summer blockbusters

sebbyp

sebbyp

I walked out of transformers 2 satisfied, I was looking forward to seeing it all week and it played out all my expectations - hot girls, big robots fighting, a few laughs etc. What I'm hating on is all these pretentious people saying its a terrible movie and that michael bay is crap at what he does. I heard one guy say this after the movie. After an entire packed theater was walking out. like PACKED.

I've seen a few people say things like this here and thought that topic was worthy of thread of its own. I mean it doesn't have to be Michael Bay in particular - but Summer blockbusters. Just 'mindless' action movies.

The thing is that they SELL. They ENTERTAIN. And I think a lot of people forget that the whole point of film making is to sell your movies and entertain your audience. Look I'm all for emotional depth, a meaning behind a picture, but as filmmakers I don't think its what we have to focus on.
 
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I guess you like Britney Spears songs too, because she makes money and is entertaining ;)
 
it played out all my expectations - hot girls, big robots fighting, a few laughs etc.
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I'm sure it did, considering that's all it's meant to be.



What I'm hating on is all these pretentious people saying its a terrible movie and that michael bay is crap at what he does.
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See, that's the thing.

Michael Bay is not crap at what he does (making blockbuster movies). They bring in money hand over fist. His job is to make a film with hot girls, giant robots and a few laughs... and which rakes in the cash. He performs his job perfectly.

That still doesn't mean that the film is not crap, though.

Blockbuster films are created to the lowest common denominator - that's simply how to pack the most butts into a seat. If "explosions, chicks & a few chuckles" continue to be a working formula (as it has for the last god-knows-how-many years), then that's what will be continue to be presented to the paying public.

I seriously doubt this is going to change any time soon. It's a formula that works too well. Why change what ain't broken?

If there was a sudden change (ie: suddenly people not ponying up $12 to get a seat in a crammed theater)... then things will change. In twenty years time, it's possible (but not likely) that robot-donkey-sex will be the big thing an audience is willing to shell out for. If that's the case (and god help us all, if so), then that's what the studios will churn out.

Michael Bay will change his name to Michael Bray and the cycle will continue.



I've seen a few people say things like this here and thought that topic was worthy of thread of its own. I mean it doesn't have to be Michael Bay in particular - but Summer blockbusters. Just 'mindless' action movies.
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Well, sure. "Mindless action movies" are nothing more than they present themselves as.

But you know what?

The very same people that keep packin' the theaters with their butts are quite often the theater patrons clamouring for "something new"... or something different... anything but what mainstream Hollywood churns out. Dissatisfied with the staus quo. But on every hyped release of an action blockbuster, there they are, feeding the machine.

What does that say to the machine? "Keep up the good work. They'll be back."



The thing is that they SELL. They ENTERTAIN. And I think a lot of people forget that the whole point of film making is to sell your movies and entertain your audience.
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I can't argue with that.

Can't keep making movies, if they don't get shown and make no money.



Look I'm all for emotional depth, a meaning behind a picture, but as filmmakers I don't think its what we have to focus on.
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I can't disagree with you more strongly here.

It is a filmmaker's obligation to challenge the audience.

The thing is, the mass audience is not willing to be challenged. It's just the way people are.

It would take a massive shift to change studio behaviour.

That's not to say that studios aren't trying to cover their butts, though. Virtually every "indie" studio has been snapped up (just in case), and all of the big ones have created their own.

It all basically boils down to "how can we make the most money" (and nothing wrong with that, tbh), but it's going to continue to be meaningless bubble-gum crap for a long time.

...and seriously... who doesn't like bubble-gum? :)
 
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I was razzing him a bit. But being entertained is one thing. Sure sometimes you want to just go see some cheesy stuff blow up and not have to think, but that's not what motivates most of us to make films.
 
I'm sure a lot of you have seen "A Decade Under the Influence". If you haven't, you should. In a nutshell, it's about how studios lost touch with their audience around the mid sixties and... (a lot of factors taken out here to make this post reasonably short...) it opened the doors for filmmakers who had relevant things to say. Audiences were challenged and responded positively to what was coming out. It's an interesting documentary on how things went from bad to good to mind-numbingly bad ;) . And it's interesting that the mass audience was willing to be challenged at that point in time.

