If I was to rank the last five decades in terms of movies, the 00s would be right in the middle, not as good as the 1990s that brought us Shawshank, LA Confidential, Schindler's List, Fight Club, Usual Suspects, Fargo, Trainspotting, Unforgiven, Glengarry Glenross and a lot of other great movies; not as good as the 1970s that produced a lot of my personal favorites - Alien, Apocalypse Now, One Flew Over the ####oo's Nest, Chinatown, Dog Day Afternoon, as well as the best of both Monty Python and Woody Allen. But this decade has been a lot better than the 1980s, which had a handful of solid big budget pictures like Empire Strikes Back or Back to the Future, but I have a hard time thinking of any really great plot-driven movies from that decade. And this last decade has probably been better than the 1960s too, which had some good Hitchcock films and the best of Sergio Leone, a few great theatre adaptations, and not much else.
The 2000's brought us "Blow", and therefore the 2000's were the best decade for movies, ever.
The latest Star Trek movie was awesome. Great movie in my opinion, at least given my expectations going in. I dont see why anybody would have disliked it, unless you are an easily offended trekkie, but i dont give much credence to those opinions.
If they play the new Star Trek as a complete reboot, I'd be fine with it but it wasn't. It was written to be the exact same characters that we knew from the original series in a "what if a Romulan travelled back in time to mess up the timeline of the original series" scenario. In that context, it failed for me.
I already got my head bitten off for dissing the new Star Trek, so I won't go there.
But I will say that I agree with the general premise. A lot of the big box office hits are big on explosions, special effects, explosions, action and explosions.
I only own a handful of movies because there are not a whole lot of movies that I would WANT to watch several times over. They are:
- Wall Street
- Shawshank Redemptions
- Dead Man Walking
- Bob Roberts (notice a trend here... big Tim Robbins fan)
- Contact
And money is a big part of it. Making a "Contact" is a big gamble compared to explosions. Explosions will always put butts in the seats, but a movie about the complex intertwining of science and religion isn't exactly the tried and true path.
I don't know if this is a Star Trek thread now but as someone who has never seen a second of any Star Trek history whatsoever, I thought that the character development was very interesting. Wasn't Spock's struggle with emotions as a character whose entire life was based on logic an example of a dynamic character?
The same could be said for Kirk, albeit on a less dramatic scale.
While several movies (like the Godfather) feature more in-depth character development, to mention Star Trek's lack of it in the same breath as Transformers 2 is ridiculous.
I don't care if movies have special effects at all, but just because they do doesn't mean they can't have intricate plots and characters as well.
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So I was watching redlettermedia on youtube deconstruct and dissect the new star trek movies and expose how terrible they are; and it made me think ... have all movies in the last 10+ years begun a downward spiral into the creative abyss? (his youtube page is worth viewing... his reviews are better than the movies themselves and almost as long). I'm not casting a wide net over all movies and saying the last decade has been terrible... it hasn't. No Country for old men, there will be blood, Zombieland, there has been a lot of great movies in all sorts of genres. But the overall trend has been going backwards in quality and creativity, and perhaps it's best expressed in prequels, sequels and spin offs.
I once read somewhere that kids around the world up to a certain age all can be attracted to the same kind of movie... where as adults from different parts of the world have different tastes. So what's happening now can't be too surprising; movie plots are dumbed down, big bangs and special effects are replacing story and character development, and movies suffer as a result. Star Trek is a wonderful example of this... the lens flare and lack of a coherent story is almost baffling. The plot of this movie is so unrelentingly stupid, I can't possibly shut off my brain to just enjoy myself. Transformers 2 was an abomination only equaled in Terminator 4... it's as if no one proof reads these scripts anymore.
I honestly think the start of this trend was Star Wars: The phantom menace. This movie is a complete trash bag but because it had the Star Wars lore and a lot big 'splosions, people spent money to go see it. Movie have been sunk to the lowest common denominator so any kid could follow along and plot me damned. Don't even get me started on Indiana Jones, a movie where a guy survives a nuclear explosion and being projected hundreds of feet (if not thousands) into the air and survives cuz he was in a damn fridge. Maybe I'm being too crotchety, but seriously, watch Godfather 1 and 2 then try and some watch some of this fecal matter being put out in theaters and ask yourself "does plot even matter anymore?"
I haven't seen Star trek but these two are two of the worst movies I had to sit through.
Whole lot of nothing dressed up as fancy art is every bit as boring as a whole lot of nothing dressed up in fancy explosions.
I truly feel sorry for the OP. It must suck so much to have such a hard time enjoying a movie. I have seen tons of movies made in the last 10 years that I have enjoyed.
I loved Star Trek. I was entertained by the newest Transformers and Terminator.
I truly feel sorry for the OP. It must suck so much to have such a hard time enjoying a movie. I have seen tons of movies made in the last 10 years that I have enjoyed.
I loved Star Trek. I was entertained by the newest Transformers and Terminator.
Don't feel sorry for me ... really lol... I enjoy a lot of movies, but I also know trash when I see it. It's not like I walk out of movies with my nose held up night and berate the film makers on IMDB every time I see a movie I don't like.
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Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty
I haven't seen Star trek but these two are two of the worst movies I had to sit through.
Whole lot of nothing dressed up as fancy art is every bit as boring as a whole lot of nothing dressed up in fancy explosions.
I'm sorry but if you watched those no country and there will be blood and came away thinking it was being fancy and artistic for the sake of being fancy and artistic and had no real point; you've missed a fair bit and should probably watch those movies again.
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Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat
Oh yeah, movies were great in the 80s.
And in the 90s.
Oh, well, since 2 bad movies were made in the 90's I am forced to concede that this whole thread was useless. Good job ace.
Oh, well, since 2 bad movies were made in the 90's I am forced to concede that this whole thread was useless. Good job ace.
Well I'm sure there's more than that. I think the point is there's always going to be crap movies, and there's always going to be good movies. Just because something has special effects doesnt make it terrible and over done. They more often than not enhance the experience and allow the viewers to feel the environment better. Something like District 9 is a very well done movie with an excellent story with great special effects. Same goes for something like Lord of the Rings. Yes there is crap but I would say the average is probably 3 or 4 movies per year that are good movies, and if you go back through the other decades its probably close to the same.
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I'm sorry but if you watched those no country and there will be blood and came away thinking it was being fancy and artistic for the sake of being fancy and artistic and had no real point; you've missed a fair bit and should probably watch those movies again.
Yeah, the classic "If you didn't like what I like you clearly missed the point of it" argument. I can stare at Jackson Pollock's painting for hours but that doesn't change the fact that there's nothing of substance there. If that makes me a cultural barbarian in this post modern world, then be it...
PS Actually I agree with you that the last decade was craptastic in terms of movies.
Go see Shutter Island.. One of the best story lines in a movie I have seen in years.
I must be the only person who wasn't overly impressed with that movie. Wasn't bad, but I have no desire to see it again. When I saw it could've been part of the problem though. I've gotta stop seeing 2.5+ hour movies at 10:30pm showtimes. It's always a struggle to get to the end.
I must be the only person who wasn't overly impressed with that movie. Wasn't bad, but I have no desire to see it again. When I saw it could've been part of the problem though. I've gotta stop seeing 2.5+ hour movies at 10:30pm showtimes. It's always a struggle to get to the end.
I just got back from shutter island I think I need therapy. that movie is a real mind
