# Morons who won't see good films **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 22, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554 "2004-01-22T01:39:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/21 "2004-01-22T04:18:27Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Actually It’s a normal fact of life - Quality is rare. > > 95 percent of everything is crap. It’s up to 95 now? God dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/22 "2004-01-22T04:26:15Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > It’s up to 95 now? God dammit. I’ll check the meter is working. Yep, 95. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/23 "2004-01-22T04:28:38Z")
Sorry, **RickJay** , but I am very sympathetic to **Mach Tuck** ’s pain, and I can back it up with a year of celibacy. I don’t aim to be the arbiter of anyone’s taste, but people who _consistantly_ line up for formulaic tripe (while stubbornly _refusing_ to give anything else a chance) make me want to scream. I knew it was over between me and my last GF when, after attending god-knows-how-many of the cheese-fests she was enthusiastic about, (of which _Tomb Raider_ stands out as a generic example,) I was happy to get a chance to see something that would hold my attention for a change. Lars Von Trier’s _Dancer in the Dark_. She wouldn’t sit through it, because it was “too negative.” I had to wait until it came out on DVD to see the last half. Shit. I sat through _Tomb Raider_. I sat through fucking _The Fast and the Furious_, for christ’s sake. Did I drag her out of the theatre because they were “too stupid?” Did I even complain? Did I ridicule her dubious taste in celluloid fare? Hell no. I did my best to be entertained, and even if I failed utterly, I sucked it up until the credits rolled. Is it too much to ask for a little reciprocity? Apparently, yes. So, fair warning to all you morons who refuse to be challenged in the dark: I’m never going down on you again. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/24 "2004-01-22T04:32:44Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Sorry, **RickJay** , but I am very sympathetic to **Mach Tuck** ’s pain, and I can back it up with a year of celibacy. > > I don’t aim to be the arbiter of anyone’s taste, but people who _consistantly_ line up for formulaic tripe (while stubbornly _refusing_ to give anything else a chance) make me want to scream. > > I knew it was over between me and my last GF when, after attending god-knows-how-many of the cheese-fests she was enthusiastic about, (of which _Tomb Raider_ stands out as a generic example,) I was happy to get a chance to see something that would hold my attention for a change. Lars Von Trier’s _Dancer in the Dark_. She wouldn’t sit through it, because it was “too negative.” I had to wait until it came out on DVD to see the last half. > > Shit. I sat through _Tomb Raider_. I sat through fucking _The Fast and the Furious_, for christ’s sake. Did I drag her out of the theatre because they were “too stupid?” Did I even complain? Did I ridicule her dubious taste in celluloid fare? Hell no. I did my best to be entertained, and even if I failed utterly, I sucked it up until the credits rolled. > > Is it too much to ask for a little reciprocity? Apparently, yes. > > So, fair warning to all you morons who refuse to be challenged in the dark: > > I’m never going down on you again. I don’t want you to go down on me at all. Sick Fuck! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/25 "2004-01-22T05:06:57Z")
As it happens, I have a relatively good reason for forgoing good movies for shitty ones: (most) psychologically gripping movies give me panic attacks, whereas psychologically non-gripping movies do not. Haven’t yet seen a movie that was worth the panic attack it gave me. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Morgs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@Morgs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgs)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/26 "2004-01-22T06:18:19Z")
I don’t mind if people like what they like… it’s their own choice. If a person thinks that, say, ‘Falling into the Evening’ is too slow-paced for them, it’s their call. What shits me is when people don’t actually know what their own tastes are. I know people who kicked and screamed in protest as I dragged them to see LOTR, loved it… then proceeded to deny that TT/ROTK would be good because they were ‘medieval styling and therefore crap’. On top of that, not liking a film doesn’t mean you have to ascribe to it faults that aren’t there. If only people would get their shit in gear for long enough to make a single coherent decision. Our brains aren’t hard-wired nerve centres, for Chrissakes! ---
