I appreciate the risk you're taking with this very level-headed video, LITERALLY. Thank you.

My opinion: too much social media and not enough imagination.

You hit the nail on the head with "good old fashioned pandering." They no longer care about just a good story, but they just shoehorn in the characters they feel they need to include to get as many diverse butts in the seats as possible. If you tell a good story, no one cares who is in it. Just don't base your story solely around political/gender/race ideaologies.

My man here is picking up where Stuckman left off... very refreshing. You're right in the perfect middle...you're not an angry reviewer made for laughs...and you're not an ass kisser and you call bullshit Very refreshing and I'm glad I found some new background noise while working on my DVD collection lol. Awesome channel...keep kicking ass and growing. We need more of this!

I just wish Disney would stop doing LAR's of everything. The charm and the novelty has completely worn off and they should just stop.

one thing about wokeness stuff that i dislike is how really arrogant and annoying everyone always is. characters are written so annoying. theres no humility. no growth, always talking down on people. on the audience.

A few thoughts. 1) Woke, for me, has become a dog whistle. If I see someone use the word "Woke" in their video description (particularly when it comes to video games or film criticism) I click whatever I can to no longer get recommendations from that creator. I've seen enough of these videos to know that, soon enough, a deeper issue within these people rises to the surface. 2) I feel like Disney has no black people on their staff. Most people, regardless of race, want a compelling story, first and foremost. I didn't have to be black to love Get Out. I'm all for representation but making Snow White, Snow Black, for no reason, screams "trying too hard" and "low effort." How about you write an original story with a black female lead? Or stop remaking your own shit in general?

The juice that erupted from polishing the Pander stone is too potent and has blinded all who used it.

I'm exactly where you are my guy. Social media is overblown these days

Keep on keeping on, Adam, you don't have to apologize to anyone for your honest opinions.

Devil wears prada LITERALLY rocks.... ... ill see myself out

I love these types of videos that you do b/c you don't pull your punches and I agree with most of your points. The old school straight movie reviews and these types of videos are where you shine in my humble opinion. Your schtick is being snarky, but you are secretly very insightful and astute from what I know of you from watching for awhile. Literally insightful. Lol.

Streamers/studios do seem to listen to social media closely to have a broader reach. But by doing so they have lost the plot, literally. I think the problem is bigger in productions that are 100% American. US/European, European, and Asian tv/movies seem to have the old fashioned way of thinking - doing good stuff without thinking so much what people MIGHT want to see.

Hollywood executives are definitely idiots, that's an overstatement as well. The executives know nothing about film, yet they have all the control. That's why our movies are starting to suck

I feel like I just watched a therapy session, hahah. You were going through it here. Let it all out, my friend!

You're right, it's lonely being in the middle. The last few times I've gone to the theater I left thoroughly unimpressed. Thanks for venting the frustration many of us are feeling about entertainment these days.

As a black woman who still loves the original little mermaid. I never once paid any attention to what color Ariel was. All I knew was she was a mermaid. When they came out with the movie I was not interested because I knew Disney was not telling a different story. I agree the changes in the movies were to just check a box and stir up controversy. The great thing about being a kid we can see ourselves as anything no matter the obstacles. So I find it interesting how these big franchises can’t see that

Its unrealistic but i think that film ceos should be actual movie lovers. Obviosuly you have to understand business but getting leaders who are actually passionate about their products not just share Holders would go soooo far

Thank you for this. I've disagreed with you on multiple topics but you are 100% right about this current insanity in Hollywood and modern media altogether. We are currently living in the twilight zone. I hope this episode ends very soon.

If Adam would have released this rant a year ago, he would have been labelled with all the "-isms" and thrown into the same lot with Critical Drinker, Nerdrotic, Az, Disparu, Chris Gore, Alan Ng and sorts. Adam can claim being in the middle (i.e. being separat from them), but he shares a many opinions with them. Same goes for Dan Murrell. They both try their hardest to be honest and critical without getting labelled "-isms". It's a actually funny to watch, when it is so obvious to see what "Modern" entertainment has become.

