# Great(?) movie you just didn't think was great. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664 "2011-05-29T15:22:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/81 "2011-05-31T01:43:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Someone mentioned The Hangover up-thread. Who considers that a “Great” movie? That would be me (that mentioned it, not that considers it a great movie, obviously). I know it’s not considered “great” in the sense of “classic” but I got the impression from the media hype and maybe even here (?) that it’s supposed to be a great movie for its genre. In any event, I had high expectations and was sorely disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![YaraMateo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/58f4c7/32.png) [@YaraMateo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaraMateo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/82 "2011-05-31T02:34:22Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > That’s a good idea about watching _Citizen Kane_ with a commentary - I know it’s supposed to be this incredible, game-changing movie, but it bored me, too. > > To get more modern, I’ll nominate the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ series. We were watching an ad for the fourth one recently, and I said something like, “I just really didn’t enjoy those. I have no intention of going to see the third one,” at which time my husband informed me that this was the fourth one. Well, my point still stands (and I’m not going to see the fourth one, either). 🙂 I was shocked when I didn’t like any of the POTC movies. I love Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom. That and period films tend to be up my alley. (I just love when movies have cool costumes.) I’m not a huge Johnny Depp fan, though. ---
**Author:** ![YaraMateo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/58f4c7/32.png) [@YaraMateo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaraMateo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/83 "2011-05-31T02:37:39Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > \*\*Brokeback Mountain \*\*- people describe this as if it’s some great love story. I saw very little romance or love in the movie at all. I saw two repressed people who hooked up once a year for some no-strings-attached sex. Yes, it was tragic that they felt they couldn’t be out and open about who they were all the time. But the movie showed virtually no intimacy between the charactes other than physical intimacy. It seemed to equate sex with love. > > It was still better than _Crash_, but I would have chosen _Good Night and Good Luck_ or \*Munich \*for best picture that year. I agree. I actually like the acting and most of the actors in this movie, but I don’t like this movie. I think the plot is weak. I also wonder if people would be as swept up in it if the movie was about a man and a woman instead of two men. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![YaraMateo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/58f4c7/32.png) [@YaraMateo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaraMateo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/84 "2011-05-31T02:43:53Z")
I agree with a lot of choices already posted. One that hasn’t been posted is Stars Wars. Any of them. Admitedly, I think the first three movies, which are really the last three, are worse than the ones released in the late 90s/early 2000s. While I do think they’re better than the originals I think Lucas just did them for the money. Very visually appealing, though. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/85 "2011-05-31T02:44:07Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > That would be me (that mentioned it, not that considers it a great movie, obviously). > > I know it’s not considered “great” in the sense of “classic” but I got the impression from the media hype and maybe even here (?) that it’s supposed to be a great movie for its genre. In any event, I had high expectations and was sorely disappointed. I would never argue that The Hangover is a _great_ film, but I’ll defend it on some levels. Sense of humor is subjective, obviously, and I know a lot of people here didn’t find it funny at all. And, thing is, it’s not the type of humor I would normally find funny, but it just worked for me. I loved the way it was paced, I liked the way it flowed and was plotted, I thought the acting (for the most part; not all of it) was pretty damn spot on. And, I laughed all the way through. And I have to say… most comedies, especially fairly broad comedies, have fairly lackluster cinematography. It’s just not considered as important in straight comedies, and in fact, fancy camera work can end up fighting comedy. But I thought the cinematography in The Hangover was absolutely gorgeous. It’s just such a pretty film to watch, something you don’t often see in broad comedies. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/86 "2011-05-31T03:08:13Z")
