Viewing with a purpose

Re:Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

seely — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:00:18 GMT

I recently was told I *needed* to see In Bruges. I had actually seen a preview in the theatre awhile back and forgotten about it, but watched the trailer again and remembered how good it looked.

The trailer portrays the movie as a light-hearted drama/comedy about a crime gone wrong. Colin Ferrell delivers some hilarious lines, the dialogue is quick and witty through the film, but what we don't see in the trailer is the utterly dark, nihlistic and gory subtext that surfaces about halfway through the film, and the cliched theme of a lifelong criminal seeing a chance to redeem himself in someone else and ultimately sacrificing himself for that person's second chance.

Not to mention, after a guy hurls himself from a 300ft tower into a crowded public square (and lives long enough after being completely severed in half to deliver a warning... oh and they show EVERYTHING... as if you couldn't imagine what falling 300ft does to the human body), no police arrive for quite some time and no one seems to think anything of the guys running around with guns while a completely disembowled severed body lays in the square. Yes, Bruges is a sleepy town, but c'mon. You can't tell me that the police wouldn't be there in a split second.

I don't want to give away the ending, but lets just say it involves a somewhat random slow motion dream-esque sequence with the sound suspended and a blindingly white gentle snowfall. Incredibly cliched. The overall feel I got from the film was that it was trying to seem very deep and artistic, but bounced between unnecessarily graphic/obvious and cliched/obtuse. It really had potential to be good, and a lot of people seemed to think it was, but I can't recommend it to anyone.

Re:Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Risselada — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:40:31 GMT

mercurial:
About Crash (hated it, except for Sandra Bullock because I thought her performance was amazingly hilarious)

Haha yeah. How about this horrible disembodied line "I am angry all the time... and I don't know why." Oooooooh, emotions are so enigmatic. What a wonderfully complex movie!!! *FART*

mercurial:
I hate the fact that every time I try and recommend Crash, the David Cronenberg film with James Spader and Holly Hunter, everyone thinks I'm talking of the other Crash and they spend forever going on and on about how good it was (and subsequently think the Crash I am talking about is going to be horrible).

Yeah I haven't seen Cronenberg's Crash, but I've been aware of it long before the more recent Crash came out. I'm sure it's got a bit more originality to it though. When people would come into the video store I worked at when the new Crash came out and would ask for it, sometimes I would just point them towards the Cronenberg movie if they didn't specify otherwise. ;)

Re:Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

mercurial — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:20:44 GMT

Risselada:
mercurial:
Another one, which caused the same kind of laughing fit, was Million Dollar Baby. I swear that the film didn't incite a single tinge of emotion in me but alas, everyone around me touted it as one of the best movies ever.
Well you have me to agree with you. Million Dollar Baby and Crash are both totally manipulative pieces if tripe. These are the kind of movies where I can feel the screenwriter's fingers on the keyboard. Paul Haggis's character are totally obvious and functional while purporting to be deep and complex.

THANK YOU!

About Crash (hated it, except for Sandra Bullock because I thought her performance was amazingly hilarious) I hate the fact that every time I try and recommend Crash, the David Cronenberg film with James Spader and Holly Hunter, everyone thinks I'm talking of the other Crash and they spend forever going on and on about how good it was (and subsequently think the Crash I am talking about is going to be horrible).

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

JimBell — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 06:49:35 GMT

Let's try a recent movie:

2 Days in Paris (2007)—Could Judy Delpy (writer and director) learn anything from an old dead white guy, William Shakespeare? Lets compare the opening of 2 Days in Paris with one of William Shakespeare’s lesser plays (it was not even printed in his life time), a love story and comedy called As You Like It. The first day in Paris opens with Jack and Marion, a “couple,” catching a cab. The line up is long. Jack tells a huge group of fellow Americans how to get to the Louvre, so they leave the line, but he has misdirected them so that he can get to the front of the cab line. Marion finds this endearing. Arriving at the house, Jack, a New York interior designer, meets Marion’s flamboyant French mother, and he sort of helps Marion lug her suitcase up stairs. He criticizes her old bedroom and freaks out about mold in the bathroom—this designer is a hypochondriac. Marion looks bedraggled and explains how weird she was as a kid growing up in Paris. Are you interested? Ready for more? As You Like It opens with Orlando complaining bitterly that since his father died, his older brother has kept everything for himself, not even allowing Orlando to be educated, but instead using him as a beast of burden in the orchard. Orlando has had enough, argues with his older brother, fights, and extracts a promise that he will get part of his inheritance and his freedom. But the older brother vows to keep the money and take revenge on the young upstart. The perfect opportunity springs to mind when Charles, a wrestler who leaves opponents broken, laments to the older brother that Orlando has signed up to wrestle him. The older brother says break him. The second scene sees the beautiful and vivacious Celia (the usurping Duke’s daughter) and her best friend, Rosalind (the daughter of the rightful Duke who has been deposed) engaged in hilarious conversation. To cheer Rosalind up, Celia initiates a “sport” of witticisms. Before this repartee dies down, in walks Touchstone the Fool with a great joke or riddle to cheer them up. When Rosalind and Celia watch the wrestling, Orlando unexpectedly wins, and Rosalind is quite taken with him and vice versa. Instant chemistry. But scene three opens with the Duke banishing Rosalind. She is distraught until Celia comes up with a plan to run away with her to the Forest of Arden where the exiles are living. Are you interested? Ready for more? More happens in the first three scenes (not acts!) of As You Like It than in the entire movie 2 Days in Paris.

