What is Digg?181 Comments
- Dradis, on 10/12/2007, -13/+79CornStarch, it sounds to me what you're really referring to is Moore's films' higher production values and entertainment value rather than their merit as documentary films. I think Moore often takes too many liberties with his films, such as selective/ misleading editing, and betrays the documentary film tradition (for those of you asking me to provide sources for my statements, just Google it, there's plenty of material). While I think Moore's films are very entertaining, and often shed some light on various topics that people need to know about, I don't think that he is a 'good' example of a documentary film-maker in the purest sense of the word, because of the aforementioned reasons.
That said, I do agree with Moore's statement that, "movies aren't very good anymore". I feel as though to some extent Hollywood has returned to the assembly-line production of the 1930's, churning out formulaic, cash-grab films, or simply re-making previously successful films in order to cash in a second time for fundamentally the same material. Except for a few exceptions, most films aren't artistic and they definitely don't attempt to tackle fundamental issues on a level that challenges the viewer, which I feel is what seperates the ok films from the outstanding films. - Canthros, on 10/12/2007, -10/+61You missed a colon there, bucko. They're quoting him, not criticising him (alas).
- armbar, on 10/12/2007, -2/+33I think everyone except for the people making movies is well aware of this problem. I can't remember the last original (or at least one with a twist) plotline in a movie.
- codyman, on 10/12/2007, -4/+30Wow.. for the first time ever I actually agree with Michael Moore.
He is right though, movies these days just really are not up to par on the creativity levels previous film generations contained...
Even Michael Moore's films are not "great" films... rather he is excellent at marketing his films (I am not eye to eye with him but I do admit that he knows very well how to market his films) - sunra, on 10/12/2007, -14/+37databasecowboy:
did you watch the same movie I did? Moore never claimed that banning guns lowered crime in Canada. In fact he said the opposite: Canada has more guns and less crime. If you took away a "guns are bad" message from the movie, I guess you weren't paying attention. - saigumi, on 10/12/2007, -6/+26Just remember that Moore is even quoted saying that his films are not documentaries.
He realizes that he only shows the one side of his arguements. - agentgonzo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23To Mr. Moore,
Well Duh!
Yours, Péon - samdu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19The irony is that the biggest reason that films (and music, for that matter) have pretty much gone to crap is that the studios DO ask "us" what we want. Focus groups have slaughtered the artistry of film. Directors (well, most directors) no longer have creative control over their works. And that's just AFTER a script is greenlit. If the movie industry is to return to the golden days of, say, the 70s, they're going to have to start trusting their artists more and the general public less. As counter-intuitive as that sounds.
- hyped83, on 10/12/2007, -7/+26If this was fark.com, this post would get an "Ironic" tag
- Gdub, on 10/12/2007, -3/+18Amen, the film industry keeps pushing crap on us thinking they know what we like better than we do and I'm totally sick of it!
- stan205, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14The first big mistake Hollywood needs to stop doing is making remakes of old movies. Also, the theater is ridiculously over priced. I was in Trinidad a couple months back watching X3 where I felt like I was in the US but only paid 3 bucks to get in and REAL prices for food and drinks.
- bebop717, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16You don't need a plot twist.
We don't need another B.S. M. night shyamalan twist. Why his movies suck is because all they are about is a single ***** twist at the end. After you see it again there is no reason to repeat, you understand the whole thing in one sitting, there is nothing more under the surface.
We need good story telling, and new stories, and character development. These days you can call out who is going to die in a movie within 15 mins or less, usually the black guy will die first. That guy is going to hook up with that girl and that girl with that other guy.
Ok enough bitching, what do we do?
Don't waste you time and money going to see it!
Hint If the plot is about :
a machine that has evil A.I. that wants to kill us.
a remake of a TV show from the ' 70s.
a sequel to a movie you thought that never needed a sequel.
Don't ***** see it, the reason movies suck in the theaters is the fault of those idiots who go and see it. You stop watching ***** movies they will 2nd guess spending millions making them. - Sukino, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12The Fountain - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414993/ - and The Prestige - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/ - should be good. The second one is based on a book tho.
Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437447/ - and The Last King of Scotland - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455590/ - look promising as well.
