[HowardC]

I like these types of films simply because they are a quick and easy way to determine the intelligence level of the people around you. The Kevin James movie, for example. For someone ot be looking forward to it a few things must be assumed. Firstly said people must have found the King of Queens sitcom funny. I don't really have a response to that it is someone along the lines of finding George W. Bush a good president, but there you go. Also said person must have found the previews funny. This also astonds me as I can see points in the preview in which a joke was supposed to be, but was instead replaced by a fat man that can't control a seg-way.

One thing I disagree on though is the blatent hate over the transformers movie and the new indy movie. While I'll agree that they aren't up to par with previous attempts, you need to understand that the source material isn't THAT great to begin with. Go back and watch the original transformers cartoon... go ahead, I'll wait. Now go back and watch the Indiana jones movies... not the good ones, the bad ones. (I'll leave it up to you and decide which is which.) The new ones aren't that far off from the source material.

See the thing is your mind is playing tricks with you. Over the years you have evolved and demand a more sophistiacted film than when you were younger, your belived franchises, however haven't. When they do these "re-boots" they have to dumb down the level of comprehension back to the original source material, in other words you have to be able to understand what is going on even if you've never heard of a transformer, or never seen indy crack a whip.

I honestly think remakes are directly responsible for all of this "stupid cinema". Personally, I think it is the viewers responsibility to do their research before watching a film. Never seen Star Trek? Well maybe a star trek film isn't for you as you'd have to have been in a cave never to have seen the second longest running sci-fi franchise of all time. Producers and directors who wish to get people, that after 30+ years STILL haven't experienced star trek to watch a new film by "rebooting" the franchise is equally foolish.

Reboots happen because talented, but often short-sighted directors write themselves into corners. Maybe, just maybe when tim burton decided to kill-off the most famous villian in batman's history in his first film somebody should have taken him to the side and told him that in comic books the villians NEVER die unless they are supernatural and there is a way to resurrect them. If they had then we wouldn't have to suffer through this craptacular new film franchise in which batman drives a tank, has a guy that sounds like he should work for mary poppins as a butler, and sounds like he ate gravel and steroids for breakfast just because he dons a rubber suit!

So I think the dumbing down of media has a lot more to do with all the ideas already been taken than society being stupider. Perhaps peope are so starved for new media that they are willing to watch a sub-par form of entertainment so long as it is something new.