Films People Adore... but you just don't get it.

[rashhunt]

I have a few films in mind that some of my fellow movie junkies (since a film buff suggests some kind of prestigious nature) absolutely praise when ever mentioned, but upon single or repeated viewings, I've failed to capture the magic. I find this more constant with comedies than anything, since laughter is in fact a one way street, but there have been times when even a serious 'film classic' has come off as being stale and barely watchable. These are the films that have put me in such a state and I hope you'll share some of the same magic as well...

The Royal Tenenbaums... it's not funny, it's not clever and it's far too slow, not to mention the characters just seem like a knock off of every other dysfunctional family film. Eulogy is the better choice for this kind of film in my opinion.

It's A Wonderful Life... no, it's fucking not.

ET... I just don't feel the magic. Even as a child I was exhausted from this giant market placement and haven't had the heart to go back. Is my soul dead?

Tank Girl... worst movie ever, and only suburban parasites who think they're punk seem to have any admiration for this piece of shit anyhow.

[criterionmaster]

Wow, you didn't like The Royal Tenenbaums? I personally love the film. Have you seen any other Wes Anderson's films.

[kiddo]

I agree on It's A Wonderful Life; While having many good elements, the whole experience was rather unsatsifying and (may I say(?)) dull. Not a bad film, but not an amazing one either, which it is if one listen to the average film buff.

Another one is The Maltese Falcon, but I've been nagging so much about that already, so I guess I'll just keep my mouth shut.

[criterionmaster]

I find maybe the reason I like It's a Wonderful Life so much is because I grew up watching the film, so it is kinda just inside me to love it so much, the same for my whole family really. I re-watched a lot of it on Christmas, and my younger brother watched it for the first time (along with Miracle on 34th Street) and liked them both it would seem.

[ie]

If we go with overrated movies, this will get me in trouble with just about anyone here I am damn sure, but I need to air it out: Brazil, 12 Monkeys, M, Robocop, About Schmidt, Spaceballs, Wild Strawberries, Crank, A Clockwork Orange, Belle de Jour, Apollo 13, Anatomy of a Murder, 8½, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Se7en, Buffalo '66, Animal House, Dr. Strangelove, and mother fucking I mother fucking Hate Huckabees.

Most of these are still decent movies, but at this exact moment I feel all of them are overrated to some degree. Maybe I need to give them another go, but frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. That one is probably overrated as well, although I haven't seen it yet.

edit: Some slightly overrated ones. I still like these, but they're not quite the masterpiece aces I thought they would be: Walkabout, Annie Hall, Solyaris, the Bicycle Thieves, the Graduate, Pulp Fiction and Paris, Texas.

[PTAhole]

The biggest one that comes to my mind is Mullholland Drive. I have seen the film three times, and I still think it is dogshit. I love the first two hours of this film. I thought Lynch had gotten back on track after the attrocious Twin Peaks (that's right, both seasons and the movie) and Lost Highway. Instead, he gives us the most idiodically "weird for the sake of it" ending I've ever seen. Sure there are worse movies, but the movies I hate are movies like this, that start out so promisingly, and then fuck it all up at the end. Screw this movie, and screw Lynch for all I care.

[kiddo]

Haha. I can somewhat understand what your saying, but why feel the need to understand something all the time?

Mullholland Dr. is pure film magic in my eyes.

[sacrilegend]

kiddo said:

Haha. I can somewhat understand what your saying, but why feel the need to understand something all the time?

Mullholland Dr. is pure film magic in my eyes.

THANK YOU! Mullholland Drive is the most captivating thing ever to touch the screen, I praise it, adore it, but have never undersood it. I'm on the way, though.

As for The Royal Tenenbaums - I agree, although Eulogy wasn't that good either.

It's a Wonderful Life - I haven't seen it yet.

ET - Oh my word, I can't stand this film. As a little child I begged to be released from it's disgustingness. I hate it with all the hatred in my heart. I spit on ET.

Tank Girl - I liked it when I saw it, I was about nine. Can't blame me! Isn't that what each little girl dreams about? Now, I've rewatched it, and I didn't feel anything. Another "uhhhh..." moment.

[Nomansvally]

ie said:

Belle de Jour

Now, I'm just curious what's so overrated with this one? I got to ask 'cos it's one of my top 10.

I personally don't mind if you disliked it, that's your taste of film you know, but I was wondering what aspects of the film you thought dragged it down?

[ie]

nomansvally said:

ie said:

Belle de Jour

Now, I'm just curious what's so overrated with this one? I got to ask 'cos it's one of my top 10.

I personally don't mind if you disliked it, that's your taste of film you know, but I was wondering what aspects of the film you thought dragged it down?

Well, the movie has this whole 60s-70s European style that I just don't like. The style consists of "beautiful" people that wax some philosophy while dressed in varying layers of clothing, and it's all just so fake to me. The movie itself didn't do it for me on the philosophy level or the "adult" level, and I included it on my list because it is so highly regarded.

But honestly, I just couldn't sit through it so I didn't finish the last twenty or so minutes of it, so I guess I can't properly rate it. I guess I'll eventually "finish" watching it, but it's very low on my list.


I don't mind that you like Belle de Jour, or that anyone else does. To me, the whole overrated concept does not apply to specific people's opinions of the movie. It's where there's this general atmosphere that you can only love "this movie" and have no other opinion.

Whereas I find the concept of an underrated movie to be one where it is obscure, perhaps because of limited distribution or because of its nitch market, but that obscurity is just such a shame. An example of a movie that I think is underrated is 7th Street, which is just such an absorbing documentary, yet so very obscure.

I guess I additionally think of underrated movies to be ones that people just seem to hate so very much, yet aren't that horribly bad. For example, Constantine was a fun movie in my opinion, and yet, because it doesn't match the density of Alan Moore's original graphic novel, it gets shafted. Oh, and Keanu Reeves doesn't help its reputation, although I thought he did well for the role.


(Heh... I expounded on why I didn't like Belle de Jour and then eventually summarized why I liked Constantine. ...Oh well.)


edit: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention.

As a kid, I was frightened by E.T.. True story. Then about two years ago, I decided to go ahead and watch the movie because I had it laying around and I actually found it to be quite an enjoyable movie. In other words, I wasn't a kid when I first watched this movie. I was 18 years old, about a year into college, and I still felt it was a good movie.