Trailers: http://www.apple.com/trailers/ - doktorrocket, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Last movie I saw in the theater was "King Kong" (remake). The trailers were for:
Posiedon (remake)
Xmen-3 (sequel)
MI-3 (sequel)
Miami Vice (TV show adaptation)
Davinci Code (Book adaptation)
That was when it struck me how totally devoid of new ideas Hollywood was. I suppose I should have noticed long ago. My Netflix queue is basically devoid of any movie made in the last 10 years...I just watch older films and TV shows now. - Bantec, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10You're getting ripped off and risking your life. I live in NJ and every time my girlfriend and I go to a movie we end up sitting right in front of 'Those People'. You know 'them'. No manners, cell phones ringing, talking from beginning to end, kicking your chair. You can move seats, but they are all over the place. Then if you say something, you'd better be prepared to fight. I'll wait for Netflix to deliver it to me.
- CornStarch, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12"You missed a colon there, bucko. They're quoting him, not criticising him (alas)"
No I was just speaking general on what a good producer/director he is because I know he has a lot of critics, but I guess the glass is always half full on digg and it's funner to assume I'm a ***** idiot. - g30ph, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Even when there is a movie I consider worth seeing, I still don't want to go to the theaters.
$9 for a ticket, $4.75 for a 32OZ soda, $4.50 for the medium bucket of Popcorn, and a 3 year old sitting behind me crying and kicking the chair while his parents are on the cell phone. Thats why I don't go to the movies. - i64X, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I wouldn't call it 'missing it,' Bob...
- fishface, on 10/12/2007, -8/+15RTFA
- bontaq, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8It's odd, old movies (~1930s) don't have any of the stupid humor todays movie have. All the conversations are realistic and complex, not dumbed down. The movies and characters are actually clever, something completely missing from todays movies. Examples include "The Scarlet Pimpernell" (1934), "The Thin Man" (1934), "My Man Godfrey" (1936). Obviously, other good films exist, but it seems that overall they have been getting progressively dumber.
- spyrochaete, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7My girlfriend and I recieved really ***** service when we saw the last Harry Potter movie. I took her to a nice theatre on opening night and we came over an hour early, but 10 minutes before showtime the staff let in about 100 people before us and all the best seats were taken. We complained to the head office and got 2 free tickets.
That was many months ago. We haven't used the free tickets yet because there hasn't been a single movie worth watching. For free. Not that free movies ARE free since we are subjected to 20 minues of commercials before the film starts.
Screw the movie industry. Any enthusiasm I've had about the medium is pretty much quashed. I'd been wishing for a sequel to Clerks for 10 years and I can't be arsed to see it because of the ordeal of moviegoing. - Coffeedemon, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Your trenchant analysis certainly sounds unbiased to me.
- ravitek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I agree that most of the movies these days are based off of books or sequels. They don't come out to be original, or unique.
But this summer, coming to a theater near you, a movie which has proven itself to be the #3 most anticipated movie,
Snakes on a Plane. - apocalizer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Getting progressively dumber, just like America.
Hopefully our influence on the world through Hollywood progressively increases along with it so other countries won't out-smart us twenty years later. - SwordofKahless, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I may disagree with Michael Moore politically and his message in his documentaries but I have to say he is entertaining. He is also right about the garabage coming out of Hollywood.
Every movie is pretty much the same mindless plot line with some big name pretty boy or girl names. Humphrey Bogart type actors and movies would never make it in this day and age. Too much character and not plastic or mainstream enough. There is also no depth of dialog or plot line to todays movies and then they try to send their leftist political message.
Even compare things like the TV shows from the 60s. They could never make a Mission Impossible series in this day and age like the one in the 60s. Just look how they dumbed down the MI movies. I like Tom Cruise but he killed the MI franchise with these movies. - NoNom, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Pointed out the obvious, he has.
- ahhell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6The first thing the movie industry needs to do to turn around...is to kill Uwe Boll.
- stuartjmoore, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9I guess he missed "The 40-Year Old Virgin"
- stan205, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6All praise netflixs.
- brickballs, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10I read that without the ":" in the title at first and thought "were they ever?"
- HarryBauzonia, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Check back later, and they'll probably be dugg up.
On many threads it's as if the kids get here first and the adults saunter in later to fix things. - mozzer, on 10/12/2007, -7/+12Michael Moore is a borderline propagandist.
http://www.davekopel.com/Terror/Fiftysix-Deceits-in-Fahrenheit-911.htm
http://moorelies.com/ - Canthros, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@CornStarch: Actually, the assumption was that you were talking about something to do with article or write-up. Since neither is actually about Moore's movie-making skill in particular, and the summary title could be mis-construed, I assumed that you thought you were on-topic. Since you are apparently engaging in non-sequitur, maybe you should calm down?