I'm kind of obsessed with your arms waving.

4:58 Adam your rant on *literally* was....ahem, *'Wild'.* Thank you (dodges bricks)

You're more right than you know. All conflict needs both sides to be self-perpetuating. Unfortunately fighting has become the goal in and of itself. And in the process it obscures the worst offenses. Bad movies and offensive comments get grouped up with the decent ones because that team divide is forced down the middle.

My best friend, may he rest in peace, worked for a movie company that tried to make a movie w/ Disney. He wouldn't tell me what the movie was, by the off chance it would eventually get produced, but he said that Disney had certain rules they needed to follow. One of those rules was that they had to change one of the couples in the script to a gay couple and there was no budging on that. He said the couple had no bearing on the story, Disney just required that they'd be gay. I wish I knew what the movie was but he took that secret to his grave.

“…so that they don’t shoot me.” Is the funniest reason for diversity 😂😂😂

We all want the same thing here: great art. Imagine standing in a museum in front of a great work of art. Shoulder to shoulder, we are all affected by it. Before we know who we voted for or where we went to college, we look at each other in the presence of a magnificent creation and say “Wow”. We could make a point to always start THERE when having these discussions. I think that’s what you’re asking of us here.

Movies could successfully add representation without being condescending and preachy, all the heavy handing is making movies unwatchable, boring messes with TERRIBLE messages. I don't need to be lectured by a bunch of rich people who don't even believe what they preach (see how A LOT of actors quickly wrote letters to get some other rich guy's sentence for SA ro be lowered since he is getting 30yrs in prison. And many of them were supporters of the me too movement kind of stuff) I just want a dumb action movie thats fun and exciting, make the kead a man or a woman or a trans person, white, black, asian, Mexican, I don't care, just make a good, fun movie for once

Every point you made is LITERALLY dead on! LIterally, keep up the great work Adam!

You can thank Anita Sarkeesian for all this shit. She was the catalyst.

This why you gotta love Adam, normal dude that gives honest but level headed opinions

I loved your video about you know who from a few days ago and I'm excited to hear you expand on your thoughts... 🤘🏻

I agree with this take and said the very thing myself. The studios made a HUGE mistake in the genre properties that they VERY WRONGLY thought they "had men". Therefore they assumed they would "show up for anything", and could safely "expand the audience" to women and other groups, that did not traditionally like genre fair like superheroes and sci fi. This blew up completely in their faces. They completely turned off their base audience (boys and men), and women and other groups did not show up, despite the massive pandering. Because women do not like sci fi and superhero movies. Boys want to watch boys and men do cool stuff. They don't want to watch strong females. You have to know your audience. Just like Bud Light learned to their detriment. But I also do agree with some conservative commentators that this decision is also very much in line with some execs and artistic opinions politically, and they have indeed made comments that not only showed this bias, but they were indeed making decisions in movies we like to further some "agenda" they had. People do not like being manipulated and this caused a huge backlash.

So many of us here say we appriciate your mature, level headed approach. But do we really? Here Adam have some green love form The Czech Republic. Those pesky bills won't pay themselfs. I challenge others to dish out some cash and beat me! 🤑🤑🤑

I’m in the same boat man. My KZfaq is flooded with what I call the “curmudgeons” who hate on the woke stuff. I mostly agree with them but it gets tiring and old to see the same talking points on each new movie/video game that comes out. I’d like stuff to be fun again

They got greedy

Joker 2 CAME OUT???!!!! WTF.. Clearly I have been ignoring movies for a bit too long now

I’ve watched Adam for years. I’m so Surprised with great takes like this that he hasn’t gotten way bigger on here. Keep it up dawg I love it all

This... This is why I follow your channel!

EXCELLENT middle ground take on the problem !!!

