Your movie/tv show opposites. Where u go against the masses? (1 Viewer)

[Wendy_L]

Wow! I've never been so controversial before. I better take leave of this forum before one of you Movie Purists *cough* nerds *cough* reports me and my membership is evoked.

:b

 

[CaseyL]

Just a couple:

there should be NO remakes or "re-imaginings" allowed to be made (I say this knowing full well that some re-makes are equal to if not superior to their originals).

Sequels done after the closing of the series or long periods of time, and films made from TV shows (ie Terminator 3, Indiana Jones 4, Bewitched) should never happen.

All Foreign Films (Including Anime) should be shown in original language ONLY. Dubbing should be outlawed. The effort that is put into dubbing with english actors should be placed in more accurate subtitles.

Going to the Theater should be an event. You should have to dress up and have a strict and enforced practice of theater etiquitte. Projectionists should have to be certified instead of high schoolers and theaters should take great pride in quality of both equipment used and quality of the show.

I think Batman Returns is every bit as enjoyable as Batman

Fututama is so far superior to The Simpsons I can't even begin to express it.

I love Alien 3 just as much as The previous two.

I hate all Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th's and Halloweens (except the first Halloween)

I consider Wes Craven to be a 100% film-career failure

I consider Michael Bay to be a 100% film-career failure

 

[Michael Reuben]

Exactly. By the very nature of the topic, this thread is a "safe harbor" for opinions that might otherwise lead to knock-down fights. Let's keep it that way by not singling out specific opinions for debate. People seem to be enjoying reading what others think, no matter how "extreme" -- and that's fine.

M.

 

[Mark Hawley]

I think remakes are a good idea. As long as you have a good director and a good cast and they approach it the right way (as in wanting to make a geniune good film as opposed to a hack job), any remake is a worthy venture. In fact, one of the great aspects of watching films is to watch an original and remake back to back and compare and contrast both films. Changes in technology, changes in cultural or social mores, a director or actor's distinct style can put an interesting spin on even the most cherished of Hollywood classics. Ie: I think it you had one of the greatest directors working today, plus the most talented actors, along with a great cinematographer, editor, etc, a remake of Citizen Kane would definitely be something I'd be interested in seeing.

I think Gus Van Sant's Psycho was an interesting experiment (and I myself have often fantasized about remaking certain films shot-by-shot), though there's certain things I hate such a Norman masturbating (not the idea of it, but the scene itself comes across as laughable), the dead cow visions, and Julianne Moore's "I'll get my walkman!".

I think color is better than black and white. Not that I find it hard to get into a black and white film (I don't watch one and think "God, I wish this was in color"). It's just I feel that there's more a filmmaker can do with color in terms of symbolism, mood, atmosphere, etc.

I think Family Guy is way overrated. Sure there's some laughs and I love the characters of Stewie and Quagmire, but it comes across as derivative (not just the fact that it's an animated family with an overweight lazy slob for a father, but how many "remember whens" and warped fantasies did we see on The Simpons? Almost as if MacFarlane saw these, thought they were brilliant, and realized if you made almost entire episodes where these consisted of the bulk of the jokes, the better. And not just derivative of the The Simpsons, but South Park as well, as they already did the crazy Mel Gibson's chasing after you well before Family Guy did to name one example), and way too desperate as if it feels that the more offensive something is, the funnier and edgier it will be, as if they're saying "let's make fun of terminally ill children, or child abduction, or religion. Gee aren't we brave and clever!".

That said, I still think The Simpsons is still very funny. For about the last ten years, I felt that each current season was not up to snuff, but when I see some of those very same episodes that made me think that maybe the show has had its day in syndication (or reruns), many of them have become some of my most beloved episodes.


I think Brosnan's best Bond film was Tommorow Never Dies. It's the funnest, had a great Bond girl (Michelle Yeoh - light years ahead of Halle Berry and Denise Richards), was the most straightforward and tightest, had a great villain's scheme. Though I liked Goldeneye, it seems as if the makers got far too carried away with beating you over the head with the fact that this was Bond in the nineties and bowing down before political correctness: M is now a female, Bond is the same but the film seems to be apologizing for it by having characters constantly mocking ("charming, sophisticated secret agent, shaking not stirred") him or drawing attention to his characteristics ("how can you be so cold", "you're a sexist, mysogonistic dinosaur", "have all martinis silence the screams of the men you killed"). It's all very annoying, and one or two instances, might have been acceptable, but it seems as if one minute doesn't go by where something of that sort doesn't happen. I mean we get it: It's the nineties, Bond is outdated and ultimately a very flawed character. Blah! Tomorrow Never Dies, where having a bit of this (mainly focused around Teri Hatcher's character), is a much more traditional Bond.

