Yeah, yeah, yeah, *shakes head* Toronto media goes two for two on mucking up Tom Hardy questions. It was a Toronto reporter that asked him the Mad Max "chick flick" question in Cannes.

Man, our media is terrible. =(

It's a Roland Emmerich movie. About Shakespeare.

I can only assume the theatre explodes at some point.

Coming soon, Michael Bay directs a romcom chick flick.....

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

I'm going to see it next week - the trailer looked funny.

In reply to this comment by therealblankman:
In reply to this comment by dag:
So how's the movie - anyone?


Surprisingly funny. Of course it's a chick-flick, but with enough sex, smart dialogue and outright funny to keep heterosexual men planted in the seat, rather than squirming around looking for the nearest exit.

In reply to this comment by dag:
So how's the movie - anyone?


Surprisingly funny. Of course it's a chick-flick, but with enough sex, smart dialogue and outright funny to keep heterosexual men planted in the seat, rather than squirming around looking for the nearest exit.

I agree with several comments and demand to see a list of chick flicks that fail a gender-reversed bechdel test.

Also, I watched the finale of 24 last night (the only episode I've seen...don't make me explain) and my stepmom was crying at the end. It was the only episode she'd ever seen, and she didn't watch the entire thing either. The show was mostly action and talking about action, and one of her two questions to the person who was totally into the show involved love. Just saying...a LOT of women like having their heartstrings pulled and stories that involve women loving men accomplish this.

Interestingly, the episode of 24 passed the Bechdel test. In fact, two women who were both presidents of their respective countries, talked about "not men" for several minutes. Yet, this doesn't get some sort of "seal of approval" from feminists since a good chunk of their conversation involved the death of one woman's husband (which was the only reason she was president) and the repercussions from that (war/threats/violence)...which makes the test even more ridiculous. Yet, if you strip the genders from the characters, they could've been men...so that seems like a step forward if you ignore the ridiculousness that is 24.

I'm all for having more important female roles in mainstream film, but as for anything other than a conversation-starter, this is crap.

>> ^GenjiKilpatrick:

>> ^Tymbrwulf:
Majority of the women I know would only watch movies as entertainment occasionally and don't really call themselves "movie buffs." If you think there is an untapped "movie buff" in the female world you would think the movie industry would attempt to tap into it? (Chick flicks?)


Wow.. are you trollin' Tymbie? Or just thick?
Cause if you can't find the faults in that statement. I think you should immediately take some critical thinking classes.
Have you ever wondered why most women you know don't consider themselves "movie buffs"?
Female 1: "Hey the new Comic Book/Action/Eddie Murphy Comedy movie is out."
Female 2: "Fuck yes! I've been dyin' to see gratuitous explosions/shoot-outs/prosthetic fat all year!!"
And then, like some marketing executive from the 60s, you have gall to suggest that female movie enthusiasts truly crave to be spoon fed stereotypical bastardized depictions of themselves in films.
~~ written by @<a rel="nofollow" href="http://videosift.com/member/BoneyD" title="member since July 7th, 2006" class="profilelink">BoneyD - A lot of chick flicks would fail the Bechdel Test as well, btw...
Like real world women all are desperate love-obsessed delicate lilies that: need to reunite with their sisters and babble about romanticism. Or find a rich man so they can stop whoring themselves. Or reunite with their "mature" party slut friends and babble about sex.
I bet female movie goers find those films ultra empowering! =D
And on top of all that - deep breath - "chicks flicks" don't even begin to scratch even the bottom of any list or review of the most popular movies.
So what have we learned?
- Realistically relatable females aren't depicted in mainstream media.
- The niche genre for females depicts them as clueless whiny emo kids hoping some stronger, usually male, character saves them from their shitty situation/themselves.
- You find that's perfectly normal and don't see an reason why younger females shouldn't be raised to expect the same.


I agree in a number of ways with you regarding the way women are depicted in a majority of modern movies. However, the part that I think there are two big factors here that are being overlooked by you and by women who argue for more "realistic and substantive" roles for women in movies. First and foremost in my opinion at least is the fact that making movies is all about making money (again looking to the majority here, indie films are somewhat of an exception to this but then I think you'd agree that they are also largely an exception to this Bechdel Test). Since it's about making money, the unfortunate truth is that the majority of the target market for films these days is men, and what most of them want is the same mindless, formulaic story over and over again. If making films was primarily about telling a good, detailed and deeply thought provoking story, I think things would be very different. This just doesn't sell on a large scale and you'd have one hell of a time convincing the film studios of the world to begin shooting films for the artistic appeal and forget about the financial aspect.

On a bit of a side note to your point below,

"Like real world women all are desperate love-obsessed delicate lilies that: need to reunite with their sisters and babble about romanticism. Or find a rich man so they can stop whoring themselves. Or reunite with their "mature" party slut friends and babble about sex."