Its sad to see what the film industry is now. When i was younger everyone loved going to the movies and most of them were amazing. Today most movies are shit and the movie theatre is empty. The reason i choose to work in this industry is because of my experience at the theatre as a child.

Quality rant! The sheer amount of anger you see online on both sides about what are pretty silly topics is interesting to watch. I do feel studios capitalize on outrage in hopes that engagement will equal box office. For myself, I realized that I'm no longer the target demographic for many of these projects, and I'm fine with it. I became aware of this while watching The Last Jedi; the movie just made me sad, and that isn't what I look for out of a Star Wars movie. But a significant number of people really enjoyed that flick, so seemingly that was who Ryan Johnson was aiming at. As for Marvel, it was a similar experience. I left End Game completely satisfied. It wasn't a great film, but as a capper to a decade's long storyline, it served its purpose. I felt it should have ended there, but obviously it can't, and so I initially checked out what followed with some trepidation. I was halfway through the first episode of Loki, and noped right out. Marvel wasn't for me anymore, and that's okay.

I’m glad to see this channel grow and happy I found it. Great content and happy medium of criticism film and Hollywood. I agree with you Disney in my opinion is trying to appeal to the younger generation and I’m in my 30s and trying to be relatable to the few and loosing its audience of what made it so magical… now it’s tarnished what was a dependable brand of good entertainment to what we see or want to unsee today…

I'm in the boring middle on my channel too. It's tough because both sides dislike our thinking. Good video here - literally!

I keep my hyper-bowl in the freezer so my milk for my cereal stays cold.

Excited to watch this mate!

I truly enjoy your rants and it feels good that you are bringing them back. Looking forward to the next one already.

That’s why I’ve been on a binge on watching a lot of foreign films and shows lately

These studios are out of touch and it's costing them fortune. They may get away with some pandering here and there but in many cases, they get egg in their face.

It’s the three things everyone has been saying 1. Studios paying millions/billions for an IP but deciding that they don’t want the fans that made that IP valuable enough to pay millions/billions for it. 2. Filmmakers and writers making movies for their peers and not the customers/ audience. 3. Likes and retweets don’t equal to $.

This guy is the best movie critic out there right now. Someone who's entertaining, funny, energetic, covers a wide range of topics, doesn't mail it in, and as this video proves, is thoughtful and opinionated in a way that isn't trying to alienate people or piss them the hell off. There's life and energy in his reviews. Jeremy Jahns, nice guy, but does the same god damned thing EVERY. SINGLE. VIDEO. It's like having the same meal every day of your life. Stuckmann isn't even a critic anymore, he's some sort of movie industry advocate or whatever the hell. Harloff is just Walmart John Campea, and John Campea, well, he's pretty damned good (when he's got his roundtable discussion with others), but 1 v 1 Adam is better. I appreciate this channel and always know something good is coming down the pike. I'd say he's got a talent for this, but that dismisses the hardwork that's clearly been done to bring the content to the level of quality which it's at. Cheers and well done, Adam.

A few years ago Donald Faison was cast as Booster Gold for the CW's Legends of Tomorrow. For those who've never heard of either, Donald Faison is black, and Booster Gold is white with blonde hair. I had an argument with someone about the casting and said the same about how Black Panther would never be race-swapped so why should Booster Gold, and the person said that Black Panther being black is rooted in his culture or something like that, but that Booster Gold being white doesn't have any cultural meaning or context, so apparently *that* makes it ok. The damn point is that the character has been established to look a certain way, and changing that goes against expectation and is very distracting.

Thank you!!! Every point you made I agree with 100%! I've been a fan for a long time (of your channel), enjoyed every thing you put out, but this really hit home. This dissection was beyond fair. Gratitude Sir.

