Why Movies Suck Now Part Two: The Reality

[KEM10]

My favorite part that you didn't include was the Thursday night releases (and even Wednesday or even Tuesday) because they can count those extra days as their weekend opening. That, and they are releasing more mindless action films because they are easier to translate for a world wide audience, an explosion or half naked woman are the same in every language.

The niche group of women (any age) are being catered to more because men aren't going to theaters in the same droves. Rationalizing a $50 video game for 20 hours of entertainment vs. $20 for 2 (maybe 3) at a theater. Also, I believe women are less likely to pirate films, so more revenue that way.

 

[bojac6]

I was interested by his dubbing comment. I hate dubs. I HATE dubs. I can't watch a dubbed movie because it completely ruins the film for me. I can understand how people might argue that anime can be dubbed (since its a cartoon) but as someone who watches shitloads of anime I've found English dubbing to be almost universally awful. Even "good" dubs are inferior to the original so I see no reason in watching them. What usually happens though is they get mediocre voice actors to try and match the lips, which were meant to sync with Japanese, not English, and they end up speaking awkwardly and devoid of the proper emotions to compensate.

That's just anime though. Dubbed LIVE ACTION movies are inexcusable. You can kind of pretend the lips sync if its a cartoon but with real actors it looks incredibly stupid.

Anyway tl;dr, fuck dubs.

I have to disagree about anime dubs in at least three specifics. The Japanese voices for Ghost in the SHell, S.A.C. are awful, the American voice actors did a much better job and I simply cannot watch that show subtitled anymore. Secondly, Cowboy Bebop holds up very well with the dub job and I have absolutely no problems with it. Finally, most Miyazaki films have great dub jobs and in some cases (Princess Mononoke for example) the English dub is my preferred version.

I'd have to agree, besides while dubbing may be better on the whole it's also an acquired taste. Also, if you've never laughed because of a horribly dubbed Kung Fu movie then you have no true sense of humor.

YES! Bad Kung Fu dubbing is amazing. My favorite example is Kung Fu Cult Master. That's the actual translation of the title. However, when it was first dubbed, the guy translating the title called it "Kung Fu Colt Master" and so they all just ran with it. That movie is fantastic. Everyone must see it. Dude makes his own heart explode in order to preserve his honor. He does this by just standing there and flexing, naturally causing blood to spray everywhere.

 

[Zero=Interrupt]

Two words: bad writing. The script can make or break a movie no matter how good the acters are.

 

[Escapefromwhatever]

I have to disagree with points numbers two and three. Two, while a believable enough idea, is not backed up thoroughly enough, as television and magazine sales are not a proper measure of the public's intelligence. I'm not contributing to those T.V. news ratings all that often, for instance, as I get most my news through reading articles from CNN, NPR, BBC, and various other sources on the internet. T.V. news is too filled with fluff and bias for me to want to watch it. At least with articles, I can try to filter that out more easily. News on the internet also has the advantage of being more timely. I don't have a hard time seeing T.V. news dying in an intellectual age. As for Us Weekly outselling Newsweek, the only thing I can suggest is that people are buying TIME instead- like I do. You've got me there, at least by a little bit.

As for your 3rd point- bullshit. Yes, movie geeks can act like jerks, but is it really too much to ask for quality product before we buy overpriced tickets? We have the right to demand good movies, and, if we don't get them, keep our damn money. The theaters aren't entitled to anything of ours, and I am not a fan of settling just to support a floundering industry that is producing a substandard product.

Good points on everything else, though =).

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'm glad I live in Holland where live-action movies don't get dubbed, unless there're for kids.

I really dislike dubbed anime, but dubbed live-action movies should be fucking outlawed. I once caught a few seconds of the dubbed version of Crouchging Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the mental scares have yet to heal.