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

JimBell — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 06:42:17 GMT

ben_:
i saw FARGO with my sister one summer - the summer it was touted as being so great... it about drove me nuts and the story seemed so random as if looking for the next shocking thing to do to top the last shocking thing they came up with... and all of those "eh"s.... i come from "eh" country...hearing it overused so much even though aware that where i live it is often overused (yeah, even we notice it) was about as distracting as the f-bomb in Pulp Fiction, that one i didn't see but heard from an adjoining room and the dialogue seemed to be string upon string of f-bombs. Didn't care for Eyes Wide Shut either....

Yup, Ben, I had GREAT diffuculty finishing Fargo for many of the same reasons you list.

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Risselada — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:53:09 GMT

leeroy711:

Quote from netflix:
"If you wish to add this movie to your Queue, you must first remove some movies"

I've been there.

But now you have Spout. You can just make a Spout list for your netflix queue overflow.

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

leeroy711 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:02:25 GMT

Risselada:
leeroy711:
A few friends recommeded Children Of Heaven to me and for the life of me, I just couldn't really stand it. I thought it was dry and a little too strait forward in it's approach to story-telling.
Children of Heaven I did not think was that great, but the same director/writer made another film that I think is fantastic! It's called The Color of Paradise. Hopefully this will be a recommended movie that you love, love, love.

Quote from netflix:

"If you wish to add this movie to your Queue, you must first remove some movies"

Re:Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Risselada — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:55:06 GMT

mercurial:
Another one, which caused the same kind of laughing fit, was Million Dollar Baby. I swear that the film didn't incite a single tinge of emotion in me but alas, everyone around me touted it as one of the best movies ever.

Well you have me to agree with you. Million Dollar Baby and Crash are both totally manipulative pieces if tripe. These are the kind of movies where I can feel the screenwriter's fingers on the keyboard. Paul Haggis's character are totally obvious and functional while purporting to be deep and complex.

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Risselada — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:44:48 GMT

leeroy711:
A few friends recommeded Children Of Heaven to me and for the life of me, I just couldn't really stand it. I thought it was dry and a little too strait forward in it's approach to story-telling.

Children of Heaven I did not think was that great, but the same director/writer made another film that I think is fantastic! It's called The Color of Paradise. Hopefully this will be a recommended movie that you love, love, love.

Re:Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

mercurial — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:51:51 GMT

One film that apparently everyone loves but me is The Notebook. I have yet to meet a single person that has not absolutely loved it. I swear it's some cruel joke that everyone is playing on me. I'm not some apathetic jerk, I love a good love story. But The Notebook, from beginning to end, was just unbearably laughable to me. In fact I spent most of the film doing just that, to the annoyance of those I was watching it with and were completely enthralled by it and crying.

Another one, which caused the same kind of laughing fit, was Million Dollar Baby. I swear that the film didn't incite a single tinge of emotion in me but alas, everyone around me touted it as one of the best movies ever.

Re:Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

leeroy711 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:27:36 GMT

I can understand why it wouldn't be apealing to some, I'm big into character development as well. That seems to be what's lacking in the Conformist because of his extreme indifference, but I think that's actually what draws me to the character.

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Jymkata — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:10:50 GMT

leeroy711:
Risselada:

I would like to add Bertolucci's The Conformist to this list. I'd never seen one of his movies and based on ratings from various sites, this seemed like one of the best ones to start with.
I'll admit that the composition and cinematography of many of the shots was absolutly stunning. There were a few images I never could have even imagined, they were so amazing.
But I cared nothing for any of the characters. Maybe if I had lived in Italy in that time and place it would have affected me, but really I couldn't have cared less for most of the movie.
Anyone else who agrees with me?
Anyone want to recommend anything by Bertolucci that I might like even if I didn't like this?

I really liked The Conformist but I can see where you're coming from. I just have a thing for films with that particular backdrop.
A few friends recommeded Children Of Heaven to me and for the life of me, I just couldn't really stand it. I thought it was dry and a little too strait forward in it's approach to story-telling.

