Movies: Guilty Pleasures and "Overrated"

[Udaman]

Trying to break up the monotony of work...so I was thinking about movies that I'm almost embarrassed to admit I liked, and movies that I know a ton of people love, but I just never could get there. Here are some thoughts:

Guilty Pleasures:

Waterworld. I saw it after all the terrible reviews. I was pleasantly surprised. Thought the story was OK. Thought the acting was OK (if not overdone). I kind of had fun throughout all of it.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Kind of like Waterworld. I enjoyed this. Yeah it was cheesy...but it was entertaining throughout, and I walked out with a smile on my face.

John Carter. Again, saw it after the bad reviews. Not a great movie. But not a bad 2 hours at the box office.

Battleship. It's the Taylor Kitsch two-fer. I'm not sure why this movie has done as poorly as it did. Sure there's is some awful dialogue, and completely unreal parts (like a retired battleship suddenly able to fire live ammunition)...but there was in Independence Day as well, and it made $200M. I thought Kitsch was OK in this as well...the opening 5 minutes with his burrito search was great (too bad the rest of the movie wasn't like that).

Armageddon. I know this one did OK at the box office, but most of my friends hated it. I remember watching it the weekend it came out (4th of July) with a bunch of friends and we we walked out they all said, "God that was awful" and I was stunned. Again, cheesy...but funny, and at least enjoyable. Much, much better than Deep Impact. It was on a few weeks back (HBO or something), and I still enjoyed it.

Overrated:

Blade Runner: For me this tops the list. I just don't get it. Don't get the hype. Don't get the story. It was long. It was boring. They crammed the theme down our throats over and over again. Just blech, to me.

The Deer Hunter: OK, the russian roulette is brutal...but the wedding scene lasts about half the movie and was so, so, so, so boring. And the hunting at the beginning...just boring. Don't get it.

The Godfather, Part 2: I loved the DiNiro part...but the rest...with Fredo, and Michael, and the Florida mob...just wasn't that compelling to me.

Blue Velvet: Finally saw it about 6 months ago and when it was over all I could say was, "That's it? This movie got all that hype for this?" Again, just don't get it.

Twister: Still stunned this did as well as it did. Look, if you are going to make a movie where things happen that could never happen, you have to be able to wink at the audience about it. Independence Day did that. Lots of movies do. Twister wanted you to believe this could happen. Even the opening scene, where the dad gets killed - why the hell would he hold on to the door? You are in a cellar. Let the door go...hell, everyone else in the cellar still lived. The movie lost me right there and never, ever, ever got me back (yes, I'm bitter about this one).

The English Patient. Should have been called The English "Try Your" Patience. Boring. I fell asleep in it. More than once.

OK, have at it. I'm sure some of you will read my "guilty pleasures" and say "how could you like that?" and others will read the overrated and say, "I LOVED that movie." Let the discussion (and other lists) begin.

[gus]

of the movies you list that I've seen (Waterworld, Armageddon, Bladerunner, Godfather 2, Twister, Blue Velvet, English Patient), I would probably agree on Twister, except that outside of knowing I saw it, I can't remember it all. So I guess I'd have to say I found it neither terrible nor good.

For the rest, I disagree with you completely. I'd watch English Patient a dozen times consecutively before allowing myself to be subjected to either Waterworld or Armageddon again.

You clearly look for different things in movies than I do, and there's nothing at all wrong with that.

[Wander]

Other than Episode II, I like the Star Wars prequel trilogy a lot. I think a lot of the negative feelings come from people who forgot how cheesy some of the stuff in the original trilogy was (which is how it's supposed to be), and/or people who saw the original movies as children. I read a lot of the Star Wars novels growing up and was excited to finally see the saga's story get advanced, which didn't really happen in most of the books at that time.

I liked The Village. This is probably the one I'm most embarrassed to admit, but I had never seen a Shyamalan movie before, so I wasn't expecting/tired of the predictable "throw in a sorta artificial twist at the end of the movie" thing.

One of my favorite science-fiction movies is Pandorum, which if I remember correctly got terrible reviews. It's got one of my favorite movie twists.

In the overrated category, the clear winner for me is Fight Club. To borrow a phrase from Roger Ebert's review, it's a movie that "masquerades as philosophy."

