Discussion » Questions » Television and Movies » Is it me or does the quality in movies continue to decline?
Rizz

Is it me or does the quality in movies continue to decline?

I feel the 80’s was an excellent decade for movies. The 90’s were ok. Since then I feel the quality has declined. Comedies are nowhere near as funny. The writing seems substandard to me. 

Posted - August 25, 2018
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Responses


  • "I agree."  In my opinion, the movie industry is relying too much on CGI to sell their product much like the music industry is relying too much on music videos to sell theirs.  The industry's "saving grace" is that the younger generation grew up with this STUFF and doesn't realize or care that there are options.  It's called progress.  :))
      August 25, 2018 1:36 PM MDT
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  • 1502
    I agree. People who write and act in comedies need to to watch greats like Bill Murray and Chevy Chase. The 80’s produced some of the funniest movies ever. Today’s writers and actors need to learn from the experts of the past. 
      August 25, 2018 1:54 PM MDT
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  • "Today’s writers and actors need to learn from the experts of the past."

    I wish it were that simple.  The movie industry is in it for the money.  They make what we buy. A new generation comes along and its not cool to watch or listen to what the parents watched or listened to ... so a new trend starts.  It happens to movies and music. Sometimes the new trends aren't so bad and sometimes they are. :)
      August 25, 2018 2:21 PM MDT
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  • 1502
    Don’t even get me started on music. There hasn’t been a new artist I care for in at least a decade. To my disappointment rock music seems to be losing popularity and less rock bands are coming out.
      August 25, 2018 2:25 PM MDT
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  • I couldn't agree more!  That's why lately I have been looking into other genres of music. One is Celtic Metal.  It's been around for a decade, but I just found it about a month ago.  I've been surfing through YouTube listening to as many as I can find!




      August 25, 2018 2:35 PM MDT
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  • It's not your imagination. Films have become dependent on gimmicks and special effects at the expense of acting, writing, story lines and overall presentation. I agree that comedy isn't nearly as funny as it once was. We've elevated crude, cheap shots and lost the art of laughing at so much of the human foibles that are a part of life and living. One proof of what we're talking about, is the reworking  and remaking of old films and television shows, without understanding what made them funny in the first place.
      August 25, 2018 1:37 PM MDT
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  • 1502
    I’m glad my I’m not alone. It’s all about toilet humor, sexual jokes, and crudeness. Long gone are people who understood comedy and how to deliver lines.
      August 25, 2018 1:56 PM MDT
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  • 19937
    I don't know how old you are, Rizz, but back when I was young, the best comedians were the ones who performed in the Catskill Mountains in NY State - Henny Youngman, Jack Benny, Buddy Hackett.  Jack Benny could evoke peals of laughter with just a gesture and a look.  Then came George Carlin and Robin Williams.  As for comedy in movies, Peter Sellers was stupendous.  His Pink Panther movies still make me laugh.  Years ago, the writing was creative whether comedy or drama and they weren't cookie cutter productions.  As for TV, they resurrected Hawaii Five-0 which actually turned out to be pretty good, but I attribute that to the cast.  Now that they had so much luck with that one, they are bringing back Magnum P.I. (which I will never get used to with someone other than Tom Selleck) and Murphy Brown.  She was adorable as a young woman and the show was funny, but somehow, I can't see her being as funny 30 years later doing the same schtick.  
      August 26, 2018 4:05 PM MDT
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  • 3523
    Edward Scissorhands came out in 1990.  It was then that I thought, "They are really out of ideas."  That was the beginning of decline for me.  So, yes, I agree with you but there are exceptions like Lord of the Rings and the Borne series.
      August 25, 2018 2:06 PM MDT
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  • 1502
    There definitely are exceptions. 
      August 25, 2018 2:10 PM MDT
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  • 14795
    Old films are so much better than the crap they make today...Actirs  got nothing in comparison to what they get today...The storylines are pathetic . and all rely on computer graphics for effects....
     Gone are the days when America made good films....films that made you think,cry or ager  you all in just a few seconds....
    The French made great filmed to...as at one time England did....
    There are to many super hero films that are nothing more the pure fantasy and give kids the impression that extreame violence hurts no one.....
    Mel Gibson had his toes smashed on his foot with a ten pound Ball Pein hammer....his foot was pulped ,yet he was still able to chase and kick ten other villains arse before walking off with his gal on his arm ,albeit with only half a foot less....
    Stupid film made and written by stupid people...it was called Payback I think...
      August 25, 2018 2:12 PM MDT
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  • 1502
    I couldn’t agree more. My biggest grievance is with comedies. I yearn for the days of Stripes, Spaceballs, Blazing Saddles, Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation, and The Naked Gun trilogy. Just to name a few.
      August 25, 2018 2:19 PM MDT
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  • 19937
    They would burn down the movie theater if they made a movie like Blazing Saddles today.
      August 26, 2018 4:06 PM MDT
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  • 1502
    I know.
      August 26, 2018 6:01 PM MDT
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  • 19937
    In fact, I remember seeing some clips from that movie not too long ago and I actually cringed.
      August 26, 2018 8:22 PM MDT
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  • 1502
    I find it hilarious. My best friend who’s black is the person who introduced me to the movie. He laughs at it more than I do.
      August 26, 2018 8:25 PM MDT
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  • 19937
    Like everything else, if you can look at yourself objectively and laugh at your own foibles, you will find some ethnic humor very funny.  Others are not willing to admit that this is how they appear to others, so find it offensive.
      August 27, 2018 8:42 AM MDT
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  • 551
    I agree that there aren't many good comedies being produced any more, but overall I don't feel I'm getting less enjoyment from going to the movies than I have in the past.

