Is 2007 the worst year there's been for decent movies?

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 15 Sep 2007, 21:05

Was thinking this earlier while watching another 2007 "horror" shitfest called the Messengers.i can't recall such a dismal year for films. the blockbusters ie Spider-man 3, Shrek 3,Pirates 3 have been crap,Die Hard 4 was ok but let's face it not fit to lace the boots of earlier efforts in the series. Transformers was average,watchable but overlong.i hear Bourne 3 is good but i thought the previous 2 were vastly overrated. Horror films have been crud,Reaping,Messengers,Hills 2 etc, comedies have been unfunny,Blades of Glory,Hairspray etc. though i hear Knocked Up is good. nothing good has come from abroad either. what do you guys reckon,is it a shit year or what/

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Sep 2007, 21:22

Why is this in Debate per se?

You not seen Pan's Labyrinth? That was superb, I saw that this year (OK maybe it was released in 2006).
Spidey 3 was OK, "crap" is wide of the mark IMO.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 15 Sep 2007, 21:47

I'm not sure 2007 is the worst year in history but easily the worst in recent history.

In terms of Blockbusters literally the only well made and intelligent film this year was Bourne Ultimatum. That's one decent film out of the entire lot. I really enjoyed Transformers but can see it is completely vacant.

Shrek 3 was a serious let down. Die Hard 4 I quite liked but as you say was nothing at all close to the previous films. I didn't think much of Die Hard 3 but at least I can see it's a proper film. Did McClane really need to hang on to that Jetfighter? I don't get why they'd think that was a cool idea.

The problem is bar Bourne 3 they're not serious films with serious film-makers and serious scripts in my opinion. They're completely vacant popcorn films.

Even those who liked more of the blockbusters than I did must agree that they're lesser films to the blockbusters we were even getting a few years back. So many of the scripts that pass for films today would've gone straight in the bin 15-20 years ago.

It's interesting you should bring this up as I was only thinking last night it's a real shame that most Hollywood film-makers seem scarred about taking risks any more.

Why is every 18 rated movie cut down to a 12 rating?

The 1980s was a glorious time for action cinema. When lead actors were real men, they swore and didn't care about causing lots of bloody violence. I don't particularly like all the misogyny in many of these films but at least it's has a level of realism. I watched Under Siege last night, it's really bloody in places. Why isn't that level of violence being made any more? It doesn't need to be gratuitous but give me some realism please.

It's a real shame the world is so politically correct now you can no longer show this kind of stuff. If I think back to the BEST action films almost everyone was made in the 1980s to early/mid 1990s.

So many recent films are completely ruined by overuse of CGI. CGI to me should be seamless and used sparingly. As Quentin Tarantino said last night on Jonathan Ross if you cannot film it for real DO NOT FUCKING DO IT. Okay he didn't swear but I bet he would

Annimatronix always looks far more realistic than the sodding CGI version. Can you imagine how bad the Alien films would look if they were in CGI. Give me a man in a suit any day.

p.s - Pan's Labyrinth came out in 2006.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 15 Sep 2007, 22:07

i think Grim counts the year he watches the dvd as the year of the movie lol

and Grim-Spidey 3,taking into account the money it cost and the talent behind it,was a serious letdown and pretty poor imo.i'm getting the blu-ray because it's the only way to get the first 2.And Brad-Bourne Supremacy came out years ago (but i know what you meant)

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 15 Sep 2007, 22:09

grim_tales wrote:Why is this in Debate per se?

dunno-i'll take a wild guess and say that maybe it's because we are debating the quality of the cinematic year so far

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 15 Sep 2007, 22:11

I saw Pan's Labyrinth last November.

What do you mean Bourne Supremacy came out years ago?

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 15 Sep 2007, 22:14

bradavon wrote:I saw Pan's Labyrinth last November.

What do you mean Bourne Supremacy came out years ago?

Brad mate you are losing the plot

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372183/

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 15 Sep 2007, 22:16

LOL bollocks I am losing the plot aren't I.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Sep 2007, 22:22

Sam I thought PL was a 2007 film - sorry

As for Spidey 3, I enjoyed it, not as good as 1 or 2 though granted.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 15 Sep 2007, 22:30

Well Grim,what's your opinion,name a few this year you reckon are good movies.Hard isn't it

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 15 Sep 2007, 23:13

I haven't seen many movies this year. I enjoyed Die Hard 4.0 the most. Sure, it's not on a par with the original - what is? But it was a lot better than I expected in this day and age so I cut it some slack with the jetfighter sequence. Not sure how it will stand up on DVD but I'm gonna buy it and find out. At his best Bruce Willis is a class act and in DH4 he was on cracking form. I never bothered with Pirates 3, Spider 3, Rush Hour 3... because I suspected I wouldn't like them.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 15 Sep 2007, 23:16

300 and Zodiac and Pursuit of Happiness are all supposedly pretty good.

