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Why Action Movies Today Fail

I've been watching alot of action movies latley, and I realize why they tend not to get Oscars. Its Because they suck. Why? They dont deliverenough drama. What makes any movie oscar-worthy is if it's emotionally moving. So when I say "it doesn't have sufficient Drama" I'm not saying it has to be like a Mexican Soap Opera. When I say "it doesn't deliver sufficient Drama" I'm saying *It's not emotianally moving enough*.What's the difference between movies like:

A- Blade 2, xXx, Wanted, Aliens vs. Predator, Rush Hour, Mission Impossible, Transformers, the Val Kilmers and George Clooney Batmans ,,,etc and,

B- movies like Gladiator, Braveheart, Terminator 2, Saving Private Ryan, Lethal Weapon 4, the entire Star Wars series, the Tim Burton Batmans ...etc

The difference is that the movies in category B delivered sufficient Drama. The movies in category A. Look at Mission Impossible, his entire team that he had HISTORY with died in the first scenes of the movie. A short aftermath scene of him panicking happens, two scenes later he's fine and dandy again. Nope.I'm not emotionally moved Mr.Writer. There's not enough Drama.

On the other hand, look at Terminator 2. when T-800 dipped himself in the Lava and John Connor was like: "No!! No!! I order you not to kill yourself!! I order you not to kill yourself!!!"Yes. I was emotionally moved.. Now that's Drama. This new trend of Action movies lacks emotion, lacks Drama. It's just a series of "entertaining stunts". Exactly like watching the circus. Without Drama its just eye-candy. Where's the meaning in that? Okay moving on to problem 2 of what needs to be changed in Action movies

2-The characters are too generic. The hero is always the same cookie-cutter model of an action hero movie. The hero is either a generic Mr."Do the right thing" man who loves his family or a Mr."badass who kicks everybody's ass then leaves" guy.

Moving on to problem number 3: Not setting up the challenge with enough suspense. Im sure alot of you watch Naruto. Naruto is an awesome example of how to set up a challenge and a suspense correctly. The match between a protagonist and an antagonist in Naruto is full of outsmarting back and forths and unpredictable turnarounds in the middle of the battle. Before those two opponents battle, you see **** loads of Ability Reveal Scenes that show how powerful they BOTH are. I think 40% of an Anime are whammy holy-****-like Ability Reveal Scenes. Yes, 40%. I'm not exagerating. If you see a match between two opponents in Naruto (or any other Anime for that matter) .. you'll be at the end of your seat biting your nails over who is going to win the fight. Is that the case in these hack action movies?

Did you guys see how disappointing the battle between Spidey and Venom was in Spider Man 3? Were you guys even excited when Tony Stark and Opedia fought in Iron Man? Were there scenes that showed how powerful Venom or sandman was? Nope. So when you saw them fight, did that scene feel like a match between Naruto and Sasuke; or even better, Goku and Kid buu? Nope. That's because they didn't set up the challenge correctly. (Like how Animes do it.). Action scenes these days dont have enough outsmarting backs n forths, just a bunch of collateral damage explosions and fancy stunts.

Moving on to Problem number 4: Important Showdowns are not written the way they deserve to be. Did you see the Showdown between Pyro and Ice Man in X-Men 3? For those of you who saw Wanted, were you disappointed that Wesly didn't have a Showdown with Angelina Jolie (she was supposed to kill him after all)? Did you guys see how Liu Kang finished off Shang Tsung in the Mortal Kombat movie? Or worst of all, the Venom and Spidey showdown in Spider Man 3 -_-". It's pathetic right? They give an unimportant car chase scene 10 minutes of screentime but when they battle with the main Villain he finishes him off in 2 minutes after the bad guy does some long monolouge.

In Terminator 2, I think 3/4 of the movie was a chase and a battle between T-800 and T-1000. Not "2 or 5 minutes". In the Matrix , 3/4 of the trilogy is spent revealing Neo's abilities, fighting against the machine army and the agents, and exploring human nature in relation to machines. This all ads up to the Final battle between Agent Smith and Neo. But did you feel emotionally involved? To me it felt like reading Java script or a computer program module. This is why the Matrix, However action packed, is not fully respected by most critics.

So that's my problem with current action movies:

1-They don't deliver enough Drama.

2-Characters are poorly designed and generic

3-The challenges and suspense are not set up effectively enough

4-The important Showdowns are not satisfying with enough screentime and enough action.

