Hollywood Blames Rotten Tomatoes for its Rotten Summer

[rhett7660]

Gimmicks.

Special effects and gimmicks only work - and can work superbly - if they are in support of an already good story; once they are the story, and not the supporting element - the thing loses its raison d'être.

The original "Shrek" movie worked because it was clever, funny, well told, with a strong story and compelling characters given great dialogue in a stunning script. The fact that the artwork and CGI were superb added immeasurably to one's enjoyment of the movie, but - by themselves - they wouldn't have been sufficient to lift it (as the sequels subsequently demonstrated) had the story, characters and script been found wanting.

This is what I have been saying for quite some time, and what do you know, the box office numbers are saying the same thing. If that is ALL you have, well don't be surprised if people do not want to see it.

For some strange reason you can usually tell just by the trailers!

 

[ActionableMango]

Don't they show foreign or independent movies?

Here is my local cinema's lineup:

Some remakes, reboots, forgettable action movies, a couple of RomComs, and a superhero movie or two.

You could probably convince me that Dunkirk is a good movie (haven't seen it), but there isn't a good movie often enough.

 

[cube]

You could probably convince me that Dunkirk is a good movie (haven't seen it), but there isn't a good movie often enough.

Dunkirk was shot with 70mm and IMAX cameras, that's very rare. I am going to watch it in IMAX.

Although maybe it should be seen in real IMAX.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Dunkirk was shot with 70mm and IMAX cameras, that's very rare. I am going to watch it in IMAX.

Although maybe it should be seen in real IMAX.

I'll be curious to read what you think of it.

 

[0388631]

Put it in spoiler tags. I haven't seen it yet and I don't want it spoiled.

 

[cube]

I'll be curious to read what you think of it.

There are several kind of projections:

35mm
70mm
2K digital
4K digital
IMAX xenon digital
IMAX laser digital
IMAX 70mm

There are different crops for:
35mm
70mm
2K/4K digital
IMAX xenon digital
IMAX 70mm

In adddtion, it seems that IMAX laser is either cropped like xenon or the full image like IMAX 70mm, depending on the screen.

I think the 70mm and 2K/4K crop might be the same.

IMAX xenon digital would be less cropped than 2K/4K digital and 70mm.

But the image quality could be better with regular 70mm than with IMAX digital xenon and perhaps even laser.

Adding to the confusion, IMAX digital originally used twin 2K Christie projectors but it seems these started to be replaced by twin 4K Barco xenon projectors in new installations around 2012 during the transition to laser. The stream could be the same 2K however.

IMAX digital uses a half pixel offset for the projectors, so it seems the perceived resolution is greater than that of each individual one (super resolution, upscaling).

I think where I will watch it is IMAX xenon "4K". I will not be happy until I see it in IMAX 70mm one day. The Dark Knight IMAX scenes were amazing.

 

[itsmilo]

And isn't Rotten Tomatoes an aggregation of reviews, the lower the rating means many reviewers offered negative reviews?

And thats exactly why they blame RT. Bad reviews: bad word of mouth, no one goes to watch said movie

 

[Scepticalscribe]

There are several kind of projections:

35mm
70mm
2K digital
4K digital
IMAX xenon digital
IMAX laser digital
IMAX 70mm

There are different crops for:
35mm
70mm
2K/4K digital
IMAX xenon digital
IMAX 70mm

In adddtion, it seems that IMAX laser is either cropped like xenon or the full image like IMAX 70mm, depending on the screen.

I think the 70mm and 2K/4K crop might be the same.

IMAX xenon digital would be less cropped than 2K/4K digital and 70mm.

But the image quality could be better with regular 70mm than with IMAX digital xenon and perhaps even laser.

Adding to the confusion, IMAX digital originally used twin 2K Christie projectors but it seems these started to be replaced by twin 4K Barco projectors in new installations around 2012 during the transition to laser. The stream could be the same 2K however.

IMAX digital uses a half pixel offset for the projectors, so it seems the perceived resolution is greater than that of each individual one (super resolution, upscaling).

I think where i will watch it is IMAX xenon "4K". I will not be happy until I see it in IMAX 70mm one day. The Dark Knight IMAX scenes were amazing.

Oooops. Mea culpa.

Actually, my post was about the movie 'Dunkirk', and I wonder whether anyone has seen it, if so what their thoughts were and whether it is worth my while going to see it.

 

[cube]

Oooops. Mea culpa.

Actually, my post was about the movie 'Dunkirk', and I wonder whether anyone has seen it, if so what their thoughts were and whether it is worth my while going to see it.

Yes, I understood you were not referring to the visuals, but if you can watch it in IMAX 70mm, just go.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Yes, I understood you were not referring to the visuals, but if you can watch it in IMAX 70mm, just go.

