# Movie Snobs: What Popular Movies Are Fashionable to Dislike But You Still Do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 23, 2009, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610 "2009-11-23T06:03:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/1 "2009-11-23T06:03:40Z")
The title says most of the question but lots of movie snobs turn up their noses at movies that are extremely popular yet they feel the need to criticize just because of their popularity. Which of those do you still really like even though you don’t like to admit it? For me, I can’t get enough of the movie **Titanic** even though I am about the opposite of a teenage girl. I am going to watch it for about the 125th time as soon as I submit this thread as a matter of fact. The other one is **Forrest Gump**. I had a very large Irish gay male boss once that hated the movie because he said “it gives stupid people hope”. He gave movie reviews and radio voice-overs in New Orleans so I had to respect his opinion a little but I still like the storyline and I still find the movie inspiring. Which very popular movies do you really like despite being a snob about such things? ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/2 "2009-11-23T06:44:01Z")
John Hughes movies, especially Pretty in Pink. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/3 "2009-11-23T06:49:52Z")
I thought _Titanic_ and _Forrest Gump_ were both really good movies. Well-made entertainment doesn’t get enough respect. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/4 "2009-11-23T06:54:35Z")
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. A lot of people seem to dislike it, and it has a fairly poor rating on imdb. I love it, and I gave it a 10 on there. Also, I liked the first Steve Martin Pink Panther movie really well. The second one was awful though. ---
**Author:** ![Ston\_Col](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Ston\_Col](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ston_Col)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/5 "2009-11-23T07:04:01Z")
I absolutely love Sky Captain. I also really enjoy the Crank movies. I think they’ll change the action movie genre. Nobody else agrees with me. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/6 "2009-11-23T07:28:49Z")
I don’t mind admitting that I love both **Forrest Gump** and **Dances With Wolves** , even though they are two of the biggest movies that internet movie snobs love to hate. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/7 "2009-11-23T07:31:48Z")
There’s a thread on the same subject currently in discussion. > **[Critically Panned Movies That You Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=540677)** > > One of my favorite movies is Toys with Robin Williams, LL Cool J, and Joan Cusack. It also happens to be rated below average on IMDB, and has been almost universally panned by critics. This is one of the few instances that I can conjure up where I... ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/8 "2009-11-23T07:36:05Z")
When _The Dark Knight_ was released there was a lot of hate going on for Tim Burton’s _Batman_ and Nicholson’s Joker. This came completely out of left field. Great movie, great Joker. Just not as “deep” as the hipsters THINK \*Dark Knight \*is. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/9 "2009-11-23T08:02:49Z")
When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought _Titanic_. It is very fashionable to dislike it these days, but I can’t imagine why. It totally defines drama, humor, directing, story, characters, special effects, and _epic_. One of the greats…TRM ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/10 "2009-11-23T15:41:38Z")
> [@Talon\_Karrde](#): > > John Hughes movies, especially Pretty in Pink. Actually I think now that Gen X and early Gen Y-ers are grown up, his movies have sort of a retro-chic cache. \*Crash \*gets a lot of hate on these boards. But I actually liked it. Was it worthy of the Best Picture Oscar? That’s arguable. Was it a little heavy-handed at times? Sure. But contrary to what a lot of people seem to believe, it didn’t present race as a black and white issue and I thought it was pretty honest in how it portrayed people’s belief systems. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/11 "2009-11-23T15:44:59Z")
> [@Eternal](#): > > When _The Dark Knight_ was released there was a lot of hate going on for Tim Burton’s _Batman_ and Nicholson’s Joker. This came completely out of left field. Great movie, great Joker. Just not as “deep” as the hipsters THINK \*Dark Knight \*is. Yeah, comparing Jack Nicholson’s and Heath Ledger’s performances is like comparing apples and oranges. They’re two completely different characters for two completely different movies. Nicholson’s Joker, I thought, worked very well for what Tim Burton was going for with his film. And Ledger’s Joker likewise was a perfect fit for the mood Nolan was trying to create. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/12 "2009-11-23T16:00:12Z")
