Movies are most definitely getting better. Yeah you can argue that the top 10 movies from one decade are better than the top 10 from this decade but at that point it’s all semantics and personal preference because you’re talking about the best of the best. I’ve watched over 100 movies each year the last few years and there are sooooo many good fucking movies. Not saying there are a ton of films better than Full Metal Jacket, but we are getting an impressive amount of quantity AND quality.
A lot of old movies are nostalgic and groundbreaking so they’ll always be held in a special light but there have been plenty of movies that are just as good or even better than them. Nightmare on Elm Street is an all time classic but it’s irresponsible to say there haven’t been better movies from the same genre since. Yeah, they use that influence to reach those heights, but it is what it is. They’re better.