# Movies you were greatly surprised not to like **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923 "2009-06-06T14:39:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/121 "2009-06-09T20:00:06Z")
> [@gang\_green](#): > > Wow. You beat me to the punch. > > A bunch of unsympathetic assholes in full Technicolor! For 1/6 of a day! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/122 "2009-06-09T20:02:32Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > _Lolita_ (1961). Zzzzz. I guess I was expecting it to be droll because it had Peter Sellers in it. OMG I love that movie, as well as the remake with Jeremy Irons. I was totally disappointed by Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I still love Kevin James, but that movie sucked it. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/123 "2009-06-09T21:55:04Z")
A couple cult movies… I’m heartened to see that I’m not the only one who hates _Princess Bride_. Given the degree to which people can make themselves obnoxious by quoting it, I was expecting something quirky and fun. At least memorable. On the contrary, I found it utterly devoid of wit and surprisingly lacking in whimsy and humor. Its cult appeal mystifies me. Ditto _A Christmas Story_. I actually had a friend recommend this to me because it’s “exactly my kind of humor.” Suffice it to say she was mistaken. I found the movie endless, agonizing, and devoid of any redeeming qualities whatsoever. Also nice to see that I’m not the only one who thought that _Drag Me To Hell_ was awful. I generally like Raimi, but only when he has limits and restraint. Whenever he gets free reign to do whatever the hell he wants, he invariably churns out something stupid (in a bad way) and, for me, unwatchable. _Drag Me To Hell_ joins _Army of Darkness_ and _Spider-Man 3_ on the “Bad Raimi” list. You can also put me down for someone who didn’t like _Transformers_ as much as he expected. Wayyy too much time wasted on stupid non-robot stuff, although I appreciate the opportunity to ogle Shia LaBeouf. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/124 "2009-06-10T00:20:56Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > He was (a small) part of the problem with the movie for me. His acting was so over-the-top and scenery-chewing it took me out of the film - not that I wasn’t grateful to be taken out. > > Forgot to mention **Crash** in my post. The only explanation I have for that Oscar is maybe a majority of the Academy voters live in white suburbs and their only experience with other races comes from giving orders to their maids. I’m with you on **Crash**. What a bunch of pushy, pandering, pretentious pap. And whatever the movie was with Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and a bunch of other people in various countries being amazingly connected in various ways (mostly in that they were all freaking idiots), can’t recall the name…That was just as bad. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/125 "2009-06-10T00:25:19Z")
Movies I was supposed to like, but didn’t: \*\*The English Patient Gaslight Black Widow \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/126 "2009-06-10T00:37:25Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > And whatever the movie was with Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and a bunch of other people in various countries being amazingly connected in various ways (mostly in that they were all freaking idiots), can’t recall the name…That was just as bad. [Babel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babel_(film)). I stayed away after reading a bunch of unfavorable reviews. Plus, I had already been burned by Iñárritu’s [21 Grams](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21_Grams), which I thought was going to be awesome. Unfortunately, I hated it and felt the disjointed timeline was just gimmicky and didn’t add to the movie at all. I believe that if you watch 21 Grams in plot chronological order, people would see that it is not a good movie. Which is sad, because [Amores Perros](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amores_perros) is on my Top Ten of all time list. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/127 "2009-06-10T06:46:00Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I was disappointed with the Peter Jackson remake of “King Kong.” It had a lot of great moments, but it was a terrific two-hour movie packed into three and a half hours, and Jack Black was not up to the task. Oh god yes. The critics were raving, everyone was saying it was great. My God I was ready to fall asleep after the first 30 minutes. :mad: I was so bored by that movie that by the time some ofhte better bits came around I was too busy picking it apart to enjoy it. > [@RickJay](#): > > Really? I’ve never in my entire life met anyone who liked it. > > My brother in law sort of liked it, in a laugh-at-it sort of way. He described it as “like a French farce, but with robots.” That’s about as positive a review as I’ve ever heard of it. You can count me as liking Transformers. It wasn’t a great movie but it was OK, with a few really annoying bits. ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/128 "2009-06-10T13:13:39Z")
