[Destor]

Originally Posted by Sepholio fwiw I think the current era of film is terrible. Maybe the worst. Everything is so routine and formulaic. Super hero movies are fun but fucks sake there are just way too many of them and they dominate all major releases. This is the era of needless reboots and unnecessary sequels that are never as good as the original even when you put nostalgia aside. I'd say this is a very fun era for movies, which is a good thing, but the quality compared to previous eras isn't the same. And like 98% of horror movies in this era are HORRIBLE. In terms of best eras, that's hard. The 70's were amazing but...I just have a soft spot for the 80's/90's, even stretching into the early 2000's. Probably because that's when I was growing up and a lot of the all time great youth movies came out in that time. Movies I can still watch right now. The action movies in the 90s were in a league of their own imo as well. And comedy really started taking off for me in the 90s too, at least for a few years until most comedies became generic romcoms or so overly stupid that you weren't laughing because it was funny, you were laughing because of how unbelievably dumb it was.

lotta good points here. Ill try to touch on them all

I dont inherently mind formulaic. Some stories arent about new twists and turns sometimes its about the ride. Its the ride thats failing.

With everything being CG now what we're seeing a rigidity in the production phase. If something isnt a working you cant pivot because the crew doing these massive digital productions has been at work on this sequence for 3 months already so youre married to whatever was discussed in the pre-production phase. This leads to films not being able to make adjustments and you end up with really rigid structures that suck the life out of the audience. Tired.

This definitely effects the big super hero films and is why all the action in those movies is so bland. Its not coherent with a directors vision. The action is largely so paint by numbers that you can nap during the action because the only time anything of note occurs is when the talking heads come back. The action does not in any way enhance the narrative. Its closer to a burden.

That said i do largely give the marvel films a pass and not just because i do tend to enjoy them. They are currently the only thing keeping the theaters doors open. So as flawed as they may be without them the entire industry would crumble. Its hard to be too hateful about that.

The writers are another big issue. Theyre hacks. Theres always been hacks of course but in this studio dominated climate now there's no room for visionaries on the big screen. Theyve all had to run to long form television for the most part...and thats getting strangled a bit too but thats a conversation for 2025.

Horror outside of South Korea is basically dead. Hasnt been a meaningful horror film since...fuck...Blair Witch? Scream? You might be able to say The VVitch but its not American it was just distributed by an American company. And if we do go back to scream as the last cultural horror hit thats a pioneer of the 70s carrying out his legacy. Which makes it even worse.

The comedy genre...social mine field. I dont know how you make a comedy in 2023. Every joke has a subject and behind every subject is a wounded duck to be championed and defended. All good comedy finds the line and intentionally crosses it...and what studio is going to even flirt with that. What does get released is so sterile that im perplexed that anyone involved didnt actively stand up and ask a pretty obvious question: "is any of the funny?" Like the song says you couldnt make a Mel Brooks movie today.

Originally Posted by ron the dial the hays code. essentialy what seph said. more or less self regulated censorship. i love movies from the 30s & 40s because of all of the workarounds they had to use to address "scandalous" topics while still staying within the rules. the screwball comedy genre especially. i'll have more to say on this whole thing when i'm not at work.

Id love to hear more. Old film doesnt get it its due. We've had decades to refine the craft but watching old films trying to solve problems we've since solved is fascinating to me.

And I'd like to resubmit the question to anyone not in agreement: if now isnt the worst peroid for film ever when was it?