Current state of Film

First off, we're not getting dumber, contrary to dumb people beliefs.

Second off, you're a part of a small sample size of people who see the art of the world. There's nothing wrong with the "young people" who don't think of film as art, they just don't see things the way you do. I don't play fantasy football but my facebook feed is full of that crap this time of year because other people I know do. It doesn't make me better or worse than them, it just means their passion lies somewhere other than mine.

In other words, keep your film love with people who share that love with you and move on. Technology actually makes us smarter...and maybe lazier.

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I disagree with this - but by the time you are done reading, you can't see the expression on the face.

Usually subs of foreign films, are made so they appear slightly before the character speaks, i've always been quite a fast reader so i find it perfect that the film catches up with me at the exact right time. It's either that or i've been seriously misenterprating peoples reactions .

As long as i'm not watching a Japanese version of His Girl Friday, i wont have any problems. In some ways i actually think it's more effective; since it forces you to interpret the tone it was delivered in.

I like silent films, the sad thing is about half of them are lost for good. No one bothered to preserve them.

I know of a silent film that is strong on human behavior. You won't see it mentioned here. You won't find it at your library or Netflix. But it's out there....

Mantrap (1926) based on a novel by Sinclair Lewis and directed by the great Victor Fleming. It stars Clara Bow and she is well suited to the role. I think you would like it.

I don't think I clarified enough. But I was kind of talking about foreign action films in particular. The foreign action films I've seen I find much more enjoyable than american action films most of the time. The stories imo are often much better, and you still have plenty of thrills and action PLUS a good story and usually without the camera shaking uncontrollably during every action scene. In conclusion, the main reason I like foreign action films more is because you can actually see what's happening during the action scenes more. And probably because action in foreign films (particularly asian cinema) relies on gunplay or martial arts, not explosions and computer generated special effects.

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Through the darkness of future past
The magician longs to see
One chants out between two worlds:
Fire walk with me.

Paul W.S. Anderson

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Mubi

I love his movie There Will be Blood.

I do like the resident evil films tho. Kind of a guilty pleasure of mine

I like the porn one because I'm Minio

Grand Budapest was another one of his great films too.

Nah, but like W.S. Anderson's shtick is that he makes action that makes spatial sense, and I still think you're generalizing too much

Ok, I'll take it down to Marvel films, the Bruckheimer/Bay films, and most of the remakes of the past 2 years in american action films.

That's not what I was saying. You're saying foreign, meaning every other country with unique circumstances, backgrounds and techniques, have the same editing and shooting styles for action films. To generalize Hollywood is more legitimate, but in each case, you need proof (that doesn't exist, but some of ths has been logged by the likes of Barry Salt and David Bordwell) for any sort of claim like this

Gotcha.

don't know if you have fun with 'spook' films, but Nosferatu (1922) is my favorite silent. Directed by FW Murnau, & i believe it holds up well even today as a fun viewing

I like British drama films, does that count as foreign?

If one of them is Distant Voices, Still Lives then I'll give you a pass, otherwise not

I love foreign films because it's like another flavor. I think we learn a bit about other ways of life - same reason I love to travel. We all have a lot to learn, even with technology. I think in a year from now, we'll all be better at knowing what we like. My guilty pleasure is renting mostly movies I've seen before. Sometimes to evaluate it after more years of experience in movies and in life in general, and sometimes because I have a night I'm not doing anything and want to have a guaranteed experience of joy.

And to an earlier post, it's not just young people. Baby boomers who didn't use the internet kinda become forced to learn how an i-phone works, and it's another dimension of gossip. And again, I'm only going by my observations and personal experiences, but I see this happening all over the world. When I was born, you had to personally be next to someone to have a conversation, a phone was something for older people, and we all lived nearby. The key is to know that we might have biases, or certain reasons for the way things are. Being aware, and in return, becoming better observers.

Not liking foreign films doesn't mean you're uncultured. I do agree, however, that social media and other recent technologies are dooming future generations, causing social and other dysfunctions. Why I remember when a person had to be in another's presence, look them in the eye, when socializing. But then came this newfangled dial-faced contraption that allowed you to just use your voice to do so and look at what that wrought!

Wait until this thing is in every home:

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

Matt do stick around! You sparked some good conversation and that's what internet discussion is about. I might not agree with all of your thoughts but you are well written and your post, though provoking.

BTW, I don't blame kids today for lack of awareness. I blame the Baby Boomers with their ME ME ME mantras. Bogart use to say he was a 19th century man in a 20th century world. Indeed.