Comments on: The Tragedy of the American Film Industry

By: Brennan Karaba

Brennan Karaba — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:30:28 +0000

I agree with your arguments about special effects. I believe that CGI is one of the main contributing factors in the downfall of cinema. Watching classic movies like King Kong, Godzilla, etc. is always fun because you, as a viewer, try to think about how these special effects displayed before you could have been created without modern technology such as CGI. Now, when watching movies such as Cloverfield or War of the Worlds, you just know that there was no real creative thought process going on, and that graphic artists simply drew these monsters to life. My grandma always said, “Old is good.” As a kid, I thought she was crazy. How could something obsolete be better than current? I have come to realize that her statement is true in many cases such as movies, music, and video games (SIHS N64 Club meets every Monday in room 201. Best system ever– /end plug).

By: JStraitiff12

JStraitiff12 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:32:06 +0000

John-

I agree and disagree with multiple parts of your article. First off, I agree with your statement about horror films and how they are getting worse and worse. Nothing seems to compare to the classics like Halloween anymore. But, I do not agree with your statement about action movies, especially Batman. Some action movies aren’t great, but some are still very good and entertaining. You mention “magical explosions” and how they’re so rediculous, but isn’t that what makes batman fun? Batman has always been like that and yet sooooo many people love it. These comments don’t just go for batman, too. Yes, movies prices are rediculous and yes all movies aren’t glorious and perfect, but seeing a movie is supposed to be entertaining. Lighten up! Chances are if you have a good attitude about, instead of trying to find every little flaw, you will actually enjoy a movie for once.

By: bhornung21

bhornung21 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:16:15 +0000

I LOVE BATMAN!!!!!

By: gbashour

gbashour — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:10:32 +0000

Optimus- I don’t thing I’d call the article worthless. While I would definitely agree that it is not very well written (no offense) and cites questionable examples and relies on relatively unsubstantiated points, it apparently is an introduction to something that Mr. Ready will be doing for us (I think he is going to start reviewing horror movies and put up reviews on The West Side Review?). While I originally agreed with you in your war against Mr. Colella, you are beginning to turn into one of the things you railed against him for being (as you put it, a person who, “disagrees with every article he happens upon so that he can display his obviously self-praised intellectual prowess even if the topic is entirely frivolous”). Disagreeing with people’s ideas is fine. Calling them out for it is not.

By: Blake T

Blake T — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:12:55 +0000

Martin Scorsese = still making movies / paranormal activity = really scary and not that gruesome / many actors = not prima donnas

By: Nathan Peereboom

Nathan Peereboom — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:38:35 +0000

i agree, george, i found the dark knight to be a very thought provoking commentary on human nature. I would respond to the article with three thoughts. First, by nature, only the popular movies stand the test of time so when we compare older and newer movies, it must be said that we are comparing the best of the old with the entirty of the new. Just a thought. Second, i think that john doesn’t make a good argument as to exactly why A) the ‘action movie’ element is inherent to all hollywood products or B) why this element is inherenly bad. I mean, I agree with the preference for deep, thoughtprovoking, metephorical commentaries, but it is possible too that some movies are just entertainment and we ought not expect anything more than that from them. Lastly, it must be noted that hollywood produces movies that sell. They do this because most producers simply can’t afford to put millions or hundreds of millions of dollars into a message that most people don’t listen to. If anything, we as consumers are responsible for the demand we create and therefore the supply that hollywood must provide in order to continue to exist. It seems cold, but in the end if we only went to movies that we thought were truly excellent and not simply ‘junk food for the mind,’ if you will, then hollywood would cater to that taste. Its surely not as if they don’t have such capacities.

By: gbashour

gbashour — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:20:32 +0000

“From this filth comes movies such as ‘The Dark Knight’. Really? I would consider Dark Knight to be a movie that forces the audience to think about the meaning of the movie. And then “The Birth of a Nation” is your example of a great movie? A movie that prominently advocates a position of white supremacy? The one thing that Birth of a Nation is most famous for (other than its controversial message) is its innovative (for the time) use of camera angles and its use of, hey, special effects, which is one of the things you rail against modern movies for depending upon. While I agree with your message (although I don’t think anyone could disagree wtih it), you may want to spend more time considering the structure and examples you use for your articles.