Why Today's Movies Suck, Part 1: Good Movies vs. Bad Movies

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By SPomposello

Bathroom cleaning products come in very handy when it comes to watching garbage.
Bathroom cleaning products come in very handy when it comes to watching garbage.

Having already tackled the plague upon our nation that is today's music, but now it's time to tackle another epidemic -- Today's movies. For every Lady Gaga and Willow Smith, we have a "Transformers" sequel and a remake of some 80's horror flick.

If your head and your eyes hurt more often when you come out of the cinema nowadays, it's more than likely due to the fact that most movies today suck. Mind you, I'm not talking about all movies released in the 21st century, but most. See, bad movies have always existed in every decade in the past. The 60's and 70's had their own fair share of bad flicks and then so did the 80's and the 90's. The reason behind the creation of this online web documentary (which I will try to cover in twenty parts or less) is because lately, in the 21st century, Hollywood has been churning out more garbage than before despite a few memorable gems every once in a while.

Alien [Blu-ray]
Amazon Price: $9.99
List Price: $24.99
Stand By Me (Special Edition)
Amazon Price: $5.33
List Price: $14.94
Die Hard [Blu-ray]
Amazon Price: $9.75
List Price: $29.99
Independence Day [Blu-ray]
Amazon Price: $8.57
List Price: $29.99
Saving Private Ryan (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Amazon Price: $9.68
List Price: $19.99

To make things easier, let's put movies into two different categories: The intelligent film and the pure entertainment film. Both can be done correctly and incorrectly in any genre. Movies like "Alien", "What's Up, Doc?", "Saving Private Ryan", and "Stand by Me" are intelligent films while "Total Recall", "The Spy Who Loved Me", "Die Hard", and "Independence Day" are purely entertainment at its finest. The latter category doesn't need to have the heart and brains of the first category but it should have a little bit of both, plus it needs to have realistic special effects and keep you on the edge of your seat. Movies like "Transformers" and "Wanted" are examples of this being done incorrectly.

Sometimes, the intelligent films can be highly entertaining as well (i.e. "Heat"). Then again, the opposite category can sometimes be highly intelligent (i.e. "The Dark Knight"). The ball can roll in either direction.

No matter which is chosen, every movie should have an easily identifiable beginning, middle, and end that is executed very well from a story and filmmaking perspective (unlike the recent "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"). It shouldn't fully depend on ideas and concepts from past movies as well, inspiration is appropriate but it's very easy tell apart when one filmmaker has gone a little "too far" with his "inspiration" (shall we compare "Fatal Attraction" and "Obsessed", anyone?).

Do you think cinema has gotten progressively worse since the start of the new century?

  • Hell to the yes!
  • Are you kidding? Remakes are da bomb!
  • I wouldn't know a bad movie if it slapped me in the face
See results without voting
The Quotable Film Critic - 2000 Bad Movie Reviews
Amazon Price: $12.13
List Price: $12.99
The Worst Movies of All Time: Or, What Were They Thinking?
Amazon Price: $50.87
List Price: $18.95
Bad Movies
Amazon Price: $8.21
List Price: $12.95
Bad Movies We Love (Plume)
Amazon Price: $49.99
List Price: $12.00
Showgirls, Teen Wolves, and Astro Zombies: A Film Critic's Year-Long Quest to Find the Worst Movie Ever Made
Amazon Price: $0.99
List Price: $13.99

Comments

Nathan Groves 8 months ago

Completely agree with you. I couldn't face transformers 3 after the 2nd one. But it still makes money?

You say

"For every Lady Gaga and Willow Smith, we have a "Transformers" sequel and a remake of some 80's horror flick."

But think for every good movie we have 20 bad ones.

Szb 6 months ago

I agree

Today all blockbuster movies were made just to impress people with special effects and they completely forget about the story.

Thy dont need to make the smartest story but not the most stupid story either .

Bruce Helmick 6 months ago

Brothers Bloom, Up, Moon, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Inception, Get Low, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Never Let Me Go, Social Network, Black Swan, The Fighter, True Grit, The Illusionist, Blue Valentine, Midnight in Paris, Tree of Life, and many, many other films of the past few years I haven't even mentioned would all like a word with you.

SPomposello profile image

SPomposello Hub Author 6 months ago

Bruce Helmick,

I didn't say *all* of today's movies suck, but *most*. I have no issues with the movies you mentioned. If you re-read my second paragraph, I stated:

"Mind you, I'm not talking about all movies released in the 21st century, but most."

My point is there's an overwhelmingly bigger number of bad movies nowadays then there were before.

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