# Movies that you thought you'd love but wound up hating. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2010, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900 "2010-04-04T11:38:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/41 "2010-04-05T02:20:14Z")
Ghost World Pieces of April Batman Begins ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/42 "2010-04-05T02:27:35Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > **Annie Hall** - I saw 5 minutes on TV, thought it looked funny, and got the DVD. Wow, this was horrifying. Hated it entirely. Blasphemy! ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/43 "2010-04-05T02:35:03Z")
**Windtalkers.** Silly me. I actually thought it would be about the Navaho Code Talkers. Instead, it was a big, dumb Nicholas Cage explosion fest. ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/44 "2010-04-05T02:41:37Z")
Second for **Watchmen**. Loved the book, loved the first-look trailer with the Smashing Pumpkins song, loved the preview of the first 5 minutes seen at a convention, went on to hate the movie when it finally came out. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/45 "2010-04-05T02:47:15Z")
The Hangover. The trailer was great, as were all the reviews. I was really stoked. Unfortunately, I never laughed once. Any part that could have potentially been funny I had already seen numerous times in the trailer. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/46 "2010-04-05T03:05:00Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > Blasphemy! I know, but it is true. I was cheering for it and everything, but hated it. ---
**Author:** ![WomanofScorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@WomanofScorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WomanofScorn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/47 "2010-04-05T03:45:58Z")
> [@Viridiana](#): > > Second for **Watchmen**. Loved the book, loved the first-look trailer with the Smashing Pumpkins song, loved the preview of the first 5 minutes seen at a convention, went on to hate the movie when it finally came out. Me 3! I just thought maybe it was too over my head because the A-hole I was with liked it. I didn’t like it at all. I can’t even bring myself to watch it again and give it another chance. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/48 "2010-04-05T04:16:57Z")
> [@WomanofScorn](#): > > Me 3! I just thought maybe it was too over my head because the A-hole I was with liked it. I didn’t like it at all. I can’t even bring myself to watch it again and give it another chance. I won’t watch it again, ever, even though I’m even now _slightly_ curious to see the director’s cut with the **Black Freighter** content and all. But I still won’t because sitting through the movie last year seriously endangered my previously near-unconditional love for Moore and Gibbons’ source novel. And I can’t have that happen. Anyway, why on earth would I want to watch a cut that’s even _longer_ than the already interminable, ponderous theatrical cut? In short, _fuck_ Zack Snyder, the hack! ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/49 "2010-04-05T06:38:06Z")
Several of these responses seem to miss the point of the OP as I read it. Lots of movies get a ton of undeserved hype, especially Ocsar-bait crap and big dumb popcorn movies, but I’m not sure that qualifies as “movies you thought you’d like”. I mean I had heard a ton about _Lost in Translation_ and decided to watch it to see what I thought but at no point was I particularly convinced that I’d necessarily like it. It was after all an unapologetic artsy nuanced character study which don’t always tend to be crowd-pleasers. I don’t think “my friend loved it” really gets at the point. _Alexander_ is a really good example for me. I typically _love_ big sprawling heroic epics. I love swords and sandals type movies and _Gladiator_ is one of my all time favorite movies. I really like Oliver Stone movies and I actually was pretty tolerant of Colin Farrell at the time on the heels of _The Recruit_ and _Minority Report_. It was even R rated and promised nudity and sex scenes, a rarity these days in big budget movies. This movie absolutely should have been good, or at least entertaining as a popcorn flick. It was neither. _Hellboy 2_ was the first one that leapt to my mind. I am usually a big fan of comic book stuff and I’m generally very tolerant of the quirkiness and occasional plot holes they contain. I really liked the first _Hellboy_ and was one of the first people spreading the word on it, so when the sequel rolled around I was stoked. The addition of Guillermo de Toro was supposed to ensure a great sequel with even better monsters and visuals. Boy oh boy was I wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/50 "2010-04-05T08:24:35Z")
_Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_: I love Kung Fu movies, I love Epic Movies, I’m a big fan of all the principal cast. I fell asleep watching it, and was so bored by it on a subsequent re-watch I switched it off, which is practically unheard of for me. Also, _In Bruges_. It looked like a “Wacky Hitmen on holiday in Europe” film, with amusing hijinks all round, but it was (IME) a depressing, unfunny film in which I didn’t even smile once. Not even at the racist dwarf. I’ve found the film’s popularity on the SDMB to be quite baffling, actually… ---
**Author:** ![lshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lshaw)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/51 "2010-04-05T08:33:08Z")
_Better Luck Tomorrow_ - I didn’t end up hating it, but it was sort of a letdown for me. Everyone was raving about it, and I read the synopsis and thought I would like it. In hindsight, though, I think I just didn’t _get_ it. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/52 "2010-04-05T13:19:29Z")
