It's a sad statement that many TV shows are superior to the big-budget films being put out these days by Hollywood. We even watch older shows on DVD like "The Waltons", "Columbo" and even "Adam-12."
Other than the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy (which DID have its flaws) and some slapstick comedies in the "What About Bob" vein, there really haven't been very many movies made since 1980 that I would actually purchase on DVD.
I am very disappointed in the "Harry Potter" films. The films don't even begin to do the books justice. The kid they picked to play Harry Potter is mediocre actor at best and the films practically ignore the antagonist characters like Snape and Draco Malfoy that make the books such compelling reading.
It's good to see such an obvious ploy by Hollywood to "normalize" homosexuality fall flat (Brokenback Mountain). I can't imagine any self-respecting man wanting to go to that one.
Anyway, it's a good thing I have plenty of other hobbies besides watching movies.
There certainly aren't many good movies.
I think maybe the best American movie I've seen in the past few years is "The Incredibles."
I also recommend just about any anime film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, which are fun for the whole family. Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, The Cat Returns, and especially Porco Rosso, which reminds me of Casablanca (except that the Bogart role is played by a World War I biplane pilot who has been turned into a pig because he flew too high). It even has a woman singing chansons in an Aegean nightclub.
Miyazaki has what some might consider too strong a concern for "the environment," but he's much too good for it to bother me, and I don't think the left should have a monopoly on nature. The films are made by a company which seems to be half Japanese and half Italian, although Disney has picked up and distributed the last few of them.