Comments on: Open Forum Friday: Do Modern Blockbusters Take Themselves Too Seriously?

By: Victor Benavides

Victor Benavides — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:21:25 +0000

I don’t wanna get into an argument with any of you, but I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoy movies with realism incorporated into them, i.e. movies today. I’m not a big fan of films that look so ridiculously unrealistic that you’re forced to use your imagination to pretend it’s something that could potentially be real. Especially when a Hollywood-paid movie brings in props and uses backgrounds with quality equivalent to that of a high school drama club. That’s when it becomes a waste of money in my opinion. Not that I lack imagination, but I would like to relax my mind while watching a movie, and utilize my imagination while reading books, because that’s what books are for–not movies. I’m not dissing old school film either, so please, all of you diehards, don’t crucify me for that, because I realize the technology we have today wasn’t around back then. And to add to my last statement, I actually enjoy old films every now and again, but would never choose them over today’s, with the exception of a few I guess. I will also throw out there that I do agree that having too much of a good thing (technical effects) can become it’s own adversary. Put simply, what I’m trying to say is Modern > Old School.

By: ejje

ejje — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:16:27 +0000

@frank
You can always be self-reflective in your viewing, but what I think the article is getting at is the role of the direction in your experience of the film. One can usually see when material is presented without it, without a self reflective scene or a joke at the expense of the material (meta even better).

I think Red was a great example of this: it was the perfect balance between badass and ludicrous, good natured fun.

@eleanor Guy Ritchie always manages to find the perfect balance between shock jocking and hilarious quick witted quips, which kept the film from ever having so much somber time in a row as to let you reflect on it as serious.

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 18:51:02 +0000

No joke. Not saying any of these movies achieve depth or artistry, but it does feel like some of them are aiming for it.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 18:25:20 +0000

“The same topic came up earlier this summer with regards to Battleship, Snow White and the Huntsman and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. What do you think? Are today’s popcorn movies aiming too high in terms of depth and artistry or is that actually a good thing?”

Is this a joke?

By: Bas

Bas — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:11:54 +0000

I agree with Steve, with a remake or reboot give us something different. For the silly/childish/cartoony originals (like so many from the eighties), that often means the new version is serious/adult/gritty. Like any trend it collapses, when everybody jumps on the bandwagon. Snow White is actually the odd one out: that’s the rapping-granny principle at work.

The bigger offense is new properties (like Pirates, Transformers and The Matrix) that start off as fun, action-filled adventures and with the sequels turn into incoherent, convoluted, boring messes of movies.

By: Steve Kasan

Steve Kasan — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 14:52:17 +0000

slow news day???

There is room to have serious blockbuster films, fun blockbuster films, films that does not itself too seriously and of course films that is fun and pokes fun at its genre, i.e., Last Action Hero.
From all the reviews, and even being on set, the new TR is going for a more serious tone.
Would you want it to be the same as Arnold’s even though that is EPIC!?!?!

Just accept the film and what it is trying to do.

By: MrYoungGun

MrYoungGun — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 14:10:57 +0000

True, most of us go to the movies to be entertained. But I’m VERY entertained by dark, brooding, deliberate movies like the ones that Nolan tends to make. The pinnacle of movie-making to me is when a movie manages to wrap a character study up in the shell of a blockbuster, i.e. the latest round of Batman films. So no, I wouldn’t say they take themselves TOO seriously. Because the seriousness of the films is what’s appealing a lot of the times.

By: PlanBFromOuterSpace

PlanBFromOuterSpace — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 05:27:50 +0000

@15

This question was about blockbustery-type films, so no, those other films don’t really have a place, at least in this conversation. You really think it’s interesting that no one’s mentioned them? Okay…

By: Edward Carchia

Edward Carchia — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 21:22:00 +0000

It is interesting that not one comment reminds us that film can be a legitamite dramatic art form: comedy, tragedy or tragicomedy. What happened to films like ‘Treasure of the Sierra Madre’ ‘La Strada’ or the incomporable Ingrid Berman films? Don’t they have a place?

By: Eleanor

Eleanor — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 20:51:01 +0000

What about Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes? I loved the feeling of fun that was injected into the film, and I never felt like Holmes or Watson were taking themselves too seriously.

By: PlanBFromOuterSpace

PlanBFromOuterSpace — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 14:11:09 +0000

It’s when the tone is inconsistent or just a plain mess that I even really start to notice or care if a movie’s taking itself TOO seriously or not. Someone mentioned the Transformers movies already, which would go from discussions about the end of the world or something RIGHT to robot dick jokes or midgets appearing for no other reason than someone thinks that midgets are funny to just look at. The mixture is unsuccessful and often takes me out of the film. There’s taking yourself too seriously, there’s NOT taking yourself too seriously, and there’s “Are you fucking serious?”.

By: cap

cap — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 08:24:41 +0000

To me a good movie is a good movie. I don’t care if it’s serious or playful, dark and heavy or light and funny. Some of the movies that Sean mentions aren’t bad because they’re serious. They’re bad because they have shitty stories and lack of compelling characters. I would agree that people go to the movies to be entertained, but as The Dark Knight proved, masses can be entertained and satisfied with something dark and gritty. It’s not ‘either or’ situation.