I also liked The Conformist the best out of all my Bertolucci experiences. If you are a Sopranos fan you can see a lot of inspiration for Adriana's death from this movie. I always respect Bertolucci's eye for cinema but his characters are always too messed up for me - psychologically, emotionally, and especially sexually. He also doesn't seem to get that less is sometimes more. However, I will always respect him for his writing contribution to one of my favorite cinematic masterpieces - Once Upon a Time in The West.

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Jymkata — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:47:33 GMT

lukasblu:

"what are the "great ones" that you really hate? "
Traffic (2000)
and West Side Story (1961),the characters for the puerto rican gangs look so fake;the movie was very unrealistic

I understand but I think it's a little crazy to pick on a big budget musical for it's lack of realism. Street gangs don't break into spontaneous song and dance?? Really??? That's like criticizing Seven Brides for Seven Brothers for its unrealistic portrayal of lumberjacks. You really have to consider genre conventions.

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

leeroy711 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:47:10 GMT

Risselada:
I would like to add Bertolucci's The Conformist to this list. I'd never seen one of his movies and based on ratings from various sites, this seemed like one of the best ones to start with.
I'll admit that the composition and cinematography of many of the shots was absolutly stunning. There were a few images I never could have even imagined, they were so amazing.
But I cared nothing for any of the characters. Maybe if I had lived in Italy in that time and place it would have affected me, but really I couldn't have cared less for most of the movie.
Anyone else who agrees with me?
Anyone want to recommend anything by Bertolucci that I might like even if I didn't like this?

I really liked The Conformist but I can see where you're coming from. I just have a thing for films with that particular backdrop.

A few friends recommeded Children Of Heaven to me and for the life of me, I just couldn't really stand it. I thought it was dry and a little too strait forward in it's approach to story-telling.

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Risselada — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 17:54:56 GMT

lukasblu:
But i loved The Last Emperor (1987) ;i liked the last emperor back then and still today;if u are never to see any bertolucci films or can only selct a few or just one i HIGHLY recommend seeing the last emperor;watching this movie made me a fan of most of the lead thespians in this movie(John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole);i think this is the best bertolucci film i have seen

Thanks, I'll check that out!

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

lukasblu — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 08:59:41 GMT

"what are the "great ones" that you really hate? "

Traffic (2000)

and West Side Story (1961),the characters for the puerto rican gangs look so fake;the movie was very unrealistic

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

lukasblu — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 08:43:53 GMT

:"Anyone want to recommend anything by Bertolucci that I might like even if I didn't like this?" i liked The Triumph of Love (2001)

But i loved The Last Emperor (1987) ;i liked the last emperor back then and still today;if u are never to see any bertolucci films or can only selct a few or just one i HIGHLY recommend seeing the last emperor;watching this movie made me a fan of most of the lead thespians in this movie(John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole);i think this is the best bertolucci film i have seen

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Risselada — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 23:51:47 GMT

I would like to add Bertolucci's The Conformist to this list. I'd never seen one of his movies and based on ratings from various sites, this seemed like one of the best ones to start with.

I'll admit that the composition and cinematography of many of the shots was absolutly stunning. There were a few images I never could have even imagined, they were so amazing.

But I cared nothing for any of the characters. Maybe if I had lived in Italy in that time and place it would have affected me, but really I couldn't have cared less for most of the movie.

Anyone else who agrees with me?

Anyone want to recommend anything by Bertolucci that I might like even if I didn't like this?

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

lukasblu — Mon, 28 May 2007 05:37:06 GMT

just a few that i can remember that was highly recommended but i found very disappointing is Brockeback Mountain, Night at the Museum,and MIami Vice.First of all Brockeback Mountain ,I found better homosexual movie a than this that had better and stronger characters,Too bad cause cause i really like the actors and actress in these movie but the story is like a daytime soap opera which is disappointing.Secondly, Night at the Museum,i was not laughin or entertained;The comedy is for children under 10 yrs. old.I expected more from Ben stiller.And last is MIami Vice,nothing like the 80's show.overdrawn and tooo long and the acting by Gong Li was horrible.I have seen Gong LI prettier and in better suited roles for her.I loved gong li in her chinese movies(Raise the Red Lantern,etc).I have also seen Colin Farrel in much better roles like Minority Report,The Recruit ,and A Home at the End of the World .Incidentally,A Home At The End of The World is a lesser known, yet better scripted/story gay/straight/family/love relationship movie.

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

ben_ — Wed, 09 May 2007 02:41:52 GMT

rented and watched Eyes wide shut again - lulled me to sleep again and after waking and rewinding (going back a few chapters).... i still dont like it. maybe it's just not my style? fargo... i couldn't even make myself rent it again to give it a second go. i think i'll just leave it alone.

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Risselada — Tue, 08 May 2007 19:11:29 GMT

Edmund:
coupled with the fact that I leave feeling that I just wasted my time and money--I hate that!

