View Full Version : Films that just didn't work for you
Michael Brooke
18-10-2001, 16:47
Following on from similar threads - how about ones citing much-acclaimed films (especially those championed endlessly in these forums) that just didn't work for you, no matter how sincerely you tried to get into them?
For example, I gave all of these the courtesy of a second viewing (at least), just to see if I missed anything first time round, but...
<I>Fight Club</I> - I've watched it three times and reacted the same way every time: flat-out brilliant first hour, starts flagging in the middle and drops dead about half an hour from the end thanks to a frankly unbelievable plot twist that makes no coherent sense no matter how many angles you examine it from.
<I>Requiem for a Dream</I> - Certainly has its moments, but powerful content is too often swamped by overbearingly flashy style.
<I>Being John Malkovich</I> - the decision to base it around Malkovich was truly inspired, but otherwise I found this left me completely cold, with most jokes bludgeoned into the ground by excessive repetition. And the basic situation is straight out of <I>Vice Versa</I>, so it's hardly the staggeringly original work of genius it's been hailed as.
<I>American Beauty</I> - a very promising debut for Sam Mendes and certainly highly watchable, but I can't see why it got all the acclaim while Todd Solondz' far more complex and powerful <I>Happiness</I> was largely sidelined. And if it's so sophisticated and aware, why does it fall back on one of the stalest gay stereotypes known to man?
<I>Schindler's List</I> - hugely impressive first half, but the horrible, gimmicky scene with the little girl in the red dress killed the film for me totally, sharply reminding me that I was watching a Hollywood film at what should have been one of the emotional high points.
charlie angel
18-10-2001, 16:56
Forrest Gump - which left me feeling nauseated. Robert Zemeckis seems to have no irony button to speak of.
Philadelphia - which I found patronising & too heavily reliant on stereotypical characterisation - it also seemed to be desperate to make the audience cry, as if it would be a failure if they didn't.
Both Oscar winners. Both starring Tom Hanks. Can you see where I'm going with this?
For me, it has to be ET, which gets credit for opening my eyes to the manipulative and sacharrine nature of Spielberg's work. It was a big disappointment after hearing it raved about for so many years. Since then I find it hard to watch any Spielberg without reacting to the manipulation...
theblairwitch
18-10-2001, 17:03
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
Have yet to meet someone (friends and relations) who doesn't <b>love</b> this film. It does absolutely nothing for me whatsoever
Cap'n Al
18-10-2001, 17:07
Originally posted by Michael Brooke
<I>American Beauty</I> - a very promising debut for Sam Mendes and certainly highly watchable, but I can't see why it got all the acclaim while Todd Solondz' far more complex and powerful <I>Happiness</I> was largely sidelined. And if it's so sophisticated and aware, why does it fall back on one of the stalest gay stereotypes known to man?
I completely agree with this one, and your comments; while I think Sam Mendes has a great future ahead of him, I'd be very surprised if this is the best example of it.
Others;
<i>Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon</i>- I loathed this the first time I saw it, eventually became reconciled to it after I bought the DVD, but now think it's a half-hearted compromise between Iron Monkey and Sense and Sensibility (two much better films IMO)
<i>Apocalypse Now</i>- Much as I think Coppola's a genius (check out my Godfather reviews for proof!), I think he missed the boat with this one, making a dull, incomprehensible mess of a fairly turgid novella.
<i>Forrest Gump</i>- I think it's soulless, cynical drivel, and almost entirely devoid of artistic merit. (Conversely, I think Castaway's close to being a masterpiece at points, unlike virtually everyone else)
And others....
Bapapapa
18-10-2001, 17:27
Recently, Ginger Craps.
My Own Private Idaho is the worst film I've ever seen, though. :p
Vinyl-Pants
18-10-2001, 17:36
Citizen Kane - 2 words...OVER-RATED
Bapapapa
18-10-2001, 17:39
Vinyl-Pants - Most sequels suck!! :p
I agree with M Brooke about Being John Maklovich. Why was this film praised so much. Yes it was an original idea but you need more than just that to make a good film. Bored me senseless.
Dan Druff
18-10-2001, 17:46
Traffic didn't do it for me.
Gladiator at first, now I kinda like it thanks to the power of DTS.
Chocolat was OK, but all those Oscar nominations?
Chariots of Fire. Not a good movie at all.
Four Weddings and a Funeral. Poor.
Brigette Jones Diary. Average.
The Full Monty. Bearable.
Trainspotting. Well made. Horrible.
Witnail and I. OK, I need to give this another go, I really do.
Bullitt. Nah, disappointed.
Scream. OK, but..not great.
Rocky. good, but no classic.
The Deerhunter. Maybe I need to give this another go but it really didn't do anything for me.
Heat. No matter how many times I watch this it does nothing for me since seeing it in the cinema.
Manhunter. Now over-rated, and even with Brian Cox, not a patch on The Silence of the Lambs IMHO.
Citizen Kane is extremely well made, but boring.
two films for me which i just couldnt get into where:
Lock, Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels
The Thin Red Line
The Thin Red Line is a film i especially despise, i find it extremely boring everytime i see it with a pace so slow it barely crawls, at least an hour should have been cut from it (all IMO of course!).
