have we as film fans got too up ourselfs

[the_ultimate_evil]

this is something I've been thinking about for a while with the Internet becoming more and more a major hyping and promotional tool for films, its also basically a way for everyone to ***** about the littlest things

this stemmed from a review i read for die hard 4.0, with this quote

" the film spends to much time on action and little to no time on the years we missed of maclane's single life"

come on its a bloody die hard film, yes story is important but i didn't go to see my dinner with Andre. anyway what I'm wondering is has the popcorn film become extinct, have people simply forgot to have fun at the movies now, must everything have some kind of major cultural significance or a hidden meaning about life, to be considered a good film.

maybe I'm alone in this i love a deep film but i still enjoy just switching the brain off for a fun film.

 

[chief103182]

Agreed. It's the reason I enjoyed Spider-Man 3 and Transformers so much. I went there to have some fun and that's exactly what I did.

Nowadays, expectations for movies are the equivalent of watching a kid play with his action figures, then b****ing him out for not developing the characters enough before he makes them fight.

 

[black_dust]

Cranks a great example of a action film with no/little story/development and i freaking loved that film Sometimes its great to just sit there and watch the fights and explotions.

Besides what more did we need to know in Die Hard 4

Spoiler

he was keeping an eye on his daughter (and where ever his son was) and is divorced from Holly...

simple

 

[Movies205]

this is something I've been thinking about for a while with the Internet becoming more and more a major hyping and promotional tool for films, its also basically a way for everyone to ***** about the littlest things

this stemmed from a review i read for die hard 4.0, with this quote

" the film spends to much time on action and little to no time on the years we missed of maclane's single life"

come on its a bloody die hard film, yes story is important but i didn't go to see my dinner with Andre. anyway what I'm wondering is has the popcorn film become extinct, have people simply forgot to have fun at the movies now, must everything have some kind of major cultural significance or a hidden meaning about life, to be considered a good film.

maybe I'm alone in this i love a deep film but i still enjoy just switching the brain off for a fun film.

Waits for the ass who has to come in and say "I enjoy my brain, thank you..." I agree and I disagree..I agree that there are plenty of people on the interwebs who are uppity and snobbish because they saw a Stanley Kubrick film. I mean half the people on here think they are film-buffs and they haven't even seen a quarter of teh films on AFI List. However, at the same time you can't completely throw story out the window, you need something, no matter how little... Die Hard 4 has some nice little pieces like John McClane's little speach about being a hero, his daughter, etc... There something there, not a ton but it had something...

 

[shapeshifter]

for the elitests among us the popcorn films has always been a reason to be upset and synical. latley it seems like the elitests has been coming out of the woodworks, or perhaps they are just attracted to the internet, who knows. don't beLIEve the hype. popcorn movies are still fun, they are still going to be made. let the baby's have their whine time, they have no sway in the real world, just the ":cyber-reality" they have built for themselves.

 

[Shuley]

Popcorn films are ok, but they get old after awhile...haven't people seen enough cars and buildings explode over the years? Action doesn't mean it's a good movie and alot of people judge a movie by how good the action was or how funny the comedy is..."It's a good movie,I laughed my ass off" See what I mean? I don't even think some people even know what a good movie is.

 

[shapeshifter]

Popcorn films are ok, but they get old after awhile...haven't people seen enough cars and buildings explode over the years? Action doesn't mean it's a good movie and alot of people judge a movie by how good the action was or how funny the comedy is..."It's a good movie,I laughed my ass off" See what I mean? I don't even think some people even know what a good movie is.

i think if you just watch popcorn movies and them say you are a film buff you are fooling yourself, but there is nothing wrong with enjoying popcorn films as well as more serious films. i don't see any reason to limit yourself to one genre of films or to become so snobbish about movies that you cannot get a kick out of a bawdy comedy or a well placed explosion. if you want to watch the red balloon for the rest of your life go ahead, but i for one am going to watch a jim jarmusch film and then go see die hard.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

The problem is that the, 'It's just a popcorn movie, enjoy it,' argument is a default excuse for any lame crap Hollywood churns out. "Sure, Movie X has poor acting, writing and directing - but it doesn't matter because it's just entertainment!"

Many people misunderstand that there is good popcorn and bad popcorn. Raiders of the Lost Ark is great popcorn. Raiders of the Lost Ark is pure entertainment, but it's still made with a good script, great direction, great editing, great special effects, great music....

Just because a movie is meant to be fun does not mean it is is somehow beyond criticism. Neither does it mean because it's supposed to be fun, it therefore is fun and is succesful.

I'm sure Pitof, the director of Catwoman had no more intention than to create a fun summer popcorn movie. Doesn't mean he gets a free pass.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

The problem is that the, 'It's just a popcorn movie, enjoy it,' argument is a default excuse for any lame crap Hollywood churns out. "Sure, Movie X has poor acting, writing and directing - but it doesn't matter because it's just entertainment!"

Many people misunderstand that there is good popcorn and bad popcorn. Raiders of the Lost Ark is great popcorn. Raiders of the Lost Ark is pure entertainment, but it's still made with a good script, great direction, great editing, great special effects, great music....

Just because a movie is meant to be fun does not mean it is is somehow beyond criticism. Neither does it mean because it's supposed to be fun, it therefore is fun and is succesful.

