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Supposedly terrific movies that just didn't do it for you... and why. (1 Viewer)

Jeff Gatie

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Aug 19, 2002
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Casablanca (Can't fault it in any way... except that it's never made me FEEL anything)
I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on tv, but I feel I can safely pronounce you dead :D . Just kidding! Out of curiosity, what movies have made you FEEL something, cause this movie continues to move me every time I watch it (probably 20-30 times in the last 25-30 years).
 

Dennis*G

Supporting Actor
Joined
Oct 7, 2003
Messages
524
Spiderman I just don't see how so many people liked this movie? I guess you just have to be a comic's fan, which I am not.

X-men same as above, but this had really crappy story too. At least Spiderman had an ok story to follow.
 

Brett_B

Supporting Actor
Joined
Oct 26, 1999
Messages
902
American Beauty - As what was said previously, I don't understand what was so great about it.

The Pledge - I have had discussions with members that enjoyed it, so no need for me to bring up my disappointments.
 

Steve_Tk

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2002
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2,833
Spiderman-I'm still astonished this made so much money and people here went to see it so many times, it's so campy. They question and ridicule things down to the smallest bit in the Last samurai, but a total lack of decent action and a power ranger is suit is ok. I'm baffled but that's the way opinions go.
 

Brian_N

Auditioning
Joined
Sep 14, 2003
Messages
6
American Beauty one of the most over-rated movies ever.

Moulin Rouge walked out on this one. The editing gave me a headache.

8 1/2 I really wanted to like this, tried watching it twice. Couldn't get through it.
 

Shane D

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 12, 2001
Messages
651
Thin Red Line
This is the only movie i've bought and not been able to finish. I bought it during my war movie kick from all the raves on the box and the huge known cast and nominations, and it was just so aweful. Hopefully I may give it another try some day, but i dont know.
 

TommyT

Stunt Coordinator
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May 19, 2003
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243
Real Name
Tom
Same here. Watched about 30 mins & was just plain bored. I was really lookin' forward to this one, a lot of people recommended it to me.

I've never liked Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein or Spaceballs or much by Mel Brooks. His comedy is always too obvious & juvenile, probably because in the yrs since these were released there's been 1000s of ripoffs of all the gags.

The Searchers is another one for me. I just find John Wayne infuriatingly dull & John Ford did a terrible job conveying the passage of time in the story. Yrs pass & the audience has no idea of it.

The Godfather II: The scenes of Vito's youth & rise to power not withstanding, this is a tired rehash of the 1st film; begins w/a party, attempted assassination, root out the traitors to the Corleone Empire, make a few shady deals, end with a massacre. The 1st film was a masterwork of storytelling, pacing, acting & direction but II doesn't show any of that skill.
 

Brent Hutto

Supporting Actor
Joined
Aug 30, 2001
Messages
532
Either I've been blessed or deprived but I've only seen 17 of the approximately 50 movies that have been mentioned as disappointing in this thread.

Of the 17 that I've seen, these twelve were all right but not "all that":

Godfather
Yankee Doodle Dandy (actually this one was no good at all)
Beautiful Mind
Once Upon a Time in America
Goodfellas
Out of Africa
Raging Bull
2001
L.A. Confidential
Matrix
Blue
North by Northwest

and the other five are among my favorite movies:

The Two Towers
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Vertigo
Blade Runner
Rear Window

As for the other 30-odd movies, I have a couple of them on DVD awaiting viewing and a couple more of them in mind to watch one of these days. Most of the list is made up of movies I've never had any interest in seeing. The fact that a movie is supposed to be "great" never makes me want to see it unless something about the movie (cast, director, "high concept") is attractive to me.

I would add a few more to the list off the top of my head...

Punch Drunk Love was incredibly irritating and had no redeeming qualities that I can think of to make it worth sitting through. I sat through it anyway but in retrospect could have left after 20 minutes and not missed anything.

Star Wars, any of the original three. I saw these back when I was in high school and college and thought they were visually slick but just terribly basic in concept. I may not have even seen the third one, hard to remember that far back. Raiders of the Lost Ark was more fun than all five or six of the Star Wars movies put together. Heck, E.T. wasn't exactly Shakespeare but at least it had a couple of characters you could care about.

Fargo. I have two words for anyone who thinks this is a good dark comedy. Blood Simple. However, that one temper tantrum that William H. Macy throws when he realizes he's screwed is great. Hard to go wrong directing William H. Macy playing a loser, though. Kind of like asking Tom Cruise to look cute but puzzled, it's shooting fish in a barrel.

Titanic. I've never seen it so maybe I'm being unfair but I did watch the first half-hour of it on television and it is laughably bad. Maybe I should have tuned back in for the final scene or something.
 

MartinTeller

Screenwriter
Joined
Feb 26, 2002
Messages
1,721
I won't bother to add any new titles, but of the movies listed so far, my rankings:

"Did it for me" (love)
Fargo
Star Wars
The Godfather I & II
Goodfellas
Citizen Kane
2001: A Space Odyssey
North by Northwest
The Two Towers
Vertigo
Blade Runner
Rear Window
Kill Bill, Vol. 1
Moulin Rouge
Casablanca
Lawrence of Arabia

"Kinda did it for me" (like but don't love)
Punch Drunk Love
Raging Bull
L.A. Confidential
The Matrix
Pulp Fiction
Master and Commander
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
L'Avventura
X-Men
American Beauty
Being There
Traffic

"Didn't do it for me" (don't care for)
Once Upon a Time in America
Gladiator
Spiderman
Road to Perdition
Grave of the Fireflies

"Did something awful to me" (hate)
A Beautiful Mind
Andrei Rublev




Well, that's a bit rude, but he might kind of have a point.
 

