If you only read a few of the posts, yes.

I dislike the philosophy of catering to the lowest common denominator for the sake of making big $$$. Whichever director makes those movies--I hate the McDonaldization of cinema.

Hardly. Michael Bay is just another element of the freeze-dried Jerry Bruckheimer product. Not great, not terrible and wholly forgettable.

My only beef with Bay was the half-assed Dr. Strangelove reference in Armageddon.

Damn, that pisses me off.

I need to go hit something.

With the exception of Pearl Harbor, I enjoyed all of Bay's films.

I love the snobs here who think Bay sucks because of the way he makes his movies. His movies appeal to the masses. Some people here think that the masses are dumb because they take whatever they're fed. Wrong. They just don't show the same interest some of us do in movies and want pure entertainment from their movies. I don't see whats wrong with that at all.

IMO, Bay is the movie equivalent to Blink 182 (to me at least). Enjoyable, yet in the end shallow. Nothing wrong with that. There are times where I'd rather see Bad Boys II instead of Memento, guess I'm buying into the Hollywood-ization of Hollywood.

I'm so tired of people who accuse others of being snobs just because they have different tastes. If I came into this thread and wrote that people who like Michael Bay movies are ignorant mouth-breathers, I'd be accused of making personal attacks, and rightly so.

I like all different kinds of movies. I like depressing foreign arthouse movies and I like gut-busting gross-out comedies. And I do like movies that offer "pure entertainment," if that's what we're calling empty-headed blockbusters these days. But IMO Michael Bay doesn't rise to the level of pure entertainment because his movies are often so fucking stupid they're insulting.

I do dislike Michael Bay, but I keep pulling for him to start making better movies. Why? Because there are completely talentless hacks out there --- Uwe Boll and Paul W.S. Anderson come to mind --- who don't have it in them to make a watchable film. They're Ed Wood with big budgets. But Michael Bay is a master of the technical side of filmmaking who unfortunately doesn't seem to have any sense when it comes to the scripts.

Michael Bay should be on the same level of tehnical masters like James Cameron, Ridley Scott or even Steven Spielberg. But he's not. And that's because Cameron, Scott and Spielberg make a point, in most cases, of hiring talented writers.

Bad Boys was a fun little movie, The Rock was good, though the car chase seemed completely gratuitous. Armageddon was schmaltzy, Pearl Harbor was less than it thought it was, and Bad Boys II completely sucked the fun out of the franchise. The only reason I'm seeing The Island is because of Ewan McGregor. Hopefully the movie is schmaltzy or less than it thinks it is. Hopefully the movie is fun.

L8r

i find it curious when someone attacks fans of films that "go deeper" in defense of popular entertainment. I'm easily what you would call a film snob. I'm a cinephile. an elitist. i believe cinema's potential lies in emotional, intellectual and spiritual exploration of the human drama. for this reason, i have little to no interest in most mainstream releases. you on the other hand embrace them making you a "snob" for mindless entertainment. an elitist for the mainstream. but how does that make you different from me? we merely stand at opposite ends of the spectrum casting a shadowy reflection of the other.

btw, you've got it backwards. admitted films snobs, like myself, don't think the masses are dumb, we think movies made to appeal to the lowest common denominator are.

My comments weren't pointing anyone out in particular. It was just a general statement. I never said 'snobs' are people that don't like Michael Bay, I understand people have differant tastes. There are some around that think that Micheal Bay sucks because Micheal Bay makes movies meant to entertain and aren't deep or artistic. If you don't like the type of entertainment that Bay is attempting to provide then so be it. You don't have to enjoy it and you can even tell people the reasons why you don't enjoy it. But if you are calling people ignorant for liking Bay's movies for entertainment then that is called being a snob. There is a difference. Again not pointing anyone out in particular, but I do have some people in mind.

I don't see how my comments come off at all as looking like a snob, if they did then it was not my intent. The point I was trying to get across is that I don't like it when certain movie elitists tell me that I have no taste in movies if I liked Bad Boys II and Armageddon.

Maybe you can call me a snob for variety :)

can you show me the post in this thread that criticizes fans of michael bay? can you show me a post in any thread of a film snob criticizing fans of michael bay? i'm sure there are a few out there somewhere, but i've never seen one. i have seen many posts like yours, though. posts that lambast a supposed prevalence of elitists putting you down for enjoying mainstream entertainment. there's a few in this very thread. who they are responding to, i don't know.

I'm going to go ahead and say that you're right, to a certain degree. I can't find any posts of 'snobbery' in this thread. Maybe I could in other similar threads but no need to look. However, I did say that I had certain people in mind. I'm going to take back anything I said about those people being on this board, because I honestly can't think of any. I still stand by my post because there are people out there, and I do have certain people in mind. I can remember specific discussions I've had with people who look down on other people's tastes. In my opinion, thats elitistism. You don't have to believe me, but I don't care if you do or don't.

However, I do sometimes get a a feeling that people dislike Bay's films because of what he represents rather than the movies he makes. He represents a director who is low on artistry and high on mindless action and money. Many think that is what is wrong with cinema today and I disagree. I'm not calling those people snobs, I just disagree. If my earlier posts make it seem like I'm calling such people snobs, then I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention to do so.

as soon people here know, I LOVE MICHAEL BAY... My Fav director... His movies are great popcorn flixs, and for that, there great. I agree, Pearl Harbor was cheesy at points, but god is his action awsome... He truely is a master at what he does, and I will always give his movies my money.

Aside from what I already said about Bad Boys II being exactly the kind of movie that Michael Bay is about, one event that summed it up for me was when they brought him in as a possible director for Phone Booth and his first thought was, "How can we get this out of the phone booth?"

One day I was just walking down the road minding my own bidness when out of nowhere Michael Bay came along in his big fancy Hummer and SPLASH sprayed goddamn mud all over me. I was wearing a white tuxedo at the time and needless to say it was ruined. Since then I have hated Michael Bay with a fiery red-hot passion like a thousand dying suns.

Bad Boys II is to Bad Boys what Son of the Mask is to The Mask.

Ugh.

L8r