 

[Fearzone]

To me, most of what I find sucking today in movies that we haven't seen in decades past are crappy, implausible special effects from cheap CGI. Time was when special effects were a real craft that took both ingenuity and an artistic sense to design and patience to handle the modelling. There were always hits and misses but CGI turned things cheap and horrid.

I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey (from 1968 if memory serves) on Blu-Ray not long ago, and as I watched the hominid scene in the beginning I knew for a fact that if the same scene were made today it would not have looked as realistic or anywhere near as good. That is something that movie audiences have lost in new productions with the transition to computer-driven production. Blade Runner is another example of a movie that hasn't only aged well from the early 80's but has aged gloriously, due to the fine craftsmanship and artistic sense throughout.

 

[cathou]

Dubbed movies? I don't think so. If you're too lazy to read subtitles, you don't deserve to watch the movie. Besides, have you heard a dubbed movie before? The English speaking voice actors pout about as much emotion into it as a cardboard box, and the only exception I've seen is Afro Samurai, and that's because they had Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Perlman acting in it.

Ok the fact that you actually say "you don't deserve to watch the movie" shows you're an elitist snob. I agree I fucking hate dubbing it always sounds terrible. So I watch subtitled versions. Let's face it most theaters won't have foreign films anyway so chances are you'll be waiting for the DVD so you'll have that option. Things like Avatar are going to be dubbed because well they're usually aired on channels like Nickelodeon so they're not going to alienate young kids (i.e. the majority of people who watch the channel).

in my case the situation is reverse, on an average summer, we got maybe 3 to 6 local productions in theatre. and while my english is fairly good, i still need to do a counsious effort to translate what i heard in my head, and when 80% of the movie we see is american, i wouldnt stand to see 80% of the movies in another language. so i'm very glad we have access to dubbed movies. Beside, our voice actors are pretty good at their job, and they usually assign the same guy to one actor, so that he always get the same voice (granted sometime it's wierd to realised that the voice of johnny depp is also the voice of Etzo in AC2...)

 

[mattaui]

Dubbed movies? I don't think so. If you're too lazy to read subtitles, you don't deserve to watch the movie. Besides, have you heard a dubbed movie before? The English speaking voice actors pout about as much emotion into it as a cardboard box, and the only exception I've seen is Afro Samurai, and that's because they had Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Perlman acting in it.

I live in Germany, where EVERY movie is dubbed. The voice actors are definitely not bad, but usually not as good as the original actors (that and the fact that the voice is an integral part of a character and one of the most important things in acting, so it is understandable to want to hear it in the original language). Oh, and did I mention that there are probably around 15 voice actors that speak in EVERY SINGLE MOVIE? It gets old very fast. In fact, I rarely go to the cinema anymore because I can't enjoy films like this. I have to wait six months for the DVD release of Inception and hope to God that no one will spoil this for me.
tl;dr No one should be subjected to dubs and film buffs demanding subtitles is perfectly understandable.

Yeah, we're terribly spoiled in the English-speaking world because we can safely avoid dubbed or subtitled movies and still see the latest if not always greatest that Hollywood has to offer. For everyone else, it's learn English, but as you point out, the local theaters in your country still won't show them in English and you've got to deal with the same handful of people voicing every movie. I was trying to remember, but a few years back a famous voice actor died who had always been the voice of a major US star, and to the countries that he'd done the voices for, it was like the actor himself had died, since they'd never really heard him any other way.

I think the last point of the article (which I believe I mentioned in a post on the prior article's thread) is the most important. We suffer from the entirely predictable human response to idealize the old days and complain about the present. I think it's just nature's trick to make us, on a whole, never be happy with the status quo but to also leave us with generally warm fuzzies about our past because we thankfully forget most of the minor unpleasant experiences and remember the more positive ones.

Our films are a lot less neutered than they were in the 50s and 60s, but sure, they're as commercial as ever. Also, don't hold your breath thinking that we'll ever live in 'intellectual times', since we more assuredly never have, and people now are far more educated than they ever have been. The next time you contemplate how unsophisticated a NASCAR race or the latest action flick is, just be glad we don't have family outings for lynchings, go picnicking to watch an execution or cheer in the stands as people disembowel one another.

