Big Budget Hollywood: Making Cr@P for the audience?

[scarberiankhatru]

I offered a soft response because I don't want to get engaged into a heated discussion based on the types of films you or I may prefer. Where we disagree is with your statement "most non-Hollywood films suck" and "Hollywood makes plenty of good movies". A dozen or so good films come out of the studio system in a given year yet generally what we get here in terms of independent and foreign film are of much higher calibre.

You're still agreeing with me.

The difference with Hollywood is that we hear about and can go see basically every one of the 200 or whatever Hollywood movies that are made every year, but "what we get here" of non-Hollywood stuff is typically the competitively filtered end result of hundreds, if not thousands, of movies, so, yeah, there's gonna be some good stuff in this group. A dozen good Hollywood films is plenty for me since I only pay to see like a half dozen movies in the theatre each year. That means most Hollywood movies suck, too.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

You're still agreeing with me.

The difference with Hollywood is that we hear about and can go see basically every one of the 200 or whatever Hollywood movies that are made every year, but "what we get here" of non-Hollywood stuff is typically the competitively filtered end result of hundreds, if not thousands, of movies, so, yeah, there's gonna be some good stuff in this group. A dozen good Hollywood films is plenty for me since I only pay to see like a half dozen movies in the theatre each year. That means most Hollywood movies suck, too.

Ok, great. Then we agree

 

[doady]

Independent film is way better, no question. Why? Because it doesn't have to cater to the kind of people who give Lost in Translation (an indie film) one star out of five at Amazon. And apparently there are lots of those kind of people.

But still, the independent vs Hollywood debate is kind of pointless. Can you imagine The Lord of the Rings as low-budget film? It would probably not be a very good movie.

 

[Northern Light]

Choice or the lack thereof

There is really no question that "Hollywood" makes a few good films each year, a fair few average or mediocre products and a whole slew of drek.

Nor would we disagree, on the whole, I think that there are lots of good 'foreign/indy/art' films each year, though more than a few are also crud.

I would suggest there are more good films in the latter group than the former.

In part because there are simply more non-hollywood films made each year, than hollywood films made each year.

Probably a 3 to 1 margin (excluding Bollywood), conservatively.

Beyond that, I think a higher proportion of non-hollywood films are better because by and and large they are more creatively driven as opposed to consumer-tested w/focus groups.

I don't hate happy endings, but I do viscerally dislike neat, pat, highly improbably endings that have the same feel as a segue on CTV local news from a bloody murder scene to the weather......"Well speaking of Bloody, it was a Bloody hot day today..."

Ick!

The phony factor makes one gag!

My objection though is not so much that Hollywood makes too much laughable crap, as that this is often the only practical choice at the local cinema.

I live near downtown, so the Cumberland, Varsity or Bloor aren't too big an ordeal to get to; though the Royal is a bit more of a pain.

But God Forbid you live in the suburbs, as your chance of seeing anything interesting playing, even at the 30-screen AMC in Vaughan are not good at all.

And even for those in the core, so many good films are confined to the Carlton which has small screens and terrible sightlines. You're almost better waiting for the DVD.

I realize not everyone going to a movie wants their brain exercised, but I refuse to believe that there are no intelligent people in the suburbs (this board proves different).

They too should be able to choose real movies made by people with talent, and not just the dull schlep coming out of H'wood.

If only Alliance had built out the national art house circuit they proposed. Five Toronto area cinemas, at least one in every city over 250,000 offering real cinema 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

But alas......

 

[bleeepbluuup]

I see only 3 or so films a year in the theatres, and then again, only those which are improved by watching on a really big screen (ie. action films with lots of explosions). Otherwise, I'd rather watch movies at home. I suspect this is true of many people.

When everyone has piles of DVDs, on-demand movie channels, and a big-screen TV at home, the movie theatre really has to offer something special to get people to come out.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

There is really no question that "Hollywood" makes a few good films each year, a fair few average or mediocre products and a whole slew of drek.

Nor would we disagree, on the whole, I think that there are lots of good 'foreign/indy/art' films each year, though more than a few are also crud.

I would suggest there are more good films in the latter group than the former.

In part because there are simply more non-hollywood films made each year, than hollywood films made each year.

Probably a 3 to 1 margin (excluding Bollywood), conservatively.

Beyond that, I think a higher proportion of non-hollywood films are better because by and and large they are more creatively driven as opposed to consumer-tested w/focus groups.

I don't hate happy endings, but I do viscerally dislike neat, pat, highly improbably endings that have the same feel as a segue on CTV local news from a bloody murder scene to the weather......"Well speaking of Bloody, it was a Bloody hot day today..."

Ick!

The phony factor makes one gag!

My objection though is not so much that Hollywood makes too much laughable crap, as that this is often the only practical choice at the local cinema.

I live near downtown, so the Cumberland, Varsity or Bloor aren't too big an ordeal to get to; though the Royal is a bit more of a pain.

But God Forbid you live in the suburbs, as your chance of seeing anything interesting playing, even at the 30-screen AMC in Vaughan are not good at all.

And even for those in the core, so many good films are confined to the Carlton which has small screens and terrible sightlines. You're almost better waiting for the DVD.

I realize not everyone going to a movie wants their brain exercised, but I refuse to believe that there are no intelligent people in the suburbs (this board proves different).

They too should be able to choose real movies made by people with talent, and not just the dull schlep coming out of H'wood.

If only Alliance had built out the national art house circuit they proposed. Five Toronto area cinemas, at least one in every city over 250,000 offering real cinema 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

But alas......

Good points, and well stated.
Btw, hop the College/Carlton car at Yonge and try the Royal, it's only a 10 -15 min. ride from Yonge St. after 6:30. It's an excellent cinema with a good size screen, great sound and wonderful ambiance. Plus it's an independent cinema like the Bloor, Regent, Mt. Pleasant, Revue, Fox, Kingsway etc. so it's good to support them when they play something interesting. It's sad that we have so few rep. cinemas left in such a large city but those we do have are for the most part, really good cinemas.

 

[Redroom Studios]

I'm not a big fan of Hollywood stuff, though depending on mood and the company you're with I guess it has its place. I've probably not seen more than 5 films in the theatre in the last 10 years. As far as stuff I buy for my dvd collection, its heavily weighted towards independant and foreign films. I find that I like seeing films with actors who I dont recognize because it adds to the believability of the story. (I remember hearing a review of Valkyrie starring Tom Cruise - something to the effect that is was a decent story that the viewer couldnt suspend their sense of disbelief because it was two hours of Tom Cruise wearing an eye patch) Also, the range of production styles and ways of telling stories seems much more sophisticated when you step outside of the Hollywood bubble. As a couple of people stated before, I simply cant stand the Disney-esque happy ending that often seems to be based in "Christian morality". No thanks.

 

[christiesplits]

I felt like this summer had a disproportionately large number of solid blockbusters compared to past years. District 9, Star Trek and Harry Potter 6 were all enjoyable and felt like there was some story and and substance behind the explosions and technical wizardry.

At the same time, I felt like the indy flicks I saw were fairly ubiquitous, tried and tested Juno-ripping so-sure-of-its-own-quirkiness schmultz.