Bilge Ebiri has a must-read interview with Gaspar Noé over at Vulture. Noé hasn’t been shy in his distaste for Hollywood movies of recent years, but he further elaborates his criticisms here by citing some examples:
There’s not one [movie I liked] that comes immediately to my mind. For example, among the blockbusters, I really enjoyed “Titanic” when I saw it. But “Titanic” reminds me of another movie that I saw six times in a row when I was a kid, “The Poseidon Adventure”. Wait, I found one movie that I like from Hollywood, “Joker”. I enjoyed it as much as I would enjoy the James Bond movies when I was a kid.
I liked it because it was dark. That’s one of the few examples of enjoyable movies coming out of Hollywood. I also liked “Arrival” very much, by Denis Villeneuve. That’s the other one. I didn’t want to say “Arrival” because I said it two years ago and everyone said, “Ohh, what? Gaspar Noé likes “Arrival”?
The worst films that you see are not the ones you put in your DVD player. The worst movies you see on planes. And Hollywood movies are becoming worse and worse every day. [Laughs.] Have you seen the last James Bond? [Blows raspberry.]
In the meantime, Noé has released fantastic movies this year: “Lux Aeterna,” and, most especially, “Vortex.”