Things That Bother You About Moving Pictures

[Daikun]

A thing that bothers me about movies nowadays: Everything Needs a Fucking Cinematic Universe

It makes sense when Marvel (and maybe DC, if it works) does it. They want the movies to be similar to the way comics have their crossovers.

Sony announcing a Ghostbusters cinematic universe earlier this year seems iffy after their recent attempt to expand Spider-Man failed.

And now Universal announces... THIS. Fucking really?

[gunswordfist]

How the fuck is VD's old ass going to prequel anything?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, it does seem like a lot of franchise runners are trying to mimic Marvel's success without realizing that a shared Universe is something that works with the nature of comic books and comic book movies/shows, as well as the fact that to even pull off one successfully requires careful planning and years of groundwork to build up a Universe.

Marvel has it down thanks to having Kevin Feige as its head producer for their film division, and the Greg Berlanti-produced DC shows pull it off to great effect as well, but those are the results of being run by people who are actually fans of the material that they put out in the first place, and who know what they are doing, and know how to recruit other talent who know what they are doing to make their content.

Comparatively, other big companies that own big franchises are just trying to shoehorn in a big cinematic Universe just because they perceive it as the "hip" thing, now, but really have no clue what they are doing. This has critical and financial disaster written all over it.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I saw a video a while back that asserted that the whole Cinematic Universe thing is very limited. Only certain properties can do it. Specifically Marvel and DC because they're built for it.

Unfortunately for DC, they've got a whole other problem of holding their universe back because of petty feuds. Not least of all that their movie division refuses to acknowledge their TV division at every turn.

[talonmalon333]

They are apparently also planning a Universal monster movie universe.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, to be fair, at least the Universal Monsters have an established history of crossover films.

[talonmalon333]

Well, to be fair, at least the Universal Monsters have an established history of crossover films.

True, but that's countered by their track record with monster movies.

[Foggle]

Superhero cinematic universes can work because the comics are already like that, but in the case of other works, I think it's smarter to go the William Faulkner route of having every story take place in the same universe with few of them specifically connected to each other in any meaningful way.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm becoming increasingly irritated at this growing mentality that the superhero film genre is "killing cinema" and that modern blockbusters only cater to the lowest common denominator.

To be clear, I'm fine with people who just don't like most superhero or comic book movies. Several of my friends and most of my family fall into this category. What irritates me are the film snobs who insist that the oversaturation of the genre somehow hurts the wellbeing of the more artistically crafted films that they admire.

Firstly, the idea of "dumb" action movies which rake in huge box office dollars is not exactly unique to this genre, and has been going on in Hollywood since Star Wars. This generation, superhero films just happen to be really popular. After a while, some other genre will take the mantle. The thing that won't change is that more people will go to more accessible movies that interest more people in going to see them in the first place.

That doesn't mean, and has never meant, that people don't watch other stuff too. If the superhero genre primarily rules the Summer season, then arthouse films have their time in the spotlight too: it's called Oscar-season and it takes place between the Fall and Winter. Sure, these movies don't exactly break a billion dollars, but they still turn out sizable profits in proportion to their budgets, and while the audience might be more nitch, tons of people still go to see them.

So when people bitch and moan about the superhero genre stifling the creative market of Hollywood, I just have to roll my eyes because Hollywood has always had this problem in one form or another, and the more stand-out films have always been so few and far between. It's their infrequent occurrence that makes them so special in the first place.

At any rate, my point is that I don't see how one really popular genre of film is somehow running the medium in general. If you don't tend to like these movies, then don't watch them. There are still numerous movies being made that cater to other audiences, including critics and film snobs, and it's not like big-budget blockbusters are actually stopping them from being made or preventing people who want to see them from seeing them.

Also on that note, I hate the notion that if you like certain big blockbusters, most of them have to be seen as just "dumb" fun action movies that are guilty pleasures. If a movie is genuinely entertaining for doing a great job of being what it sets out to be, then that's because a lot of genuine talent and effort went into its development in order to make it as good as it was. The only stupid thing is the notion that you should have any reservations about enjoying them just because they aren't some deep or profound exploration of some theme or the other.

For the record, I love plenty of well-written, more deliberately paced films that tend to be critical darlings. In fact, most of my favorite films are composed of movies of that nature as opposed to action flicks. But that doesn't make me appreciate well-written and directed blockbusters any less when they really nail down what they set out to be.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Action movies as a whole haven't been that great recently. Partly due to the shaky cam obsession, but also due to lackluster writers (See the last Terminator movie, for crying out loud) and uninspired ideas. John Wick and Dredd were great, but they're in the minority. Superhero films, DC aside, have been on a roll for a few years now. If you want a good, fun action movie, well, you're gonna get it from a superhero film these days.

As for other genres of movies? There have been action movies since film began. They didn't stop any other genre from making their own films before, so why would they now? Just because Marvel chooses to make Civil War doesn't mean the kid that saw it would have gone to see the new Coen Bros. film if Civil War didn't exist. Audiences see the films that they want to see.

Not that I particularly care about the whiners. I haven't seen a single movie all summer, and that's not Marvel's fault. It's Hollywood's.

Simple answer? Make better movies that people want to see.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Honestly, I just thought that this was kind of funny more than anything else: http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/28/scholar-stephen-kings-it-is-bad-because-its-full-of-white-straight-able-bodied-males/

[Foggle]

Ew, Ian Miles "Tails" Cheong is working for the Daily Caller now? A match made in hell. I don't care to read the original article he's referencing but that guy has never written a single piece of actual journalism in his life so he probably deliberately twisted her words to make her sound stupid(er). He's been doing this since his "turbofeminist" days at Gameranx where he acted like the stereotypical SJW long before he pivoted to being an alt-right incel when he read a negative review of The Witcher 3.

Anyway, I don't know much about the original It novel but I'd say if anything makes it offensively bad it'd be the child orgy scene.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Which is why it's so funny to read his shit, even if unintentionally so.

Anyway, I don't know much about the original It novel but I'd say if anything makes it offensively bad it'd be the child orgy scene.

It's genuinely amusing to see Andrés Muschietti awkwardly react to interview questions inquiring whether he included that scene in the movie. It's like his eyes dilate in a way that says "are you fucking shitting me?" before he remembers to politely say no and then completely dodge the subject of even talking about it any further.

[Foggle]

 

[Dr. Insomniac]