MovieChat Forums > Gerry (2002) Discussion > Why is there a fine line between Arthous...

Why is there a fine line between Arthouse snobs and Hollywood snobs?

posted 15 years ago by Neon-man
10 replies | jump to latest

Why is it that the people that liked this film can't stand anything with explosions or gun-fire in it, and yet people who hated this film lap up that *beep* and have no room for thought from film?
I liked this film, but you know what I liked even more. Werckmeister Harmonies and Damnation. You know what I liked as much as those films? Wanted and Crank 2. Is there anyone else out there that just like the best of both worlds?

[–] Saluton 14 years ago

Yeah, sure. Check my vote history: http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=20103199.

[–] citycalmdown 14 years ago

I agree with some of your votes (being john malkovich)
but i couldn't take your votes and use them to choose a recommendation. i know everyone has their own opinions and everything... but come on, do you really think the truman show deserves a 6 and gerry an 8?

[–] Saluton 14 years ago

Yeah, I really do.

[–] vegadantay 14 years ago

So do I.

But to your previous post, yeah, I think Gerry is a masterpiece but that doesn't mean I couldn't sit through Irobot or Rambo 4.

[–] gotham23 14 years ago

Oh, please.

Some of my favorite movies include The Three Amigos and The Dark Knight, but I also love A Touch of Evil and the works of Fellini. And y'know what? I STILL THINK THIS MOVIE IS A BIG STEAMING PILE OF DOO-DOO.

[–] syclone1931 13 years ago

Sure! I like both styles of movies. I think movies are a lot like music. I have a concept album that's 1 song and it's 40 minutes long. i also listen to a lot of bands that write songs that are around 10 minutes long. Some people just do not have the attention span for that and want their 3 minute 3 chord pop song that they can sing along to.

Movies like Avatar, Transformers, etc etc etc... are "pop" movies to me. they're created for the masses and are loaded with visual stimulation and utterly lack in plot, dialog, depth, and most of the time they're just stupid. I watch a movie like that and after 10 minutes I think "ok, amazing CGI... what else ya got?".

then take a movie like 'First Blood' aka the first Rambo movie. Gun fire, explosions etc... but a great story, screenplay, and depth. i like action movies, but don't insult me by making me pay $15 to a see a movie that looks like a playstation game with a weak or rehashed plot, and stupid dialog that might be amusing for a 12 year old.

I don't know a single person that liked 'the assassination of jesse james' everyone thought it was too slow and blah blah blah... i for one loved the movie. the pacing didn't bother me at all. Cast Away was another movie people hated because there was no dialog and it was boring. I loved it and thought Tom Hanks did a great job. What other movie, makes you feel sad when a grown man loses a volley ball with a happy face on it?

I actually really liked the long drawn out shots in this movie and the lack of dialog created a sense of realism. Lets say there really was 2 friends out there... if that were me, the fun banter and old stories would be over after being out there for 2 hours, and the rest of the time would be angered silence.

At the end of the day, I'd rather watch 'Gerry' than any Michael Bay movie. No dialog is better than stupid dialog.

[–] Maniac_In_Black 8 years ago

Yes.

[–] maxi13 8 years ago

Bella Tarr.... I liked as much as those films? Wanted and Crank 2.

i haven't seen Wanted, but Crank 2 and i hated it,
though i enjoyed part1 which was a big stupid funny experience.

but come on, do you really think the truman show deserves a 6 and gerry an 8?

i even think Truman Show deserves a 9 and Gerry an 8.
Truman Show is - in my opinion - one of the best mainstream movies ever made.

think Gerry is a masterpiece but that doesn't mean I couldn't sit through Irobot or Rambo 4.

oh...! "sitting through" is a completely different kettle of fish!
i am able to sit through nearly everything,
but that doesn't mean that i like it.

and yes... i am also able to have some diverting fun with such a mass product like I-Robot

Cast Away was another movie people hated

i liked it. its also one of the better mainstream movies

I'd rather watch 'Gerry' than any Michael Bay movie.

definitely!

but talking about the first post...
i don't think there are just 2 different kind of film audience.
(though compartmentalizing something is always questionable)
i think there are at least 3!

• mainstream
• arthouse / demanding
• independent

if you like arthouse (f.ex. Ingmar Bergman) you are still far away from liking Jim Jarmusch, Clerks or other Indies. (though the chances are higher). there are also a lot of art house fans which are somewhat conservative, which just like prestigious films, which are also somewhat old and a lot of indies which are quite progressive and trying to break rules.

thats also why i think that there are 3 most important film festivals:
Oscars, Cannes and Sundance (though the last one could be better)

and i even think that horror films should be another category even though its just a genre, but this genre polarize like no other one. not such a big category as the other three, but still...
and maybe a 5th category: Trash Movies
and as a 6th: Silent Movies
maybe i would find even more ^_^

and quite obvious that my style of categorization isn't meant to be exclusive,
that a film (or: viewer) can't be found in any of the other categories.

i have favorites in all those categories, though its much harder for a mainstream movie to get a 10 from me.

but you can find good, but also bad movies in all of this
and i don't think you will find that much people who would deny that,
just the ultra hardcore art house snobs
(and i don't say that to blame "art house-people", i am also one of them. its just there are some elite thinking arthouse snobs, just as there are some flat, brainless mainstreamers)

my favorites can be found between Bergman and Brain Dead,
which means i love films

[–] maxi13 8 years ago

and even this categorization between art house and mainstream is getting destroyed more and more.
i have read a lot of reviews in which the critics were speaking about something like the "third way",
hybrids between art house and mainstream.

"Under the skin" was one of these films
(though i didn't like it, as obvious nearly all others did)

and they are right
more and more films are trying to sit between those 2 chairs.

last one i've seen was: Goodnight Mommy
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3086442/

a arthouse horror psych-thriller
(this one was great and unforgetable)

[–] Strazdas (2328) 6 years ago

I like movies from both mindless action flick and thoughtful arthouse types. I still thought this movie was shit.