I used to literally say "if there is no explosion within 2 minutes im watching another movie" like the typical American movie goer. Movies like transformers are fun to watch, but why wont it win movie of the year?

I really liked Dark Knight. And the movie is Legendary for Non-Action Reasons like Drama and Characters. I do not think that it's awesomeness is just because of swirly twirly stunts that "look cool". I just saw Watchmen. It was a heck of an action move. losts of @$$ kicking, but the most emotion was between the silver sprectra and dr. manhattan. It didnt show tension within society like it did in the comic, i mean the there's a friggin countdown to doomsday! Mr. Zack Snyder, you did a good job making a pointless action scene in 300, but dont bring your brainless fight scenes to superhero cinema, the genre is suffering enough.

The emotions and Drama of what the "battle is about* is more important than the action in the actual battle itself

Top 10 Shocking Moments of the Microsoft Pess Conference

Sad to say but Microsoft had the best press conference out of all three platforms. Wich is usually the case. Although they focused a little to much on the casual gamer, they still delivered some surprizing news on the future of Xbox 360.

10- lips

dg

I know, I know its Fr1kn kareoke. But hey, you can upload your favorite songs from your iPod or your Zune and sing along with them. Now you can rock side by side With Chester Benington like you always wanted!

9-Rock Band 2

rb

Anyone that is a friend of Linkin Park is a friend of Mine! Rock band will featur 2 Linkin Park Titles ( One step closer and i believe Faint) And its the OLD linkin park. Not the new "Minutes to Midnight" band that call themself Linkin Park. -_- All jokes aside, Rock band 2 delivers a husge list of 80 tracks from a wide variety of Artists, ranging from Paramore, to ACDC to Metallica (yuk!)

8-Fallout 3

fl3

Fallout 3 looks pretty destructive, wich is definatly a good thing. This game take on the post apacalypctic theme in a unique way.

7-Netflix

nf

Didn't see tat one coming. And even more shocking, microsoft kepth this under wraps with no leaks at all. I think this will be an interesting addition to th Xbox 360 dashboard.Its spells the death of Blockbuster though.

6-Fable 2

defg

It's finaly done and looks amazing. Lion head looks to create a fantasy role-playing universe that is unique to each player who enters the world of Albion.

5-Sales

Who new Sony was so behind. Microsoft E3 presentor Don Mattrick made a big declaration during the company's E3 press conference, promising that the Xbox 360 "will sell more consoles worldwide this generation than PS3".

Mattrick noted that current US sales of Microsoft's curvy white (or sometimes black) box were at roughly 10.3 million, outselling the PS3 by over 5 million units - or so he says, at least.

In other news, Xbox Live was suitably plugged, with Mattrick noting that punters have combined to spend USD $1 billion on the service. 12 million users have helped contribute to the revenue, with a new user joining Live every five seconds.


4-banjo and kazooie

gagde

I strongly believe this game is over looked by many. The once Nintendo cla$sic returns in the New Generation. BUt i dont know, if NIntendo's Shigeru Miyamoto isnt behind this, its probably destined for failiure.

3-Redident Evil 5

dg

Chris Redfield returns and heads to Africa where the latest bioterrorism threat is transforming the people into mindless, maddened creatures. I have a feeling this will act as a watered down Metal Gear Solid 4 for XBOX 360 owners.

2- New Dashboard Interface and Avatars

dg

I have to admit, the old dashboard with the traditional "blades" was a bit unattractive, this new interface looks more user friendly and is alot cleaner. I thought the New avatars were hilarious. There basically Hi-definition Miis, but f theye as personisable as Microsoft claims they are, im sure well enjoy them.

1-FINAL FANTASY XIII FOR XBOX 360

s

--"Oh no they didn't!"

Probably to e the most memorable moment in all of E3. Square Enix sells out on their old pal Snony and tells them "Money Talks, BS Walks". 360 Fanboys rejoice as the onece Sony exclusive title will now launch along side with a Microsoft equivalent. This could be the push Microsot needed to win over the Japanese audience. To me it looks like one less reason to buy a PS3 for now. If Sony wants to crawl out of this alive, they need to start shelling out money to keep their exclusive titles!

[JULY 15th 2008] e3 day 2

I have to admit, Yesterdays 2008 Microsoft E3 press conference was pretty awesome. We finally got to see more of Re5, Fallout looks really fun and is defiantly going to be a part of my collection along with Gears of War 2. Fable 2 is finally finished and looks very promising. Not to mention the xbox dash board complete face lift (so glad they did that , the old blades are ugly). Im still laughing at the avatar application LMAO. they're just High Definition Miis! lol

But the most shocking addition to Microsoft's arsenal, the once definite PS3 exclusive, Final Fantasy 13 is launching simultaneously on the Xbox 360 (still cant believe it).