Much prefer Malicks other films, such as Badlands, which i think is a terrific film
"Saving Private Ryan" - laughably melodramatic, grossly sentimental war movie with an opening stolen from a better film, a turgid middle section and a ludicrous ending. Spielberg's worst film - give me "Always" or "Hook" over this any day. Compared to genuinely good war films like "Cross Of Iron", "Attack" or even "Sands of Iwo Jima", this is very weak indeed.
"Schindler's List" - Spielberg's second worst film, a total disaster as far as I'm concerned. Watch "Night And Fog" instead - all of the important points made in a sixth of the running time and with no tricksy visual nonsense or pat sentimentality. I really can't tell you how much I hate this film.
"Forrest Gump" - not the worst film I've ever seen but mediocre, badly acted and inconsequential to the point of banality.
"Fight Club" - nicely made and sometimes funny but it didn't say anything to me that I hadn't heard a thousand times before. All the time I thought, well I'm male and I don't feel like that. Perhaps it's a generational thing.
"Shawshank Redemption" - I've commented on this many times, but I really can't see anything worth discussing in it and it's so ludicrous that some people think it's the best film ever made that there's no point arguing with them.
"Betty Blue" - I really hated this film, possibly because everyone else in the cinema appeared to be loving it. I spent most of the time hoping that all the characters would be ripped apart by wild boars. More to the point, I didn't find it remotely erotic.
"Les Amants Du Pont Neuf" - the funniest film I've ever seen, which might have been intentional but I don't think so somehow. I would think it's a problem I have with French films were it not for the many movies by Louis Malle, Truffaut and Robert Bresson that I adore.
"Dances With Wolves" - now I love westerns as much as anyone else and probably more than most people here, but I think this is a piece of self-regarding trash, all copies of which should be burned before they pollute the world any more.
"Braveheart", "Gandhi", "Lawrence of Arabia" - endless epics which have no purpose other than to win awards and look nice.
bddidier
18-10-2001, 18:00
Originally posted by Cap'n Al
<i>Forrest Gump</i>- I think it's soulless, cynical drivel, and almost entirely devoid of artistic merit. (Conversely, I think Castaway's close to being a masterpiece at points, unlike virtually everyone else)
And others....
I've got the same problem with Forrest Gump, I just hate this movie. I haven't try Castaway so.
I also dislike Blair Witch Project, an uninspired teen crap, and for once all my friends agree.
DR HIENVO
18-10-2001, 18:01
The whole entire sorry star wars saga,episodes trilogies etc
all @@@@e imo , i dunno why these genre defining, critically acclaimed,universally loved films have yet to find themselves in my heart:o and never will
hey before loyal Star Wars nerds decide to jump me let me say this
"i do not for one minute refute the greatness of these films and their profound effect on the history of cinema"
i'm simply offering my personal opinion and am saying i think their kinda lame.
Though i must sympathise with the Star Wars geeks on the Phantom Menace- Looks like all those pies,$$$$ and years of inactivity finally took their toll on its maker. That film stank outright:mad:
oh and to those of you awaiting the dvd releases..............................................................hahahahahahhahah enjoy the wait hahahahahahahah as they say good things come to those who wait ......hhahahahahahahahahahhahahahaha:D :D
Confucius
18-10-2001, 18:20
Any so-called comedy that stars Leslie Nielson
Top Gun
Goonies
White Line
18-10-2001, 18:21
DR HIENVO, using terms like 'nerd' and 'geek' when addressing Star Wars fans will surely illicit the response you are no doubt looking for.
:)
daveyboy19
18-10-2001, 18:29
Matrix- Walked out of the cinema as it was so dull
Gladiator- same reason just bored me, watched it once never watched it again
DR HIENVO, using terms like 'nerd' and 'geek' when addressing Star Wars fans will surely illicit the response you are no doubt looking for.
I don't even like Star Wars
:D :D ;) geek
Tristan H
18-10-2001, 18:41
The Evil Dead : I admit that I'm not a great horror fan, but I simply cannot understand the hype around this movie. I watched it and it was certainly intense, but I found parts of it unwatchable and other parts simply too cheesy, but lacking the humour of part II which I think is actually a very good film.
Mon Oncle : After watching and adoring Tati's M. Hulot's Holiday I had high hopes for this, but it was cold, over-blown and very badly paced.
A Clockwork Orange : It definitely has some high points, but the overall result seemed too self-indulgent and ultimately I felt it went off the rails after the first hour.
I'd also agree with Blairwitch about Lock Stock , a complete load of rubbish! I would also side with Mike about Gandhi , but I think Lawrence of Arabia is still a stunning work.
BTW To Mike and Michael, I think you guys may have lost interest in Fight Club as it was aimed at a fairly young audience and you guys are getting on a bit!!;)
Um... the ones I can think of right now:
Apocalypse Now - This one really didn't work for me at all. I barely got past the hour mark before turning it off and trading it with someone who actually might like it more than me.
Taxi Driver - I thought this film was just about OK. I didn't personally like this 1976 film by Martin Scorsese much. His 1995 film Casino is far, far better.
The Exorcist - Just not very scary, or even unsettling. Nothing at all.
