Hollywood films suck-Quality movies are on Netflix

[Mojo Ram]

Okay not all films being churned out of the Hollywood system are bad....but the churn and burn formula of big money, big budget popcorn entertainment, reboots, remakes, six writers and a dozen producers attached to one movie made for a release date and an opening weekend of dollar signs has created a vacuum of being able to go out to the movies and get something a little different. Something creative, something original, or at least something semi-original and made well. Made well i said...and i'm not talking about the quality of the CGI or star power or how much it cost to make. I'm talking specifically about writing...story.

I love a good popcorn blockbuster every now & then but geezus man...it's BAD at the movies.
It's also bad on Netflix too quite often, lol....but there are some gems that come along from time to time. Usually they are independent films, no surprise.

I'll list some good ones that are either on Netflix now or have come and gone. Some are better than others and some of these are older but IMO these are worth a watch. Most of these are thriller, sci-fi, drama stuff.
If anyone has something to recommend post it. Can't be a shit movie though okay?


Radius
Backcountry
These Final Hours
The Ritual
Ex Machina
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Extinction
Under the Skin
The Signal
The Riftark Side of the Moon
Spectral
Triple Frontier
Apollo 18

Anyone got anything?

 

[Angry Ram]

Technically the Winter Solider wasn't a "summer blockbuster".

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Okay not all films being churned out of the Hollywood system are bad....but the churn and burn formula of big money, big budget popcorn entertainment, reboots, remakes, six writers and a dozen producers attached to one movie made for a release date and an opening weekend of dollar signs has created a vacuum of being able to go out to the movies and get something a little different. Something creative, something original, or at least something semi-original and made well. Made well i said...and i'm not talking about the quality of the CGI or star power or how much it cost to make. I'm talking specifically about writing...story.

I love a good popcorn blockbuster every now & then but geezus man...it's BAD at the movies.
It's also bad on Netflix too quite often, lol....but there are some gems that come along from time to time. Usually they are independent films, no surprise.

I'll list some good ones that are either on Netflix now or have come and gone. Some are better than others and some of these are older but IMO these are worth a watch. Most of these are thriller, sci-fi, drama stuff.
If anyone has something to recommend post it. Can't be a crap movie though okay?


Radius
Backcountry
These Final Hours
The Ritual
Ex Machina
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Extinction
Under the Skin
The Signal
The Riftark Side of the Moon
Spectral
Triple Frontier
Apollo 18

Anyone got anything?

How do you say it can't be crap, and then put Back Country on the list? That movie was awful. It was stale writing with dialogue and horrible acting.

 

[Karate61]

How do you say it can't be crap, and then put Back Country on the list? That movie was awful. It was stale writing with dialogue and horrible acting.

I liked Back Country...it was terrifying!

 

[RamFan503]

From HBO and Showtime series to Netflix movies and series and even AMC, there are few reasons for me to go to the movies these days. There are of course a few movies I just have to see on the big screen but not that many when I have my 60" and surround sound and head in my wife's lap while not having to deal with noisy kids or people kicking the back of my seat or talking.

 

[fearsomefour]

From HBO and Showtime series to Netflix movies and series and even AMC, there are few reasons for me to go to the movies these days. There are of course a few movies I just have to see on the big screen but not that many when I have my 60" and surround sound and head in my wife's lap while not having to deal with noisy kids or people kicking the back of my seat or talking.

I still like going to the movies quite a bit.
But I go most times during the day.
But I'm telling you older people are worse than the kids now.
Freaking boomers. Ruin everything.
When I go a movie and see a bunch of grey hairs I know it is likely gonna be full of people talking in normal speaking voices, some jack ass who didn't turn his off or on movie mode, people getting up and leaving and coming back.
Drives me insane.

 

[EastRam]

I still like going to the movies quite a bit.
But I go most times during the day.
But I'm telling you older people are worse than the kids now.
Freaking boomers. Ruin everything.
When I go a movie and see a bunch of grey hairs I know it is likely gonna be full of people talking in normal speaking voices, some jack ass who didn't turn his off or on movie mode, people getting up and leaving and coming back.
Drives me insane.

You'll be at that age one day. Us old people have to pee a lot.

 

[Angry Ram]

I still like going to the movies quite a bit.
But I go most times during the day.
But I'm telling you older people are worse than the kids now.
Freaking boomers. Ruin everything.
When I go a movie and see a bunch of grey hairs I know it is likely gonna be full of people talking in normal speaking voices, some jack ass who didn't turn his off or on movie mode, people getting up and leaving and coming back.
Drives me insane.

I find that going to the shows with expensive tickets (i.e., imax), the people are all respectful. I've been lucky each time I went to the big Marvel movies. Always opening weekend, always imax. Everyone knew their role and shut their mouths. Even Endgame, sure there was some applause and "wooing" but nothing obnoxious. Watching both Infinity War and Endgame at the theater for my first viewing in imax is something I'll never forget!

