A quick note: this is part of a series of "Why Modern Movies Suck" with different subtitles by the same person.
Modern movies teach us awful lessons [video]
151–160 of 414 posts
Re: Modern movies teach us awful lessons [video]
#152There used to be 2 categories: character driven and plot driven.
Character driven movies require good writing, which is in short supply. Plot driven movies - you just need a cool plot idea, and then throw in some actors to service the plot. The characters personalities morph to suit whatever the plot demands.
With the rise of woke, a different category has experienced a resurgence: ideology driven. It's kind of like plot driven, but instead of characters being malleable in service to some plot, they are malleable in service to woke ideology. This makes the characters unrelatable and inhuman.
Re: Modern movies teach us awful lessons [video]
#153I worked for a while with a guy who'd worked at the BBC for many years. His reasoning for why movies are more boring was simple: money. A production team is looking to distribute their movie in as many channels as possible, and with the broadest appeal possible. As a result, you see a film made with the broad strokes but lacking in subtlety. If a film might be challenging because of the subject matter, the complexity…
Really good movies appeal to different audiences at different levels, if you're looking just for pure action, funny lines, you may find it there, and if you're looking for a deep story, you may find it there as well. So in theory, there needn't be a contradiction between a wide audience and an awesome movie.
Admittedly, these movies are hard to come by, Drive (2011) would be one of them for me, although there must be a more recent one I can't think of now.
Re: Modern movies teach us awful lessons [video]
#154One thing I've noticed is that is seems more recent movies lack character observations. Everything is done is in service of the plot. I think it was in Doctor No there was a conversation between Q, M and Bond. Bond's favourite weapon was the Beretta, and Q explained their downsides. Bond was ordered to use the Walther (IIRC) as a replacement. It was in a box. At the end of the scene, Bond picks up the box, surreptiti…
Are you sure you aren’t just remembering fondly movies you saw when you were younger? Both those scenes are huge tropes/clichés.
Yeah, Casablanca is just a bunch of quotes strung together.
Re: Modern movies teach us awful lessons [video]
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
I call that sort of "good" plots "character-oriented plot". One best example is Breaking Bad, which is not movie, but it is a great show anyway. The episode of Fly is a good example how well BB portrayed character's personality. with character-oriented plot, we have character first, and let them play drama. It is like having initial condition and seeing how things evolve in Ordinary Differential Equation. Everything…
> The episode of Fly is a good example how well BB portrayed character's personality. That was a pointless filler episode that only got made because they ran out of money.
Sometimes creativity comes from constraints.
Re: Modern movies teach us awful lessons [video]
#156I worked for a while with a guy who'd worked at the BBC for many years. His reasoning for why movies are more boring was simple: money. A production team is looking to distribute their movie in as many channels as possible, and with the broadest appeal possible. As a result, you see a film made with the broad strokes but lacking in subtlety. If a film might be challenging because of the subject matter, the complexity…
I agree. While money has always been there, there hasn't been such intense "statistics" and micromanaging behind every decision. Directors could get away with doing many things out of the respect for the art rather than money. The systematised nature of it, this automated process of using statistics to automate creative decisions, is the worst part, because you can't escape it. In the past we had a base plot that must be interesting and make money, but there were so many avenues for being subversive on top of that. Now, everything is in service of the machine
Re: Modern movies teach us awful lessons [video]
#157I have a different problem with the modern movies - modern people have pretty much seen everything, but still ask "show me something I haven't seen before", so movies try their best to create "novelties", and end up with crazy plot twists that make the story worse. But then the novelty wears off quickly as we've seen everything yet again, so movies have to find newer and crazier shit to keep us entertained, and devia…
I agree 100%. A movie doesn't have to be great, but it should be different.
I made a short film and even the people who didn't get/like the jokes said: "At least it was different and not boring."
BTW, you can watch the film in https://youtu.be/LkclVXofHbU
Re: Modern movies teach us awful lessons [video]
#158For anyone not familiar with The Critical Drinker's work, this should be considered to be part of an ongoing series:
Why Modern Movies Suck - Setup And Payoff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmOZgSyQjtA
Why Modern Movies Suck - They're Destroying Our Heroes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY-GLeHS0Ik
Why Modern Movies Suck - The Soft Reboot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyU63LJV3AE
Why Modern Movies Suck - They Teach Us Awful Lessons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnuqp4_K7ik
You can probably include earlier videos along the same theme, such as:
What Happened To Our Villains? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnRP7SKzOgk&t=22s
Re: Modern movies teach us awful lessons [video]
#159I worked for a while with a guy who'd worked at the BBC for many years. His reasoning for why movies are more boring was simple: money. A production team is looking to distribute their movie in as many channels as possible, and with the broadest appeal possible. As a result, you see a film made with the broad strokes but lacking in subtlety. If a film might be challenging because of the subject matter, the complexity…
It isn't money, it's risk management/minimalization by large coorporations because that's their optimal strategy.
Re: Modern movies teach us awful lessons [video]
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
They are trying to be authentic. That is what actors are taught these days, to portray "realistic" characters that move and sound as realworld people. The net result is mumbling and tiny little movements that in turn mandate tight closeups and asmr-like microphone placement. Try that on a stage or in any live performance and you will be called wooden. Compare actors like Samuel L Jackson, Percival Ulysses, Jane Lynch…
One big problem is that US actors have a history of recording adverts, so they are not classically trained, unlike a lot of British actors who have backgrounds on the stage and so have learned to speak clearly. I hate having to watch movies and TV with the subtitles on — the mumbling may be realistic, but I'm paying for escapism.
I like it better this way. Theatre like playing in movie come across as fake to me - as bad acting.
When the whole thing is clearly exaggerate comedy, then it don't bother me. But, if I am supposed to immerse myself in the story, it does not work.