Re: Do cinephiles watch blockbuster films?
 

A lot of older classics are "assembly line movies".

We will never know.

I think animation is much better suited for dream stories and that these two films are proof of that concept. I really enjoyed Inception, I just think Paprika is a much better film. Agree to disagree.

Re MCU, I don't have an issue - did you read my post? I loved Avengers, but there are just so many of these films and I've had other films I wanted to watch more on my list plus it seems like a huge time commitment with so many of these coming out all the time. I will get to them and judge them on their own merits, but I don't have an educated opinion since I haven't seen them.

Re: Do cinephiles watch blockbuster films?
 

People just watch what appeals to them.

I mean if they're classics then by definition that isn't true. There are older films that are bad for sure. Just because something is older doesn't make it better and just because something is newer, does not make it worse. But it can't be denied that these big-budget films are being pumped out on a grinding, crazy, cash-in schedule in a way that is relatively new (at least on this scale). That doesn't mean they are necessarily bad, but since there are already so many amazing films I haven't seen from the past, I tend to prioritize those.

that's GOT to be a Blade Runner reference, huh?

:D

And that's why I love em:p

Perfect answer. Short and to the point.

Re: Do cinephiles watch blockbuster films?
 

In the 1930s Hollywood cranked out 'matinee movies' for kids to watch. These were serial movies like Flash Gordon or b westerns & adventure movies, just over 1 hour long. Some can be fun to watch for nostalgia reasons. But these 'assembly movies' don't hold a candle to something like Gone With The Wind or La Grande Illusion.

I hear this one a lot but I have yet to hear a good example of it being true. I see so many different types of movies year in and year out. What substantial serious cinema is not being produced?

Impossible to know, as it's not being made:p

Spielberg is among my most favorite directors. Many of his best films either had a lot of heart or had a lot of craft put into it (Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, E.T, Lincoln, The Color Purple, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Minority Report, Jaws).

Sometimes he seems to be an easy target these days because many of those films are blockbusters, and it upsets those who feel he lacks and artistic integrity simply because he makes a lot of money off of them. As if you can’t do both.

It’s much the same with superhero movies, although with the caveat that outside a few, most wouldn’t be on The same level simply due to opinion. I’m slightly tougher on them.

Superman is one of the best films of the 70’s, for example, and both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were also great films from the aughts. If I were to ever do personal top 100’s of each of the respective decades, they’d find a place in there.

You are stating it as fact, and adding some pretty lofty adjectives. I really don’t understand your answer.

I don’t like very many horror movies. Skip nearly every one. There are a lot more of those each year than MCU movies for sure. Never once have I thought that good movies aren’t being made because of it. The argument baffles me. It’s like saying there aren’t any good restaurants because there is a McDonalds in every town. Please attempt to explain the logic.

What? The Raimi Spider Man films were unloved by the general audience? Sit in the corner, dude.

I don't know about horror films specifically, but there's definitely been a squeeze on medium-budget films over the last 10-15 years as studios have invested more into their mega-budget tentpoles, which takes cash away from other projects and shrinks the production schedule. As they see it, these medium-budget films are the kinds of films that people (kids) no longer watch in the theater and these non-kids (mature audiences) are more frequently opting to watch at home.

I watch whatever I think will be educational for me as an aspiring writer. That includes blockbusters, especially if the director is a big name.

OK, I mean it's impossible to know what type of films producers might have made if the MCU/Marvel, blockbuster & horror craze wasn't so popular... aka profitable. It's like we will never know what might have been if a different president won any of the elections.

To me horror & MCU same thing, mass appeal movies that are made over and over and over again. Good movies are being made too today, but not all movie ideas can be brought to the screen as there's limited time and money. So only a select number of movies get made and often in Hollywood that's the broad appeal, money making movies. But yeah of course there's good films made all the time, especially by indie directors and foreign language directors.

It would be like if McDonalds was so popular that all but a few of the good restaurants in town closed down. More crap food, less good food. And all because crap food is so popular.



*I have to leave for work shortly. I don't want to seem like I was avoiding discussion or anything like that.:)

I like these comic book films in theory. I like to have fun. I don't like the recent trend of using these kinds of films as short-hand psychotherapy for middle-aged men. I don't like watching a comic book movie and looking over at some fat fanboy crying, "My dad didn't pay attention either."

Wal-Mart may be the better example here, as it has had a more tangible effect on closing local mom&pop common goods stores.

I would definitely like to see some stats on that. If the blockbusters are bringing in big money it seems to me there would be more money t fund additional projects. Definitely open to being wrong.

Studios like A24 seem like a good example that independent film is alive and well. Again some statistics saying otherwise would be interesting.