I'd love to agree with RE with regards to new technology dumbing down movies, but that horse left the barn a long long time ago, and it twern't technology as much as it was profits. The summer blockbuster is what killed "serious" or "conventional" movies. With movie and concession stand prices continuing to go up, people are doing their own cost/benefit analysis - even when they see a so-called serious movie trailer, one that they think will be really good, they axe themselves, "does this warrant being seen in a theater?" or they tell themselves, "I don't need to see this on a big screen, I'll just wait until it comes out on DVD" or they amuse themselves trying to guess which antiquated amusement park ride Disney is going try to prop up next with a movie...Sir Terrier is right; people have voted and they'd rather watch Brendan Fraiser jump the shark (again) than watch something that might have some social or cultural merit. People want their senses challenged, not their sensibilities.