[gus]

Other than Episode II, I like the Star Wars prequel trilogy a lot. I think a lot of the negative feelings come from people who forgot how cheesy some of the stuff in the original trilogy was (which is how it's supposed to be), and/or people who saw the original movies as children. I read a lot of the Star Wars novels growing up and was excited to finally see the saga's story get advanced, which didn't really happen in most of the books at that time.

I liked The Village. This is probably the one I'm most embarrassed to admit, but I had never seen a Shyamalan movie before, so I wasn't expecting/tired of the predictable "throw in a sorta artificial twist at the end of the movie" thing.

One of my favorite science-fiction movies is Pandorum, which if I remember correctly got terrible reviews. It's got one of my favorite movie twists.

In the overrated category, the clear winner for me is Fight Club. To borrow a phrase from Roger Ebert's review, it's a movie that "masquerades as philosophy."

I totally agree on Fight Club, even though I enjoyed that movie. It doesn't stand up too well, and what really killed if for me was listening to the actor's commentary on the DVD and hearing Brad Pitt philosophize. I also liked the Village, even though I only saw about 3/4s of it on a jet blue flight (including the ending).

[CameronBornAndBred]

I totally agree on Fight Club, even though I enjoyed that movie.

Shhhhhh!!32.gif

I'd count just about any Happy Madison film among my guilty pleasures, and for my overrated I'll go with Fargo. I love the Coens, but I remember watching that one not long after it was nominated for the Oscar and thinking "Really?". I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't say it was totally awesome like "best picture awesome". It was beaten that year by the English Patient, which I've never seen and have no interest in seeing, since even back then it was listed on many of my friends' "overrated" lists, just like Udaman's. Looks like a total snoozefest.

[luvdahops]

Shhhhhh!!32.gif

I'd count just about any Happy Madison film among my guilty pleasures, and for my overrated I'll go with Fargo. I love the Coens, but I remember watching that one not long after it was nominated for the Oscar and thinking "Really?". I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't say it was totally awesome like "best picture awesome". It was beaten that year by the English Patient, which I've never seen and have no interest in seeing, since even back then it was listed on many of my friends' "overrated" lists, just like Udaman's. Looks like a total snoozefest.

Couldn't agree more on Fargo. I love the Coens, too, but thought Raising Arizona was far more original and engaging. I know it came later, but the same could be said for the Big Lebowski, especially the first half or so, which is about as good as the Coens have ever been in my view. Fargo is a good film, but is middle of the pack for the Coens and certainly shouldn't have been up for Best Picture.

[gus]

In the overrated category, the clear winner for me is Fight Club. To borrow a phrase from Roger Ebert's review, it's a movie that "masquerades as philosophy."

You inspired me to read his review. What he actually said was:

"Fight Club" is a thrill ride masquerading as philosophy--the kind of ride where some people puke and others can't wait to get on again.

Seems appropriate here.

[fuse]

Guilty Pleasures- Starship Troopers, Deep Blue Sea, Underworld, most movies that show up on endless replay on TNT

Overrated- Inception (too much hype wanted to like it but felt it fell way short), Little Miss Sunshine, Lost in Translation, Titanic and that is just off the top of my head.

You can probably guess that I watch movies based on entertainment value :-)

[JasonEvans]

Rule #1 of Fight Club: EVERYONE LIKES FIGHT CLUB!!

I have to admit, I am a bit stunned any of you have the stones to come here and say you did not love that movie. I respect you for saying it, but I have to revoke your Man Card for doing so. Consider yourselves on probation.

I loved Fight Club!

As for some of the others mentioned --

I liked Armageddon a lot and will keep on watching every time I come across it on cable. The crazy Russian is fun and I cry at the end every time when they honor the fallen heroes.

I thought Waterworld was ok. To me it is not the terrible mess that history seems to have called it. I liked Twister and Prince of Persia was not godawful. Now, John Carter and Battleship are horrid. Battleship especially is just too stupid for words.

I agree that Bladerunner, Blue Velvet, The Deer Hunter and The English Patient are overrated. Bladerunner less so than the other three. I will change the channel quickly if I come across any of these on cable. The English Patient is one of the most boring movies I have ever seen.

-Jason "I really liked The Villiage and Signs... I was a huge Night fan until Lady in the Water, which was as bad as I thought he could get... and then I saw The Happening" Evans

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

I agree that Bladerunner, Blue Velvet, The Deer Hunter and The English Patient are overrated. Bladerunner less so than the other three. I will change the channel quickly if I come across any of these on cable. The English Patient is one of the most boring movies I have ever seen.