Then I went to go see Aladdin (Aladdin!) at the commoner's price and these old soccer mom bitches that wouldn't shut the hell up. First they arrive late, shining their damn phone loudly counting each seat they pass (OK THERE'S 11, 12, 13, 14,...OH HERE WE GO OMGZ! THIS IS 15 AND 16 WE ARE SITTING HERE!!!!), talking to each other DURING the movie, opening their damn phone AGAIN, going "OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH" every few minutes. Fuck me, man.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Yeah, Hollywood... they have lost their fastball.

It seems all we get is remakes these days.

 

[fearsomefour]

I find that going to the shows with expensive tickets (i.e., imax), the people are all respectful. I've been lucky each time I went to the big Marvel movies. Always opening weekend, always imax. Everyone knew their role and shut their mouths. Even Endgame, sure there was some applause and "wooing" but nothing obnoxious. Watching both Infinity War and Endgame at the theater for my first viewing in imax is something I'll never forget!

Then I went to go see Aladdin (Aladdin!) at the commoner's price and these old soccer mom bitches that wouldn't shut the hell up. First they arrive late, shining their damn phone loudly counting each seat they pass (OK THERE'S 11, 12, 13, 14,...OH HERE WE GO OMGZ! THIS IS 15 AND 16 WE ARE SITTING HERE!!!!), talking to each other DURING the movie, opening their damn phone AGAIN, going "OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH" every few minutes. freak me, man.

Yeah, sadly a common thing.
As a rule....if you feel the need to talk TO the move, you are a stupid person.
I used to go to the movies once a week when I had a midweek day off.
I only lost it twice. Once tossing a hand full of pop corn over my shoulder and woman and her horrible children and once sliding a guys cell phone hockey puck style about 10 rows up.
I've just given up.
"You a dummy"...."Don't go in there!!"....."He's lying".
Seriously, if you have to interact with a movie you are either mentally diminished or damaged in some other way.
Either way a 10 year sentence in a hard labor camp seems about right.

 

[fearsomefour]

Yeah, Hollywood... they have lost their fastball.

It seems all we get is remakes these days.

Lack of ideas and honestly just much easier than developing an actual new story with character development.
Combine that with so many other options now and it is tough.
Movies are still crowded, where I live anyway.
Movie theatres aren't going away.
I would like see more grown up movies with actual writing....but those seem to be the movies with four people in them.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Yeah, Hollywood... they have lost their fastball.

It seems all we get is remakes these days.

It's also over saturated with the superhero stuff.
Spanning over the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's we had the tv series of various iconic comic stuff. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Hulk, Wonder woman.

Then we got the films of Superman in the 80's, then Batman in the 90's. Then with the success of Nolan's Batman reboots starting in '05(which was right about the time that the remake/reboots of just about everything else started...i'm talking about even the non-superhero material) we've been getting pulverized with the superhero themes and reboots/remakes ever since. I was down with it for awhile years ago, but it's probably the biggest cash cow theme out there today.

The best analogy i can use for this over saturation is turning on ESPN radio on any given time of year and all they talk about is Tom Brady, LeBron James or Tiger Woods. Enough already.

I do think that some films and/or tv series deserves and/or needs to be remade, but there's so much of what has been remade that did not need a revisit. A lot of it has been done half-assed too.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I would like see more grown up movies with actual writing....but those seem to be the movies with four people in them.

I Lol'd but you're right.

 

[Mojo Ram]

This is going to sound far too simplistic but i believe that with music and film....it's just becoming more and more difficult to create something original because of time. History. Film has been around for what? Around 100 years? Music much longer obviously but what we'd call contemporary music for not that long.

There's only so much toothpaste you can squeeze from the tube. Technology has advanced music and film over the last 100 years for sure, allowing for more creativity, expression and craft but in terms of fundamentally writing story or writing music...99% of the new ideas have been used up.

Some hyperbole there with that 99% number, but if say...Phil Collins, Stanley Kubrick, Paul McCartney or Steven Spielberg for example were thrown into the fold today as young artists, would they look as genius as they did 30 years ago? Would their creative sauce be full? I kind of doubt it.

It's all been done before. As a result Hollywood is churning out the remakes/reboots at a dizzying pace. I'm not bashing the young musicians or writers of today either. It's simply getting more and more difficult to separate yourself by creating something fresh. More difficult than it was 20 yrs ago, and 20 yrs before that and so on.
It's simple math really. There are only so many chords on a guitar, there are only so many storylines that can be written, there are only so many ways one can construct a song, there are only so many camera angles one can shoot from, there are only so many characters that can be made from the source material of one's mind.

