Popular Films that were not so Good

[snorkie]

This is a take-off on threads by Greenskull and Rfan.

Have you ever spent hard earned money on a movie that the critics loved, the word of mouth was great, the box office was huge . . . but you couldn't stand it? Well it happened to me:
http://img31.imagevenue.com/loc904/th_85518_English_Peuw_122_904lo.jpg

Back in 1996, I was mad about the woman who dragged me to see this load of rubbish. To this day, as badly as we ended, it's the only thing I can't forgive her for. By the way, she also insisted I see "Titanic." I cheered for the iceberg! :rolleyes:

[tmee2000]

This is a take-off on threads by Greenskull and Rfan.

Have you ever spent hard earned money on a movie that the critics loved, the word of mouth was great, the box office was huge . . . but you couldn't stand it? Well it happened to me:

Back in 1996, I was mad about the woman who dragged me to see this load of rubbish. To this day, as badly as we ended, it's the only thing I can't forgive her for. By the way, she also insisted I see "Titanic." I cheered for the iceberg! :rolleyes:

Well I liked it! Titanic though- never seen and I'm sure it's best that way. Another one of those Stinking Ship movies I expect.

[butterball]

Believe it or not, "The Godfather." I think the problem is that I read the book first and, somehow; an old man who mutters is just not what I had pictured.........

[anklebiter]

I hate super hero films.They are all sooooo popular-bleh.Spiderman was ok, because it incorporated enough humor, you knew it didn't take it's self too seriously.The rest, to me, were rotten eggs.

[Rfan]

OMG Snorkie!!! This is going to be a huge thread, Farowt, GS best make it a category of its own! How many times have we been burnt by hollywood? Innumerable.

The Crying Game.

http://thumbnails17.imagebam.com/4230/ee7ccb42294081.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/ee7ccb42294081)
Free Image Hosting by ImageBam.com (http://www.imagebam.com)

Yeah, I got dragged to it too. The 'woman' is obviously a man, spotted it straight off, (maybe that's why it had no impact for me). The film would have been better if Forrest Whitaker had acted throughout. The opening is good but it just meanders after this.

Titanic is a great film - just take out all the acting scenes. The ship is the star of the film and it sinking is truly spectacular. I would love to see a directors cut where only the ship scenes are kept. Oh, and I don't know about you guys but I've never made love to a woman and when she comes looks for a window to put her hand on, whats that about?

Have to stick up for American Beauty, very good film and he dies in the perfect moment.

Yeah, as I've posted elsewhere comic book adaptions are usually done with all the forethought that a gerbil could bring to bear.

Cheers.

[eelcat]

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/eelcat/ongoldenpond-1.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/eelcat/Terms-of-Endearment-1.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/eelcat/postcards-1.jpg

The strange thing is that when me and the ex girlfriend were visiting the U.S. in 1990, she and her friend wanted to see Postcards From the Edge. So we went to the local cinema complex in Santa Barbara and there were (at least) two cinemas showing this movie and there were queues going out the door. Must be an ok movie I thought to myself. Anyway back in Australia that piece of shite didn't even get a theatrical run....it went straight onto video...and even then I don't think anyone hired it.

[scoundrel]

http://img171.imagevenue.com/loc638/th_20546_Rambo_first_blood_part_ii_122_638lo.jpg (http://img171.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=20546_Rambo_first_blood_part_ii_122_ 638lo.jpg)

Nearly a quarter of a century has elapsed but it hasn't been long enough to erase the memory of just how bad this film is. At the time, it was hugely popular in the UK as well as in America, but all this signified was that it tapped into a renascent spirit of nationalism in both countries. The film itself had nothing to offer except lots of explosions and shooting. It taught me that people with extremely short attention spans are often making a valid judgement.

[guilert53]

Titanic though- never seen and I'm sure it's best that way. Another one of those Stinking Ship movies I expect.

While some of Titanic is a bit so-so, I think the idea of setting it in MODERN times and having a flashback add an extra dimension to it.

The opening shot, of the modern underwater craft going into the wreck, was a masterstroke and totally blew me away as it was so unexpected.

And the last half and hour, of the actual sinking, is some of the most dramatic cinema I have ever seen.

[scoundrel]

While some of Titanic is a bit so-so, I think the idea of setting it in MODERN times and having a flashback add an extra dimension to it.

The opening shot, of the modern underwater craft going into the wreck, was a masterstroke and totally blew me away as it was so unexpected.

And the last half and hour, of the actual sinking, is some of the most dramatic cinema I have ever seen.

Excellent special effects, stunning visuals, dull human interest element, albeit that Kate Winslett looks absolutely gorgeous.

A Night To Remember is a much better film, even though it makes a hero out of that absolute b*****d, Second Officer Edward Lightoller, who ought to have been hanged for forbidding hundreds of men from getting into nearly empty lifeboats, thus needlessly condemning them to death, all for some pointless ''women and children only'' stance which would only have made sense if there had been enough women and children to fill the boats. He forbade one twelve year old boy at gunpoint because the boy looked too old: the women in the boat thwarted Lightoller by removing some petticoats (subfreezing weather remember) and dressing the boy to look like a girl when Lightoller wasn't looking, so he was saved in spite of that evil, despicable man (who somehow managed to save himself).

As for James Cameron's version, the best part for me was the staircase scene. The rest of it you can keep.

Footnote: there were 473 empty seats on the lifeboats, and at least one man succeeded in swimming half a mile in freezing water and being fished out, so 474 empty seats when they left the ship. Thanks a lot Mr Lightoller.

[oat]

The new Transformer movie is lackluster. The effects are seriously good. And the action is on fire (My son is a huge Bumble Bee fan now). But the story is just awful. It starts out well enough but an aging Decepticon that was a beard and needs a cane? Really? And what about the decepticon spy sent to college get the kid's info. If they could look like that couldn't they just cut out the middle man and take over using those robots? But hey I could live with those scenes but the serious deal breaker was the post-death/heaven scene. A human going to Autobot here-after, or the other way around? That was to be the low point of it all. Now before you get all attack-y on me I'm a Transformers fan from way back and had many of the original toys and was geek-stoked when I found out the original Prime voice actor was used. In a day and age when trilogies and sequels/pre-quels (WTF about that too!?) rule the screen they could have come up with a better story than that.

[imtrying]

"Porky's" came out when I was in high school. All my friends kept telling me how funny it was, and God knows it made a ton of money. I finally went to see it and I thought it was terrible. A lame story and a bunch of 30-year olds playing high school kids, all of which could be forgiven if the movie was funny. But it wasn't. I only laughed once. It's the scene at the drive-in where the guys fool one of the waitresses into paging "Michael Hunt" and she goes around the drive-in yelling "Has anyone seen Mike Hunt"? When a dusty old joke like that is the biggest laugh in the movie, that's bad.

[buggeration]

Crocodile Dundee. All the hype and what a load of twaddle it was

[anklebiter]

Man you guys are killing me....Crocodile,On Golden pond....
I must have horrible taste-I loved some of these :D

A cult classic I hate: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

[Estreeter]

All of the Matrix films
http://thumbnails.imagebam.com/4235/06cc3642345028.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/06cc3642345028)

If it were not for the slow motion special effects, would you have liked it?
I thought they were all for the trash can

[DevinnLaneLover]

The new Transformers movie is pretty damn awful. It's not downright horrible, but it's pretty close to it.

The Phantom Menace was a downright turd. And I'm a major SW nut.

[avidfan]

Man you guys are killing me....Crocodile,On Golden pond....
I must have horrible taste-I loved some of these :D

A cult classic I hate: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

c'mon, rocky horror is class! my 10 year old daughter loves it..."i love this film dad, but i dont understand it but i like the songs" is what she said about it lol!

i think a lot of so called blockbuster movies are crap, terminator 3 is a real let down for me and matrix 2 & 3.

