3 ms·

I know nothing about the business of making movies, but I have to say the quality of films/TV produced in the west has been in steady decline for quite some tim

I know nothing about the business of making movies, but I have to say the quality of films/TV produced in the west has been in steady decline for quite some time. Sure there are odd creations that are really good (like Dune), but then the average is horrible. Same stories rehashed over an over with lots of clishe's, sex scenes squeezed in just because etc. But the worst is the dumbed down stories. It seems as if Western producers think the story has to be horribly simplified or there is no chance of "world success". To see how it should be done look at South Korean(and some Japanese) dramas on Netflix. Not all are great, but the average is way better. It came to a point I think I just saw one western TV production last year I liked and there were probably 5 or more Korean ones. Why is it that they can make interesting and surprising stories into TV/films in places like Korea?. Similar for Japan, but I found many Japanese dramas seem to be too focused on picturing "internal struggles" of characters in a way that seems a bit overdone for a western audiences. For examples of what I mean see "Alice in Borderlands" (Japanese - suffers some previously mentioned issues, but overall very good). "Glory" (Korean - when you read the brief it sounds like something that would be horrible to watch, but they pulled it off great), "Train to Busan" (Korean film about freaking zombies that is actually good), D. P.(Korean,again brief seems completely cheesy "Military police searches for escaped draftees" in actuality it has great story, it shows some really hard realities of military draft, like abuse etc in a way that is really believable a normal person could end up in such situation etc.) And many more. The only western TV drama that was good was "1899" (German/UK production). This was really good too. So why is it there is so much bad quality tv/films produced in the west? Such great opportunities wasted? I had great hopes for the Mandalorian. I couldn't watch more than 2 episodes because the story was written for 10 year old. Etc.

jvanderbot 4y ago
I agree that S. Korean film and series production is so good right now that it lays bare the USA's tired weekend movie tropes. The peak blockbusters still come occasionally, and the grittier, meatier content is available in droves on streaming services from US and UK productions at least. This is the golden age of television, despite Disney. If you aren't seeing some of the incredible series listed in sister threads, I suggest you give them a shot. Or just peruse rotten tomatoes. There's more richness out there, but the signal to noise may have gotten slightly worse.
gigaflop 4y ago
Shudder is my favorite streaming service, and is where I saw "The Wailing", another SK movie. I thought it was fantastic, and occasionally rewatch the exorcism scene on Youtube, just like I would rewatch "ROAD ROLLER" (for JoJo fans). "Trivisa" was also fun to watch, as was "The Untold Story". Not from SK, but still foreign, and enjoyable. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wailing https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wailing https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trivisa https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trivisa https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bat_sin_fan_dim_ji_yan_yuk_cha_siu_bau_1993 https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bat_sin_fan_dim_ji_yan_yuk_...
- snapcaster 4y ago
  I liked Shudder but quickly "burned through" all the movies I wanted to watch on it. Planning on re-subbing in another year if it still exists and see what's been added
  - gigaflop 4y ago
    I've also burned through the backlog of stuff I 100% wanted to watch, but considering how cheap it is, and how often they add/I discover something nice, I just let it roll. I probably do at least 60% of my movie streaming with Shudder. I also legit appreciate the 'channels' on their home screen. While I rarely watch them, they surface some things that I enjoy later on.
cableshaft 4y ago
I just want to echo the recommendation for Alice in Borderland. If you liked Squid Game, this is just as good in its own way (I think I actually liked it better and find it a bit more rewatchable, even though I think Squid Game has a bit more visual style to it). Season 2 just dropped as well so it's a good time to get into it. The full manga was told in those 2 seasons as well, apparently (haven't read it yet, just based on reading discussions on the show), so unlike a lot of Netflix shows, it tells a full story if it doesn't get renewed for another season. I haven't seen any of the others you recommended yet, although Train to Busan was on my radar already.
- gigaflop 4y ago
  Train to Busan should be available on Shudder. If you have space in the budget for trying out another streaming service, I'd recommend a few months of Shudder over a single rental, if the service seems to be up your alley.
alach11 4y ago
> the quality of films/TV produced in the west has been in steady decline for quite some time I could agree the average quality has dropped. But surely you agree that the sheer volume of high-quality content has ballooned. How many high-quality TV shows can you name from the 90s? Compare that to the last 10 years of shows like: Succession, Ted Lasso, The Queen's Gambit, The Handmaids Tale, Better Call Saul, Ozark, House of Cards, Stranger Things, Silicon Valley, The Crown, Fargo, Mr. Robot, True Detective, Veep, and even (controversially) Game of Thrones.
- Roark66 4y ago
  >I could agree the average quality has dropped. But surely you agree that the sheer volume of high-quality content has ballooned. How many high-quality TV shows can you name from the 90s? Perhaps I didn't watch that much content in the 90s :-) or there is some other factor. For example existence of really good content puts the bar higher, or the fact we had few really high value productions many had high hopes for flops? (like the recent "The Rings of Power") However, there is one thing I'm eagerly waiting for. AI and other software led improvements to the ability to "remaster" some productions by fans. Perhaps then the entire series of "the rings of power" can be turned into a really good 30min short? Who knows.
yamtaddle 4y ago
There is no possible way you're casting your net wide enough if you don't think there are tons of good films coming out in "The West" every year. Or maybe you only like a small set of genres? Horror's doing wonderfully, there's a bounty of good stuff, US and Europe both (since you specified the West—Asia, broadly, also puts out a few good horror films per year). 10+ films I'm very glad I watched per year, probably, and I do not manage to watch all the good ones. Mid-budget sci-fi usually has a couple solid ones per year, too (Moon, The High Life, Annihilation, et c.), plus the rare high-budget good sci-fi film (maybe one or so per year? Dune, Blade Runner 2049, that kind of thing). Usually a couple good-to-great westerns per year, at least, though they may not be the ones with the largest marketing budgets. The average is trash, sure, but there's plenty of good stuff and you can just ignore the trash and still have plenty to watch. > So why is it there is so much bad quality tv/films produced in the west? Such great opportunities wasted? I had great hopes for the Mandalorian. I couldn't watch more than 2 episodes because the story was written for 10 year old. Etc. I'm with you on this. I think the average quality in Star Wars land is just so bad that a show that could be considered a peer of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys seems amazing by comparison. (I did finish it—playing "spot the influence/rip-off" was entertaining and occasionally made me feel smart for being familiar with whatever better thing the writers had also watched, I suppose)
- Roark66 4y ago
  Yes, this is very likely. I've added all the titles I haven't hears about to my list of things to check out. Thank you.

