What is the problem with movies today?
By ElijahsRaven
@ElijahsRaven (25)
United States
December 4, 2006 3:03am CST
From what I see, most movies today are horrible displays of bad writing, bad stories, stilted dialogue, and no true meaning. I miss the days where movies meant something and pushed you to want to go because they meant something. Movies were at one time, something to love, covet, and enjoy by living vicariously through your heroes. Now it seems as if they are simple cash cows being churned out like unsalted crackers with no savor simply so they can make a dollar. I long for the stories with a moral and a great pro/antagonist. I miss Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Marlon Brando and the likes. I think movies today are a pale spectre standing in the shadow of the great movies of old. Rarely do we see them today (excepting the few, i.e., Lord of the Rings, Million Dollar Baby, Shawshank Redemption, etc.). I would like some good suggestions from others as to what movies I can get that still have the flavor like they use to. I love movies dearly, and am having a hard time finding more contemporary films that I can truly enjoy.
4 people like this
25 responses
@Kaorin (756)
• Australia
4 Dec 06
I agree. People give up their lives and their wellbeing for the chance at their screenplay making it big in hollywood. A lot of them are exceptional writers, with so many original, thoughful and wonderful ideas. However as of late, Hollywood seems to be completely ignoring them and making crappy remakes, sequels and utter junk. It makes me sad, thinking of all the ideas there are out there I'd love to see at the movies, and then actually seeing that everything at the movies is pathetic, overrated and lame.
2 people like this
@ElijahsRaven (25)
• United States
4 Dec 06
Hey, thanks for giving me your input. Do you have any movie suggestions? Something I might not have seen, foreign, independent, it doesn't matter. I'm just looking for another great keeper.
2 people like this
@AnythngArt (3302)
• United States
4 Dec 06
Great points. As for movie suggestions, I recently saw "Stranger than Fiction" which I found to be clever, original, and centered on the life of a writer (Emma Thompson) and her subject (Will Ferrell). It was wonderful to see Ferrell in a movie that used his talents rather than wasting them in mindless comedies.
@wandale (95)
• United States
4 Dec 06
I think the major problem with movies today is that talents rarely get nurtured for long enough to develop into true powerhouses. From actors to directors to writers, all too many of the people making movies today just don't have the chance to develop the track record of experience that it takes to really make great films. Instead of letting artists make mistakes and learn from them, the modern studio system just chews an endless parade of young people up and spits them out as soon as they start to wrinkle! If you want to see entertainment that is as good as what movies used to be, check out some of the series on premium cable. Showtime and HBO have become the nurseries where great talents are raised today-- just take a look at shows like "Six Feet Under" or "Weeds," and you'll see high quality actors working with interesting material that isn't afraid to get to the heart of the most moving parts of the human experience.
@pagli84 (1850)
• Netherlands
4 Dec 06
what is wrong with some of the bad movies today is that they suck..simply put. they are boring and they are all the same and there is no intellectual quality whatsoever in them. why do we need 10 of the same exact love stories or comedies every single year? i mean, we all know the ending already..
i prefer movies that show you something that you dont see every day..and that make you actually think a bit.
1 person likes this
@Atlyas (454)
• India
5 Dec 06
The problem with this generation of Film makers is Lack of Focus on Stories, they are just focussing on visual art, animation & garphics to enhance the look of films, what they are lacking is solid screenplay, stories, delivering messages to the masses, after all cinema is all about informative, creative entertainment.
@rms2727 (815)
• India
4 Dec 06
truly , today's movies have no substance in them as was true for the older generation of movies. most of today's movies don't have the power to keep you glued forthe whole length of the film, and even most of these are just bored for saying once and you will never want to repeatedly see those movies again. I remember some of those movies which I have watched a number of times and still whenever I've watched them again I just can't stop appreciating the work and getting the emotional high.
today the movies are perceived as nothing more than money minting machines by the producers and that's one reason that we don't have any good substantial movies being made any more
1 person likes this
@1producerswife (65)
• United States
5 Dec 06
Ah - You're a writer. I get it now. Fortunately and unfortunately Hollywood is a well-oiled machine. It's a tough world and bills have to be paid. I will reluctantly admit that my husband has put out a few movies with "no true meaning." I ask him quite frequently if he is ever going to do a "great" project. He quickly shuts me down with you wanna live here or in a dump? You wanna drive a Suburban or a Pinto? You wanna shop at Gucci or K-Mart? It's your choice. Seriously though,those mindless movies sell. There are thousands of films that have go straight to DVD and make millions. Independent financers don't really care if the script is good. They care about making money. In the independent world, when you can show that your last movie brought in three times your budget, it's a lot easier to get financed again. What genre do you write? Got anything good? Hey - where there is a will there is a way.
@wandale (95)
• United States
5 Dec 06
This is an interesting perspective, the idea that it isn't really the producers or the creative people who are to blame for why the movies are so bad. And it does seem like the few really good movies that get made, are often made by people who have proven themselves to be financially viable, and are then able to afford to take risks with a less commercial project. Maybe the real problem with today's movies lies with the audience, who spend money on seeing all those mindless movies, and don't seem to care about quality!
@umeshumapathy (283)
• India
5 Dec 06
i totally agree... now a days movies are becoming jus skin shows and people tnd to forget abt the biggere picture.. they are true artists who spend years together writing the screenplay and making the movie... these people are a disgrace to the cinema industry
@edelweiss (1929)
• India
5 Dec 06
In india, contemporary movies are low budget movies, made at regional levels.
Due to lack of budget they never make it to theatres, never make to the awards.. But they far better than the mosst money making movies.
@smith_velocity (1488)
• India
5 Dec 06
yeah, the movies today are pretty bad, but some are really good, every1 today goes for the sci-fi genre, what happened to the old good drama movies, its all sci-fi
@gentolet (150)
• Indonesia
5 Dec 06
Nice opinion.
I like to watch the movie.Everything.
From drama till action.From James Bond till Lord of the ring or Harry Potter.From the classic movie till the modern one.
I never doubt to choose some movies.Because I'm sure the quality movie from Hollywood are better than the other place.
@Ynefz0r (832)
• Finland
4 Dec 06
Well i think Saw1 is a great movie, the other 2 are not so good.
Maybe it's not about the movie creators but about us? Maybe we have seen too much movies so they start to look alike.. and of course with so many movies that have been made it's getting harder and harder to come up with an unique story line.
But yeah, i agree... everyone is out for the money!
@sirensanssmile (3764)
• Netherlands
5 Dec 06
You aren't watching the right movies then. I have no idea which ones you are watching. I am positive that there are a fair share of bad movies about but not most movies.
@feralwoman (2199)
• Australia
5 Dec 06
Yeah, they certainly don't make them like they used to! There was a time when they left something to the imagination!
Try this website:BestMovieDownloads.Net
Perhaps you'll find something on there that you like. LOL
@pcbulawanv (680)
• Austria
4 Dec 06
Well, this is life. Cinema has a life too. and its changing in the same way that we are changing our attitudes and culture. Me too, i prefer contemporary movies but for me it s hard to find a good one these days.
@PulpFiction (3)
• Canada
4 Dec 06
The real problem is, Hollywood dont make movie anymore, they make MARKETING.
They dont care about artistic movie like in the 70's, Hollywood was at ther best in 70's.
Now its just about make money and only make bad movie for 8 to 16 years old peoples.
