# Over-rated Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 3, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573 "2012-09-03T20:05:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/101 "2012-09-10T21:24:17Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > LA Confidential was the 1997 Oscars. It lost to Titanic. A minor detail. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/102 "2012-09-10T22:33:12Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > \ > Brokeback Mountain: Take out the awkward gay sex scene and you have a travelogue about Montana. \ Different strokes for different folks again, but man, it’s like we didn’t even watch the same movie. I thought it was one of the most brilliant movies I’ve ever seen - how Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal expressed pages and pages of emotions with one look. I had to give Ang Lee massive props for the ending, too - it was so far from your typical Hollywood ending that I don’t think anyone who is a product of Hollywood would have dared to touch it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/103 "2012-09-10T23:43:43Z")
_Reservoir Dogs 2001: A Space Odyssey_Christopher Nolan’s _Batman_ films. _Star Wars_ the Indiana Jones films ---
**Author:** ![jordanr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/104 "2012-09-11T00:52:28Z")
Gotta second _Brokeback Mountain_. I’ve sat through and enjoyed things like _Jeanne Dielman_ and even so I found this unbearably dull. Another that comes to mind (and I know I’m probably in a minority of one here): _L.A. Confidential_. The entire thing feels alternately arch, detached, and pompous. Plus I dislike Kevin Spacey and Guy Pearce, and Kim Basinger is a bland _femme fatale_. I believe I read somewhere that Ellroy prefers _The Black Dahlia_ to this, and I have to agree with him on that. Another choice that feels a bit uncomfortably blasphemous: _Dr. Strangelove_. So very smug, full of over-obvious satire and juvenile misanthropy. ---
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/105 "2012-09-11T04:10:49Z")
> [@Greekfreak](#): > > In my mind, yeah. Lesser. “Brokeback Mountain” is one of those films where the acting might get praised but the film itself is less than the sum of its parts. Michael Douglas was better than “Wall Street” and won the Oscar accordingly. “Chariots Of Fire” is a converse example of a film that was uniformly excellent but had no standout performers. I feel the same way about “Sideways” in that I thought both Giamatti and Church brought the characters to life very effectively; too bad I didn’t give a damn about either of the characters to want to see what happened to them. I was bored sick throughout that entire movie just waiting for something good to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/106 "2012-09-11T04:18:38Z")
> [@astro](#): > > While I can sympathize with some of your points it appears as if you simply don’t “get” what was going on in some of these movies like “Silence of the Lambs”. Calling Hopkins a “weak villain” indicates you really did not understand the movie at all, which is fine as far as it goes, but it does throw into question your overall critical acumen. Hi Astro: Hannibal Lector was NOT the main villain, in this story; the main villain that Jody Foster was hunting was Buffalo Bill. I hope that clears up any misunderstandings about my critical acumen. Hannibal Lector is an interesting enough character so much so that he overshadows Buffalo Bill who, again I say, would have blown Clarice away at the end. In fact had Clarice gotten killed at the end, I believe that it would have been a much better movie because then it would have surprised me. The last few minutes with her in the house and in his sights gave me no suspenseful moments whatsoever, since I knew that nothing was going to happen to her. ---
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/107 "2012-09-11T04:25:51Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Natural Born Killers was stylish but terrible. > Platoon was just terrible. > > I haven’t enjoyed a Tim Burton movie since Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and I credit that to Paul Rubens vision ot to Mr. Burton. > > Raimi’s Spiderman movies were pretty awful. > > Iron Man & Iron Man 2 were terribad. > > I liked the first 2 Harry Potter films, hated the 3rd and felt the 4th & 5th were sobad that there was no point in watching the last of them. > > I love Ridley Scott, but Gladiator and Prometheus sucked ass. > > Now, who was starting that “under-rated movies” thread and where is it? I am the original poster and I definitely agree with you about Gladiator and the Iron Man series. That being said, the underrated movies question is in the Cafe Society along with movies that made you cry. Check’em out and post your opinions; I look forward to it. ---
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/108 "2012-09-11T04:28:01Z")
> [@jordanr2](#): > > Gotta second _Brokeback Mountain_. I’ve sat through and enjoyed things like _Jeanne Dielman_ and even so I found this unbearably dull. > > Another that comes to mind (and I know I’m probably in a minority of one here): _L.A. Confidential_. The entire thing feels alternately arch, detached, and pompous. Plus I dislike Kevin Spacey and Guy Pearce, and Kim Basinger is a bland _femme fatale_. I believe I read somewhere that Ellroy prefers _The Black Dahlia_ to this, and I have to agree with him on that. > > Another choice that feels a bit uncomfortably blasphemous: _Dr. Strangelove_. So very smug, full of over-obvious satire and juvenile misanthropy. I forgot about “Dr. Strangelove.” Yeah I agree with everything you say here about that overrated unfunny crap. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/109 "2012-09-11T04:30:14Z")
Most of my picks have been mentioned: 1. L.A. Confidential; I’ve never understood why this film was so highly praised. I will grant that the acting performances are first rate though, curiously, the one that got the Oscar (Kim Basinger’s) was the least impressive. