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Why do some films that were blockbusters, later get bashed? (1 Viewer)

JohnVB

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My theory:

I think there are a few people in here that really like to bash films. Different people get riled up about different movies, but it seems to me there's a trend of movie bashing. I'm not sure about the psychology behind this.

Also, if you go back through a lot of the threads, you'll find that a good amount of the bashing is done by the same people over and over again (possibly different people for different movies). So, it begins to appear that people here don't like certain movies, when in fact it's just a few very vocal people.

Sometimes the basher's are so adamant about it, that you can't even mention the movie in passing without them popping in to say what crappy movie they think it is. And to be honest, I think it's somewhat annoying.

It's not a heinous crime or anything, and everyone's entitled to their opinion, but do we really need "anit-evangelists" going around bashing their favorite whipping boy movies at every opportunity?

Since the topic came up, I just needed to say that. I'll get off my soap box now.

All's good.

- bones
 

Colin Jacobson

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One obvious reason blockbusters get bashed more than other movies: more people see them. The more viewers, the more potential for dissenting opinions. If 30 million people see Movie A and 10% of them hate it, it'll inspire more bashing that if 3 million people see Movie B and 90% of them hate it. Bigger audience = more potential for negative viewpoints.
 

Arman

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lol [Like Nick, I love your eviscerating review of Veronica Guerin :angry:]

Yeah, I'm very positive that Brook initially indicated (in his 2003 Film List) a very good grade of A- for ROTK then few moments later he changed it to a decent B+. Lately, he is shamelessly bashing ROTK (that "it is overrated") after trashing (the box-office lightweight) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (because it is almost universally praised/love by his fellow Poseur colleagues here? ;)). :D [just messing with you Brook]
 

Dome Vongvises

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I mean Henry Roark. :b

Either way, he's a jackass. :)

But let's be a little even here. For all those bashers of blockbusters, there's bashers of art films too. Just look at some of my reviews of the "greats" in the S&S film. Hey, the universe has to balance itself out somehow. :)

I'm sure there's an equal amount of bafflement on both sides of the ball. But it's pretty obvious which side I'm on. I've got a taped TCM broadcast of Solaris that's been gathering dust for over a year now. How somebody gets excited about that film and not something like LOTR, Star Wars, or POTC is beyond me. :)
 

Casey Trowbridg

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Lately with TPM though I've seen a number of people that initially had negative feelings towards it, are now starting to warm up to it more. I like it now more than I did a couple of years ago, but that's really not that big of a deal since its still my least favorite of the 5 SW films.

Oh BTW Lew, if your looking for cool, might I suggest a trip to South Dakota in the winter time?

Independence Day has lost a lot of my interest over the years, and I've never seen Titanic, and don't have any great desire to see it either.
 

Brook K

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Well Arman, as you know, often my thoughts or reviews are written within a day or two of seeing the movie. Then, as I'm sure you do as well, in continuing to think about it, my opinion can change for better or for worse.

I think Jackson really missed on almost every "big moment" in ROTK. And just as some have bashed Kill Bill for being cut in two, I'm dissatisfied by knowing that there is likely a better version of ROTK (just as the extended versions improved the first 2 films) that we aren't allowed to see due to commercial considerations.

I still completely love Fellowship. I just think that with each film, Jackson got further away from the books and gave into the dark side - action movie mode of making things bigger, louder, and "cooler".

And is it posing to like Eternal Sunshine or to not like it? I'm confused. :D
 

Ernest Rister

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"And for the record, I like Armageddon, hate Titanic, love the Matrix sequels, and hate the Star Wars prequels."

For the record, I think all of the above have certain merits and debits, and I don't hate any of them. It's not like Armageddon attacked my mother or something...why should I *hate* it?
 

Andrew Priest

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And the film exerted some kind of mind control? Perhaps it activated some restraints in your chair, including the classic device to keep your eyes open?

Otherwise how could you accuse something as passive and inanimate of wasting your time? Did the movie control your actions, or did you?

I have to admit though that if a movie out there took over my mind and then forced me to watch it through its entire boring length before releasing my I'd also be pretty pissed off at it.
 

