Why I'm fed up of Movie Blockbusters

One of the movies I was looking forward to in 2013 was Man of Steel, the umpteenth reboot of the Superman franchise. As soon as I heard Batman's Christopher Nolan was involved and that the Supes story would be given a darker edge, somewhere along the lines of the Dark Knight trilogy I was hooked, but what did I get? - a generic blockbuster that was big on spectacle but low on heart. This Superman was mean and moody and whilst there were some nice touches the film quickly turned into a video game. It may have been breathtaking to see a skyscraper being brought down but gazillions of them suffering the same fate was overkill. And Lois Lane on a spaceship talking to Superman's dad - WTF?

And then there was The Hobbit, Peter Jackson's return to Middle Earth after the triumph of his Lord of the Rings trilogy. But the money men get involved and one slim story was stretched out into three movies. The first part was far too long, with too little happening for large chunks of the running time. We've still got the final two movies to go but I certainly won't be going to the cinema, not after the yawnfest that was the Hobbit. I certainly don't want to sit through another two movies if the first was any indication of how they would go - in fact I'd find it less painful to have my testicles chewed on by a rabid hamster. I never thought it

would happen but after the Hobbit I am finding myself Bored of the Rings.

What happened to characters? Storytelling? And all that jazz?

The problem is that even truly stupid franchises like Transformers make big bucks, no scub that, - massive bucks, so they'll keep making them. It is likely that the forthcoming Superman/Batman movie will make huge profits and yet, believe it or not, I can't be bothered to muster up a single iota of excitement. I might have been more interested had the Man of Steel been better.

I usually go to the cinema at least twenty times in a year but we're about to enter the final month of 2013 and I've only been to the cinema five times this year. I ended up skipping Iron Man 3 and catching it on DVD and although I really enjoyed the Avengers I think I've had enough of superhero movies. I loved the Nolan/Batman series but the third film let the side down with those tacked on endings that undid everything good about the franchise. I can just about excuse the Alfred/Bruce cafe scene. That made sense given revelations in the movie, but the autopilot thing - I mean,come on!

Amongst all this there was one summer blockbuster that was rather cool and yet it bombed at the box office - I'm talking the Lone Ranger, a summer blockbuster that was actually good but as I say it bombed. Ah well there's no accounting for public taste...or maybe the lack of it. We live in a world where the Lone Ranger fails and Pacific Rim rakes in the cash.

Ah well...I guess the cinema is no longer the place for me but at least I have DVD and those movies made by true giants - the Hithcock's , the Ford's, the Scorcese's. And if I do want something not designed to sell action figures I can always turn to the television where the real deal resides these days. Television has traditionally been second to cinema but not any more. Shows like The West Wing, Sopranos, The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad stand head and shoulders above most of the travesties playing at your local multiplex.

So it's goodbye big screen and hello widescreen TV.