Oh, I see. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I know a major reason everyone seemed to have missed here, but since I don't want this forum thread hijacked to PRSI....

 

[D.T.]

Here is my local cinema's lineup:

Some remakes, reboots, forgettable action movies, a couple of RomComs, and a superhero movie or two.

You could probably convince me that Dunkirk is a good movie (haven't seen it), but there isn't a good movie often enough.

Logan Lucky (92% on RT) is Soderbergh at this best: funny, quit witted dialog, fantastic (and hysterical) twists and turns - The Big Sick ((8% on RT) is funny, intelligent, beautiful skirts between drama and extremely funny (if you're thinking "RomCom" in the typical definition, that's _way_ off).

 

[cube]

Oh, I see. Tanks for the clarification.

Feature films with scenes shot using some kind of IMAX camera:

http://www.imdb.com/list/ls063691629/

The IMAX 70mm negative would be about 12K (real IMAX aspect ratio)

The IMAX 3D digital camera is 4K (IMAX Digital aspect ratio)

The Arri IMAX 2D digital camera is 6K (IMAX Digital aspect ratio)

http://movieweb.com/dunkirk-christopher-nolan-drown-imax-camera/

 

[cube]

I don't check reviews to decide to watch a movie.

 

[D.T.]

I don't check reviews to decide to watch a movie.

I don't use them exclusively: I watch all the available previews, consider the genre and if applicable, the source material, actors, writer, director, my long time love and study of film, word-of-mouth from close friends who are like minded.

The [RT] reviews I mentioned above were simply to provide _some_ corroboration that they are terrific films in their respective genres, not just wild contrary opinion on my part.

 

[cube]

I don't want to watch previews. A one line summary is enough. Just the title suffices for franchises.

 

[LizKat]

Is it really a surprise that expensive cinemas become less interesting when a new generation grows up with phablets in their pockets and giant TVs at home?
The new generation also has no patience for 2h movies and much more prefers watching short Instagram clips or someone rambling on Youtube.

This. I realize the draw of laptops and tablets myself, over a trip to the movie theater over a mountain and a treacherously engineered road even in good driving conditions, but I have a whole lot of trouble understanding the thing about lack of patience for regular cinema. I always thought a movie's pass/fail was about whether the movie was any good, not whether it lasted more than 6 minutes...

I said something to a nextgen about watching M*A*S*H reruns in spare moments before supper earlier in summer, and he said you mean like a TV show rerun, I said yeah, he said don't they take up like half an hour? I said yeah. He said "I'd be bored in ten minutes." I said no, they're great shows. He said "No, it's that in ten minutes I would have needed to be doing something else sooner."

So as I said, I don't really get it.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I know a major reason everyone seemed to have missed here, but since I don't want this forum thread hijacked to PRSI....

Hm. Not sure I understand what you may be alluding to.

A post meant to tease, or tantalise?

Anyway, unless you explicitly state what you mean - without offering an opinion - the point will not be raised.

I don't check reviews to decide to watch a movie.

I always check reviews, especially from reviewers whose work I like and respect; for example, I always paid heed to whatever the late, great, Barry Norman said; if he loathed a movie, (and he always gave well argued and informed reasons for taking such a position), chances were I would dislike it intensely, too, so, I gave it a miss.

If, on the other hand, he really liked a movie, in general, it would be worth watching.

This. I realize the draw of laptops and tablets myself, over a trip to the movie theater over a mountain and a treacherously engineered road even in good driving conditions, but I have a whole lot of trouble understanding the thing about lack of patience for regular cinema. I always thought a movie's pass/fail was about whether the movie was any good, not whether it lasted more than 6 minutes...

I said something to a nextgen about watching M*A*S*H reruns in spare moments before supper earlier in summer, and he said you mean like a TV show rerun, I said yeah, he said don't they take up like half an hour? I said yeah. He said "I'd be bored in ten minutes." I said no, they're great shows. He said "No, it's that in ten minutes I would have needed to be doing something else sooner."

So as I said, I don't really get it.

Oh, dear.

The limited attention spans of the modern age.

Whatever would they think of a long, thoughtful movie such as "Lone Star" (which I loved), or the sort of cinema verité documentaries such as "Shoah" which were hours and hours long?

 

[LizKat]

Oh, dear.

The limited attention spans of the modern age.

Whatever would they think of a long, thoughtful movie such as "Lone Star" (which I loved), or the sort of cinema verité documentaries such as "Shoah" which were hours and hours long?

I don't know. I have noticed with alarm recently that some news and general info websites are starting to stick "Reading Time: x minutes" tags near the top of their articles. I had always thought it sufficient merely to allow saving, bookmarking, etc. in case one realized there wasn't time to finish reading something before having to meet some other commitment. Now I'm wondering if the "x minutes" tag is more a warning to those w/ short attention spans: this one's not for you.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Hm. Not sure I understand what you may be alluding to.

