Popular films you feel are overrated [Archive]

ShinyGreenApple

12-30-2007, 03:08 AM

To start off, I'll attack talk about an older film I received for Christmas. Movie in question?

Giant. Featuring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean.

*spoilers ahead, just in case*

The names are huge now, and the movie itself has gone down in legend as "One of the greatest of all time", and other such praise. However, I fail to see the point. While it might be a nice little story to whittle away the day, I really couldn't see what the whole plot of this thing was supposed to be. Spoiled, rich, arrogant brat, meet another spoiled, rich, arrogant brat. Cue 'cute' insults and arguments, then show spoiled rich folk riding away in a train together, now married. Meet ornery, unlikeable sister of male brat who proceeds to, to put it plainly, fuck things up for everyone by being a bitch.

Also, meet the film's protagonist and probably the only likable character in it, Jett Rink. (Dean) True, he's cocky and jerky and a bit full of himself, but there's something likable about him. But unfortunately, we don't see much of Jett, but are instead subjected to several long hours of the life of the spoiled rich couple, their domestic woes, and their sometimes stupid children. Personally, I wanted to subject the youngest one to an hour-long series of bitch slaps ><

Maybe it's just me, but couldn't relate or warm up to people who have everything and still bitch and moan about life's circumstances, with really no climax reached by the end of the film, by which time we're really the same place we were at the beginning, save for the fact that our leads now have gray hair. But they're still spoiled and self-important.

And it wasn't the length either, trust me. I've sat through the extended cuts of Lord of the Rings in one day before. I generally like long movies. So long as they have a plot. -_-

Well, that was my rant, who's next? :D

GolfCart34

12-30-2007, 03:37 AM

There are sooooo many movies that have come out that I feel are way too overrated. If I listed all of them, I'd need a few posts of my own! Ok, a couple that I've seen in recent years that I've felt didn't live up to the hype were the first Shrek movie as well as Borat. I also couldn't sit through The Departed. I think there were a few more films my bf and I rented on Netflix but ended up sending back before we finished them.

Knightmare

12-30-2007, 04:29 AM

Giant is popular again? When did that happen? :D

I don't watch many movies, so I can't say much about the recent ones out. But I will mention Click with Adam Sandler. Usually, I love his movies, because they are just so darn stupid. I can watch most of them over and over again.

However, I barely made it to the middle of Click. I had to turn it off. Horrible.

And POTC: 2 & 3 - Not nearly as good as the first one. #3 was way too long and drawn out.

DarthRetard

12-30-2007, 06:14 AM

Titanic. Nuff said.

Kara

12-30-2007, 06:36 AM

Oh were to begin....?

Disclaimer: I'm not saying these movies were bad, but they just weren't all they were hyped up to be

Fight Club
Napoleon Dynamite
The Net
The Matrix, specifically Reloaded and Revolutions
Resident Evil
Kill Bill vol 2 (kind of a letdown after vol 1)
Nine Months
When Harry Met Sally
Terminator 3
There's Something About Mary
Titanic
My Best Friend's Wedding
Runaway Bride
The Bachelor
Batman Forever
Batman and Robin
Hulk
Street Fighter
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
The Exorcist
The American President
Scream
Hostel

Retail Associate

12-30-2007, 09:36 AM

Titanic. Nuff said.

You aren't going to believe this but that's exactly what I was going to type. Not only was the movie a huge disappointment...but I already knew how it was going to end. :D

.

Rapscallion

12-30-2007, 09:39 AM

The first Matrix film (can't be bothered with seeing the others).
Donnie Darko.
Akira.

Can't think of more just yet, but they exist.

Rapscallion

powerboy

12-30-2007, 09:55 AM

Oh were to begin....?

Same as I feel

Now Mine.
Blair Witch =I mean WTF, it is so stupid that I didn't finish watching it.
Basically any movies now-a-days, I feel are over-rated.

Ree

12-30-2007, 01:24 PM

Also, meet the film's protagonist and probably the only likable character in it, Jett Rink. (Dean) True, he's cocky and jerky and a bit full of himself, but there's something likable about him. But unfortunately, we don't see much of Jett, but are instead subjected to several long hours of the life of the spoiled rich couple, their domestic woes, and their sometimes stupid children. :ot: Wasn't that because James dean died during the filming...or were most of his scenes filmed by then? I did read that someone had to do voice work for him to fill out some scenes because of his untimely death.

OK...back on topic:

There was a movie a few years ago with John Malkovich, Glenn Close and Michele Pfeiffer, that received 3 Oscars. I can't remember the name. We saw it and thought it sucked.