[tabler]

I was so looking forward to 'The X Files' movie and when I finally watched it.....my god it was dire, the plot was totaly confusing and it just seemed, well crap really!:confused:

No Anky, your taste is good, Crocodile Dundee 1&2 were great, 3 was shit. Why do they spoil things by putting a bloody shmaltzy kid in for the 'cute' factor, they did the same with the Mummy returns!:mad:

[GeorgeMcSoon]

Basic Instinct 2 - totally crap. Far, far away from classy Basic Instinct 1

[John C. Holmes]

I'm gonna get crucified for this but JJ Abrams' Star Trek was tripe to me. We have a Spock/Kirk "bromance" and a bunch of special effects but when it came right down to it, not much of a movie or even anything that could add to the Star Trek repertoire.

Note to the Roddenberry's, next time you bring in a superstar director to helm the Star Trek franchise make sure they actually liked it in the first place. This movie looked like Abrams was trying to wipe his ass with the franchise AND it's fans.

[retro72]

Man you guys are killing me....Crocodile,On Golden pond....
I must have horrible taste-I loved some of these :D

A cult classic I hate: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

I actually saw the theatre version some years ago with Jason Donovan as Frank n Furter. Needless to say I still suffer from PTSD....

:mad:

[retro72]

All of the Matrix films
http://thumbnails.imagebam.com/4235/06cc3642345028.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/06cc3642345028)

If it were not for the slow motion special effects, would you have liked it?
I thought they were all for the trash can

I must admit I like the first one, for me it had more than just special effects, but the 2nd and 3rd are so obviously cash ins on the success of the original. I was bored to death with the last one...

[snorkie]

The Crying Game.

http://thumbnails17.imagebam.com/4230/ee7ccb42294081.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/ee7ccb42294081)
Free Image Hosting by ImageBam.com (http://www.imagebam.com)

Yeah, I got dragged to it too. The 'woman' is obviously a man, spotted it straight off, (maybe that's why it had no impact for me).

The Crying game is definitely a love/hate it movie. It's too bad there was so much hype about the 'secret.' Dil was lead performer in a gay club, for goodness sakes. It does explain why Forest Whitaker was so horny that he easily fell into the clutches of Miranda Richardson, as well as the nature of Whitaker's subtle revenge. The real key to this movie is the joke told in the final scene.

[Rfan]

All of the Matrix films
http://thumbnails.imagebam.com/4235/06cc3642345028.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/06cc3642345028)

If it were not for the slow motion special effects, would you have liked it?
I thought they were all for the trash can

I only saw the first one, so I've only got a twitch in my left eye, no other debilitating effects.

next time you bring in a superstar director to helm the Star Trek franchise make sure they actually liked it in the first place. This movie looked like Abrams was trying to wipe his ass with the franchise AND it's fans.

Agreed. I think it was obvious that the movie was an attempt to get rid of the canon, so they could take the franchise in a different direction, and thats all. While it was a little grittier than normal, it really wasn't much of a film. They made a huge blunder (well huger than the others) in the first 10 mins when young Spock gets beaten up and bleeds red blood, even though Bones later calls him a green blooded hobgoblin. The only pluses for me was Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as Bones and that guy from 'Space' as Scotty.

I actually saw the theatre version some years ago with Jason Donovan as Frank n Furter. Needless to say I still suffer from PTSD....

:mad:

Commiserations Retro. Counseling could do little to alleviate such horror. I hope you didn't have a stocking fetish, cause that's gone now.

Cheers.

[retro72]

I only saw the first one, so I've only got a twitch in my left eye, no other debilitating effects.



Agreed. I think it was obvious that the movie was an attempt to get rid of the canon, so they could take the franchise in a different direction, and thats all. While it was a little grittier than normal, it really wasn't much of a film. They made a huge blunder (well huger than the others) in the first 10 mins when young Spock gets beaten up and bleeds red blood, even though Bones later calls him a green blooded hobgoblin. The only pluses for me was Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as Bones and that guy from 'Space' as Scotty.



Commiserations Retro. Counseling could do little to alleviate such horror. I hope you didn't have a stocking fetish, cause that's gone now.

Cheers.

He was in fishnets.....

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHH!!!!!

The horror is all coming back!!!!

:eek::mad:

PS: AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!

[Mal Hombre]

And you were actually in the same room!!!!

[Mal Hombre]

I have to say I never really got 2001 A Space Odyssey,also I did'nt like The Godfather.That should get a reaction!

[Estreeter]

I have to say I never really got 2001 A Space Odyssey,also I did'nt like The Godfather.That should get a reaction!
Agree with 2001 A Space Odyssey
Disagree with The Godfather,
Please explain:confused:

[manicart1]

Transformers 2 was absolute dogshit. Everyone else who's seen it seems to agree, and yet the film has made well over 200 million dollars worlldwide.

[forgan]

This is a take-off on threads by Greenskull and Rfan.

Have you ever spent hard earned money on a movie that the critics loved, the word of mouth was great, the box office was huge . . . but you couldn't stand it? Well it happened to me:
http://img31.imagevenue.com/loc904/th_85518_English_Peuw_122_904lo.jpg

Back in 1996, I was mad about the woman who dragged me to see this load of rubbish. To this day, as badly as we ended, it's the only thing I can't forgive her for. By the way, she also insisted I see "Titanic." I cheered for the iceberg! :rolleyes:

Ralph Fiennes is awful, but Juliette Binoche and K. Scott-Thomas are among my favorite actresses :rolleyes:

That said, you're totally right :D

[Mal Hombre]

Agree with 2001 A Space Odyssey
Disagree with The Godfather,
Please explain:confused: What's to explain ? I just don't like it ,it doesn't help that the movie gives spurious nobility to murderers,drug dealers ,pimps and extortionists,maybe you should explain why I should like it ?:confused:

[scoundrel]

What's to explain ? I just don't like it ,it doesn't help that the movie gives spurious nobility to murderers,drug dealers ,pimps and extortionists,maybe you should explain why I should like it ?:confused:Everyone is allowed to have a view. mv will no doubt answer for himself, but here's my list of things to like about The Godfather just in case anyone is interested.

Classic acting performances: most especially by Al Pacino, but also Marlon Brando and James Caan. The cameo when Don Corleone talks to Luca Brazzi at the wedding is powerful, scary stuff, and yes, I know full well that the extra who delivers the high class performance as Brazzi was a real hood, at least as evil and dangerous in real life as Brazzi in the film. The point of the scene is well made: this lethal man is nervous and unsure of himself in the presence of his Don, so how much hidden force must Don Corleone possess?

Never before on film has there been such a credible, well researched and sophisticated portrayal of the world of organised crime, in which the criminals can be seen as people rather than cardboard monsters. Demonising the enemies of our society doesn't help to fight them, but understanding their motives and methods just might. The drivers are much more about power and loyalty than greed in its simplest form.

The invocation of the period is perfect. The cinematography is wonderful. The theme tune is wonderfully evocative and gothic in its intensity.

In Michael Corleone (Pacino) we have a Shakespearean tragic figure transposed into modern cinema. Rather like Macbeth, he is a man destroyed by his own choices, and yet even more tragic because he struggled all his young adult life to escape from his terrible destiny and ultimately could not. This is the tragedy of a bad man who desperately wanted to be good but was pulled under by bonds of love, loyalty and honour: virtues turned into vices by this corrupted and fallen world he is doomed to inhabit.

This is my answer, Mal. I do understand your distaste for the film, which many people misunderstand as a glorification of Cosa Nostra. It isn't.

[Estreeter]

What's to explain ? I just don't like it ,it doesn't help that the movie gives spurious nobility to murderers,drug dealers ,pimps and extortionists,maybe you should explain why I should like it ?:confused:
http://thumbnails12.imagebam.com/4288/5c45e942873879.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/5c45e942873879)
Easy,

1, Great cast:)
2, Great acting:):)
3, Realistic storyline:):):)

I don't think that the fact that it involves the mafia has anything to do with it, the same story line could involve legal big business, much of which was established using unfair tactics if that's what you are trying to imply.

