Why do you love big-budget movies?

I'll echo you here. Some of the very best acting I've seen has been done for less than scale.

Thread title edit has killed my bob holness gag

I will give a movie five stars if it simply nails its tone like it was manna from heaven, and to me this is similar to what is great about the best blockbusters. They know what they are, and popcorn fuels the engine.

I know this might sound a bit esoteric, but I liken the joy of a good blockbuster to act of watching Cinema Paradiso.

However, this sentiment seems be true of only a small measure of stuff coming out these days, as this was much more relevant from the late 70's to the early 00's.

Thanks all for your replies! Thanks also to the guy who renamed this thread (don't know if it's Yoda or not but anyway thanks!).

I'm sure there are some very good actors who don't make big movies. Because all good actors started that way.
I'm just saying that famous ones are most of the time good ones too (but I know some exceptions).

Of course, having a good (or famous) actor in a movie won't make it a hit. If the movie is crap, you can't make it awesome just because X plays in it.

But overall, having a big budget lets you do really good movies, special effects etc. People don't know how long it takes to shoot a movie! Because we always skip the generic film (except in DC comics / Marvel because there is almost always a post-end credits scene).

It always amazes me the number of people it takes to create a 2 hours long movie.

Sorry about that but I laughed a lot in the first place. I promise .

Haha!! 😆

Well I observed a new trend in blockbusters coming out these days that I like: As you say, they know what they are. And they make jokes about it. In recent blockbusters I find more and more references to other blockbuster with really good jokes. They don't take themselves seriously, and I like it. What do you think?

Well said. I do like the in-jokes of deadpool and a good deal of the borrowed elements of better movies in other big-budget stuff is ok in my book (to a degree).

kudos on the thread; i wanted to make one like before you beat me to the punch.

I think in general big budget movies are underrated while small budget movies are overrated, boring, and slow.
For me, big budget vs small budget cost teh same in time and cost; so I give little excuse for small budgets.
Also, previews, which imo ruin a lot of movie appreciation, set expectations on budget which skews ratings pretty strongly than a more scientific blind movie review process. I want no hype, no previews.

Big budget movies have gotten a lot better than they used to be thanks to how influential reviews are now; and how profitable sequels are. We have studios' bidding and buying out directorial talent to maximize chances of success (Abrams). Movies have never been more polished. You can definitely argue about drawbacks in this system; It would be insanely hard for star wars ep 4 to be created within it.

I do agree on the most part of being able to pay for good actors. You can look at how quickly actors, who can act well or are charismatic, are now propelled in to a huge budget movies after great budget breakout performances eg, jennifer lawrence from winter's bone, paul giamatti from sideways, Star wars finn from attack the block.

Or you get some excellent small budget movies with great performances because Christian Bale feels like it eg out of the furnace, harsh times.

Can we create a list of all the big budget movies created in the last few years so I don't miss them.

Yes exactly.
I disagree. You can't do special FX or have some crazy studio/costumes/objects to shot some scenes in small budgets movies. So you're definitely not playing on the same level. You have to innovate to get through the noise (which is a good thing btw), but it makes it more difficult for new directors to rise.

About previews and hype. I agree. Movies should have an equal budget (or a limit) to run marketing before the release and people should never read reviews or ratings. Liking a movie is so personal. Relying on press ratings or spectators ratings makes no sense to me. I saw excellent movies that were poorly rated and dumb movies that got 5 stars. That's why I don't rely on ratings anymore before seeing a movie.

We agree on good actors too. Totally makes sense.

I'm currently building a blockbuster movie newsletter service because I don't want to check out imdb or blu-ray dot com each week to see what movie I should watch. The basic idea is that you'll receive all the new blockbusters each week in your inbox with a link to the trailer and some link to pre-order DVD/Blu-rays.

I will also probably write a 2017 blockbuster list blog post soon to make my website more visible through google. If you're interested, please contact me through a private message as I don't want to infringe the forum rules about marketing or spam in any way. Thanks!

Unfortunately most big-budgeted movies nowadays are crappy. I don't recall I have enjoyed a big-budgeted movie this year, that includes Wonder Woman and Dunkirk.

Big-budgeted movies in the old days are the best.

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You talkin' to me?

Like which one?

I do get in moods where I want to go to the theater and watch an action packed big budget flick. Not because the movie will be great, but just because there are times when I want to be a part of something special. Not the movie exactly, but the crowd. It helps me to feel part of something when I laugh or yell or clap at the same time as others and movies are my favorite outlet for this. Stand up, concerts, etc... also have the same effect, but not nearly as much as movies for me. Movies are my favorite hobby, my favorite escape.

As I get older that "mood" seems to be less and less because I appreciate the thought piece, the noir, the slow build thriller or suspense - but dammit now and then I love a good popcorn movie to help waste my time.

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“The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

Terminator 2
Jurassic Park
True Lies
Dark Knight
or even Independence day

yeah, you're highlighting the best movies ever made by the best directors of the modern era. It's quite a bias. dark knight is not that old. The median quality big budget movie back then vs the big budget nowadays; there really are obvious improvements in consistency.

I think ratings are useful, but hate previews. My favorite movies are always divisive; usually a large difference between critics and user review eg: ran, matrix, the newest king arthur, speed racer, blade runner.

As for small budget vs big budget movies, i don't agree. Some things are just objectively better. Better teams, Costuming, special FX, action scenes of scale, hiring better scorers. it's not 100% causal, but it definitely has strong effect. Some genres can have smaller budgets and still effective (horror); but some just need budget. Interstellar, jurassic park, minority report, lotr would just not have been the same quality with half the budget.

IMO, Nolan addressed this perfectly in the prestige movie. One one hand you have the greatest trick ever made, but it had no pizazz, marketing or budget (Bale's transporting man). It was his secret weapon that couldn't fail. I believe strongly that this was a metaphor for his movie memento; imo the best original script ever written. However, Memento could have been much improved with more budget; but the writing was so amazing you could have terrible acting and budget and that movie would still be amazing. He used it to launch his career and make the kinds of movies he never could have made previously.

Same thing with Coen's miller's crossing, although they hid the low budget very well.

At the same time, we're going to get movies i strongly dislike like avatar. Statistically focus grouped movies with insane polish and almost zero originality. Titanic give Cameron huge hair pulling self-doubt; avatar was the opposite and waste of good special effects.

I just love good movies, budget be damned.

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Thanks again, Mr Portridge.

They're fun, visually captivating and the sound is ground.