_Citizen Kane_ and _Casablanca_. Rick can do better than that heartless b-- er, twit Ilsa. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/87 "2011-05-31T16:40:10Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Question for you, because I am working on a theory, did you see it in a theater or at home? I watched it at home. I just remember it dragging on and on. Also, it felt like everything in the movie was grey or brown. My brother gave it to me as a gift, so I hate that I didn’t like it. Maybe I should watch it again. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/88 "2011-05-31T18:26:37Z")
**All That Jazz**. Horrible. Boring. Following up with **Sitnam** , I liked **Fargo** , but \*\*The Straight Story \*\*was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/89 "2011-05-31T18:33:27Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > I watched it at home. I just remember it dragging on and on. Also, it felt like everything in the movie was grey or brown. My brother gave it to me as a gift, so I hate that I didn’t like it. Maybe I should watch it again. Try this next time you decide to watch it. Do your best to shut out the rest of the world. Watch it at night so it’s dark, take the phone off the hook, send the kids to sleep over at their friends house, whatever you need to do to make sure you can lock into the rhythm of the film without the typical household distractions. I find that the people who really love it typically saw it in the theater where this sort of focus is more or less forced onto you, but people have a hard time recreating it in a home setting. If you can’t connect with the rhythms of the film it is going to seem interminable, and it’s not exactly an easy film to lock into. But I think it’s worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/90 "2011-05-31T18:34:07Z")
**Stagecoach.** Yeah, I know it made John Wayne a star. It still bores the tits off me. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/91 "2011-05-31T19:00:37Z")
No Country for Old Men There Will Be Blood Fargo Pulp Fiction Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail. (Just kidding about that last one. I don’t think anyone outside of Mr. Perry’s immediate family who thought that was a great movie. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/92 "2011-05-31T19:20:42Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > **Stagecoach.** Yeah, I know it made John Wayne a star. It still bores the tits off me. Wow. I’ve been on a “watch the classic movies” kick for about a year. When I got to watching _Stagecoach_ I was shocked at how good it was and how well it stood up. It didn’t have that dated feel that so many older films have. It was very character driven, so if you were hoping for mostly action, I can see where it might have disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![markm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@markm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markm)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/93 "2011-05-31T19:34:13Z")
[QUOTE=pravnik] I hate to say it, but Gigli. To hear people talk about it you’d think that it was the greatest, edgiest romantic comedy of the last 50 years, but I’m sorry, the story was forced and the dialogue was simply painful. I’m probably stepping on a lot of toes here, but man, Gigli was just an awful, awful movie. [/quote] Please tell me this is a whoosh. You can’t possibly dislike this movie, or you haven’t really seen it. I’ve yet to meet anyone who has seen it who didn’t like, no, LOVE it. It’s truly one of the classics, right up there with Ishtar, Waterworld, Landworld (or whatever the “I’m a mailman” movie Costner made was called), Showgirls, and Jason X. When all of cinema is forgotten, these are the only movies that will be remembered. My additions to the list: As has been said, Avatar. Yeah, I know it’s ‘cool’ to hate on it, but I really wanted to like it when I saw it, because of all the great hype it was getting, but it put me to sleep both times I tried to watch it. It was pretty during the parts I saw, but otherwise empty. This dumbfounds my friends, who all like it. 2001 - another one that put me to sleep every time I tried to watch it. Just never could get the love for it. It’s 2 hours of Robot Bob Ross dicking around astronauts. Jerry MaGuire - Maybe not considered a great anymore, but there for a while it had a lot of steam, and again, I slept through every attempt to watch it. The Game - Again, maybe not considered a great, but generally well received (with a 70% on rottentomatoes and an 84% liked status). I hated this movie. It was just terrible, with a stupid, contrived plot, and the whole “whoopsies! it was just a game and we had every possible contingency planned out, neener neener.” was a total FU to the audience. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/94 "2011-05-31T19:48:54Z")