I know there are a few that were hyped and raved about in the media and in my opinion, did not live up to the rep. (I have a terrible head for names right now, though, so I can't think of them.)

I found Citizen Kane boring as hell.

Boozy

12-30-2007, 02:07 PM

There was a movie a few years ago with John Malkovich, Glenn Close and Michele Pfeiffer, that received 3 Oscars. I can't remember the name.

Dangerous Liaisons.

Personally, I didn't like The Matrix and despised POTC numbers 2 and 3.

I also don't care for kid's movies that "the whole family will (supposedly) love." These movies include Shrek, Cars, Toy Story, etc. I've watched all of them and thought they were cute kid's movies, but not for me. As an adult, I need a little more substance.

ThePhoneGoddess

12-30-2007, 02:07 PM

Oh boy, a chance to spout movie trivia. :p

Ree is correct in that Dean died before the film came out, but filming had just finished. Someone else had to do his voicework. The book Giant by Edna Ferber was HUGELY popular in the fifties, just like Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell was in the thirties. That's why they made a movie out of it. It not only starred the most famous actors of the day, it had a lush score, huge onscreen vistas and a tragic movie star demise; of course the Academy was going to fawn and drool over it! It's liked by people with a certain type of taste; those who like big sprawling historical epics, like GWTW, about the privileged members of our society and how they shaped it. That kind of story is not for everyone.

Ree you are thinking of Dangerous Liaisons. It is a very faithful retelling of a classic French Novel, which is very highly regarded in literary circles. I personally love the film, but that may be because I've read and enjoyed the novel. Of course, to each their own opinion; I have a terrible weakness for period dramas with big costumes and such.

Citizen Kane is almost religiously cited by entertainment-minded movie goers as 'a crashing bore'. This is not surprising. Citizen Kane is considered a great movie by professional movie critics, not the average movie going public. This is because Orson Welles invented and developed many, many innovative film making techniques for the film which are still used to this day. That does not, however, make his movie especially entertaining, especially today when most people have no idea who W R Hearst or Jules Brulatour were. Titans of industry in their day, as famous as Bill Gates is now; the film was based on their lives in the public eye. If it makes you feel any better, Ree, it was a box office flop; barely made its production costs back. The average movie goer then found it boring, too.

A lot of the problem is that films are over-hyped now. The advertising for blockbuster films is so in your face that by the time you see the film there is bound to be a let down. I tend to avoid big name films now because of it...I seek out independent and foreign films to watch.

Eireann

12-30-2007, 02:50 PM

I love Citizen Kane. It's one of the few movies I've seen that can actually make the audience shut the hell up and watch the movie. Last time I saw it on the big screen, I didn't hear a peep out of anyone. I love the look of it, I love the performances, and yes, I do find it VERY entertaining.

Now, for the ones I truly hate:

Titanic. There is nothing I like about that movie. DiCaprio is one of the most overrated people in the business, and how he ever got popular is beyond me. He can't act. He doesn't even have a pretty, photogenic face. He's equally boring and ugly. Can't stand the guy; I wish he'd concentrate on environmental issues and leave the acting to people who know how to do it.

Gone with the Wind. Racist trash done in high gloss, with impossibly beautiful people and horrendously overwrought situations. Also glorifies the KKK, but never got an iota of the backlash that Birth of a Nation did. I also had the distinct impression that Vivien Leigh was playing herself in the role of Miz Scawlett, and I despise that character.

Pretty Woman. So, a hooker finds herself a millionaire who is willing to pay her to be his escort for the week. Not beyond the realms of possibility, though EXTREMELY improbable. One of the things I hate is that we're supposed to feel sorry for the main character when a saleswoman in a high-class store refuses to wait on her. Did she never stop to think that she could go to a discount store somewhere, buy some clothing that DIDN'T advertise her profession, and THEN hit the expensive places? No, obviously not - she's an idiot. And don't EVEN get me started on Julia Roberts. Will she ever go away?

The Gangs of New York would have been a hell of a lot better if DiCaprio - yes, and Cameron Diaz - hadn't been in it. As it was, the lightweights were blown away by Daniel Day-Lewis and his incredible, fierce portrayal of Bill the Butcher. Big mistake to have bad actors in a film with a guy like Daniel, who REALLY knows his stuff.

ThePhoneGoddess

12-30-2007, 02:56 PM

Ooooooh, Eireann, I totally agree with you about Gangs Of New York. The acting was so lopsided it was almost painful to watch. Which hurt me, because that's one of my favorite, most exciting---and most forgotten---periods of American history. I was hoping to see something that did the era justice. :( I have both the main books written about New York in that period, and I love them.

