Under- and Overrated Films

[Reply #40 on:]

 

Originally posted by DrThunder88:
 What is it with women and that movie?  All of my male friends love it, but all of my female friends don't.

I'm going to say, good taste. But it makes me sad to be grouped with the movie-going women. they like shit like "how to lose a guy in 10 days"   

ps- silence of the lambs is awesome. you guys who don't like it can go to hell.
ghost world is good too, better than the graphic novel if you ask me.

[Reply #41 on:]

I think every movie is both overrated and underrated. Look at Titanic. You can say it's overrated, because it made so much money and won all those oscars and stuff. But who actually likes it? Everyone I know says it sucks. Everyone on the internet says it sucked. How could it have been so successful, if everyone hates it? It's an interesting thing.

Same with a lot of the "cult" movies. Evil Dead anyone? People say it's underrated, because it hasn't achieved mainstream success. But nerds act like it's the best movie ever. It is not.

[Reply #42 on:]

The Silence of the Lambs is awesome.  It's even better if you have read the book.

I read Red Dragon a while back, and it is without a doubt one of the best books that I have ever read. 
Yet when I saw the movie, I noticed a that a lot of extremely important character development parts(especially that of Francis Dolarhyde) that made the book so good were either left out, or weren't touched upon enough to properly explain it.  The Francis Dolarhyde in the movie was quite different than the one in the book.
I really liked the cast.  Edward Norton and Ralph Fiennes are among my favorite actors.  It was nice to see them in the same movie.  It was a good movie, but it could have been so much better.

To stick more to the subject, I think Red Dragon was too over-rated as a Hannibal Lector movie.  This bothered me because the book Red Dragon actually had very very little Hannibal Lector in it.  He was not a main character as the movie portrayed him.  The main character of the book was actually Francis Dolarhyde.  Even though the movie was good, the book is way way better.

[Reply #43 on:]

heh red dragon. "i wet the bed as a kid so now i will kill people"- that guys sucked. also the "i'm blind so i can't tell you're a murderer" girl. she sucked too.

speaking of Hannibal Lector movies, I think what's her face - Julianne Moore - is overrated.

[Reply #44 on:]

I'm not sure I wanna see Red Dragon, because Manhunter is one of my favourite movies, and they should've left the damn thing as it was.

Julianne Moore = agreed, overrated.

[Reply #45 on:]

VelourFog, that's what I meant about Red Dragon.  In the book, you get a complete understanding on how Francis Dolarhyde is who he is, and his mentality behind what he does is touched upon a whole lot more.  It's like the book puts you in his point of view, its wierd.  I felt a little dissapointed after watching the movie.  Instead of trying to put more Hannibal Lecter in the movie than there ever was in the book, the screenwriters could have focused on explaining the mind of Francis Dolarhyde.  He was the main character in the book, after all.
Let's put it this way.  The movie spent around 3 minutes tops explaining Dolarhyde's background/mentality, with a few vague flashbacks.  Yet Thomas Harris used nearly half of the book to touch up on Dolarhyde's background/mentality.
Also, Reba(the blind girl) isn't nearly as stupid as the movie portrayed her.  She is a lot smarter in the book.  So is Dolarhyde.
Basically, I think the screenwriters were just writing to get as much Hannibal Lecter in the movie as possible.  They even put in a few lengthy Hannibal scenes that were never in the book(!?).  And they did this at the expense of the significantly important character development of other characters.
Read "Red Dragon" if you ever get the chance.  You'll see what I mean by all this ranting.

Oh, and I agree with what you said on Julianne Moore.  I think Jodie Foster played a much better Clarice Starling.
 

[Reply #46 on:]

 

Originally posted by FishyJoe:
Everyone on the internet says it sucked.

...and in the end, isn't that what really matters?

[Reply #47 on:]

if it doesn't then my life has no meaning

[Reply #48 on:]

 

Originally posted by ShineFusion:
Return to Oz is highly underrated.

I disagree.  It think Retun to Oz is one of those rare movies that is rated perfectly; not over- or under-.

[Reply #49 on:]

   

Originally posted by FishyJoe:
I think every movie is both overrated and underrated. Look at Titanic. You can say it's overrated, because it made so much money and won all those oscars and stuff. But who actually likes it? Everyone I know says it sucks. Everyone on the internet says it sucked. How could it have been so successful, if everyone hates it? It's an interesting thing.

Same with a lot of the "cult" movies. Evil Dead anyone? People say it's underrated, because it hasn't achieved mainstream success. But nerds act like it's the best movie ever. It is not.

Titanic was so popular while it was out that it burned itself out pretty quickly, and was immediately replaced by Star Wars: Episode I hype.  The backlash took longer to get started.  And maybe the kinds of people who use internet forums are the same kind who hated the movie, just as they seem to be the kind of people who are obsessed with Donnie Darko and Equilibrium and so forth.  Still, it is interesting that even talks about Titanic any more.  Hopefully there won't be a tenth anniversary revival in a few years.