I'm sure Pitof, the director of Catwoman had no more intention than to create a fun summer popcorn movie. Doesn't mean he gets a free pass.

well thats of course common sense a **** movie is a **** movie no matter what, but what i was trying to get across is the idea that well made fun popcorn films are taking a bad rap because they seem to being looked down upon, i've been to film sites where classics such as ghostbusters,Jurassic park
and predator are being lambasted because they are not some major epic ala 2001

 

[Carmine Falcone]

The problem is that the, 'It's just a popcorn movie, enjoy it,' argument is a default excuse for any lame crap Hollywood churns out. "Sure, Movie X has poor acting, writing and directing - but it doesn't matter because it's just entertainment!"

Many people misunderstand that there is good popcorn and bad popcorn. Raiders of the Lost Ark is great popcorn. Raiders of the Lost Ark is pure entertainment, but it's still made with a good script, great direction, great editing, great special effects, great music....

Just because a movie is meant to be fun does not mean it is is somehow beyond criticism. Neither does it mean because it's supposed to be fun, it therefore is fun and is succesful.

I'm sure Pitof, the director of Catwoman had no more intention than to create a fun summer popcorn movie. Doesn't mean he gets a free pass.

Excellent post!

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Excellent post!

 

[Savage]

Isn't a good movie just an enjoyable movie? That's the best way to put it really. I don't think there should be some technicality test as to what makes a great movie besides prue enjoyment. Superman Returns on a pure technical level was fantastic but still bored the crap out of people which is why it's occasionally bashed. The Evil Dead series is crappy on every technical level possible but is still very enjoyable and therefor a good series. The same technical rules can't apply to every movie or else it starts to become contradictory. Then you start hearing things like "I know it's a terrible movie but I love it!" which...makes no sense whatsoever in my book.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Isn't a good movie just an enjoyable movie? That's the best way to put it really.

So how would you rate Schindler's List?

 

[terry78]

And who is to say what makes a good story and what doesn't? Spider-Man's plots weren't exactly complex. Comic books are nothing but big soap operas that guys can feel masculine about enjoying, so I can appreciate a good storyline, but don't overdo it in the movie arena, please. I didn't come to watch a drama and cry my ass off, I came to watch my favorite hero kick some ass.

 

[Savage]

So how would you rate Schindler's List?

I've honestly never watched it so I can't judge.

My point though is that movies are works of art. You can't have a set criteria for works of art. You either like it or you don't. There are those that are liked by the majority and those that aren't. It's Simple really.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

So how would you rate Schindler's List?

I always use that as an example to seperate favourite movies from greatest movies. There is always discussion on that matter.

 

[terry78]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bZdzv0f02go

It insists upon itself.

 

[Matt]

Oh God yes.

 

[xwolverine2]

an action movie doesnt NEED a great story or acting...

i point to True Lies one of the best action movies ever...

 

[Savage]

Or comedies for that matter. The question should be "Did it make you laugh?" and if it did then it did it's job. I think drama movies are where things really get complex. It's nice to have drama in action and comedy just as much as it's nice to have comedy in action and drama but that's not the main focus. I absolutely hate it when comedies get too caught up in themselves and become a serious drama out of nowhere. When I stop laughing I see that as a problem.

 

[xwolverine2]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bZdzv0f02go

It insists upon itself.

that is utter briliance....

and i agree

 

[xwolverine2]

Or comedies for that matter. The question should be "Did it make you laugh?" and if it did then it did it's job. I think drama movies are where things really get complex. It's nice to have drama in action and comedy just as much as it's nice to have comedy in action and drama but that's not the main focus. I absolutely hate it when comedies get too caught up in themselves and become a serious drama out of nowhere. When I stop laughing I see that as a problem.

exactly... compare Office space... to i unno.. that movie by the guys who did 40yrold virgin.

office space= about nothing
other movie= story that lags and becomes too emotional

 

[shapeshifter]

The problem is that the, 'It's just a popcorn movie, enjoy it,' argument is a default excuse for any lame crap Hollywood churns out. "Sure, Movie X has poor acting, writing and directing - but it doesn't matter because it's just entertainment!"

Many people misunderstand that there is good popcorn and bad popcorn. Raiders of the Lost Ark is great popcorn. Raiders of the Lost Ark is pure entertainment, but it's still made with a good script, great direction, great editing, great special effects, great music....

Just because a movie is meant to be fun does not mean it is is somehow beyond criticism. Neither does it mean because it's supposed to be fun, it therefore is fun and is succesful.

I'm sure Pitof, the director of Catwoman had no more intention than to create a fun summer popcorn movie. Doesn't mean he gets a free pass.

yeah but some movies that are guilty pleasures like the 90's captain america movie should not be chastized just because they are not citizen kane.

 

[Savage]

exactly... compare Office space... to i unno.. that movie by the guys who did 40yrold virgin.

office space= about nothing
other movie= story that lags and becomes too emotional

Exactly my point. I was having big belly laughs in the beginning but somewhere during the course of the movie it just died.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

yeah but some movies that are guilty pleasures like the 90's captain america movie should not be chastized just because they are not citizen kane.

No, it should be chastized because it's crap even within the small ambitions it sets itself.