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Yes, agreed, and unfortunately most debates end up in a kind of mutually reified strawman. But the problem is, there's no clear, collective agreement on what constitutes that "slippery region," because there's a wide range of views on "what is ok." WotC has to thread the needle and, hopefully at...

A lot of these concerns could be ameliorated by more clearly differentiating between "default D&D" and specific worlds, and exploring the range of diversity of those worlds. Meaning, rather than publishing the next setting as just a change in venue, but with the same old default D&D assumptions...

But is it still not a game for imagining things that aren't the same as in the real world? And what's the point of having different settings, if not to explore different themes?

So much for fantasy fiction, then. I take it you're saying that fantasy authors (and game designers) can't or shouldn't present ideas that don't pass the smell test of real world academic theory? Let's say a fantasy author wants to write a story in a world in which an evil, demiurgic deity...

OK

Definitely me too - it is analogous to the "vinyl effect" in music. In a similar sense, my all-time favorite on-screen dragon is the one from Dragonslayer...it just feels more organic than CGI ones.

I've had Jack of Shadows on my to-read list for years. Yep. Not sure that Valis or Ubik would make a great film, though ;). On a side note, if I'm honest, I find Bladerunner a bit overrated...I see it most successful as a mood piece, and thus very impactful aesthetically. But from a purely...

Yeah, I agree. The Sopranos led to a revolution of tv...now there's almost too much good stuff to watch.

Yeah, I hear you. Hindsight is also an element, too, as we tend to remember the good stuff, not as much the bad. For every classic rock album we remember from the 60s-70s, there are a dozen bad ones that no one but a small few listen to. But I still think there are fewer "future classics" being...

Yes, well said. I didn't know that about Craig...I guess you're talking about Quantum of Solace? (I still have no idea what that title means...lol). Some really great films in the 90s. I do think some good stuff has some after, but it is few and far between. But the ones I mentioned in my OP -...

Well again, it depends upon what you mean by "original." See my post above.

Originality is a funny word, because it is too often confused with novelty, imo. If that is true, then a movie about polka-dotted squids that wear Converse shows that live in the clouds is inherently more "original" than a very well-made retelling of Arthurian legends, when the former is just...

Yeah, I know: we vote with our dollar, and we get what we pay for. But it goes both ways, and is a vicious cycle between Hollywood and viewers. And of course, following Sturgeon's Law, "quality"--whether inter-subjective or entirely subjective--is a bit of a pyramid, and we're going to get more...

To be blunt, this is a too-easy rebuttal: as if any criticism always comes down to "But that's just your opinion, man." I mean certainly...different strokes for different folks, and all that. But there is such a thing as quality - and whether the substance of a critique holds water.

I tend to agree, though I would say that film-making peaked in the 70s. Actually, part of its decline was because of films like Star Wars and Jaws that upped the "wow-bang" factor, and movies relied upon that more and more. But yeah, a big drop-off in the 2000s...but as I said, and others have...

I hear you and really, like "brows" of all kinds (high, low, and in-between). You can also revisit or expand a franchise, and do so creatively. I think TNG is a good example of that. My concern is relying on old tropes, wink-nods to old stuff, and not focusing on story and character first, but...

Nice outline of some of the deeper elements. For me the key phrase is "expecting magic to ignite again." That's related to my beef...trying to copy the magic of other films. True "movie magic" is rarely contrive...it just happens, when you focus on making a good, and generally original, story...

Yeah, I understand the economic realities of it...doesn't mean I have to like it, though ;) But I do think movies are art - or on the "artistic scale." Like other media, it runs the gamut from highly commercial (the Hollywood "product" that you say) to very artistic, even spiritual/mystical. My...

Hollywood has a creativity problem, and one that is, I don't think it is too crazy to think, largely based on the financial bottom line. Regardless of whether or not this is a good thing or not, it is the reality of big business and, like all businesses, the goal is (always) making money, and...

Tolkien wrote the LotR in a somewhat archaic style, deliberately I think. Thus, "said Aragorn" rather than "Aragorn said." I think this was due to his love of Medieval epic romances and poetry. He wanted it to feel archaic. As for whether the books or movies are "better," it is a somewhat...