**Bram Stoker’s Dracula** I had recently read the book, which has a lot of potentially great cinematic elements. Then I hear a movie is coming out, which supposedly is going to stick close to the book and is directed by Coppola. Awesome! How could it go wrong? Easily, it turns out. Dracula gets turned into a crappy Hollywood action movie. The casting is horrible. Anthony Hopkins inexplicably decides to play Van Helsing as an over-the-top screaming madman instead of the voice of professorial wisdom. Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves turn in two of the most distractingly bad fake British accents in cinematic history. Dracula is given a sympathetic backstory so that he is not an evil monster, but just a troubled and heartbroken soul. Gahhhh! The only thing I liked, and that I thought was true to the book, was the scene where Keanu gets attacked/seduced by the trio of female vampires. That was nice. (Well OK, Dracula’s independent-minded shadow was a nice touch too.) Beyond that, the movie was crap. Instead of creeping tension, we get top-of-the lungs yelling, quick cuts and explosions. What a letdown. ---
**Author:** ![Rafe\_Hollister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Rafe\_Hollister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rafe_Hollister)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/53 "2010-04-05T13:27:00Z")
Another one for _Lost In Translation_. I came in here with the intention of nominating that one and expected to catch hell for it, but I see I’m in good company. I felt like I’d done something wrong by not liking it. It’s Bill F’ing Murray, ferpetessakes! How can I not like it?!?! It’s the best performance of his career! Meh. Hated it. At least there were some boobies. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/54 "2010-04-05T14:17:03Z")
I don’t remember any boobies in Lost In Translation, and [Mr. Skin](http://www.mrskin.com/lost-in-translation-girls-t2556.html) says it contains no nudity. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/55 "2010-04-05T14:22:03Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I don’t remember any boobies in Lost In Translation, and [Mr. Skin](http://www.mrskin.com/lost-in-translation-girls-t2556.html) says it contains no nudity. Maybe he’s confusing it with _Broken Flowers_. I mean, they are the same movie, aren’t they? ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/56 "2010-04-05T14:30:57Z")
**Independence Day**. I love Scifi and I like Will Smith. I hated this movie. Hated it. ---
**Author:** ![Endymion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3da27b/32.png) [@Endymion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Endymion)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/57 "2010-04-05T14:33:19Z")
I remember waiting for years for the Godzilla movie, and then it came out. Although it was not the worst movie I have ever seen (it was bad, but not the worst) I cannot remember a time in my life when a movie so utterly destroyed my expectations. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/58 "2010-04-05T15:00:48Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > The addition of Guillermo de Toro was supposed to ensure a great sequel with even better monsters and visuals. Boy oh boy was I wrong. Actually, del Toro directed the first one, too. ([Hellboy (2004) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167190/)) ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/59 "2010-04-05T15:02:29Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > **Bram Stoker’s Dracula** > > I had recently read the book, which has a lot of potentially great cinematic elements. Then I hear a movie is coming out, which supposedly is going to stick close to the book and is directed by Coppola. Awesome! How could it go wrong? > > Easily, it turns out. Dracula gets turned into a crappy Hollywood action movie. The casting is horrible. Anthony Hopkins inexplicably decides to play Van Helsing as an over-the-top screaming madman instead of the voice of professorial wisdom. Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves turn in two of the most distractingly bad fake British accents in cinematic history. Dracula is given a sympathetic backstory so that he is not an evil monster, but just a troubled and heartbroken soul. Gahhhh! > > The only thing I liked, and that I thought was true to the book, was the scene where Keanu gets attacked/seduced by the trio of female vampires. That was nice. (Well OK, Dracula’s independent-minded shadow was a nice touch too.) > > Beyond that, the movie was crap. Instead of creeping tension, we get top-of-the lungs yelling, quick cuts and explosions. What a letdown. Agreed. But, visually, it’s a tour-de-force. I think it’s among the ten most beautiful-_looking_ films I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900/60 "2010-04-05T15:03:34Z")
> [@Rafe\_Hollister](#): > > Another one for _Lost In Translation_. I came in here with the intention of nominating that one and expected to catch hell for it, but I see I’m in good company. I felt like I’d done something wrong by not liking it. It’s Bill F’ing Murray, ferpetessakes! How can I not like it?!?! It’s the best performance of his career! Meh. Hated it. At least there were some boobies. Don’t remember boobies, but the opening shot was… _niiiiiiiice_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-you-thought-youd-love-but-wound-up-hating/534900.md?page=4)