In answer to the OP, no. If I like a film, I say I like it (e.g., **Titanic, Shakespeare in Love, Crash** , Burton’s **Batman** ) despite what anyone else thinks. Same if I dislike a film (e.g, **Alien, Gattaca** ) Re **Batman** and **Crash** : the criticism of them is generally based on the fact that there is another good film they’re compared to, with the false assumption that they can’t both be good films. Both **Batman** and **The Dark Knight** are excellent film, as are **Crash** and **Brokeback Mountain** , but many people can’t hold that concept in their heads. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/13 "2009-11-23T16:31:58Z")
Well damn, when I read the thread’s title I thought, “That’s about as ‘meta’ as a thread can get.” **Movie Snobs: What Popular Movies Are Fashionable to Dislike But You Still Do?** In other words: _What movies do I, as a discriminating movie viewer (“snob”), realize it’s fashionable to dislike, but dislike anyway even though it makes me appear to just be following fashion?_ Unfortunately it’s just another thread about liking movies that got bad/average reviews. Not that there’s anything wrong with that **Shagnasty** , but you got my hopes up that I’d be reading something damn strange. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/14 "2009-11-23T16:55:01Z")
Three movies that get pretentiously bashed in here all the time but that I still like: _American Beauty_, _The English Patient_, _The Thin Red Line_. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/15 "2009-11-23T17:43:55Z")
Same here, I liked Titanic and Waterworld as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/16 "2009-11-23T19:36:19Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Three movies that get pretentiously bashed in here all the time but that I still like: _American Beauty_, _The English Patient_, _The Thin Red Line_. Thin Red Line, really? Dunno if that really counts towards the OP, considering it’s supposed to be about films you feel guilty about enjoying as a film snob, and it seems to me that Terrence Malick sits in the Movie Snob Pantheon of Esteemed Directors. In fact, I can’t think of anyone I’ve met who says they love one or more Malick films who hasn’t also been a self-described film snob… the average movie-goer doesn’t have much patience for long, lingering takes with minimal dialogue. Mendes and Minghella don’t quite have the same cachet with the film snob crowd, but their overall body of work is respectable enough to keep your Official Film Snob status safe and sound. As to the OP, the movie most likely to get my Film Snob card revoked is _A Knight’s Tale_. Yes, it’s a silly romantic comedy and the anachronistic music choices are more cheesy than witty (_Moulin Rouge_ did it far better, IMO)… but it’s also one heck of a fun romp with some really cool costuming and snappy dialogue. Plus Paul Bettany does a hell of a job as Chaucer. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/17 "2009-11-23T19:58:46Z")
A lot of people hate romantic comedies and have a special hate for ones containing Hugh Grant. Actually his are the only ones I like. I’ve seen _Notting Hill, About A boy, Love Actually_ dozens of times. ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/18 "2009-11-23T20:11:51Z")
Another vote for _Titanic_. I’m just sort of “eh” about the tacked-on love story, but the documentary aspect – the drama of the ship sinking and the incredible hubris of the whole venture – is something I find very engaging. All the little sounds and effects of the Titanic’s own demise, as well as snippets about how the various passengers and crew responded… it makes my hair stand on end and breaks my heart. It’s shattering every time I watch it, because I can’t forget that this ship really _did_ go down, and all those people really did die. I thought that part of the movie was very well portrayed. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/19 "2009-11-23T20:34:21Z")
One movie I happen to like that it seems no one else does is _The Postman_; I’m not even a big fan of it, but so many people seem to hate it that I end up getting stuck defending it. I think Kevin Costner was well cast for that role (he does well in as a quiet loner type, I think), and I personally find the whole reluctant hero story to be much more interesting than a lot of other types. I also think it’s interesting to see how ordinary people put in extreme circumstances react. Sure, it’s not a terribly deep movie, but it was still entertaining and still made me think. It’s no blockbuster, sure, but it’s also not the complete pile of crap that everyone seems to think it is. Also, I agree with what was said about _Batman_ and Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of the Joker. It was very well done, fit the movie perfectly, the character was fresh, and he stole the movie almost as much as Ledger stole Dark Knight, except that there actually was more about Bruce Wayne in that film since it was the first one, while Dark Knight could get away with what had been established in Batman Begins. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610/20 "2009-11-23T20:42:59Z")
I think most people who have actually seen _The Postman_ like it. I think it gets a bad rap since it came out a mere two years after the failed _Waterworld_. I don’t think many people gave it a chance and thought “Oh no, Costner is doing another post-apocalyptic film? Didn’t he learn from Waterworld?” and they never even bothered watching it dismissing it on it’s premise alone. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-snobs-what-popular-movies-are-fashionable-to-dislike-but-you-still-do/518610.md?page=2)