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Top 10 Overrated Movies
By Josh Board | Posted September 2, 2008, 10:41 p.m.
The other day on KGBs morning show, they did a list of the Top 10 most overrated movies of all-time. They got it from something called The List Universe. I searched it out and found their choices. I'll put them here. My comments will follow.
Training Day, with Denzel Washington. I never saw this film, but I couldn't believe it got such great reviews. I have no doubt Washington was great in it (Hell, he won the Oscar for it). But something seemed so over-the-top with his portraying a bad cop. I just didn't see a character doing these things, and not being caught sooner. The film looked ridiculous.
Reservoir Dogs. I agree with this pick, and also their comments. They say it's good, but the hype isn't warranted. I think Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction are both so much better. But for some reason, this movie has a huge cult following. I was at a party once in Vista and this guy had a collection of Reservoir Dog dolls (they were mostly bloody, of course), and a huge poster, all in his kitchen. Maybe because it was the first time we got to experience the genius of Tarrantino (although, he himself, is going to have to go on an overrated list soon...he's done a number of turkeys).
Star Trek IV: Voyage Home. I can't comment on this. I've only seen a few Trek films, and this wasn't one of them. I remember the commercials looked good, although I was a teenager.
The Others. I never saw this, but when someone was explaining it to me, I guessed the ending. Something about movies with all these twist endings. Enough already. And...Nicole Kidman playing a ghost. Did they cast her because it would be easy enough not to use makeup?
Scarface. On KGB, Dave was saying that all the rappers love this movie. And yeah, if you've ever seen Cribs on MTV, a lot of rappers do have posters of it in their home movie theatres. But, this movie is actually loved by many. I often ask people what their favorite movie is. A guy I just met at the racquetball courts had some great choices, from 70s films all the way back to the 30s. But this movie is by far, the film most people tell me is their favorite. And, I can't figure it out. I saw it when I was 15, on HBO. At that age, I loved it. But, that's the age I liked Chuck Norris movies, too. You watch it now, and see Pacino overacting. The movie is way over the top. Not a great film at all.
Chicago. Well, I think the list had this on it, because they were mad it won an Oscar for Best Picture and it was a musical. I can understand that. But...I don't even like musicals much, and I loved this film. So, I'd have a hard time putting it on the list. I might put West Side Story, as an overrated musical. I would put Rent on the list. And Hairspray. But not Chicago.
Shakespeare in Love. No way. This movie was great. And, it's hard to call a movie overrated that doesn't get overly hyped. People often claimed The English Patient was overrated, too. And that was also a great film. The premise for Shakespeare was wonderful. And, well acted.
Titanic. Well, I can't argue this. An average movie, with great special effects. But, not sure if this movie deserves to be on the list, since it got mixed reviews. Although it did win, what, 12 Oscars? So, okay, maybe it does deserve to be on the list. I remember a friend telling me she hated it. I joked, "I thought all women loved this movie." She said, "I just couldn't get over the fact that Leonardo was this loser, ran around playing poker and living on the streets...yet, he had perfect teeth. In the early 1900s. Yeah, right." I said, "Well, if that's your reason for hating it...mine will be, the fact that she threw a huge diamond into the ocean. Simply because the guy that gave it to her was a heel. I mean, come on! Sell it, pay for your grandkids college..."
Clerks. This movie has no business being on the list. It was amazing. Sure, Kevin Smith has shown us he's real hit and miss. I think the dude is probably the laziest filmmaker in the history of cinema. But when he writes a sharp screenplay like this, look out. I never laughed so hard in a movie.
Apocalypse Now. Again, I strongly disagree. AFI has this in their top 20, I believe. And rightly so. One of the first Vietnam movies. It starts with The Doors playing The End, which is perfect. You don't get a better cast in a film: Laurence Fishburne at age 16, Robert Duvall, lovin' the smell of napalm in the morning. Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, who shaved his head because he got into a fight with the director; looking evil and perfect for the part. Maybe the film didn't age as well as some of Coppola's wines...but it's great. And come on, that Wagner playing when the helicopters attacked. It's classic.