As far as Kane is concerned, I personally find it a fascinating movie as well, but I have discovered that I am distinctly in the minority. I have spoken to a huge number of people who find it the most boring movie they've ever seen.

DesignFox

12-30-2007, 04:52 PM

Movies that I think are over-rated? Well, someone mentioned There's Something About Mary and I couldn't agree more. That movie was awful! Yick. And I don't think Cameron Diaz is as attractive as everyone who drools over her believes she is.

More on my list:

Meet the Parents- I don't appreciate the humor in it at all...another BLECH. Ben Stiller movies are pretty universally awful...
Shrek the Third -I loved Shrek 1 and 2 so this was a huge let down for me. I like animated movies (many that are considered kid's movies). :o
Titanic- I liked it when I was a teenager, but damn that movie is CORNY! I can't watch it, anymore. And Leonardo DiCaprio is good looking (IMO) but he can't act his way out of a paper bag.
Austin Powers 2 - Big Fat Bastard makes me sick... the first one was funny, why couldn't they have left well enough alone???
Blair Witch Project- I was so pissed when I saw this and realized it wasn't real. I wouldn't have been so gullible except that Sci-Fi did a DOCUMENTARY about the Blair Witch. Fuckers. You can't call it a documentary when it isn't based on any FACTS. Oh and that shaking camera stuff made me so nauseous I couldn't watch half the film, anyway.

That's all I can think to rant about for now. :D I don't watch a lot of movies, anymore. I very rarely go to the theater. I think about 99% of what comes out lately is regurgitated, recycled or just plain AWFUL. There is little that Hollywood produces that I care about.

I keep an eye out for animated films, but so many hack job companies with computers are producing those that it isn't easy to find entertaining films that aren't over the top cheesy. I mostly look to see what company produced it and base my decision on that... if it's Pixar I'll probably try to see it in the theater. If it's Dreamworks I know it'll be hit or miss- entertaining or dismally awful (Shrek was an amusing story- Madagascar was dreadful..hmm didn't Madagascar have Ben Stiller in it? sheesh, he's awful). Otherwise I'll just watch the preview and maybe take a gamble if the story interests me. I took a shot in the dark on Happy Feet and ended up enjoyng it- not because it was a good movie (it wasn't) but who can't be amused by dancing penguins? And the soundtrack rocked. :D

Ok, I'm shutting up.

Eireann

12-30-2007, 04:53 PM

That's really a shame. You don't need to know a single thing about Hearst in order to enjoy the movie. Yes, those of us who do know about him, will certainly see the parallels - but you can still be enraptured by the story of a man's rise to extreme power, and how it corrupted him completely. The sets, the photography, and yes, the story, are all magnificent.

I still can't understand how some people refuse to watch black-and-white movies. It's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.

Oh, one other thing. It drives me truly INSANE to see discussion boards on the IMDb with threads titled "Remake this one!" Hey, dumbass, if the movie is good, shut up and enjoy it. Don't push for the same story to be told again (and, probably again and again and AGAIN) simply because you want to see the Flavor of the Month in it. Let today's actors have classics of their own, not cheap imitations of yesteryear.

Gawdzillers

12-30-2007, 05:04 PM

Wedding Crashers.
That movie was a shitheap.

GolfCart34

12-30-2007, 06:17 PM

BookstoreEscapee

12-30-2007, 08:41 PM

Kara, the two times I have attempted to watch Napoleon Dynamite (cuz I happened across it when it was just starting and thought, well, everyone else loved it...) I barely managed to get 10 minutes in before I was so annoyed I changed the channel...:rolleyes:

TNT

12-30-2007, 09:43 PM

The Deer Hunter. It was originally #79 in the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest American movies... but it rose to #53 on their tenth anniversary list.

Even a review celebrating its greatness notes a few problems: "The flawed, extravagantly-expensive film is often pretentious, ambiguous, overwrought and excessive, and loosely edited, with under-developed character portrayals and unsophisticated, careless film techniques."

I must have nodded off during the good stuff, because that piece of the review sums up exactly everything I remember about the movie. One thing I'd forgotten... it was only three hours. I remember it being much, much longer... closer to three days.

ShinyGreenApple

12-30-2007, 10:35 PM

It's not so much that Giant is popular *again*, but my sister said it was the best of the three Dean movies, so I watched that one first and was vastly underwhelmed. Perhaps it just goes to show how much has changed since it was made. Or maybe I tend to like my characters and plots more three-dimensional.