I agree that this is a very unrealistic depiction of real women. I would also contend that real men don't drive cars off ramps onto moving boats, or shoot anything that moves, or smoothly sweep any attractive woman off their feet with a few suave words. That is however, the image of men in the movies and I'd wager that it's not only the male population of moviegoers that enjoys seeing men depicted that way. And that's why it continues to sell...

My advice is... stick to indies.

With a few exceptions, the movies brought up in the video are mostly "guy" movies (ie. action, comic book movies, thrillers). Show me a list of a bunch of chick flicks, and I'll bet most of them would fail a reverse Bechdel test.

I cant remember what I was watching the other day that stated that the Hollywood agenda was as simple as one thing...MONEY. More women will go see an action movie than there are men that will go see a chick flick.

If the feminist community wants to make an impact on what movies are made, they should stop going to action movies.

>> ^BoneyD:

A lot of chick flicks would fail the Bechdel Test as well, btw...
This video goes towards confirming what I've felt in my gut about films for a few years now. More specifically, the lack of female role models in them. For example, try to think of the last kids film that had a female as the protagonist. The last I can think of is Labyrinth (though I'll concede there's probably also been a few since then).
Take this list of kids films for instance and try to count 'em out:
http://www.criticker.com/?fl&view=all&filter=gy10zp5x4x3x2zod



Alice in wonderland, Princess and the frog, Little Mermaid, Coraline, Hanna Montanna the movie, Bratz the movie, The Golden Compass, Nim's island, Nancy Drew, Mulan, Flicka, The Princess Diaries, then any disney movie princess sequel ect... Just to name a few.

I don't think a female main character should be forced. Not saying there shouldn't be one but that's not what is going to make me want to go to a movie.

I can't relate to a chick flick because I don't relate to the bad stereotypes of women (shoes, shopping, and getting your hair did) just the same as many men don't relate to the many stereotypes that are shown in some guy flicks (pushups, John Wayne, things that go vrooooooom)

An interesting movie doesn’t center around those stereotypes…so fuck you Sex in the City and Fast and the Furious...

>> ^Tymbrwulf:
Majority of the women I know would only watch movies as entertainment occasionally and don't really call themselves "movie buffs." If you think there is an untapped "movie buff" in the female world you would think the movie industry would attempt to tap into it? (Chick flicks?)



Wow.. are you trollin' Tymbie? Or just thick?
Cause if you can't find the faults in that statement. I think you should immediately take some critical thinking classes.

Have you ever wondered why most women you know don't consider themselves "movie buffs"?

Female 1: "Hey the new Comic Book/Action/Eddie Murphy Comedy movie is out."
Female 2: "Fuck yes! I've been dyin' to see gratuitous explosions/shoot-outs/prosthetic fat all year!!"

And then, like some marketing executive from the 60s, you have gall to suggest that female movie enthusiasts truly crave to be spoon fed stereotypical bastardized depictions of themselves in films.

~~ written by @BoneyD - A lot of chick flicks would fail the Bechdel Test as well, btw...

Like real world women all are desperate love-obsessed delicate lilies that: need to reunite with their sisters and babble about romanticism. Or find a rich man so they can stop whoring themselves. Or reunite with their "mature" party slut friends and babble about sex.

I bet female movie goers find those films ultra empowering! =D

And on top of all that - deep breath - "chicks flicks" don't even begin to scratch even the bottom of any list or review of the most popular movies.

So what have we learned?

- Realistically relatable females aren't depicted in mainstream media.

- The niche genre for females depicts them as clueless whiny emo kids hoping some stronger, usually male, character saves them from their shitty situation/themselves.

- You find that's perfectly normal and don't see an reason why younger females shouldn't be raised to expect the same.

A lot of chick flicks would fail the Bechdel Test as well, btw...

This video goes towards confirming what I've felt in my gut about films for a few years now. More specifically, the lack of female role models in them. For example, try to think of the last kids film that had a female as the protagonist. The last I can think of is Labyrinth (though I'll concede there's probably also been a few since then).

Take this list of kids films for instance and try to count 'em out:
http://www.criticker.com/?fl&view=all&filter=gy10zp5x4x3x2zod

>> ^GenjiKilpatrick:

>> ^shuac:
Her's are just a list of seemingly-relevant points that rely on their simplicity. Who's to say having a character name is always a good thing? So what if women don't talk to one another in a film? Why is that such a good thing? Why is that the measuring stick? And so what if women talk about a man in a film. Perhaps that's what the story is about.
The lines she's drawn are very arbitrary.

