Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Are film critics losing sync with audiences?

stephenfollows.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 421 posts

Re: Are film critics losing sync with audiences?

#171

Post by nebula8804 »

cm2187 wrote: post #162
lamontcg wrote: post #131

I feel like the mass of people are ossifying around the familiar. People like re-watching the same stuff that they've already watched, they're comfortable these days watching reboots of the same superhero movies. They like big budgets and flashy special effects. They don't like being challenged by anything. Even when it comes to something like online forums, something like reddit is mostly a wasteland of the same 50…

I am sure that is also true, but on the other extreme I use IMDB ratings to suggest new movies to myself as within the genres I can watch (i.e. anything where the character doesn't wear a cape and doesn't lecture me about social justice), I find a high correlation between my taste and imdb ratings (and low correlation with most film critics). A few examples of recent movies that I would have never thought watching bu…

>Last Night in Soho (nice british movie about London of the 60s)

Someone else mentioning my favorite director and best movie of 2021?

Sir you have just made my day.

Re: Are film critics losing sync with audiences?

#172

Post by treeman79 »

MisterBastahrd wrote: post #149
cbozeman wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sometimes hear this, but I disagree. If you're 40 years old, you need to be able to consume any kind of media and then place yourself into the mindset of a younger person and judge it from that mindset - because you used to be that younger person. Truly exceptional media is good enough to transcend the age barrier and is enjoyable for everyone, e.g., The Incredibles is enjoyable for young kids because it's a cartoo…

The funny thing is that games used to be FAR more punishing than they are today. Give an 8 year old (or hell, a 16 year old for that matter) Super Mario Bros. Watch their reaction when they get to World 1-3 or something and then lose all of their lives and realize that the game doesn't care, they have to start ALL the way from the beginning. Compare that to Elden Ring, which has difficult boss fights but otherwise is…

I recall as a small child ordering Castlevania from the Sears catalog and having to wait many weeks for it to arrive. It would certainly be many more weeks before I would get any other game to play and there were a few other distractions.

Re: Are film critics losing sync with audiences?

#173

Post by dr_dshiv »

lamontcg wrote: post #131

I feel like the mass of people are ossifying around the familiar. People like re-watching the same stuff that they've already watched, they're comfortable these days watching reboots of the same superhero movies. They like big budgets and flashy special effects. They don't like being challenged by anything. Even when it comes to something like online forums, something like reddit is mostly a wasteland of the same 50…

> that sweet spot of mediocrity that gains piles of "updoots"

Being truly excellent does not mean maximizing popularity. It’s a trap. But it also means a lot of smart people learn this early and can’t deal with modern self-marketing. I think this dynamic negatively affects culture. The solution, I think, is smaller communities.

Re: Are film critics losing sync with audiences?

#174

Post by bhuber »

the_af wrote: post #152
lamontcg wrote: post #131

I feel like the mass of people are ossifying around the familiar. People like re-watching the same stuff that they've already watched, they're comfortable these days watching reboots of the same superhero movies. They like big budgets and flashy special effects. They don't like being challenged by anything. Even when it comes to something like online forums, something like reddit is mostly a wasteland of the same 50…

> "they're comfortable these days watching reboots of the same superhero movies" This in particular. I don't mind the odd superhero movie, but they seem wildly overrepresented in big budget movies. It feels it's also frequently a retelling of Spiderman or Batman. I don't think I can stand another Spidey or Batman origin story, or another "...and the next villain is hinted at to be the Joker!". Occasionally there's a…

Sony literally cannot stop making spiderman movies. Part of the deal when they bought the rights from Disney in 1998 was they have to make at least one spiderman movie every 5.75 years, or the rights are forfeit. https://www.octalcomics.com/when-does-sonys-spiderman-rights...

Re: Are film critics losing sync with audiences?

#175

Post by hindsightbias »

cm2187 wrote: post #162
lamontcg wrote: post #131

I feel like the mass of people are ossifying around the familiar. People like re-watching the same stuff that they've already watched, they're comfortable these days watching reboots of the same superhero movies. They like big budgets and flashy special effects. They don't like being challenged by anything. Even when it comes to something like online forums, something like reddit is mostly a wasteland of the same 50…

I am sure that is also true, but on the other extreme I use IMDB ratings to suggest new movies to myself as within the genres I can watch (i.e. anything where the character doesn't wear a cape and doesn't lecture me about social justice), I find a high correlation between my taste and imdb ratings (and low correlation with most film critics). A few examples of recent movies that I would have never thought watching bu…

Used to work, not so sure now. 7.5+ rating and Mining high ratings <1K votes yields a lot of gems as long as you don’t hate subtitles.

