Acclaimed movies I did not care for
Magnolia - The reason I don't care for Magnolia is because of its over the top rambling nature that tries to convey the theme of the movie. It is very similar to Requiem in that it doesn't give the watcher any break or relief. All the stories seem like such a train wreck. Most of all however is that I, as a viewer didn't care. I did not find any reason to care about any of these characters or any of the plot points and how they play into each other. The whole film is too high concept for its own good and I feel director Paul Thomas Anderson either did not have a clear cut enough vision of the final product or could not manage his ideas into a coherent single piece. Anderson's weakness as a director is that he is not good at striking any emotional points or crafting a strong enough theme to make you sit there and think. I believe this is also true of his much greater film There Will Be Blood, but that film has absolutely stunning cinematography and atmosphere, an amazing soundtrack and one of the best performances by an actor of all time in my opinion.
A Clockwork Orange - First let me say that I adore Stanley Kubrick as a director. The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and Dr. Strangelove are all amazing pieces of film and 2001: A Space Odyssey is undoubtedly one of my top five favorite movies of all time. The reason I don't like A Clockwork Orange is not because I find it to be a poor product of film making. I have two problems with this movie. One is that I find the book to do a better job at pacing and a MUCH better job at humor. The second is that I think Alex is a terrible main character because he is not only an unlikable dick with no clear motivation but also a fucking bitch that wouldn't last a week in the real world. I get that he is supposed to love causing chaos and pain but he really seems to have absolutely no redeeming qualities to even make him interesting. He isn't some kind of victim of society or family either so why should I give a damn when he is being tortured. Am I supposed to think he is some kind of deep thinking character just because he likes classical music? The Joker in The Dark Knight is arguably a similar character but he was awesome because he always had an elaborate plan and could outsmart Batman, the police and the mob with minimal resources and really cool quirks. Alex just beats the shit out of hobos. This movie left a bad taste in my mouth.
Slumdog Millionare - I realize I'm not the only one who feels this is overrated. The easiest piece of criticism to make about this movie is that if it were to take place in a western nation, nobody would have given a rat's ass about it. The movie hangs so much on its foreign setting. We've all seen the rags to riches story of a young man who proves himself and rescues the attractive empty-shell-of-a-character girl done before, and much better. Audiences and critics loved it because it was so 'cultural'. If people weren't so pretentious maybe they would look over that fact and realize that the movie itself is kind of dumb.
Blade Runner - This is actually quite a good movie, but there is a reason I am acknowledging it in this blog. I really love Ghost in the Shell. The movie and the anime are both excellent pieces of science fiction with sublime themes and characters in my opinion. Ghost in the shell shares a lot of its themes with Blade Runner, like the line between a person and artificial intelligence, the definition of a soul, and the effects of technology on human morality. They both have a fair deal of religious symbolism as well. There is no doubt that Blade Runner is more original in these themes as it was released many years before GitS. But I only saw Blade Runner a year ago, after I had been an fan of Ghost in the Shell for quite some time, and I think GitS does a better job conveying its themes and making you think about them then Blade Runner. So, I don't think Blade Runner is a bad movie at all, it was just much less impactfull for me.
Sorry if that was a bit long. What acclaimed movies did you not enjoy?
Magnolia - The reason I don't care for Magnolia is because of its over the top rambling nature that tries to convey the theme of the movie. It is very similar to Requiem in that it doesn't give the watcher any break or relief. All the stories seem like such a train wreck. Most of all however is that I, as a viewer didn't care. I did not find any reason to care about any of these characters or any of the plot points and how they play into each other. The whole film is too high concept for its own good and I feel director Paul Thomas Anderson either did not have a clear cut enough vision of the final product or could not manage his ideas into a coherent single piece. Anderson's weakness as a director is that he is not good at striking any emotional points or crafting a strong enough theme to make you sit there and think. I believe this is also true of his much greater film There Will Be Blood, but that film has absolutely stunning cinematography and atmosphere, an amazing soundtrack and one of the best performances by an actor of all time in my opinion.