The Blair Witch Project - Scary? Huh? What are you talking about? Scary... NOT.
That's all I can think of... for now.
charlie angel
18-10-2001, 19:15
Originally posted by Mike
"Saving Private Ryan"
Forgot that one. Another Hanks film. Bugger.
<I>Saving Private Ryan</I> - Ugh! Give me the night raid on Kleendathu anytime!
<i>The Matrix</I> - Let down by the 'sleeping beauty' ending and not half as clever as the similarly themed and released <I>eXistenZ</i>
robbiejm
18-10-2001, 19:37
Even if you don't rate Saving Private Ryan as a whole, how can you fail to be moved by the intensity and harsh reality of the opening 15 mins.
:confused:
I haven't seen one person criticise Band Of Brothers, and yet that isn't 100% historically accurate either.
<b>Even if you don't rate Saving Private Ryan as a whole, how can you fail to be moved by the intensity and harsh reality of the opening 15 mins. </b>
Because the remaining 145 minutes were overwhelmingly idiotic ? Or perhaps because some of us have seen Klimov's "Come and See" ?
To be honest - The Limey....and I know it's popular hereabouts.
Only watched it the once, mid-day, light outside....loved seeing the likes of Stamp, Newman, Fonda...good but I guess I was just expecting more...not sure what...just more
I'll give it another whirl....:)
Anything by Kubrick (including AI) - they just bore the pants off me. Most of em are well made (cinematography etc) but just flat-out do not like watching them.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre - oh dear God this was awful - it made the horrendous mistake of making EVERY character (including the so-called good guys) truly despisable to the point you just wanted everyone to die very very quickly.
Ninja Scroll - Not sure it really fits the category but everytime a 'What anime films should I see' thread crops up this film gets recommended repeatedly and I, the big anime fan that I am, just don't get it. Average animation, and just generally dull - it epitomises Manga Ents demise by releasing sexy/violent but generally dire anime to the UK.
Lawrence of Arabia (and others of that ilk): Agree with Mike on this one, to me its much like a Kubrick film - supposedly intelligent and with great cinematography etc but its just soooo boring!
Citizen Kane: Best film ever! pfff, don't make me laugh! don't like Touch of Evil either...
for the record I love Fight Club, easiliy one of the best films I have ever seen :)
dave.
Traffic - incredibly dull, confusing, boring, pointless drivel.
North By Northwest - Excellent direction, just missing..something
robbiejm
18-10-2001, 20:12
Originally posted by Mike
<b>Even if you don't rate Saving Private Ryan as a whole, how can you fail to be moved by the intensity and harsh reality of the opening 15 mins. </b>
Because the remaining 145 minutes were overwhelmingly idiotic ? Or perhaps because some of us have seen Klimov's "Come and See" ?
Fair enough, I'll take a look. Is there a R2 dvd available of that, and Cross Of Iron?
The Boogerman
18-10-2001, 20:26
`Come and See' has what I believe a long awaited DVD (R1) release on October 23rd. From comments made about this previously I have it on order, but don't expect an easy to watch film. Amazon have details of the realease here. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005Q4DF/103-2326939-5728649)
wong fei hong
18-10-2001, 20:43
I don't think these have too many fans around here, but:
Forrest Gump was offensive to me... I don't think I could ever look at a frame of that film again.
Notting Hill/Bridget Jones' Diary... extraordinarily bad and horribly, blandly interchangeable rubbish. HATEHATEhatehatehate....:mad:
To be honest - The Limey....and I know it's popular hereabouts.
Only watched it the once, mid-day, light outside....loved seeing the likes of Stamp, Newman, Fonda...good but I guess I was just expecting more...not sure what...just more
I'll give it another whirl....:)
Never Say Never Again - totally dire unofficial Bond movie
Traffic - you just lose it in the middle sequence as it is so slow!
Scream 3 - Ok, it wasn't as bad on a 2nd viewing but still sucks pretty bad!
Moonraker - Probably the worst Roger Moore Bond movie
For me it has to be 2001 a space odyssey. No matter how hard I tried I was only able to watch 1 hours worth of the film and even after trying to force myself to watch the whole thing 1 hour was about all I could manage.
Tomb Raider - I feel asleep in the cinema
Mickey Blue Eyes - One word Hugh Grant (Merchant Banker)
Nottinghill - That Merchant again
But I did like Being John Malkovich - really quite a lot
Hi,
It's great to hear some different opinions, some I agree with, I thought I was the only one!
Lock-Stock - Couldn't understand the fuss - very poor
Top Gun - I used to think this was a great action film, but when I see it now, it's in the 'so bad it's good' category.
Matrix - people keep telling me how 'deep' it is, then they talk for 10 mins about the gunfights....
Any Bond film after a few years.
Reservoir Dogs - so what ??
But....
Lawrence of Arabia - love it, I could watch it for hours. You kids....always in a rush...
Michael Brooke
18-10-2001, 23:00
<B>BTW To Mike and Michael, I think you guys may have lost interest in Fight Club as it was aimed at a fairly young audience and you guys are getting on a bit!!</B>
Since I'm almost exactly the same age as David Fincher...
