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Why 90s Movies Feel More Alive Than Anything on Netflix

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Re: Why 90s Movies Feel More Alive Than Anything on Netflix

#121

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

whilenot-dev wrote: post #93
SamuelAdams wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an excellent point. For example, here [1] is a list of all films released in 2025. However I bet most people 10 years from now will only remember the top 10-20 [2]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_2025 [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_2025_box_office_number...

The point wasn't merely about remembering something, the raised survivorship bias is moment in time when something becomes a cult classic[0]. Box office numbers don't matter much there, as these cult classics all bombed at the office: - Blade Runner (1982) - Brazil (1985) - Donnie Darko (2001) - Fight Club (1999) - The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - The Thing (1982) The question should be wether we can still create th…

I think Hollywood is well past its prime and the best films are either independent or from elsewhere.

As to a modern cult film, I think "Everything Everywhere All At Once" should make the list.

Re: Why 90s Movies Feel More Alive Than Anything on Netflix

#122

Post by tim333 »

TiredOfLife wrote: post #117
tim333 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought Max Max Fury Road was cool. Though they spent crazy money on vehicles for that so maybe it agrees with your point. I mean Max 1 is ok https://youtu.be/Utj2o2eWdC0?t=93 But fury was kind of epic https://youtu.be/hEJnMQG9ev8?t=118 both seem to have some ramps and explosions.

Majority if not all shots in fury road are heavily cgi enhanced if not fully cgi.

Dunno - this thing says mostly real https://fraserengineco.com/fraser-fast-facts/mad-max-fury-ro...

Here's some making of where you can see the real shot and the cgi https://youtu.be/hsFc76R7W6E?t=656

Even some of the explosions I thought would be fake was them actually blowing stuff up https://youtu.be/hsFc76R7W6E?t=1278

I'm not sure if the making of shots aren't more impressive than the end verisons.

Re: Why 90s Movies Feel More Alive Than Anything on Netflix

#123

Post by ToucanLoucan »

swat535 wrote: post #90
ToucanLoucan wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My most "old woman yells at cloud" opinion is the fucking DISEASE of smartphones that is truly a cancer in our society. Don't get me wrong, I love mine, and they're completely possible to use in a way that coexists with the rest of your tech and life, but my god, the wide adoption of them has demonstrated the majority of our population has the regulation capacity of a fucking carrot. And my inner artist is absolutely…

I'm so torn on this, because on one hand smart phones have been a net positive in many aspect of my life. I get instantly access to maps, I have my bank in my pocket, I get notified of my bills, check my emails, communicate with friends and family, order stuff online.. Yet there is also the toxic stuff, constantly scrolling X, Facebook or Instagram, bombarded with ads, subscriptions and trash.. I think smart phones c…

FWIW, I'm a mobile dev. So I wouldn't have my career if not for phones. If I were given a wish from a genie, and asked if I wanted to erase smartphones from the human experience, I honestly don't know. At once they're sources of incredible utility, convenience and personal productivity and edification. And again, they are just a CANCER on most people's ability to simply perform being human.

So I absolutely 100% cosign the conflict.

Re: Why 90s Movies Feel More Alive Than Anything on Netflix

#124

Post by luckys »

chime wrote: post #49
dubcanada wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't particularly disagree with you, but do you have evidence that modern movies are calibrated and written to allow for someone to sit on their phones the entire time and understand? Largely seems like some movies are written to be mass consumed and some are not. No different then a movie from the 90s. Our attention span is decreasing a lot obviously, but it's never been that long.

Could be from https://www.pcmag.com/news/netflix-is-telling-writers-to-dum... which mentioned https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-49/essays/casual-viewing/

That long article on the second link was really good, thank you.

Re: Why 90s Movies Feel More Alive Than Anything on Netflix

#126

Post by Atheros »

atombender wrote: post #79
CupricTea wrote: post #54

The biggest thing for me is the cinematography. 80s/90s movies were filmed as if you're standing alongside the cast. * Many more shots from eye level * Significantly less jumpcuts * People actually cast shadows onto the environment, and filmmakers would fearlessly shoot scenes with full bright or full dark elements in them without trying to make everything dark and bright visible simultaneously * Waist-up or even ful…

While cinematography isn't the whole answer, I think it's a big contributor to why so much feels aggressively middling these days. Modern shows are aggressively aesthetic. There's huge overuse shallow depth of field, resulting in blurry backgrounds. Watch modern movies with this mind, and you start noticing the reliance on a sharp foreground and blurry background is extreme to the point of bizarre. Cinematography sho…

Bad audio and bad foley doesn't get mentioned enough. I think it's why people are watching things with subtitles: the actors are on a blue stage that is completely silent having a quiet conversation and then the war happening around them gets added later. In noisy environments people slow down and enunciate and directors aren't helping actors know what to do.

