Why I eschew Hollywood

Watched Pirates of the Caribbean last night -- the first "mainstream" movie I've seen in a year or two. Every now and then it's nice to watch a mainstream Hollywood movie just to reconfirm why I generally choose to watch independent or foreign films:

1. I prefer films with substance. A movie which, at its essence, consists largely of elaborately choreographed battle scenes is very impressive visually, but ultimately unsatisfying.

2. It's nice when a movie has a female character, not just a female plot device. There's a difference.

3. It's nice to watch something creative, and not just a rehash of a tried-and-true provably-profitable recipe. It seems to me like every Disney movie can be reduced to the same old story, told over and over by different characters set in different venues.