I always find that interesting when people don't like a movie that they talk about the money they wasted. Or even moreso when they say something like "that's two hours I'll never get back". I'm kind of assuming if you had not went and seen that particular movie you would have seen a different one. Or else probably wouldn't have actually done anything that would have really been important. If your time or money was that important at the time, I can't imagine you'd be spending it on a movie anyways.

What makes me mad is just the fact that when I see a bad movie that whoever created the film actually thought what they were putting out there was somehow valid (or if they didn't think so that they they are putting out films that they know aren't valid).

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Edmund — Tue, 08 May 2007 17:12:37 GMT

First a word about "hate": for me I notice that the reason I hate a movie is usually because of the expectation I have going in (i.e., crital acclaim), as some have mentioned, coupled with the fact that I leave feeling that I just wasted my time and money--I hate that!

Two movies come to mind: "Blue Velvet" (huh?), and "Lost in Translation" (was there any character in Murray's performance?)

...oh, and I can see hating "Fargo" because of the shredder scene; I can see making the argument for it being gratuitous there. I thought it was a great movie.

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Puhnner — Tue, 08 May 2007 12:50:53 GMT

I very muched liked both Jules and Jim and Breathless and rate them as a couple of the best films out there, although what I see as Jules and Jim's view of human beings leaves much to be desired. However, these 2 aside, I prefer Band of Outsiders even more and of course there is Alphaville.... and Le Petit Soldat...

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

ben_ — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:24:36 GMT

Eyes Wide Shut is the first movie i ever actually left the theater to refill popcorn... usually once the movie starts i am glued so as not to miss a single moment... the soundtrack was... well, that toy piano... i was with several people and the whole theater seemed restless.. the whole group i was with did not enjoy the movie. Fargo i saw at home with my sister and neither one of us liked it, and we dont often agree on anything. maybe it was all of the "eh"s ... i know that was done for effect, but boy oh boy it was WAYYY overdone. the randomness was the whole run across country with the burn barrel, etc (it's been awhile since i've seen it)... i guess for the two of us it just didn't work. maybe we didnt have an idea of what the movie was about... i saw the second movie of the silence of the lambs (brother wanted to see it) and spent most of the time with my hands over my eyes... maybe fargo was a little too shocking for me? perhaps i ought to give fargo a second look, but that first (and only) viewing left me wondering what all of the excitement was about? I am a very avid william h macy fan though, i think he stole the show in Wild Hogs.

.....(added later).. oh yeah, it wasn't a burn barrel was it? it was a tree shredder.... *shivers*... or something....

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Risselada — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 18:27:39 GMT

...I love Eyes Wide Shut. And Fargo is probably one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time. But I guess that's the point of this thread. Lots of people may recommend those movies, but you didn't like them. I didn't see too much "randomness" in the movie though. Can you give me an example? In fact everything that went wrong or was shocking was sort of set up to be that way from the beginning. I mean you could see how bad the plan was from the start.

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

ben_ — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 02:12:25 GMT

i saw FARGO with my sister one summer - the summer it was touted as being so great... it about drove me nuts and the story seemed so random as if looking for the next shocking thing to do to top the last shocking thing they came up with... and all of those "eh"s.... i come from "eh" country...hearing it overused so much even though aware that where i live it is often overused (yeah, even we notice it) was about as distracting as the f-bomb in Pulp Fiction, that one i didn't see but heard from an adjoining room and the dialogue seemed to be string upon string of f-bombs. Didn't care for Eyes Wide Shut either....

Re: Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Risselada — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 03:30:36 GMT

I've mentioned this in some other forums, but I've only seen a few movies from the French New Wave, supposedly some of the first staples of the genre and didn't enjoy them much at all. Specifically Breathless and Jules and Jim.

I actually haven't seen any other movies by Godard because this movie put me off enough to avoid any effort to seeing any more of his stuff. I dunno, does anyone who feels they have come to know my tastes well enough to suggest anything else by Godard I may want to check out?

Recommended movies that you hate, hate, hate

Jymkata — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 21:09:53 GMT

I'm not talking about straight-up bad movies or movies you consider overrated, but movies that come recommended from reputable experts that you really hate.

The reason I bring this up is because I just sat down this afternoon to watch Montenegro by Dusan Makavejev and I absolutely hated it. I mean I hated it on a lot of different levels but I also thought it was just a bad film. This isn't a movie I just randomly picked out and had an aversion to, it is highly regarded in critical circles ( one example - Roger Ebert gave it his masterpiece rating, a four out of four - meaning it will appear in his book series, "The Great Movies"). I don't know if you've had this experience but I had to search high and low for a critic I agreed with regarding this film (I felt better when Vincent Canby went against the consensus and panned it).

So besides warning any uninitiated against Montenegro, what are the "great ones" that you really hate?