Page 1 of They Don`t make them like used to anymore.

Does anyone think Barry Noman is right? They just don`t make films like they used to anymore? There are the odd great films like CTHD, Magnolia, American Beauty but there are so much crap out there now. The only thing studio boss see is Dollar signs, and film quailty come way down the list.

I personally agree with him, there aren`t many good films coming out that often now, may be about 5 great ones a year the most for the past 3 years. They are quite a few good ones but too many crap ones, I get proven right every time I walk into Blockbusters or the Warner cinema villege (15 screens) and I`ve either seen most of the films I want to see (blockbusters) or there are nothing I was dying to see (cinema).

The last time I had a feeling of "I waited ages for this" when walking into the cinema was CTHD, and that was 3 months ago. Not a film has made me feel that way since, The only few films I am waiting now is Pearl Harbour (but I bet that is more action than story line), Lord of the Rings (Peter Jackson`s career will be in the gutter if this turn out to be crap), Harry Potter (but I bet it won`t be as good as the book) and may be Star Wars - episode 2. Thats only 4 in the next 10 months!

This item was edited on Monday, 7th May 2001, 14:40

Barry Norman is too old to review films! The average age of the average cinema goer is 15-35, so hes well past it for reviewing the average film coming out. (l`m 29)

To say theres not many good films out any more is short-sighted. So many people think of the "good old days" and how there were better back then. The truth is in the past, there were only a few great films out each year anyway. Now a days theres just MORE films coming out each week.

Barry Norman, who l watched for years, only rated films which would end up at the Oscars. And anything which had a british connection he loved too!

Johnathan Ross is much better, younger and has a more open-minded approach.

Barry also moaned about Ang Lee doing THE HULK movie, personally that concept sounds great to me!

as for 2001 films.....

Shrek
Planet of the Apes
A.I.
Final Fantasy

Well ,what the heck does jonathan woss know about films either.I have listened to both and when i have watched the films I am afraid usually I am of a totally different opinion.I hate critics it`s just there own personal opinion after all.
As for waiting for films to come out Alien was the last one I can remember eagerly waiting for.
Royd

But then if `blockbusters` ain`t your thing, then there`s always been a thriving alternative cinema scene.

I think that Barry Norman tended to be very dismissive of anti-genre films (ie the unpigeonhole-able ones), whereas at least Woss will glance at them and give an honest opinion.

I`ve always been a bigger fan of off-the-wall films, and I have to say that DVD has opened my eyes to a lot of films I p`raps wouldn`t have bothered with before, and it`s mainly down to recommendations from visitors to this site - eg James said buy `Audition`, I thought `Hmm, like the sound of that`, bought it and was well made up with it. Just goes to show that not all Japanese films have to be about martial arts - I enjoyed the film because I learned a lot about Japanese culture, which really put meat on the bones of recent social psychology work that I`ve done - all useful stuff.

Don`t get me wrong - I love no-brainer films too, but I always feel a new film should be a LIVING experience - one about REAL LIFE - and not some Hollywood botch-job (U571 can kiss my Limey ass). Hence, films by Mike Leigh or Alan Parker will always get my vote.

I think that the comment above about there `never being a golden age` in cinema is spot on - there`s only ever three or four each year which really do stand head and shoulders above the rest. The great news is that, with a bit of digging and open-mindedness from us all, there is plenty of other stuff out there waiting to be seen by you. You`ve just got to want to find it, rather than being spoon-fed endless s***e by Hollywood.

Just my take on things, anyway...

Have to agree Clayts dvd has also opened up my outlook on film and I now watch far more variety than I did before.OOOH MY BRAIN HURTS.
Royd

Look.
Wots wrong with crap films?
we`ve all seen them - and we all argue incessantly over what is a crap film

I personally, watch as many films as I can at the local fleapits and make my own judgement as to buying them on DVD.
Crap films only get a single viewing. But they show you what a good film should be - give you some point of reference. After all, how can you tell good without the bad (& the Ugly!!:-))

My crap films are not anyone else`s crap films. Do I care? - no.

Opinions are personal things and only influence the weak minded(lets face it you`ve gotta be a lamer to agree with Wossy all the time and the same goes for Norman - my namesake!)

Review programs should just tell me what the film`s about, show me a clip & give some FACTS about the film and its production. Anything else is irrelevant (to me). At least untill I`ve seen it!

just my 4p worth...

SN

Just to clear things up, I am 22 and in general avoid British films because they are normally very depressing and crap. Twin Town was good? No. But there are the occasional good ones.

And I am not into those Hollywood Blockbusters either, I enjoy them as an mineless past time but I need something more. www.Rottentomatoes.com is a great site to find out if a film is worth seeing as it summerise loads of Reviews together to give you a bigger picture.

And on you comment on "Now a days theres just MORE films coming out each week." That`s no excuse on putting out crap after crap because there are more films coming out, there should be more good films coming out because there are more films. It seems the ratio has gone out the window.

But I do want to see A.I and Final Fantasy (love the games) can`t wait for that one.

Well for my 1p worth I think there are tonnes of things that contribute to a film being good/crap. The story-line, the actors, the director, (if adapted from a good book) the conversion from script to screen, and last but not least . . . the music!!

I was amazed when some of my workmates (well a handful of them) said that they didn`t really enjoy American Beauty when it came out at the cinema. I thought it was refreshing. Look at Terry Gilliam`s "Brazil" and "Twelve Monkeys". I`ve always had a spot for paradox type story lines that are carried out well.

Another thing is people`s tastes change too. One block of years you`re into your action movie with cliches and "on liners" when the hero finishes off a baddy, then you`re into something like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

To finish with an old saying, "Sometimes a change is as good as a rest".

BB.

Unsurprisingly, Norman is wrong again. Bazza either doesn`t remember the gross tedium of Hollywood eras past (and given his habit of changing his mind on movies once they slip into fashion, this wouldn`t surprise me) or he is merely interested more in independent and art-house cinema than he is in mainstream films, this I doubt, since his tastes are astonishingly mainstream.

The truth is, no one, least of all audiences who pay good money to see Hollywood films, have any right to wax lyrical about the declining quality of a product about as reliant on artistic invention as a file manager (um, the answer is simple: don`t go). Its not that movies suck more now than they have in the past (if you want to argue, toss a coin) its simply that through the multiplexing of cinemas, good movies are harder to find.

--Mike

I don`t ever remember an era where there were good films released every month. I think its probably just Barry`s selective memory, he recalls the good uns but unsuprisingly forgets how much crap came out the same year.

However, I`ve always liked Barry Norman because although I don`t always agree with him, he is very consistant in his views and I can always work out whether I will enjoy a film based on what he liked/disliked about it.