A post meant to tease, or tantalise?

Anyway, unless you explicitly state what you mean - without offering an opinion - the point will not be raised.

To be more specific, it's a fallout from the 2016 US Presidential elections. Doesn't help that many Hollywood stars are expressing their disappointment over that election on social media in the ten months since Election Day and could be a factor in turning off potential moviegoers.

But a bigger factor is the generally disappointing movie sequels and re-makes in the USA market, some of which cost a bundle to make. And some movies used source material that were not familiar with American moviegoers, either.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

To be more specific, it's a fallout from the 2016 US Presidential elections. Doesn't help that many Hollywood stars are expressing their disappointment over that election on social media in the ten months since Election Day and could be a factor in turning off potential moviegoers.

Hm.

That cuts both ways; I recall some of the older Hollywood stars (Charlton Heston and John Wayne both come to mind) who openly supported a more 'traditional' - or conservative - political stance - indeed, Mr Heston's enthusiastic support for the NRA was not masked.
[doublepost=1505023027][/doublepost]

I don't know. I have noticed with alarm recently that some news and general info websites are starting to stick "Reading Time: x minutes" tags near the top of their articles. I had always thought it sufficient merely to allow saving, bookmarking, etc. in case one realized there wasn't time to finish reading something before having to meet some other commitment. Now I'm wondering if the "x minutes" tag is more a warning to those w/ short attention spans: this one's not for you.

Well, I was born middle-aged, and I am one of those who likes long articles.

A long piece means nuance and subtlety, and - hopefully - a piece that has been thought through, and is well written, well argued and carefully researched.

But, my tastes have long been minority interests....

 

[LizKat]

I don't check reviews to decide to watch a movie.

I don't always. I stay away from genres that have generally not interested me, and otherwise usually glance at a few mainstream reviews. Once in awhile, when I have not looked at reviews ahead of time, I have regretted skipping that step, even though one can sometimes almost conclude that plenty of reviewers don't really like anything and I'm usually more forgiving. I've learned to at least watch a trailer though.

I've some movie on tap right now that I suspect I might not end up viewing all of. It's called The Ticket and Dan Stevens (of Downton Abbey fame as Matthew Crowley) is the main actor. I think I did my approach to this film exactly backward. First I rented and downloaded it on the strength of a blurb and a 99c rental price.. Then I watched a trailer. Then I rolled my eyes and read a couple reviews. They both praised Mr. Stevens but gave the film two of four stars. Now it's sitting in my library with a warning that it expires in 11 days....

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I don't always. I stay away from genres that have generally not interested me, and otherwise usually glance at a few mainstream reviews. Once in awhile, when I have not looked at reviews ahead of time, I have regretted skipping that step, even though one can sometimes almost conclude that plenty of reviewers don't really like anything and I'm usually more forgiving. I've learned to at least watch a trailer though.

I've some movie on tap right now that I suspect I might not end up viewing all of. It's called The Ticket and Dan Stevens (of Downton Abbey fame as Matthew Crowley) is the main actor. I think I did my approach to this film exactly backward. First I rented and downloaded it on the strength of a blurb and a 99c rental price.. Then I watched a trailer. Then I rolled my eyes and read a couple reviews. They both praised Mr. Stevens but gave the film two of four stars. Now it's sitting in my library with a warning that it expires in 11 days....

I tend to read closely the reviews of particular commentators, and will note a movie in the 'well, I'll make time of that sometime' if they rate it highly.

One of the few movies that I decided to watch - because I was pretty certain I would like it - independently of reviews (although I did read a few, if only to confirm my own gut instinct) was "Grand Hotel Budapest"; an alternative history set in central Europe the twentieth century - I used to teach European history - especially the history of Russia and central and eastern Europe - for a living - an amazing cast, stunning soundtrack, great story, and incredible cinematography. Intelligent, bitter-sweet, and utterly charming. What is there not to like?

 

[chrono1081]

It's because almost every single movie is a damn superhero movie. I don't even check the theaters anymore because of it.

There was a literal collective groan when I went to see IT during the trailers when yet ANOTHER super hero movie was previewed.

 

[0388631]

On the prospect of US economy, I went shopping at various grocers this morning. The new standard prices are lower than what they had been for years, even after the immediate economic collapse in 08-09. It doesn't help that Amazon bought up WF and that German companies/grocers are moving westward in the US.

The best method of plotting price point data is to use international goods. That is to say goods that must come from another country. Imported goods, be it food or clothing. Retain chain Kroger, which operates under a different name in CA, has slashed prices across the board. Prices I haven't seen since the mid 90s.

Great for the consumer, of course.

Edit: Hopefully Amazon picks California for their 2nd HQ.