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Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:08 pm
by VikingMachine
Cliff wrote:Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Kinda the point I was trying to make, but you said it with less words! :D

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:11 pm
by Krulik
VikingMachine wrote: Kinda the point I was trying to make, but you said it with less words! :D
Well just skimming the topic, I read a lot about people just basing how good the movie was by how much they liked and enjoyed it.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:19 pm
by VikingMachine
Krulik wrote: Well just skimming the topic, I read a lot about people just basing how good the movie was by how much they liked and enjoyed it.
I know theres more too it than JUST that but ultimately isnt that the point? How award worthy is a movie that is technically superior yet nobody enjoys?? Seems a little silly to me but I often disagree with the critics.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:25 pm
by Krulik
VikingMachine wrote: I know theres more too it than JUST that but ultimately isnt that the point? How award worthy is a movie that is technically superior yet nobody enjoys?? Seems a little silly to me but I often disagree with the critics.
What what was the last Best Picture that didn't do well in the box office? They may not go hand in hand, but generally, the "better" movies are more appreciated and more liked on a wider basis.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:38 pm
by VikingMachine
Krulik wrote: What what was the last Best Picture that didn't do well in the box office? They may not go hand in hand, but generally, the "better" movies are more appreciated and more liked on a wider basis.
They "might" do ok but they arent any of the top grossing movies of all time and I suppose one could argue that they may have done a large portion of their gate (the award winners) BECAUSE of the buzz surrounding their nomination. Other movies like Pirates of the Carribean gross 400 million because people enjoy the film, not because of what a stiff collar says about it.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:42 pm
by Cliff
Krulik wrote: What what was the last Best Picture that didn't do well in the box office? They may not go hand in hand, but generally, the "better" movies are more appreciated and more liked on a wider basis.
Which movie is better than which movie is still an opinion.

Movies can do well in the box office for a number of reasons and people can still think they're horrible.

For example, if it's got 4-5 big named actors staring in the movie it might make a lot of money even if the majority of people think it's terrible.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:53 pm
by Cliff
VikingMachine wrote: They "might" do ok but they arent any of the top grossing movies of all time and I suppose one could argue that they may have done a large portion of their gate (the award winners) BECAUSE of the buzz surrounding their nomination. Other movies like Pirates of the Carribean gross 400 million because people enjoy the film, not because of what a stiff collar says about it.
That's not necessarily true. Again, there are some big names in that movie. A lot of movies (especially with big names) make money before people even know if they like the movie ...

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:58 pm
by VikingMachine
Cliff wrote: That's not necessarily true. Again, there are some big names in that movie. A lot of movies (especially with big names) make money before people even know if they like the movie ...
I dont know Cliff. I dont recall any movies in say the top 100 grossing movies of all time that blew and made money just because of the big names. I can name a few movies though that had a bunch of big names, blew and also didnt do well at the box office.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:03 pm
by Krulik
Pirates was critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:04 pm
by Cliff
VikingMachine wrote: I dont know Cliff. I dont recall any movies in say the top 100 grossing movies of all time that blew and made money just because of the big names. I can name a few movies though that had a bunch of big names, blew and also didnt do well at the box office.
How do people know they're good movies before they go and see them at the box office? It logically doesn't make sense. Something attracted people to a movie before they had an opinion about it -- otherwise they wouldn't have gone. You can't possibly know if you'll like a movie before you actually see it ...

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:05 pm
by VikingMachine
Krulik wrote:Pirates was critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated.
Which one? I was referring to Dead Mans Chest and I didnt think that was critically acclaimed or Oscar nominated, although I havent looked it up and could be wrong.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:11 pm
by VikingMachine
Cliff wrote: How do people know they're good movies before they go and see them at the box office? It logically doesn't make sense. Something attracted people to a movie before they had an opinion about it -- otherwise they wouldn't have gone. You can't possibly know if you'll like a movie before you actually see it ...
Uh previews and word of mouth....that makes perfect logical sense and is the way that most people decide IMO.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:18 pm
by Cliff
VikingMachine wrote: Uh previews and word of mouth....that makes perfect logical sense and is the way that most people decide IMO.
Movies that win awards get out that same way often times ... do they not?

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:20 pm
by VikingMachine
Cliff wrote: Movies that win awards get out that same way often times ... do they not?
Yes but they get the added benefit of extra publicity because of their nominations and yet usually dont do anywhere near the gate that Austin Powers for instance would do.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:25 pm
by BGM
Artistic merit has never been based upon popularity. Popular culture rarely outlives its own times. I don't expect a movie like Wild Hogs to be groundbreaking, but a movie like Raging Bull was and is. I am sure people chose to see Wild Hogs because they could reasonably expect that they would like it. Aside from William H. Macy (who I probably would watch reading a phone book), I had no desire to see it.

Many people I know tend to balk at watching foreign films. I see foreign films because sometimes I like the slow pace, depth of character and glimpse into a culture unfamiliar to me. I know what I am getting and I like it. Others don't.

Most comedies produced in Hollywood these days are short on anything revolutionary. Where they excel best is in screenwriting. Sweeping epics historically seem to really define what gets Best Picture because of the technical, artistic, and dramatic craftsmanship involved to really make a big movie work. Deep character studies also historically do well because of the dramatic craftsmanship required.

It may be that some find films like that artsy-fartsy, but that does not mean they are only for egg heads or geeks. If you don't want to put anything into a movie (and there are plenty out there into which I refuse to put anything) then you won't get anything out of it.

BGM