PS, War films show legalized killing,

[mongo630]

Lost in Translation and Titanic are two that come to mind rather quickly

[tmee2000]

http://thumbnails12.imagebam.com/4288/5c45e942873879.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/5c45e942873879)
Easy,

1, Great cast:)
2, Great acting:):)
3, Realistic storyline:):):)

I don't think that the fact that it involves the mafia has anything to do with it, the same story line could involve legal big business, much of which was established using unfair tactics if that's what you are trying to imply.

PS, War films show legalized killing,

I like it for the horse's head

[snorkie]

Lost in Translation . . .

Even though I found this to be an excellent film, it's easy for me to see how someone else might not enjoy it at all. "2001" - mentioned a couple of times in this thread - is another case in point. It's one of my favorite moves, but my oldest friend doesn't get it at all.

"Citizen Kane" on many lists as the greatest film ever, just plain baffles me as to the reason for its greatness.

[graftzig]

"Star Wars - The Phantom Menace" is a piece of crap.
I'm a Star Wars nut as well and this has disappointed me beyond all expectations.

"2001" was a piece of rubbish, too.

"Sleepless in Seattle" - Oh my God, the ordeal I went through...

"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" - how much absence of a plot can you stand???

[JDPuss]

I'm gonna get crucified for this but JJ Abrams' Star Trek was tripe to me. We have a Spock/Kirk "bromance" and a bunch of special effects but when it came right down to it, not much of a movie or even anything that could add to the Star Trek repertoire.

Note to the Roddenberry's, next time you bring in a superstar director to helm the Star Trek franchise make sure they actually liked it in the first place. This movie looked like Abrams was trying to wipe his ass with the franchise AND it's fans.


Actually enjoyed this movie mate ......:)


However from this years (2009) blockbusters .... is gotta be


TERMINATOR SALVATION

this film sucks on so many levels ..... apart from the effects ... all flash and no plot ... and what a waste of Michael Ironside ...and Christian Bale


JD :)

[TCO95]

Anyone mentioned "Reds" with Warren Beatty? That movie seemed to go on forever. I don't think Communism lasted as long as that movie.

In the same vein "The Little Drummer Girl" with Diane Keaton. She should still be phoning everyone and apologizing.

[sydney1]

Just finished watching Collateral on film 4 with the ubiquitous Cruise and it reafirmed my intitial opinion of this film.. it's sh*te.
I could just spend time slagging off Cruise, but I won't, because it's pointless and it's been done so many times before. What really annoys me is the fact that Micheal Mann is a terrific director and after directing such classic films like 'Manhunter' and 'Heat' he's gone down the route of lowest-common denominator of: Tom Cruise= Box office hit, wrong, wrong, wrong.
I think it may not (For once) may not be Cruise's fault this time, I'm beginning to be really wary of overhead shots of skyscraper's and flashy camara angles, it's tedious and lazy with the end product looking like a toss-music vid.
One of reason's which I like, no, love the new Clint Eastwood film, it's a damn-good story which refuse's to drop to cliches, a rarity nowadays. Apart from Clint I didn't recognise any of the other actors/actress's and maybe that's not such a bad thing, Cruise being Cruise is to me, a product like a 'Big Mac', cheap, tasteless and not particularly filling with a sense of being slightly cheated out of your hard-earned dosh.:(

[scoundrel]

Just finished watching Collateral on film 4 with the ubiquitous Cruise and it reafirmed my intitial opinion of this film.. it's sh*te.
I could just spend time slagging off Cruise, but I won't, because it's pointless and it's been done so many times before.
Can one ever have too much of a good thing? Slagging off Tom Cruise is never ever a waste of time.
What really annoys me is the fact that Micheal Mann is a terrific director and after directing such classic films like 'Manhunter' and 'Heat' he's gone down the route of lowest-common denominator of: Tom Cruise= Box office hit, wrong, wrong, wrong.
I think it may not (For once) may not be Cruise's fault this time, I'm beginning to be really wary of overhead shots of skyscraper's and flashy camara angles, it's tedious and lazy with the end product looking like a toss-music vid.
Michael Mann is talented and versatile, but some of his work is indeed lazy and repetitious. What was innovative and exciting on TV in Miami Vice is neither when you keep doing it. Audiences learn and evolve, so should filmakers.
One of reason's which I like, no, love the new Clint Eastwood film, it's a damn-good story which refuse's to drop to cliches, a rarity nowadays. Apart from Clint I didn't recognise any of the other actors/actress's and maybe that's not such a bad thing, Cruise being Cruise is to me, a product like a 'Big Mac', cheap, tasteless and not particularly filling with a sense of being slightly cheated out of your hard-earned dosh.:(
Very well put.

The case against Tom Cruise is not in his worst films, but in his best films. This man has it in him to be a really great actor but is too vain, cheap, greedy and shallow to do justice to his exceptional acting gifts. If you doubt that he could be great, try a few of his best performances, particularly The Firm, Jerry Maguire, The Last Samurai, A Few Good Men then watch some of the unspeakable crap he is willing to stoop to for the right price: Top Gun, Mission Impossible II, Eyes Wide Shut, The War Of The Worlds. To re-inforce the point about the shoddiness of his personal character, the price of his selling out is paid not only in money (lots of it) but also in the onanistic massaging of his monstrous ego, as we see in the opening free-climbing sequence in Mission Impossible II.

Tom Cruise is a tosser.:mad:

[snorkie]

The case against Tom Cruise is not in his worst films, but in his best films. This man has it in him to be a really great actor but is too vain, cheap, greedy and shallow to do justice to his exceptional acting gifts.

Tom Cruise like, say, Samuel L. Jackson is a working actor. This means if there's money on the table they take it. It's not art, it's business.

Trying to balance serious work and money making work is a tough thing to do. Robert De Niro has managed to do this successfully only in the last few years. Actually, sometimes an actors attempts to do more substantive hurts their standing with the public: I give you Jim Carrey (The Majestic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).

[scoundrel]

Tom Cruise is a working actor. This means if there's money on the table they take it. It's not art, it's business.

Trying to balance serious work and money making work is a tough thing to do. Robert De Niro has managed to do this successfully only in the last few years.
Its business, yes. This is a valid excuse for the early turds, such as Top Gun (I not only dislike this film, I feel ashamed of myself for having once enjoyed it: we were easily deceived in the 1980s) and The Colour Of Money. But he allegedly earned $13m for Far And Away plus $15m for Interview With The Vampire plus $70m for the first Mission Impossible. As far I'm concerned, any film he makes after that is either an artistic choice or plain barefaced greed, plus narcissism on an epic scale: The War Of The Worlds and Mission Impossible II are firmly in Catagory B.

The counsel for the prosecution rests his case.

NB: Off topic on this thread, but I also absolutely hate him for his shabby treatment of Nicole Kidman. Anyone got his hair or toenails so I can make his voodoo doll?

[Estreeter]

Puke
http://thumbnails16.imagebam.com/4321/25161243203645.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/25161243203645)
I'll leave it at that

[tmee2000]

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Australians will know what I'm talking about, the rest of you probably don't. Save yourselves the trouble.

[snorkie]

NB: Off topic on this thread, but I also absolutely hate him for his shabby treatment of Nicole Kidman. Anyone got his hair or toenails so I can make his voodoo doll?

If you want to punish someone for shabby treatment of the world's most desirable woman (IMHO) you have to pick Lenny Kravitz. He caught her on the rebound, and took advantage.

[Estreeter]

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Australians will know what I'm talking about, the rest of you probably don't. Save yourselves the trouble.
While on Aussie films, Storm Boy, hated it

[crazybikerme]

Rubbish......pure & simple, rubbish! :mad:

[kananga]

Rubbish......pure & simple, rubbish! :mad:

I'm not real big on films that celebrate ignorance, although I enjoyed Peter Sellers 'Being There' once, hated it another time and will probably watch it again some day?
The thing I remember most about 'Forrest Gump' was that some farmer drove his pickup into the back of my vehicle while it was parked under a streetlight at my girlfriends house, while we were watching it!

I prefer to watch Weird Al Yankovic parody 'Gump' with P.U.S.A. and Ruth Buzzy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWmiO4SavZI

I've had more laughs out of this than the whole of 'Forrest Gump' in around 2mins 14 secs.

