Emotionless films

Last night watched Ballerina (2025) starring Ana de Armas.

Great action. Impeccable and innovative fight choreography.

But in the end, it felt bland. A common problem for films nowadays: they dont have things for the audience to reminisce.

Films in contrast would be John Woo's 喋血双雄, 英雄本色... many HK films that I grew up with. In addition to exciting action, more importantly they tell stories about the human emotions: the connections, the bond and love between people. Top it off with a theme song.

This recipe is well tested. Years later, people might still talk about 喋血双雄, 英雄本色, or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in America... but not these perishables in recent years. My feeling is that films since roughly the 2010s have gotten more bland and forgettable. They have huge budget, superb cast, crazy special effects and CGI that filmmakers in the past never had, but they come out like supermarket packaged ready-to-eat sushi boxes. You wont remember them even just a week later.