Caine hits out against today's 'banal' films

Times Online ^

[Condor51]

I think Caine is spot on. And yeah, he's been in some stinkers but as he once said (IIRC), he's got bills to pay.

Instead of a Lana Turner we have a Kathleen and Tina Turner
Instead of Marilyn Monroe we have a Madonna
Instead of Elizabeth Taylor we a Elizabeth Hurley
Instead of Bette Davis we have a Geena Davis
Instead of Susan Hayward we have a Susan Sarandon
Instead of Lauren Bacall we have a Laura Dern
Instead of Katharine Hepburn we a Katharine Ross
Instead of James Cagney we have a James Spader
Instead of Cary Grant we have Hugh Grant
Instead of Alan Ladd we have an Alan Alda
Instead of William Powell we have a William Macy & Will Ferrell
Instead of the likes of Orson Welles we have Quentin Tarantino (who I do like, but come on, lets be real)
Instead of John Ford we have Oliver Stone
Instead of Alfred Hitchcock we have .... Nobody

Then there were the Character Actors or 'co-stars', like Sydney Greenstreet, Edward Arnold or a Ward Bond. Now everyone is a 'star' (gag).

And how, short of selling one's soul to the Devil, that a Ben 'Aflac' (quack) can be a 'movie star' is beyond me.

(and anyone who evens mentions J-Lo should have their tongue cut out) /s

[SouthCarolinaKit]

I finally quit Netflix because I'd seen all the classics and nothing newer than 1980 appealed to me. I also believe that
real Americans don't spend money on these anti-American,
pro-terrorist morons who run Hollywierd.

[Cosmo]

Blame it on Rio is something of a classic.

[George W. Bush]

Your comment on the supposed "Golden Age" of film reminds me that for every classic film in the era there were 1000 B-movies, serial adventures, and badly acted Bible flicks that were beyond cliche.

How about Queen of Outer Space? Or Plan 9? Or some of those real stinkers, eh?

Caine's just succumbed to Good Ol' Days syndrome. (As in 'the good ol' days when I was young and had hopes and everything was fresh and exciting.')

[sasportas]

Michael Caine starred in many trite, commonplace movies concerning the military all his career.

Two that come to mind, The battle of Britain and The Eagle has Landed - in which he starred with Robert Duval.

[sully777]

Plan 9 was good in a really bad sort of way. I'm also partial to Santa Claus in outer space and Godzilla vs. the smog monster.

[LS]

Or how about where McQueen says, "How many you got?" And Yul Brenner holds up one finger. McQueen, no dialogue, holds up two.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

Thank you, yes. I suffered through Miss Congeniality and wondered WTF was up with someone of Caine's caliber grubbing about in such a "banal and formulaic" flick. Guess he read my mind.

[George W. Bush]

I suffered through Miss Congeniality and wondered WTF was up with someone of Caine's caliber grubbing about in such a "banal and formulaic" flick.

Even that had its moments. And probably it was a lot of fun for teenage girls.

It just wasn't written very well. They should have done more of the "World Peace" stuff. That was pretty funny. But that's the problem with an action/comedy. They take themselves too seriously for it to be a really good comedy.

The real turkey was the sequel. It wasn't just bad; it was Gigli-bad.

[HarmlessLovableFuzzball]

"Caine is correct but it would have more impact from someone who didn't star in 'Bewitched'"

Hey, he still has to pay the bills...

True. Before he signed for 'Bewitched' his electricity had already been shut off three times.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Well, remember too that before TV, movies were the main form of entertainment. This was the era of the neighborhood theater and the studios had to crank out product that could be made cheaply and shown to as many people as possible. Those cheapo flicks were bread and butter for a lot of actors during the Great Depression.

Of course that's not to take anything away from the truly talented actors and directors of today. I enjoyed Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind and Master and Commander, for example.

[beyond the sea]

He's right...... and one great actor. I love the guy.

[beyond the sea]

He was great in the excellent movie "Deathtrap".

[Dr. Eckleburg]

I like Michael Caine.

But he lost me after he made "Cider House Rules" playing an abortionist hoping to tell the world what a noble profession it is.

Some jobs need to be passed by with malice.

[Monti Cello]

Too many good films, “for people who understand dialogue”, were being sent straight to DVD or television

This makes perfect sense - if a movie's quality is in its dialogue, there's not a real need to pay a premium in order to see it on a 40 ft screen with popcorn crunchers all around you, is there?

Sounds like a rational consumer response. I will agree though that most movies are crap.

[AmishDude]

independent films are sometimes interesting and different

[xzins]

lamenting how the pursuit of money is stifling creativity and imagination.

If it sells, one would think that money would buy creativity and imagination. I don't think I could handle funding a supposed money-maker that I was sure would lose money.

[Proud_texan]

"I puke thinking about the scum and vermin like Brad Pitt and Angelin Jolie, etc. that represent "Hollywood"

I don't disagree but in general Hollywood morals have probably improved over the years. Past years have seen some real sickness from Fatty Arbuckle to Bob Crane, one just didn't hear about it too much back then as the middle class still had a modicum of a sense of shame.

Now it seems that everything is a Jerry Springer moment and they let it all hang out.

[RodgerD]

Billy Jack 2 !!!

[united1000]

I can spend an hour at the local video store and not find a single film I am interested in seeing the FIRST time; much less the second time. He's right.

 

I thought I was the only one who had that problem.  It had been ages since I was at the video store, so I stopped by, thinking after all this time there had to be lots I would love to watch.....   Sure didn't turn out that way........

 

Yes, he's right!