 

[Kain_C]

I think CaseyL is the closest person I almost totally agree with, especially considering the thing about Bay. So far, very few come close at all.

More!

Garden State was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. A movie that tries so hard to be charming and quirky and likeable only achieves the extreme opposite effect. It was a standard cliche boy meets girl movie with all of the standard staples and nothing new at all. Way overrated.

The western genre is one of the greatest and it's lack of presence in modern films shows a decline in the quality of entertainment modern audiences demand. The genre had drama, comedy, action, romance, and it's own twist on all types of conflict. The western genre absolutely beats all other genres in cinematography.

The horror genre is the worst, filled mostly will terribly made crap. Friday the 13th, the Freddy movies, Halloween, Mike Myers, etc are nothing more than crap movies with terrible dialogue, atrocious acting, and amateurish nearly non-existent directing. Most scary movies are anything but. Alot of people like them for sentimental value as they grew up watching them. The exceptions are rare, but there.

Anyone who thinks foreign films CANNOT match what Hollywood can produce needs their head examined.

Remakes should be allowed, but ONLY on terrible movies in the first place, i.e. Ocean's 11. Leave Psycho, King Kong, Casablanca, etc. out and start taking pics from the hundreds of thousands of bad pictures throughout the century.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

No offense Kain, but I don't think you're getting the point of the thread.....



WAIT, I mean...... I concur 100% with Kain's ideas. (whew!)

 

[Jack Briggs]

On the other hand, I have to note that many of the posts here, with their "Name of Film is overrrated" or some other such sweeping comment, is an example of the reason that many HTF veterans and staff people do not post as often as they once did. But, whatever. Have yer fun.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Why should that be, though? Surely people may have their own harmless opinion, even if it doesn't jibe with the elite in some cases... there are many films I love that are highly regarded classics, and those which I feel are overrated. Or are you specifically referring to the "yo, dude, like (blank) sucks" type of rhetoric? Other than this thread, I don't generally go for that type of approach myself either.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Jack,
I don't fully understand your comments either, as sweeping as many opinions in this thread are, and this being one of the most sophisticated forum's on the entire net, the level of maturity and restraint on display here should make any HTF veteren proud.

Just my opinion.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Jack, ain't it the truth.

My contributions to the thread...

Science Fiction in the arts is not about the trappings and window dressing of SF. Taking an action film and replacing the pistols with lasers doesn't automatically make the film SF. SF literature in its best form is a literature of ideas, and films should strive for the same standards. There are amazingly few 'true' SF films. The majority of what is considered SF is really either action, adventure, fantasy, or western (or some combination thereof) with some technology applied as a surface veneer.

Noir was a movement, not a style. Films made after Touch of Evil are neo-noir; they capture the look and mood, but are not informed by the cultural and societal mores of the 40s and 50s.

- Walter.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Most Westerns are boring.

Jamie Lee Curtis is not attractive.

Julia Roberts is not a great actress.

Beauty and the Beast is Disney's worst animated movie.

Titanic is proof that you can't tell whether a movie's going to be a big hit or a colossal bomb.

More movies need to be made in places that aren't Los Angeles or New York City.

A person's intelligence can be tested by whether or not they stay for the end credits at movies- if they leave right away, they automatically fail.

The use of continous onscreen logos on TV networks is an absolute disgrace, and the absolute WORST thing to happen in the medium's history. Shows are impossible to watch with them on, and anyone who doesn't notice them must be blind. Anyone who condones this practice has a special place in Hell waiting for them, and anyone who allows their shows to be defaced in this way is a sellout.

Cable TV is the biggest rip-off in history. It was supposed to provide hundreds of channels all with great material that broadcast TV either can't or won't show, and with NO commercials or any other intrusions on the programming. Instead, it's become just more of the same junk you used to be able to get on FREE TV, except that you have to pay for it, there's usually as many commercials, and most cable channels now use even more annoying onscreen logos than on broadcast TV. Even HBO cuts into end credits of movies, though they still don't have commercials (I think!) The really sad thing? People have kept paying for it, and now often don't even differentiate it from regular TV. I would only pay for cable if ALL channels were commercial-free and didn't deface their programming, always had something on I wanted to watch and as a paying customer, I could call or write to them anytime and be listened to.

Rap is NOT music- it's interesting sometimes, but shouldn't have lasted nearly as long as it has. Any other music that "samples" recorded songs and tries to pass them off as a new song is also not music- again, sometimes it's funny or interesting, but not when it's done thousands of times.

Everyone should think the way I do

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I was going to add that to my list but didn't because this thread is about films and television, but i'm glad someone said it, I hate rap with every atom of my being.