And no, Evil Dead is not the best movie ever.  Army of Darkness is.

[Reply #50 on:]

"Screamers" Underrated Note: I would like to see a sequel to Screamers.

"People Under The Stairs" Underrated.

[Reply #51 on:]

Hitchcocks The Birds is highly overrated, nothing compared to Jaws.
AI is underatted, I truely believe it's one of the greatest films of all time.
Red Dragon is underatted, although most people think it's quite good, I personally enjoyed just as much, if not MORE than the silence of the lambs!
Oh and I think that Dog Soldiers is a bit overrated, sure it was fun, but it really ain't that great.

[Reply #52 on:]

 

Originally posted by Action Jacktion:
Hoo boy... here's my list of overrated movies:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Dazed and Confused
The Exorcist
The French Connection
Rear Window
Reservoir Dogs
Rushmore
Saving Private Ryan
Shadow of the Vampire
The Silence of the Lambs
The Thin Red Line
There's Something About Mary
Traffic
The Usual Suspects

If I looked at this list outside this thread I would guess it was someone's favorite movies...not most overrated.

[Reply #53 on:]

Underrated (random selection or else I'll be here all day) :

Equilibrium      (Yes, I said it, shut up)
Evil Dead Series
Prophecy Series
The Thing
Tremors
Zoolander

Overrated:

The Thin Red Line   (BOOOOOOORING)
The Exorcist 
(not a good horror,  one of the best black comedies of all time.)
Battlefield Earth    (Its even worse than most people say)
2001

[Reply #54 on:]

   

Originally posted by Hulkbuster:
The Thing

Which The Thing are you talking about, John Carpenter's The Thing or the original The Thing from Another World?  Both are good, but people usually only talk about the more recent one.  But the 1951 version is surprisingly good.  It's a B-movie with a low budget, though the uncredited director was Howard Hawks.  I think it's coming out on DVD in North America next week, but it's occasionally on television.

[Reply #55 on:]

 

Originally posted by Hulkbuster:The Thin Red Line   (BOOOOOOORING)

Hey!  I thought The Thin Red Line was really good!  The thing about The Thin Red Line is that you shouldn't view it as a war/action movie.  It's more of a drama than anything else.  It really is a very artful and intellectual movie, but you have to watch it with an open mind to get it's full effect.
 

[Reply #56 on:]

"Project Shadow Chaser" = Underrated Note: same goes for the sequels.

Another movie that I think is underrated is the one where the teachers in this Miami high school are replaced by three killer cyborgs. This movie also had a sequel, but the sequel was a disgrace to all Sci-Fi films it sucked so bad. Anyway I just can't remember the name of this movie damnit!!!

[Reply #57 on:]

The original 1950's-era "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is quite good and underrated these days; it's chock full of allegory about conformity and the Red Scare. A surprising level of subtle sexual humor for a movie of its time as well.

[Reply #58 on:]

Crying Game
Titanic
Thin Red Line all shit
Boondock Saints was underrated I enjoyed it.
Excuse my ignorance but what movie is UHF???

[Reply #59 on:]

What is UHF?

What isn't UHF!

[Reply #60 on:]

 

Originally posted by Nixorbo:
Overrated - Battlefield: Earth (It actually got a couple of good reviews, really)

And here they are!

4, actually.

[Reply #61 on:]

That movie deserves all the praise it gets. When my religion is eventually revealed to be the truth, you will understand.

[Reply #62 on:]

I do admit that I really want to watch Battlefield Earth one day, but I don't want to pay for it. 

(I did buy the Pearl Harbor DVD, that was painful enough...)

[Reply #63 on:]

 

Originally posted by FishyJoe:
What is UHF?

What isn't UHF!

I love that movie . Favorite bits:

"Who wants to drink from the firehooooose!

Also the whole "Gandhi II: This time it's personal" thing.

[Reply #64 on:]

Independence Day
was overrated patriotic dribble.

[Reply #65 on:]

LAN, do you have the DVD? The audio commentary is one of the best I've ever heard.

[Reply #66 on:]

 

Originally posted by ZombieJesus:
Independence Day
was overrated patriotic dribble.

Your are right about that one. The ending was so gay too.

Eraserhead-largely underrated
Harrison Bergeron-also largely underrated
Matrix 1,2-overrated
Home Alone 1,2,3-overrated

[Reply #67 on:]

I wouldn't consider Home Alone 3 overated. I think most people don't even know there was a home alone 3.

[Reply #68 on:]

 

Originally posted by ZombieJesus:
Independence Day
was overrated patriotic dribble.

Aren't you at least going to mention the blatant Saint Crispin's Day speech ripoff?