I think the Joker 2 is going to be a huge dramedy musical with lots of big sets and tons of choreography. So that would explain where some of the money is going. I think it's going to be much different than the first movie (though dealing with similar themes and stuff). The director said it's largely influenced by Scorsese's musical from a while back. Just a hunch, but I think the Joker is going to have these "musical" delusions where he finds love with Harley and then imagines that his whole life is a musical (because he's so happy, or whatever), not realizing that most of the things going on around him aren't real - and the audience will probably get to see his musical POV and then see the reality of the situation. I think it could work pretty well.

"There's no good looking guys in Madame Webb" ... I mean, come on, it's a Hollywood movie, there has to be - *Googles Cast* OMG he's right!!

I heard someone say "we got to the top of the hill and the wind literally took our heads off". Made me laugh💖

I actually think this could backfire very badly because personally I have lost the "habit" of going to the movies and so, to get me back, they can't produce just one or two good movies... we will have to go back to the late 80s /90s where almost every movie was good or great. I do disagree with you though, I think the weirdos in Hollywood were clearly trying to force beliefs on the audience via pushing them in the movies and media. They have been rejected. But they just keep trying. That isn't a mistake that is intentional.

The thing that amazes most, specifically with Disney, is that the best and only truly enjoyable legacy sequel to anything recently has been Prey, yet they chose to bury that on a streaming service. I don’t understand how much more out of touch the executives can get. They made a fantastic female led action film and action/horror fans showed out to the point of forcing a physical release. Yet they refuse to follow their own success with it.

Hey Adam, just wanted to say thank you for making this video. I very much enjoyed it, and you make a ton of great points that I feel the average person who goes to see a film will also make. Keep up the good work, you've got a fan out of me :)

The anti-woke channels can go overboard at times and its clearly big business but they're mostly correct about Hollywood. This is why I watch less and less new movies or shows every year. 90% of what I watch at this point was released before 2010. I'm a former Democrat and I don't know what the hell happened to the left. It just became a freak show and the things that these people support today is so nuts.

4:58 I remember your old rant on the word literally, hilarious stuff! 🤣🤣🤣

I pretty much quit supporting big franchises and modern-day Hollywood movies/shows. It's just not worth it. I don't need to be lectured by rich liberals. I rewatch movies that I love but also try to find movies that I never watched before from more creative decades like the 70s, 80s and so on.

They should have never used the panderstone

On one hand, I completely agree with you and it kinda makes me sad that Hollywood is in this poor state. On the other hand, I'm kinda glad that superhero movies and franchises pretty much all suck now, because it makes me appreciate the original movies like Oppenheimer, Barbie or Killers of the Flower Moon that much more, because I feel like had they come out just couple years ago, those movies would be completely drowned under superhero/franchise blockbusters.

Great video Adam. I agree with everything you said. These companies need to stop shoving this stuff down our throats!

"Toxic positivity" is the new term. Rewarding people for being mediocre. Chris Stuckmann is gonna find out if and when he does make it to Hollywood when some KZfaqr trashes his film. There's nothing wrong with criticism, but when Hollywood refuses to take accountability for making crap, they always blame us, the audience. When you're a billion dollar company it's easier to blame everybody else instead of the people at the top.

Objective nuance is BACK BAAABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Love your channel! Fresh takes with a good sense of humor

100% agree. Look at the last Saw movie it seemed like it just went back to the basics. Good story. Good acting

I feel glad to have been born when I was, I got to see the end of the 80s and the entire 90's, so I did get to live through some of the good times... any kid born today is in a world of shit, it's gotta be depressing as hell to be a child these days... being told what to think from a dozen different people, how can anyone even learn how to think or what is true?

Having a superhero film with Sydney sweeny swinging around with them jiggling all over would be amazing.

Adam, you made so many great points that I agree with.

We all miss the 90s Adam. 😢matrix and fight club.

"Guys will go to anything if there's at least a hot woman in it"...I hate that I can't argue with this truth.

Thanks!

My biggest gripe with the female led Ghostbusters was: the trailer looked terrible. It wasn't FUNNY. The jokes were just awful. Melissa McCarthy doing prat falls. Leslie Jones screaming at everyone. Just brutally bad. But boy could we not say that, because it mean we were women haters!