    But I tend to watch the less mainstream, less crowd-pleasing movies, the ones that don't get a very big release, as well as independent and foreign-language films, so maybe my experience isn't typical. If I were to list my top 5 favourite films from each of the last 10 years, I'm sure that at least 20 would be non-Hollywood. Superhero and franchise action movies are something I can take or leave. 

    In my opinion, if there was a low point for Hollywood, it was the early 2000s. This post was edited by Reverend Muhammadovsky at September 25, 2018 6:18 PM MDT
      August 26, 2018 1:37 AM MDT
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  • Surely all involved have to know it's a bomb after the premiere, but they have to attempt to recover some of the money lost.
      August 27, 2018 2:02 PM MDT
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  • 22891
    i dont think its you
      September 8, 2018 5:38 PM MDT
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  • 23577
    After reading all the answers and threads, I realize you've already said that there are exceptions. 
    I'd really like to recommend a movie from 2006.

    "Bug"   directed by William Friedkin

    I saw it in the theater for a matinee showing and I was literally the only person in the entire large theater. I had the time of my life. That movie simply blew me away. All these years later, its effect remains strong on me. On purpose, I read nothing about the movie before going. No plot spoilers here but it is nothing what one would expect from the title. I sat there, at the end, stunned, thinking "What just happened?" I still may not know the answer completely but, for unknown reasons, that still doesn't matter to me. I was taken on an unforgettable journey. I'm unaware of any weakness this movie may have.
    :)

    Image result for Bug 2001 movie William Friedkin This post was edited by WelbyQuentin at June 4, 2019 6:09 PM MDT
      September 25, 2018 6:29 PM MDT
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  • 23577
    Great answer, Welby.
    :)

    Friedkin's "Bug" is an exceptionally excellent film.
      June 4, 2019 6:09 PM MDT
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  • 6098
    My feeling has long been that motion pictures generally declined after the 1970s.  Or perhaps early 80s.  Which means I must be older than you.  Films are thought up and produced by and for people with certain mindsets.  Which I'm sure change every few years as new people come along who speak for their generation or to their generation.  Thus after a certain age we no longer can relate to what is being produced. I stopped going to movies in I think 1988.  I was 30. Occasionally I watch things after that on TV or DVD but they have on effect - no impact and they just seem either manufactured or politically correct or puffing a certain lifestyle and point of view.  Which I long ago defined for myself in part from the motion pictures I saw when I was young. 
      June 4, 2019 8:35 PM MDT
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