...what was your point again? :D
Incidentally, I agree with Mike about <I>Betty Blue</I>, only my problem with it is that I much prefer the extra material in the long version and think the film would be vastly improved if it was cut back down to two hours or so by removing as much Béatrice Dalle footage as possible. When watching the long version, I kept thinking "I'm really enjoying this" and then "Oh no, I've got to sit through <U>that</U> scene again!"
Just Call Me Wanda
18-10-2001, 23:02
Originally posted by Vinyl-Pants
Citizen Kane - 2 words...OVER-RATED
Damn right! - and 'Rosebud' can kiss my @rse! :rolleyes: :confused: :D
Just Call Me Wanda
18-10-2001, 23:05
Originally posted by geek
I agree with M Brooke about Being John Maklovich. Why was this film praised so much. Yes it was an original idea but you need more than just that to make a good film. Bored me senseless.
Why was it praised so much?
: Great script, great direction, great acting, original, imaginative - everything Hollywood seems to have forgotten/lacked this summer at least!
I loved it!
well, I ain't seen Malkovich, but it's on it's way from DV-Depot so I'm rather looking forward to it.....
Grrr, Michael.
You have just made me want to watch Betty Blue: Version Integrale for the third time since I got it yesterday. ;)
The Australian region 0 DVD really is quite good, though. The only thing I can seriously pick at is the absence of an amaray. Mine's a shaker. I am glad I now own it. Only seen it once before, on FilmFour, and the reception was not perfect.
Just Call Me Wanda
18-10-2001, 23:32
2001 - A Space Odyssey - a Kubrick wet dream. In my opinion, the film is totally over-rated. Thought the opening was terrible - I would have walked out if I had watched it in the cinema but I didn't, and the person I was watching it with told me the opening had a meaning. Then, the first 20 minutes or so totally bored the cr@p out of me. Again would have stopped watching if my friend hadn't told me you were supposed to enjoy and understand the deeper meaning of monkey man finding out a bone can be used as a weapon. All this scene needed was commentary by David Attenborough. Then got totally confused, and even after someone explained to me what was going on, I thought, I couldn't care less.
A Clockwork Orange - Utter garbage, didn't get the message. Couldn't care less, don't ever want to watch such ****** again.
What Lies Beneath - Zemeckis' best for a while but still totally rubbish. Not scary, not thrilling, didn't like the twist, thought the story was totally cliched.
Suspiria - Oh my god, what an absolutely terrible film. Saw this at the cinema last week. Okay, I like Argento's camera work and the motif's of colour but how much time and effort does it take the man to write a decent script. Although his direction of the camera is good and inventive, his direction of the actors is lame. None of them could act to save their lives, but it's not suprising when they're reading such bad lines. The build up is okay but the pay off is probably one of the worst film endings I've ever had the mis-fortune of seeing. The plot is convoluted with enough holes to hide the entire Taliban army, the script is poor, the acting is poor and for a horror film it just ain't scary. And women shouldn't be a private school, they should be in the kitchen! :D :rolleyes: (Sorry)
Just Call Me Wanda
18-10-2001, 23:40
And:
Blue Velvet - This is the only David Lynch film I've seen but I was told that it was his best??? Didn't like it, but it didn't go without it's merits, it just didn't work for me.
I have a general rule of thumb:
Beware movies that others rave about.
I can almost guarantee that any movie that (especially critics) rave about, I will probably think is absolute pants. The again, that's fair enough as most of the movies I like have been panned by critics, friends, relatives and the dog next door but one.
What depresses me about the whole thing is that I'm supposed to feel inferior because I enjoy movies that aren't dark/ gritty/ thought-provoking/ social comments/ avant-garde (delete as applicable.
Well, I don't! :p So there!
Michael Mackenzie
18-10-2001, 23:57
Schindler's List: I tend to watch films to be entertained, or at the very least to learn something. Schindler's List is neither entertaining nor historically accurate.
Gladiator: Oh, it's all right, but it's not particularly stunning. It's just Spartacus goes to Australia.
The Gift: I don't get it. This is the guy who directed Evil Dead???
The Matrix: It was acceptable, and fun on the first viewing, but it is so cliched and "full of itself", and I don't know what they were thinking casting Keanu Reeves to play the main character. He has zero acting ability -- he just stands there and looks dazed.
...
I haven't seen one person criticise Band Of Brothers, and yet that isn't 100% historically accurate either.
Band of Brothers :D: About the best I can say about it is that they had the sense to get rid of David Schwimmer as soon as possible.
I did like Guest House Paradiso, which I remember getting really awful reviews (the Daily Mail said it was the worst movie of the year, but I never listen to them). When I got it out on video, I liked it. I now have the DVD, and still think it's OK when some silly fun is required.
Innuendo
19-10-2001, 00:13
I failed to see what was so good about the special effects in The Matrix, specifically Bullit Time. I didn't find it impressive at all, don't get me wrong, it's definetly a great advance in special effects and camera angles but it just didn't get that wow factor from me.
Following on from Bullit Time, in Swordfish...
...did they use Bullit Time in the big explosion at the beginning? I tell you what, that explosion was absolutely amazing! It's like you were right inside the scene, blew me away :)
*oooooooo just noticed the smiley doesn't like being highlighted,. it goes all sad :(*
some of the best films ever mentioned here, some people just cant be pleased, infact, name one film that everyone likes?