Dude, I love the rant! Keep these videos coming!

I remember an old classmate of mine showing me a meme many years ago. It was the timeline of Disney buying everything. By 2100 they owned the universe. It was hilarious and that memory was surfaced by watching this video.

Anyone remember Oceans 11 w/ all chicks? Me neither Hey Adam, I miss the 90s very very much too. I miss the time in between projects to get excited. I miss a lot of things about then. Have you ever checked out Ryan George? Dude is hilarious, specifically check out his “Times Traveling Reporter” series. He’s in contact w/ the studio which is generally in 1997

Love how real you are

Adam, you have great videos brother! Please keep doing the longer videos, love them! There a great way to pass the time! 👍👍👍

"The Message" is a reference to what companies do in order to increase their ESG score to satisfy their stock rating for hedge fund investors. If you don't know what this is, then look up what Blackrock, Vanguard and State Street are doing and how they influence media companies and specifically Disney to force DEI initiatives. Blackrock is even on record, describing how they intend to force media companies to pander even if they don't want to do it. Disney's board of directors is mostly people from these investor companies, that demand ESG conformatiy-- ie. delivering "The Message"...

Love your videos always. Highlight of this one.....when you said "cool dudes doing cool stuff, he's really into Dragon Ball!" Yeahhhhhh!!!💪💪💪🔥🔥🔥❤❤❤❤

I think you have a LOT right Adam, but also I think you haven't gone down some of these rabbit holes to fully understand everything. I also am happy you don't go down these rabbit holes, because your love for movies is CLEARLY your #1 priority and I would hate to see that change. I am thrilled that there are people on one side of barking against the "woke" films and shows happening, because honestly, there was never a place for it before. I do agree, and think its sad, that some projects that get thrown into the woke label may be honest attempts at film or TV that isn't pushing a message. It is what it is though, and the current culture is toxic and all encompassing. I do disagree with you slightly, in that I do not think Hollywood is focused on giving you the best film possible. Right now I think the message is all they care about, and they are willing to take the losses in the short term because they think it will eventually catch on. They will need to wake up at some point, and started already, and will need to start veering away from this soon I hope. Social media is hurting Hollywood because actors making comments shitting on the property they are in, or calling the writer of that property racist or sexist isn't exactly helping draw in the original fan. Or how about actors who can't stop talking about politics, alienating fan bases with their rhetoric. Catching Disney execs saying they are forcing LGB ideology in a high percentage in their films shows they have zero interest in the property, and have focused on messaging, which most fans object to. Take a show like Schitts Creek. Show had strong LGB vibes, but didn't push a message and was just funny. My wife and I loved the show. That's not to say they aren't bastardizing what the show stood for post end, but that's a different story. Hollywood is being destroyed by unoriginal content, made with messaging being the focus over content, and the stars can't stop themselves from putting their foot in their mouths. Also, where are the Stallone, Willis, Arnold type actors that someone would just go see the film, despite it's story, jJUST to see Arnold kill some bad guys and throw out a cheesy one liner? Hollywood in it's current form is dead, and it's a multi faceted cause and effect, mostly done by drowning out testosterone and beating down good stories with poor messaging.

I literally cannot right now with you adam!

when people say this its because they are mad they are no longer being pandered to. way to expose yourself.

It's just nice to see a white male who isn't afraid to be a white male and speak his mind. Keep up the great work.

Hi! I'm glad KZfaq recommended your video to me. This was a very level headed rant about modern movies. I appreciate your non-ideological take on what Hollywood is trying to achieve, because it makes sense. They are trying to grow the audience by bringing in demographics that don't traditionally watch films. What really surprises me is how incredibly wedded they are to this pandering approach, when it hasn't worked in any profitable way. It's like they can't admit failure. My theory is the growth of Netflix kind of ruined the instincts of Hollywood executives. Netflix didn't make a profit for many years, but investors kept supporting the company because they were able to continually grow the audience. After that all the companies wanted to succeed the same way Netflix did. Profit and loss became less important than demographic growth.

