# Is the summer of 2010 the worst film season ever?



## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

I can't belive the poor quality of new films this summer. For example, "Growing Up" currently has a 8 out of 100 on rottentomatoes.com.

I thought one of the better rated comedies, To The Greek, was a really poor ripoff of the really funny "The Hangover' from 2009.

We just wasted 2 hours of our lives we'll never get back watching Knight and Day. An amazingly lame film with poor acting and even worse direction. The continuity in this film was something even a HS film student would be ashamed to put her name to.

So - What the heck happened to Hollywood in 2010, and will it get better?


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Maybe you should check filmcritic.com or rogerebert.com to see what's good and what isn't. :grin:


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

According to several sources...2009 was one of the leanest years in a long time. 2010 appears to be giving 2009 a run for its money.

I have one of those rare successful Blackbuster stores nearby - always busy, doing well financially there - like I said...rare.

The Manager tells me that the rentals for 2009 and 2010 movies is about 30% lower than previous years. Many of his rentals are either the rare Blockbuster, or something from years ago.

As certified movie-a-holics...my wife and I both agree that there are somewhat slim pickens for some time now, in terms of new quality flicks. Many are remakes or rehashes, and many feature hype with nominal entertainment. 

Hollywood seems to be on vacation, and even Chevy Chase doesn't want to go on the trip.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> I can't belive the poor quality of new films this summer. For example, "Growing Up" currently has a 8 out of 100 on rottentomatoes.com.


I can't speak to the title necessarily, as I think there are/were quite a few good movies out so far.

However, you don't need rottentomatoes to know that an Adam Sandler movie is going to suck unless you're a teenager.


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## Dario33 (Dec 15, 2008)

There is a good article in the current issue of EW about this. I agree that it's been a poor summer season thus far, but will reserve final judgment until I see Inception.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

The "worst film season ever" was probably one from around the turn of the 20th century.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I can only give you my opinion. There hasn't been a single reason to go to the multiplex this year and my netflix queue isn't looking too healthy either. 

Too many boorish, boring old plots. Nothing seems fresh or interesting.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

Shortly after "Mystic River" was released I saw Clint Eastwood in a interview. He stated he had a difficult time getting the project started because none of the studios were interested in making a film with a story. With what's been released this summer I think the same applies.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

I've gone to more movies this summer...then I have the last two years combined:
This year:

- Iron Man 2
- Karate Kid
- Toy Story 3 (will probably go back again, to see it in 2D)
- A-Team

Planning to go to: 
- Growing Up (regardless of what the Critics say, personal friends said they loved it)
- The Last Airbender

Later this year:
- Harry Potter
- Tron


As for Knight and Day... you would have to almost pay me to watch a new Tom Cruise movie at this point. I just don't like him as an actor anylonger.

Toy Story 3... sold out for a Wednesday Noon showing. Wife went two nights later, sold out again.
I've driven by the theater many times as of late, and the parking lot is typically full on Friday and Saturday night.

Using "rental" numbers from a B&M to judge previous years, is more of an indication of the rental market, when compared to RedBox/Netflix and how quickly movies are making it to movie channels.

Also, given that it is a MINIMUM of $10 go see a movie (around here)... and that is just the ticket for a 2D standard screen... it is a near $50 night, if I take the family. 

Our local theater is selling 4 Frozen White Castle Cheesburgers, for $7.00
I can by a fresh sack of 10 for that much.

A large 32oz soda, with 1 refill (if you want to go throught he hoops) is $5.00
Candy: Starts at $4, where the local CVS sells a package double the size, 2 for $3

3D an extra $3? 
And if 3D keeps going, then people are going to start to buy their own glasses and start to reject that extra fee for the glasses, and that is going to cut into their profit margins.


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

Earl,
Perhaps my problem is that I was born in the '60s and most of the films today are CGI crap geared towards teenagers.

This is the 50th anniversary of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird". The Gregory Peck film was fantastic, and wouldn't ever be made today.

Sad, very sad...

Actually, this doesn't bode well for D* and E* - I'd imagine they need customers to subscribe to movie channels and/or PPV to improve profits (I know this is true from the D* analyst presentations last year). Bad films mean less interest in these cash cows.

Come on, Hollywood - start genuine film-making again, please!


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

I was born in the 60's too and I love most of the CGI crap. If it doesn't have explosions and such it's almost not worth watching in the theater.