- mkoby, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Interesting how anyone who puts down Michael Moore is getting digged down...
- mecole21, on 10/12/2007, -7/+12Well, since Michael Moore is a director and he is saying that movies suck... how bout he go out and make one that is good
- LycoLoco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Robin William's new movie, Man of the Year, seems like it's gonna be good as well as original:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0483726/ - davidro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Very true. But that still doesn't excuse his editing things to be extremely misleading - I was pretty blown away by how badly he chopped up Heston's speeches in Bowling for Columbine, a movie I championed to family and friends when it first came out. Also the way he tried to pin the guy as a racist at the end, overlooking that Heston was actually a passionate civil rights activists in the 1960s.
- socbret, on 10/12/2007, -0/+51. You aren't looking very hard. There have been alot of great origional movies out in the last 10 years.
2. I know a whole lot of filmmakers personally and not who are pushing bounderies, and it's annoying when someone who has nothing to do with filmmaking thinks he knows what it takes to make a film and assumes it takes no training or work. I agree there is alot of crap being made out there, but I don't think you have a clue what or what isn't going through most filmmakers heads.
3. Film's are a big part of a lot of peoples lives, and if every filmmaker, musician, and other artist decided it was a waste of time because there was nothing new under the sun then we would live in a pretty damn cold world. So don't tell us to get a life when you obviously don't want to accept that we are a big part of yours. Unless you live in a cave(which I'm not knocking), your just pissing in the well you drink from. - databasecowboy, on 10/12/2007, -8/+13Sunra - did you see the movie? Here's a the synopsis from Moore's own site:
http://www.bowlingforcolumbine.com/about/synopsis.php
"It is a film about the state of the Union, about the violent soul of America. Why do 11,000 people die in America each year at the hands of gun violence? The talking heads yelling from every TV camera blame everything from Satan to video games. But are we that much different from many other countries? What sets us apart? How have we become both the master and victim of such enormous amounts of violence? This is not a film about gun control. It is a film about the fearful heart and soul of the United States, and the 280 million Americans lucky enough to have the right to a constitutionally protected Uzi."
And Canada doesn't have more guns. Far from it, Canada has considerably stricter gun restrictions which is why Moore used Canada as his foil to show countries with gun laws are no longer violent societies. But while gun violence is lower, knife violence and other weapons fills in the void. Canadian society is just as violent as American. Go up to the reserves and it is no different than the projects in inner cities. - madzombiekilla, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Politics aside, he made a clear and simple point.
I can't even tell you how many ***** movies I have had to work on.
Start cranking out your own movies people, and show them how its done. - FlaG8r, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6He's made a lot more money off of his investments than you have.
- twistymcgee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I've seen plenty of movies over the last little while that I thought were good. I was entertained for a couple of hours. A lot of the previews I've seen lately looked like original ideas for excellent movies. People need to stop trying to be movie critics and just enjoy the story they are watching for what it is.
I think the real reason people aren't going to the movies anymore is because they can't afford it. For myself and my girlfriend it costs between $35-40 to go to the movies if we get popcorn and a drink. That's a bit much. - overbyte, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4/agree with jimithing - michael moore is the wrong person to make this comment. He's absolutely correct but still...
- akira117, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6His movie did suck.......
I agree with him :7P - bobbknight, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Quote from above,
Just remember that Moore is even quoted saying that his films are not documentaries.
He realizes that he only shows the one side of his arguments.
Me:
I thought showing only one side was propaganda. - gormly, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4To me, it seems that any "conservative" views posted on Digg are marked down and "liberal" type views are marked up...
sucks really. no real sense of all sides of anything.. just the one side.
(unless you feel like clicking "show comment" all day long - soccerob, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7We've all been wondering what the problem was for so long... thank you Mr. Moore, without you we may have never known what was wrong. Do you get paid for these 'observations'?
- kweber1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5leftist political messages, what movies are you watching?... Hollywood is profiting on the World Trade Center attacks and I'm willing to bet will support the war in Iraq in the end.... That's not all that leftist
- databasecowboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Yeah, I can't believe they turned Gray's Anatomy into a tv show..I guess they did a good job, but it's not much like the book.
- wtfomg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Hollywood will stop pushing ***** remakes, rehashes, spin-offs, re-imaginings, and adaptations when we all stop paying to see them. People complain about wanting good original movies, but never check out their local Landmark or other pseudo-indie/art house theaters for them.
Complaining on the internet about movies won't do any good, your stone cold cash will. -
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