You're right Jim, I feel that films have become much faster in the last 6 or more years. You just have to look at the films in this list to see that since around the early 90's many of the main stream summer hits are basically no more than a) action scenes strung together by bad buddy buddy dialogue or b) basically a commercial vehicle for toys, Batman 3 (iceman, poison ivy, etc, oh yes and damn you product placement).
Remember Luke looking at the sunset, or the breakfast scene where he is told he can't go to Mos Eisly. I reckon they'd cut both scenes if it was made today. I blame the lack of 'pause' in films today on the mentality of the people going to see films. They don't want mental stimulation, they want visual stimulation. Of course visual effects, CGI, etc are fantastic and often needed, I don't believe you could have made a film like minority report or A.I. without them. But when a films come out like Star Wars IV, V, VI (which I love btw) which are impossible to make without very heavy CGI I feel the director becomes distracted by the possibilities and BANG it's a visual stimulation experience with little thought given to plot support and script.
Anyway, my rant over, I just wish that they would return to the idea of a cinema having ONE big screen and not these poxy bathtowel size screens that seem to have proliferated in the last 10 years. I may as well wait for the DVD and watch it on my home cinema.. the screen is bigger and the sound is better, ha, most importantly I can have a beer while I watch and not worry about getting arrested for bitch slapping the annoying twit using his/her mbile phone.
You're right Jim, I feel that films have become much faster in the last 6 or more years. You just have to look at the films in this list to see that since around the early 90's many of the main stream summer hits are basically no more than a) action scenes strung together by bad buddy buddy dialogue or b) basically a commercial vehicle for toys, Batman 3 (iceman, poison ivy, etc, oh yes and damn you product placement).
Remember Luke looking at the sunset, or the breakfast scene where he is told he can't go to Mos Eisly. I reckon they'd cut both scenes if it was made today. I blame the lack of 'pause' in films today on the mentality of the people going to see films. They don't want mental stimulation, they want visual stimulation. Of course visual effects, CGI, etc are fantastic and often needed, I don't believe you could have made a film like minority report or A.I. without them. But when a films come out like Star Wars IV, V, VI (which I love btw) which are impossible to make without very heavy CGI I feel the director becomes distracted by the possibilities and BANG it's a visual stimulation experience with little thought given to plot support and script.
Anyway, my rant over, I just wish that they would return to the idea of a cinema having ONE big screen and not these poxy bathtowel size screens that seem to have proliferated in the last 10 years. I may as well wait for the DVD and watch it on my home cinema.. the screen is bigger and the sound is better, ha, most importantly I can have a beer while I watch and not worry about getting arrested for bitch slapping the annoying twit using his/her mbile phone.