Which Bladerunner version do you dislike? The Harrison Ford voiceover in the original theatrical release is unnecessary, but the Director's Cut that was released later is fantastic. It's a movie you can feel.

Guilty pleasures? I like all Schwarzenegger movies. ALL. Obviously, Commando, Predator, Running Man, Total Recall, T1 and T2 are my favorites, but I even like Last Action Hero, Kindergarten Cop, and Red Heat.

Overrated? 50 Days of Summer. Can't stand it. Dumb and boring.

[davekay1971]

First of all, fun thread and thanks for starting it!

Guilty Pleasures is easier to come up with...

1) The Girl Next Door - definitely a teen-hijinks flick, but the two leads (Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert) did a nice job and managed to work a wierdly sweet (if utterly unbelievable) relationship into the story, while Timothy Oliphant as the slightly unhinged porn producer was great. Also, an absolutely awesome soundtrack.

2) Rock Star - Somewhat uneven, but a fun look at a mock 80s hair band with a pretty good soundtrack (especially the use of Ted Nugent's Stranglehold) and Jennifer Aniston in a see-through crochet dress.

3) The Rock - I consider ANYTHING directed by Michael Bay to be pretty much trash, and The Rock is no exception. But it's pretty good, still. This is probably the last time I really found Nick Cage to be entertaining...maybe the last time he bothered bringing any effort to a character. Maybe it's because Michael Bay's schtick (camera down low with the slow motion circular pan around our hero as he stands up looking into the distance) wasn't old yet, but I like this movie.

4) Hard Boiled - I know some people consider this some kind of masterpiece. But, c'mon. The hero is named Tequila. It has every action stereotype imaginable. Bad guys jump their motorcycles high into the air just so Tequila can shoot them with a shotgun. If this were shot, as written, and released as a Hollywood production right now, it would be laughed at. But it's still a wildly watchable and fun piece of pulp. Chow Yun Fat absolutely swaggers through this movie.

5) Army of Darkness - not the work of sublime genius that is Evil Dead 2, but it's Raimi and Bruce Campbell letting it all hang out. Some of the best one-liners evers. "It's a trick...get an axe." "This...is my BOOMSTICK."

6) Big Trouble in Little China - my absolute favorite Kurt Russell performance. He's spoofing John Wayne and does it wonderfully well. Another movie with a stream of great one liners. "I'm gonna tell you about an accident, and I don't want to hear act of God."

7) Desperado - Starts out great, gets increasingly silly as it goes on. But always entertaining, and Salma Hayek has never been sexier (which is saying A LOT)

Overrated

1) Monster's Ball - alternately boring and depressing. And if Halle Berry's going to have a raunchy sex scene, why ugly her up? I know, it's in the character, but just a tragic waste.

2) Seven - Not denying the qualities of this film, but Brad Pitt's character just ticked me off. He was dumb, and that irritated me. Plus, the wife's head in the box at the end turned me off in a big way.

3) True Grit - The new one. HATED the ending. With a passion. Ruined the whole movie for me.

4) Reservoir Dogs - I don't dislike this movie, really, but it's not rewatchable at all. Almost too brutal in some ways, and really not entertaining to me.

5) Casino - I just can't enjoy a movie where I pretty much despise every single character. Even DeNiro's character, the good guy of the film I guess, is enough of a jerk to make me wish he'd gotten shot somewhere along the line. And, if I want to watch Pesci do the psycho mafia guy, I'll watch Goodfellas (which also has a collection of characters I don't much like, but is a more interesting film throughout)

[Olympic Fan]

First of all, fun thread and thanks for starting it!

Guilty Pleasures is easier to come up with...

1) The Girl Next Door - definitely a teen-hijinks flick, but the two leads (Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert) did a nice job and managed to work a wierdly sweet (if utterly unbelievable) relationship into the story, while Timothy Oliphant as the slightly unhinged porn producer was great. Also, an absolutely awesome soundtrack.

2) Rock Star - Somewhat uneven, but a fun look at a mock 80s hair band with a pretty good soundtrack (especially the use of Ted Nugent's Stranglehold) and Jennifer Aniston in a see-through crochet dress.

3) The Rock - I consider ANYTHING directed by Michael Bay to be pretty much trash, and The Rock is no exception. But it's pretty good, still. This is probably the last time I really found Nick Cage to be entertaining...maybe the last time he bothered bringing any effort to a character. Maybe it's because Michael Bay's schtick (camera down low with the slow motion circular pan around our hero as he stands up looking into the distance) wasn't old yet, but I like this movie.

