5 most overrated movies ever......


Ah such fun is being had on that other thread it's now time to take the axe to movies..........

1.Gladiator-for some reason "everybody" seemed to think there was some reason to feel emotional about this poor remake of Spartacus,the drawn-out revenge storyline trying vainly to add weight to little more than a CG generated WWF extravaganza,and the acting..oh dear..failed Aussie soap star Russell Crowe even won the oscar obviously Tom Hanks didn't make a movie that year...This films biggest crime is that it has the audacity to take itself seriously......watch it again in 5 years and wonder why you thought it was any good.
2.The Usual Suspects-with 20 minutes of this movie still to go I wanted to leave the cinema,who cared who Kaiser Sauzee was?
Off the back of Resevoir Dogs-a so-called hip movie that was all style over substance-absolute tosh,how very clever to have a script where the narrator lies to you,who cares if there were clues,who cared about any of these characters?, like a super-effective laxative launched a million movies with twist endings....
3.Blue Velvet--ah David Lynch-shocked us all with the fact that small town America had a dark side,didn't he watch the news?,read the newspapers,total junk,conceptual film-making without the concept,truly lazy nonsense,no script,only considered weird by those who like Lynch were ignored at school....unbelievably followed this up with worse movies with even more obvious points to make.
3.Platoon-some how at the time this was judged to be the movie that showed America had come to terms with the Viet Nam war..eh?
Hadn't anybody seen Coming Home,The Deer Hunter,Apocalypse Now,Bat 21?
All better movies made earlier,started Oliver Stone's trend to take serious subjects and condense them into nothing much to popular and critical acclaim.
Don't even start me on JFK.
Weren't the 80's crap.....
I don't care if he was in Viet Nam ,this movie is rubbish....
4.Braveheart-made me ashamed to be Scottish,historically inaccurate beyond belief,with an Australian playing a Scot,no doubt made ex-pats teary eyed the world over,made me cry with laughter
5.Anything with Tom Hanks-the modern day American everyman turns up everywhere,doomed space rockets,football pitches,WW2,you always know when he's in a movie that it will be sentimental populist tosh-Saving Private Ryan was great till he turned up signalling the end of any realism...oh and those Oscar speeches.............

Fire away fellow Audiogon Movie fans.........
ben_campbell

Showing 4 responses by gunbei

Killerpiglet - I thought Alien was great too. The movies you've mentioned all create an intense mood not through action, but through good filmmaking and great photography. I'd like to add the first Halloween movie to that list as well.
Gladiator - I thought the character development was weak and the story marginal, but the awesome fight sequences [with exception of the last one] made me want to go out and STAB! And, I love playing the Battle of Carthage scene when my downstairs neighblors get carried away with their rap music thumping away. Nothing a few crashing LFE chariots can't remedy.

The Usual Suspects - I saw this movie and can't remember a thing about it. Same with Resevoir Dogs.

Blue Velvet - Quirky, odd, and really looney. I love this movie!!! Especially the classic line, "Heinken?!! F••• that s•••!! Papst Blue Ribbon!!" I just laughed my ass off at the complete and utter absurdity.

Platoon - When I first saw this movie I thought it was great, but 10- 15 years later it doesn't have the same appeal. The Apocalypse Now Redux on the otherhand just amazes me.

Braveheart - I loved this movie. Very well made. Yes, it has lot's of inaccuracies. But so little of William Wallace is known that when Randall Wallace wrote it he used artistic license for film's sake. One thing disappointing I agree is that the Battle of Stirling Bridge had no...er well...bridge. At least the movie did help bring the plight of Scottish independence and pride to the attention of the world, and especially Britain.

Tom Hanks - I gotta disagree here. I think the scene from Castaway of him yelling and pining away for a blood-stained soccerball is classic.
Pawil, Apocalyspe Now Redux takes the original and expands on it. The boat ride up the river becomes a long and trying journey which heightens the final landing at Kurtz's compound.

Pulp Fiction is one of my all-time faves, and I like Jackie Brown as well. A bit of trivia for you. Remember Bonnie from Pulp Fiction, Tarantino's wife in the film that everyone was so afraid of? She is a temp at Sony Pictures where I do a lot of work, and she has a beautiful face to go along with the nice rear view we get in the movie. She's also one of the witnesses staring at Bruce Willis after he crashes his car in another part of the film. She also makes a speaking appearance as the flight announcer in Jackie Brown at the end of the long single take of Pam Grier walking through LAX which starts the movie.

A Clockwork Orange is a favorite of mine too. Nothing funnier than Malcolm Mcdowell kicking the crap out of that old geezer while singing and stomping in tune to "Singing in the Rain". And while we're on Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove is fantastic as well.

I'm sure I'll raise the ire of a few sci-fi people here, but I don't understand why everyone holds The Matrix in such high esteem. Great mood, visual effects and production design, but a plain goofy story with the worn-out "chosen one" theme and "love conquers all" ending that makes me cringe with embarrasment. Plus, how can anyone take Keanu Reeves seriously? This guy has the acting talent of a Bose stereo. I loved Bill and Ted's Excellent movies, but Bill and Ted on a runaway bus? Bill and Ted with a leather overcoat and guns doing Kung Fu? come on! Now BladeRunner, that's a sci-fi movie!

Oh, and I don't get why Citizen Kane is the greatest movie of all-time. Great photography, but beyond that it didn't grab me.
Ahh, Manhunter, now that was a cool movie. In many ways that Hannibal Lecter was creepier than the one most people are familiar with. I'll be very happy when Red Dragon is made.