I thought they were okay when I was a kid. Don’t really care for them now as an adult. I was suprised but not flabergasted when my wife (28) said she had never seen them. She asked if they were worth watching. I told her she probably wouldn’t like them but it may be worth it just for the pop culture reference.
She watched them all and thought “meh”.
You beat me to it. The first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title was “The Matrix”. People acted like seeing it was some kind of religious experience when, at least IMHO, it was a mediocre (at best!) scifi flick. I didn’t even bother with the second one.
It came out around the same time as “Dark City”. I saw Dark City first and thought the Matrix sucked in comparisson for a somewhat similar themed movie.
Too bad the box-office crowd disagreed with me.
Jorge Luis Borges wrote a story about this; it concerned a man who wanted to write Don Quixote. Not translate it, not copy it, but write it all over again, from first principles. Borges made the point that over the years the book has been a part of our culture it has acquired a lot of baggage, and our culture has evolved, so that if even if the exact same words were written now the meaning would have changed completely.
(At least I think that’s what he meant. Borges can be opaque. 
)
Finally, someone agrees with me! I was beginning to think I had lost my ever-lovin’ mind. Yes, Kubrick could make a great movie, he just never really did, as far as I can tell. The closest he got was when he made The Shining, but he screwed that up by making it all about racism toward indians.
The first part of Shrek is amusing, being a buddy picture of sorts, but as soon as the nature of Fiona’s curse gets revealed - BAM, chickflick city, with them talking about “feelings” and shit. Fuck dat!
[Every Will Smith character]Oh, HELL no.[/Every Will Smith character]
re the comments above about Kubrick: Normally I wouldn’t defend him, because I didn’t like 2001, and didn’t bother with most of his later stuff. BUT - I LOVE “Paths of Glory” and “Dr. Strangelove”. and I like “Spartacus” and can admire parts of “Clockwork Orange”. So while I don’t agree he was an uber genius…my gosh you guys - Euthansiast and Olives March - you have seen “Paths” and “Strangelove” haven’t you?
end my Kubrick hijack.
Plot-wise, I’ll grant it had some holes.
Actor-wise, it was a fun romp. Jack Nicholson and Alec Baldwin chew scenery pretty well. And Mark Wahlberg, too (who’d-a-thunk?). The calm, distinguished, genteel police captain played by Martin Sheen, with his foul-mouthed, tough-as-nails assistant played by Wahlberg made me laugh, as it brought back memories of my time in the Army.
Leo turned in a pretty solid performance, and for once, Matt Damon wasn’t some super-freaking genius math-whiz/international spy super-assassin; just a sleazy dirt-bag crooked cop.
It wasn’t “high-art” for me; but it wasn’t (IMO) totally wretched.
EddyTeddyFreddy: I apologize for the snark; Darkhold and Unauthorized Cinnamon covered the points I should’ve said (and worse, points I know!) in my first post.
There are a LOT of older movies that I liked, but either they haven’t aged well, or my tastes have aged over time, or some combination of both.
I originally caught Alien on a second-time-around showing in December of '79. It was a Sunday night, not much on the tube, and my Mom had heard about Alien from some friends, who’d told her it was “kinda like Star Wars.” Mom kinda liked Star Wars, and figured Alien would be an okay “popcorn flick” for a slow Sunday night. So off we went.
My Mom hated horror flicks; so when the face-hugger shot out of the egg, everyone around us got covered in popcorn and icy-cold Coke, and their ears were ringing from the piercing shriek she let out. She shot outta that theater so quick, she didn’t even take me with her. I gladly sat through the rest of the movie and walked home.
Every light in the house was on.
For 1979, Alien was great. There have been a LOT of imitators and wannabes since, but Alien still has a fond place in my heart, and a space in my collection, for my own reasons as well as those already covered by others.
ExTank (the first Doper I ever met in person!):
I agree completely with this. It just didn’t make up for the plot and structural failings.
I’ve read the first part of LotR, and found it boring as hell. I figured the movie would be better, since all the description that was distracting me from the story would be gone, so I tried watching TFotR.
I nearly fell asleep.
I have to second (third? Whatever) 2001. The beginning was way too boring. The rest was probably better, but by that point I’d tuned out and spent the rest of the movie chatting with friends.
Accepted, gladly. I don’t doubt it can be irritating to see someone trash-talk a film you like, for what seem to you to be stupid reasons.
As I mentioned up-thread, that happened to me with Time Bandits, which really bummed me out. I’m almost afraid to go back and watch some movies I loved a decade or two (or three) ago – what if they don’t hold up either?
Since 2001 has been mentioned by several folks, I’ll chime in: I first saw it on its release, back when I was an innocent young college student who hadn’t (yet) discovered the wonders of the wacky weed. So I went to see it utterly sober, and came out gibbering, so mindblown that my friends had to support me out of the theater. Far out, man!
Fast-forward to a few years ago, when I tried watching it on video.
Meh. Even weed wouldn’t have recreated its ancient impact on the me of so much later in my life, and I don’t think the size of the screen had much to do with it.
Exactly my reaction. Dark city was a much better movie about the same idea. But how many people have even seen it?
Yea, but it worked in Men in Black.
Here’s the thread I started on it when it first came out: 300: So Friggin Cool!.
Now I have to chime in and defend 2001. The movie rocked when I was in my single-digit years, and it was even better after I read the book and figured out what that stupid psychedelic crap at the end was supposed to be.
I cried when Dave deactivate HAL (hey, I was 6 or 8 or something). Poor thing, best actor in the entire movie, and the only one with decent character development, and they killed him.
Only movie for many years that did believable space scenes. Everything was slow and careful, just like watching NASA-TV. This is important when ones father is an aerospace engineer with Martin Marietta.
I.hate.Magnolia.
Who was this movie made for? I liked *Boogie Nights * and Punch Drunk Love a lot, but I’m way out of my depth on this one. To me, it seems Anderson was trying too hard to make AN IMPORTANT MOVIE, but neglected to make it well, entertaining. I’m supposed to learn / grow from / enjoy this misery? Seriously, I’ve had better times at some of the funerals I’ve gone to. At least there was an attempt at humor to lighten things up a bit, and they didn’t last three friggin’ hours.
I know I’m missing whatever BIG POINT he’s trying to make, unless it’s that life sucks. I usually research “important” movies to understand the finer points, but this time I just don’t care. What a piece of crap film.
I have never heard it identified as the Greatest Film Ever (or even a candidate). I have heard it described as the best B Grade Movie ever made.
Funny, I liked it, but only because I like Ewan McGregor and it was interesting and surprising to hear him sing.
I agree with you there - the script must have read like one of those Beginners Basic programs;
10 Tom Cruise runs from one place to another
20 Tom Cruise does something mundane
25 Something a little bit weird and unexplained happens
30 Goto 10