I would take Apocalypse off the list, and put Platoon on it. I believe it won an Oscar, and it ripped off so much from Apocalypse Now. The narration by Charlie Sheen, instead of his dad Martin. And, at many points, I was bored watching it.
For overrated movies, I might also add: Friday, with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. So many people had told me to see this. It was awful.
Another stoner flick: Dazed and Confused. All the critics loved this. It sucked. There were two funny scenes. A great soundtrack, cute girls, but a horrible film.
Crash. This movie entertained me. I enjoyed watching it. Great cast. But, so much of it was frustrating . Simply because it was so unrealistic. And, for a movie being this preachy about racism, to totally get things wrong. I once argued with Roger Ebert about this for 20 minutes. It was his favorite movie of the year (but then...he liked Congo and Anaconda, two horrible films; and he didn't like A Clockwork Orange).
I'd put Roman Polanski's Frantic on the list. Harrison Ford usually looks bored in his movies. Well, in this one, he sure bored the hell out of me.
The latest Woody Allen movie. A few fine moments, in a crappy film.
Anchorman, which is a comedy all my friends love. It had 6 funny scenes. How can you not laugh when the newscasters are in a room singing Afternoon Delight, with one doing the slide guitar sound with his mouth. But, six funny scenes in a two hour movie?? Not a good enough ratio for me. So many comedies are better.
And last on my list of overrated films...Brokeback Mountain. The cinematography was great. Everything else sucked (no pun intended). Oh, the acting was good. But, they did so much wrong with this movie. They made it hard to be sympathetic to the main characters. The music was awful. And, the story really could've been fleshed out better. Although, it got nominated for a bunch of Oscars, so....
You are very remarkably wrong about Friday. But you are very very right about Crash. So ham-fisted and so tone-deaf about how race functions in America (and how human beings function in general).
By jsmooth995 1:22 a.m., Sep 3, 2008 > Report it
I don't remember "Friday" receiving all that much publicity to be overrated? Maybe it's just me. I thought it had more of a cult following like "Clerks". But the second "Friday" Movie stunk....and don't forget the more recent overrated movies that received a ton of pub, but the movies themselves stunk - "Jumper", "I am Legend" and "Lions for Lambs"....just to name a few...
By redsoxfan 8:39 a.m., Sep 3, 2008 > Report it
Well, those last three movies you mentioned, got horrible reviews.
But...seriously, watch Friday again. It really isn't funny. I dunno...maybe you need to be stoned when you watch it. But, something about two guys sitting on a porch, hiding their jewelry before one guy rolls up on his bike, because he'll beat them up and steal it, just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
I'm all for silly comedies. If they are done well. I liked 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and things like that. If they are well written.
I liked the parody film: Don't be a Menace to Society While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.
By JoshBoard 10:30 a.m., Sep 3, 2008 > Report it
Well, I actually 'have' seen every movie on that list, and liked them all (although it's been so long ago on most of them that I don't remember them very well).
The Star Trek movie I recall as really enjoyable, with an ecological theme concerning humpback whales. Bit of a message there, which was probably a large part of the reason for its praise.
Been a while since Reservoir Dogs -- I especially don't remember much about that one, but I've never seen a Tarantino film I didn't like.
Both Training Day and The Others received the bulk of their praise for the lead actors, who were both brilliant. Ya gotta see Training Day, for crying out loud. Ethan Hawke was just about as good as Denzel in it. And in addition to being a great film, it's a guy film.
Speaking of which, I'm willing to bet that most of the "people" that say Scarface is their favorite film are, well, let's see....MALE people, by any chance? Thought so. If it's not that, it's usually Goodfellas. Anything incredibly violent is usually right up there.
Badda bing. (insert multiple stab wounds here)
By antigeekess 6:41 p.m., Sep 3, 2008 > Report it
Funny post. But, Goodfellas is actually an amazing film. Violent, yes. But great.
You haven't seen a Tarantino film you didn't like? Uh...there's some vampire/biker gang movie. Cheech Marin has the only funny scene in it. I like Clooney is in it.
I saw the second Kill Bill, didn't care for that.
