most disappointing film

[minlokwat]

What movie left you with the most disappointed viewing experience?

Now, I'm not talking about a movie that you didn't enjoy because you thought it was going to be good and it wasn't. Nor are we talking about movies that were "built up" too much in the sense that you heard from everyone that the film was great and then you saw it and hated it.

I'm talking about movies that you really wanted to see but which turned out to be total disappointments. Here are two that come to mind for me.

A Fish Called Wanda has always been one of my all-time favorite comedies. When I heard that the entire cast was going to do another movie together -but one that was completely different from the first, I thought for sure it would be great. Fierce Creatures in addition to not having one funny scenei in it was just a down right stinker. Just about everyone I had talked to agreed.

The other film that comes to mind is Man on the Moon. I really like Jim Carrey and I have always been an Andy Kaufman fan. I thought that this movie would be a great tribute to Kaufman and that with Carrey, this one couldn't miss. How wrong I was. The whole film was just flat and I don't care what anyone says, Carrey did NOT look very much like Kaufman and that proved to be a constant visual distraction.

So, who else out there has been let down by a movie that you really wanted to see but which

[CalMeacham]

Lord of the Rings -- the 1978 Ralph Bakshi version. I was ambivalent about Bakshi's "Wizards", which seemed to be a warm-up for LOTR, but I liked his style and thought he could pull it off. Bakshi had already made "Fritz the Cat", so you knew that his version of LOTR had a chance of being faithful, and not a Disneyfied kids' movie. I especially wanted to see how he handled the fight between Gandalf and the Balrog. Preview pictures printed in "Fantastic Films" looked impressive.


Welll.....


He ROTOSCOPED most of it! (Rotoscoping is a process in which you sort of "trace over" film shot of real people doing the things you want your animated characters to do. One of the dirty secrets of animation is that a lot of stuff is rotoscoped, although animators like Preston Blair took pride in avoiding rotoscopes.) It's possible to do inoffensive rotoscoping, where you can't tell that the scene was shot that way, but LOTR looked as if they shot black and white film and simply colorized it. There WERE some scenes that weren't rotoscoped, but were drawn from scratch -- like the flying Nazgul -- and those were beautifully animated. But they were few and far between.

The worst scene was the battle between Gandalf and the Balrog. They simply put a guy in a Balrog suit and slavishly rotoscoped the whole thing! It looked like a bad children's TV show. If that's all you're going to do, why bother animating at all? (And a note: BALROGS DON'T HAVE WINGS! Read the book carefully!)

It was the worst disappointment in a film I've ever seen. I hope the new film of LOTR will be better.

[seriousart]

No contest, The Phantom Menace. 17 years in the making and we get... Jar Jar?!

Other semi-recent/recent let downs include Mystery Men and Shadow Of the Vampire.

Damned shame, all round.

[Sealemon88]

Godzilla. Hollywood managed to screw up a rubber suit movie.

The Thin Red Line. One of the few movies I actually walked out of. "Whatis war?" Staying in my seat throughout this overrated movie!

Natural Born Killers. A Movie I SHOULD have walked out of.

Phantom Menance. Or, what happens when you try to fix a classic that wasn't broken to begin with.

Shadow Of The Vampire. Yeah, I got it. I just didn't find it funny or humorous.

Blair Witch Project. I was really hyped about this dissapouintment. Despite the last twenty minutes, and the respect I have for the actors improvisations, this movie was dull.

Eyes Wide Shut. Did Kubrick get a little full of himself in his later years? You make the call!

The Ninth Gate. Oooo. It's a library! Scary!

[beckwall]

"Gone in Sixty Seconds" - what car chases?
"Eyes Wide Shut" - that single clanging piano note
"Titanic" - oh wait, that was the porn version

[IceQueen]

Man on the Moon
The Haunting
The Mouse Hunt

[Grok]

Another vote for "Eyes Wide Shut".

