So what's the big deal about SHREK? (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

I think the opinions of people who like to say every great movie is overrated........ARE OVERRATED!!!!

Tom,

That statement brings alot to this discussion! Also, which people like to say every great movie is overrated????

Crawdaddy

 

[Tom-G]

The enjoyment level of watching a particular film is unique to each and every one of us which is what makes the human race so very interesting.

Hear, here! I did find some parts humorous, like the aforementioned blue bird exploding. A lot of the humor, though was at a juvenile level, e.g. the ear wax as a candle and the song that made you think "wash your ass" was the next line, but instead it was "wash your face."

I saw it only once in the theater. I may like it more if I watch it again. Like I said, I didn't hate it, though.

 

[Holadem]

Edwin, this is happening now because the movie just got released. After 6 months of near unanimous praise, I finally watched it and found it very entertaining, very good movie but... certainly not deserving of all that hoopla.

The music is what will bring me back to it, it was wonderful.

--

Holadem

 

[Robert Crawford]

By the way, my comments regarding the "Toy Story" films should not be taken as a putdown of those films. Both of them are very good films with some excellent sequences in each film. I've seen both films in their theatrical run and I bought both on dvd. However, the films didn't work for me to the same degree as it obviously did for many other people but again, so what?????? That's entertainment as well as art which has varying affects of acceptance from each of us!

Crawdaddy

 

[Tom Ryan]

Tom,

That statement brings alot to this discussion! Also, which people like to say every great movie is overrated????

Well, it was supposed to be a joke. Ok, if you think about it.....a discussion like this is really sort of pointless. Obviously nobody's going to convince someone who didn't like Shrek that there are hidden things they missed that will make them love it, and it won't work the other way either. And no, there aren't people who think every great movie is overrated, but it seems like a lot of internet users tend to dislike films that are beloved by most. It just doesn't seem to bring anything new by having a thread where people discuss how let-down they were by a film. Why not have a general discussion thread, for all points concerning the film?

-Tom

 

[todd stone]

If it wasn't for donkey..........

 

[Patrick Mirza]

Look, I am by no means one of those "highbrow" types that feels the need to slam a successful movie. In fact, I despise those people (too much "cool" for their own good, if you ask me). I am someone who will still defend Titanic as one of the great films of the decade...
but I just don't see the big hoopla about Shrek. With everything people said about the film, I was expecting something revolutionary that would floor me.
That just didn't happen.
Not storywise and not CG-wise.
I'm, sorry but the Toy Story films have *heart* and fully rendered characters that live and breathe for me; A Bug's Life has more humor and characters that I care about; Monsters Inc has silly slapstick and genuine emotion.
It's really not fair to compare all these films as they are different comedy-specific genres, but I still say Shrek wasn't 'all that'. And from what I gather from your reactions in this thread, Donkey is really what made the movie for a lot of you.
One fantastic character doesn't make a great film.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The story just felt too choppy for me. Yes, it was funny, and I may watch it again for the comedy, but Austin Powers had a better storyline and was a more complete film.

I was looking forward to seeing Shrek because of everything people said.

 

[Dalton]

My kids loved it but i was a little dissapointed in it(aside from Donkey). I also don't see what all the hype was about.

 

[Edwin-S]

Edwin, this is happening now because the movie just got released. After 6 months of near unanimous praise, I finally watched it and found it very entertaining, very good movie but... certainly not deserving of all that hoopla.

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This is more what I was trying to say with my first post. The movie has generally gotten very positive praise. Now that it has been released to DVD and some of the hyperbole has cooled, people that may not have seen it theatrically are now seeing it and wondering what all the hoopla was about. Some of the very positive reviews by people who really like the film are being balanced by people who think it is only average.

When I saw "SHREK" in the theatre, I thought it was not bad but not nearly as fantastic as all the hoopla had indicated. Watching it on DVD has allowed me to spot more in the film which has raised my opinion of it, however, I still think that "MONSTER'S INC." is a better story.

"MONSTER'S INC." initially comes off looking more childish because the humour is more gentle than "SHREK" and because one of the main characters is a child but I feel the themes in "MI" are more mature. The film's story is very cleverly written to appeal to kids but there is one theme in the film that an adult, with a little thought, could interpret very differently, through that brightly, colored fantasy. It is something that I did not see in "SHREK" which was still a good, comedic, buddy picture.

