv Tyler) jump onto such an obvious garbage truck as the Hulk thing.

AFAIK, Whedon or whoever has dropped plans to make "Wonder Woman", a fact that gives me hope to go on. We've already had the Lara Croft silliness, and the Charlie's Angels silliness. At this point, Wonder Woman is just another buttkicker, only she dresses badly, and that golden lasso has yucky implications.

I think one of the things that tends to bother me most about recent movies is the anachronistic treatment of the female characters. Everyone--from Guinevere to Mother Theresa--gets not only sexed up, but martial-arts skills as well. They're ALL tough, independent, ferocious, better than any man. If that were anywhere close to reality, would we have NEEDED feminism? I know, fluttering eyelashes and fainting spells wouldn't make for good entertainment, but there's got to be a happy medium in there somewhere.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by FlourChild

I think one of the things that tends to bother me most about recent movies is the anachronistic treatment of the female characters. Everyone--from Guinevere to Mother Theresa--gets not only sexed up, but martial-arts skills as well. They're ALL tough, independent, ferocious, better than any man. If that were anywhere close to reality, would we have NEEDED feminism? I know, fluttering eyelashes and fainting spells wouldn't make for good entertainment, but there's got to be a happy medium in there somewhere.

That is partly why I enjoyed Juno. Yes the snappy dialogue was a bit unrealistic (as was the scene in the clinic!), but as tough as Juno was, she definitely had a vulnerable side, and it showed.
Moviemakers would do well to try to appeal more to the women in their audience. I was never a big fan of Sex in the City but at least now there is a movie out there that doesn't require fast cars or explosions.
Basically, the movers and shakers of Hollywood need to lose their business model: slapping together the same old safe, predictable elements.
They need to start taking chances again. They need to apply skill and craft again. I know the economy stinks, but maybe if they re-think who their audience is (we're not *all* Comic Book Guy or under 17) they would see more financial reward than they could even imagine.

[Mike from back east]

Netflix looks better all the time. For $9 a month I can get one flick at a time, no limit, watch one, mail it back, get another in the mail 3 days later. I could easily see 4-8 movies a month for $9, instead of paying $9 for a ticket to see the current stinkers.

I understand PC owners can see some movies from Netflix over the internet, but the feature doesn't work on an Apple iMac like I have. Besides, I've a big TV downstairs with 6-speaker dolby surround and a big fat lazyboy chair, no way I want to watch a movie on a 20-inch computer screen, and a full bar.

[BlueWillowPlate]

We've been with Netflix for 4 years now. I love it.
Yeah, I haven't even used the "Play" feature for those instant-watch films, but perhaps we'll eventually do the integrated big screen/computer thing.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

We've been with Netflix for 4 years now. I love it. Yeah, I haven't even used the "Play" feature for those instant-watch films, but perhaps we'll eventually do the integrated big screen/computer thing.

We took the service as of last week, the $8.95/month deal with one movie at a time (that's enough, IMO). Very pleased with the speed. Got a movie in the mail at 1:30 PM on Tuesday (yesterday), watched it, drove past the post office and sent it back at 5:30 PM Tuesday, got an email from Netflix at 6:20 AM Wednesday (today) telling me they got it back and got another email at 10:00 AM today telling me that my next flick is on the way.

[BlueWillowPlate]

I am glad you are trying it, and pleased your initial reaction is favorable.
We are on the 3 movie plan, which seems to work for us.
I know some people go through them faster, but not this household.

[Mike from back east]

Well, just that quickly we cancelled Netflix. Three of four flix would not play properly, run a while then reset to start point. I took one out of the machine today and could see all sorts of wear marks on the thing. Wife says NO MORE, so we cancelled it.