After hearing years of hype about **Clerks** , I finally gave in and decided to watch it myself. Turned out it was a complete waste of 1½ hours, boring, and generally completely lacking in humor. To this day I don’t know why it’s attained such a reputation. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/129 "2009-06-10T14:28:33Z")
The Sting - this is the only movie, in my long movie-going experience, that I actually fell asleep during. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was an almost. Must be Robert Redford! I am apparently the only woman of a certain age who didn’t drink the kool-aid. This one isn’t new, and I should be thrilled to death whenever it shows up on TCM, but I HATE On The Town with Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly. It has all the right parts that I should like - a musical; made before 1960; Frank and Gene who I ordinarily enjoy. Yet I just HATE it and want to punch them all in their foolish faces. Singin’ dancin’ girl-chasin’ sailors-on-leave ASSHOLES. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/130 "2009-06-10T14:40:38Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > _Office Space_. Bigged up regularly on this board, and it sounded on paper like exactly my kind of film. But I thought it was slow and obvious and boring. Ron Livingston was part of the problem. Is there a less charismatic actor out there? With a stronger lead, it might have been decent, I guess. Me too. Not sure why it didn’t click, but I found it dull and unfunny. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/131 "2009-06-10T15:31:08Z")
**The Accidental Tourist** : Had a good title, was adapted from a novel that people apparently liked, looked like a good cast. And I hated it. I hated Geena Davis’s character–she was mean, weird, and pushy. I kept wishing William Hurt would leave her and go back to Kathleen Turner. But as I recall, he did not. I don’t even remember what else happened. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/132 "2009-06-10T16:19:04Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I heard all the hype about _No Country for Old Men_ and ended up disliking it immensely. And after the credits rolled for \*Star Trek Reboot \*or 0.0 or whatever they’re calling it, I sat in my movie theatre seat, trying to wrap my head around the betrayal. I was going to come here to say \*the new \ ***Star Trek**. I wasn’t a big a fan of any of the multiple TV series, but I could see what made them appealing. Though I never really jumped that franchise’s bandwagon, the good praise the “_reboot_” was receiving made it seem like an appropriate time as any to try and do so. I’ve seen many random NG episodes, some of the original, a few DS9, and the movie, “Generations”; Which was much more satisfying than I found this pile. I just don’t understand how so many people could like this movie. It makes my brain leak from out of my ears. I wasn’t a fan of **No Country for Old Men** , which I saw it almost an hour after watching **There Will Be Blood** , and I loved. ---
**Author:** ![RunSilent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@RunSilent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RunSilent)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/133 "2009-06-10T16:25:51Z")
Pulp Fiction (but I did like The Gimp) Bagdad Cafe Blue Velvet Dr. Zhivago ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/134 "2009-06-10T16:26:03Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. One of my favorite stories of all time and they ruined it. Granted there were good parts but overall a massive disappointment. Definitely. It wasn’t too horrible until Zaphod showed up, but then it went completely in the commode. What struck me about it was that there’s a certain innate British-ness to the book…and the movie seemed to work very hard at avoiding that. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/135 "2009-06-10T16:26:27Z")
Oh, and I ended up not liking **Brokeback Mountain**. I thought it was boring and sappy. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923/136 "2009-06-10T20:38:32Z")
> [@sohvan](#): > > After hearing years of hype about **Clerks** , I finally gave in and decided to watch it myself. Turned out it was a complete waste of 1½ hours, boring, and generally completely lacking in humor. To this day I don’t know why it’s attained such a reputation. Hah. That’s funny, because I had almost the exact opposite experience. I _abhor_ everything Kevin Smith has ever done. I’m supposed to like him because we’re both nerds and read a lot of Marvel comics I guess, but I find him to be a virtual black hole of talent. But I caught _Clerks_ on IFC a while back and thought oh, that wasn’t so bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-were-greatly-surprised-not-to-like/498923.md?page=6)