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The music is what will bring me back to it, it was wonderful.

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Yes, the music was very good in the movie. The sequence using "hallelujah" was especially well done. It fit the mood quite well.

 

[Holadem]

It just doesn't seem to bring anything new by having a thread where people discuss how let-down they were by a film.

--
Holadem

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

Tom,

To me, the film was very funny and I laughed out loud several times, moreso than even with both "Toy Story" films put together. Humor is subjective and it's effect on each individual is very personal and sometimes very hard to understand why. Therefore, understanding the accolades the film received from many people including myself might never be completely understood by you but so what? The enjoyment level of watching a particular film is unique to each and every one of us which is what makes the human race so very interesting.

Crawdaddy

The toy story movies had a heart and soul. The scene in which the cowgirl reminisces about when she and the girl were together, it doesn't get any better than that--even in a live action movie. Really telling people in a subtle way to appreciate what one has at present. Shrek on the other hand was well done and entertaining for an hour and a half but had more of a fortune cookie type message. "Things are not what they seem", "don't judge a book by its cover"(this while ridiculing Fahrquard's height by the way) are typical feel-good type shallow messages.

Another trend that has gotten tiring. Instead of having jokes and sight-gags, movies seem to be getting more and more of their "comedy" by spoofing other films and by having "inside jokes". Well, I get them but it isn't that funny(to me). Well enough ranting.

 

[Nate Anderson]

Personally, I felt the first part of the film was brilliant, wonderful and very funny...but the ending really was too simple. I won't ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but the filmmakers took the easy way out.

That was the only thing that dissapointed me.

Donkey was awesome.

 

[Steve_Ch]

Saw it in the summer when it was released, had fun and thought was good. Why was it such a big deal, because it made a lot of money ($200M+ ???). Why did it make so much money? Because:

Pearl Harbor

AI

Tomb Raider

JP3

POTA...

Folks, this summer has been the worst for blockbuster movies in recent memory...

 

[Brian Crowe]

Did someone say the gingerbread man was unnecesary? He's one of my favorite characters! That milk dunking torture scene had me rolling the first time I saw it. I think what I liked most about Shrek is that it tears down all the 'happily ever after' garbage and tells a fairy tale from a more cynical perspective. Kind of a post-modernist Disney I suppose.

Still trying to remember any decent one-liners from Toy Story 1 or 2.

~Crowe~

 

[Seth Paxton]

Yeah, but Patrick it was also Eddie Murphy that made Beverly Hills Cop 1 and 2 funny all by himself as well.

And I did like some of the other references and jokes. Plus I really liked the "Bad Reputation" wrestling gag scene. I thought it played very well as fun action cinema (in how it was depicted and choreographed with the music).

I also thought sequences like the princess rescue were pretty impressively directed.

But bottom line was that the film was in many ways a star vehicle for Murphy and Myers with Myers playing more of the straight guy to Eddie's funny character. (again, Murphy gets to react off of Shrek which is a strength of his).

 

[Seth Paxton]

And I happen to think what Patrick is doing is great. The film is getting a lot of recognition and he is honestly asking "why?".

This is the sort of communication and discussion that makes Movies section interesting. Patrick didn't go off on those that liked the film nor imply that they were idiots, which is the typical sort of negative post that does get shut down around here. Instead he kept it positive and curious.

We can't demand that everyone like the same thing, and since most of us respect each others opinions there is going to be some genuine curiousity as to how some of us got more out of a film than we did.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

. I think what I liked most about Shrek is that it tears down all the 'happily ever after' garbage and tells a fairy tale from a more cynical perspective.

You mean when Shrek and Princess whats-her-name get married and live "happily ever after" at the end?

 

[Hubert]

 

[Richard Kim]

I thought that the whole dragon being a female and having the hots for Donkey was pretty stupid and could have been handled better. So she wears lipstick and long eyelashes? Please.

Also, why was Lord Farquaad trying to get rid of all the fairy tale creatures? They never really revealed that in the plot.