What happened to movies?

[NeoMaxy]

Remember when there were movies in the theaters you actually wanted to see?

Me neither.

Why is Hollywood putting out such formulaic trash these days and paying actors/models turned actors/popstars turned actors/Kate Hudson, the reason for all pain, to do these movies?

Discuss movies that suck and the potential conspiracy theories (Goldie Hawn's involvement with the Illuminati as evidence of Kate's career?) here.

Recent crap attributed to Kate alone:
Emma & Somebody
How to Lose a oh, who cares
LeDivo, oh I'm not gonna see it

[roly]

Is's mention of Sweet Home Alabama reminded me of how baffled I am by that movie's success. It's been airing almost daily on any of my eight million Starz stations and I've been catching bits and pieces here and there.

Are we supposed to like Reese's character? And, like, identify with her? Because I find her to be a complete douche. I can't understand why everyone in her town (including her parents) didn't kick the shit out of her every time she opened her mouth. So cunty.

I remember seeing the ads for SHA and thinking, naively it turns out, that because it was Reese and she was cool, it probably wasn't your run of the mill, 'bumpkin turns her back on her country life in order to become a city girl only to realize that she can't escape who she is and in fact *likes* being that person' kinda flick. (I should mention that this was before I saw, and was thorougly disappointed by, Legally Blonde, so I had all sorts of ideas about Reese's movies that were apparently wrongwrongwrong. That's what I get for basing my opinion on Election.)

Maybe having utterly unsympathetic leads is the new trend in romantic comedies? It would certainly explain why Goldie's Hudspawn is being inflicted on us at tri-monthly intervals.

[NeoMaxy]

I actually like that movie, but I don't harbor any illusions about it being any good.

:madnono: to her outing her cousin though! That shit was so wrong.

I don't mind that she's pretty unlikable. It's infinitely better to me than say, the perfect man. An example of this is John Corbett's character in Big Fat Greek Wedding or Mr. Darcy in BJD.

[isadora]

*digs in heels*

Dude, explain to me the popularity of How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days! Have you seen this crapfest? It's just SO.BAD. And tedious. So verrray tedious. Another unlikable lead (they're both lying and decieving each other at every turn -- charming, no?), STUPID plot, offensive role typing, and ON and ON and ON.

Seriously, WHY do women like these movies? *cries*

[NeoMaxy]

Clearly you are not asking me about a Kate Hateson flick, as I have banished them all from my kingdom. I can only assume you are talking to others. The world has *vexed* me by putting forth a movie with Janeane & Elvis Costello(200 Cigarettes) along with Kate & a severely overacting Courtney Love. What an evil joke.

[Ginni]

*jumps up and down*

FINDING NEMO!!!

Just saw it, and I have refallen in love with Pixar. They rule.

But yeah - me no likey Kate Hudson, for the most part. I've only ever seen Gossip and Almost Famous, and she was completely forgettable in both.

[snickerdoodle]

Apparently it's all about money. I read a recent article in Entertainment Weekly that basically boiled down to the fact that people don't go see the type of movies I like anymore. I call it the "Why Vin Diesel Has a Job Theory."

[Herman]

Bitches. Sweet Home Alabama is one of the only two romantic comedies I've ever liked (the other one being Down With Love :heart:). Reese's character being a cunt isn't an issue at all. Can we just see it as a movie about a cunt? Fuck sympathetic leads. They're boring.

[Cranberry]

Down With Love cracked me up, although the friend I saw it with hated it. I guess it wasn't serious enough for her. I thought it was great; the humor kinda reminded me of Psycho Beach Party (if you haven't seen that, get it. It's hilarious). Both those movies got universally bad reviews. Sometimes the critics are stupid.

[deux]

This is why I always feel so out of the loop when it comes to movies. I have a "bad movie radar". A badar. On the other hand, I could be accused of not having a valid opinion because I didn't actually punish myself by sitting through the movie. What else do I need besides reading the title, a quick synopsis of the storyline and especially a glance at who's in it to make a value judgment? Don't judge a book by its cover is a load of crap. It's usually all the info I need.