Everyone will hate some film for whatever reason which is fair, but these kinda threads could go on forever untill every film is mentioned. I just think to myself...you do better...I find it hard to dislike a film, they are just chewing gum to our brains, they aint real life (we are talking about Hollywood films here...other films might be able to teach u something....but not hollywood..), I take them for what they are...I happen to like..
Shawshank
Fight Club
The Matrix
Lock Stock
2001
Gladiator....etc etc which have been mentioned here, yet I could spend all day ripping them to bits, but they kept me entertained so I aint gonna do that!
I think a better thread would be....try and pick the worst bones out of Toy Story 2, everyone might like that you see :D
right...whos up for slating Star Wars? I think the special effects are a bit old...
Just Call Me Wanda
19-10-2001, 00:27
2001
How does a black screen with music playing keep you entertained? Why do monkeys sitting around for twenty minutes keep you entertained? And how can you be entertained when you're constantly trying to figure out what's going on and can't for the life of you keep up with what's on screen?
Maybe, the blackscreen was fantasticly original. Maybe, the monkeys learning stuff for twenty minutes was work of genius. Maybe, the fact I didn't know what was going was because I'm plain stupid or Kubrick wanted me to be this way? Either way, I wasn't impressed....
Innuendo
19-10-2001, 00:32
Originally posted by Just Call Me Wanda
2001
How does a black screen with music playing keep you entertained?
lol, oh aye, I'd forgotten about that, I fell asleep during 2001 actually! But yeah, the start was original and I tried so hard to let it get me into the film but it went on for so long and bored the pants off me sadly...
Heat .. left me cold (arf!)
perhaps it was the inclusion of Val Kilmer in the cast. I really wanted to like that film, but left the cinema quite disappointed.
Wasn't to keen on The Insider either (hmm .. same director .. hmm)
and of course, the Matrix didn't work for me ..
bleedin' Proline DVD players .. :D :D
Kit_Taylor
19-10-2001, 00:41
Originally posted by Michael Brooke
<I>Requiem for a Dream</I> - Certainly has its moments, but powerful content is too often swamped by overbearingly flashy style.
Hehe, I thought "weak hackneyed content but great style." Loved it.
Evil Dead 2 doesn't connect with me at all. Apart from the scenes with Ash on his own it just seems like a boring, toned down horror comedy.
X Men was slow, boring and alarmingingly efficient and tasteful.
But the greatest not worker for me is Cannibal Holocaust, a laughably uncovincing piece of tat if ever there was won. The dreadfully fake looking violence is bad enough, but all that wacky unga bunga style tom foolery from the cannibals had me in stitches. Those poor people. I hope they got paid well for sacrificing their dignity.
Honourable mentions go to Shiri, that much hyped sucktacularly boring korean TV action movie, and The Limey, for finding many interesting ways to make itself boring.
Life of Brian - I like flying circus but didn't find this funny
Withnail and I - Richard E Grant is bad, bad, bad.
Anything with Woody Allen (although I have'nt seen Annie Hall and it does look good)
Erin Brockovich - a contender for most *extremely* BORING film in a long while.
The Limey - this gives Erin a run for her money on most boring film in last 5 years but wins hands down at the most pointless film in the last 5 years. I wanted to enjoy it but I just HATED it.
There is another one on my list. Add the one and only film capable of being so bad... the dreadful, the disgusting Titanic. What a terrible film. Films that everyone says are absolutely great and the three hours pass very quickly. Those people need their heads testing watching that.
It's far too long for the storyline, it's too soppy, it's too Hollywood-style. I would have rather had a grim, realistic film about the disaster... but then I love films like Christiane F..
feverpitch96
19-10-2001, 09:15
Just goes to show how wide a range of opinions you can get in one group of people on one forum. Most of it seems very fair in one way or another, but The Limey boring?? How come? Because they took their foot off the gas every now and then to examine things like character development, the effect of the past and various interrelationships?
But I was absolutely floored by the comments about Mon Oncle. Cold???
:confused:
Oh well.
My two cents:
Hideaway: If you want incomprehensible and badly-written, watch this and then tell me some of the more well-respected "classics" on this thread have a problem by comparison. It didn't matter how much leg (or anything else) Alicia Silverstone showed, or how often Jeff Goldblum managed to look puzzled/astonished, the last 15 minutes of this total tosh took the biscuit for killing a film stone dead.
The Joy Luck Club: What I've seen of Oliver Stone's work makes me feel like he never uses two hours of your time when four will do. I found the pace of this excruciating. I found the scene somewhere in the middle when the pram collapsed almost unbearably moving, but by the end of the film it seemed to me that Stone had actually done nothing at all with about two hours' worth of the story he'd been weaving. There seemed to be about 40 minutes of real, progressing storyline, and the rest wound up as sideline, timewasting trivia.
Braveheart - Men in skirts, who run and shout a lot. An Australian pretending to be a Scotsman. A predictably pantomimic English villain. Absolute tosh.