[Reply #69 on:]

the promotional game for AI was the most sexxy-nerdy thing ever and i think that it was underrated.

the movie wasn't overrated though, just way over hyped. ::sigh::

[Reply #70 on:]

Overrated: Moulin Rouge

[Reply #71 on:]

Has anyone seen Home Alone 4? Now that was underrated.

[Reply #72 on:]

Personally, I think they should have stopped with Home Alone 2. Home Alone 3 is more stand alone than the previous two.

[Reply #73 on:]

Home Alone 4 brought the movies full circle though. It was really an amazing piece of work.

[note: as you can probably guess, I've never seen Home Alone 4]

[Reply #74 on:]

Home Alone 4: Alone in the Hood- Alex Johnson (Rory Culkin) is tired of being treated like a kid by his parents. He gets a nerdy friend of his to send his parents a letter saying they have won a trip to Hawaii and the letter even includes two expired tickets to Honolulu. Alex figures his parents will leave him with a babysitter, go to the airport, find out the tickets are useless, and angrily return home a mere two hours later. Alex hires two bumbling gangster-wannabes (Tracy Morgan and David Alan Grier) to scare his babysitter (Betty White) and let Alex pretend to scare them off, proving to his parents once and for all that he can take care of himself. Unfortunately, due to a security mistake Alex's mom and dad's tickets are counted valid and they really leave for Hawaii. Once the gangsters show up at Alex's house he realizes that he made a mistake and cannot afford the money for them to scare off his babysitter. They scare off the babysitter and come after Alex. While this is going on a horrible storm kicks in knocking out the power and phone lines. This doesn't stop Alex from attacking them with his pet monkey (Bubbles), getting them caught in mousetraps, and filling all the canned foods in the house with roach poison. When the two can't stand it anymore they use their cellphones to contact their gangs, promising a big reward will be in store for them if they help knock off the kid (turns out Alex is a part of a very wealthy family). A gang incredibly similar to the real life Bloods shows up at Alex's house (led by Luis Guzman) and shoot up the place in search of Alex. Betty White who has been hiding under her bed contacts the police when the power finally comes back on. The 5-0 show up at Alex's house and one of the most awesome battles in the history of movies ensue. In the end Alex's monkey causes an explosion with a lighter, a can of gasoline, and a well placed garbage can. The Semi-Bloods are blown to hell and all is well. Alex's parents return home showering their son with attention (like at the end of every Home Alone) and Betty White officially quits her job as babysitter with a funny little speech about kids in the ghetto. At the very end we see Tracy and David still alive crawling away from the scene badly burned. A husky dog comes up to them, smells them, and pisses on their faces as they scream in agony. THE END.

[Reply #75 on:]

 

Originally posted by Lindsay99:
I wouldn't consider Home Alone 3 overated. I think most people don't even know there was a home alone 3.

And I'm shocked to hear that they really dared to make this one...   

[Reply #76 on:]

Best lines in movie:

Betty White: Kids in the ghetto need to learn that cappin' asses isn't as important as studying and trying to be a better person. Sure, I may be a "cracka" but I still got my health, money, and dignity... biyatch.
(Alex and the police stare at her dumbfounded)
Betty White: Shaaaaaaa...(Does a gang sign)

[Reply #77 on:]

Though I liked the Betty White character, I didn't like the rather deus ex machina ending, with her calling the police.

Still, I can forgive it because of the unique sense of character the movie had. Alex's metaphoric journey into manhood was so well done--you usually don't see that kind of work in a straight-to-TV affair.

Another common complaint is that the movie didn't show enough of the parents--they ended up looking like uncaring jerks. Well, sorry fans, but the director only had two hours to tell this story. This isn't LOTR--it has to end sometime.

Rumor has it that there are some deleted scenes that show the parents' sense of loss while in Hawaii. They sound nice, and I hope they are included in a future DVD release, but honestly I wouldn't want to see them incorporated back into the film. It would completely ruin the pacing of this fun, fast adventure, and it would take the focus away from Alex's heroic journey.

[Reply #78 on:]

Also overrated: Memento.

Backwards, man... I mean, wow...
The only reason it made a lot of money was because people had to go see it two or three times to figure out just what the hell was going on.

[Reply #79 on:]

@FishyJoe
The Special Edition DVD is coming out soon and will have many special features:
1. Deleted Scenes (and yes it'll include unseen parts from Hawaii).
2. A Commentary with the Director, Jeffrey Jones, Tracy Morgan, David Alan Grier, Luis Guzman, and Clive Anderson (who made a cameo appearence as the police chief).
3. Blooper Reel
4. Pain-o-meter that tells you the amount of pain the gangsters are feeling during a certain stunt.
5. A short cartoon that inspired the roach poison scene.
6. Behind the Scenes Documentary
7. A Segment on how the ending explosion was done and the trouble it caused with people living near the set.
8. An easter egg that shows Bubbles refusing to cooperate with his trainer which causes chaos to ensue.