Spiderman 3 was another one that was grossly over-hyped, and I enjoyed the first two, but this one was just a mess.

As for Titanic and Napoleon Dynamite, I actually avoided seeing them because of all the hype. I find when something is surrounded by millions of fans, advertising, etc, the actual film is rubbish. Not that that's the case all the time, but nine times out of ten it would seem so.

draggar

12-30-2007, 10:47 PM

Titantic and Pearl Harbor (go watch Tora! Tora! Tora! for a good movie based on Pearl Harbor).

I also think Transformers was overrated. Yes, it was a very good film, but IMO hyped too much.

flybye023

12-30-2007, 11:56 PM

For me, The Shining was a total flop. I kept hearing how good it was, how scary it was, how everyone just had to see it, etc. but I thought it was boooo-riiing.

Pearl Harbor--decent movie but not as spectacular as "everyone" said it was.

I would say Titanic also, except I've never actually watched it and don't plan to.

myswtghst

12-31-2007, 12:56 AM

For me, The Shining was a total flop. I kept hearing how good it was, how scary it was, how everyone just had to see it, etc. but I thought it was boooo-riiing.

I felt similarly. I think the book freaked me out MUCH more than the film, to be honest.

I try to take all big movies and hyped up movies with a grain of salt, as nowadays, they're often a let down. I also have crazy filmmaker friends who will hype things up to me that I just don't get/enjoy. I'm trying to think of recent films I've felt this way about...

Gone With the Wind never really intrigued me at all. Napoleon Dynamite was ok, but definitely not the funniest thing I've ever seen. A number of my friends talked up Haggard (the Jackass crew made a movie) which had to have been one of the most pointless things I've ever seen. Eyes Wide Shut really didn't intrigue me either, found it rather boring. That's what I can think of off the top of my head, though I know there are more.

I've noticed that recently, stuff like Transformers and Live Free or Die Hard have been favorites of mine, simply because they're silly, brainless, and blow lots of stuff up, which sometimes, is all I need out of a movie. :) At least they don't pretend to be "deep."

Boozy

12-31-2007, 12:57 AM

Who are these people who said Pearl Harbor was a good movie?

I thought everyone agreed that it sucked bad.

ThePhoneGoddess

12-31-2007, 01:37 AM

The movie that I don't understand what all the fuss was about, more than any other, is Pulp Fiction. On IMDB there are a lot of people who think it's the most creative, ambitious, influential movie of all time, and I call bullshit.

I thought it was a long winded, boring, waaayyyy too long movie written around catch phrases and gratuitous violence. To me, it was one long TV commercial with endless self-referential props to 50 years of pop culture.

There was nothing fresh about that movie. Out of sequence narration? Done before, too many times to count. Last Year At Marienbad. The Killing. The Mirror. Multiple plot lines? Try any Robert Altman film. Witty dialogue? I found the conversations petty and uninteresting. Basically, I found the entire film way too impressed with its own cleverness.

FuzzyKitten99

12-31-2007, 02:32 AM

justZu

12-31-2007, 02:56 AM

The Exorcist - seriously, I was a kid when it came out and I remember the hype. I finally saw it a few years ago and thought it was ridiculously terrible. Not scary at all.

I do, however, enjoy the 20 minutes(or so) of Titanic when Jack and Rose are NOT on the screen. The ship is going down and you see all the unnamed people. That small part seemed like what it must have really been like on board the ship. The part where the Irish mother puts her kids to bed so they wouldn't be scared by all the panic was very sad. My kids were about the same age as the kids in that scene and I couldn't imagine putting them to bed knowing they were going to die. Then Dipshit Jack and Whiny Rose reappear and the rest is more crap. The End.

ThePhoneGoddess

12-31-2007, 03:03 AM

OMG, I feel the same way! Anyone who says they know what the movie is about is either a liar or they just think they do to sound like they're all cool and special.

Well, what the movie is about is pretty obvious. It's three interweaving stories about criminals in L.A., told in a non-linear fashion. I just don't find it ground-breaking or clever at all, which is what a lot of people say about it. I thought it was pretentious.

FuzzyKitten99

12-31-2007, 04:05 AM

Well, what the movie is about is pretty obvious. It's three interweaving stories about criminals in L.A., told in a non-linear fashion. I just don't find it ground-breaking or clever at all, which is what a lot of people say about it. I thought it was pretentious.

I meant the point of the movie, not the plot. What was the point the movie was trying to make? Or was it supposed to be just there for entertainment? Cuz it failed in both areas.

ArenaBoy

12-31-2007, 04:07 AM

Napoleon Dynamite. Walked out of it. Overrated, over quoted, over hyped, and extremely annoying.