 

[RiffRaff]

I would agree that theaters get screwed but I think the studios are getting it. They realize they have to draw in audiences - hence IMAX and 3D. Both are crap IMO, but they get "butts in seats". Most people won't be getting a 3D 60ft TV soon so they go to the theater.

If ticket prices were reasonable I'd go to the theater more often. But when I can BUY the movie on BluRay for a little more than what it would cost to see it in the theater I can wait the few months.

 

[BlueCrossBlueShield]

Well to be truthful, I think the reason movies suck now is because they aren't fun... What do I mean by that? Well, lets take a look at a movie called Terminator 2. This movie is a very much loved film. But consider this, It has the biggest effects and large Hollywood budget like movies today have. But Terminator 2 has a couple of things other movies today lack.

-Characters we like and want to see live.

-Action scenes that have context and don't try to stretch their length for too long.

-A mix of Humor, Fear and other emotions. if characters in a movie hold the same emotional state in a movie for too long, it becomes boring.

this can also be said about movies like Star Wars.

In the movie Avatar, we mostly want the Military to win. Because the Na'vi are dull and boring. When you want the villians in a movie to win more then the Heroes, it's the movie makers fault.

In Star Wars, Darth Vader and The Emperor are great villians, but we don't want them to win.
The main characters in Star Wars are people who you feel like have become close friends to you, and you want to see them come out in the end A-OK.

I am not an expert critic, I am not the master of Critical Opinion. these are just my thoughts on why Movies suck now.

Absolutely amazing post! I applaud you for your eloquence and excellent insight.

 

[Falseprophet]

When I was a huge anime otaku about 10-15 years ago, I was a sub purist. But back then, English voice-dubbing was really bad. We had atrocities like Warriors of the Wind (the horrible hatchet job of Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind that led to Miyazaki not making any deals with North American distributors for over a decade) after all. Also, I thought all anime was gold at the time.

Now, I realize that anime is just as subject to Sturgeon's Law as anything else, and only a few recent titles really grab my attention. I also realized that most anime use the same seven stock voices: plucky hero, irritating sidekick, whiny schoolgirl, arrogant noblewoman, sneering badguy, monotonous antihero and cutesy monosyllabic animal/monster companion, and these annoyed the crap out of me. Plus, English voice-acting has gotten much better in recent years (though there are still butchers like 4Kids lurking about).

Foreign films I'm less tolerant of dubbing. It's usually done poorly--I saw the German WWII film Stalingrad in a history class once, and was pissed off at how they gave the characters cheesy Schwarzenegger-style accents. I would have preferred the stereotypical Queen's English Nazis to that malarky. Also, unlike anime characters whose mouths have basically two positions (open or closed), it's harder to map translated dialogue to a live actor's lips.

That said, I usually watch DVDs with both English vocal track and subs on, so I don't miss any lines of dialogue.

 

[geizr]

Well, you certainly have number 3 correct. Geeks seem to always be hell-bound to forget that there were many things that they do enjoy(such as several movie releases as of late) and instead make themselves miserable by remaining focused on the things that they did not like. Maybe this is why geeks are such assholes about everything; we've persisted in making ourselves a bunch of miserable, pathetic, insular, bitter old farts(you don't have to an old person, just have the attitude) that have concluded life is worthless and valueless before we've even really lived it. If this is always going to be the attitude and perception, may as well just find a bridge now and get it over with. It is far better, in my opinion, to focus on the things you do find good, sharing them with whomever you please, than to waste time and energy constantly setting up the ***** and Whine Festival over things you didn't enjoy.

