You know cinema is in dire straits when...

[Bomby]

... middle aged people are watching more independent and foreign films than high school and college students.

I'm ready to start an official campaign of mockery and hazing of people my age who only watch mass-produced Hollywood garbage. No wonder why half of these brain dead idiots thought that The Dark Knight was the best movie ever made; they only watch formulaic crap.

We're young. We're supposed to be on the forefront, the cutting edge of art for god's sake.

[Saria Dragon of the Rain Wilds]

Being edgy is too hard for your average teenager. The US is so over-saturated with convenience, it's a wonder people still know how to do anything for themselves.

[chibimod3]

But its to be expected my generation has two crappy things,

A: We are going to be the first recorded generation to have an average death age lower than the one before us.

B: We are going to be more helpless than our previous generation.

I really don't like this but hey I'm doing my part to change my generation by watching as many wierd movies from places like Thailand. Take for example Demon Warriors.

[Valigarmander]

I watch Hollywood movies, and I watch indy movies.

I don't pick red over blue, or vice versa.

[Cosmonautical]

Action is entertaining, Bomby. Indy films are pretty awesome, but they don't have budget to do that kind of stuff, and people are mostly just looking for eye-candy. I wish people would give Hollywood cause to hire some real goddamn actors and writers, though. The whole "A-List" troupe is getting older, and all of the younger generation seems totally devoid of talent.

Did you ever watch the Assassination of Jesse James? I thought it was very effective, and made good use of narration over silent scenes to keep the pace going. Casey Affleck did such a good job playing someone unnerving that I found his entire presence in the film unnerving and difficult to watch.

[Galefore]

In TDK's defense, it is pretty ****ing badass and it had a little more substance than your usual action movie, even if said substance relied heavily on good performances from the supporting cast.

Although most of my favorite movies are all old Japanese Samurai films. I dunno if that makes me edgy (in my opinion, that is a decided no), but it's pretty entertaining to explain said films to people.

[Sim Kid]

I just watch what interests me.

[Metal Man]

I take the lower death age as a good thing, as it will help slow the overpopulation of the Ear--err, well, as for cinema, nothing disgusts me more than mass-produced garbage.

We like to watch all the DVDs of weird stuff that's outside the mainstream. We get a lot of garbage, but occasionally there's something good.

Sadly, many independent films don't make it to DVD in the library, so we don't get a good chance to see those either.

[PK FIRE!]

Well, independent films arn't always an option especily in the more underpopulated areas of the US. Some small towns are lucky to have a single theater much less get the latest big Holly Wood flick in a timely manner.

- You stupid dog!

[Ace Mercury]

I read an article once; it mentioned that people don't have time to think any more. It used to be the case that people would see a play or something, then walk away with something interesting to talk about. Maybe about how life can suddenly go adrift, or how strong/fragile the human condition is. Nowadays, they barely have enough time to see the thing in the first place, let alone think about it. They might not even see the whole thing, if they're live-Twittering the movie on their iPhone about... stuff. If you're trying to reach a large audience, depth is not the way to go.

[Bomby]

I said people who "only" watch Hollywood films. If I said anyone who enjoyed any Hollywood films ever, I'd be including myself. Hollywood is very capable of producing excellent films, and there are many films made in Hollywood that deserve the popularity they get. The aforementioned Dark Knight is almost one of them.

The Dark Knight is a great movie, but to claim that it's the best movie ever made, or even one of the best movies ever made, shows a clear lack of hindsight. Sure, opinions are opinions, but that can really only go so far before an opinion becomes a clear sign of idiocy. Suggesting that Star Wars is better than Seven Samurai will give you a big argument to make, but suggesting that 300 is better than Seven Samurai shows clear signs of mental impairment.

It's funny that you mention action... because action sequences in Hollywood generally amount to little more than fast-cutting and CGI explosions. This was one of my problems with The Dark Knight. That being said, my favorite shot in the entire movie was the one with Joker exiting the hospital. Real action junkies know where it's at, and can predict the future somewhat confidently.

(Did you all seriously forget how much I love action films?)

Contrary to popular belief, a filmmaker really doesn't need a large budget to make an exciting action sequence; just a good cameraman and a few actors that are willing to risk getting injured for arts' sake. It might also help if they're trained in martial arts or dance. You might not be able to have CGI explosions, and a car chase might be difficult to pull off, but you can still make an exciting action sequence with simple knowledge of technique.

Also, really see The Hurt Locker if it's available. Guaranteed better action sequences than you'll see in any Hollywood film this year.

Lack of availability of indie films in smaller areas is something that really bothers me, as someone who is trying to make it as an indie filmmaker. Certain companies, like IFC, are trying to battle this, so soon this might not be as big of a problem.

Originally Posted by Heishiro Mitsurugi

Although most of my favorite movies are all old Japanese Samurai films. I dunno if that makes me edgy (in my opinion, that is a decided no), but it's pretty entertaining to explain said films to people.

I'm glad you brought this up. The Japanese filmmakers of the 50's and 60's were the early masters of action sequences. Watch one of those films and wonder how much money it would take to create an action sequence along the lines of that. Just because a technique of doing something is older, doesn't necessarily mean its "worse" than the new techniques.

[1-up Salesman]

Delgo.

[Sim Kid]

Originally Posted by PSYCHOKID909

Well, independent films arn't always an option especily in the more underpopulated areas of the US. Some small towns are lucky to have a single theater much less get the latest big Holly Wood flick in a timely manner.

- You stupid dog!

Especially when they only release it in some theatres. Because you just know that "Playing in select theatres on this date" means every theatre in the country BUT the one(s) you can access without a 5 hour road trip.


Howl's Moving Castle was an utter wall banger. It was only playing in "Select theatres" in 2005...no biggie, Denver's just two hours away. Except that only one theatre actually played it and they stopped in mid June...but the commercials continued until Mid-September, and they were even advertising it playing at that theatre still, when you'd have to go to Cheyenne or Salt Lake City to see it in reality.

[heh]

gonna go watch citizen kane, peace

:smug:

[t3hDarkness]

Hollywood movies and Indy movies both seem to suck at about the same 90% rate.

[Metal Man]

But the 10% of Independent films seem to be better than the hollywood ones, due to a lack of over-the-top useless CGI (well, in newer movies)

[Robotazy]

Computers: Why try to put actual effort into anything?

[Valigarmander]

[Speed]

I'm really sick of people proclaiming one genre better then another.

It's a matter of opinion no matter how you cut it.

[Bomby]

Who said anything about genre?