Anybody else think modern American movies are slacking ?

[ParisFrance]

2000-04:Mainly bad except Lord of the rings is an exception
90s-A lot of boring action movies, but a few good films
80s-Alot of good comedys, some good dramas
70s-Good movies
60s-lots of good movies
50s-really good stories
40s-good films
30s-some good and bad
20s-good and bad

[sir_captain]

1. Not really

it's just a lot harder to remember the shit that was made in the past because no one watches it anymore, just like no one will watch Gigli 30 years from now.

[Guy Fawkes]

2. 2000-2004:

Hero
F 911
(yes, LOTR)
I, Robot (so-so)
Brotherhood Of The Wolf
Belleville Rendez-vous (The triplets of Belleville)
Spiderman 2
etc. etc. etc.

[sir_captain]

3. To be fair

of the films you mentioned, Hero is chinese, LOTR is from New Zealand (although you could argue it's American-made) and Brotherhood of the Wolf and the Triplets are French. The original poster was referring only to American films...

[Guy Fawkes]

6. Fine, but 1. count LOTR and 2. there are still plently of good american

movies!

[sir_captain]

7. I completely agree

see my very first post :-)

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. There have been quite a few good movies

I think the late 80s, early 90s were the worst period.

Yeah, lots of stupid schlock still gets made, but there've been a lot of really good movies out as well.

And remember, time always filters out the shit, so the past can look more pure and good in comparison.

The only thing with the current movie scene is the number of remakes of old movies. I mean, sweet Mary mother of God, give it up, people!! Sstop rehashing old shit, and come up with something new once in a goddamned while. Sheesh.

[ParisFrance]

5. Yes, I agree with that

They really need to come up with new ideas...Something new and is what makes movies great more than anything in my opinion

[barb162]

8. late 30s were the best movies, lots of classics

and I agree with your assessment of 2000-2004. Just not that much there. were the Harry Potter movies totally British made? And if you include Lord of the Rings, what was good that was American made? I am surprised by how poor story lines have become and often walk out of movies wondering why they even made them. I have also been walking out of the movies when they are not over as I just don't want to waste any more time.
For example just saw "Anchormen" which had some hilarious stuff, I mean LOL, but an awful lot of it was also rough in many areas, like logic. I compare that with another great comedy like "Where's Poppa" and "Anchormen" sucks by comparison in acting, story line, creativity, etc. Maybe I am getting too critical....

[Skittles]

9. I find it harder to find a movie I want to see than I used to

it just seems there is a lot of, I dunno, junk out there. But then when I think back, maybe I am just pickier as I get older. :o

[ParisFrance]

10. I don't think you're getting picky.

I rarely ever find movies that I really want to go out and see now. Two that come to mind are Lord of the Rings and The Notebook...I was 1 of 4 guys in the theater!

[Skittles]

11. I'm embarrassed to say I fell asleep at my last movie

"Manchurian Candidate" - it was good and I still fell asleep. I'm too old to be working 12 hour shifts. :D

[HEyHEY]

12. YES

[DrWeird]

13. I blame the american movie going audience.

As long as so many people will pay eight bucks to see Alien vs. Freddy and The Exorcist 4: The Beginning there will be people making these films. So why bother making a good one.

[HEyHEY]

14. $8!? It's $13 where I am

ANd the movies suck just as much ;-)

[DrWeird]

15. But that's thirteen in your goofy monopoly money, right?

:evilgrin:

Besides, you've got tons of marijuana up there. That makes bad films much more enjoyable.

[HEyHEY]

16. Then you spend extra on milk duds

And of course they jack that up TOO!

[DrWeird]

17. bah! Just smuggle it in.

Should be easy for you guys up there to do, what with your parkas and mukluks and inukshuks.

[ParisFrance]

19. Similar to the Simon Cowell theory

He took something popular at the time i.e. a TV show and created a music CD. It didn't matter whether the music was good, but fans of the show were attracted to the CD and they sold extremely well. Freddy and Jason had popular movies and even though the movie was abysmal, people still would see the movie. Same deal with the Exorcist 4, the first one is extremely well known as has been called the scariest movie ever. The 4th one wasn't good , but people are attracted because of the popularity. If you create various markets or expand off the popularity of a single thing, people will be enticed whether good or bad.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

21. So desperate they've even started sequeling BAD movies

Anacondas!?!?

[Swamp Rat]

18. I prefer Brazilian films

"Auto da Compadecida" is my favorite, but there are many others.

The only U.S. film I've seen this year was F/911 (twice, planning on a third). I like going to the Zeitgeist theater to see underground films and I'm hoping the movie about Che Guevera comes there soon. Nothing else interests me as I prefer books. Right now I'm reading Thomas Mann's "Felix Krull" for the second time. Hilarious!

[mark414]

20. well that depends

i think the big budget big studio movies have almost always sucked

there have been some amazing (independent) films released in the last few years...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. I haven't seen MOST American films made in the past fifteen years

at least not in a theater, only on cable or on airplanes.

With high ticket prices and commercials before the feature, I'm willing to pay to see only foreign and independent films.

There are too many films that, judging from the previews, consist only of special effects, only of violence and car chases, and only of crude jokes that appeal to middle school boys.

In fact, this year, all the movies I've seen in theaters have been documentaries, and some fine ones they have been: F9-11, Supersize Me, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, and Morning Sun (about the Chinese Cultural Revolution).

[Downtown Hound]

23. For the most part yes

But there have been some good movies lately. And the independent film industry is stronger than ever in this country.

But yeah, it never ceases to amaze me how Hollywood can spend 80-100 million dollars on so many films that are just utter crap. So much money and so little talent.

[JackDragna]

24. While I agree every era has its bad movies..

..I think there's been a real reduction in the quality of major Hollywood releases, mostly due to two factors:

- A less intelligent, less patient public. People need to have things stated bluntly for them nowadays. Characters describe what and why they're going to do out loud in a way not seen in older movies. This is doubly true in any movie with a hint of a complex plot. It's as if people cannot figure things out for themselves.

- The advent and use of CGI. The moviegoing public will now accept shoddy acting more readily because of the increasing amount of eye candy in action movies.