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[pramod]

The late 90s to early 2000s just seemed like such a weird time for movies. You had dumb silly blockbusters like Batman Forever, The Mummy and ID4 make a ton of money. I mean in what other decade can you imagine a movie about Will Smith punching an alien while billions got vaporized. And tons of people went to see this farce.

It felt like movies just got dumber and sillier as the decade went on. Was it just a reflection of society at the time? People just wanted to have fun and not take anything seriously? Was it because thanks to Jim Carrey and comedies made a ton of money, movie studios just wanted to make non-serious, over the top films?

 

[AJUMP23]

Why do your post seem dumber?


The mummy is a fun action flick. ID4 is a pretty good action film. These summer blockbusters are about explosions and action. They are better than the Batman we have now.

 

[bitbydeath]

It could be argued that movies have gotten worse since.

 

[Halo is Back]

Hollywood blockbuster movies are pretty dumb in general. Nothing new here.

 

[funkygunther]

For all the dumb Twister, Godzilla etc there was Jurassic Park, Men In Black, T2, The Matrix. Intelligent and well written blockbusters. In 1998 Jim Carey made probably his most cerebral movie.

 

[Kraz]

 

[p_xavier]

Because movies were meant to be fun and enjoyable instead of being vessels of complaints of white cis-men.

 

[pramod]

Why do your post seem dumber?


The mummy is a fun action flick. ID4 is a pretty good action film. These summer blockbusters are about explosions and action. They are better than the Batman we have now.

We still have summer blockbusters but they have nowhere the silliness and tongue in cheek humor of the 90s blockbusters. Everything is so serious and dark these days, even superhero movies, which by their inherent nature should be silly.

 

[Gifmaker]

The Mummy is a great fun adventure movie.

 

[pramod]

Btw im not complaining that these movies were bad. I loved The Mummy and ID4. Im just saying movies with this kind of tone just isnt made anymore..or if they are they usually bomb, like MIB4 or 2016 Ghostbusters.

 

[ManaByte]

 

[p_xavier]

Btw im not complaining that these movies were bad. I loved The Mummy and ID4. Im just saying movies with this kind of tone just isnt made anymore..or if they are they usually bomb, like MIB4 or 2016 Ghostbusters.

Those movies were not at all using 90s tones.

 

[pramod]

Btw i think ID4 is a masterpiece. By all rights an alien invasion movie with such a dumb premise should never have worked. But somehow it did and it was lightning in a bottle...a great mix of casting, directing, effects, just the right amount of humor, etc

 

[E-Cat]

Blockbuster movies these days are monotone, homogeneous shit.

At least there was variety in the 90s.

 

[Sabotage]

 

[ManaByte]

 

[Quasicat]

For all the dumb Twister, Godzilla etc there was Jurassic Park, Men In Black, T2, The Matrix. Intelligent and well written blockbusters. In 1998 Jim Carey made probably his most cerebral movie.

I show the Truman Show every year when we talk about privacy. It’s a great film that holds up well considering it is over 20 years old. My students always say that it creeps them out with all of the cameras in the movie and are blown away when I explain that they all voluntarily have a device in their pockets with a camera and how you cannot go anywhere on campus (except for classrooms and restrooms) where a camera isn’t watching you.

 

[ManaByte]

 

[Jaybe]

 

[bitbydeath]

I show the Truman Show every year when we talk about privacy. It’s a great film that holds up well considering it is over 20 years old. My students always say that it creeps them out with all of the cameras in the movie and are blown away when I explain that they all voluntarily have a device in their pockets with a camera and how you cannot go anywhere on campus (except for classrooms and restrooms) where a camera isn’t watching you.

I usually watch Yes Man once a year.

 

[JayK47]

The 90s were amazing. Movies used to be about having fun. Everything now is so serious and depressing and quite honestly, shit.

 

[Jaybe]

The 90s were amazing. Movies used to be about having fun. Everything now is so serious and depressing and quite honestly, shit.

 

[Mikado]

My question is "what do we have to do to get them that dumb again?"

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

Grooming it's audience.

 

[Doom85]

The 90s were amazing. Movies used to be about having fun. Everything now is so serious and depressing and quite honestly, shit.