Books made into movies. I refuse to see any movies (With exception to the Lord of The Rings) that are based on books as they tend to have a tendency to suck and take out important parts.

Titanic but come on, big boat sinks. That's all.

The movie that I don't understand what all the fuss was about, more than any other, is Pulp Fiction. On IMDB there are a lot of people who think it's the most creative, ambitious, influential movie of all time, and I call bullshit.

This I disagree with. Pulp Fiction is basically a reference to those crime stories you'd find in old magazines or are cheap paperback books with a lot violence and bad dialog. All the movie is basically a cheap thrill with the things mentioned that people hate about it. If you're expecting something gripping, Pulp Fiction isn't the way to go. Like I said it's like it's written counterpart: cheap, bad dialog, and excessive violence. Those books are starting to make a comeback and King wrote one that I picked up. And keep in mind that you're taking opinions seriously on IMDB of all places. I stopped posting there ages ago because of the constant stupidity that's rampant there. For the record, Pulp Fiction's one of my favorites but I know it's not the best movie out there.

OMG, I feel the same way! Anyone who says they know what the movie is about is either a liar or they just think they do to sound like they're all cool and special.

Considering that I just typed out the meaning of those two words and an explanation, it doesn't make me feel cool and special. :rolleyes: Or a liar.

ThePhoneGoddess

12-31-2007, 04:29 AM

it's like it's written counterpart: cheap, bad dialog, and excessive violence. Those books are starting to make a comeback and King wrote one that I picked up.

That's just it, ArenaBoy, it is cheap, has bad dialogue and excessive violence. If that's your thing, cool. I can deal with that. But I know lots of young film majors and the majority of them list this as their favorite movie and they go on and on about how ground-breaking and influential it is, how it's a 'postmodern masterpiece' with 'brilliant dialogue', etc etc and how they all wanna copy it.

Fuzzykitten, ok, I see what you're saying. I don't think there is a point to it, other than to try to be entertaining. Whether it succeeds is obviously a matter of opinion, because many people just fawn over the movie.

ArenaBoy

12-31-2007, 04:41 AM

That's just it, ArenaBoy, it is cheap, has bad dialogue and excessive violence.

And this is (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_magazine#Pulp_fiction_today) what it is based off of. I can understand that you like serious films but expecting Pulp Fiction to be epic is like going to Olive Garden for actual Italian food.

As for film majors considering it to be groundbreaking, their idiots. Just about every director after that movie tried to copy Tarantino. I will still list it as a favorite but for different reasons.

ThePhoneGoddess

12-31-2007, 04:45 AM

I was not expecting it to be epic. I was just answering the question in the title of the thread; I have experienced many people who believe Pulp Fiction is a masterpiece and destined to be a classic, and I strongly disagree. I have no problem with people who like it, as long as they don't try to claim it's something it's not. Hell, I love Mel Brooks films, they're stupid and they make me laugh. But I don't go around proclaiming them classic cinema. That's all i was trying to say. :shrug:

ArenaBoy

12-31-2007, 04:51 AM

ThePhoneGoddess

12-31-2007, 04:59 AM

Understandable. But what irks me is that there are people who go and say that people are liars (Which is hilarious) or trying to be cool or special when you know the inspiration of the movie. Then there's the whole elitism thing when it comes to film buffs and Pulp Fiction.

Oh yes, I find a lot of the IMDB postings hilarious as well. And the whole elitism thing is exactly what I'm talking about---nearly every young film buff I know thinks it's just the most wonderful, perfect film ever made and anybody who thinks differently is obviously an idiot and too old to understand post-modernism. :rolleyes: I assure you I've gotten into this discussion many, many times and I've been told I'm too old or too stupid to 'get' the movie.

ArenaBoy

12-31-2007, 05:05 AM

I've been told I'm too old or too stupid to 'get' the movie.

Considering that my dad was 34 when it came out and he saw it and liked it proves as to how stupid people are. I've seen plenty of films that blow PF out and a lot of people look at me strangely when I tell them that I'm a fan of Italian and French films.

XCashier

12-31-2007, 05:33 AM

I still can't understand how some people refuse to watch black-and-white movies. It's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.
I quite agree. I took a class on cinema in college and the prof showed many black and white movies, including some silent ones. They were quite fascinating (with the exception of Un Chien Andalou, which was just weird, and not in a good way). I especially liked Metropolis and Citizen Kane.
It's not so much that Giant is popular *again*, but my sister said it was the best of the three Dean movies, so I watched that one first and was vastly underwhelmed.
I tried to watch Giant and got bored, too. Rebel Without A Cause, however, was excellent. I'd strongly recommend that one. (Haven't seen East of Eden.)