I'm a pretty big Stanley Kubrick fan, and I've always enjoyed that his films are all pretty different. I was really looking forward to this one, especially since he died before it's release and we knew it was his last.

But what did we get?

An old man's dirty fantasies.

Damn shame.

[minlokwat]

Originally posted by minlokwat

So, who else out there has been let down by a movie that you really wanted to see but which


ahem... uhh..."really stunk" I guess is the rest of that sentence. Ah well, you got the main idea anyway.

One more movie that comes to mind as a major disappointment is The Godfather Part III. I consider myself -as do most males- an expert on the Godfather theme. Nonetheless, I barely acknowledge that the third one even exists. Talk about your letdowns.
The Don now somehow suffers from..... diabetes???!!! Where did THAT come from?

[Lizard]

Another vote for "The Phantom Menace." It was good, but not that good. Let's face it, the original Star Wars pictures have been eclipsed by some of the SF that came afterwards. Great special effects are everywhere now. TPM needed a strong plot and characters to compete as art. It didn't have the former; the movie ended the exact same way as "A New Hope" and "Return of the Jedi." As for characters, Darth Maul was the only really interesting one, and he was killed off.

"High Fidelity" was personally disappointing for me. After reading some reviews, I went in expecting something profound. Instead I got....some 30-something jack-off's insecurity and problems with his girlfriend?! Gee, THAT'S something I need to watch a movie to gain some insight into!

[Johanna]

Just today I was remembering a movie disappointment. The only reason I went to see Another Stakeout was because it had Madeleine Stowe in it, and I love Madeleine Stowe. Went to all her flicks. But she was onscreen for only a couple minutes! The rest of it was bo-o-o-r-r-ring. Rosie O'Donnell was unable to act in this one and it was so dull I was fearful of it causing brain death in me.

Mon Oncle d'Amerique sucked the worst of any flick I've ever seen and I condemn it to the lowest circle of Cinema Hell. I would have expected French flicks to be better than that. It totally bit my wazoo.

I liked Eyes Wide Shut and The Ninth Gate. The other turkeys mentioned here--I'm glad I missed them!

[OneDollarWilliam]

<Sigh> Phantom Menace I mean "Mr. Qui-Gon Sir...What are midichlorians?" <Cries in pain> OH WHY GOD WHY?!?! I could hear the happy like Mr. Wizard music stat to play. <Qui-Gon pulls out a chalk board> "Well, Anikin midichlorians are a Plot Device created by a deseased mind to explain something that didn't really need explaining."

[JimOfAllTrades]

LOTR hijack

And a note: BALROGS DON'T HAVE WINGS! Read the book carefully

Hmmm….

In the “The Ring Goes South” (second half of “The Fellowship of the Ring” in many editions) in the chapter “The Bridge of Khazad-Dum” we find the description of the Balrog, including this passage:

(Gandalf’s) enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings.

This does make it sound like the wings aren’t real, but rather just a way of describing the shadow of evil that surrounded the creature. But a few lines down on the same page, we read:

(The Balrog) stepped forward slowly on to the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall;

These wings sound more real, but I guess still could be just a metaphor for the darkness. My copy of the Silmrillion is packed up somewhere. Is there any more description of the Balrog there? I don’t remember any, but I certainly could be wrong.

The Encyclopedia of Arda ( http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.htm ), a great site for all kinds of Tolkien information, BTW, has quite a bit on the question of Balrogs and their wings, or lack thereof. (On the main page, scroll the left hand frame down a bit to get to the alphabetical index, then select the Bs, then select the entry for Balrog on the right hand side.)

And while their conclusion is that the evidence seems to point to no wings, they conclude by saying:

Wherever the evidence lies, its a fact that nobody knows for sure what the answer is. Only Tolkien himself could have told us, and he never made a definite statement on the topic.

Anyway, my mental picture of the Balrog always has wings.

Ugly

[rjung]

I bet I'm the only person in this thread to vote for The Adventures of Rockey and Bullwinkle. It could'a been the start of a new era of Jay Ward deliciousness, but ... no.

