I tend to avoid movies that have graphic rape scenes in them, like Boys Don’t Cry, that one Jodie Foster film, and Frenzy. Actually, I will watch Frenzy again, but only after I fast forward doublequick past That Scene.
I couldn’t finish Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (and will never ever watch it again) because a) I figured out the Big Plot Twist in the first ten minutes, which offended me mightily, and b) it goes against my personal philosophy of life. I have to deal with enough people who are trying to erase their past on a daily basis, I don’t want to watch it when I’m having Escapist Time. Deal with your problems and move on, folks.
Likewise. I’d love to see any of the many, many good horrormovies out there. Blair Witch comes to mind, and Ringu). But I’ve never been in BlockBusters wondering “Gee, what can I possibly rent that will cause me to sleep for a week with the light on and my boyfriend on the open telephone-line?”
I know I should see Boys Don’t Cry, but I can’t make myself do it.
I probably won’t see Brokeback Mountain either. Perhaps I’ll watch it at home, on video or DVD, but I cannot deal with watching that story in a theater surrounded by sniggering, uncomfortable hets.
Two that I’ve seen that I’m still processing in the “What the F*** was that?” way are Party Monster and Hostel. Both are ALL KINDS of effed-up, but interesting.
Sugarland Express. That bastard Spielberg pulled the rug out from under me with that one. Great movie, but I can never watch it again, knowing the ending.
Night of the Living Dead for much the same reasons.
Monster was an extremely compelling movie that I will never, ever watch again.
And as far as I’m concerned, I would be perfectly happy if I could completely forget ever having watched Pay it Forward. Just unrelenting pain, and as soon as there’s even the possibility of relief from the pain…more pain.
I’ve also only ever seen O, Brother, Where Art Thou? once, and will probably never see it again, but that’s for entirely personal reasons.
I saw Miracle Mile probably about 14 years ago. I was about 12, I think. I am only now ready to see it again. I used to have nightmares about it.
I will never see Syriana again. It was a very good movie but very depressing.
I will never see Schindler’s List, Blackhawk Down, or Saving Private Ryan
I will never again watch Boys Don’t Cry .
There’s one movie I will never see again - partly because the name totally escapes me. It was about a college. I remember someone was on the track team. Someone else was tutoring the track guy. Someone else decided to shoot his classmates from a tower and shot the tutor chick. I have no clue what happened after that. For some reason (I have seen many depressing movies and they don’t usually have THIS much of an effect on me) this scene really disturbed me. I totally lost it. My poor sister didn’t know what to do with her sobbing baby sister. She made me go for a walk, and we stopped to get some hot chocolate at the corner store. After telling me jokes for about half an hour, I finally stopped crying. I wasn’t able to finish the movie and to this day, I have managed to completely block the title from my mind. I’m actually kinda curious to see if I can make it through the movie now that I’m older.
Those of you in this thread lamenting about Miracle Mile, are you speaking of the 2004 version about the Koreans, or the 1988 version about the nuclear missiles? I’ve not seen either.
(And, yes, “version” isn’t the appropriate word, but I can’t think of a proper word. Anyone? Bueller?)
I’ve been meaning to second avoiding the first two for emotional reasons, and here you’ve come up with a third.
Some of these movies I can barely stand to think about without getting upset! Oddly, I can read about almost anything at all without a problem, including horror; though I probably wouldn’t seek out romantic tragedy, I imagine I could read it without a reaction.
I’ve thought of another set of movies I avoid: those about mental institutions. So girl, interrupted was right out. And I never saw Mulder’s final season on The X-files, despite having been a big fan, because of this.
I did see Hotel Rwanda, which a few others have mentioned, and indeed, it was very painful and powerful, but I think I could watch it again, if with someone who hadn’t seen it yet. I wouldn’t watch it on my own, though.
AuntiePam, I like Miracle Mile - once rumored to be one of the best scripts that would never get filmed, btw, it was on the shelf for something like a decade - so much that I may end up watching it again someday, and I have foisted it on one or two poor unsuspecting souls. They’re still speaking to me, amazingly enough.
I know someone who will never watch Jacob’s Ladder again as long as he lives.
Do you want scary?
My mother used to work as an SHO (like a third year Resident, for you Americans) in a large Psychiatric hospital in Scotland, which shall remain nameless. This was in the 70s, when One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest came out.
Mum saw it and quit her job shortly afterwards…the film was just a little to close to her daily experience of that particular institution for comfort.
I’ve never seen the last two*, mainly because I haven’t gotten around to it, and whenever people start in on them or Tolkein in general my eyes glaze over. But this thread is about movies you are interested in, in theory, but just can’t bring yourself to watch. So you’ll have to pretend you’re not interested because you have a hobbit phobia and an orc ate your dog.
*I’ve just remembered that I did see the second one and practically slept through it. First one was pretty good, though.
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