A Clockwork Orange - First let me say that I adore Stanley Kubrick as a director. The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and Dr. Strangelove are all amazing pieces of film and 2001: A Space Odyssey is undoubtedly one of my top five favorite movies of all time. The reason I don't like A Clockwork Orange is not because I find it to be a poor product of film making. I have two problems with this movie. One is that I find the book to do a better job at pacing and a MUCH better job at humor. The second is that I think Alex is a terrible main character because he is not only an unlikable dick with no clear motivation but also a fucking bitch that wouldn't last a week in the real world. I get that he is supposed to love causing chaos and pain but he really seems to have absolutely no redeeming qualities to even make him interesting. He isn't some kind of victim of society or family either so why should I give a damn when he is being tortured. Am I supposed to think he is some kind of deep thinking character just because he likes classical music? The Joker in The Dark Knight is arguably a similar character but he was awesome because he always had an elaborate plan and could outsmart Batman, the police and the mob with minimal resources and really cool quirks. Alex just beats the shit out of hobos. This movie left a bad taste in my mouth.
Slumdog Millionare - I realize I'm not the only one who feels this is overrated. The easiest piece of criticism to make about this movie is that if it were to take place in a western nation, nobody would have given a rat's ass about it. The movie hangs so much on its foreign setting. We've all seen the rags to riches story of a young man who proves himself and rescues the attractive empty-shell-of-a-character girl done before, and much better. Audiences and critics loved it because it was so 'cultural'. If people weren't so pretentious maybe they would look over that fact and realize that the movie itself is kind of dumb.
Blade Runner - This is actually quite a good movie, but there is a reason I am acknowledging it in this blog. I really love Ghost in the Shell. The movie and the anime are both excellent pieces of science fiction with sublime themes and characters in my opinion. Ghost in the shell shares a lot of its themes with Blade Runner, like the line between a person and artificial intelligence, the definition of a soul, and the effects of technology on human morality. They both have a fair deal of religious symbolism as well. There is no doubt that Blade Runner is more original in these themes as it was released many years before GitS. But I only saw Blade Runner a year ago, after I had been an fan of Ghost in the Shell for quite some time, and I think GitS does a better job conveying its themes and making you think about them then Blade Runner. So, I don't think Blade Runner is a bad movie at all, it was just much less impactfull for me.
Sorry if that was a bit long. What acclaimed movies did you not enjoy?
Man I could go on and on about how you're wrong about A Clockwork Orange (one of my favorite movies ever), but I'm not that guy. To each their own.
" @FancySoapsMan said:Yeah, I can't say I didn't like it either." I've seen the Incredibles get a lot of praise, but it's one of my least favorite Pixar films. "Least favorite is relative, correct? I mean, it is Pixar we're talking about. "
As for Cars, I watched it in Portuguese, and didn't understand what was going on most of the time. I can't really form a solid opinion on it.
" @Snipzor said:True enough, I keep forgetting about it, I also forgive it because it had Paul Newman in it." @FancySoapsMan said:I thought Cars was pretty 'meh' "" I've seen the Incredibles get a lot of praise, but it's one of my least favorite Pixar films. "Least favorite is relative, correct? I mean, it is Pixar we're talking about. "
I disagree with you completely on slumdog millionaire. Not only do I think it would have been effective if it was in a western area - perhaps even moreso though a few slight changes would be required.. but I don't see what difference it makes anyway. So what if it being 'cultural' (ie in a different area) Is a mentionable part of it? why is that a negative? I mean, do you want every movie to take place in the same places and areas and never leave america? I doubt it. Why exactly is it a negative? I mean it just seems weird to me that a big part of the movies story was a run down area that hard a lot of hardship - and then you criticize it for showing a rundown area full of unique hardship. I can maybe see where you're coming from if you find it annoying if someone is all snubby and thinks he's better than you because he saw a movie that's "so cultured" but I have neither seen people acting like that nor would that be a negative against the movie anyway - it's a negative against a portion of its fans. I don't think it was dumb and even though I'm not a huge fan of Boyle (want to talk about overrated movies? How about Sunshine. Massive piece of shit) I really don't think the direction can be critiqued. I'm sorry but I really don't get that argument. Do you think LOTR is overrated because people just liked the setting? the setting was kind of the point.. but it was also still a good movie.