Saydrah

12-31-2007, 05:37 AM

Oh yes, I find a lot of the IMDB postings hilarious as well. And the whole elitism thing is exactly what I'm talking about---nearly every young film buff I know thinks it's just the most wonderful, perfect film ever made and anybody who thinks differently is obviously an idiot and too old to understand post-modernism. :rolleyes: I assure you I've gotten into this discussion many, many times and I've been told I'm too old or too stupid to 'get' the movie.

I just took my 53 year old father to a midnight showing of Pulp Fiction yesterday and he loved it!

I do personally think it is a classic of its genre- but I'm not a big film person, so my reasons are simple: It's fun to watch. It's well done. It's a long movie that I've seen a dozen times and still don't get bored during. And Vincent Vega and Mia Wallace have some of the best chemistry I've ever seen in movies, yet nothing (well, nothing sexual) ever happens between them- I like that, for some reason. And it's a violent, pulpy movie yet has a twistedly uplifting ending.

Amethyst Hunter

12-31-2007, 06:45 AM

I HATED Pulp Fiction. Just hated it. Thank God I only rented it instead of blowing extra money to see it in an actual theater. I'm one of them that just doesn't get it. And I don't care. (And I'm not that old, either)

Another thing about it that annoyed me was the cussing. Now, I can swear bluer than a sailor-turned-truck-driver (especially when I'm pissed off) so the words per se don't bother me. However, when EVERY SECOND WORD is "fuck" or some variant of it, it's just boring, and it grates on the ears.

As a general rule, any movie that's fawned about in popular media, or that most people drool over, I hate, and will usually refuse to see it just to be a stubborn cuss. Experience has taught me that 'popular' movies suck more often than not.

Blair Witch? You know that part where the girl's whining "OMG we're all gonna diiiieee!"? I was thinking, "GOOD! PLEASE DO SO I CAN GO HOME AND LIE DOWN WITH A BOTTLE OF TYLENOL FOR MY FUCKING HEADACHE THAT YOUR SHITTY ARTSY FARTSY CAMERA TECHNIQUE GAVE ME!"

Gladiator? Watching paint dry was more exciting and interesting to me. It took waaaay too long for that snotty little emperor to get his comeuppance, and then it wasn't as spectacular as I was hoping for, given that character's level of assholery.

Titanic? I did see this one, but only partially, I was with my folks at the time, and this was years after it had come out. It was all right, but I can't say as I'm impressed by all the fuss over it, and I certainly don't think it was worth what, the 11 or so Oscars it took.

Matrix trilogy? I saw the first one, and aside from some minor parts wasn't that terribly impressed. I have no desire to watch the second and third installments, despite the fact that Hugo Weaving was pretty cool as Agent Smith.

So yeah. I'm very picky about what movies I'll watch these days. Life is too short to spend it watching crap.

Amethyst Hunter

12-31-2007, 06:56 AM

As an aside, my favorite black-and-white movie of all time, bar none, is Arsenic and Old Lace. Two old ladies who are serial killers. Freaking hysterical. :D Cary Grant's "O SHIT" look when he finds out is priceless!

iradney

12-31-2007, 08:37 AM

Hmm
overrated, lessee....

Spiderman
Dude, where's my car?
Fast and Furious 2 and 3 (holy bad acting Batman!)
Titanic
Blood Diamond
Dark is Rising
Meet the Parents
Meet the Fokkers
Beowulf
Go
The first Harry Potter movie (haven't watched any since)
Beautiful Girls
Striptease
Showtime
Analyse This (and That)
You've got mail

I probably have more, but I cannot recall them at this moment in time (which pretty much proves how much they underwhelmed me)

Eireann

12-31-2007, 01:43 PM

I quite agree. I took a class on cinema in college and the prof showed many black and white movies, including some silent ones. They were quite fascinating (with the exception of Un Chien Andalou, which was just weird, and not in a good way). I especially liked Metropolis and Citizen Kane.

BLESS you! I can't watch Un Chien Andalou - and I probably don't have to tell you why. Think of eyes. Come to think of it, I've never seen a Bunuel film. Metropolis truly WAS a groundbreaking film, with a stunning performance by the leading lady in her dual role. Silent films fascinate me; the actors had to ACT, not just stand, smile and look stupid. It reminds me of Hedy Lamarr's comment that "It's easy for any girl to be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid."

