Hollywood vs. The World

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It's obvious to everyone: Hollywood movies have become very stereotyped (good vs. evil, good always wins...this kinda thing) which is made up by a lot of special effects. It's as if after many years of experimentation, they have worked out a "formula" and stick to it no matter what. A lot of the characters lack any depth whatsoever, villains are always very bland, almost characterless except for the fact that they are meant to be evil by the very nature of the role. Most of the time I find myself cheering on the bad guy and getting dissapointed when he inevitably looses. This "Hollywood Syndrome" has become so intense, that a lot of the movies have been using sfx to fill in for flaws in the plot instead of vice versa.

On the other hand, if you look at movies from other countries that don't have the multimillion dollar budgeds some HWood productions have, you see a total reversal. The focus is on the plot and characters, and they have a lot more depth. You find yourself caring for them a lot more, getting more attatched to them, even if they're the bad guys. They are not "polished" like the Hollywood stars and starlets, on the contrary, they are quite real and true to life. Everyday ordinary people living everyday ordinary lives which don't involve huge explosions every five minutes and life-or-death decisions that will save the world from catastrophe!

It's obvious which of the two I prefer.



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Well said Zeph.

On the one hand, Hollywood tends to produce the big effects, which are good to watch, but if you want the best scripting, the best character development, the best banter, then you have to look elsewhere .



You tell 'em brother!
Can I get an amen!?



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Hallelujia!



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Oh yeah, I forgot

Amen.



jamesglewisf's Avatar
Didn't see it.
Whine. Whine. Whine.

There are Hollywood movies with non-Hollywood forumulaic stories and endings:

Arlington Road
Pay it Forward
Unforgiven - Who is the bad guy?
American Beauty
Somersby

There are also creative directors:

The Coen Brothers
Tim Burton
M. Night Shyamalan

That's just a start and thinking off the top of my head.

Hollywood makes movies to make money. They choose their stories, actors, and directors with that in mind. They make what is popular. They make what people want to see.

Stories with a protagonist versus an antagonist are as old as Grimm's fairy tales, Greek mythology, and the Bible--none of which were American. LOL!
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jamesglewisf's Avatar
Didn't see it.
Oops. I forgot to mention Agatha Christie. Another non-American who wrote formulaic stories about good versus evil with good prevailing, and she sold millions of copies. We're watching a Poirot movie right now - UK version.



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Ok, but the overwhelming majority of all movies made confrom to the formula of good guy versus bad guy.
Arlington road was good, it was about good versus evil, and hey what do you know, the bad guy won in the end?! One of the rare movies...
Haven't seen any of the others except American Beauty, which very much doesn't conform to the norms of Hollywood which is what made it a great film in the first place (and got it five Oscars).

Another example is "Life is Beautiful" which has almost no special effects, but which is a really heartwarming movie! And it picked up three Oscars (not bad for a foreign film)!

I also want to add to my list the fact that the hero always gets the girl in the end, in almost any movie - You've Got Mail, Notting Hill, Sleepless in Seattle, just the ones I can think of off the top of my head I like ones like Forces of Nature with Sandra Bullock, I gotta admit I was surprised and a bit dissapointed, but I still thought it was a good movie.



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Unforgiven - now that was a great film. That sherriff was NAILS! That's how law and order should be kept . However, that and American Beauty stand out from the crowd because they are not so formulaic.

Gene Hackman - awesome.



Life is Beautiful was an awesome movie! Like oyu said, no special FX but the characters have a greater dimension.

Cheers!
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jamesglewisf's Avatar
Didn't see it.
Originally posted by Zephyrus
I also want to add to my list the fact that the hero always gets the girl in the end, in almost any movie - You've Got Mail, Notting Hill, Sleepless in Seattle, just the ones I can think of off the top of my head I like ones like Forces of Nature with Sandra Bullock, I gotta admit I was surprised and a bit dissapointed, but I still thought it was a good movie.
Each one of those movies you named was a romantic comedy. There was no hero, just a male lead. The whole point of a romance is for romance to happen.

But, if you want romances with different endings, try on:

Somersby
The Remains of the Day



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Thanks James, I actually haven't seen any of these, but I'll have a look! I'm just tired of the same old c**p over and over