Although, 'Lose Yourself' by Eminem is a good one, it grew on me what can I say.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Might as well join in. Rap is 'Crap', without the "C".

 

[Jesse Skeen]

To address a point made earlier, while just saying that something "sucks" or "is overrated" isn't enough to justify an opinion, at the same time it's extreme that some people regard some things so highly that they get upset if anything in that matter is said about it.
That said, Bruce Springsteen's music doesn't suck, but it is overrated. I can't put into words exactly why I feel this way though.

Sequels should only be made when there is sufficient story material to justify it, or to address anything left unresolved in the previous movie.

Movie studios and record labels need to break free of the corporate mentality- They should make money, but that should not be their primary concern.

Actors should not be paid more than 1 million dollars (if even that much) for doing one movie.

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

I believe somewhere deep in the HTF charter, it states:

"Thou shalt not slight 2001, lest thou reap the rolling of Jack Briggs' eyes."

(However, I likes my 2001, thus I'm immune from said wrath)

 

[Kevin M]

Amen.

 

[george kaplan]

I miss the good old days when an R rated film (like Animal House) was rated R for gratuitous female nudity, and didn't have any gore or violence.

Nowadays, R mostly means lots of gore and violence, and even if there's some nudity thrown in, it's still a movie with too much gore and violence.

 

[Kain_C]

Like the 'rap is not music' notion and agree 100%. It's progressively worse the higher the decibel level and the earlier in the morning it is. A guy in my neighborhood use to park his car in front of my apartment at 7 am and his 'rap' was so loud, it would rattle the windows.

I also agree with the salary requests for actors, but to go a little further, I wish 'back end pay' systems were used more. It may make some actors think more about the type of script they choose and may have a more dramatic (no pun intended) effect on the quality of their performance.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

This is my theory on rap music and those that listen to it, I think, that most of the people that listen to it don't even necessarily like it, they only listen to it because everyone else does.

They don't even realize how ass-aweful their vehicles sound thumping down the street, the car rattling with vibration noise that sends chills down my spine.

Lastly, just about all rap music, no matter what they're rapping about, is very hostile sounding, they can be rapping about the A B C's and it would sound intimidating LOL.

 

[Steve Y]

This should be a "don't look back" thread; the very nature of this discussion calls that we shake with rage at many of the comments here and there, and then just let them go. Consider it an exercise in willpower!

Long lists of "I HATE MOVIE X" are not offensive -- they just aren't that interesting. Even minor examples or qualifications are the spice of any "counteractive" opinion. To write over and over "FILM X SUCKS" or "I HATE DIRECTOR X" gets boring. On that note, here are some more:

1. The only really "classic" Disney animated features after 1989 are The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Emperor's New Groove, and portions of Fantasia 2000. The rest have been blue-printing the same old broadway song / animal sidekick formula in a cynical moneymaking charade. Yes, especially The Lion King.

2. I know people hated it, but the last season of Angel was the best. It took the series in a new direction and ended with a big cliffhanger bang (which remains deliciously unresolved).

3. "Beavis and Butt-Head" was an amazing satire, and at its height it was better than any comedy on TV, animated or otherwise. Assuring its place in the comedy hall of fame, Mike Judge pulled the show (and the characters) before it ever had a chance to stagnate.

4. Back to the Future 2 didn't have the heart of the first movie, but it is still incredibly entertaining. Its bolder, darker tone makes it in some ways more memorable than the first.

5. Shakespeare in Love was a lightweight comedy masquerading as Best Picture.

6. David Mamet has never directed a good movie. His best effort, The Spanish Prisoner, still suffered from an excess of overly artificial plot twists -- what you might call the "M. Night Shayamalan syndrome".

7. Easily the most affecting and well-made Japanese movie of the last decade is Wandafuru Raifu (After Life) from 1998, directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda.

8. I would tell you that Team America: World Police failed completely as comedy or parody, but you already knew that.

9. Charlie Chaplin's love affair with Georgia Hale in The Gold Rush is sweeter than his slightly more maudlin relationship with the blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) in City Lights.

10. The (nevertheless) idiotic Super Mario Bros. (1993) was still more entertaining as cinema than the overwrought cinematic molasses that was Spielberg's Hook (1991). Super Mario Bros. should have had a sequel. Dennis Hopper was a more effective villain as "King Koopa" than Dustin Hoffman was as "Captain Hook".

11. Tim Burton's most inspired, imaginative movie (that he directed) is still Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. This movie will probably remain at the crown of his film output.

12. The long conclusion of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King bookmarked the trilogy perfectly. Remove any aspect of the final twenty minutes and you put the whole trilogy out of balance. I can't resist one more controversial remark: every excised scene and character in the movie trilogy was justified and necessary.