I Miss Creativity in Hollywood: Where Are The "Wow" Movies?

Perhaps, I am an elitist when it comes to the movies I like to see; and I am even more conscious now of what I see because of the cost now for a movie ticket in New York City. The price is not so much the issue – it’s the “crap” that Hollywood keeps putting out. Where are the actors that played the good bad guys (oxymoron intended): Samuel L Jackson’s quoting of Ezekiel in Pulp Fiction before his victim met his demise? Sir Antony Hopkins in Silence of The Lambs? Lena Olin in Romeo Is Bleeding? Darth Maul (not-with-standing his truncated appearance in the movie)? And the venerable Darth Vader? Where are the movies that rocked instead of the repetitive nonsense we are now being subjected to?

I remember how I came to see some of the movies I consider great: I remembered in grad school my roommates talking me into seeing the first Final Destination movie; or my brother nagging me to see Clint Eastwood’s, Unforgiven; watching One False Move on the recommendation of Siskel and Ebert; and my then girlfriend talking me into seeing, The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

Ad to the list anything from the Cohen brothers; and The Usual Suspects (with lines like I don’t believe in God, but I fear Him). What about being scared by an actor without the benefit of wearing scary make-up? See Ed Harris in a bad movie name Just Cause; Jeffrey Combs as the mad scientist in Re-animator; Jack Nicholson in the Shinning; Geoffrey Rush in Quills; and Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker’s Dracula; and Christopher Walken in At Close Range; The Prophecy; or basically anything he does.

As for the comedies: when are we going to see the young new Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day… a young Eddie Murphy in Beverly Cops… or a young Jim Belushi in The Blues Brothers? How many times are we going to be subjected to fart jokes; the musings of the angry black man; the cool grandmother who curse and enjoy a toke on the pipe? And while we are on the subject of comedy, someone please tell me how is it that Jack Black still gets work in Hollywood? And incidentally, I hope that Will Ferrell do not put out any more stinkers like his last two movies.

I find myself enjoying episodic television because many of these shows are superior to movies that spent millions to be made: Look at current shows like Super Natural; Fringe; V; Battle Star Galactica (latest version); True Blood; and Spartacus. Even some past television series rocked: any one remembered Buffy; Angel (the episode where Angel is transformed into a cartoon – classic); Babylon 5; and Farscape (the bad guy was awesome).

I know I have left out many worthy candidates for the genres covered above but feel free to include your favorites or those you would consider stinkers on my lists. By the way, don't even get me started on the current state of music - that is for another day.