I agree with everything you said and really enjoy your channel. You also summed up my thoughts on the Little Mermaid perfectly. I just think that raceswapping on of the most iconic disney princesses was such a dumb move. Especially when you are doing a remake of a beloved animated film. When Ariel doesn't look like Ariel you alienate a lot of your audience who loved the original. It really should have been a slam dunk, but disney imo shot themselves in the foot. I also understand what Disney is trying to do with Star Wars and Marvel, getting more women to go see them but its not working and like you said pushing the male audience you already have away. If it was me I would double down and appeal to the bigger audience I already have.

I respect Adam's take on the current state of Hollywood. I just want to see good films and television that's enjoyable and leaves a lasting impression on me. 😎👍🏾

The word "woke" just needs to go away. It was old 6 years ago in the middle of trumps presidency, and I just don't take anyone saying it seriously. It's like one of those things where someone unironically uses woke, and it's an indicator that this person isn't worth your time and isn't that bright. Also, spot on about the Netflix targetting demographics for attention. I'm surprised more people don't catch on to these things. There's definitely agendas being pushed heavily in movies and shows, and it's worse than in any time period of film. People can understand a different point of view and enjoy a character they differ from politically or racially or whatever, but alienating another group of people just because you want to target other demographics is dumb as well. Instead of having some considerate message, it's just "you're like this? Well, you're wrong. Be more like these people that we like."

Yep. Movie houses got their strategy backwards. To boost female and gay audiences, add more shirtless he-man hunks. That will please women, gay men, aspirationals, and hero worshippers. To attract lesbians, don't cover up all of the sexiness of female leads, which also works for male audiences. Not gratuitous - just throw the audience some bones, so to speak. Also, people are different because we all have different limitations. The more perfect we are, the more similar we are. Since there is fear of giving a Strong Female Lead any weaknesses, lest they propagate a stereotype, all SFL's are perfect. And lacking personality. No sense avoiding one stereotype to propagate another. Ideally, writers would create a tale and any diversity should emerge as part of the story.

Best review and analysis of the landscape. You’re not simply bashing for the sake of bashing like critical drinker and many on his panel do (I actually think drinker can be more nuanced at times but he caters to his audience and comrades)

they stopped making movies i cared to see. i don't think that's a 'me' problem. maybe i just don't like movies anymore.

Thanks Adam!!

This is the realist video iv seen in a while. Got my subscription

Back in my day, most of the movie makers were high on cocaine and burning thru money to make movies that catered to people wanting to use cocaine and burn thru money like they were rich playboys with all the bunnies.

I agree with a lot of what you said, but pandering to get people to watch would've been a sensible take in 2018. At this point, so much money has been lost for an extended time it's hard to believe studios don't realize this doesn't work. It's easy to think it's something more nefarious when they repeatedly do the same thing over and over.

Hell yeah this guy is THE BEST reviewer imo! No kiss ass reviews, funny, real and knows what hes talking about. I always look forward to your take on the latest media releases. Keep it up Adam, youre the shiii!!!! 🎉

Hey Adam O.....well done, my friend 👏

Adam I wholeheartedly agree with all of this. I appreciate you mentioning the insanity from both sides as well. Woke gets thrown around entirely too much on some side. And calling someone a racist or a bigot gets thrown around way too much on the other. And all these studios 100% just force variables into a story so they can stand on top of a pedestal and brag to the world. I think the earliest example of my experience with this is last Jedi. I dislike that movie. And I remember people praising it for black and Asian representation and being dumbfounded. I couldn't understand why people were excited about a story line that was meaningless to the plot. And then years later people started waking up, for lack of a better term, to the fact that finn and rose's storyline didn't matter in the slightest and Disney was clearly just trying to profit off of the representation play.