[scoundrel]

http://img266.imagevenue.com/loc223/th_39203_Forrest_Gump_poster_122_223lo.jpg

I have to respectfully dissent on Forrest Gump but of course everyone is entitled to their own view on this or any movie.:)

My own view is that, for all his apparent stupidity, Gump has great wisdom in his calm acceptance of life's pitfalls and disillusionments. He is never bitter and doesn't burden himself with grudges. The only thing you cannot do to him is mistreat Jenny (Robin Wright-Penn) and let him see or find out about it.

The critical debate around Forest Gump mostly interprets it as a conservative Republican parable and morality tale. It is true that it firmly mocks and satirises 1960s counter-culture (note that it is Jenny's ''right-on'' political activist radical boyfriend who beats her up in front of Forrest and gets his comeuppance). But it also mocks 1970s materialism and fads such as the Jimmy Fix jogging craze and the 'Shit Happens' bumper stickers. Also, the deliciously wicked cross reference to Watergate and Nixon's downfall is hardly pro-Republican.

This is a middle-of-the-road film, equally willing to highlight and ridicule bovine scatology form all political directions. It is also a film about America itself. The despair and ultimate redemption of crippled hero Lieutenant Dan (a fine performance by Gary Sinese) is a central part of the theme of a wounded society slowly healing itself. Note incidentally how loyal and steadfast Private Gump is to Lieutenant Dan all the way through good times, bad times, and worse times, and how this loyalty slowly brings out the true decency and humanity in Lieutenant Dan when it seemed as though his soul was crippled too. A parallel with America re-discovering her core values after the humiliation of Vietnam?

Forrest Gump: I rate it highly myself.:)

[brianwp]

I have to respectfully dissent on Forrest Gump but of course everyone is entitled to their own view on this or any movie.:)

My own view is that, for all his apparent stupidity, Gump has great wisdom in his calm acceptance of life's pitfalls and disillusionments. He is never bitter and doesn't burden huimself with grudges. The only thing you cannot do to him is mistreat Jenny (Robin Wright-Penn) and let him see or find out about it.

The critical debate around Forest Gump mostly interprets it as a conservative Republican parable and morality tale. It is true that it firmly mocks and satirises 1960s counter-culture (note that it is Jenny's ''right-on'' political activist radical boyfriend who beats her up in front of Forrest and gets his comeuppance). But it also mocks 1970s materialism and fads such as the Jimmy Fix jogging craze and the 'Shit Happens' bumper stickers. Also, the deliciously wicked cross reference to Watergate and Nixon's downfall is hardly pro-Republican.

This is a middle-of-the-road film, equally willing to highlight and ridicule bovine scatology form all political directions. It is also a film about America itself. The despair and ultimate redemption of crippled hero Lieutenant Dan (a fine performance by Gary Sinese) is a central part of the theme of a wounded society slowly healing itself. Note incidentally how loyal and steadfast Private Gump is to Lieutenant Dan all the way through good times, bad times, and worse times, and how this loyalty slowly brings out the true decency and humanity in Lieutenant Dan when it seemed as though his soul was crippled too. A parallel with America re-discovering her core values after the humiliation of Vietnam?

Forrest Gump: I rate it highly myself.:)

I agree. I don't really think this movie is making a political statement as much as just telling a story, really. Like Billy Bob Thornton's character in "Slingblade", Hanks portrays Gump as a simple man just going with the flow, trying to do the best he can, while actually totally oblivious to everything that is going on around him. (By the way, I sat on his bench in Savannah;)). I couldn't actually believe that Hanks would make a pro republican film, by the way. No, this is a character study, which teaches us some fundamental values. No matter what situation or environment Gump is in, he sticks to his ethics. He doesn't understand anything about Black Panthers, or football, or politics, he just doesn't have the capacity. But he knows right and wrong, and morals, which he defends with every shred of his being, regardless of popular convention. He is purely a human being, without any of the societal bullshit we all carry around with us. There is actually a lot we can all learn from Forrest.

[snorkie]

I despise anything that Julia Roberts is in. I absolutely detest crap like 'Pretty Woman'; talk about overrated. For me, Hector Alizondo was the only likable thing about that movie. That movie and it's star deserve their own special septic tank to dwell in.

Respectfully, I disagree. I'm not particularly a Julia Roberts fan, but she can be quite good. I can think of three or four films I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. I can also think of three or four which require a gas mask while viewing. "Pretty Woman" is a romance fantasy, based on an absurd premise, but isn't that what fantasy means? The plot is no more absurd than any of the nice girl meets mister right movies we're constantly subjected to.

[scoundrel]

Respectfully, I disagree. I'm not particularly a Julia Roberts fan, but she can be quite good. I can think of three or four films I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. I can also think of three or four which require a gas mask while viewing. "Pretty Woman" is a romance fantasy, based on an absurd premise, but isn't that what fantasy means? The plot is no more absurd than any of the nice girl meets mister right movies we're constantly subjected to.
Pretty Woman isn't my all time favourite romcom but I quite like it. There are are some clever and witty comic moments, for example, when the hotel manager produces a female PA to help Julia Roberts disguise herself as a respectable girl of fashion.

The scene when she is driven by misery and frustration to appeal to the manager for help is nicely done: he has never been less than polite, but she knows full well that he would prefer her room to her company, and it is humiliating for her to ask his help. He realises this, and also realises that it would be sensible to help her, plus, and this is nicely observed, her distress brings out some genuine sympathy and he recognises that this vulnerable spirit isn't quite the brazen trollop he thought she was. He actually befriends her and his friendship is reciprocated by a girl who needs friends and values friendship highly.

The maternal and worldly wise PA he produces is a tower of strength and sticks religiously to the polite fiction that Richard Gere is Julia Roberts' uncle, until her innate straightforwardness drives her to put her cards on the table:

Roberts: [short pause for breath and slightly hurried speech]...He's not my uncle.

PA [a bit like mommy telling daughter where babies come from] They never are, dear.

Pretty Woman is a minor gem but a gem for all that.

[bawjaws]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Just didn't get it. Actually fell asleep during the first one...gave up on the second one .. never bothered with the third. As for the award winning special effects, I thought they just looked cartoonish (if that's a word).. but don't ask me about the plot
( Jings,crivens,help ma boab I'm a senior)

[scoundrel]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Just didn't get it. Actually fell asleep during the first one...gave up on the second one .. never bothered with the third. As for the award winning special effects, I thought they just looked cartoonish (if that's a word).. but don't ask me about the plot
( Jings,crivens,help ma boab I'm a senior)
I think it helps a lot if you were already a fan of the book. I liked these films: they are spectacular, visually splendid (the New Zealand landscape may be the last semi-wilderness left on planet earth where this action could be set) and the key players were well chosen and did good work. I was only slightly disappointed that there wasn't enough time to include the minor subplot of the courtship of Eowyn and Faramir in the Houses of Healing, an incidental but really charming and human touch from the book (a classic example of man catches woman on the rebound) but it was a small quibble.

You either like this kind of thing or you dont.

[Raymond66]

Puke
http://thumbnails16.imagebam.com/4321/25161243203645.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/25161243203645)
I'll leave it at that


If you take out Demi Moore, this is not a bad movie. With her however, I have to agree with you.

What get s me are the movies that get all the press, are bad, and you never hear from them again.

For example,

The Accidental Tourist (1988) - Geena Davis won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Atonement (2007) - Nominated for best picture of the year and won for best original score. What drek! Even the girls I saw it with could not understand all the hype.

Amadeus (1984) Best picture of the year for 1984 and when was the last time you saw it on TV of any of the pay channels???? Have you watched it lately??? I never saw the point in the bloated biopic.

Dances with Wolves (1990) - Up against Awakenings (a great film) and Ghost ('nuff said). How does Kostner keep getting work????

Million Dollar Baby (2004) - Really? Best picture of that year?? I mean it was a light yer (Ray, Sideways, Finding Neverland, The Aviator)

And by the way, add Sideways to the list of films that were hyped and pointless.

