What happened to good movies?

I find this to be an interesting debate. It's very easy to be drawn in to the group thinking that movies have been getting steadily worse.

I love old films. As I write this I am watching "How to Murder Your Wife" with the fabulous Jack Lemmon. I watched "Mr. Robert's" before. The older films from the 50s and 60s have some true gems. Just as we have some wonderful films coming out each year.

Hollywood has always put out a plethora of films each year, and the good majority will leave the watcher wanting something more. The trick is separating the shaft from the wheat. Not every movie can be "Citizen Kane", "Gone With the Wind", "The Wizard of Oz" or "Lord of the Rings".

If you watch the Cary Grant collection, you'll fine that not all of his movies were wonderful. And neither are all the films of any actor. A great actor will be in lots of movies, because the public demands them. But not all of those films will be of note. And some will be just plain stinkers!

Foreign films are becoming more accessible, as are smaller independent films. I feel lucky to live by an independent theater that has one screen dedicated to those films that are out of the realm of the "main stream" theaters. I saw "Juno" last week and found that to be a fabulous movie. If you ever get a chance, watch the original "Shall We Dance", you'll probably be surprised at home much better it is than the American remake.

I do agree that Hollywood has gotten in to a rut with sequels, but I don't think that is such a far change from how movies have been made in the past. And we shouldn't forget that not every movie needs to be Oscar worthy. There is a certain comfort in sitting down to enjoy a movie that will make you laugh and smile. Or for a parent, to know they can sit their child down for 60 minutes and not worry that the content is objectionable.

But with the benefits of technology we don't have to go to movies unsuspectingly and spend our hard earned money on bad movies. We can check a variety of review sites to see what others think. We can choose to see a movie in theaters or wait for it to come out on DVD. We can purchase these items the day they come out or we can wait for them to hit the bargain bin. We have the choice to borrow movies from the library free of cost or have a subscription to Netflixs. I won't even go in to all the downloading of media content off the web. We have so many options for how we watch movies, and it is far more than people had even a few decades ago.

So yes, we have bad movies. We also still have good movies. But with all the choices we have today, I won't complain. If I don't like it, I won't go. I sent a message with my pocketbook. If it's a great movie, I'll see it twice and then buy it on DVD. The choice is mine. And that's just the way I like it.

Certainly we're seeing reuse of existing stories and plots, but this is nothing new. Snow White and the Seven Dwards was a fairy tale a hundred years before Disney appropriated it. Disney's Pocahontas is a twisting of history that took place in the 1600s. I'd heard the story of Beauty and the Beast long before Disney touched it. The story of Hercules is over 3000 years old! All of these stories were in the public domain before Disney used them.

So, yeah, nothing new there.

But for television and film, the writing is getting better, because the audience is getting smarter. Film audiences don't want to be treated as children, so plots have to have nuance. You can't sell a movie on the plot "A serial killer terrorizes a town by knocking on doors and killing the person who answers." Even a 12-year-old will say, "Then stop answering the door!"

That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. Medical professionals gag over movies that include bio-terror elements. Nuclear professionals (I've got one in my family) smirk when they see discussion of nuclear topics in the screen. Computer programmers (me) roll their eyes whenever computers are used for deus ex machina.

Some day, though, the audience will laugh at today's horror and thriller movies. Just as we look incredulously at horror and thriller movies from the 50s and 60s.

So, yeah, film is getting better.

I agree with previous posters that Hollywood films are lack luster at best lately. I was just discussing this with my friend the other day and we agreed the only reason to see a major film release was the visuals. Don't get me wrong though I love a high budget big special effects film, but the plots are definitively lacking.
The trend of adapting books to film has been an interesting turn of events though. Few can argue that the Lord of the Rings series had nothing to offer even to those who do not usually enjoy fantasy. My fear is that the production companies will foster this idea that "more money, means more better". In contrast I recently watched Juno, and it was a simple movie on a reasonable budget and I was very impressed.

Additionally, foreign films and independent films are becoming more and more available and for me anyway the prospects are improving. "The Host" of films from over seas that have been released in the States (sorry had to give a plug to a Korean Movie) have given us plenty of options.

Just like any other artistic venture, viewers need to keep in mind that no matter how much research they have done on a picture, their response is personal, and should be made by the individual. For instance some of my favorite movies are some of the worst movies I have ever seen..."Solder" with Kurt Russell springs to mind, or the Planet of the Apes series.

In the end don't be afraid to try something new and be disappointed because even if your pleasant surprises are few and far between this poster believes they are worth it , so grab that bag of popcorn and enjoy!

I think, in general, yes, movies are getting crappier - Hollywood movies, that is. I mean, yeah, there are some real gems that come out in between all the uninspired & marketing-borne crap they show at the mall, but the crap massively outnumbers the gems.

In order to aid the discussion, though, I think it'd help if you defined "good movies" before we continue. What do you consider a "good movie"?

God damn-it. I want to see a good original movie. Not another sequel or fuckin remake! And since I'm complaining would they mind not showing us all the good bits and major plot lines in the previews.