Ugh, do you really need this explained?
What major/driving character is nameless in a film or novel?
In what society or reality do women not relate to one another?
In what society or reality do women only talk to one another about men?
The point is to make the public aware that an overwhelming amount of popular films either depict women as secondary, dependent superfluous characters or not at all.
I'll assume you're a white male.
Now imagine that every movie from your childhood, teenage years and current life have female asian protagonists.
Not just a few, not just a large amount, but every major movie is about a female jackie chan type main character.
All deuteragonists, tritagonists and extras are female too.
The only male characters you see are the worried desperate husband, the drunken hobo, the clueless nameless youth.
No male characters have major lines.
No two male characters talk anything other then their how they miss and need wives.
No males are depicted that aren't ripped half naked & constanly flexing to attract attention from the main female.
Now imagine all the little boys that would grow up without a Batman or Spiderman or Dr. Doom to day dream about.
Are you visualizing this world?
Because for little girls this [objectification, helpless ditzy stereotype, lack of confident/constructive behavior modeling]
is a persistent reality.


Majority of the women I know would only watch movies as entertainment occasionally and don't really call themselves "movie buffs." If you think there is an untapped "movie buff" in the female world you would think the movie industry would attempt to tap into it? (Chick flicks?)

^Sagemind, don't let lazy stop you-you have had the stamina and dedication to flattening your ass in that chair that got you to where you are today on the site-editing software I have and never use it-will one day, but you do not have time to be dilly-dallying with it now.

Take your inspiration for creation, and enroll in the Roger Corman school of film. "Cut, excellent, beautiful, move on to scenes 14-91." You have 10 days to give the producers a can of fertilizer for the premiere in Hoboken. One take wonders hit every 5th-7th time....just look at the kids who produced the ultimately unwatchable and highly successful, Blair Witch Project. Amazing what pot and fake butter can do to an audience. Take out your camera, write the script onna cocktail napkin and roll camera.

Here are a few tips to remember, elements that win every time with gullible audiences of freaks, geeks, tweaks, and the uni-dimensional meek, the latter being the ones that Frank Zappa reminded, will inherit nothing.

Nudity: Tasteful snippets of T&A (no P, unless it's a passing flash that keeps the audience wanting more or wondering if that was what they think it was), will distract an audience from content or lack of inherent talent...use sparingly, or folks may become jaded, dysfunctional social rejects.

Profanity: No film that has ever placed in the last 40 years is without it...use sparingly, do not use any of my contributions as an example.

Set: Provide the viewer with enough to occupy their feeble minds in the BACKGROUND, to distract them from the script that looked great yesterday, but stinks like foreign cheese after the drugs have worn off the next....litter the scene with props, gadgetry and eye-candy...try dumping a garbage can on the floor and re-arranging it a few times, perhaps....(HINT:most props are made of cardboard, plaster, or Styrofoam.)

Fire: Cheap and ever present, combustibles make for good cinema....think of all the chick flicks you have had to suffer, without smoke, there can be no flames.

Actors/Actresses-Optional elements of any film, these are like friends...-dime-a-dozen clutter which distract from the task at hand-employ the services of the homeless, have animals do your bidding, stack Barbies or plastic army men to the ceiling, and roll camera....insects work well too, they are always in character.

Hope this helped.

Your ideas are fascinating to me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

>> ^Drax:
Take a certain movie and slap a label on it "This is a guy movie.", "This is a chick flick." and you get these arguments. Now I have noticed that movies recently do get made with the idea of what audience they'll appeal to, and I think now a lot of work goes into figuring out the magical androgynous formula to pull both audiences together so everyone can go out after and talk about it over coffee or get laid (which ever just happens to be the most applicable scenario), but call me naive or whatever but I think there was a time where people just made movies and let them fall where they landed.
Here's some of my favorites, I guess most are guy flicks.. I dunno.. I just enjoy them. If a girl likes any of these too that's great, Id hope anyone can just approach a movie as "it's a movie", and keep an open mind.
Die Hard - Only the original. It's a freaking classic, not just a good action movie. So many little details worked out that there's a scene where you can see a whole sub-plot silently occurring based on one of the character's facial expressions. When Gruber puts the coke fiend on the radio to talk to McClane watch all of McClane's facial expressions.
Way of the Gun - This is another movie where entire conversations occur between characters without a word being spoken. The shoot out at the end is incredible and well thought out.
SE7EN - David Fincher at his best.
Aliens - Video games will never stop quoting from this movie (or stealing ideas from it). Can't wait for Avatar (no, not the cartoon).
The Hudsucker Proxy - One of the best comedies no one's seen.
Face / Off - Cheesy over the top in the best possible way. John Woo's best American movie IMO (Hard Boiled being his best period).
Event Horizon - Many don't like this flick, I loved it. The whole scientific concept of hell being this other place of pure chaos that this ship slipped into really drew me in.
I've got a ton more, but I'll stop here. Why do I like these movies? Because they're fun in some form or fashion.
And soon as Hollywood can get back to making movies that aren't based off something from 10-20 years ago I'll get back into being a movie buff.
Oh and PS, I SOOO Want to see Antichrist too. Looks like some really F'ed up horror.