Just saw NOPE two weeks ago that deals with two siblings trying to get a photo of a UFO and while shit gets fucked up at times there were still a good deal of humor. And I’m seeing Bullet Train this weekend which a preview shows Brad Pitt punching a giant animal costume, and also fighting a guy “quietly” since they’re in the “Quiet section”.

You make it sound like everything is dead serious now. I would say the ratio of films that go that hard for that tone is the same as it always was.

 

[jufonuk]

I was going to say something along the lines of how dare you then I realised mission impossible 2 exists.

But then I think about twilight and how fucking stupid it was (I tried to watch it as I heard it was shit I made it to the baseball scene and had to turn the channel, if Mathew Bellamy doesn’t go up his own arse, twilight will be the one defining thing to ruin muse for me)

Also a lot of 90’s movies knew they were dumb and just wanted to be popcorn movies. A lot now a days seem to have taken out some pages in the script and decided cgi is enough to carry a film.

I say no.

 

[DragoonWalker]

What the hell are you on about OP? Honestly the culture has changed of course as it does every decade, but how is Batman Forever really any dumber (shittier yes, but that's a different matter) than Guardians of the Galaxy or the new Suicide Squad? What kind of measuring stick are you using? ID4 is an alien invasion movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. You know what other large scale disaster movies don't take themselves too seriously? Any recent Marvel movie. You know, the ones where the existence of the world is at stake and the people in charge of saving it can't stop cracking corny jokes like they're in a schoolyard.

You know the real kicker? Netflix puts out way dumber action movies almost every week, and tons of people tune in to watch that farce.

This is what happens when you have no perspective and hardly watch any movies. You didn't even explicitly state "Hollywood Blockbusters", because otherwise you'd have even less of a point.

 

[Evil Calvin]

Actually 80's were campy and many B-tier guilty pleasures. Also many classics.

90's was the last of an era with big blockbusters AND lower budget movies that would never get made today:

Tombstone
Shawshank Redemption
Office Space
Goldeneye
Heat
Good Fellas
Fifth Element
Pulp Fiction
Jurassic Park
Men in Black
Seven
True Romance
Matrix
Nightmare Before Christmas
Scream
Big Lebowski
Toy Story
Lion King
Terminator 2
Groundhog Day
Forrest Gump
Saving Private Ryan
Schindler's List
Beauty and the Beast
Quiz Show
Chaplin
Titanic

So many others too!!!!!!!!!

 

[Razorback]

Eh, meme doesn't work. 95 and 97 batman's were both super silly and colorful.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

It was dumb, but at least it didn't take itself so serious

 

[Grildon Tundy]

Eh, meme doesn't work. 95 and 97 batman's were both super silly and colorful.

 

[AJUMP23]

This thread exist about dumb movies in the 90s and we have threads about DC not even releasing movies.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

I mean, how old are you, OP?

Because I think the reality is cinema is inundated with trite Mindless garbage and basically always has been. But that period where you were growing up you were more in tune to cultural osmosis, and as you get older, you are literally incapable of giving as much of a fuck about movies and shows and shit. There were fucking """movies,"""" in the 70's and 80's that make my skeleton contort inside my flesh sack because of how absurd they are, and there's DEFINITELY the same deal going on currently.

 

[BadBurger]

I think it seems that way if you only focus on the movies that were chasing the goofy filmmaking trends of the time. As you mentioned and others disaster movies rose to prominence in the 90's and early 2000's, and they're almost uniformly corny.

 

[jason10mm]

Btw i think ID4 is a masterpiece. By all rights an alien invasion movie with such a dumb premise should never have worked. But somehow it did and it was lightning in a bottle...a great mix of casting, directing, effects, just the right amount of humor, etc

It's literally just a reskinned War of the World's, a timeless classic. ID4 wasn't a stretch at all.

What was a stretch was all the hokiness around Jeff Goldblum and his dad/office and Randy Quaid, that stuff is straight up embarrassing today. Butt he rest....still works. Pinnacle of practical effects and early CGI.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Is that a young, Philip Seymour Hoffman? I see?

 

[spawn]

I don't know what you're talking about man. I grew up in the 90's so I'm probably biased. The 90's had good shit