The truly disappointing thing is that the movie could've (IMO) been a major success if the producers had taken the Zucker/Abrams/Zucker "six million gags a second" approach to it. TAoRaB had laughs, but the pacing didn't work for live action.

[Gozu Tashoya]

No, rjung, I hate to say it, but I think you're the only person in this thread that saw TAoRAB.

Another vote for The Blair Witch Project (aka Three Morons Lost in the Woods) here.

[Cyn]

Quest For Fire. My friend Joe raved about it for days, Rae Dawn Chong, on and on. It was showing on dollar movie night. Four of us went. We were robbed. Four dollars wasted out of the circulating economy. I refused to speak to him for days, on amd on. Happened upon the book years later in a doctors waiting room. It was so good I stole it. The movie's memory was doubly, triply horrid after that wonderful book. I hope those screenwriters are judged harshly by Satan when they enter hell, because no way are they going to heaven when they die.

[pepperlandgirl]

I was really disappointed in Shadow of the Vampire. I was REALLY looking forward to that movie and I got, what 80 mins ?, of crap. *sigh*

[Sealemon88]

I try not to do this anymore, but what OneDollarWilliam said. The who mitacondrian/microcosm/microsoftian/whatevers was one of the main problems I had with the PM. The other main scene I would have cut entirely if given the chance would have been the twenty minute diologue before the pod race scene.

My version would have been more like:

Qui-Gon: I'm sorry, Anakin, but letting you race would be too risky.

Anakin: Oh. (Wonders off to play with a nearby robot. Sems dejected)

Anakin's Mom: Before you leave, would you like some Beralian tea or---where's Anakin?

Qui-gon: D'oh!

The would then rush to the race track to find that the race had already started. Yeah, it is a cliche, but at least it moves FAST, would have saved a good twenty minutes of dialogue, and would have removed a particularly slow part of the movie.

Besides, the Star Wars series really is one long cliche, just done very well. There was absolutily no reason whatsoever to try and make the series more realistic. This isn't hard sci-fi, Lucas!

[MrVisible]

Well, yeah, Star Wars: The Phenomenal Marketing was number one.

But I have to admit, I was looking forward to Lost in Space. Being a Robinson, and all. I went to it, and hoped for a less-than-painful experience.

Afeter an hour and a half of cliche-ridden dialog consisting of one-liners strung together by nonentity characters in a science fiction movie with no regard whatsoever for a single principle of science, I was painfully disappointed. As in, real, physical pain.

And don't even get me started about the Dungeons and Dragons movie. I could rant about that one for hours.

[quasar]

Brazil: ZZZZZZ! Whoever compared it to The Matrix should have his head examined.

2001: intriguing, relevant argument turned into interplanetary ballet of boredom.

[Sylkyn]

My sister kept after me for months to see "Bicentennial Man". I normally love Robin Williams in anything...simply because I just like HIM, but that movie was a cure for insomnia. I think mainly because it's just too damn long, and I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to end. It just kept on and on and on...like it was trying to impress upon us just how dull immortality really could be. It worked, in that case.

I hated "The Matrix". The only movie in which I have ever fallen asleep (at a threatre). I stated on another thread, (but I believe it was at snopes), that I simply couldn't get interested in it. Special effects notwithstanding. I do think I ought to try to watch it again, just to give it a fair chance.

I happened to like "Man on the Moon" but I agree that Jim Carrey didn't look like Andy Kaufman, which was a pain, but his actions and mannerisms were so identical I was floored. I thought he did a great job, considering how difficult it had to have been to play someone like Kaufman.

I also am one of probably 5 people on earth who didn't like "Scent of a Woman". I am a huge Pacino fan, but that movie just out and out sucked, IMO. My husband loved it, however, and for months after we saw it, insisting on bellowing, "HOOOOOOO HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" every chance he got...mainly to gripe my ass. Worked every time, I might add.