Crash (2005) - Oh. you just had to see this film of else you were not a modern white American. You not only HAD to see it, you had to like it or you did not understand race in America. (at least that is what Henry Gates demanded from his porch at Harvard:rolleyes:)

The Departed (2006) - Have you even heard of this film??? AND it won best picture!!

Just a quick look at the films the Acadamy, and the media, tell you are "good" films (or even cultural milestones).

[John C. Holmes]

If you take out Demi Moore, this is not a bad movie. With her however, I have to agree with you.

What get s me are the movies that get all the press, are bad, and you never hear from them again.

For example,

The Accidental Tourist (1988) - Geena Davis won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Atonement (2007) - Nominated for best picture of the year and won for best original score. What drek! Even the girls I saw it with could not understand all the hype.

Amadeus (1984) Best picture of the year for 1984 and when was the last time you saw it on TV of any of the pay channels???? Have you watched it lately??? I never saw the point in the bloated biopic.

Dances with Wolves (1990) - Up against Awakenings (a great film) and Ghost ('nuff said). How does Kostner keep getting work????

Million Dollar Baby (2004) - Really? Best picture of that year?? I mean it was a light yer (Ray, Sideways, Finding Neverland, The Aviator)

And by the way, add Sideways to the list of films that were hyped and pointless.

Crash (2005) - Oh. you just had to see this film of else you were not a modern white American. You not only HAD to see it, you had to like it or you did not understand race in America. (at least that is what Henry Gates demanded from his porch at Harvard:rolleyes:)

The Departed (2006) - Have you even heard of this film??? AND it won best picture!!

Just a quick look at the films the Acadamy, and the media, tell you are "good" films (or even cultural milestones).

You forgot that Dances with Wolves also beat out the best work of Scorcese's career, (Goodfellas) that year as well.

Here's a few more that the press adored but disappeared completely:

Annie Hall: Beat out Saturday Night Fever and Star Wars for best picture yet NOBODY has seen or heard from it since. I bet Woody doesn't even have it in his DVD collection.

Ordinary People: The most infamous Oscar snub ever, (beating out Raging Bull.) I'd love to see the people who voted this way look ANYONE in the eye and admit it now.

Shakesphere In Love: Yet another example of the 'It' girl being passed off as brilliant.

Girl Interupted: Aside from being a shody adaptation of the book and the last attempt to pass Winona Ryder off as the "great actress of Generation X," it proved yet again that Angelina Jolie isn't as good an actress as she is simply bi-polar as she played the same character she played in Gia with messier hair.

[Berferd]

Respectfully, I disagree. I'm not particularly a Julia Roberts fan, but she can be quite good. I can think of three or four films I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. I can also think of three or four which require a gas mask while viewing. "Pretty Woman" is a romance fantasy, based on an absurd premise, but isn't that what fantasy means? The plot is no more absurd than any of the nice girl meets mister right movies we're constantly subjected to.
Well said, Snorkle and Scoundrel. Rom-com fantasies just aren't my thing. On the other hand, Julia Roberts has worn out her welcome with me and the media as well for showing that movie so relentlesssly. What the media doesn't understand is the concept of 'beating a good thing to death.' I'll go put on a DVD of The Dirty Dozen the next time it comes on. lol

[eelcat]

If you take out Demi Moore, this is not a bad movie. With her however, I have to agree with you.

What get s me are the movies that get all the press, are bad, and you never hear from them again.

For example,

The Accidental Tourist (1988) - Geena Davis won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Atonement (2007) - Nominated for best picture of the year and won for best original score. What drek! Even the girls I saw it with could not understand all the hype.

Amadeus (1984) Best picture of the year for 1984 and when was the last time you saw it on TV of any of the pay channels???? Have you watched it lately??? I never saw the point in the bloated biopic.

Dances with Wolves (1990) - Up against Awakenings (a great film) and Ghost ('nuff said). How does Kostner keep getting work????

Million Dollar Baby (2004) - Really? Best picture of that year?? I mean it was a light yer (Ray, Sideways, Finding Neverland, The Aviator)

And by the way, add Sideways to the list of films that were hyped and pointless.

Crash (2005) - Oh. you just had to see this film of else you were not a modern white American. You not only HAD to see it, you had to like it or you did not understand race in America. (at least that is what Henry Gates demanded from his porch at Harvard:rolleyes:)

The Departed (2006) - Have you even heard of this film??? AND it won best picture!!

Just a quick look at the films the Acadamy, and the media, tell you are "good" films (or even cultural milestones).

Carry on Camping shits all over these and how many oscars did it pick up? Sweet FA. That's democracy for you.

[brianwp]

I love the Carry On movies, they were great!

[MaxJoker]

I love the Carry On movies, they were great!


You obviously never saw Carry on England or Carry on Emmanuelle :(


"The horror , the ...............horror " :eek:

[eelcat]

You obviously never saw Carry on England or Carry on Emmanuelle :(


"The horror , the ...............horror " :eek:

Do those two....and Columbus really count?
If they didn't have Sid James in them then I don't consider them Carry Ons. Actually besides the first two movies (Sargent and Nurse) the worst ones are the ones without Sid in them :)

[MaxJoker]

Do those two....and Columbus really count?
If they didn't have Sid James in them then I don't consider them Carry Ons. Actually besides the first two movies (Sargent and Nurse) the worst ones are the ones without Sid in them :)


Hah had forgotten all about Columbus (Guess that electro shock therapy actually worked ) , then again if it doesn`t have either Williams or that other thin guy (Who`s name escapes me ) it isn`t really a carry on as far as i`m concerned

[kananga]

For me the obvious star of the Carry On series was Barbara Windsor (Babs).
What an inspirtation to a pubescent teenager at that time.
Strange how after 30 odd years of viewing 'hardbodied women, she doesn't seem so hot now, although she has aged incredibly well!
They seemed to know how to take what she had and make the most of it (emphasising her bust size when she was really only average), and of course her innate 'cheekiness'. The latter was a big part of the attraction...

Okay, I admit it - she's cute :p

[bawjaws]

Do those two....and Columbus really count?
If they didn't have Sid James in them then I don't consider them Carry Ons. Actually besides the first two movies (Sargent and Nurse) the worst ones are the ones without Sid in them :)
Carry On Screaming was a classic.Harry H Corbett took Sid's role when he couldn't make it due to a stage commitment.

[eelcat]

...then again if it doesn`t have either Williams or that other thin guy (Who`s name escapes me ) it isn`t really a carry on as far as i`m concerned

Point taken. Everyone has their favourites and yours just happens to be Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/eelcat/hawtrey.jpg

[eelcat]

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/eelcat/hawtrey.jpg

And no he is not saying "OOOOOooooo Matron" :)

[brianwp]

Damn! I'm sorry I said anything! Anyway, two of my favorites that I remember were Carry On Crusing, and Carry On Cabbie.

[scoundrel]

http://img250.imagevenue.com/loc52/th_92044_The_Stud_122_52lo.jpg http://img106.imagevenue.com/loc592/th_92045_The_Bitch_122_592lo.jpg

Anyone remember these?

They were big commercial successes, and were two of the dullest, most tawdry, badly written, badly acted and irredeemably shit movies ever to air on my TV. I hastily switched over to the suppository advertisements.

[sydney1]

http://img250.imagevenue.com/loc52/th_92044_The_Stud_122_52lo.jpg http://img106.imagevenue.com/loc592/th_92045_The_Bitch_122_592lo.jpg

Anyone remember these?

They were big commercial successes, and were two of the dullest, most tawdry, badly written, badly acted and irredeemably shit movies ever to air on my TV. I hastily switched over to the suppository advertisements.

You may be right Scoundrel ol' son, but a case of beer, some 'Turkish' cigarettes, eff-all on the t.v., there's nothing better than Miss Collins in a sh*t film.;)

[johnsmith69]

Good thread...
Being a bit young or not born when these films came out, i was dissappointed by...
Bullitt (waited for the amazing chase scene...and then the titles rolled)
Easy Rider
Anything Monty Python
It's A Wonderful Life
The Shining
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock)

All of these films, were watchable, and I would watch them again...(except Monty Python) but I was a bit dissappointed...