One can not expect everything to always appeal to one's own tastes and perspectives. There are many different people in this world with many different views in life and what makes life worth living. If you want everything to be according to the dictation of your personal preferences, then you will have the same situation as you perceive it now, only it will be a different group making the same complaints. You find the things you like that give you pleasure and focus on those things, and you toss aside the things you don't like and don't waste time and energy on them.

Of course, if constant bitching about anything and everything is the only thing that gives a geek any amount of joy and satisfaction in life, then, I guess, by all means, carry on. Just don't be surprised that others may have grown fatigued of listening.

 

[JRShield]

If the movies of now suck, how do you explain films like District 9, the hurt locker etc. etc.

Good movies are still being made, there's just more crap to waid trough before you can get to them.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Movie Theaters, had it coming. (Insanely) overpriced food, barring people from openly bringing food from other places into the theater, ticket prices (given there is a reason for this) and the damned stupid recycle your 3D glasses so we can sell them back to you next time. I like the rest of the article, but theaters get no sympathy from me, though I'm probably biased because they attempted to card me when I tried to get tickets for up, claiming I needed physical state marked proof that I was over 18 to buy tickets for a G movie, that and well, the prices.

The food is overpriced because we wouldn't be able to stay open if it wasn't in most cases we get about one or two euro per ticket. So even in a best case scenario in a six screen theatre like the one I work in a good day is about 2000 customers. 4000 euro (compared to weekdays when we'd usually draw in about 200-300 so 400 to 600 euro). Then the fact that the theaters are pretty much dead all week from September to May except for holidays and huge releases. We'd be lucky to break even if we charged regular store prices for the concessions. Besides we actually can't stop people bringing in food.

I have to agree. I work at a theatre, a.. well.. maybe not a BIG theater, but its a decent sized one. 15 screens, ranging from "fire safety permitted" numbers of about 100 to about 245. And he's right about profit. I asked my manager why its so busy on christmas and why he enjoys it instead of blowing his brains out from the stress and he says its becuase he makes ALL of his profit in the weeks of Mid December to Mid January (you know, "winter" vacation). Plus, he told me wat we make on ticket prices. $.04 Thats from a $5.5/4.5 matinee and a $8.5/4.5 night ticket (not counting the $3 sur charge of 3D glasses). He then has to take out customers who complain about a movie and ask for a refund AND a free ticket (cause people a bloodsucking leeches my words not his), and the people who sneak in nad take up a seat that we cnat use or try to use a pre ripped ticket to get in. Its a very, VERY unbalanced business equation that leaves most theatres in the red for basically all year.

So when people complain that food is overpriced, or that someone is acting up, It makes me sick that i have to agree becuase no one gets that movie companies are not giving us these movies for free and that they arent giving the public a movie out of the goodness of their heart. So thank you movie bob for (hopefully) enlightening some people, and claps for anyone who actually gets the system.

 

[Drejer43]

I don't understand reason 3, you want films to be dubbed, subtitled or neither?
Dubbed Films suck but subtitle is okay, I can't see the great thing about watching a film you cant understand.

 

[snowman6251]

I was interested by his dubbing comment. I hate dubs. I HATE dubs. I can't watch a dubbed movie because it completely ruins the film for me. I can understand how people might argue that anime can be dubbed (since its a cartoon) but as someone who watches shitloads of anime I've found English dubbing to be almost universally awful. Even "good" dubs are inferior to the original so I see no reason in watching them. What usually happens though is they get mediocre voice actors to try and match the lips, which were meant to sync with Japanese, not English, and they end up speaking awkwardly and devoid of the proper emotions to compensate.

That's just anime though. Dubbed LIVE ACTION movies are inexcusable. You can kind of pretend the lips sync if its a cartoon but with real actors it looks incredibly stupid.

Anyway tl;dr, fuck dubs.