I don't need my 126" screen for dialogue driven movies.

Might watch them in the living room though (in a pinch)


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## mystic7 (Dec 9, 2007)

You know what I call people born in the 60's? KIDS!!!! 

Whenever the clerk at Blockbuster asks me if I want to join their latest program (Rent 2, get one free, Rent 6, Get A Free Bottle of Coke) or whatever it is, I always say no because it's a waste of money. In the past 3 years, aside from the Harry Potter movies, I've only rented Sherlock Holmes and Wolfman, and both made me wish I had spent the rental money on sleeping pills (same effect, less painful).


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

I'm well over 40  ...and still enjoy movies like Cars, Madagascar, UP, and other such animated stuff. There is no one under 21 in our household, by the way, so its 3 adults watching these movies.

My wife and I also watch alot of flicks - DVR'ed, Blu Ray, rentals, and on occasion...the commercial theater. This covers a wide range of genre, but strongly favoring comedies and action movies above other types.

I have no problem with anyone having their own different tastes in movies - its their prerogative.

But we do see the list of "movies we want to see" dwindle to almost all-time levels these days. It seems Holly is taking some shortcuts with remakes and rehashes, as well as marginal sequels.


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## Groundhog45 (Nov 10, 2005)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> I'm well over 40  ...and still enjoy movies like Cars, Madagascar, UP, and other such animated stuff.


I think I'm older than you but I enjoy the animated stuff too. We went to Toy Story 3 on Sunday with my daughter, son-in-law and grandson. Enjoyed it very much. This is, however, the first time I have been in a theater in months (can't remember the last time). I don't really enjoy going when I can just watch on TV in just a few months.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Earl said:


> Our local theater is selling 4 Frozen White Castle Cheesburgers, for $7.00...


But it would take a _two-hour_ movie for those slammers to thaw out!


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## peano (Feb 1, 2004)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Earl,
> Perhaps my problem is that I was born in the '60s and most of the films today are CGI crap geared towards teenagers.


Digital movies are the least expensive to make, distribute and project and also provide the biggest profits.

The days of a film movie being made with a good story line are just about over.


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## donbean (Mar 13, 2010)

theres a decent article in this past weeks TIME magazine similar to this topic... if you ask me these days theres so many choices, and the movies are not trying to find new ideas.. they keep making lame remakes and sequels.. theres 2 kinds of sequels.. one that continues with new tales... think godfather or twilight or Potter... the other is the one that tried to do same thing same story ext... like jaws , saw , stuff like that..... my guess is theres plenty of good writers and stories out there but hollywood is too scared to try something new...


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## mystic7 (Dec 9, 2007)

donbean said:


> theres a decent article in this past weeks TIME magazine similar to this topic... if you ask me these days theres so many choices, and the movies are not trying to find new ideas.. they keep making lame remakes and sequels.. theres 2 kinds of sequels.. one that continues with new tales... think godfather or twilight or Potter... the other is the one that tried to do same thing same story ext... like jaws , saw , stuff like that..... my guess is theres plenty of good writers and stories out there but hollywood is too scared to try something new...


Definitely. I don't care much for foreign films but when I lived in Hong Kong I had no choice. Their original movies were just stuffed with new ideas that I hadn't seen in American flicks before. Like others have said, Hollywood is no longer about artistry, it's strictly bottom line.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

It sounds like there are many films on IFC and Sundance that some of you guys would like, if you would give them a chance. I've seen a lot of them in the past several years.

Unfortunately, they're not in HD from DirecTV.


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## Getteau (Dec 20, 2007)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Earl,
> ...
> Actually, this doesn't bode well for D* and E* - I'd imagine they need customers to subscribe to movie channels and/or PPV to improve profits (I know this is true from the D* analyst presentations last year). Bad films mean less interest in these cash cows.
> ...


This is why we usually get a movie package and then drop it in a month or so. Right now, I have Showtime/TMC in a 3 month free special. I've had it for about 3 weeks and there is just nothing on it I want to see.


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## Getteau (Dec 20, 2007)

We have 2 kids (6 and 4) and about the only thing we go see at the movies are the big kids releases. What's starting to ruin those are the 20 minutes of previews. Since the kids get fidgety waiting on the movie to start, we try to get there as close to the starting time as possible. Unfortunately, we then have to sit through 20 minutes of previews before the actual movie starts. Sure, 2 or 3 previews is OK. However, when you are hitting preview #8, plus all the commercials they seem to be tossign in now, it's gone on too long.