But yeah, nothing that really stands out, and all the so-called blockbusters (apart from Bourne and maybe Ocean's 13, were mediocre or disappointing and/or unoriginal.

Havent seen Turtles yet, but seems to be entertaining as well. Will pick it up on HD once I have that.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 15 Sep 2007, 23:23

Zodiac I'll catch on DVD.

Turtles is supposedly crap. I haven't heard anything good about that one?

Any must see movies over the past year I need to see.

I don't catch that many so if anyone wants to recommend some shit go ahead.

I saw a trailer for Sunshine and that sorta looked interesting.

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 15 Sep 2007, 23:54

For me this year, I've only seen a few films and of those:

Transformers was awesome - loved it.
POTC3 was disappointing
The Fountain - shite shite shite
Harry Potter 5 - very good

Missed so many others that I wanted to see. I don't think the year has been great, but I don't think it has really sucked by comparison to others.

Think it is probably just as good as recent previous years within a margin of error!!!

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 16 Sep 2007, 02:11

Markgway wrote: Turtles is supposedly crap. I haven't heard anything good about that one?

I believe it was mostly slacked by people who really liked the cartoon and/or first movies... as this movie isnt really like those.

Fans of the original comic, and CG fans, were pretty enthusiastic about it.

personally, I've never been a fan of the cartoon or the movies. But this CGI flick seems like it would be right up my ally. From what I've seen, I like the look, and from what I heard, it's a movie that's probably entertaining. I'm sure it isnt GREAT or AWESOME... but if it's a fun, well-made movie, I'm happy.

DVD Times gave the movie an 8 btw...
http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65781

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Sep 2007, 09:46

I haven't seen many this year I can remember.

Harry Potter - average
Bean - OK-ish
Simpsons Movie - very good (but thats not a blockbuster)

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 16 Sep 2007, 10:04

TMNT is crap,horrible believe me. 300 forgot that one,yes it's pretty entertaining and does have rewatch value,Harry Potter i haven't seen,the Fountain was a snorefest of the highest order,Death Proof is decent, Zodiac i think i'll watch that later

And Grim, Mr Bean 2 was bloody awful,there wasn't one laugh in the whole film!

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Sep 2007, 11:10

I don't know, I thought it was OK without that bloody kid in the film!

And I already mentioned Spidey 3 - I liked it

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 16 Sep 2007, 14:20

Nope its a fine year, you just watch shit films I take it. I could probibly name loads, but I cannot be arsed.

Top 3 so far in no order
28 Weeks Later
Transformers
300

and some other good films
Shoot Em Up
Run Fatboy Run
The Bourne Ultimatum
Die Hard 4
Vacancy
Rocky Balboa
Blood Diamond
Hot Fuzz
Appocolypto
Spiderman 3
Love and Honour

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Sep 2007, 14:50

Shoot Em Up isn't even out yet

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 16 Sep 2007, 14:54

But would you say half of those are on par with the quality that was coming out of the 1980s? So many action films today are so watered down compared to how far they use to go.

I'll add Zodiac to the list with Bourne 3. I'd probably add Appocolypto too. So that's 3 decent films. Not exactly a lot.

When I say decent I don't mean enjoyable (like Transformers) or passable but a proper seriously well made film. Most of the ones in Romero's list are not that or I hear are not that.

p.s - I didn't think Zodiac 100% worked. Is there any news of the DC SE DVD? I'd give it another go.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 16 Sep 2007, 15:09

grim_tales wrote:Shoot Em Up isn't even out yet

Maybe not in your strange world, its out everywhere else.

As far as te 80's go, who cares they were the 80's and no the quality back then was total shit if you look back you were lucky to get a few great films a year, much like now.

This year has not Wowed me with a 5 star stunner I will say, but this year aint over yet

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 16 Sep 2007, 15:26

Of course Romero,in your world it's going to be a vintage year because RE 3 is out soon. rocky balboa and apocalypto are from 2006

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 16 Sep 2007, 15:30

from your list Romero Hot Fuzz was decent but a serious drop from Shaun of the dead, Vacancy was forgettable,derivative but a passable 80 minutes, Apocalypto & Rocky good but from last year,300 good but no classic,Transformers dumb fun but again no classic,Spidey 3 a crushing disappointment, Blood Diamond i haven't seen yet but that's a 2006 release as well so doesn't count.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 16 Sep 2007, 15:31

saltysam wrote:Of course Romero,in your world it's going to be a vintage year because RE 3 is out soon. rocky balboa and apocalypto are from 2006

Resident Evil 3 may well be a great film, will have to wait and see, I can but hope.

and if you are going to correct people, get your facts right at least.

Apocalypto and Rocky were both out in UK cinemas in January 2007