[rjung]

Originally posted by KKBattousai
No, rjung, I hate to say it, but I think you're the only person in this thread that saw TAoRAB.
Oh, sure, just rub some salt in the ol' wound... :)

[Nefarious Chipmunk]

Okay, let's see, I have to put in another Vote for the Phantom menace. I was waiting forever for his to come out and as I left the theater te only thing I could think was "How dare they put the Star Wars name on that?"

I was also sorely disappointed by Blair Witch. Ick. Tat was sssooo boring.

I also was disappointed by Shakespear in Love. It was okay, but I don't think that it reall deserved all those Oscars.

[pepperlandgirl]

heraldgwena that's the coolest sig ever. :)

[Nefarious Chipmunk]

Thanks :-)

It is actually something that my math teacher used to say.

[Jeannie]

Originally posted by KKBattousai
No, rjung, I hate to say it, but I think you're the only person in this thread that saw TAoRAB.



Actually, Mr. Jeannie and I saw that one. And we loved it!

Another vote for Blair Witch, 2001, and High Fidelity

Out of the other films listed here that I've seen, I liked most of them. I loved Shadow of the Vampire! I thought it was hysterical! I also liked Eyes Wide Shut, although I know it's widely despised.

I would have been disappointed in Bicentennial Man if I had expected it to be good. It sucked even worse than I thought it would.

I was disappointed in L.A. Confidential. I know, most people loved it. I think Mr. Jeannie and I are the only two people on the planet who didn't like it. I was also really disappointed in Meet Joe Black. I will never get back those hours of my life. And I hated Grosse Point Blank. Again, I realize I'm in the minority, but I can't help it. I was bored silly.

[Eutychus]

Cecil B. Demented

I've always been a fan of John Waters from "Hairspray" through "Cry-Baby" and "Serial Mom", but he seems to have lost his way in this one. His forte seems to be parody rather than satire, but the point here gets confused. His idea here (on first thought, at least) seems to be that all the Hollywood studio system is capable of putting out is slick dreck. On second thinking about it, it seems to be more that not only does Hollywood out out slick dreck, but the auteurs that try to put out "revolutionary" cinema probably take it much too seriously as well. But the point still gets lost in all the forced bizarreness and sillyness.

[Cardinal]

How about "The Game"? All that buildup, and then it just turns out to be an elaborate setup. I guess they thought audiences these days wouldn't stand for something meatier. Hitchcock would *never* wimped out for such a weak ending. Look at Vertigo for how he was willing to leave things if it needed it to cap off the gravity of the previous 1.5+ hours.

I was almost never so disappointed in the wussy ending as that. It had such potential - just sitting here, off the top of my head, I can do better: Sean Penn did buy the game for Douglas, but it was infiltrated by secret agents for whatever, and Douglas' life has really been in danger this whole time, even though Penn doesn't realize that he's been playing along with people out to screw with his brother in order to get the whatever that he doesn't even know he has. Geez! I swear, almost anything's better than telling me that he had no real reason to be concerned, and that it didn't matter what he did.

And Conspiracy Theory. It needed something like Mel Gibson dying in the end to make it more than a largely forgettable Hollywood movie with big stars.

And The Talented Mr. Ripley. It did not communicate its suspense well at all. I sat there waiting for the part where it was revealed that everything in the previous immense stretch of time was important in a way that you never imagined, but it never came. Man, that movie went on and on.

And Eyes Wide Shut. I never really felt as though Cruise was in danger. And doesn't it all just work out in the end? They try to give it this suspense with a big speech from his super-rich friend, but it got so boring I eventually started fast-forwarding.

[drewbert]

Mars Attacks!. Months before it opened, somebody at work brought in a sketchbook showing some of the concept drawings for the movie, and some of the gags, and I really thought it was going to be one of the funniest sci-fi spoofs in a long time.

No, it was just dumb, boring, kinda gross, and rarely funny.

