I think the publishing of box office returns has been one of the biggest problems. A movie is now expected to make 100s of millions of dollars to be considered a success.
There are good movies being made you just have to look further than TV and media commercials because only the movies with the big budgets usually get hyped. Keep an eye out for films that are making the rounds at festivals, being shown at rep theatres and rent from places like queen video or suspect video that offer a wider selection than say the big chains like blockbuster and rogers and jumbo.
As the viewers we have to take more chances with our selections and go beyond the movies you'll find at silvercities.
Also, we shouldn't be afraid of renting older movies. There are probably countless movies that you haven't seen yet. Go out and try the hitchcock movies, jimmy stewart, humphrey bogart, james cagney, john wayne, steve mcqueen, redford, newman, brando etc. I think it's safe to say that many of us have not seen all the movies that these actors have been in.