In general, the quality of movies in the last five years has been abysmal. I'm talking epic....terrible. I have seen one movie in the theater since 2017. Since then, I have watched two movies on cable/streaming services that I may have gone to the theater to see; if they were open. That's it. I have tried to watch dozens of recent releases during that time...and have made it through a few at most. They are that bad. Why is this? Is it that bad really? Is movie quality some sort of pandemic-related casualty? Yes...and no.
A Gradual Death
When movies came out over 100 years ago, the only competition they had for eyes were books. For 50 years, the best writers, directors, actors and production talent were in the movie business. There is a reason why many earlier movies are good and hold up well...they had the best talent available across the board. When television arrived in the 1950's, there was some competition for the movies, but not much really. For years, the best talent still worked in movies. In the 70's, 80's and '90's, television productions were better, and some movie talent started to show up in many of the shows. By 2000, cable companies were starting to generate shows like Soprano's, Deadwood and Dexter. Talent from all across the spectrum started flocking to these shows, and still exists to this day. By 2015, streaming companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu started producing high-quality content to include movies. Buster Scruggs...Godless...Fleabag. All of a sudden it seems the talent that used to make movies destined for the theater....are now involved in these serial productions. I would surmise that one reason for poor movie quality these days is due to most of the talent just not working in those studio productions anymore.
And That's Not All
So we got crappy talent making these studio productions now, and it shows in their recent releases. That's not all though. People have changed. If the movies are too lousy to get me to the theater...I don't go. If a movie is lousy at home...I switch to something else after a few minutes. Done. Furthermore, for me to sit still and watch a movie for two hours straight anymore...it better be damn good. This gets to the next problem with movies in general...they can't compete with all the other forms of entertainment available. If a ten part series is spectacular from the start...I know I can enjoy it 30 minutes or one hour at a time at my convenience...for the duration.
I Will No Longer Tolerate Swill
So what prompted me write about the current state of movies? The Golden Globe nominations? Hell no...I forgot they were even on. It was a 90 minute swillfest on Amazon Prime called Copper Bill (2020). I made it through an hour....why did I last that long watching a train wreck of a movie? Hell if I know...but know this...it may be the worst movie in the last five years....and that's saying something.
Fun Facts
-The last time I saw a Best Picture winner in the theater? 1994 (Forrest Gump)
-The number of Best Picture winners I have seen at all in the last five years? Zero
-The number of Best Picture nominees I have seen in the last five years? 12 out of 38
-The number of Best Picture nominees I thought were great movies the last five years? 3...Hell or High Water (2016), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and Once Upon a time in Hollywood (2019). Dunkirk (2017) is also close.
Have there been other good moves in the last five years? A few...The Good Liar (2019) and Knives Out (2019) come to mind. So there we are. Were all movies back in the day good? Hell no! Just try getting through some of those Doris Day movies now. Jeez. I hope the industry that provided me so much enjoyment in the past gets their act together....but if not....que sera sera..
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