Now I am not a squeamish individual, I love films that push the envelope in the departments of sex, violence, and profanity.
However to quote Jeff Goldbloom from Jurassic Park, these modern day film makers wield these items like a kid whose found his dad’s gun.
I’ve enjoyed many a films in the past in which violence and sex played a big part, however these movies were done with a certain level of taste. I’ll even name a few so you know where I’m coming from.
• Scarface • Goodfellas • Conan the Barbarian • Basic Instinct • Body Heat • Body Double • Day of the Dead
These films had violence and sex, however they were done with taste, and they are some of my favorite films. I am also a fan of adult films, so don’t think I’m a prude.
However movies and television shows in this current time period we live in, are crap.
Rather than concerning themselves with coming up with a good story, Filming with inventive and entertaining direction, and getting a compelling performance out of their actors. They seem to be more concerned with merely taking what was made in the past, (these films mentioned above and those like them) and just simply trying to top them with more violence, profanity, and gore.
Like a pathetic person who listens to a confident person’s story at a party, and begins making up his own story right after, but adding ridiculous elements, all so he can sound more entertaining. He is so desperate for the spot light and attention he will stop at nothing. He has no real creative talent, only the drive to try and take what someone else has created and add more explosions and explicit sex.
How do you top gore? Well what we do is make the victim suffer, like Torture Porn.
How do we top those sex scenes? We make it like soft core porn, just have them gone at it for ten, twenty minutes, and we show both genatalia so everyone can really focus on it. And we give them cheesy lines, just like a porno.
How do we top profanity of characters like the Goodfellas and Scarface? Every character from any back ground will just like say *beep* after every other word, because they are edgy. All the characters will be like talking all kinds of sh*t!
If you don’t believe me watch the remake of Friday the 13th again, (Some guy actually tells a chick she has good nipple placement) who writes this? The gore is no longer fun, we have to watch the person twitch or moan for three hours during the death, your taking all the **** out of it.
It makes sense for certain types of people to talk like Goodfellas and Scarface, but not everyone in the world is going to come up to you and talk like that. Plus maybe it’s just me but I think that the F word loses some of it’s whammy when said over and over again.
Shows like Boardwalk Empire could be so good, if they showed the sex scenes with a little more taste. If I wanted to see that I would watch a dirty movie. Sorry I don’t think it’s art, I only see a pathetic excuse for a director sitting back and trying to be more edgy than his predecessors.
Why else do you think they are only capable of Remakes? Let's take what others have done, and add too it. To quote Jeff Goldbloom from Jurassic Park agian "You Stood on the shoulders of geniuses, and before you even realized what you had, you’ve patented it, packaged it, and now your selling it".
Posted by Nick (Member # 404) on :
IMHO, all the media including movies, TV and a lot of the music are guilty of trying too hard to be "cool"...
In the old days, a lot of stuff was done for "fun"... People weren't afraid of writing "un-cool" scripts, or playing "un-cool" characters, which the audience later decided were cool anyways...
I guess what I'm trying to say is that no-one can force "coolness" upon every project. The audience has a right to decide what is actually cool after it gets made... Not a marketing comittee...
The need for everyone and everything to be "soooo cool" has, in fact made everything deeply "un-cool"
I'm sure that the accountants who run everything these days probably have a lot to answer for too...
Studio strategist/accountant: "Hey Brad, shall we re-make <insert classic movie title>.. It made lots of money in 1986"
Brad: "Yeah, let me call the latest 'flavor-of-the month' star and see if he's interested...
-As always, just my 2 cents Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
Nick, I couldn't agree more with your comments. Today's movies, with rare exceptions--for 2010, see, e.g., "The Social Network," "Black Swan," "Despicable Me," and "Unstoppable"--have no sense of fun. The by-the-numbers sequels and remakes of films that aren't even 30 years' old all look like they were put together by a machine. Indeed, most of them are cynical, mechanically manufactured conceits put together by a studio interested not in advancing the art form or even entertaining the audience but only in making money. Do we really need a "Saw whatever" or a remake of "Prom Night" or "The Hitcher"? With most films costing tens of millions of dollars, the only thing that studios--and now the public--worry about is "How big will it open?" Indie films aren't really indie films anymore either--they are just smaller budgeted studio films. I, for one, miss the days when a Wes Craven managed to scrape together some money to make "The Hills Have Eyes," knowing that they needed--an extemely paltry amount today--something like a million dollars in gross to break even. But I'm afraid those days are long gone... Thanks for letting me vent. Posted by Pittsburghgirl (Member # 7514) on :
I totally agree with you all. The thing that gets me now about supposed "independent" movies- they all have established stars in them, with a few exceptions like Winter's Bone. I mean, come on, Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston (I wish she'd just go away!), etc. are already established actors and now they feel the need to make "indie" films to make themselves feel better about making a crappy movie in the past and taking that huge paycheck. I always thought that an indie film was a way to get unknown actors, directors, etc. sort of into the spotlight.