New technology may be the only thing left to inject fresh life into the state of modern music and film IMO. I'm not sure how i feel about that.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

It’s those fucking Chinese
I have been railing against the loss of the last American export for ages - Culture.
It’s gone folks.
Dead.
Buried.
RIP.
Hollywood has been stroking off the Chinese audience for the last decade for $$$$$ and the decline in quality films has suffered greatly in favor of superheroes. Chinese dictate what their people get to see - that means Hollywood is being censored by China. Next time you watch a movie like Avengers or the fucked up Benedict Cumberbatch superhero movie know you are watching a film tailored for a Chinese audience.
Fight back
Don’t watch that shit.
Grow up and demand movies for adults that address the human condition and not people with super powers meant for a Chinese audience

 

[Angry Ram]

It's also over saturated with the superhero stuff.
Spanning over the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's we had the tv series of various iconic comic stuff. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Hulk, Wonder woman.

Then we got the films of Superman in the 80's, then Batman in the 90's. Then with the success of Nolan's Batman reboots starting in '05(which was right about the time that the remake/reboots of just about everything else started...i'm talking about even the non-superhero material) we've been getting pulverized with the superhero themes and reboots/remakes ever since. I was down with it for awhile years ago, but it's probably the biggest cash cow theme out there today.

The best analogy i can use for this over saturation is turning on ESPN radio on any given time of year and all they talk about is Tom Brady, LeBron James or Tiger Woods. Enough already.

I do think that some films and/or tv series deserves and/or needs to be remade, but there's so much of what has been remade that did not need a revisit. A lot of it has been done half-assed too.

You may call it over-saturation, but I call it historic.

When was the last time a series of movies spanning 10 years, each of top quality, that interacted with each other and created an entire world in itself?

Each of these films had their own character development and writing that everyone is clamoring for, which is why the team-up movies were so much fun, and especially Endgame when all the character's stories came full circle.

If this genre isn't your thing, fine, I'm not going to try and force you to watch something you aren't interested in. But to call them cash cows or money grabs or w/e, that's what I don't agree with.

BTW, the superhero renaissance started with Spider-Man back in 2002. The Christian Bale Batman movies are boring IMO.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

This is going to sound far too simplistic but i believe that with music and film....it's just becoming more and more difficult to create something original because of time. History. Film has been around for what? Around 100 years? Music much longer obviously but what we'd call contemporary music for not that long.

There's only so much toothpaste you can squeeze from the tube. Technology has advanced music and film over the last 100 years for sure, allowing for more creativity, expression and craft but in terms of fundamentally writing story or writing music...99% of the new ideas have been used up.

Some hyperbole there with that 99% number, but if say...Phil Collins, Stanley Kubrick, Paul McCartney or Steven Spielberg for example were thrown into the fold today as young artists, would they look as genius as they did 30 years ago? Would their creative sauce be full? I kind of doubt it.

It's all been done before. As a result Hollywood is churning out the remakes/reboots at a dizzying pace. I'm not bashing the young musicians or writers of today either. It's simply getting more and more difficult to separate yourself by creating something fresh. More difficult than it was 20 yrs ago, and 20 yrs before that and so on.
It's simple math really. There are only so many chords on a guitar, there are only so many storylines that can be written, there are only so many ways one can construct a song, there are only so many camera angles one can shoot from, there are only so many characters that can be made from the source material of one's mind.

New technology may be the only thing left to inject fresh life into the state of modern music and film IMO. I'm not sure how i feel about that.

Storytelling has been around since mankind
Good ideas aren’t the problem
It’s the Chinese

 

[Dieter the Brock]

@Angry Ram
What exactly do you differ with what i said? That Chinese control Hollywood and what their audience demands are movies without human characters? Do you disagree that Hollywood is censored by the Chinese market they so cravenly want?

 

[Angry Ram]

It’s those freaking Chinese
I have been railing against the loss of the last American export for ages - Culture.
It’s gone folks.
Dead.
Buried.
RIP.
Hollywood has been stroking off the Chinese audience for the last decade for $$$$$ and the decline in quality films has suffered greatly in favor of superheroes. Chinese dictate what their people get to see - that means Hollywood is being censored by China. Next time you watch a movie like Avengers or the freaked up Benedict Cumberbatch superhero movie know you are watching a film tailored for a Chinese audience.
Fight back
Don’t watch that crap.
Grow up and demand movies for adults that address the human condition and not people with super powers meant for a Chinese audience

Complete bullshit man. These movies are GLOBAL. They are HISTORIC. That is a fact. There are people that were kids when Iron Man first came out and are now entering into adulthood with Endgame. They grew up with these movies, including myself.

You clearly haven't watched, or if you did, didn't bother to pay attention to the characters in these films and their evolution from 2008 to now.

I'm going to watch, and will continue to watch each and every single one of them.

BTW, the movie you are referring to is Dr. Strange. At least get the title right.

 

[Angry Ram]

@Angry Ram
What exactly do you differ with what i said? That Chinese control Hollywood and what their audience demands are movies without human characters? Do you disagree that Hollywood is censored by the Chinese market they so cravenly want?

I disagree with everything you said.