I’ve scanned the threads and didn’t see this one so here goes.
Most hated. Body swaps. I’ve never seen one that the social interactions weren’t painfully contrived to be awkward and/or embarrassing.
Favorite. Time loops, aka Groundhog Days. Granted, I haven’t seen nearly all of them so I’m sure there are some truly terrible ones. But of all the ones I have seen it wouldn’t bother me to watch them again, and in some cases I deliberately have. (Groundhog Day, Edge of Tomorrow)
Honorable Mention. Not so much a theme as a style. Musicals, whether they’re actually about the music (Mama Mia!, Bohemian Rhapsody) or just a musical movie (Sweeney Todd, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Devil’s Carnival), I just love musicals.
And the most fun examples are Bill&Ted and Back To The Future (I seem to remember one of the characters in Avengers Endgame, when they’re trying to figure out how to use time travel , say “So, we’re basing our understanding of how timelines work on Back To The Future, right?”).
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eta: Some of my Most Hated Themes are because they’re lazy writing. (“The hero’s new crush turns out to be helping the killer! Wow! What a plot twist!”)
But some are because I’m tired of them. The instant I see ‘zombies’ or ‘vampires’ or ‘fantasy world’ in a movie synopsis, I skip it.
(You’d think I’d be tired of “Introverted loner kid gets uprooted and moved to new school and struggles to fit in…” But shows like I Am Not Okay With This and Impulse do it so well…)
This, a thousand times over. I’d add comic book super heroes - very much a personal preference. I never read the comics and the few movie versions I’ve seen did absolutely nothing for me.
Not sure if I can name a favorite theme, unless “smart” and “clever” can be considered themes.
I hate the one where The Kid has witnessed something very important and nobody believes him or her. The parents especially insist that the kid always lies and makes up stories, blahblahblah. SO tiresome.
The self-styled renegade cop, usually a detective, that has to “bend the rules” shall we say, to get around departmental red-tape and bills of rights and stuff like that. His superior is always threatening to throw him off the case if he doesn’t fall in line.
Have you seen Predestination? It is based upon a short story by the great Robert A. Heinlein All You Zombies" And no, it doesn’t have anything to do wit zombies.
Agreed about body swaps. Add to that any plot that is painfully, obviously contrived. Home alone? Home alone 2, fer Chrissake.
One of my pet hates is the “teenage hero who saves the world.” So, why a teenager? It’s always a teenager. If the world was in danger, I would pin my hopes on an older guy guy with more experience, preferably military.
I get very tired, very quickly, of horror movies. I am truly tired of the old chestnut of the killer sneaking up on his victim - who is usually female, and usually vocal, buy unaware of their presence until it is too late.
In the same vein, I prefer to avoid harrowing domestic or other dramas, especially concerning abuse. A documentary is one thing,but 90 minutes of seeing somebody go through some kind of hell is not my fun of good viewing.
Also, I get tired of Hollywood constantly refighting WW2.That ended 75 years ago, fer Chrissake.
Another pet peeve; crime thrillers where one person decides to take on a killer, a gang or a whole organization, and never even bothers to bring in the police. Now that would be just too easy, wouldn’t it? And you won’t have the typical ending where said lone hero guns down the villain. I suppose it would be anti-climactic to end in court and said villain getting a few years in prison instead of a bullet. Nor does said gun-happy hero have to wrangle with the police and lawyers because he shot somebody.
Favorite themes? That is harder. But I;ll go for anything with a good story.
I can’t say I hate them, since I will watch them, but I dislike war movies. I can’t remember any one that impressed me or I would watch again.
I do love dystopian sci-fi movies, though, even when war is part of them. I guess the whole “future” or “alternative” part overrides my dislike.
There is a story-telling device that I really hate. It’s when the story starts with the conclusion and then goes back to tell how it came about. That always annoys me.
I have a vast antipathy toward most “shocking” horror. I find it the cheapest way to get an audience reaction, and the creakiness of the plot needed to set up a scare bores me.
Love: Metafiction. Something like Stranger than Fiction or Hellzapoppin’, where the characters realize they’re in a movie.
If you’re stalked by a mad killer and manage to knock them unconscious or incapacitate them, do NOT finish them off so they’re no longer a threat. Instead run away, giving them a chance to recover and come after you.
In addition to future world/other world fantasy themes, movies based on the doings/spectacle of royalty and/or elaborate battle scenes from untold centuries ago* carry no interest for me.
*this probably means I wouldn’t go to a ten-hour film based on the Hundred Years War.
And while you’re running away, be sure to trip and fall at least once. And twist your ankle while you’re at it. It used to be that only women did this, but now guys fall while fleeing, too. They’ve come a long way, baby.
That would have been me, except that I do always read the OP.
So, answer to the question I THOUGHT was being asked (top-of-the-head answer, not long-considered answer):
**most hated musical theme is Danny Elfman’s Batman (the Tim Burton one) theme, because of how blatantly Elfman ripped off Irving Berlin.
**most favorite musical theme: probably Lawrence of Arabia.
Answers to question the thread-creator actually asked:
**most hated movie plotting theme: Bunch of teens/twenty-somethings get picked off one by one. Doesn’t matter if it’s by a supernatural or non-supernatural killer—I just find the plot to be tired and predictable. And I don’t care about the Last Girl. I just don’t.
**favorite movie plotting theme: People confront a corrupt society and/or portion of society and make a stand, which may or may not be successful. (Examples: A Man for All Seasons; The Untouchables; All the President’s Men; and All the King’s Men, for that matter.)
I also enjoy the sub-genre the OP mentioned (Time Loops).
Favorite - Friends with a dark past together for some reason. There is just so much for the writers to work with. Dialogue flows naturally and anything can be revealed at any time keeping the story moving. Suicide Kings is a standout, but Coherence is my latest favorite somewhat in the genre.
Least favorite - anything where the antagonist is a force of nature, whether it’s a volcano, meteor flood, whatever. This applies to Zombies and plagues, there is nothing for the heroes to outwit, just endure and/or run away. Courtroom dramas also don’t usually do it for me, mostly just mundane office drudgery, though The Whole Truth was a recent pleasant experience.