4) Hard Boiled - I know some people consider this some kind of masterpiece. But, c'mon. The hero is named Tequila. It has every action stereotype imaginable. Bad guys jump their motorcycles high into the air just so Tequila can shoot them with a shotgun. If this were shot, as written, and released as a Hollywood production right now, it would be laughed at. But it's still a wildly watchable and fun piece of pulp. Chow Yun Fat absolutely swaggers through this movie.

5) Army of Darkness - not the work of sublime genius that is Evil Dead 2, but it's Raimi and Bruce Campbell letting it all hang out. Some of the best one-liners evers. "It's a trick...get an axe." "This...is my BOOMSTICK."

6) Big Trouble in Little China - my absolute favorite Kurt Russell performance. He's spoofing John Wayne and does it wonderfully well. Another movie with a stream of great one liners. "I'm gonna tell you about an accident, and I don't want to hear act of God."

7) Desperado - Starts out great, gets increasingly silly as it goes on. But always entertaining, and Salma Hayek has never been sexier (which is saying A LOT)

I want to take issue with you on one of your guilty pleasures: I don't think it's right to call "Big Trouble in Little China" a guilty pleasure ... it is a legitimatelhy great movie. This is The Searchers as a Kung Fu movie -- not only does Kurt Russell do a deadpan parody of John Wayne, but director John Carpenter does a brilliant riff on John Ford (down to the final departure shot, framed through the closing door of the restored home). I think there's a reason that it rated better with the critics than with audiences -- it is a movie that is loaded with film references ... references that give the film real weight.

"Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it." ... and he does. Damn, I know what I'm going to put in the DVD tonight.

As for the Army of Darkness. I would argue that Bfruce Campbell and the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness series is the height of B-movie making. That kind of film has a long and honorable history in Holywood -- back to the days a Republic Pictures and Poverty Row. A lot of low-brow westerns, silly horror and even sillier science fiction. The genre hit its peak with Evil Dead II and with the character Ash Williams. Not "great movies" per se, but the greatest movies of their kind.

BTW: Allow me to suggest one other underrated masterpiece: Director Peter Chelson's 1995 "Funny Bones" -- a brilliant rumination about the nature of comedy starring Oliver Platt and Lee Evans (with a surprising supporting role from a not-so-funny Jerry Lewis).

As for teen comedies ... I always thought Accepted and Eurotrip were my favories. But I admit those ARE guilty pleasures and not undiscovered masterpieces.

PS Totally agree with you about Desperado. The first 5-10 minutes -- with Steve Buscemi telling his story in that seedy bar (with Cheech Martin as a bemused bartender) is one of the great openings in screen history. After that, the film goes a little off-track (although as you suggest, Ms. Hayek is always worth watching). But that opening ... wow!

[davekay1971]

I want to take issue with you on one of your guilty pleasures: I don't think it's right to call "Big Trouble in Little China" a guilty pleasure ... it is a legitimatelhy great movie. This is The Searchers as a Kung Fu movie -- not only does Kurt Russell do a deadpan parody of John Wayne, but director John Carpenter does a brilliant riff on John Ford (down to the final departure shot, framed through the closing door of the restored home). I think there's a reason that it rated better with the critics than with audiences -- it is a movie that is loaded with film references ... references that give the film real weight.

"Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it." ... and he does. Damn, I know what I'm going to put in the DVD tonight.

As for the Army of Darkness. I would argue that Bfruce Campbell and the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness series is the height of B-movie making. That kind of film has a long and honorable history in Holywood -- back to the days a Republic Pictures and Poverty Row. A lot of low-brow westerns, silly horror and even sillier science fiction. The genre hit its peak with Evil Dead II and with the character Ash Williams. Not "great movies" per se, but the greatest movies of their kind.

PS Totally agree with you about Desperado. The first 5-10 minutes -- with Steve Buscemi telling his story in that seedy bar (with Cheech Martin as a bemused bartender) is one of the great openings in screen history. After that, the film goes a little off-track (although as you suggest, Ms. Hayek is always worth watching). But that opening ... wow!

I think you and I could enjoy watching a lot of the same movies together. Totally agree that Evil Dead 2 was the peak of the Evil Dead trilogy, and Army of Darkness, well, in it's own way...it is king. Hail to the king, baby.