Fight Club - This tries soooo hard to be meaningful and deliver a clever message, but to be honest that message is delivered in such a ham-fisted, hammer-like fashion that I just found it annoying.
American Psycho - Witty? Satirical? Challenging? No, just an average slasher film so blinded by its own sense of importance that I had to switch it off, and never want to see any of it again.
A Clockwork Orange - Absolute crap. Only popular because it was banned, and this piques everyone's interest. How can you possibly like a film that involves a man running around with a big porcelain penis, but still thinks it has serious artistic merit?
Forrest Gump - Run, Forrest, run like the wind! If you run fast enough, no-one will see the enormous plot holes, and ridiculously saccharine undertone!
Romeo and Juliet - a contentious choice, maybe, but to me this was just a mess. I cannot fathom how Di Caprio has become successful, and on top of that found the film to be utterly dull and pointless. Give me the RSC any day.
By the way, remember these are just my opinions. If you like any of these films, that is entirely your choice. Okay, you must be absolutely bonkers, but hey, that's life.
;)
traffic.
Some of the characters behaviour changes unbelieveably in order to come up with a happy ending.
And death to forrest gump.
feverpitch96
19-10-2001, 09:32
Originally posted by James P
Romeo and Juliet - a contentious choice, maybe, but to me this was just a mess. I cannot fathom how Di Caprio has become successful, and on top of that found the film to be utterly dull and pointless. Give me the RSC any day.[/B]
Thank you James, you've reminded me of #3 on my own list. Absolutely. What trash. Prostituting great literature as a vehicle for an upcoming Hollywood nothing was scandalous. Giving the job to Baz Luhrmann (another worrying Australian, I'm really sorry about him) was obscene. DiCaprio's only two tricks (looking hopelessly gormless while imagining he is "smouldering", and whooping and screaming like some drunken cowboy) got a liberal workout in this dumb-it-down-and-add-some-patronising-corporate-homie-cred-for-da-kids nonsense.
theblairwitch
19-10-2001, 09:34
<b>feverpitch96</b>
Oliver Stone had very little to do with Joy Luck Club - he only Executive Produced it - Wayne Wang directed it.
For an indulgent mess from Stone - look under A for:
<b>Any Given Sunday</b> :D
feverpitch96
19-10-2001, 09:37
Originally posted by theblairwitch
<b>feverpitch96</b>
Oliver Stone had very little to do with Joy Luck Club - he only Executive Produced it - Wayne Wang directed it.
Ah. Well. It felt like him. :D
For an indulgent mess from Stone - look under A for:
<b>Any Given Sunday</b> :D
Oh dear...must I? :)
Michael Brooke
19-10-2001, 10:15
<B>How does a black screen with music playing keep you entertained? </B>
Very easily, if the music in question is Gyorgy Ligeti's <I>Atmospheres</I>, one of the most gobsmackingly original pieces written in the last or indeed any other century. In fact, I was almost sorry the film started halfway through it! :D
Kit_Taylor
19-10-2001, 10:25
Originally posted by feverpitch96
Just goes to show how wide a range of opinions you can get in one group of people on one forum. Most of it seems very fair in one way or another, but The Limey boring?? How come? Because they took their foot off the gas every now and then to examine things like character development, the effect of the past and various interrelationships?
For me it was becuase they didn't take the foot off the gas. Great technique on the part of whoever was behind the cameras and editing deck, but The Limey is loose, overwrought and rambling. And what's with all those seemingly deliberately unexciting action and car chase scenes?
Analog Kid
19-10-2001, 10:26
Forrest Gump did nothing for me. Couldn't see what the fuss was about personally.
Philadelphia also, over-sentimental Hanks Oscar vehicle, wasn't helped by the fact that I saw a real-life film about AIDS 'Silverlake Life, the view from here' shortly afterwards which really kicked things into touch.
Platoon was another one which I just didn't 'get' although it has been a long time since I saw it so maybe it will come across differently now...or maybe it will bore the pants off me again!
On the other side of the fence:
Fight Club While I agree with the comments about the pacing (the first hour went past very quickly but then it started to drag when I first watched it). I though it was great.
2001 I still love this film, I guess the lack of pace is what puts most people off. I suppose it helps that I'm an Arthur C Clarke fan though.
and The Life of Brian?? :confused: How can you not find this funny? I watched it (again) on Film Four a little while back and was laughing almost constantly.
I love 2001 a truly all encapsulating film, imbued with meaning and a very interesting premise. The score especially is absolutely fantastic - Zarathrustra will always be associated with Kubrick because of the wonderful opening sequence.
As for films which don't work for me, my pet hate has to be Highlander, why do people like this film. The plot is infantile and has massive holes in it, the acting is atrocious, the effects are dire - it's a bad, BAD film people. I have given it a fair go and watched it 3 times, and each time I come away angry.:mad:
Also Audition, I'd heard great things about this and was very excited when I got the DVD. I found the film flat, emotionless, pointless and more than a little baffling. The final 15 minutes or so, (the supposed highlight of the film), I found totally out of place - I know this was probably the point, to show a sharp, shocking contrast - but it just didn't work for me at all.
