The Film Thread: Page 413 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

The Film Thread

Mirth

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/04/martin-scorsese-says-marvel-movies-are-not-cinema?CMP=share_btn_tw

Martin Scorsese, one of cinema’s most venerated current directors, has decried superhero movies – the dominant force in today’s industry. The director of films such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas told Empire magazine that his attempts to get up to speed with contemporary superhero films had failed.

“I tried, you know?” the director said when asked if he had seen Marvel’s movies. “But that’s not cinema.”

He continued: “Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.

y va marquer

I'm with Marty on this.

jones

I watched like half of one of the Batman films yesterday, the one where Tom Hardy plays the bad guy with the funny voice. I was amazed at how shit it was, there was no redeeming quality to it whatsoever acting plot etc all garbage. Not even like it's poorly rated I've genuinely no idea what people see in it.

jones

y va marquer wrote:
I'm with Marty on this.

I actually agree with you on something. I think I heard something break somewhere just now.

Claudius

Lol. Such a snobbish statement by Scorsese. They lack certain qualities and are unlikely to be eternal, yes. But who made him custodian of cinema? He can eat one.

arsedocmd

Yea, it's a lot of fun and deeply philosophical watching gangsters murder each other.

y va marquer

jones wrote:
y va marquer wrote:
I'm with Marty on this.

I actually agree with you on something. I think I heard something break somewhere just now.

😆
I'm not all bad jones

Qwiss

I mean its not like 90% Scorsese's films are any more than well made, fun distractions either.

goon

To be fair his theme parks comparison isn’t too far off, but not sure why that’s a bad thing. There are worse ways to spend a couple of hours once or twice a year. There’s room for everything.

QuincyAbeyie

I very much enjoy most Scorsese movies, but yeah. The Wolf of Wall Street for example is just a clip show of Leonardo DiCaprio doing things only rich people can do, and it ended up being a glorification of Jordan Belfort. Funny that he uses the word "cinema" though, since he's releasing his newest film straight to Netflix.

Anyway,it's not really about superhero movies. Anyone who says that about something because they don't like it need to get a grip.

Mirth

Yeah, if you accept that the 'summer blockbuster' is a genre that's here to stay then the superhero movie is definitely one of the best of its kind. Have a look at some of shit that were considered blockbusters during the 90s and I'd argue the Marvel movies are a class apart.

The theme park comparison works well though.

Qwiss

Seen someone on twitter say theme parks are a good analogy and that Marvel films are like Disney World while other action flicks are like Alton Towers.

Anyway yeah the Wolf of Wall Street is trash.

Klaus

I think the Marvel films are more like AAA video games personally - although you could definitely argue that those are a lot like theme parks in return.

Like Qwiss says, it's a bit unfortunate for Scorsese to make this criticism when his own films haven't been much better lately, but I largely agree with him. The few exceptions that have ventured away from the predictable form have been made by people who largely operate outside the genre, like Ang Lee and Guillermo del Toro.

Jens

I must be honest I'm with Scorsese all the way. I can remember how miserable I felt in the cinema watching Batman vs Superman thinking I never wanna see another movie like this ever again. I was never a fan to begin with but I just cut Marvel and DC out of my life completely that day. I have not watched a second of the Avengers saga, I just don't enjoy it and life is too short to sit through stuff you don't like. The "that's not cinema" quote I'd think is somewhat facetious, but I can understand Scorsese being ticked off with how much funding these movies are getting.

QuincyAbeyie

That's fair, people watch what they like, but saying that based on Batman vs. Superman is like cutting out crime movies after watching Bangkok Dangerous. The Cage version.

Jens

Well like I said I never enjoyed them much to begin with, and I think clunky dialogue and predictable, formulaic story structure are sins many of these movies share, BvS was just patricularly egregious about it. I'm not doubting there is some good storytelling to find in the Avengers saga for example, but it's way too much material for me to sift through.

QuincyAbeyie

Yeah the formulaicity is the worst part about them and why most of them are great entertainment if you like that kind of stuff, but nothing more. Just saying that Batman v. Superman is the worst movie I've watched on the big screen in years, regardless of gere.

Claudius

You haven’t seen anything The Rock has starred in then. Shameless money grabber that fellow. More power to him.

QuincyAbeyie

Shameless is a good word to describe the F&F movies, but I'd rather watch them than BvS. The fifth one I'll even call a good movie. Jumanji was fun as well.

Mirth

I watched San Andreas a few months back. Its hard to call it a good film but I enjoyed myself while watching it. 😆

I still think the Dark Knight, X-Men First Class and Thor Ragnarok can hold their own against most movies while being fun for the whole family. You're not missing out on 'cinema' if you don't watch any of the others.

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