Posted by kevdugp73 (Member # 5978) on :
Good points everyone. It seems the studios are of the understanding that any script is a go, as long as they can convince (let me re-phrase - pay enough) for the A list actors. Which for me, I've come to quickly appreciate the opposite...seeing great new talent. I've commented before about actors becoming too popular for thier own good...after a while, it becomes more difficult to seperate the real person from the role they're playing. Even fantastic actors like Meryl Streep...I don't think anyone can say the girl can't act, she's amazing, but after so so many screen appearances, even the greats like her simply become...oh...there's Meryl playing so and so...great job...versus...a new actor literally becoming a character and becoming ingrained in our minds as that person....
Posted by Chris the CandyFanMan (Member # 3197) on :
...which is part of what sent Belushi over the edge, that the studios only wanted him to keep doing Bluto over and over and over and over again until he cracked--even though in real life he was the exact opposite of Bluto. I'm sure Sandler's feeling the same way at times these days (although on the other side of the coin, he appears to be unwilling to stop even though with $20 million paychecks he'd have the power to change if he wanted.
And as for the lack of independents, what would one expect when the conglomerates bully everyone else out of the watering hole? They control far too much, from scripting to production to distribution, and also are too quick to yank things that back in the day could have been successful with time. I'd go so far as to request congressional investigations, or at least monopoly hearings by the FCC; perhaps more competition would force better productions.
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
quote:These films had violence and sex, however they were done with taste, and they are some of my favorite films. I am also a fan of adult films, so don’t think I’m a prude. However movies and television shows in this current time period we live in, are crap.
The modern view (in popular culture) of what is sexy is more or less confined to that which the average fourteen year-old would think is sexy. Which means it comes across as both immature and insulting - because it is.
quote:Rather than concerning themselves with coming up with a good story, Filming with inventive and entertaining direction, and getting a compelling performance out of their actors. They seem to be more concerned with merely taking what was made in the past, (these films mentioned above and those like them) and just simply trying to top them with more violence, profanity, and gore.
Movies are an expensive business, and before any risks can be taken - product must be funneled through a myriad of corporate filters until it's totally bland. That's why foreign films seem more appealing now (to the general film going populace) than they ever have - less interference in foreign films, so they can 'taste' different. When filmmakers in the US are allowed to make the movies they want the way they want, the movies will be (on average) better.
quote:Like a pathetic person who listens to a confident person’s story at a party, and begins making up his own story right after, but adding ridiculous elements, all so he can sound more entertaining. He is so desperate for the spot light and attention he will stop at nothing. He has no real creative talent, only the drive to try and take what someone else has created and add more explosions and explicit sex.
A fourteen year-old.
quote:To quote Jeff Goldbloom from Jurassic Park agian "You Stood on the shoulders of geniuses, and before you even realized what you had, you’ve patented it, packaged it, and now your selling it".
The difference between 'earned' and 'learned' knowledge.
quote:IMHO, all the media including movies, TV and a lot of the music are guilty of trying too hard to be "cool"...
It's all youth oriented. They want the disposable incomes of the young, impressionable, or the gullible. Everything has become tainted by that.
quote:In the old days, a lot of stuff was done for "fun"... People weren't afraid of writing "un-cool" scripts, or playing "un-cool" characters, which the audience later decided were cool anyways...
You raise a very important point; before anything has reached the viewer, the maker and the marketer have already decided what's cool.
quote:I guess what I'm trying to say is that no-one can force "coolness" upon every project. The audience has a right to decide what is actually cool after it gets made... Not a marketing comittee...
But they think they *know* what's cool, because they know the minds of teenagers.
quote:The need for everyone and everything to be "soooo cool" has, in fact made everything deeply "un-cool"
^THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSS!!!!^
quote:And as for the lack of independents, what would one expect when the conglomerates bully everyone else out of the watering hole? They control far too much, from scripting to production to distribution, and also are too quick to yank things that back in the day could have been successful with time. I'd go so far as to request congressional investigations, or at least monopoly hearings by the FCC; perhaps more competition would force better productions.
As long as a handful of companies own everything - nothing will change. They are all interested in keeping shareholders happy. Movie making hasn't been the same since studios were taken over by multi-nationals.
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
I am completely sick of Hack actors dominating the movies. It is like the films are saying these are the people you ought to be praising.
Yes Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston are perfect examples, Pittsburghgirl.
Here is a few more:
Adam Sandler Kevin James Rob Schneider Jon Favreau - I bet people are saying who's that Vince Vaughn Owen Wilson Ben Stiller John Ravolta Jack Black Ashton Kutcher Dwayne Johnson Vin Diesel Ben Affleck
I could go on all day.
Posted by P a u l (Member # 1022) on :
quote:Originally posted by Bernie_Lomax: I am completely sick of Hack actors dominating the movies. It is like the films are saying these are the people you ought to be praising.
Yes Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston are perfect examples, Pittsburghgirl.
