Task 3: Mark Kermode

1) What are the criticisms of Big Dumb Movies?
2) What is your stand point on this - how did we get to the point where the cinema is dominated by these films?

1)
-The main criticisms of "Big Dumb Movies" is that they are hyped up and heavily reliant on CGI and special effects.
-If you spend a large amount of money your film becomes a big event movie.
-In some cases, in order for the film to not be classed as a flop the budget has to be newsworthy.
-The budget doesn't guarantee success, it depends on the quality of the film
-Not all Blockbusters have to be dumb just because they are release in the summer where all the supposedly exciting films are to be released
-The summer is usually the time when people go out to the cinema and spend money on film, causing Big Dumb Blockbusters to be hugely successful. For example, Mark Kermode reviews Pearl Harbour as a terrible film, but the fact it was released during the summer helped it make money
-The first massive summer blockbuster was Jaws

2) My stand-point on this is that the makers of Hollywood Blockbusters are so contempt in their comfort zone they keep repeating the same story-line and adding more special effects to the film, they've lost heart about actually making a decent film which is why there are a lot of "Big Dumb Movies". If writers, producers and directors put as much time and effort into the story-line of a movie as the special effects they use, there would be amazing-quality films and if more risks were taken with characters, budget and other aspects of movie making, there wouldn't be repetitive story-lines and bored audiences.