I have trouble with OLD old old movies.....getting through Citizen Kane, Metropolis, Gone With the Wind....that's a REAL chore for me. But I absolutely understand their undeniable importance in shaping cinema as we know it. Hell, even "Triumph of the Will" and "Birth of a Nation" did that, but I'm sure those will be "memory holed" sooner rather than later.
But ever since the modern era of "new wave" American cinema was ushered in, (some argue with "Bonnie and Clyde") I can really get into a lot of movies from that era. I have a certain time window of movies where, in my small humble opinion, cinema hit its peak....starting in the very late 60s to the very late 90s. There's a few dozen movies I think are classics or even masterpieces in the 2000s, but VERY few.
Almost all of it is just this formulaic, soulless, heartless PRODUCT. It's not art, it's not "cinema"......it's ESSSS HHHH EYE TEEEEE.
I know I've become an unpopular poster in this section because of those opinions but I can't help it. I'm a grouch. I see behind the curtain. I can't just "turn my brain off and just enjoy the dumb movie for two hours."
I'm like Cypher in the Matrix (one of the last true masterpieces) where instead of seeing green text he sees people. When I watch the current Hollywood product I don't see what's on the screen. I see the collection of accountants in a boardroom saying "We need more Chinese stars to be a big draw in China or else we're not gonna get the numbers we want." "Yeah, we better cut this third of the movie or it's not gonna pass their criteria and they'll ban it." "If we take this character and up his cuteness factor by 25% we're gonna move a lot more units in the 4th quarter for Christmas."
Depressing.
He's edgy. He's in your face. You've heard the expression "let's get busy." Well, this is a dog who gets "biz-zay."
Can we put him in more of a hip-hop context? Forget context. He's gotta be a surfer. Give me a nice schmear of surfer. I feel we should "rastafy" him by 10% or so. Hmm. I think he needs a little more attitude.
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