And I'm not even above watching crap. You've only got to look at the TV shows I watch to know that. But movies now? They're beyond TV crap. TV crap is free and can be turned off.

The only movie showing at the moment I wouldn't mind seeing is Elf. And even now I'm afraid they might've shown all the funny bits in the trailers. I *hate* when that happens!

[NeoMaxy]

Badar. Awesome.

Ginni has absolutely no badar(TM: deux), but we all love her for it. Viva la Road House!

[roly]

Dude, Roadhouse kicks ass. Beek bless the USA Network for airing it so often. "It's my way or the highway!"

deux, they kinda did show most of the best stuff in the trailer (minus a few choice lines), but it's still cute. It's just not fall-out-of-your seat hysterical. Of course, I'm hard pressed to think of any comedy in the last two years that was. Sigh. Are movies less funny or are my standards too high?

[Sarah]

It's been a long time since I've seen a movie that was genuinely funny because of the actors' charisma and the script. I'm SO TIRED of toilet humor passing for good comedy. When I saw that CitH bit in the trailer when he asks who's in the frame and then it folds out like in Playboy? I damn near died. In a children's movie. WTFE.

We're thisclose to a queef in a movie and that makes my ass cringe.

Now this is going to bug me all day and I'll have to think of the last movie I saw that I liked as a comedy through the whole thing.

[keenai]

I usually don't see comedies at the movie theater because I know they won't live up to my impossibly high standards. Of course, I laughed the whole way through American Pie so who am I to judge.

[roly]

Originally posted by Sarah
Now this is going to bug me all day and I'll have to think of the last movie I saw that I liked as a comedy through the whole thing.
At the moment, the last one I can think of was South Park, which came out in '99. I've noticed lately that whenever I feel like watching a comedy, most of the movies I'm popping in are from 1980 or earlier. That's so sad.

[Fox1013]

Every time I see The New Guy, I laugh unapologetically.

Yeah. I know. I'm kind of ashamed to know me, too.

[IssieCol]

When I saw that CitH bit in the trailer when he asks who's in the frame and then it folds out like in Playboy? I damn near died. In a children's movie.

The what in the where?

<--- is a dum

[piggay]

Hee. South Park is the first one that came to mind, but if you count Margaret Cho movies as a comdey movie then that might be it.

It wasn't a great movie but I did LOL at Old School. But I guess that fits in under the toilet humor genre.

[isadora]

Um, I can't think of one movie that isn't toilet humor that really, seriously cracked my shit up. I :luv: bad teen sex comedies!

[isadora]

I watched Bad Santa last night and it reminded me of this thread and the fact that I haven't seen a movie that really, seriously CMSU in a long, long time.

Bad Santa may be one of the funniest movies I have *ever* seen. That may be a reflection on me and my totally evil sense of humor but I laughed so hard I actually balled up and doubled over!

"Why is it brown?" "It's not brown. It's got my blood on it from when I cut myself when I was making it for you." *dies*

It's so great! It's a story by Joel & Ethan Coen directed by Terry Zwigoff! Such a GREAT combination! I really don't remember laughing harder at a movie. It's just so twisted!

[jennk]

I saw that movie when it first came out, but it is incredibly funny.

And this is taking into account the big hate on I have for Billy Bob Thornton, who completely skeeves me out.

I only went to see it because my friend really wanted to. I completely expected to hate it, which usually means I automatically will, but it was too too funny.

[Fox1013]

Lauren Graham MADE that movie for me.

Which may or may not be because she's fucking HOT.