(There was one "actress" of the silent era who truly was awful; Carol Dempster, who got into films because she was D. W. Griffith's lover for a time, while he was separated from his wife. Carol incurs universal loathing in all the silent-film fans I've ever met or even corresponded with. She was the Julia Roberts of the silent era.)

One of the best scenes I've ever viewed is Lillian Gish's scene in Way Down East where her character, Anna, is baptizing her baby herself, because the baby is very sick and Anna is terribly afraid that he won't go to heaven if he dies without being baptized. The pleading expression on her face as she looks up is heartbreaking.

I also love watching the wide-open streets of the outdoor scenes in silent films. Los Angeles with hardly any cars, and no ghettoes. The city scenes in Sunrise, a truly magical film. Streetcars in almost all cities. Buildings that have long since vanished. The palatial estates of early Hollywood.

It's a part of our cultural history.

ThePhoneGoddess

12-31-2007, 01:48 PM

*sigh* Oh Eireann, I know what you mean. Have you ever seen Show People, the beginning where Colonel Pepper is pulling Marion Davies through the Streets of old Hollywood in an old fashioned buggy, and you can see all the old buildings and such? It's magnificent. :)

Eireann

12-31-2007, 02:05 PM

No, I haven't seen that one yet. I have, however, been lucky enough to see quite a few silent films that aren't available on DVD, thanks to my attendance at the Pordenone Film Festival, an all-silent affair. (The movies, that is; the people aren't silent.)

I've seen the silent version of The Enchanted Cottage, with Richard Barthelmess and May McAvoy; Beyond the Rocks, the only film Valentino ever made with Gloria Swanson (and, sadly, a disappointment, though you do get to see Valentino getting wet), an enormously witty 1919 pro-feminist comedy called Phil-for-Short (the main character, a woman named Damophilia, calls herself "Phil"); Poor Little Rich Girl, with Mary Pickford; American Aristocracy, with Douglas Fairbanks; and the list goes on. Oh, and I've also seen a number of D. W. Griffith's short features, when he was shooting on both coasts, and the vast, empty expanses of the Southern California beaches are a sight to see.

SongsOfDragons

12-31-2007, 04:25 PM

I pay no attention to critics or others telling me 'this film is awesome!!'. I make up my mind myself, especially since I have weird tastes. I watch movies that let me escape from the drudgery of real life - if it's too 'normal', it bores the shite out of me and I'm likely to go find something else. Same with my liking of books.

So I love sci-fi. Transformers was one of the best films I've ever seen, utterly wonderful. Most sci-fi/fantasy I watch is okay in my books - even the D&D movie was pretty good, but I think I only thought that because at the time I hadn't the foggiest what D&D actually was!! As long as it appears plausible to me, I don't care if a film is 'wrong' - the Core, Day after Tomorrow, Troy are all fantastic films.

Now normal films. Romances. Titanic. The godfather, most high-school set ones, oh damn the list goes on - all just a big no. Boring parallels to normal life without a telekinetic in sight. Meh.

Disney - Hunchback of Notre Dame would have been one of the most awesome Disney films if it weren't for all the shitty humour in it!!! Plus everything's gone waaaay downhill from Hercules -> Mulan -> Atlantis - that was the last, in my book, of the LK age of Disnay, now it's all crap. And it's not just that I've got older.

EDIT: Oh, and I loved/hated Watership Down - scares me and makes me cry even now, plus Keharr tells Fiver to 'piss off!!' even though this is a U-rated film. Coma is also the most shit-scary film I've ever, ever seen - watch it, it will scare the life out of you...

Parrothead

01-01-2008, 12:01 AM

Prime. I mostly have no idea what happened in it.
The Da Vinci Code. The book was OK, not great. The movie sucked. A lot.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I like it as a movie, I just don't get the people who dress up and see it every Friday. Please don't hate me.

I'll probably have more later.

Bella_Vixen

01-01-2008, 12:09 AM

Clockwork Orange.

Matrix.

A lot of others, that I can't remember at the moment.

Bella_Vixen

01-01-2008, 03:30 AM

Kung Pow. My sister and her daughter love that crap. :confused:

DesignFox

01-01-2008, 06:29 PM

Kung Pow. My sister and her daughter love that crap. :confused:

I had an ex-boyfriend that dragged me to that waste of film... *shudder*

I can't think on it...the horror... :cry:

Chanlin

01-01-2008, 06:45 PM

Akira.

To be fair the film version squished 6 fairly long graphic novels into 2 hours worth of movie. Not to mention there are some significant plot changes between the movie and the novels. I agree though, having read the novels and seen the film version I think the film version is way over hyped.