Re: Are film critics losing sync with audiences?

#176

Post by 1123581321 »

dogleash wrote: post #157
lamontcg wrote: post #131

I feel like the mass of people are ossifying around the familiar. People like re-watching the same stuff that they've already watched, they're comfortable these days watching reboots of the same superhero movies. They like big budgets and flashy special effects. They don't like being challenged by anything. Even when it comes to something like online forums, something like reddit is mostly a wasteland of the same 50…

>They don't like being challenged by anything. "Challenging" is such a bullshit term. It implies there's something meaty for your brain to chew on, but 9/10 times it's a pretentious way to write off people who don't like hamfisted righteousness that fits squarely into run-of-the-mill positions and ideas that are Hollywood-safe. Those movies are pablum just as much as marvel franchises or 90 minutes of fart and dick j…

Look wider. I think you can find plenty that would be described as challenging, that is a legitimate artistic exploration or funny/dramatic/frightening in a new way. Foreign films are a relatively easy way to explore this now. If you are concerned about escaping a filter bubble of foreign directors palatable in your country, start with a country that interests you, then search for their top films by decade or their most admired directors' imdb or wiki pages.

Re: Are film critics losing sync with audiences?

#177

Post by bluefirebrand »

lamontcg wrote: post #131

I feel like the mass of people are ossifying around the familiar. People like re-watching the same stuff that they've already watched, they're comfortable these days watching reboots of the same superhero movies. They like big budgets and flashy special effects. They don't like being challenged by anything. Even when it comes to something like online forums, something like reddit is mostly a wasteland of the same 50…

When it comes to movies, I think it's because high concept stuff gets focus grouped to the point where it is recognizable for average audiences.

Many movies you can see there is a grain of some great idea for something new or interesting, but you can almost see exactly where studio execs said "no that's too complicated dumb it down for the audience"

And the weird indie auteur stuff is almost universally horror films these days it seems. Which means I personally am super not interested.

Re: Are film critics losing sync with audiences?

#178

Post by gigaflop »

alan-hn wrote: post #165
gigaflop wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"These Days" in particular('Rona Season), I feel like a lot is/has been getting produced to keep up with increased demand. More people spending time indoors, means more people sitting on the couch looking for things to watch. From this, I think it's safe to assume that the lowest common denominator is growing fastest. Why put in original thought when you can use an internal plot-point checklist or AI/ML to guess at w…

Just as a tangent: let's start with the AI/ML produced movies already. I honestly think they would be hilarious

I feel like AI/ML and some pre-rigged models could be used to build a web-hosted sitcom. It would take a lot of technical work, and a lot of writing chops to make it watchable, but it could be done.

Look at Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, a show that was made by reusing old animations. If someone writes a script (use humans for now), then the AI/ML can stitch together the animation.

Once there's a corpus of material, start letting the AI determine plot points, and have humans vet and write it. Over time, let the AI take more and more control over the direction of the show, making sure to introduce new characters or events as needed.

Re: Are film critics losing sync with audiences?

#179

Post by [deleted] »

bmelton wrote: post #15

There's an interesting concept with user reviews, in that they're inherently OF the people, whereas critical reviews are FOR the people. In a way, critical reviews are like celebrity chef cookbooks in that they should be considered aspirational. What we HOPE to be watching to please our senses of austerity, versus the pulp trash we might actually prefer to be watching. Similarly, sure, we might WISH we were making /…

[deleted]

Re: Are film critics losing sync with audiences?

#180

Post by dabbledash »

lamontcg wrote: post #131

I feel like the mass of people are ossifying around the familiar. People like re-watching the same stuff that they've already watched, they're comfortable these days watching reboots of the same superhero movies. They like big budgets and flashy special effects. They don't like being challenged by anything. Even when it comes to something like online forums, something like reddit is mostly a wasteland of the same 50…

I think critics always value novelty more than the average person. It makes sense. They probably watch so many movies that anything derivative gets old fast. If I've seen the same trope ten times any critic has probably seen it a hundred times, and it's going to bother them in a way it doesn't bother me.
Post reply on HN