Ideas on how to fix it:

• actors should wear tiny headphones behind their ears (or wherever is not visible) to make noise that approximates the environment they will be shown in. They'll have to act over it.

• Foley artists should not be given video of the final scene to foley. They should be given only one single continuous very wide shot. This will solve the problem where foley artists keep doing ludicrous things like adding the sound of a pin dropping and hitting the ground (since it's shown on screen) in the context of a space ship that is in the process of exploding.

Re: Why 90s Movies Feel More Alive Than Anything on Netflix

#127

Post by DHPersonal »

atombender wrote: post #79
CupricTea wrote: post #54

The biggest thing for me is the cinematography. 80s/90s movies were filmed as if you're standing alongside the cast. * Many more shots from eye level * Significantly less jumpcuts * People actually cast shadows onto the environment, and filmmakers would fearlessly shoot scenes with full bright or full dark elements in them without trying to make everything dark and bright visible simultaneously * Waist-up or even ful…

While cinematography isn't the whole answer, I think it's a big contributor to why so much feels aggressively middling these days. Modern shows are aggressively aesthetic. There's huge overuse shallow depth of field, resulting in blurry backgrounds. Watch modern movies with this mind, and you start noticing the reliance on a sharp foreground and blurry background is extreme to the point of bizarre. Cinematography sho…

The fog you reference might just be a Hollywood Black Magic blooming filter placed in front of the lens.

Re: Why 90s Movies Feel More Alive Than Anything on Netflix

#128

Post by DHPersonal »

tim333 wrote: post #114
M95D wrote: post #113

I miss car crashes - realistic crashes like in Mad Max 1, not explosions or rollover on a hidden ramp. I guess cars are too expensive these days to crash them for a movie.

I thought Max Max Fury Road was cool. Though they spent crazy money on vehicles for that so maybe it agrees with your point. I mean Max 1 is ok https://youtu.be/Utj2o2eWdC0?t=93 But fury was kind of epic https://youtu.be/hEJnMQG9ev8?t=118 both seem to have some ramps and explosions.

What’s funny to me is how many hidden ramps are featured in that Mad Max 1 trailer :)

Re: Why 90s Movies Feel More Alive Than Anything on Netflix

#129

Post by atombender »

DHPersonal wrote: post #127
atombender wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While cinematography isn't the whole answer, I think it's a big contributor to why so much feels aggressively middling these days. Modern shows are aggressively aesthetic. There's huge overuse shallow depth of field, resulting in blurry backgrounds. Watch modern movies with this mind, and you start noticing the reliance on a sharp foreground and blurry background is extreme to the point of bizarre. Cinematography sho…

The fog you reference might just be a Hollywood Black Magic blooming filter placed in front of the lens.

No, I'm pretty sure it's literally fog, some kind of aerosoled mineral oil.

Here is an example: https://imgur.com/a/gdemKM3. Notice the hazy background. The still is from this video [1] at 00:22, coincidentally also a good video about cinematic realism.

Here [2] is a video about lighting that shows adding haze.

Some cinematographers certainly use blooming filters, too. I noticed that Spielberg had a period with tons of bloom, though I don't know if those were filters or just a certain kind of lens. Indiana Jones 4 had absolutely awful photography. Bridge of Spies is also a good example, lots of blooming, lots of hazy indoor rooms.

[1] https://youtu.be/tvwPKBXEOKE

[2] https://youtu.be/RXD97Rc5P_s?t=250

Re: Why 90s Movies Feel More Alive Than Anything on Netflix

#130

Post by haunter »

mcphage wrote: post #110
haunter wrote: post #44

I've seen many good films this decade too ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ There Is No Evil (شیطان وجود ندارد) 2020 Drive My Car (ドライブ・マイ・カー) 2021 The two Dune films Alcarràs 2022 Suzume (すずめの戸締まり) 2022 Monster (怪物) 2023 Fallen Leaves (Kuolleet lehdet) 2023 The Holdovers 2023 Perfect Days 2023 The Substance 2024 Bugonia 2025 (even though it's a remake)

Let me add in Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (2022)

I didn't like that at all :')

As one of the characters said "it’s all just a pointless swirling bucket of bullshit"

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