Recently, **The Fighter**. Very soon after it started, I just couldn’t wait for the damn thing to be over already. (possible unboxed spoilers if you read on) Maybe it was that (except for Mark Wahlberg) the performances were _too_ good. Christian Bale played Dicky as so maddeningly irredeemable that I lost hope for him; I turned my back on the character and wouldn’t have blamed Micky for doing the same. Melissa Leo just made me want to punch her in the face every time she opened her mouth. Same for the annoying sisters. I might have been rooting for Micky to overcome these factors to succeed, if only Wahlberg had given me someone I liked and could get behind; but he came across as too blah and wishy-washy, unwilling to take control of his own career. If anything, I was rooting for him to take the promoter’s offer to go to Las Vegas and escape all the awful people in his life, thus ending the movie in 20 minutes. If there was one remotely likeable person amid this cluster-fuck of dysfunction, it was probably Amy Adams’s Charlene, but I didn’t see how or why she fell for Micky, and before long I was hoping she’d simply distance herself from this miserable family altogether and go make something of her own life. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/95 "2011-05-31T19:51:21Z")
Although I imagine I’m the target audience, I’ve hated every single movie I’ve seen by Paul Thomas Anderson and Darren Aronofsky. I find their work ponderous and boring, and it tells me nothing I didn’t already know (and tells me it over and over). ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/96 "2011-05-31T20:05:06Z")
_Hurt Locker_ Implausible from start to finish. _Crash_ Just did not get it. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/97 "2011-05-31T20:05:18Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > **All That Jazz**. Horrible. Boring. Agreed. It was the first movie I ever got up and walked out on. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/98 "2011-05-31T20:05:25Z")
> [@markm](#): > > The Game - Again, maybe not considered a great, but generally well received (with a 70% on rottentomatoes and an 84% liked status). I hated this movie. It was just terrible, with a stupid, contrived plot, and the whole “whoopsies! it was just a game and we had every possible contingency planned out, neener neener.” was a total FU to the audience. It’s been a long time since I have seen this one, but I really liked it a whole lot for a while. I think you are missing a large part of the movie if that is all you got from it. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/99 "2011-05-31T20:07:46Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Recently, **The Fighter**. Very soon after it started, I just couldn’t wait for the damn thing to be over already. (possible unboxed spoilers if you read on) > > Maybe it was that (except for Mark Wahlberg) the performances were _too_ good. Christian Bale played Dicky as so maddeningly irredeemable that I lost hope for him; I turned my back on the character and wouldn’t have blamed Micky for doing the same. Melissa Leo just made me want to punch her in the face every time she opened her mouth. Same for the annoying sisters. > > I might have been rooting for Micky to overcome these factors to succeed, if only Wahlberg had given me someone I liked and could get behind; but he came across as too blah and wishy-washy, unwilling to take control of his own career. If anything, I was rooting for him to take the promoter’s offer to go to Las Vegas and escape all the awful people in his life, thus ending the movie in 20 minutes. > > If there was one remotely likeable person amid this cluster-fuck of dysfunction, it was probably Amy Adams’s Charlene, but I didn’t see how or why she fell for Micky, and before long I was hoping she’d simply distance herself from this miserable family altogether and go make something of her own life. Good one! As soon as I’d submitted my entry I thought of this. I had no interest in seeing it despite all the buzz. Love Mssrs. Bale and Wahlberg and Ms. Adams but the subject matter is so totally not interesting to me I really had to make an effort to sit down and watch it. My comment to my boyfriend was that as amazing as Christian Bale is, his performance, while absolutely mesmerizing, was all the same not believeable to me. I likened him to Daniel Day Lewis’s performances. He’s spectacular to watch but not in a “I buy it” sort of way, if that makes sense. I’m thinking of “Gangs of New York” and “There Will Be Blood”. Both totally amazing to watch but not realistic, in my opinion. The joke ended up being on me when we watched the DVD extras and the gentleman Bale is portraying is \*exactly [/I] if not more so than the way he played it. Didn’t enhance my enjoyment of it, however. ---
**Author:** ![markm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@markm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markm)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664/100 "2011-05-31T20:13:02Z")
[QUOTE=NAF1138] It’s been a long time since I have seen this one, but I really liked it a whole lot for a while. I think you are missing a large part of the movie if that is all you got from it. [/quote] Nah, I didn’t miss anything in the movie. It was the whole execution of the end that ruined it for me. It was just too pat and planned. It was so over the top that a simple willful suspension of belief couldn’t save it. I actually sort of enjoyed the movie up until the end. It wasn’t one I would’ve gone back and rewatched, but I could’ve walked out of thinking, “That was interesting.” But the way the ending was pulled off totally ruined it for me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-you-just-didnt-think-was-great/583664.md?page=6)