GARY C

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 27, 1999
Messages
251
Godfather - Not sure what is was, but I never got enough out of the first to even want to see 2 & 3.

2001 - I actually watched this in 2x speed once and the pacing was still to slow. I know it's alot more real than alot of other space movies, but it just drags along in so many places.

Momento - Seemed to much like a gimmick for me. Without it the story had few legs to stand on.
 

ChuckSolo

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 26, 2003
Messages
1,160
"Citizen Kane"...."Citizen Kane"..........."CITIZEN KANE"...........arrrgghhhhh!!!!!!!! Oh yeah, "Moulin Rouge" AND "The English Patient" as well.
 

Mike Strassburg

Second Unit
Joined
Nov 4, 2001
Messages
421
Add me to the list of "just couldn't watch" Moulin Rouge.

Gladiator was also slow, but watchable thanks to the awesome 6.1 audio.

I've never understood the big fuss over Pulp Fiction, OK at best, but I have many friends who just rave about it.
 

Ray H

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Ray
Moulin Rouge walked out on this one. The editing gave me a headache.
I agree that at first the editing is annoying, but it does settle down after the first 30 minutes. :)

As for the Godfather, after the first time I saw it, it seemed a little flat to me. But then I saw it again and loved. Now I just watch it anytime it's on. I love it now.

Godfather II is a bit boring and I was far more interested with the Vito storyline than Michael's.

Lawrence of Arabia is a solid film to me. I'm not as fond of it as everyone else is, but I've only seen it twice so there's still time for it to grow on me.

Doctor Zhivago is a borefest though. The movie's a love story, but the love story doesn't even begin until 2 hours in! Wasn't a fan of the beginning and end sequences added for the movie. I haven't read the book, but I saw the miniseries version and it does give me more of an appreciation for the film but in some ways the miniseries feels more effective.
 

Mikel_Cooperman

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Jan 16, 2001
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Mikey
I still dont see why everyone thinks Pirates of the Carribean is so great.

I feel the same for A Beautiful Mind which I thought was just too sachrine and overdone.

Also A Perfect Storm with George Clooney. Hated it!
 

Eman_Ramos

Stunt Coordinator
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Jan 24, 2002
Messages
152
Sorry, but Citizen Kane was kinda boring. Visually, it's wonderful. But still, I had trouble following it.

That said, I'd definitely be open to seeing it again, when I get the chance. It seems like the kind of movie you have to see more than once to appreciate.


Btw, does Shrek count as a "supposedly terrific" movie? Cause it didn't do it for me. I just found the main characters unlikeable...
 

MatthewLouwrens

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Mar 18, 2003
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Sorry, but Citizen Kane was kinda boring. Visually, it's wonderful. But still, I had trouble following it.
That said, I'd definitely be open to seeing it again, when I get the chance. It seems like the kind of movie you have to see more than once to appreciate.
EMAN - Definitely see it again. First time I saw it, I appreciated it intellectually, but didn't feel anything. Second time I saw it, it took me 24 hours to get over it. (I was afraid I was going to burst into tears the next day at work!) It really is an incredible, almost Shakesperean, tragedy about a man's slow downfall into an empty soul-less existence. Incredible film.
 

Allen Hirsch

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 29, 1999
Messages
532
Hmmm. Most of my favorites have made this list, and there's not a one I've seen so far cited that I hated.

Loved it:
The Godfather I & II
Citizen Kane
L.A. Confidential
North by Northwest
Vertigo
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Rear Window
The English Patient
Moulin Rouge
Casablanca
Lawrence of Arabia
Master and Commander
Traffic
Fargo
Star Wars
Goodfellas


Liked it (but don't love it):
2001: A Space Odyssey
Raging Bull
The Matrix
Pulp Fiction
Blade Runner
A Beautiful Mind
X-Men
American Beauty
Being There
The Two Towers
Thin Red Line
Once Upon a Time in America
Gladiator
Spiderman
Road to Perdition

Haven't seen:
Kill Bill, Vol. 1
Andrei Rublev
Grave of the Fireflies
Punch Drunk Love
L'Avventura
 

Matt_P

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 19, 2000
Messages
332
I'd have to agree on Moulin Rouge, for reasons already covered. Ugh...

However, I think The Thin Red Line is the best film of the 90s. I never tire of Malick's masterpiece.

I'm a big fan of Blade Runner, and Lean's Lawrence & Zhivago, plus many others mentioned.

It's about what speaks to you as an individual. I'm glad to see some people still recognizing whether a film is good or not, even though it did nothing for them.

This is an interesting thread.
 

SteveGon

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2000
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12,250
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Steve Gonzales
Dare I say it?

Lord of the Rings


I'm not saying they're bad movies, but they just don't do it for me.

Sorry. :)
 

Richard Kim

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2001
Messages
4,385
Saving Private Ryan The D-Day battle is a highlight, but the rest of the film is pretty cliched and unremarkable. And don't get me started on the sappy, hamfisted bookends.
The Thin Red Line OTOH is a brilliant film. And Miranda Otto is easy on the eyes. :D

Once Upon A Time In America Leone's visual style is undeniably beautiful, but the plot is uninteresting and dull.
 

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