Regarding Big Trouble, I guess I include that as a guilty pleasure only because it's the kind of movie that, if I talk about it as being a great movie with family and friends, I get a lot of really quizzical looks. Don't know if that makes it a cult movie, underappreciated masterpiece, or I just need new family and friends...but it's certainly a movie to be shared with other fans of off-beat cinema.

Agreed with the 80s Ahnold flicks - all of them are great guilty pleasures. Add onto that such 80s action schlock as Action Jackson and Tango and Cash. Stuff you enjoyed as a kid, still enjoy even though you know better, and don't really want your kids to catch you enjoying because then you can't ever really say anything bad about them enjoying a Michael Bay movie ever again.

[ncexnyc]

I’m not sure how anyone can call “Blade Runner”, overhyped. The film wasn’t very successful when it was initially released, but a lot of that has to do with its competition at the time. If anything this film has developed into a true cult classic.

What’s not to like about this film? Ridley Scott says it’s one of his best, if not the best film he’s ever made and that’s saying a lot.

You’ve got a stellar cast, Harrison Ford as Deckard, Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty, and the stunning Sean Young as Rachel. The other supporting actors are also very good.

The soundtrack by Vangelis is awesome and meshes amazingly well with the awe inspiring cinematography, which portrays a very bleak and gritty future.

No, this isn’t a perfect film. The mess with the voice over had a lot to do with that, but if you want your mind as well as your senses stimulated then this is the movie for you.

I highly recommend this movie for viewing on the big screen as a small TV doesn’t do it justice.

[Olympic Fan]

You’ve got a stellar cast, Harrison Ford as Deckard, Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty, and the stunning Sean Young as Rachel. The other supporting actors are also very good.

Don't forget Daryl Hannah (two years before stardom in Splash) as Pris. Throw in Edward James Olmos, Johanna Cassidy, Joe Turkel and the great William Sanderson ("Hi, I'm Larry ... this is my brother Darryl and my other brother Darryl"). I was lucky enough to find a five-disc set of Blade Runner that includes four different versions -- the 1982 Theaterical version (with the unnecessary voice-over), the 1982 European version (same voice-over, but a little more skin), the 1992 Director's Cut (which got rid of the voice over) and the 2007 "Final Cut" which is basically the '92 Director's Cut with a a few more shots -- mostly on the roof in the final showdown between Hauer and Decker.

In none of the versions is it ever suggsted that Decker is a replicant ... a favorite fan-boy interpretation of the film.

If you are coming to the film for the first tme, I would suggest either the '92 Director's Cut or the '07 Final Cut.

[Bostondevil]

Overrated - Bridesmaids

Guilty Pleasure - Cabin Boy "My pipes have been cleaned!" also "Man, I hate them fancy lads." also "I haven't powdered my bottom since I was 17!" Although I will admit the third act of this movie falls completely apart, just turn it off after 75 minutes.


Adding controversial opinions into the mix Shakespeare in Love is a much better movie than Saving Private Ryan - two extended battle scenes around a very boring middle. The English Patient is kinda like the reverse of The Three Stooges. In general, women get it and men don't. Albert Brooks was not robbed of an Oscar nomination for Drive but Ryan Gosling was.


BTW - The English Patient as a movie bears only minimal similarities to the book. Kristen Scott Thomas and Colin Firth's characters (and a pre-injury Ralph Fiennes) do not exist in the book. Their characters' names are taken from one line at the beginning and are never mentioned again.

[moonpie23]

guilty pleasures:

james bond movies

any movie with bruce campbell



overrated:

any AUSTIN POWERS movie.

any TYLER PERRY movie

any KLUMPS movie

any twilite movie

any movie with ben stiller

[Bostondevil]

I agree with you, moonpie, when I say Twilight sux (can I say that around here?), I'm rating it too highly.

[CameronBornAndBred]

overrated:
any TYLER PERRY movie

Who in history ever gave any Tyler Perry movie 5 stars? You know they print at the bottom of his movie posters in tiny letters "This is a Tyler Perry movie so we know it sucks, but it will also make lots of money so we've already filmed half the sequel."

[DukieInKansas]

Another of my guilty fleasures is on - American Flyers. Kevin Costner, David Grant, Rae Dawn Chong, Alexandra Paul - 1985. Jennifer Grey has a small part. Eddy Merckx plays himself.

Just saw my favorite seen - where they go riding with Eddie - a real son of a b&%$^. I'm such a cycling nerd - I love the scenes where they show rear cog as the rider shifts.