Then again, I *loved* High Fidelity...

[TV time]

Probably long before anyone here's time, from the movies you've posted. "Ishtar"

Neither Beatty nor Hoffman had had a losser film leading up to it. Concept was great, buddy pic meets spy thriller. Sounded like a fun flick.

Truly painful viewing experience.

[Albert Rose]

I also was disappointed in "The Blair Witch Project." I was so down on the movie that I gave away its ending in the SPOILERS thread.

This may not count, since I only saw the home video version. "From Here to Eternity" was nowhere near as good as the book. That seems to happen often -- maybe because books can venture inside the minds of its characters, while movies can't.

But I HAVE seen good film/TV versions of other books -- like "Turn of the Screw" and "The Age of Innocence" and "A Room With a View." Hmmm. Time to start another thread...

[King Rat]

I'm not saying that the following movies suck, just that they were disappointments as they did not live up to expectations:

The Color Purple
The Crying Game
E.T.
The Usual Suspects

[Johanna]

I liked Quest for Fire, 2001, Shakespeare in Love, Conspiracy Theory, and Scent of a Woman. Why such a bitter condemnation of Quest for Fire? What's not to like? I was initially drawn to it by an article in the New York Times Magazine by the great Anthony Burgess explaining how he invented a language for the cavemen. It was based on sound linguistic science. But once I saw it, I was quite taken with Rae Dawn nude!

Here's another unpleasant disappointment I had once: The Vanishing, with Kiefer Sutherland (and Nancy Travis, who can't act). Dull, pointless, poorly directed, miserable, and a big waste of time & money and insulting to the audience. Jeff Bridges was the worst thing about it with his fake Dutch accent. Yekhkh.

I saw Malèna today, and while it didn't rock my world as I had hoped, it wasn't bad. I guess I felt a little let down, but on the whole it was fairly good.

I was not disappointed with Kull the Conqueror only because I knew it would be piss-awful cheeze even before I rented the video. I was not disappointed! I was slumming that day.

The Ralph Bakshi "Bored" of the Rings could not have been other than disappointing. They never should have let him get within a million miles of that story. And he quit halfway through! Shmendrick.

[cerebrum]

Kingrat: You thought The Usual Suspects was disappointing?
Did u even SEE the ending? IMHO It was phenomenal. One of those movies that left me with a feeling of being kicked in the nuts..not knowing what just happened to me.

[handandahalf]

The two that tie are:

Mission to Mars and

Battlefield Earth (yes, I'm a scifi junkie)

I hated MtM because it was billed for weeks as a hard science fiction movie (finally) instead of an action flick with neato special effects. Instead it was wretchedly unwatchable, the "science" presented was pure junk, and the "NASA-consulted" special effects were awful! Who'd they consult with at NASA, Lyle the urinal scrubber?

For being so devoted to the works of L.Ron Hubbard, John Travolta seems never to have read Battlefield Earth. I mean, come on, the humans went from going "oo-oo" at each other to piloting jump-jets in a couple of days. Yes, I know they showed a session with the machine forcing knowledge into Johnny Goodboy's brain, but that does not a pilot make. Besides, how did the jets and munitions survive the 5000 years without maintenance? The worst part is that they'll be making a second one-- it's in the contract!

[VarlosZ]

I've got to cast my votes for The Thin Red Line and Eyes Wide Shut.

Eyes had enough to redeem it to save it form being out and out bad . . . but it was still awfully disappointing. The worst part is that it was all Kubrick's fault. The script and the acting were fine but, my god, why does he have the actors . . . pause . . . between . . . every . . . other . . . word. The movie could've (and should've) been about 45 minutes shorter.

The Thin Red Line, on the other hand. . .

They have not yet created strong enough expletives. I wrote deeper philosophy when I was in the 7th grade. Literally. I also wrote and directed a more entertaining screenplay. My friends and I turned down Letterman tickets that day because we had already bought our tickets for a 3 hour long soar ass. The horror. . .