I guess at the time, they were original but not sure if they stood the test of time.

Don't get me wrong, I love old b&w war films and classics like The French Connection, Dirty Harry, Seven Samurai are still and always will have a great story...

[Clouddancer]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Just didn't get it. Actually fell asleep during the first one...gave up on the second one .. never bothered with the third. As for the award winning special effects, I thought they just looked cartoonish (if that's a word).. but don't ask me about the plot
( Jings,crivens,help ma boab I'm a senior)

I absolutely concur. I thought I was the only one!!!

[dbailey]

I find all movies with Meryl Streep are overated.

I have not been able to watch more than 10 minutes of any of the many Rocky franchise films. Actually, I struggle to watch Mr Stallone at all.

Now I just about coped with the original Star Wars Trilogy, but the two prequels were the final nail in the coffin. I will not be able to watch these again.

Conversly and perversly I not only enjoyed 2001 but I went and bought it on DVD even though I had seen it many times on TV.

Lord of the Rings....loved it, but then again I have been waiting 40 years to see it.

Clockwork Orange, I understood why Kubrik put a veto on further screenings during his lifetime. By the time I saw it, my expectation in no way matched the dated nature, poor costuming and what felt to be a contrived concept.

It just goes to show that we can't all like the same thing, otherwise there would be a line of chaps carrying flowers all around the block hoping to date Mrs Bailey;)

[SwedishEroticaFan]

Independence Day - just stick a 3.5 floppy in and disable the aliens. Were they using Mac, PC, or IBM PS/2 format?

[pdsme]

I'm a latecomer to this thread and started reading it from the very beginning. Wondering at at every post why Independence Day wasn't mentioned. Then SwedishEroticaFan mentions it on the very last post! (Well, it's not the last post now.)

Agree wholeheartedly Independence Day is CRAP from start to finish and yet people loved it.

There are many bad films already mentioned but the films mentioned as crap that I think are brilliant are:
Lord of the Rings
The Matrix Trilogy
Star Trek (Newest)
Godfather
2001
The Departed

[snorkie]

Independence Day - just stick a 3.5 floppy in and disable the aliens. Were they using Mac, PC, or IBM PS/2 format?

An early release of Windows Vista, obv. :D

[Aubrey]

I liked Lord of the Rings as well - it was about as good a version of the book as a film could be. They might have missed out the Eowyn and Faramir bit (I read it 20 years+ ago and don't remember that) but they also missed out Tom Bombadil, and that has to be a plus.

A well-regarded film I really did not like was Pan's Labyrinth.

Mainly because there wasn't as much fantasy in it as I was expecting from the trailer, and because what fantasy there was fudged. What I mean by this is that the Faun said that the girl must not eat when she was in the labyrinth. She did eat, and then the faun changed his mind, which allowed the rest of the film to carry on. You really need rules in fantasy. If you don't have rules anything can happen - what was to stop the faun from getting his mates together and defeating the fascists? After the initial rule breaking nothing but the whim of the director (in the context of the film she only ate to get a bit of tension in, when she nearly got caught by the monster with detachable eyes).

The fascist bits were pointless, unless you need to be told that fascism is bad (and I suppose some people do). If anything, they showed the bad bloke to be amazingly brave.

(I know people liked this film, and I am not questioning their judgement. Well, I suppose I am, a bit. Sorry. But it annoyed the buggery out of me.)

[Psx0005]

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Granted, I don't place Michael Bay up there with the Scorsese-Spielberg-Lynch-Scott brothers crowd but something with what he did with the sequel just cemented what I always felt about Bay. He shoulda stuck to directing the Playboy videos from back in his early days. Because other than the extravagant special effects and piss-poor directing of the actors, I felt like I was watching Megan Fox in a Playboy video shoot for all her prancing around. :cool:

[googuy14]

I'm not a Trekker (or Trekkie). If I was I would HATE this piece of crap movie even MORE!!!


It was a loud over the top confusing MESS of a movie. All the while trying SOOOO hard to look cool, dramatic and be funny all at the same time.

I'm sure the Mall Rats loved it!

This movie will not age well and belongs on the same shelf as Independence Day.

P.S. I didn't know the Enterprise engine room was a beer brewery. Or was that the Spaghetti Os factory?

[porty]

jacobs ladder... all that media hype. i've watched it 3 times now and i still havn't stayed awake past the first 20 minutes.

[darkmoonfire]

My two cents worth... (disclaimer, I work in the industry)

Firstly, the Oscars are almost entirely political. So a movie winning an Oscar isn't usually any indication of anything at all, other than the Academy has something to gain for so nominating. Most other awards mean very little at all other than maybe the Golden Bear, Golden Lion and the Palm d'Or (which are also political). It's quite possible to completely game the Academy -- The Shakespeare in Love fiasco is the cardinal example of this. Terrible movie, very well promoted to the academy, money may have changed hands. That's no real industry secret.

Baftas, Golden Globes, etc -- if you are in the industry long enough, you'll win one. They mean virtually nothing. No-one in the industry cares much, no-one is much impressed if you win one.

Hype. Hype usually means "oh fuck we spent more on this movie that we should've and the talentless fuck of a director has made a total arse of it, thus we'd better get the viral marketing and product placement folks working overtime, as well as ensure some good reviews through all the newspapers and TV companies we indirectly own. If we shout loud enough people will come." For example... see Avatar, Cloverfield, Star Wars prequels, Star Trek, Transformers, and 10,000 other movies.

On specific movies...

I think The Departed is one of Scorsese's worst movies. But since he should have really won awards for 6 or 7 others, the most recent being The Aviator, I won't complain too much.

Slumdog Millionaire -- nice enough movie, but not art. Not great at all.

Chicago -- stage play shot as a movie. Looks like a stage play -- bad movie.

The Lovely Bones -- not hyped much yet, but it will be. I've just sat through it. It must be the most rambling, tedious piece of crap I've seen in a long time. First movie I've seen shot on Red One that did not look that good, cinematography isn't that good in it, barring a few shots.

I actually kind of like Independence Day. It's utter crap, but it's oddly enjoyable utter crap. Unlike 2012, which is exactly the same movie sans aliens, but is tedious, preachy, utter crap.

Avatar -- Dances with Smurfs. Yeah, yeah, some people will be impressed with the visuals, but it's mostly VFX, which isn't real film making in my opinion, it's working in an office at a computer all day. The story is utter crap.

Star Wars -- I just don't get it. Why are these movies so successful? I saw the original movie as a kid and thought it was kinda ok. The Empire Strikes Back has some good moments. The rest of the movies are crap. The acting is unbearable in most of them. Why this franchise has so many fans I will never, ever understand. Seriously: a wimp, a giant dog, a gay robot, a trash can on rollerskates, a guy with asthma, and the worst female hairstyle ever. What's to like?

[haldane4]

Firstly, the Oscars are almost entirely political. So a movie winning an Oscar isn't usually any indication of anything at all, other than the Academy has something to gain for so nominating. Most other awards mean very little at all other than maybe the Golden Bear, Golden Lion and the Palm d'Or (which are also political). It's quite possible to completely game the Academy -- The Shakespeare in Love fiasco is the cardinal example of this. Terrible movie, very well promoted to the academy, money may have changed hands. That's no real industry secret.

I never really understood how Oscars became any kind of benchmark for quality - I mean, this is an Academy that has passed on most of the truly great films of the 20th century, the most obvious examples being Casablanca and Citizen Kane. But there are many others. I stopped paying attention when they gave three consecutive Oscars to Tom Hanks, Christ, how did they get away with that?

Also, it is absurd to have a Best Film award and a Best Foreign Language Film award - a film is a film regardless of language, regardless of subtitles. Having said that, I think there would be precious few English Language winners if the field was opened up and they know it.

Basically the Oscars reward conformity, corrution, safety, and all that awful life-affirming bullshit that does it for the chattering classes, Slumdog Millionaire being the latest piece of crap.