I have to disagree about anime dubs in at least three specifics. The Japanese voices for Ghost in the SHell, S.A.C. are awful, the American voice actors did a much better job and I simply cannot watch that show subtitled anymore. Secondly, Cowboy Bebop holds up very well with the dub job and I have absolutely no problems with it. Finally, most Miyazaki films have great dub jobs and in some cases (Princess Mononoke for example) the English dub is my preferred version.

I'll concede that Miyazaki films have decent dubbing because they're voiced by professionals and the lips are edited to fit the English.

That being said I still prefer the original. Don't mess with a good thing.

 

[emeraldrafael]

I don't understand reason 3, you want films to be dubbed, subtitled or neither?
Dubbed Films suck but subtitle is okay, I can't see the great thing about watching a film you cant understand.

Cultural aspect?

I dont know, I like watching foreign movies without subs or dubs cause then you have to pay attention and read a character to know whats happening.

BUt then again, sometimes i like to know wat people are saying. Movies like Citizen Cane goes to washington are nice subbed, becuase its a deep story and text heavy. But dubbed movies always bother me cuase it just never seems right. there's always that delay, or the person's mouth will move different, and it just looks bad and is distracting. to me at least.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Same reason why game qaulity is low.....the mainstream audience are idiots, more idiots to sell down to less time and effort you have to put into the medium..... sad but true....

 

[Sprizmo]

Great article Bob.

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

Well, we could deal with #4 by phasing out theathers,

Then how would films make any money?

and quick question. Do you include yourself under those elitist snobs, or is it everyone but you? Because if you don't, well, that sounds pretty egotistical to me.

Of course he includes himself. Bob has never shyed away from admitting to his own geekiness, snobbery and biases.

Personally, I like intelligent movies, but I also like unintelligent ones. The Transformers films are the Painkiller or Saints Row 2 of movies. They aren't intelligent, they're fun. I don't go to see them to see a good plot, I go for giant robot fights that melt ILM computers.

Boy, you must have been PISSED with Revenge of the Fallen then. Instead of giant robot fights, you had a movie full of stupid teen-romance garbage, "wacky" comedy and pointless human characters running around doing military things! Even goddamn Devastator didn't do anything except did a giant hole in the desert and wave his robo-balls in your face! (Incidentally, these and no others are exactly the reasons why Bob keeps ragging on it!)

If you do indeed acknowledge that the majority of movies aren't good, then really, stop bemoaning the quality of movies these days and just accept that as a part of life. Not everything has to be high cinema. Yes, it's nice when we get an Inception every once in a while, and I really liked that movie too. But just because you didn't like Transformers or Twilight doesn't mean it's worthless. Somebody likes those movies. Hell, I'll openly admit to liking the first Transformers film, and I'm sure you'll recall that I have. But I don't believe that it's a reflection on my IQ. Sometimes I just like to sit back and watch a movie that's lightweight entertainment. I see nothing wrong with that. No, the second one wasn't good, but not for the same reasons you've said (in short I blame the writer's strike).

While it's nice to be a bit laid-back every now and then, what you're basically suggesting is that we say "this movie sucks, but that doesn't matter". Or even "I could say this movie sucks, but I don't want to be a whiner so go see it anyway, four stars!" Basically, endorsing shittiness. You know what the consequences of that would be? We'd get even LESS good films because filmmakers would come to realise that they have no reason to bother trying any more. After all, if critics don't criticise, why bother trying? Only those who genuinely "do it for the art" would make any effort at all. The only way you're going to get better quality is to constantly demand better, to hold people to higher standards. You won't always get what you want, but you have to make the effort.

I don't understand reason 3, you want films to be dubbed, subtitled or neither?
Dubbed Films suck but subtitle is okay, I can't see the great thing about watching a film you cant understand.

What he's saying is, stop being such an elitist douchnozzle by insisting that if a film is dubbed to help it appeal to a wider audience then it's been "ruined". A lot of people won't go and watch a subtitled film (see reason #2) so if you're demanding that it NOT be dubbed then you're saying you want the film to fail. Some fan you are.