[Agrippina]

Last New Years Eve I went to a friends' house for a sort of "reunion" because the party was put together by the Seniors of last year but are now in college. Well, we all had some movies, but everybody was drooling over the 80's movie, Willow. I mentioned that I hadn't seen it and everyone was like, "Well, you MUST see it!" "It's sooo cool!" and "I LOVE Willow!" I watched it and I didn't think it was something to have a heart attack over. It was a nice little movie, but nothing more for me.

The other one is Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me. I was geared up and ready to go to see that movie, waiting for the biting satire that had pleased me in the first movie. What I got was the satire from the first one, used over so many times it wasn't funny anymore. Of course everyone I know loves that movie and had to torture me by repeating lines like my all-time favorite, "Get-in-my-BELLY!" or the classic Chili's Baby-Back Ribs song.

[Hodge]

The Phantom Menace has been mentioned several times, but I have to say that I wasn't disappointed. Having seen the abomination of Episode IV: Star Wars: A New Hope: The Version That Should Never Have Been: So-Called Special Edition I knew TPM was going to suck monkey butt. That Lucas was willing to defile his own classic with a box of digital crayons indicated to me that whatever semblance of artistic integrity he may have had somewhere down the road had long ago been abandoned in favour of shameless, pandering.

Also, Mallrats. I really enjoyed Clerks and looked forward to Mallrats but was sorely disappointed. I easily forgave the weaknesses I saw in Clerks as symptoms of its ultra-low budget but Mallrats proved that Clerks' flaws are actually Kevin Smith's. The man can't frame a shot to save his life and his hyper-articulate characters talk (or shout) at each other instead of to each other. It's sad that, although I still love it, Clerks is about the best Smith can do.

Cheers,
Hodge

[even sven]

I'll second Hodge about any post-clerks Kevin Smith. When I first saw Clerks, it was funny and origional and really impressed me. Sadly, his later films never reach that level again. They are all rehashes of the same old jokes. Come on, do we have to see Jay and Silent Bob again? Can't you think up something else that is funny?

It's unfortunate that such a promising filmaker couldn't use his newfound respect (and budget) to grow as an artist. Smith was a one hit wonder and apparently has nothing more to say.

[slortar]

Dogma. It could have been so much more.

The Matrix. From all the hype and people bleeding over it I was expecting something just this side of being divinely inspired and what do I get? Decent special effects that will look tired and dated in 3 or 4 years masking insipid acting, worse writing and a tired, predictable plot. Yay.

Incidentally:

From what I remember of the Silmarillion, the "supernatural" beings in the Lord of the Rings universe can look however they want. Gandalf (as Olorin) can cast off his mortal form and walk on the wind, invisible to man. Therefore, a Balrog will look however Morgoth wants it to look. If a Balrog really wants wings for whatever reason, then that's what it gets.

[Hodge]

Originally posted by even sven

It's unfortunate that such a promising filmaker couldn't use his newfound respect (and budget) to grow as an artist. Smith was a one hit wonder and apparently has nothing more to say.
Originally posted by slortar
Dogma. It could have been so much more.


Ahhh, validation! I often get incredulous looks when I voice my opinion on Kevin Smith. I rate Dogma as an interesting failure. Instead of characters shouting obscene jokes at each other, they shout Catholic theology at each other. Definitely a case of Smith's reach exceeding his grasp.

Cheers,
Hodge

[Ross]

I always thought there was only one possible answer to this question: HIGHLANDER 2. Maybe the first film didn't have the same impact outside Scotland, but it made being Scottish seem eternal and groovy at a time when we were really just getting the life kicked out of us and proving ourselves no better at defending our oil than we'd been at keeping our land. Suddenly it all vanished and we were immortals, with none of the darkness and perversity of the vampire: this was no curse, it was a fresh, bright morning of a movie. It was really quite lovely. Then along came the sequel... I mean, what? WHAT? They're from SPACE? Since when were aliens called MacLeod? After fifty years of sci-fi we're still starting planet names with the letter 'Z'? And then getting SEAN CONNERY of all people to try and say them?!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH.