**Author:** ![gyt\_fx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@gyt\_fx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gyt_fx)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/27 "2004-01-22T06:20:45Z")
What really pisses me off, is when people refuse to see movies, because theyre _too long_. They don’t have a gun/fist fight every 5 minutes, nor an exploding vehicle, but does your mind really need something (mundane and)visually gripping to stay and watch a movie? Now I can see if some people just dont wanna watch a three hour movie. But when I suggest a Really good movie to friends to watch, and they see, “Oh, its over 2 hours long!” or, “138 minutes… I will fall asleep!” It just gets my blood pumping. So you can’t sit through a half an hour more than you usually would to watch brilliance in film work compared to your mindless, cliche plot and overused joke movie? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![leechbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@leechbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leechbabe)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/28 "2004-01-22T06:39:31Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > —_snip_— > > So, fair warning to all you morons who refuse to be challenged in the dark: > > I’m never going down on you again. And this would be why I endured _Magnolia_ and far to many Woody Allen movies, whilst in return Leechboy sat through _Spice Girls - The Movie_ and _Bring It On_. You give a little, you get a lot. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/29 "2004-01-22T06:39:46Z")
Ya know, most people don’t go to the movies to be challenged or edified. They go to the movies to be entertained. At the very least, they go to the movies to enjoy themselves. I haven’t seen most of the movies on the OP’s list for various reasons. (The ones I have seen, weren’t enjoyable enough for me to ever watch them again.) I don’t watch stuff like _Pulp Fiction_ because, by and large, I do not enjoy violent movies. I see plenty of blood and guts at work, thanks, I’d like to get away from that sort of thing during my leisure time. I don’t go see stuff like _Dude, Where’s My Car?_, because I generally don’t enjoy idiotic claptrap, either. On the occasions that I watch things I don’t think I’ll like, I’m sometimes pleasantly surprised, but for the most part I’m right on, and the movie is utterly forgettable. Does this make me a moron? Maybe so, but I’m a moron who’s having a good time instead of sitting miserably through something I know ahead of time I’m not likely to enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/30 "2004-01-22T06:44:36Z")
I loved _Life is Beautiful_. There are movies that others consider excellent that I agree, are excellent. And yet… I have a boyfriend who falls for every weepy movie to come down the pike. He loves stuff like Steel Magnolias, and The Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and so on. I can’t stand them. He got very pissed off when I couldn’t watch all of The Joy Luck Club. I was miserable throughout; these people were miserable, I was watching total strangers be totally miserable, and I really didn’t want to. I’ve seen tragedy, I’ll see more eventually, and frankly, I don’t need to expose myself to any more tragedy if I don’t want to. He and my mother hit the weepy movies now. I stay home and read. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/31 "2004-01-22T06:55:47Z")
I saw all the films on th OP’s list. _AND_ I saw _Dude,where’s my car \* and_ Legally blonde.\* I have a lot of free time… ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/32 "2004-01-22T12:07:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Dammit. I would kill somebody to get my hands on Ikiru and Amarcord. For some reason, my library has the barest of Kurosawa and no Fellini. Viskningar Och Rop and Det Sjunde Inseglet are the best I can do for Bergman. I wish Criterion weren’t so expensive. Netflix or Greencine. ---
**Author:** ![Verick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ea666f/32.png) [@Verick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Verick)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/33 "2004-01-22T13:07:58Z")
I’m more a fan of Indie movies. But I do indulge in the occasional blockbuster. But some of the more memorable flicks that stand out in my mind. \* Cool hand Luke Crime and punishment in suburbia Boys don’t cry Rosewood Ghostdog: The way of the samurai Six string samurai \* Are among a few of my all time favorites. And let’s not forget the few Akira Kurosawa film’s I’ve been privileged enough to see. \* Shichinin no samurai Yojimbo Sengoku burai \* Wow, maybe I should see someone about this samurai obsession. Oh, and I’ve seen some of the movies from the OP’s list, and Like those also. Well, not Life is Beautiful, I hated that movie. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/34 "2004-01-22T13:29:14Z")
> [@](#): > > What really pisses me off, is when people refuse to see movies, because theyre too long. They don’t have a gun/fist fight every 5 minutes, nor an exploding vehicle, but does your mind really need something (mundane and)visually gripping to stay and watch a movie? After seeing more slow movies than I ever want to see again, I’ll take the action and the fistfights. If a movie is boring me because nothing important is happening for more than 10 minutes, that movie has _failed_. And I’m prepared to look beyond the flash and glitter for substance, too. I liked the first 1/3 of “Hulk”, even though it didn’t go nuts with SFX. Frankly, the half of the movies on the OP’s list sucked for me. Some movies I see are exciting, some are boring, and some I just like because I like them. And yeah, the OP is being an arrogant prick. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/35 "2004-01-22T13:34:45Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > . > > And yeah, the OP is being an arrogant prick. Agreed… while I liked Full Metal Jacket and The Great Escape from the OP’s list, several are movies I hated (Pulp Fiction, A Beautiful Mind, Silence of the Lambs) and are time I’ve lost that I can never get back. Why should I want to see a movie that I have no interest in? ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/36 "2004-01-22T14:22:23Z")