Grindhouse/Death Proof was average, at best. Certainly not worthy of the 3 hours plus we had to sit thru it.
By JoshBoard 11:16 p.m., Sep 3, 2008 > Report it
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116367/
Rodriguez directed it. So ya can't blame Tarantino for that (but he did write the screenplay). I liked it anyway. Not brilliant, but perfectly entertaining campy, tongue-in-cheek bulls***.
Funny? Whaddya mean by funny? What am I, a clown to you?
By antigeekess 12:13 a.m., Sep 4, 2008 > Report it
I blame Tarantino for anything he has his hands in. I mean...he was paid $250,000 to write a few scenes for Crimson Tide, which Denzel and Gene Hackman were great in. He added two scenes. Both of them horrible. One had two sailors fighting over which was a better 60s comic, Silver Surfer or...well, can't remember the other. It was so ridiculous. If you were in the military, and ran across another guy that collected comic books, you'd probably have this big bond with them. Not want to start a fight while in line for grub.
He also had his name on Hostil, which was one of the worst horror movies I've ever seen.
Also, regarding overrated movies...I don't want to just stick to Tarantino. For as great as Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction are, I don't mind him getting the attention he deserves.
I'd rather attack people like Roman Polanski, who has been overrated since 1975.
Or, Jim Jarmusch, who gets critically praised, but his films are usually very boring.
Lost in Translation, by the way, I liked. But, didn't love. And it was very highly overrated.
By JoshBoard 11:21 a.m., Sep 4, 2008 > Report it
The vampire movie by Tarantino was "Dusk to Dawn" which is the name of the bar where the movie is set. While not a great movie, it did have Salma Hayek as the queen vampire doing a smoking hot dance. Worth watching for that alone.
My pick for most overrated is "Chariot of Fire" 1981...7 Academy Award nominations, winning 4 including Best Picture. What a piece of crap, boring 3 hour long movie that was!! I was a teenager, on a date, on a Friday night with nothing else to do when it came out. My date and I walked out after a miserable 2 hours. I still remember that one. The critics and award shows all praised it. That was the day I started ignoring critics.
By cardig 1:34 p.m., Sep 6, 2008 > Report it
Yeah, From Dusk to Dawn. That was it! I do remember her doing that dance. Didn't she have a snake, too? Salma Hayek is like Penelop Cruz. I initially thought they were hot, and liked their accents, too. But, after seeing them in interviews, with nothing interesting/funny to say, I was so over them.
I saw Chariots of Fire when I was a kid, and it was on HBO. All I remember was the cheesy slow motion, and them running on the beach. With that music, which I'm pretty sure, one an Oscar as well.
But, if it's boring on a date, aren't you supposed to be happy about that? Because, that means, you have a green light on making-out.
By JoshBoard 9:55 a.m., Sep 8, 2008 > Report it
1. Watch Training Day.
2. You are so right about Scarface. A weak movie about a dude that cannot find enough dope to stop lusting after his own sister. Of course, people want to emulate him. (There's a great t shirt of Homer Simpson eating a donut, parodying the movie poster, called "Crumbface.") I finally got around to watching it as an adult. When it was over, I was left wondering what everybody was talking about. My reaction was, "And..."?
3. Loved Dusk Til Dawn. Poke at it, if you will, but I love the idea of those two plots converging.
4. Apocalypse Now: I agree the original was overhyped, but the complete version made it a great movie.
5. To me, Crash earned a variety of ratings throughout the movie. It would vacillate from great to bad, and points in between.
6. It's too bad that you did not get to experience The Others by watching it, and let it naturally unfold. Even if you did guess the ending, it was very well done.
7.
By NachoDaddy 9:37 p.m., Sep 12, 2008 > Report it
I saw about 35 minutes of Training Day on cable the other day. Just awful, awful crap.
Denzel stopping a car, in traffic, to make his partner smoke a crack pipe. When another driver honks, he sticks his gun out the window at him.
Oh yeah. That's realistic.
Ridiculous.
By JoshBoard 1:37 a.m., Sep 20, 2008 > Report it