Maybe the cycle can repeat itself and swing back to good.
 
I love porn.

It's entertaining. It Sells.

Maybe we should all make porn? Screw meaningfull plots that make a person think about life.
 
I walked out of transformers 2 satisfied, I was looking forward to seeing it all week and it played out all my expectations - hot girls, big robots fighting, a few laughs etc. What I'm hating on is all these pretentious people saying its a terrible movie and that michael bay is crap at what he does. I heard one guy say this after the movie. After an entire packed theater was walking out. like PACKED.
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Okay, how come everyone who hates Transformers 2 is acting like some sort of "Elitist" who likes "pretentious crap."

For Christ's sake, i spent the weekend at a Godzilla Convention.


Michael Bay IS terrible at what he does. You do realize how BLESSED we've been with Summer Blockbusters. Iron Man, The Dark Knight.... These movies were critically praised, and liked by fans as well. Everyone loved them. Very few didn't. They weren't intellectual, not really, but were smart enough. The action scenes were made all the better by the great cast, the real emotional quality of their performances, and the fact that they both featured heroes fighting their own personal struggles.

These were the mindless summer blockbusters we got last year. Hell, I wanted a few good action scenes out of Transformers, and I wanted to like the characters, and want them to succeed. Is that too much to ask for? The action scenes were terrible. It's shooting aimless in the desert for much of the movie. During some of the Robot Fights, what happens? Let's not show that, let's show Shia LaBeauf looking at the fight!


And guess what? Dog's humping eachother is not funny.

Oh, but I'm just a pretentious person. I can't sit back and enjoy things for what they are...... I'm wearing a pin that says "I Love Gamera." When you can't do better than low budget Japanese monster flicks, you suck...... That's all their is to it.
 
sebbyp said:
Look I'm all for emotional depth, a meaning behind a picture, but as filmmakers I don't think its what we have to focus on.
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And you deserve respect for that opinion. But I
thing that as filmmakers we should focus on
what we (as individuals) want to focus on.

I hated that film. HATED it! If that makes some
of you think I'm acting like some sort of "Elitist"
who likes "pretentious crap" so be it.

My opinion is just as valid as those who liked it.
 
I don't agree that a filmmaker is obligated to challenge an audience per se. I think anyone who makes a living doing what they want to do is groovy.

A. BUT, obviously, an overwhelming market demand for one kind of product is going to cause some bitterness on the part of anyone who is trying to make another product. This can get exacerbated by the fact that market demand for huge action movies etc. can feel very much as though it was created by studios etc. It can start to seem like a very vicious cycle, one kind of movie sells well, studios invest in that kind of movie, that kind of movie sells even better, everyone else is shut out.
There is a certain extent to which this is just plain demographics- kids and especially boy kids are the people who spend the most money to see movies. That doesn't mean anyone has to like it.

B. Elitism is by no means contained to people who like artsy flicks, and I am getting hella tired of action aficionados yelling elitism every time someone doesn't like a big budget movie. Sebbyp, I promise this is not directed at you specifically, but there is a whole lot of action movie elitism out there. Dismissing any criticism of blockbusters as pretentious but then turning around and out of hand dismissing chick flicks as smalzy, indie flicks as inaccessible, and foreign flicks as obnoxiously arty (unless they are cool asian action flicks) is more then a smidgen hypocritical... and I hear it from people all the freaking time.

Did a movie do what it was intended to do? Is a very valid question/point of criticism. Was the movie well structured? Well acted? Challenging? Coherent? etc. etc. are also very valid questions/points of criticism and it is not invalid to ask them.

Ultimately there are two different things that will be asked when people think about whether or not a moive should have been made. One is "did it make money?", and that is answered fairly clearly in box office, foreign, and dvd sales. The other is "does it have artistic value?" and people can and likely will debate that forever. If you don't like the way the debate is going, don't listen :)
 
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