Still abit disappointed. Out of all the new market rash that microsoft presented ( ie, movies, lips, scene it, etc.) THERE IS STILL NO INTERNET BROWSER. And to think of all three platforms, the toy company would have the best Internet browser, and the computer company would have none.:x makes no sense. And i still think MS didnt focus enough on the hardcore gamer. They spent a huge chunk of time on games for old people. We dont want "Scene It", we want BLOOD!! :twisted:

SONY OFFICIALLY 0WNED. CONSOLE WAR is OVER

Sony Fanboys mourn their loss!

DSD

At the conclusion of the very revealing E3 microsoft press conference, Sare Enix announced that the ps3 fanyboy coveted FFXIII will no longer have PS3 exclusivity and will also release on the Xbox 360.

THis could be the long awaited blow to end to the brutal console war.

This is a message to All Cows,quit arguing on system wars over which system is the best 360 or Ps3, its Now over, its pointless to continue this meaningless arguing this generation is all about Microsoft, its over microsoft won, continuing to support the Ps3 exclusively is pointless, the system has nearly nothing left. Continuing to debate over this cold hard facts will only prolong the suffering,

JUMP IN!

MGS4 has arrived! [June 12th, 2008]

Metal...

sss

Gear...

sss

Solid...

sss

4.

sss

It needs no introduction. The wait is over. Snake is back like never before. This Kanami block buster is sure to finally set the bar for real cinematic game quality in the new gaming generation; with scenes so epic that it causes even Hollywood to raise a brow. This final chapter of our old friend Snake is sure to bring many memorable gaming moments and bring answers to the intuitive roller-coaster of a story that is Metal Gear. I haven't gotten my hands on it yet. I'm watching my cousin play it on his ps3, but I'm sure to get a copy and a ps3 in the few coming weeks.

It just looks amazing. (and to think i was mesmerized by grand theft auto 4). Every single tiny detail as though the development staff spent at least 5 months on it. And most of all the cut scenes are fully rendered in cinematic perfection. Ill have a full review when I get enough game time. As for now, Screw this! Im gonna go play The greatest game in gaming history!

See you guys later.

Update [May 26th 2008]

Exactly 16 day 8 hours and 37 minutes until MGS4 launches. I really expect alot from that game. I think I've seen the trailer with Vamp and Cyber Raiden about 15 times and im still mesmerized. I've been playing MGS2 and 3 lately to catch up with the storyline. its really sweet. Im starting to hear ringing codecs in my sleep. oh and I'm a level 3 now. So that means I can do this:

MagnetoMMMMYYUUUHAHAHAHA!!

LOL Catch you guys later.

Bring Back The Old G4!!!

I think it's pretty obvious that i love Video Games. I call My self gamer . Its simply who i am. I once thought "wouldn't it be cool to have a TV network just for Video games?".Us gamers need a face in a big world filled with misinformed old people wo think Video Games are a just a child's play thing. My Wish Came true in G4 TV, a tv network made especially for gamers like me. It Had shows like X-play, Arena, AOTS, Filter, Judgement Day, and Cheat (wich i always thought wsa useless but it still adds to the community).

But now G4 has degraded itself to nothing more than another MTV. Fastlane, Street Fury, Star Trek, and The Man Show???? Where does gaming come in? It's like G4 let their producers rape them. They thaught because the theme of the channel is video games, perhaps their main demographic would be Men ( the producers probably thought who ever came upt with this idea was a genius, all shook hands in the meeting room, and gave the guy a tamendous raise). Face it. G4 is now nothing but a Spike TV clone. Pretty soon they'll have Sunday night football airing, and don't get me wrong; I have nothing against Football ( just that it makes repetitive games every year Cough* MADEN), but you must understand that there is a thin line between a game channel, and the Manly Manly Testosterone Channel. I'm not asking for feminism, I WANT GAMES!!! NOT 12 hours of Startrek!! And to think that i used to like that show. G4 is losing its viewers. People don't want Totally Outrageous Behavior or Cops, ( WTF, who's idea was that?!) they want coverage on their favorite games. I mean even Gamespot gets more coverage on Games and its just a website. Its not that hard G4, Video games is a massive industry and its getting larger.