Ernest Rister

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"Cause it wasted two hours of your life, interminably boring you to death?"

You want to talk about wasting your life...I'm afraid to measure the amount of time I spend procrastinating on the internet -- if I ever saw the true numbers, I'd give myself a heart attack by the end of the year. I think Armageddon looks like a Coke commercial, but I don't *hate* the thing, and there was some admirable craftsmanship in certain aspects of the film. Again, merits and debits.

I have a hard time thinking of movies I actually "hate". That's an emotion I reserve for terrorists, fascists, partisan politicians, and film critics who think their readers are dumber than they are (truth is, in the great scheme of things, we're all pretty stupid).
 

Jason Seaver

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Actually, there was a guy who had a seizure brought on by the way the scene of the Russian space station being destroyed. The joke at the time was that any director can make a movie that sucks; leave it to Michael Bay to make one that's actually dangerous.

Hate's a strong word, but that one brought out a strong and active dislike. I suppose I could have left, but I paid for the ticket and there's always hope for a good last act. Besides, it would mean inconveniencing other movie-goers since I like to sit at the center of the row. So you guys who arrived late but somehow enjoyed that turd, I did it for you. :)
 

george kaplan

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Well perhaps "wasting your time" isn't quite the right phrase. Let's say instead that I spent 2 hours acheiving a goal (becoming knowlegable about a critically acclaimed film), but that the process of doing so was so painful that I hated those entire 2 hours.

It's a lot like when I went through chemotherapy. Those were some of the worst months of my life. Not a "waste of time", but time I certainly hated with good reason, even though they were necessary.
 

Steve Christou

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Ernest you miserable crank! I agree with every word! :)

Hate is too a strong word. I know there are people here who hate the Star Wars prequels, Lord of the Rings, Titanic etc, and some of the vitriol aimed at these films borders on childish IMO. The more popular a film becomes the more it's derided by some people. One geezer over in polls included Fellowship of the Ring in a 'worst movies ever' poll [shakes head], opinions that are beyond my comprehension. Should I respect something like that?
 

Matthew_Millheiser

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Meh.

I loved Armageddon and thought Magnolia was largest pile of dogcrap I've ever seen. You gotta step away from the trends and just go with what you enjoy.

That having been said, the entire "backlash" concept is nothing new. Remember the Nirvana backlash of 1992? In '91 they came out of (seemingly) nowhere with "Nevermind", with rock fans claiming at the time that the album was the true "Appetite of Destruction" of the time, and not the poorly received GnR albums that were released around the same era. Soon after they hit heavy rotation, the album sold and sold and sold, and they were the harbingers of a new era of grunge, and all of the sudden they were uncool. They became too big too quickly, and when their next album didn't sell as well there was a lot of "hoo-hah"'ing.

Look at Blair Witch. Same deal.

My point? Eat more fish.
 

Rob P S

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Call me what you want, but I still think it is a boring-ass movie, and I don't care how much money it made. Why can't people accept an honest, dissenting opinion and move on?
 

DavidGT

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Man this is fun, everyone is in a bashing mood. My turn.
I thought Magnolia had ultra brilliant performances from everyone Macy, Moore, Cruise, etc and had a very original script.
On the other hand Armageddon seemed like a 2hr NASA commercial directed by an MTV video director that you can watch with the volume turned off and still know what's going on. Too much cheese and not enough wine. ;)
 

Colin Jacobson

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I think many people CAN accept that, but to call Fellowship one of the worst movies ever made simply sounds insane. You can say you don't like it, you can say you think it's overrated, but to classify it among the 10 to 20 worst films makes no sense - it DOES come across as flamebait and an instance of making a mountain out of a molehill. It's like the "worst of the year" awards from the Digital Bits - they pick targets politically that are nowhere near being the worst most of the time.

Personally, I think Schindler's List is insanely overrated, but I'll never call it one of the worst movies made. I wouldn't even call it a BAD movie - it didn't live up to expectations and all its praise. If you don't like Fellowship, great - more power to you. But I fail to understand how you could rate it below the thousands of truly incompetent films out there...
 

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