Also, my choice for "most overrated piece of shit" is Donnie Darko.
Every movie that director made after that was an utter piece of shit, proving my stance when Donnie Darko came out that the movie wasn't any good. Any "symbolism" and "meaning" people were coming up with were just their own. The movie was a dumb, incredibly terrible movie and any greatness or even decency was self-created. Again, how terrible ALL of his following movies were is proof enough for me that it was entirely incompetent.
but hey, bunnies. Dark.
maybe lord of the rings trilogy because i havent watched it since i was 8 or 9. looking back i dont get why it got so many oscars. but ill watch it again for my final word on it
yeah, i thought Requiem for a Dream was an eye roller. It's more like two movies though.
The Ellen Burstyn part of the movie was great, the other part came across as an after school special with shock value.
Now, is this thread about what critically acclaimed movies we don't like, or just "popular" movies we don't like? I ask because I consider Donnie Darko a cult film; it has a strong following of fans, but not necessarily official praise.
Are we limiting the scope to what the masses as a whole have put forth as film masterpieces, or just some films our friends really like?
People really like Tim Burton in general. I just don't like the style. Edward Scissorhands was really good, and he did an excellent job adapting Sweeney Todd (not that he did anything novel with it,) but most of his films range from "meh" to annoying. Alice in Wonderland has the saving grace of Johnny Depp's Scottish accent and creating the absurd word "futterwacken," but outside of the above I can't say I liked any of the movies. The Nightmare Before Christmas has kind of the Star Wars Episode II problem (albeit largely diminished) of having moments of good and a lot of really, really bad. The only moments I enjoy of Nightmare are those with Beau Bridges as Oogie Boogie; for some reason, those songs are also significantly better than the others, and his character was actually pretty enjoyable to watch. The rest is approaching obnoxious, partly due to its hype and partly due to the fact that the remaining songs are neither pleasant to listen to like some Disney songs or especially clever in their humor. Beetlejuice is kind of the epitome of everything that's wrong with Tim Burton films, but it isn't as exaggerated as it is in his Batman movies, Charlie, or in Corpse Bride, and Wynona Rider was pretty good in it too. I think enough has been criticized about the rest of his films in that style at this point. Most of his less problematic films (like Pee Wee's Big Adventure) I actually haven't seen, so I can't say I hate all of his works, but most of what I've seen goes from ridiculous to annoying.
Also, I can't quite remember much of James & The Giant Peach (I was terrified of the rhino as a five year old and have promptly blocked out much of the film since) so I'm not referring to that film.
Ghost in the Shell over Blade Runner, really? I'm sorry, but annoying anime mascot's parroting sci-fi concepts that have been around for decades doesn't come across as better story telling! I know Blade Runner is kinda fucked up with all different cuts but it's hard to care about these anime's that rip-off western sci-fi when you've been immersed in the classics.
NERD RAGE!!!
I have never enjoyed a Pixar film.
Sure, there are other Oscar-worthy type films that I'm not fond of, however, Pixar stands out as the worst offender for me. Toy Story 3 was decent, but even that came across as a mediocre morality tale told with striking visuals and nothing else. That's my main issue with Pixar: they're too preachy (Wall-E's social commentary was too obvious and condescending), and often I found their attempts at modern satire to be meh at best. And to be fair, I've given most of their films a chance. Up, for example, was the one that came closest to giving me any sort of worthwhile experience...but that was only for the first fifteen minutes, you know, before the film turns into yet another cookiecutter story.
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