I'm sorry about that. Maybe it's a Scottish thing.
I suppose what happens is we all write our own fan-fiction between the gaps in the movies we see. Our imaginations grab films and conjure sequels and worlds far more astonishing than anything a screenwriter will be able to measure up to. Poor gentle M. Lambert has never really recovered.

And The Search for Spock was rubbish, too. So bruised have I been by these vandalisms that I find myself unable even to give City of Angels a chance. "Far away, So Close!" was a breathtaking movie, and remaking it in the US and giving Cassiel a love interest is a stinky idea.

I'll go now. I weary myself with weeping.

[betenoir]

How 'bout most dissappointing movie you've never seen? I've been pysched for "Shadow of the Vampire" for months, but before I even see it everybody (here, in reviews, etc.) is dissappointed for me in advance. Well, maybe if I go in with lowered expectations, I'll actually enjoy it. Worked for "Hannibal".




Originally posted by Eutychus55
Cecil B. Demented

I've always been a fan of John Waters from "Hairspray" through "Cry-Baby" and "Serial Mom.

From "Hairspray?! All his best movies were before that.

Although I did like "Pecker" but maybe that's just because I'm a photographer.

[CalMeacham]

Cerebrum:

I agree with King Rat. I was disappointed in "The Usual Suspects", too. Yes, I saw the ending. Yeah, I know what was going on. I was still disappointed.


"Black Widow" -- people said this had a "twist" ending, but it didn't. If you thought that was a twist ending, you don't know what a "twist" is. "The Usual Suspects" had a twist ending (but one that didn't work for me). A Twist ending forces you to re-evaluate what you THOUGHT was going on through the movie. "Sixth Sense" had a good twist. So did "Body Heat" and "The Last of Sheila" and "Sleuth" and "Charade" and "Mirage". The Jules Verne books "Around the World in 80 Days" and "Michael Strogoff" had twists.

[MrVisible]

There's nobody out there who wants to chip in on the Dungeons and Dragons movie? No-one else who, having been promised such a movie since early teenagerhood, dragged a bunch of geeky friends to opeining night, and sat horrified as all of the potential adventure and majesty of the game got reduced to the stupidest possible Hollywood cliches set in an almost nonexistent script? Nobody was outraged at the complete absence of any of the redeeming qualities of the game? Nobody appalled at the plethora of stereotypical homosexual villains, one of whom sported dashing periwinkle lipstick? Nobody offended by the stereotypical portrayal of dwarves, even?

Nobody?

God, I am such a geek...

[Mac Guffin]

I am shocked and amazed that no one has mentioned "Unbearable" oops, I meant "Unbreakable".

No, wait, I meant unbearable.

Ye Gods, I thought it was never going to get to the point. It just went on and on. And when it FINALY did get to the point, it ended with a stupid text description of how things worked out. It was if the Director, (Whos' name I will make NO attempt at spelling) got as tired of the whole thing as I was by the end.

I had to be physicaly restrained from going up to the projectionist booth and shredding the film during Highlander 4.

I should have known better, but I had hopes for that film. *sigh*

[silent_rob]

All right, disappointments for me:
Phantom Menace: reasons already listed.
Eyes Wide Shut: it was interesting to study (film major, here), but didn't live up.
Dancer In the Dark: I have a friend with the nasty habit of hyping movies beyond belief. He called this "the best movie ever made." I liked it (I like Dogma 95's work), but was very disappointed.