[snorkie]

Firstly, the Oscars are almost entirely political. So a movie winning an Oscar isn't usually any indication of anything at all, other than the Academy has something to gain for so nominating. Most other awards mean very little at all


Forgive me for saying so, but this reminds me of an old saying in poker: "The winners count their money, while the losers say deal."

[Extempus]

Excellent special effects, stunning visuals, dull human interest element, albeit that Kate Winslett looks absolutely gorgeous.

A Night To Remember is a much better film, even though it makes a hero out of that absolute b*****d, Second Officer Edward Lightoller, who ought to have been hanged for forbidding hundreds of men from getting into nearly empty lifeboats, thus needlessly condemning them to death, all for some pointless ''women and children only'' stance which would only have made sense if there had been enough women and children to fill the boats. He forbade one twelve year old boy at gunpoint because the boy looked too old: the women in the boat thwarted Lightoller by removing some petticoats (subfreezing weather remember) and dressing the boy to look like a girl when Lightoller wasn't looking, so he was saved in spite of that evil, despicable man (who somehow managed to save himself).

As for James Cameron's version, the best part for me was the staircase scene. The rest of it you can keep.

Footnote: there were 473 empty seats on the lifeboats, and at least one man succeeded in swimming half a mile in freezing water and being fished out, so 474 empty seats when they left the ship. Thanks a lot Mr Lightoller.
I just had to comment on this. Blaming the "nearly empty lifeboats" thing on Lightoller is a crock, the first ones to be lowered were far less than full for 2 reasons: many of the passengers did not believe the Titanic could sink and refused to get into the boats, and the crew was apparently unaware that the lifeboats had been tested and would not buckle if fully loaded. The last several boats were lowered quite full.

Women and children first was (and still is) a standard practice. There was nowhere near enough room for everyone as we all know, and which men, pray tell, do you think Lightoller should have let on? Just because there were mostly very wealthy first and second class passengers on the boat deck does not therefore mean that, since they were faced with certain death, they would all still behave like gentlemen. Had Lightoller not kept control of the crowd, I have to wonder how many men would have rushed the boats and seriously overloaded them, causing them to buckle as they had feared? How many would have capsized because they were too full with too many men trying to save themselves, and how many hundreds more would therefore have frozen to death in the 28º water that night?

And that Lightoller survived is nothing short of a miracle: he dived into the water after the last boat was launched, thinking that attempting to stay alive by running aft was foolish since they'd all drown or freeze anyway, was immediately sucked onto two different gratings and almost drowned, and then was almost hit by the forward funnel when it collapsed. He happened to spot overturned Collapsible B and made his way to it, as did about 30 other men IIRC, who all ended up standing on the keel to stay out of the water. Do not attempt to make him out to be like J Bruce Ismay, the chairman of White Star Lines, who snuck aboard a lifeboat when no one was looking in order to save himself when 1,500 of his passengers died.

I'm gonna get crucified for this but JJ Abrams' Star Trek was tripe to me. We have a Spock/Kirk "bromance" and a bunch of special effects but when it came right down to it, not much of a movie or even anything that could add to the Star Trek repertoire.

Note to the Roddenberry's, next time you bring in a superstar director to helm the Star Trek franchise make sure they actually liked it in the first place. This movie looked like Abrams was trying to wipe his ass with the franchise AND it's fans.
Funny, that's what I thought Berman & Braga, who I refer to as Beavis & Butthead, were doing to the various series, especially Enterprise (and then Braga had the gall to blame us fans for the failure of the show!). It's final episode was broadcast, rather appropriately, on Friday, May 13th, 2005. Jolene Blalock was almost in tears at the ST convention shortly before that, saying that since it was ST history, it should have been an easy show to do! They already had everything sketched out for them over the previous decades.

Back on topic:

http://www.posters.com/i/c/383103_Pulp-Fiction--Uma.jpg

Hands down the absolute worst movie I have ever been conned into wasting my hard-earned $$$ on watching. I will never get that 2 hours and 34 minutes of my life back. Ever. :mad:

[penfold007]

I'm going to agree with the OP. The English Patient was only saved from being completely without merit by Juliette Binoche and my abiding memory of Titanic was that my bum went numb on the incredibly uncomfortable seats in the cinema after being dragged there by 9 year old step daughter. Unremittingly dire, even Kate Winslet couldn't save it (and i'm a huge fan).

[windymiller]

they also missed out Tom Bombadil, and that has to be a plus



Amen to that!



The Matrix - Never expected to like it but after being bullied, cajoled and finally persuaded by friends to go and watch it I had all my worst fears confirmed. It was an unrelenting piece of sh*te.

[scoundrel]

I just had to comment on this. Blaming the "nearly empty lifeboats" thing on Lightoller is a crock, the first ones to be lowered were far less than full for 2 reasons: many of the passengers did not believe the Titanic could sink and refused to get into the boats, and the crew was apparently unaware that the lifeboats had been tested and would not buckle if fully loaded. The last several boats were lowered quite full.

Women and children first was (and still is) a standard practice. There was nowhere near enough room for everyone as we all know, and which men, pray tell, do you think Lightoller should have let on? Just because there were mostly very wealthy first and second class passengers on the boat deck does not therefore mean that, since they were faced with certain death, they would all still behave like gentlemen. Had Lightoller not kept control of the crowd, I have to wonder how many men would have rushed the boats and seriously overloaded them, causing them to buckle as they had feared? How many would have capsized because they were too full with too many men trying to save themselves, and how many hundreds more would therefore have frozen to death in the 28º water that night?
Mr Lightoller did not allow men to board the port side lifeboats even if there was room. First Officer Murdoch (in charge of the starboard lifeboats) did allow men to get aboard if there were no more women and children boarding and if there were still places on the boat. Neither Lightoller nor Murdoch were directly responsible for the standard operating procedure of locking the steerage passengers below (men, women and children alike) to give first/second class passengers priority access to the boats. I ought to concede that when I posted earlier I was unaware that several of the starboard lifeboats had already been launched before Lightoller commenced to launch the port boats, so pressure for places on Lightoller's boats would have been greater because by this stage the passengers would have realised the ship really was going to sink. I do take your point that Lightoller had to assert rational authority in an emergency. Some of the Lusitania passengers died, for example, when passengers carrying firearms over-rode the refusal of the deck officer to launch lifeboats because the ship was listing. The boats fell inwards and crushed many people. So Lightoller couldn't allow the passengers to lose their heads. Nevertheless, he did allow boats to leave underloaded, as did Murdoch, and in those circumstances this just isn't excusable. Even worse, he ordered men off boats and stopped men from boarding, when there was clearly room and there were no women and children competing for those seats. Why? What possible benefit did this bring to the operation?

I'm afraid I feel obliged to stand by what I said about Mr Lightoller.

[dbailey]

Star Wars -- I just don't get it. Why are these movies so successful? I saw the original movie as a kid and thought it was kinda ok. The Empire Strikes Back has some good moments. The rest of the movies are crap. The acting is unbearable in most of them. Why this franchise has so many fans I will never, ever understand. Seriously: a wimp, a giant dog, a gay robot, a trash can on rollerskates, a guy with asthma, and the worst female hairstyle ever. What's to like?


Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.....lol :D

I really wish that I had said this........brilliant :thumbsup:

They have just screened the whole sad lot of them on British terrestrial tv on consecutive Saturdays. I amaged just 20 minutes before I had better things to do.....like catalogue my collection of nose hair trimmings.

[dbailey]

http://www.posters.com/i/c/383103_Pulp-Fiction--Uma.jpg

Hands down the absolute worst movie I have ever been conned into wasting my hard-earned $$$ on watching. I will never get that 2 hours and 34 minutes of my life back. Ever. :mad:

I wholeheartedly agree with your right to voice your assertion.:thumbsup:

This movie for me is a cult movie ( I think I spelled that correctly:rolleyes:) and was the second movie that I bought on DVD. I also have the CD soundtrack.......and yes it is in my all time top 10 favourite movies.

Utter hokum....yes.....but I love the corny dialogue and over the top camp savagery......... and my wife hates it;)

[hos]

http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww272/Picthread/poca2u.jpg

(ok, the visuals are brilliant. but then?)

