- Avengers: Age of Ultron (sequel, comic adaptation)
- Fantastic Four (reboot, comic adaptation)
- Pirates of the Caribbean 5 (sequel)
- Warcraft (video game adaptation)
- Inside Out (Pixar)
- Adventures of Tintin 2 (sequel, comic adaptation)
- Pitch Perfect 2 (sequel, formula adaptation)
- Assassin's Creed (video game adaptation)
- Peanuts (comic adaptation after death of the cartoonist)
- Inferno (sequel, Dan Brown adaptation)
- Cinderella (remake, fairy tale adaptation)
- Ant-Man (comic adaptation)
- Star Wars episode VII (sequel)
- Kung Fu Panda 3 (sequel)
- The Hunger Games Mockingjay part 2 (sequel)
- Mission Impossible 5 (sequel)
- Avatar 2 (sequel)
- Terminator 5 (reboot or sequel)
- Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children
- Bond 24 (sequel)
- Finding Dory (sequel to Finding Nemo)
- Independence Day 2 (sequel)
- Superman vs Batman (comic adaptation)
14 sequels, 3 remakes/reboots, 2 video game adaptations, 5 comic adaptations. The only items that (may be) remotely original are Inside Out and Miss Peregine's, both of which are movies for children. Come to think of it, all of these movies are for children. Maybe the title of this post should be Films that Signify the Death of the Moviegoer's Brain.
I'm not saying that some of the above won't be passably entertaining. But I have to ask: is there anything here that might be remotely in the same category as The Seventh Seal? Gone With the Wind? Citizen Kane? To Kill a Mockingbird? Raging Bull? Wings of Desire? Will any of these movies make you think differently, challenge you, push the boundaries of art, or inspire a conversation beyond the size of an explosion, the sting of a sarcastic comment, or the pain of a fistfight?
I hear, all the time, "I don't want to have to think, I just want to have fun" about movies, games, and books. Is that really good enough for your life, for your achievements, for your world? If so, fine. You are in lock-step with what Hollywood wants to give you. Enjoy your $200 million+ cookie-cutter candy entertainments. I'm tired of them. If the Hollywood movie industry died right now, I wouldn't miss it.
2 comments:
I'm a movie fan; my collection is at 650 films at this time. There is not one film on this list that interests me in the least. But, not necessarily for the same reasons you indicate. I am very critical about the quality of writing (dialogue, sensible storyline, realistic/imaginative settings and events, etc.). But, I am not into "critiquing" movies from a social impact standpoint. I judge a movie strictly on how much it entertains me. The fact that I am not entertained by senseless violence, bathroom humor, silliness in general, overly-dramatic stories, tear-jerkers, or movies made primarily to "make a statement," means that I have a yardstick for measuring entertainment quite different from what appears to be the average movie-goer of these days. I am often entertained equally by films from the 1930's as from the 2000's. If the writing, photography, acting, and music are good, I am more likely to enjoy it. Very few movies released in the past few years appeal to me, but I still find a few. I am not ready for Hollywood to go away, in spite of the fact that it only produces about one film that entertains me among several hundred it actually releases. Hey, different strokes for different folks.
Miss Peregrine is based on a book D:
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