Here's something you might be interested in.
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....
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....