[Shy Talk]

Again a heresy for some, but "trainspotting" was a movie that didn't need to be made....supposedly telling a dire tale of warning, it actually glorified fucking idiots........the daughter of a friend was obsessed with the film, and you guessed it ended up on heroin..

Not the film's fault per se, but still not a good outcome from something supposedly entertainment

[windymiller]

Again a heresy for some, but "trainspotting" was a movie that didn't need to be made....supposedly telling a dire tale of warning, it actually glorified fucking idiots........the daughter of a friend was obsessed with the film, and you guessed it ended up on heroin..

Not the film's fault per se, but still not a good outcome from something supposedly entertainment


I like Trainspotting. I've also read all of Irvine Welsh's books and it's never given me a hankering for class A narcotics.

[dbailey]

I like Trainspotting. I've also read all of Irvine Welsh's books and it's never given me a hankering for class A narcotics.

Me neither.......and it also put me off swimming in faeces and taking a dump in british public toilets.

.......and some people say that the film glamourises drug taking :D


I do laugh out loud at the job interviewee on speed........knowing the recruiters at my place of toil as well as I do....they would have offered him a job based on his drive and energy :confused: (shakes head...maybe the world is getting away from me)

[nevermind]

Rocky 1, 2, 3,... :thumbsup:
Rocky 4, 5, 6,....... :mad: (where does it end.)

Grease,... :thumbsup:
Grease 2,... :mad:

Speed,... :thumbsup:
Speed 2,... :mad:

[Davemetalhead]

The Dark Knight. I just don't get it - the only reason I can think of for it's huge popularity was Heath Ledger dieing. I thought the film itself was rubbish - a meandering plotline that was all about the special effects rather than the story.

I thought Heath Ledger was very good mind, but for me that was really the only good think about this stinker of a movie.

[Mal Hombre]

The Dark Knight.

I thought Heath Ledger was very good mind, but for me that was really the only good think about this stinker of a movie.
I have to agree ,Ledger was the best thing about it,the film is too long and Christian Bale is mis-cast.But I watch it for Ledger's Joker but stop after he is caught,which is where the movie should end.

[aphex1973]

I know that Terminator Salvation and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen have been mentioned before, but these movies were so awful I just have to pipe in.

Terminator Salvation was absolute drivel. I would like to know who the hell said, "Ya, let's hand this franchise over to McG. Charlie's Angels was brilliant!" Even if you manage to overlook the obvious plotholes, you are still left scratching your head over certain scenes and concepts. eg; nobody heard or noticed a 100 ft tall killing machine sneak up on them in the middle of a flat barren desert, Skynet for some reason developed terminators which could easily be reprogrammed by the resistence and ridden like motorcycles (seriously, wtf?), heart transplanted from a terminator into John Connor in a dusty bivouac with nothing better than field medicine and surgical tools (I can only imagine that they somehow also got their hands on some immuno-suppression drugs in order to prevent rejection of the organ)... yet, I digress. All of the elements to make this movie were already in place thanks to the well thought out and oft referenced backstory already in place by James Cameron. Utterly useless and unnecessary film. Made T3 look good.

As for Transformers: ROTF, Michael Bay is a hack. From beginning to end, this movie was bloated, confusing and utterly ridiculous. Um... Petra (located in Jordan) is just over the hill from the pyramids at Giza. Oh what the hell. We're just going to blow them all up anyway, so why quibble over geography. Screw it. I could go on but this is getting long winded and nobody cares anyway ;)

One last little thing. With regards to the new Star Trek, it had it's problems, but I still enjoyed it. Did they mess with the mythology? Sure did. But think about it... if they didn't change some aspects of the history and therefore alter the mythology, they wouldn't be able to go much of anywhere with it. This is a 40+ year old franchise, so the studio/director would be stuck making remakes of previous story lines if they hadn't made some wiggle room for development. I've been a Trek fan my whole life, but I'm more than willing to see where they go with this. Can't be worse than most of the Next Generation films.

And... I'm spent. I need a drink! :)

[snorkie]

One last little thing. With regards to the new Star Trek, it had it's problems, but I still enjoyed it. Did they mess with the mythology? Sure did. But think about it... if they didn't change some aspects of the history and therefore alter the mythology, they wouldn't be able to go much of anywhere with it. This is a 40+ year old franchise, so the studio/director would be stuck making remakes of previous story lines if they hadn't made some wiggle room for development. I've been a Trek fan my whole life, but I'm more than willing to see where they go with this.

As a general rule, I dislike 're-boots/imaginings'; however, I think Star Trek worked. This new approach has the 'Roddenberry' spirit, I think.

[brianwp]

I never got all the hub bub over "Titanic". It was ok, I guess, but way too long, and not enough talent (at the time). They keep putting Leonardo DiCaprio (where the hell did he get that name?) in all these heavy type roles, and it's a joke to me. He looks like he's still wet behind the ears. I guess the women liked it more than the men, being a romance, like "Moulon Rouge", which was like pulling teeth for me. I think "A Night to Remember" was much better.

[ultimatewarlord]

Thank God there are others who hated Pulp Fiction. I gave up on it after the Travolta/Thurman dance scene. I fast-forwarded to the end to see how the cafe scene ended but I'll never watch another second of it.
Independence Day is a given.
Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood) is dire.
Any of the Batman films except the one and only West/Ward film.
Any cheap horror/slasher films where the 18 year old nubile actresses don't get their kit off.:eek:

[GlenelG]

The holy of holies Gone with the Wind.
I had seen boring snippets my whole life and thought boring. When I became older and wiser I thought I should give it a go (everyone can't be wrong? Right?)
After about 20 minutes I knew no matter how great the remaining 3 hours were they could not compensate for the 20 mins of (Oh God, WTF, c'mon) I had already sat through.
It has my vote and I still haven't sat through it.

[danton]

I have searched the thread but if someone has already nominated "When Harry met Sally" then I second it.

Bloody dreadful! I toyed with going to see a film just to watch Meg Ryan being blown up but spent the money on something better.

"The Color Purple" was a joke in poor taste I thought.

[navvet]

For me, one of the most overrated films ever is Batman (1988). Maybe it's because, between the late 1960s and late 1980s, I was a regular reader of Batman comics, and I saw too many factual inaccuracies in the movie. To name a few;

The Joker didn't kill Bruce Wayne's parents. They were killed, during a holdup, by a small time crook named Joe Chill.

Alfred (the butler) was hired by Bruce Wayne, not by his parents. They were long dead by then.

Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger's role) was a very minor character (in the 1940s). She never learned Batman's identity.

It's kind of like reading a good book, and then seeing a movie that's based on it. Only in rare cases are you satisfied. Thanks to my disappointment with the first Batman movie, I never bothered to see any of the sequels.

[MisterMacky]

Shawshank Redemption

The cold, hard, unvarnished truth is that if this movie were real, Tim Robbins character would be fucked day and night by bull queers. Shawshank Redemption is to real life prison what The Karate Kid is to martial arts: the biggest dork movie ever.

[Mal Hombre]

Shawshank Redemption

The cold, hard, unvarnished truth is that if this movie were real, Tim Robbins character would be fucked day and night by bull queers. Shawshank Redemption is to real life prison what The Karate Kid is to martial arts: the biggest dork movie ever.
He does get raped at the beginning,Once He becomes useful to the corrupt Governor,He gets protected.

[keithpark50]

Any film about vampires and Star Wars the original is very slow to begin with the two droids twatting around on the desert planet

[xenontrioxide]

Never saw Titanic and I'm rather proud of that fact. I've also successfully avoided seeing JFK, Avatar, any of the Saw(s) or indeed any of their ilk, the latest Star Trek, The Matrix, Catch Me If You Can, and Pearl Harbour.

[Davemetalhead]

Never saw Titanic and I'm rather proud of that fact. I've also successfully avoided seeing JFK, Avatar, any of the Saw(s) or indeed any of their ilk, the latest Star Trek, The Matrix, Catch Me If You Can, and Pearl Harbour.

So how do you know that they "were not so Good" (to quote the thread title)?