Note: I have not actually seen any of the following movies, but the previews are enough to drive me batty
(1) Christmas-themed movies in which neighbors attempt to outdo eachother with preposterously gaudy Christmas decorations. Where on earth did this idea come from? Has this ever happened in real life? Or is this a case where “everyone knows” that this kind of thing happens, so we make fun of it in movies, even though it has only ever happened in movies? And how can this trend not have died already?
(2) Movies in which someone (frequently a cute young thing) is a professional investigator-of-the-paranormal, starts out by saying something like “I’ve invested 50 reported hauntings, all of them completely non-supernatural”, and of course they will get their supernatural comeuppance. This usually combines (1) horror movies, (2) anti-intellectualism, and (3) anti-skepticism, none of which are things I’m very fond of.
I’m tired of horror movies that are remakes of Japanese films in which spooky-looking children pop up every few minutes. One spooky-looking kid popping up one time is scary. When it happens over and over in a half dozen movies, it’s a colossal bore.
I’m tired of “shakycam”. What’s the point in having a fight scene in your film if every shot is four tenths of a second long, and the camera jitters around like it was strapped to the back of an epileptic ferret? Fights are infinitely more impressive when we can actually see what’s happening!
I know why they do this: first, they think it’s “cool”, which it isn’t, and second, they do it to hide the ineptitude and clumsiness of the star. There’s an easy solution to that second one: hire an actor who actually knows martial arts, instead of Keanu Reeves.
I’m tired of remakes in general, especially when they’re scene-for-scene remakes such as “The Omen.” It just seems lazy to me. Can’t people come up with original stories anymore? Sure, I like “The Omen,” but if I want to watch it, I’ll watch the original. There’s no need for me to see the same story redone with different actors. Can’t they just re-release it in theaters if they want to make money off the story?
I’m not sure one movie from each of your complaints constitutes a trend.
This was last year’s Deck the Halls with Matthew Broderick and Danny Devito. And while I’m not sure anyone goes to the lengths movie characters do, I had neighbors who competed to make the biggest Christmas display. So it does happen, but I imagine without the Hollywood hijinks.
This one’s The Reaping with Hilary Swank and it hasn’t even come out yet. Personally, I think it looks like a fun way to kill 90 minutes. Locusts man!
I’m tired of all the remakes / makeovers / rehashes of all the bad 1970s / 80s horror flicks, and subsequent sequels to the remakes / makeovers, etc. Did we really need an ‘updated’ version of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the Hils Have Eyes or the Amityville Horror? Because quite frankly, the original movies were lousy enough.
And even though it’s not really new, enough with the romantic comedies with a supernatural twists in them - Reese Whitherspoon as a ghost, the cabin where lovers exchange love letters through time, Hugh Jackman as a ‘gentleman’ from the 1700s who appears in the modern day. Evidently, no screenwriters in Hollywood can come up with plausible romantic ‘date movie’ type scenarios anymore - there always has to be a high-concept obstacle to overcome.
How about the movie where the hero (or heroine) has to fight the bad guy. At the end, the bad guy is losing. The hero cannot bring him/herself to kill the bad guy. But then (oh no!) The bad guy unexpectedly gets up, and the hero wins when the bad guy gets killed accidentally.
How about that movie where a white person goes into a school in the 'hood, and, like, makes a difference?
How about the movie where the loud minorities who meet stuffy/uncool whites and teach whitey to loosen up and act/dress like said minority.
This isn’t a new trend, but I really hate how movie makers try to exceed previous movies in blood and general gross stuff. A movie can be scary without showing body parts, blood, all that sort of stuff.
I’m sick of all the ultra violence but I probably in the minority on that. Recently, I rented Crank for my husband and son. I left; it was so pointlessly violently that I went and watched reruns on TV instead.
Ditto on remakes of almost any movie. Never seen one yet that was better or even slightly improved on the original.
And last, but not a new trend, I wish movies weren’t awash in music from beginning to end. See the movie Dead Calm and you’ll realize how manipulative the music is in most films (not to mention distracting.) Dead Calm had no music at all—at least none during the movie itself—and it was unbelievably suspenseful. Great film.
Gladiator was especially bad about this. I was expecting some pretty good fight scenes, cause, ya know… gladiators! Instead all I got was a bunch of lightning fast cuts and then suddenly Russell Crowe is standing over a fallen foe. Hated that movie for this very reason.
But Keanu’s fight scenes in **The Matrix ** are good examples of fights filmed well. I don’t know much about the technical correctness of the martial arts displayed, but the scenes are fun to watch and you can actually tell what’s happening in them because the camera lingers and it isn’t just a bunch of rapid cuts. Troy is pretty good about that, too. The Hector vs. Achilles fight is very well done.
Reminds me of another trend that bugs me–the bad guy getting away in the end! I sometimes like a nice neat ending, but things like Fallen just leave me disturbed.
