Is Michael Bay this generation's Roger Corman?

[Petey Wheatstraw]

But not all of Corman's films are dreadful. There's lots of great films in his portfolio: Bloody Mama, A Bucket of Blood, Creature from the Haunted Sea, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Masque of the Red Death, The Pit and the Pendulum, Tales of Terror, The Wild Angels....and those are just ones that I've seen! The Intruder, for example, is supposed to be really good, but I haven't seen it yet (though I love the reissue title, I Hate Your Guts).

[Variety of Cells]

The Tomb of Ligeia isn't bad either, it was the last of Roger's Poe films, and is considered the best. 

It's easy to dislike both these directors.  Michael Bay represents a lot of what we dislike in films now, and they are so recent that we might over rate their awfulness.  But Roger has made and been affiliated with so many many films: it's hard to do that without making some pretty horrible ones on the way.

[mrbasehart]

But not all of Corman's films are dreadful. There's lots of great films in his portfolio: Bloody Mama, A Bucket of Blood, Creature from the Haunted Sea, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Masque of the Red Death, The Pit and the Pendulum, Tales of Terror, The Wild Angels....and those are just ones that I've seen! The Intruder, for example, is supposed to be really good, but I haven't seen it yet (though I love the reissue title, I Hate Your Guts).

Saint Valentine's Day Massacre is really good, too.

I'm gonna completely agree with you here, Isaac (though we still differ on Little Shop ).  I think the overriding difference between Corman's good movies and his bas ones were the motives behind them.  The cheapie ones he knocked up in days were purely drive-in fodder, which made him money.  The good ones seem - at least to me, anyway - to come from Corman's genuine ability.  I've seen both from Corman, and still think he's a good director.

[Taufiq2u]

To talk about Roger Corman and MST3K at the same time, let's remind us the fact that Roger Corman hates MST3K:

http://www.cinemaslave.com/podcasts/Cinemaslavei1.mp3

In 14:28 till 15:54, the late Charles B. Griffith(Writer of The Undead, Little Shop of Horrors, It Conquered The World and Death Race 2000) says that he hated the show for insulting his craft. The interviewer then said that Roger Corman hated MST3K, and complained that:

"I thought it was very easy for people who are not filmakers to sit back and laugh at every little flaw instead of appreciating it in a 90% way it got right under incredibly hard circumstances"

Mr. Griffith even said that in 16:24 that it's better for his films to not be brought attention at all than appearing in MST3K. I think Mr.Griffith and Roger Corman are a bit sensitive and failed to appreciate the humour of MST3K. It's as if they can't laugh at themselves and has no sense of humour. If Michael Bay can accept criticisms from shows like South Park, then sure Roger Corman can deal with insults from Mike, Joel and The Bots right?

[RoninFox]

As for Michael Bay, I actually, erm..._{enjoyed The Island}.

I haven't actually tried to watch that one, since the first time I ever saw the trailer for it I immediately said "Why the hell would someone want to remake Clonus?"  Maybe I should give it a real shot.

[Taufiq2u]

As for Michael Bay, I actually, erm..._{enjoyed The Island}.

I haven't actually tried to watch that one, since the first time I ever saw the trailer for it I immediately said "Why the hell would someone want to remake Clonus?"  Maybe I should give it a real shot.

Because Clonus is a shitty film, and if you remake the film, it'd look better than the original. The Hills Have Eyes is an example.

[Almighty dF]

Ah, The Hills Have Eyes remake.
They turned it from a hard to follow movie set in the desert to a... too dull to follow movie set in the desert.
Mighty accomplishment there.
Just watch someone remake Shocker now.

[Doctor Who?]

I'd say they are about the same.

One is not better then the other.

Both have made some good movies,both have made quite a bit of garbage.

[gbeenie]

I would submit that Wes Craven is this generation's Roger Corman; lotta "Wes Craven Presents" projects out there of wildly varying quality.

[gbeenie]

As for Michael Bay, I actually, erm..._{enjoyed The Island}.

I haven't actually tried to watch that one, since the first time I ever saw the trailer for it I immediately said "Why the hell would someone want to remake Clonus?" 

The film's sole genius is that it manages to rip off Clonus Horror and Logan's Run at the same time. It's also chock full of "Holy shit, it's a Michael Bay movie!" moments (i.e., brand-new, never-mounted car wheel flying across the screen after a vehicle explodes; flying vehicle which still flies perfectly after having its back half sheared off; rail death, etc...), if you're inclined to play that drinking game.