The Gamers Arms

In addition to Blade Runner and The Thing, 1982 also gave us Poltergeist, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Tron, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, and Steven Spielberg’s 800-pound box-office gorilla, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial all within the same barely-ajar ten-week summer window.

And people wonder why cinemas aren't packed out anymore. I know there are lots of other factors, but the 80s and 90s really were the era of true blockbusters at a frequency and quality that's rarely seen these days.

Interesting read, cheers. No idea these films were so poorly received initially (I was three when they came out!)

I knew The Thing had been panned and that Carpenter never really got over it. One of my favorite films of all time.

Is there anything recently that got shat on by critics that might be seen as a classic in years to come?

Is there anything recently that might be seen as a classic in years to come?

There was just a care-free, un-stifled attitude to mainstream film-making back then. I don't know if we'll ever see that again.

Alan wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 26, 2023 11:43 am

Is there anything recently that might be seen as a classic in years to come?

The best films I've seen from the last few years are Dune and Top Gun: Maverick, but I wouldn't say either is a masterpiece or groundbreaking - they're both fun and visually impressive, not all-time classics.

I was going to say Blade Runner 2049, as I think that is a genuine masterpiece, but that was six years ago. Time means nothing anymore!

I've still not seen Blade Runner 2049!

I'll be honest, my ability to sit and watch long-ass films in one sitting is next to non-existant these days (even had to do JW4 in two sittings)...

I can't watch long movies in the cinema any more, between my old bladder and it feeling like I'm sitting on concrete after two hours.
Bring back intermissions! The extra income they'd make on the concessions might encourage them.

The most recent film I'd describe as a masterpiece is Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, though I suspect some (referring to the general public rather than this forum) would balk at giving an animated film that distinction. BR2049 was the next most recent.

Honestly I think it's extremely difficult to give a film the masterpiece title these days given the amount of studio interference and, frankly, the amount of competition. Hell, it's increasingly difficult to even call a film original. Almost everything feels derivative to some degree because studios think familiarity is safer, and as with every other industry, money is the be-all and end-all.

Pretty cool. I'm surprised they didn't mention The Raid 2 where the camera man was disguised as a seat.

That's so cool. Need to watch that again some day, I've only ever seen it once.