Lou Costas is a movie connoisseur – he’s even seen all of AFI’s top 100 films. But Costas is picky about which movies gain his seal of approval. At the end of the day, he just happens to prefer movies from before women were making them.
“Any movie lover knows that movies have gotten worse over the years, especially now,” says Costas. Movies used to be made by auteurs, with beautiful cinematography and fewer women talking.”
Among Costas favorite films are Manhattan, Psycho, and The Godfather. While a fan of many classics and mainstream blockbusters, Costas laments that franchises like Ghostbusters and Star Wars have been “tainted” in recent years.
“Things just aren’t as good as they used to be, and I can’t quite put my finger on it,” he explains. “The casting is just… uninspired. The stories are unrelatable and disengaging.”
Costas notes an especially sharp decline in movies in recent years. “Wonder Woman, Lady Bird, Can You Ever Forgive Me? – these are all so… so ehhh,” he said waving his hand with a limp wrist. “It’s like people stopped taking film seriously at almost the exact same time that women started making them.”
Costas attests there are just certain types of classic movies that will always be great, including westerns, mob movies, and epic depictions of war. When questioned on the value of The Hurt Locker, however, he differs.
“That movie kind of missed the point of a war movie, you know what I mean?”
