# Not so great movies you watch for the one great element they have **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2006, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602 "2006-09-29T13:30:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/21 "2006-09-29T23:28:44Z")
[QUOTE=psiekier] Gary Graham was in an awful sci-fi movie called _[Robot Jox](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102800/)_. [/QUOTE] That is a terrible, terrible movie. But it’s fun to watch the fights and chant “U-S-A!” I’ve never seen a better chant movie. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/22 "2006-09-29T23:45:31Z")
Jet Li’s scenes in Lethal Weapon 4. Again, thank goodness for Scene Selection. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/23 "2006-09-29T23:48:59Z")
Everyone who has seen _The Gift_ knows exactly what the title really means. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/24 "2006-09-29T23:49:21Z")
I can watch _Pretty Woman_ again and again just for the shopping scene. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/25 "2006-09-30T00:00:42Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Everyone who has seen _The Gift_ knows exactly what the title really means. [/QUOTE] The list of movies that have that element as their saving grace is a long one. And I’ve probably watched most of them! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/26 "2006-09-30T00:45:29Z")
Hmmm…well I could go with “Times Square”. Which I loved when I first saw it because I was 14 and wanted to run off to NYC and live in an abandon building and hang out with Tim Curry. (Later I came pretty close to accomplishing that except the sexy English guy was named Gary and not Tim). Later I saw it again and realized what a terrible movie it was. But it still has a great soundtrack. And reminds me of when I really wanted to dance on stage half naked in a dive to the Velvet Underground (ok I still kinda do). ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/27 "2006-09-30T01:12:19Z")
Another vote for Excalibur. I like some of the photography, story and atmosphere but other parts reek. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/28 "2006-09-30T03:03:09Z")
[QUOTE=psiekier] Gary Graham was in an awful sci-fi movie called _[Robot Jox](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102800/)_. The acting and plot could have used a lot of help, but the robot models were great. Had they the budget to remake this now, it probably would have been all computer generated imagery. [/QUOTE] Heh. Memories. A good friend of mine stumbled upon that movie back in the day and we backe fans of that wretched film. I kill you dead! ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/29 "2006-09-30T03:05:42Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Everyone who has seen _The Gift_ knows exactly what the title really means. [/QUOTE] Ah yes..before she went mental…we got this. Thank you. Just…thank you. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Todd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8797f3/32.png) [@Wee\_Todd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Todd)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/30 "2006-09-30T03:19:34Z")
“Swimming Pool” is a pointless, muddled mess, but Ludivine Sagnier is naked through much of it, so yay! ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/31 "2006-09-30T03:33:38Z")
Shoot, Biggles was the guy from She-Wolf? Man, that and Weird Science. Pointless, but fun stuff. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/32 "2006-09-30T04:46:52Z")
The first 5 minutes of Full Metal Jacket make an otherwise forgettable movie memorable. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/33 "2006-09-30T06:37:43Z")
There’s a by-the-book, kinda dull B-movie called “The Satan Bug” that’s utterly forgettable on most levels, but it has all these incredible scenes of this 1960s Populuxe subdivision of homes perched on the edge of the California desert. All these arresting images of a very moderne, comfortably suburban home set against a desert backdrop that looks like a National Geographic spread. The plot is like a dose of Nyquil and the acting isn’t much better, but it’s been on cable now and then and I can’t not watch it just because some of the scenes are so amazing to look at. ---
**Author:** ![friendlessboob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@friendlessboob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friendlessboob)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/34 "2006-09-30T07:47:43Z")
The movie actually wasn’t bad per se, but not great either. “Searching for Bobby Fischer” has a scene where Joe Monegna is having an arguement with his chess wiz son’s teacher about how much time the son has been out of class at tournaments. and in the middle of this not quite as tense as maybe it was supposed to be scene, in a passably decent drama, right out of the blue, is one of my favorite quotes of all time “He’s better at this than I’ve ever been at anything in my life. He’s better at this than you’ll ever be, at anything.” Montegna delivers it perfectly. Reading it doesn’t do it, try saying it to yourself, say it slow, with a little desperation and pride mixed together, raise the intensity just a little bit, for “life”, then near the end of the second sentence, pause for a half beat before the final “at anything.” Nice, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/35 "2006-09-30T08:13:18Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] Will I get called a perv if I bring up _The Blue Lagoon_? Ahhh, Brooke. [/QUOTE] Or for those of another persuasion: Ahhh, Christopher Atkins. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/36 "2006-09-30T08:44:11Z")
Equilibrium is worth it just for the fight scenes. Especially the finale. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/37 "2006-09-30T09:50:15Z")
[QUOTE=jsc1953] I used to watch \*\*Excalibur \*\* just for the throwing-the-sword-back-in-the-water scene…but I realized it was the \*music \* I liked (Siegfried’s Funeral), more than the movie. I got a Wagner’s Greatest Hits CD, and haven’t seen the movie since. [/QUOTE] You’re making me think of the scene where Arthur regrows his balls and goes to battle, a great scene where the knights ride down through some cherry blossoms, all shining armour and falling petals 🙂 The scenery is great too, shot in various places in Ireland. The real gem is the wiki link for [trivia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excalibur_%28film%29#Trivia), the mention of surgery to allow a prop to be inserted into someone’s body deserves a :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/38 "2006-09-30T09:58:24Z")
I am such a sucker for cheesy dystopian flicks. Last summer’s blockbuster-that-wasn’t, **The Island**. The little underground complex that was set up with holographic windows and little clones walking around in matching jumpsuits hoping to be picked to go die as an organ factory… That stuff hooked me, even if the rest of the movie was spastic and eye-wrenchingly bright. And then there was **Tank Girl**. Mostly, I just like the entire futuristic strip club singing a Cole Porter showtune. And mutant jazz kangaroos. ---
**Author:** ![yelimS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/54ee81/32.png) [@yelimS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yelimS)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/39 "2006-09-30T13:35:02Z")
[Woyzeck](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080149/) I guess it´ll grow on me (Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo are wonderful), but so far, I prefer skipping right to the ending: Ein guter Mord, ein ächter Mord, ein schöner Mord; so schön, als man ihn nur verlangen tun kann. Wir haben schon lange so keinen gehabt. or, slightly less poetic: “A good murder, a genuine murder, a beautiful murder. As beautiful as one could ever ask for. It’s a long time since we’ve had one like it.” ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602/40 "2006-09-30T13:39:55Z")
[QUOTE=Push You Down] Cloris Leechman has one scene in “Hanging Up” with Meg Ryan and Diane Keaton. Its the only good scene in the movie. “Motherhood… it just didn’t take.” [/QUOTE] oh God, I so looked forward to that movie- what a friggin’ letdown! I don’t even remember Cloris Leachman! :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-so-great-movies-you-watch-for-the-one-great-element-they-have/374602.md?page=3)