jvanderbot 4y ago

I agree that S. Korean film and series production is so good right now that it lays bare the USA's tired weekend movie tropes. The peak blockbusters still come occasionally, and the grittier, meatier content is available in droves on streaming services from US and UK productions at least. This is the golden age of television, despite Disney. If you aren't seeing some of the incredible series listed in sister threads, I suggest you give them a shot. Or just peruse rotten tomatoes. There's more richness out there, but the signal to noise may have gotten slightly worse.

gigaflop 4y ago

Shudder is my favorite streaming service, and is where I saw "The Wailing", another SK movie. I thought it was fantastic, and occasionally rewatch the exorcism scene on Youtube, just like I would rewatch "ROAD ROLLER" (for JoJo fans). "Trivisa" was also fun to watch, as was "The Untold Story". Not from SK, but still foreign, and enjoyable. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wailing https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wailing https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trivisa https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trivisa https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bat_sin_fan_dim_ji_yan_yuk_cha_siu_bau_1993 https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bat_sin_fan_dim_ji_yan_yuk_...

snapcaster 4y ago
I liked Shudder but quickly "burned through" all the movies I wanted to watch on it. Planning on re-subbing in another year if it still exists and see what's been added
- gigaflop 4y ago
  I've also burned through the backlog of stuff I 100% wanted to watch, but considering how cheap it is, and how often they add/I discover something nice, I just let it roll. I probably do at least 60% of my movie streaming with Shudder. I also legit appreciate the 'channels' on their home screen. While I rarely watch them, they surface some things that I enjoy later on.

cableshaft 4y ago

I just want to echo the recommendation for Alice in Borderland. If you liked Squid Game, this is just as good in its own way (I think I actually liked it better and find it a bit more rewatchable, even though I think Squid Game has a bit more visual style to it). Season 2 just dropped as well so it's a good time to get into it. The full manga was told in those 2 seasons as well, apparently (haven't read it yet, just based on reading discussions on the show), so unlike a lot of Netflix shows, it tells a full story if it doesn't get renewed for another season. I haven't seen any of the others you recommended yet, although Train to Busan was on my radar already.

gigaflop 4y ago
Train to Busan should be available on Shudder. If you have space in the budget for trying out another streaming service, I'd recommend a few months of Shudder over a single rental, if the service seems to be up your alley.

alach11 4y ago

> the quality of films/TV produced in the west has been in steady decline for quite some time I could agree the average quality has dropped. But surely you agree that the sheer volume of high-quality content has ballooned. How many high-quality TV shows can you name from the 90s? Compare that to the last 10 years of shows like: Succession, Ted Lasso, The Queen's Gambit, The Handmaids Tale, Better Call Saul, Ozark, House of Cards, Stranger Things, Silicon Valley, The Crown, Fargo, Mr. Robot, True Detective, Veep, and even (controversially) Game of Thrones.

Roark66 4y ago
>I could agree the average quality has dropped. But surely you agree that the sheer volume of high-quality content has ballooned. How many high-quality TV shows can you name from the 90s? Perhaps I didn't watch that much content in the 90s :-) or there is some other factor. For example existence of really good content puts the bar higher, or the fact we had few really high value productions many had high hopes for flops? (like the recent "The Rings of Power") However, there is one thing I'm eagerly waiting for. AI and other software led improvements to the ability to "remaster" some productions by fans. Perhaps then the entire series of "the rings of power" can be turned into a really good 30min short? Who knows.

yamtaddle 4y ago

There is no possible way you're casting your net wide enough if you don't think there are tons of good films coming out in "The West" every year. Or maybe you only like a small set of genres? Horror's doing wonderfully, there's a bounty of good stuff, US and Europe both (since you specified the West—Asia, broadly, also puts out a few good horror films per year). 10+ films I'm very glad I watched per year, probably, and I do not manage to watch all the good ones. Mid-budget sci-fi usually has a couple solid ones per year, too (Moon, The High Life, Annihilation, et c.), plus the rare high-budget good sci-fi film (maybe one or so per year? Dune, Blade Runner 2049, that kind of thing). Usually a couple good-to-great westerns per year, at least, though they may not be the ones with the largest marketing budgets. The average is trash, sure, but there's plenty of good stuff and you can just ignore the trash and still have plenty to watch. > So why is it there is so much bad quality tv/films produced in the west? Such great opportunities wasted? I had great hopes for the Mandalorian. I couldn't watch more than 2 episodes because the story was written for 10 year old. Etc. I'm with you on this. I think the average quality in Star Wars land is just so bad that a show that could be considered a peer of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys seems amazing by comparison. (I did finish it—playing "spot the influence/rip-off" was entertaining and occasionally made me feel smart for being familiar with whatever better thing the writers had also watched, I suppose)

Roark66 4y ago
Yes, this is very likely. I've added all the titles I haven't hears about to my list of things to check out. Thank you.