[deux]

I posted a while ago about a nationwide poll held here by Aunty for "My Favourite Book". Well tonight was the result for "My Favourite Film". I have mixed feelings about the top 10. It's almost as if the major voters were 19 year old guys caught between childhood/adolescent fantasy and becoming a man questioning the meaning of life, man's irony and what it is to be human! That would also answer why their memories are so short and they don't seem to have seen a film that was made in a year before their birth. Not that I'm a big fan of really old movies because I'm actually not but sprinkled amongst the bad acting there were some with great stories. So here's the top 10 favourite films voted by Australians (who seem to be worried they're going nutty):

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (how frigging predictable)
2. Amelie (Yay!)
3. Blade Runner (in the top 10?)
4. The Shawshank Redemption (a good film but no. 4 of all time?)
5. Donnie Darko (I'm in the "not quite sure I got it" camp)
6. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (again, predictable)
7. Pulp Fiction (Yay!)
8. The Princess Bride (Yay!)
9. Gone With The Wind (will this damn bad film ever die???)
10. Fight Club (Top 10? Never! I was really into this film till it became clear and then I was so pissed off!)

And here's (http://www.abc.net.au/myfavouritefilm/top100.htm) the top 100.

You could only vote for one (which is *so* hard to do with films) so I voted for To Kill A Mockingbird and Mr Deux voted for Cinema Paradiso - which I then got jealous of because I'd forgotton about it.

I'll never understand people. Dirty Dancing at number 70? I'd maybe have it at number 700.

With Trainspotting at 73, Fargo at 86, Citizen Kane at 82, no American History X and no old Woody Allen that I could see, I'm deciding which other country to emigrate to.

As one panellist said, it's not so much a list of everyone's greatest film as it's a list of films everyone's really liked after renting on video.

[Ginni]

Okay - Princess Bride is a great movie, but in the top 10? Hmm...

There are many, many others that should be above most of them. Though I think LotR deserves to be up there, in the top 5 at least.

You can maybe explain to me why Shawshank is so beloved? Don't get me wrong - I liked it, but man. It's just. Not. That. Great.

What about films like Kind Hearts and Coronets; Bridge over the river Kwai; Chariots of Fire; Ghandi; Dr. Zhivago; Monty Python/Holy Grail; My Beautiful Laundrette???

Yes - these are all pilfered from the BFI's 100 list, so are all British, but I reckon they beat at least 6 of the ones on that top 10 list there.


eta: It is only a good thing that there are no Woody Allen movies on that list. It's bad enough that he was in the top 20 comedians list I watched the other night. Gah! Creepy inappropriate daughter molesting fuck.

[isadora]

I feel about Woody the way I feel about Michael Jackson. If he's got to dip into Mia's supply of adopted children to make his art? So be it!

Of course, he hasn't actually made a movie I've wanted to see in the last decade so that might not apply in this case. But for Zelig? I say let him pluck the ripe fruit hanging from a nearby tree.

ETA: Shawshank has got to be one of the most overrated films of all time! What Ginni said: It's good. But it's not THAT good. Gah. I can only be relieved that The Green Mile isn't getting more beloved with age! Damn people love prison movies!

[IssieCol]

I think that's the first "Best Movies" list I've ever seen w/o The Godfather 1 & 2 in the top 10. Those two are my favorite movies of all time, but they do get a lot of recognition and don't really need anymore. That Top 10 really does seem like a list college kids might have, like they polled only at universities.

[deux]

It is a strange list. Everybody was wondering how at least the first Godfather movie didn't make it.

As for what Ginni said, apparently it's now illegal to watch a movie made before the year of your birth.

With Shawshank, they did say (along with a lot of the others) it didn't do that great at the box office but got a new, very popular lease of life on video/dvd. My 19-year-old guys questioning man and life theory again! Personally I'd have never had it anywhere near the top 10.

I should just be happy Titanic didn't make the Top 100.

[isadora]

What happened to movies? Jessica Simpson!

Wow, that Dukes of Hazzard movie was a joyless spectacle of T&A and a cast that looked downright bored most of the time. I laughed once during the movie and a few times during the gag reel -- where the hell did Rip Torn come from? The hell? -- and that was it. And the time during the movie was because Seann William Scott just kind of cracks me up in general.

Jessica Simpson has SO had a boob job. Holy crap. She may have a hot lil' bod but I still think she has a weird face. I just don't think she's pretty.