To add to the list

The DaVinci Code - Dont get me wrong I love Tom Hanks films but the movie just couldn't capture the suspense that the book had.

and pretty much any movie based off of a Video Game.

Hello Kitty

04-11-2008, 06:27 AM

Pretty Woman
I totally agree, that movie is stupid. She's a hooker who gets the rich guy to marry her and pick her up out of the gutter. Geez. And she's supposed to be going to college or planning to. Whatever. It would have been so much better if she told Mr. Rich Guy to stuff it and picked herself out of the gutter, by getting a degree and getting a real job. "I want the fairy tale." Puke!

irateguy

04-11-2008, 02:12 PM

My Big Greek Wedding was waay overated the only thing I found funny was the echo tre orchidia comment

Trayol

04-11-2008, 02:45 PM

Two off the top of my head:

Superbad and Napoleon Dynamite. Seriously I just don't get why these are considered to be so funny. I've never made it more than halfway before watching something good.

marty

04-11-2008, 03:50 PM

Crash. I'm not even going to go into how much Paul Haggis annoys me.

Let's see: torture-porn films like Hostel (they are disgusting in every sense of the word), Shrek, Napoleon Dynamite, almost anything involving Ben Stiller or Owen Wilson, Reservoir Dogs (this movie bored the crap out of me, seriously), Armageddon, all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

Slytovhand

04-11-2008, 04:03 PM

My turn...

most recently - "I am Legend" - aka - I am still wondering WTF..... Hypey hype hype...and it was a nothing movie! Yeah - I get it.. but still - all that money, all that hype -and all that stupidity! Especially when he's making his periodic report - and he's just ignored the blatantly obvious!!!

Pulp Fiction I get, and enjoyed, but don't think is that fantastic (it did, however, lead to a good thread of Samuel L Jackson's lines in his upcoming Star Wars appearance :P).

I haven't seen Titanic, I think I saw Citizen Kane many years ago (but have since forgotten). Shrek I liked. Matrix wasn't too bad - just got too unbelievable by the 3rd movie.

Dark is Rising ... I didn't know it got a hype! Yeah - I read the books, so was looking forward to it. Given that they sort of dumbed down the Old Ones, and didn't really explain them..... still - it wasn't too bad...

I think I can agree with Clockwork Orange - and also (definitely though) Fight Club - so what???

And like you PTP - yeah - Rocky Horror???? Other than it's cultiness, what's it really got going for it?

Transformers was standard trash - though mildly entertaining...

And that's my list for now....

Slyt

Slytovhand

04-11-2008, 04:05 PM

Oh - yeah - Adam Sandler is soooooooo over-rated! Same stuff every.single.movie. Jim Carrey went the same way - the whole "I am just so funny and fantastic, I'll just keep doing the same stuff over and over, and keep getting richer and richer..."

Sheldonrs

04-11-2008, 04:06 PM

2001 A Space Yawnessy (Or ANY film directed by Kubrick)
The only thing Kubrick did that I liked was die. And I'd pay to see that again.

Gone With The Wind - An ok movie but not worth the status it has.

Any movie with Greta Garbo. She didn't act; she OVER acted.

The Usual Suspects. It bored the hell out of me.

Citizen Kane. See GWTW op.

protege

04-11-2008, 04:47 PM

The Usual Suspects, and Pulp Fiction were *okay,* but I didn't think they lived up to the hype. As for Reservoir Dogs, well, I thought that just sucked. In fact, I was so bored by the flick, I fell asleep through it. Twice, in fact.

Titanic was awesome...from a special-effects standpoint. The models and sets closely fit with the old photos I've seen in books. However, After an entire year of having that damn movie forced down my throat, I nearly didn't see it. Way too long though (nearly 3 hours), and I thought that too much time was spent waiting for the end. Sink the damn ship already!

Mission:Impossible II was another one. The first one was OK, but I hated the second one, and haven't seen the third (and don't plan to). Again, longer than necessary--the final chase scene was just annoying. Were they just wasting time? I mean, quit zipping around on motorcycles and kill him already!

Marxfan

04-11-2008, 09:35 PM

Doctor Zhivago: Aside from the fact that it's slow, boring, and dreary, it has the most repugnant love story. Seriously, Yuri cheats on his wife Tonya, who's ridiculously perfect, for Lara, one of the most overrated heroines ever. She's so freakin' BORING! She has no personality, no brain, no talents, no quirks, no dreams, NOTHING!!! She's just this empty vessel of lust and desire that we're supposed to worship and admire. Not to mention Julie Christie can't act her way out of a torn, wet paper bag. On top of all that, she's not even that good looking!