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## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

I have taken these actions in the last 12 months...

1. Dropped the premium movies channels
2. Cut my Netflix subscription from 5 to 3 at a time
3. Cut my Blockbuster subscription completely.

My movie Que is at an all time low. I don't know how many movies I have seen in my lifetime, but it is a lot. I have reviewed over 4700 films on Netflix. I have a personal film library of 1100 titles.

My first conscious memory of a movie in a theater is "Song of the South" and it started my love affair with movies that I have had my entire life.

I will see almost anything, though I am not above walking out of a movie if I find it unendurable in the first 20 minutes.

There are movies that should always be seen in a theater: I found it sad that the first time my nephews saw the original "Star Wars" movie was on a regular TV.

I also find it depressingly sad that there is a generation out there that won't look at a black & white film and have no concept (or ability) to sit through a movie like "The Lion in Winter".

While I love animation and enjoy all of the latest animated films, it is sad that there are millions who have never seen "Steamboat Willie" 



.

I do not have a problem with CGI... when I look back at a picture like "Lawrence of Arabia" with scenes involving literally thousands of extras, there is no way studios could make epic pictures like that today because of the expense. yet it does seem to lack a certain flavor.

There does seem to be a dirth of new ideas lately or studios are terrified of them and have the same impatience for movies to strike "hit" levels that TV networks have with new TV shows.

To put this in perspective... the theater that I saw the movie "Airport" (1970) in was a standalone theater. It had seating for about 1200 and both advance ticket purchases and reserved seating were available at the box office. The theater lobby had been remade to resemble an airport check in area. All of the people working the counters and as ushers or usherettes were in airline uniforms. The background sound in the theater was made up of the sounds you would hear in an airport terminal. Oh, and there was a quaint custom called an "intermission".

I hope that the current state of affairs with the movies is just a cyclical thing and that the pendulum will soon swing the other way.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Mr. Flowers, I don't think it will ever cycle back, but I do certainly hope that things will improve. First things first, people should vote with their wallets... stop going to dumb movies. We can complain all we want but if the kids still buy tickets that's all Hollywood cares about (as well they should.)


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Stuart Sweet said:


> Mr. Flowers, I don't think it will ever cycle back, but I do certainly hope that things will improve. First things first, people should vote with their wallets... stop going to dumb movies. We can complain all we want but if the kids still buy tickets that's all Hollywood cares about (as well they should.)


There is much wisdom in that advice...and also in the prediction.


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## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> Mr. Flowers, I don't think it will ever cycle back, but I do certainly hope that things will improve. First things first, people should vote with their wallets... stop going to dumb movies. We can complain all we want but if the kids still buy tickets that's all Hollywood cares about (as well they should.)


Voting with my wallet is high on the priority list..


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## Groundhog45 (Nov 10, 2005)

*Larry,* I agree with a lot of what you have said. I wish more folks would bypass some of the poor quality stuff that is out today. I think the teenagers and early twenties group go to a lot of movies just for the group entertainment value and not because the movies are good. I also hope things will improve.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Groundhog45 said:


> *Larry,* I agree with a lot of what you have said. I wish more folks would bypass some of the poor quality stuff that is out today. I think the teenagers and early twenties group go to a lot of movies just for the group entertainment value and not because the movies are good. I also hope things will improve.


Actually...

Here in my area (Major burb of Chicago).

The movies are about all they have left to do as a group.
- Arcades are completely banned
- Most restaurantes won't allow teen-groups to hang out, with out parents around.
- Parks all close at dusk
- Way to expensive for these kids to go to any type of sporting event (and most of probably are not even into sports for the most part).
- School grounds, closed after school unless there happens to be a sporting event scheduled
- The mall is available, but then again... they are even cracking down on "hanging out".

So yah... the movies are just about all they have left, short of hanging at someone's house.

The early 20's crowd, does spend a lot of time at the bar's (both in the burbs and the city)... and that in itself is an issue, as I can't tell you the number of times I have seen very young people stumble out of the bar just a few blocks away... way beyond any condition to drive.


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## BubblePuppy (Nov 3, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Actually...
> 
> Here in my area (Major burb of Chicago).
> 
> ...


 How is that so different from "our day"? :lol:


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