Here is a few more:
Adam Sandler Kevin James Rob Schneider Jon Favreau - I bet people are saying who's that Vince Vaughn Owen Wilson Ben Stiller John Ravolta Jack Black Ashton Kutcher Dwayne Johnson Vin Diesel Ben Affleck
I could go on all day.
For every one you mention, you'll find a dozen people who would defend their ability.
That's the main problem - one man's Hack is another man's Haagen-Daas.
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
I somewhat agree, but come on their aint no De Niros in that list.
You know I have never tried that ice cream before. I will have to some day.
Posted by P a u l (Member # 1022) on :
'Somewhat' agreeing misses the point. These people are not rich and successful for no reason - they may be overpaid for the level of talent we reckon they show, and their movies may not ring any bells with us, but there are more than enough people who like their stuff, and the footfall in movie theaters and sales figures for DVD and downloads tell the Production companies one thing: keep casting them.
On this site, you'll maybe find a bigger proportion of members who agree with your view, but outside this somewhat cloistered board? You are, sadly, in the minority.
Posted by Pittsburghgirl (Member # 7514) on :
Bernie Lomax, I agree with alot of people on your list. Add Will Farrell to the mix too. Adam Sandler used to be funny, but I find this happens alot with other comedians- he got married and has kids and I no longer find his stuff funny. He is horrible as a guest on the late night talk shows, when he used to be so funny. I have to say that I did like The Town and Gone Baby Gone, both directed by Affleck. I think he should stick to directing. Oh, and btw, I just heard some shocking news come from my husband's mouth- he thinks Jennifer Aniston is HOT! I think I should file for divorce! Just kidding peeps!
Posted by Jack Gannon (Member # 9144) on :
Hey Bern, I would also like to add Seth Rogan Justin Long Joanah hill Mark Walburgh Sam Not-Worthington
Jason Segal "had to look his name up, just so i could say i don't like him."
Hey Paul i agree with you to an extent, however i feel that alot of these people will eventually begin to fase out into obscerity, I mean Vin Diesel was big a few years ago, but did any of his movies or the rocks movies leave such a lasting impression on anyone as one of Schwartzenger's. Twenty years from now, people will still be talking about the Predator, and two years from now will forget that Predators was ever made.
Also Pittsburghgirl, I agree with you Sandler used to be a lot more funny when he had that edge to him. Like Eddie Murhpy, and Robin Williams they became to soft and tried to become funny family man. Then they can't make the transition back, Because they've lost what funny is. However in terms of Eddie, and Robin they are a hell of alot funnier out of the movies, so maybe the movies they are choosing is too much of a filter, which keeps the good stuff and releases the crap.
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
quote:Oh, and btw, I just heard some shocking news come from my husband's mouth- he thinks Jennifer Aniston is HOT! I think I should file for divorce! Just kidding peeps!
"Why couldn't you have just been gay? This... this is SICK!" Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
Lets face it Paul. All those actors suck and are just fads for the easily influenced and easily amused.
I am sure I can find more than a dozen who would definitely not defend their ability.
When I say I somewhat agree, I don't believe I am missing the point. I was just trying to be compassionate to your point of view, however simply because many people like them does not mean that they have talent.
The reason why there is a lack of talent today in the movie and music industry is because you don't have to be talented, because the marketing people know that they can market the bejesus out of something and all the commoners will flock in like zombies.
I really don't think any of these people are talented, and it wouldn't matter if 6 billion people disagreed with me it would not change my opinion.
Jack: All the people you have listed are on my hack list aswell. The list was too long for this thread. And yeah most movies today people will not remember. I can't see anyone remembering Grown Ups in 20 years time. People will still be talking about the classics though such as Jaws, Scarface, The Godfather, etc. Nobody is going to remember certain actors either. Mention the name Seth Rogen in 20 years and people will be saying who? You might get a, Oh yeah I vaguely remember. Wasn't he that pathetic fat loser guy who tried to pretend he was funny. My response would be , yep.
Lee Strasberg would shoot himself in the face if he saw the calibre of actors around today.
[ 19. February 2011, 08:33: Message edited by: Bernie_Lomax ]
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
quote:Originally posted by Pittsburghgirl: Bernie Lomax, I agree with alot of people on your list. Add Will Farrell to the mix too. Adam Sandler used to be funny, but I find this happens alot with other comedians- he got married and has kids and I no longer find his stuff funny. He is horrible as a guest on the late night talk shows, when he used to be so funny. I have to say that I did like The Town and Gone Baby Gone, both directed by Affleck. I think he should stick to directing. Oh, and btw, I just heard some shocking news come from my husband's mouth- he thinks Jennifer Aniston is HOT! I think I should file for divorce! Just kidding peeps!
Will Ferrel is another fad that is getting washed out slowly. Same with Sandler. The Town was actually ok. I watched it out of sheer boredom, it still could have been improved with a better actor though. Gone baby gone is Casey Affleck I believe and IMO Casey is a much better actor. Oh you said Ben as director, ok, well better behind the camera than in front of it. I still wouldn't kick Jennifer Aniston out of bed but I wouldn't cast her in a movie.
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