Originally posted by quasar
Brazil: ZZZZZZ! Whoever compared it to The Matrix should have his head examined.
Depends what version you saw. If you saw the 90-minute, studio-cut-to-shit "Love Conquers All" version, then I'd agree with you. But Gilliam's original 142 minute is one of my faves (visually stunning). But yeah, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.
As is Kevin Smith (come on, you knew I was going to comment on this). Clerks was great, Mallrats was messed up by the studio and Smith letting them (and yeah, I was disappointed), but Chasing Amy is easily better than Clerks.
Though, I was let down by Dogma. I had made the mistake of reading the script beforehand, and some of the scenes I was most excited about got cut. I still liked it, though.
And I really liked High Fidelity.

[super_head]

Phantom Menace, for many reasons, most given. A quick run down - Jar Jar, please! The kid who played Anakin couldn't act his way out of paper bag. The ridiculous biological explanation for being able to manipulate the Force, in effect turning its back on the Joseph Campbell influence which permeated the other films. The ending was absolutely anti-climactic - the other movies left you feeling like some great evil was conquered - or was on the rise and needing another film. This one left me wondering why the hell it took so long to put out a piece of dooky.

Mission to Mars - being a space buff, I really wanted this one to be good. Really. Too long. Too dull. And Gary Sinise was forced to make some of the goofiest, sappiest expressions while staring into his own palm, ever put on film. He deserves better. Connie Neilsen, however, is a bonafide hotty.

[Mofo Rising]

I think this thread must have to do with the Hollywood hype machine and our own personal preferences. At least I hope so, because many of the films mentioned I have enjoyed quite a bit.

Personally for me, I'd have to say UNBREAKABLE.

I was a huge fan of THE SIXTH SENSE. It was actually my second favorite film of 1999, outside of THE MATRIX. (I know I just lost quite a bit of you there.) So I had high hopes for UNBREAKABLE.

And damn was I disappointed. I knew it was going to be similar to THE SIXTH SENSE, but I didn't know it was going to be the exact same movie with different plot points. Just goes to show you that everything is subject to the law of diminishing returns. Same tone, same mood, same actors, same annoying kid as a major character. . .

But I'll tell you what I really hated. This was a revisionist movie trying to "make sense" of comic book superheroes. I hold comic books very near and dear to my heart. Comics are an entirely different art form than movies or text. Unfortunately, most comics have been ghettoized into superhero comics, and that's what most people think of them. So we have this major motion picture bringing comics back into the national mainstream, and all it does is try to legitamize "superheroes". Fuck superheroes and their fans, they're ruining comics. If you want to see a good version of revisionist superheroism, read WATCHMEN.

Okay, end rant. I was just very, very disappointed. I hear they're planning on two more sequels to this movie. What do you say to something like that?

[Yardstick]

The Black Hole Sci-Fi Classic, or so I was lead to beleive. It had an all-star cast: Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Forster. Allegedly it had really good Special effects (for it's day).

Last month it was on TV and I sat down to watch it. 90 minutes of my life I can't get back.


Conversly, I last week watched Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and I have to admit that was a great movie contrary to my initial expectations.

[Sealemon88]

Highlander 2 (Thanks, Ross!) This might be the most dissapointing film of all time, and I forgot to list it. I must have been blocking out the pain. The only reason to EVER watch this festering pile of maggot ridden dogshit is to then get more enjoyment out of reviews like this (http://www.jabootu.com/highlander2.htm) one (posted in another thread).

Drowning Mona. I expected so much more out of this one. Further proof that a great cast cannot compensate for a crappy director.

[Ross]

You're right, Sealemon88 - I thoroughly enjoyed the review you mentioned, and I now feel a little more validated. I was so alone, for so very, very long.

But if you still need cheering up, here's something that might help you, and which made me realise that however badly abused WE may have been by the second movie (I'm still in therapy), others are far worse off. I was flicking through a TV Guide a few years ago and it turned out some channel was running Highlander. The comment describing the movie - I kid you not - described MacLeod as a TIME-TRAVELLING immortal. It took me a few seconds to get it, but then I understood: this poor clown was so thrown by the flashback scenes that he had actually read them as a matter of time-travel instead. I can only begin to imagine how confusing THAT must have been. What would Pulp Fiction have done to him?