Y’know, a little prejudice in life is a good thing; it saves us a lot of time. Am I going to spend time seeing **Dumb and Dumberer** because, maybe, just maybe, it might be funnier than I’m thinking it’s going to be? No! I have prejudged that movie, based on trailers, reviews, etc. and I’m not going to spend an evening that I will never get back, watching it (please forgive the tortured sentence structure, I’ve not finished my coffee yet). Certainly, I see movies that are “fluff” (_What Women Want_ comes to mind); certainly, I’ve enjoyed movies with a message or that are morally uplifting (loved _Schindler’s List_); but I wouldn’t presume to tell people that they are wrong for liking the kinds of movies I don’t like. Where hubby and I are concerned, sometimes we compromise (“I’ll see this movie with you this weekend, then you’ll see this movie with me next weekend”). Only thing that bothers me is when I think someone will love a particular movie, and they won’t see it for a dumb reason. For example, I’m convinced my MIL would have loved _Titanic_. She wouldn’t see it _because she knows how it ends_! My pointing out to her that she enjoys _Gone With The Wind_ in spite of the fact that she knows the outcome of the Civil War did not help matters any. My SIL won’t see _The Green Mile_ because she knows that Coffey dies in the end. This, to me, is almost like saying that I won’t go on vacation, because I know I’ll have to come back home afterward. As for movies that are “too long”, I see it as getting 30% more for free, or something, as long as the added time contributes something to the movie. There are, however, only two movie theaters local to me, and one is very uncomfortable, and that’s the one that seems to show all the long movies. In fact, we drove an hour away to see LOTR: ROTK, because we didn’t want to sit in such an uncomfortable theater long enough to watch that movie. In short, if people have a dumb reason for not seeing what is, essentially, their kind of movie, that bothers me. But if people won’t see a movie I think is great, just because that’s not their cup of tea, well, this is still America, isn’t it? (at least where I’m typing, it is). ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/37 "2004-01-22T14:27:05Z")
There sems to be a mindset here that if one doesn’t like a movie (play, novel, opera . . .), that it is the movie’s (play’s, novel’s, opera’s . . .) intrinsic inferiority to blame. Sometimes this is so and one can’t very well quibble over personal preference. For example, I enjoy science fiction and horror movies, but my partner does not. There is nothing wrong with him for not enjoying them; he simply doesn’t enjoy them. He likes the Wheel of Time series but I don’t, and that’s fine. However, there are also instances when the fault lies in the dulled sensibilities or lack of sophistication of the viewer. People who won’t see movies in black and white or with subtitles, IMO, have poorly shaped tastes. If you see **Ikiru** and come away with nothing more than “Dude, that was some dumb movie about some old Japanese man crying about having cancer,” you are a clod. Mind, one has to avoid the opposite and equal error of enjoying (or claiming to enjoy) movies because they are black and white and have subtitles–that’s every bit as provincial as the first example. Between the extremes of the Lowest Common Denominator and the Art Snob lies the middle path of discernment. **Cervaise** , for example, brings an incisive wit and a wide body of information to discussions of film, so even when he and I disagree, I know that he has sound reasons for his opinions. He enjoys movies for their writing, dialogue, and _mise en scene_, not because he “ought” to like them. And, yes, I absolutely believe in a hierarchy of taste–Filet mignon is superior to hamburger, Veuve Cliquot is superior to Andre cold duck, and **Seven Samurai** is a better film than **Armageddon**. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/38 "2004-01-22T14:28:00Z")
Oh, and **Scylla** , you crack me up! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/39 "2004-01-22T14:31:46Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > Netflix or Greencine. No money. I am taking twenty hours this semester of upper level courses. ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554/40 "2004-01-22T16:59:03Z")
You know, I really hate it when people use Microsoft instead of linux, or have not read any books on quantum mechanics or relativity. It shows me they are lazy and refuse to learn or think. :wally [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-wont-see-good-films/225554.md?page=3)