[quote=Mr Minio]Every Hollywood film IS a big hit. Even those that fail at the box office are seen by more people than masterworks by masters like Costa or Green.

But of course, it's disgusting to talk about money when we talk about art. Saying that a film made a lot of money has nothing to do with its artistic quality, to begin with. I'm not gullible enough to believe that we can separate money and art, we never could. But we can do many things. We can promote artistic license and independence. We can promote true beauty and true art that stands in opposition to what Marvel represents and does. We can, ultimately, educate ourselves to better see and understand why and how the sort of atrocity that Marvel proposes isn't and cannot be worth anything for anybody who takes cinema seriously, that is as a work of art.[/quote]

[quote=FilmBuff][quote=Mr Minio]
Really loving something requires you to really hate something within that something.[/quote]

I don't think that's the case at all... I love cinema in the greatest possible sense, I cherish the opportunity to watch any new film, whether it's good, bad or mediocre. The more mediocre films I watch, the more I'm reminded of how special the really good ones are. It's all part of being deeply in love with cinema, in a non-judgemental way.[/quote]

[quote=FilmBuff][quote=Mr Minio]One last note about popularity. Marvel spends millions, billions on marketing. If you advertise something long enough and hard enough, people will want it.[/quote]
Now, that's a complete fallacy and you know it. No amount of M&A can get people to go to the theaters for something they don't really like.

If spending a lot was all that was needed to make a hit, then every Hollywood film would be a big hit, because they could easily afford to advertise heavily for all of their movies.

Yet the studios all have their share of box-office disappointments - just look at Furiosa right now.[/quote]

[quote=Mr Minio]One last note about popularity. Marvel spends millions, billions on marketing. If you advertise something long enough and hard enough, people will want it.[/quote]

[quote=Mr Minio][quote=Allaby]Sometimes trash can be worthwhile though.[/quote] The cool, pulpy, cheesy trash, yes. Not the Marvel kind of trash.

[quote=FilmBuff][quote=Mr Minio]

Sure, and Marvel has none of that either.[/quote]

Maybe not for you, but there is a reason it is the highest-grossing movie franchise of all time, and by a huge margin, too.

But you don't have to watch them! Nobody is gonna force those movies on you![/quote]

Not FOR ANYONE! It's totally empty, devoid of any value. That's what the modern viewer loves and wants. Art cinema is made for viewers who know how to look and who have rich souls or poor souls who need enriching. Popular art of the yore was so the peasants, and workers, and the crowd, but it was two-sided, and in a covert, wonderful way, contained poetry, technical expertise, and artistic verve. Popular art of today is not that terrible, but the Marvel kind of popular art is. It's poison that contaminates the good well of cinema, changing what the common folk thinks of cinema, sees as cinema, and ultimately wants as cinema. It's the anti-thesis of everything o value in the art.

As to why it's so popular... With new films, you have to know WHERE to look. With old films, you have to know HOW to look. Most people are completely lost - they don't know where and don't know how.

Really loving something requires you to really hate something within that something. If you love beauty, poetry, and virtuosity in cinema, you must hate the exact opposite of those. Especially when the films in question don't even deliver in the fun department.[/quote]

[quote=FilmBuff][quote=Mr Minio][quote=FilmBuff]Modern technology allows people to watch whatever they want Minio...[/quote] But that's even more of an indictment! They have access to all those gems and yet they still choose the worst of trash![/quote]

Mr Minio, meet the human race.

And lest you think I'm just giving you a hard time - I'll confess, I used to sound a lot like you when I was your age.

So, there. Now you know why I worry about you ;)[/quote]

[quote=FilmBuff][quote=Mr Minio]

Sure, and Marvel has none of that either.[/quote]

Maybe not for you, but there is a reason it is the highest-grossing movie franchise of all time, and by a huge margin, too.

But you don't have to watch them! Nobody is gonna force those movies on you![/quote]

[quote=Allaby]Sometimes trash can be worthwhile though.[/quote]

[quote=Mr Minio][quote=FilmBuff]Modern technology allows people to watch whatever they want Minio...[/quote] But that's even more of an indictment! They have access to all those gems and yet they still choose the worst of trash![/quote]

[quote=Mr Minio][quote=Allaby]Not every film needs to be a steak dinner.  There is a place for pizza and ice cream.  Fun, entertaining movies can have value too.[/quote]

Sure, and Marvel has none of that either.[/quote]