Just Call Me Wanda
19-10-2001, 10:54
Originally posted by Michael Brooke
<B>How does a black screen with music playing keep you entertained? </B>
Very easily, if the music in question is Gyorgy Ligeti's <I>Atmospheres</I>, one of the most gobsmackingly original pieces written in the last or indeed any other century. In fact, I was almost sorry the film started halfway through it! :D
If only the Spice Girls were around back then! 'Spice World' joyously playing over a black screen, how could you not find entertainment! :D
If fact, wasn't the Spice Girls film originally title - 2012, The Year We Made Contact Yet Again? :rolleyes:
Analog Kid
19-10-2001, 10:54
Originally posted by MARKMAN
As for films which don't work for me, my pet hate has to be Highlander, why do people like this film. The plot is infantile and has massive holes in it, the acting is atrocious, the effects are dire - it's a bad, BAD film people. I have given it a fair go and watched it 3 times, and each time I come away angry.:mad:
Oh, thanks for reminding me, Highlander is another one I just couldn't see the point to. You did better than I did though, I turned it off after half an hour or so!
Magnolia - found myself very angry at wasting 2hrs watching it. Yes, I switched it off.
Got to be Apocalypse Now for me, I just never felt involved in the plot and it found it very boring.
Just Call Me Wanda
19-10-2001, 11:05
Originally posted by Lucy
Magnolia - found myself very angry at wasting 2hrs watching it. Yes, I switched it off.
I thought I probably wouldn't like this, but at the end I thought it was a modern masterpiece.
George vader
19-10-2001, 11:13
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon I'm not really a fan of "this" genre but have to say I was really looking forward to this, so much so I bought a R3 copy for £23, after watching 20 mins of this fluff it was straight to the Forums and sold!!
"Right I'm losing a fight, what shall I do? , I know, I'll run away- via someones chimney!!"
The Matrix -give me Dark city any day!
Diary Of Bridgette Jones -whats with all the posh swearing, are all English people upper-middle class?
This Is Spinal Tap -am I the only person to find this film, well, just average? Waiting For Guffman was far better andBest In Show is one of my all time favourites.
I also heard a lot of raving about The Matrix. But when I bought it (the R4 of course ;)), I thought it was just an average Hollywood action movie.
Warner Brothers (and called a lot of other rather rude phrases too, especially during the Willy Wonka open matte thing) should have shut up and took the '18' certificate.
Unfortunately, most of the idiots who saw and love this movie and bought the video/DVD won't know that ten seconds of their precious film were cut. Fools.
Ben Martin
19-10-2001, 12:25
Originally posted by Michael Brooke
Schindler's List - hugely impressive first half, but the horrible, gimmicky scene with the little girl in the red dress killed the film for me totally, sharply reminding me that I was watching a Hollywood film at what should have been one of the emotional high points.
i have to disagree with you strongly there michael. i think it was an emotional high point and i personally didn't find it the least bit gimmicky or "hollywood". however, i can see how someone watching out for any sniff of sentimentalism or heavy-handedness from spielberg might easily interpret it as just that. i think spielberg knew he was taking a risk of it being mis-interpreted but chose to stay faithful - in the only way possible onscreen - to a very memorable part of the original book.
from chapter fifteen:
In its closer reaches, this street was not as hectic as Wegierska. A line of women and children, not so long, was being led away towards Piwna Street. A guard walked in front, another strolled behind. There was an imbalance in the line: far more children than the few women in it themselves could have borne. At the rear, dawdling, was a toddler, boy or girl, dressed in a small scarlet coat and cap. It compelled Schindler's interest because it made a statement, the way the argumentative shift-worker in Wegierska had. The statement had to do, of course, with a passion for red.
Schindler consulted Ingrid. It was definitely a girl, said Ingrid. Little girls got obsessed by colour, especially a bright colour like that.
As they watched, the Waffen SS man at the rear of the column would occasionally put out his hand and correct the drift of this scarlet node. He did not do it harshly - he could have been an elder brother. Had he been asked by his officers to do something to allay the sentimental concern of watching civilians, he could not have done better. So the moral anxiety of the two riders in Bednarskiego Park was, for an impulsive second, irrationally allayed. But it was brief comfort. For behind the departing column of women and children, to which the scarlet toddler placed a meandering full stop, SS teams with dogs worked north along either side of the street.
she also returns a few pages later and is referred to as "red Genia", a three year-old child of an acquaintance of one of the 'Schindler Jews'.
you obviously couldn't have the explanation that you get on the page (Neeson declaring, "that's compelling my interest!"?) so spielberg chose to colour the girl's dress to invite the audience to make their own conclusions. after a "hugely impressive" first hour i think he deserved benefit of the doubt. and anyhow, haven't i heard people complaining around these parts recently of movies treating the audience as ignorant and unnecessarily spelling things out for them?
just a thought anyway, as i'm guessing you hadn't read the book and it seems such a terrible shame you let that spoil the movie for you. maybe it deserves another chance?
After reading a few more responses here I have couple more films/directors to add...
Paul Thomas Anderson - Boy do I detest this mans films!! Magnolia wins the award for the most overrated pile of crap I have seen in a long long time while Boogie Nights is equally terrible. Unlike most of the other films that 'dont work for me' I can NOT see why these films work for anyone!
Dario Argento - Up there with Kubrick for making films that visually are quite superb and (occasionally with Argento) conceptually not all bad either but I just don't get why his films are deemed scary/an attack on the senses etc....I spent £40 to sample a selection of this mans films and would still like to see the most acclaimed of his works, Suspiria although I severely doubt it will warrant a space in my collection. For the record I have seen Deep Red, Tenebrae, Phenomena and Inferno....out of all the films that didn't work for me I would choose to watch these again...
Jerry Maguire - thank god Cameron Crowe made Almost Famous otherwise he would be another director to get a slating from me :D
dave.
Pity about the ending of schindlers list was was so ham-fisted and over the top. Spoilt the film for me.
I thought the red coat technique was done to emphasize the later scene of the girls body being taken to the pyre.
Twigster
19-10-2001, 13:49
UM.......
Exorcist - Not scary OR even remotely shocking.
Apocalypse Now - Dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, etc........
The Shining/Clockwork Orange/2001 - The only Kubrick film I like is Full Metal Jacket - An excellent comedy!
Lawrence Of Arabia - Had to watch it in 3 sittings & still got bored in each one!!
Rachel_M
19-10-2001, 14:01
Billiy Elliot , what was all fuss about? Good performances but terrible plot. Did we really need another bitter-sweet comedy / drama set against the back drop of working class northern Britain (see East is East, Brassed Off, Full Monty )?
No.
neilalford
19-10-2001, 14:11
Matrix (again): Dull, some fairly ropey special effects, some ridiculous ideas in the plot and the action scenes just seemed to lack excitement, even the lobby shoot out couldn't get me interested though I think thats down to the direction/editing. Lots of close ups of Keanu firing, gaurds firing, keanu running up a wall, gaurd gets shot etc, but no establishing shots, How many gaurds are left? Where are they in relation to Keanu? It reminds me of a cartoon strip, lots of fairly static shots of the action in sequence. Give me Dark City any day.
Forrest Gump (again): A totally passive central character who never intitiates anything, simply goes through life reacting and being lucky.
Heat: Dull...
Can't be arsed typing loads so I'll keep it short and sweet.
Three Kings - Good up until The evil Iraqi (or whatever) killed that woman infront of her hubby + child
Magnolia - Overly long. Dull, with no real sense of direction.
Apocalypse Now - Bull + Boring
Platoon - Ditto
Matrix - Boring (action scenes are ok though)
Life is Beautifull - Unrealistic
I'll come back in a bit when I've thought of more. If anyone wants me to elaborate I will ;)
The Sixth Sense - lots of whispering, lots of slow pans, nice twist, but i've never had the urge to see it again. Overlong, in my opinion.. would've made a nice Twilight Zone episode.
The Phantom Menace - nice music, that's it. :)
Ben Martin
19-10-2001, 15:25
Originally posted by martinb
I thought the red coat technique was done to emphasize the later scene of the girls body being taken to the pyre.
yes and no. even if you didn't see her later on in the pile of corpses, the coat being coloured in the earlier scene is still trying to silently convey the exposition in the quote above. however, spielberg does then 'bring her back' but again i don't think totally gratuitously. her presence in this later scene and the coat once more being red is used to replace a scene in the book which was too 'complicated' to work properly.
in the book, as schindler watches the pile being burned, he is struck by a new horror that the nazis are destroying the evidence of their crimes. this is brought home to him by recalling his shock at the executions of the ghetto policemen he knew, along with their families, and his thought that their bodies must now be burning before him. this prompts him to tell Stern, "I'm going to get you all out". again it's a silent scene dialogue-wise so spielberg tries to convey the same ideas by bringing back the little girl with the red coat. it's okay, but personally i feel it slightly tarnishes her previous appearance.
Mr Flibble
19-10-2001, 15:44
Back in the days of VHS (remember them?) there was a sale on at the local HMV, I picked up two supposed classics - Taxi Driver and Get Carter -
Did I miss something, they were both terrible - still, only £10 wasted I suppose :)
StephenM
19-10-2001, 16:59
Film's that don't work for me:
Anything by James Cameron except The Terminator. What an amazing film that was.
The Matrix - Not one piece of originality, awful dialogue, delusions of grandeur AND Keanu Reeves.
Driving Miss Daisy - Uninvolving Oscar winning schmaltz.
In The Name of The Father - Completely inaccurate historically, lazy film making.
Most of Neil Jordan's work - Looks pretty but he cannot interest me in his characters.
The Age of Innocence - I have seldom felt as emotionally uninvolved with characters (although everyone I know loves it).
Being John Malkovich - Not as good as it thought it was.
Dan Druff
19-10-2001, 17:07
Another one is Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Did nothing for me.
Just about everything made by Jean Luc Godard. And I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't rate American Beauty either.
Sorry to dredge up an old thread but I'm interested to hear what people think of the 'girl in red dress' sequence in Schindler's List in light of Steven Spielberg's comments on it during the second part of The 100 Greatest Films programme on Channel Four last night. If I heard understood him correctly he basically said he didn't directly follow the book as a guide but used the girl as a metaphor for the Allies (stressing the US, UK and Soviet Union) ignorance of the holocaust.
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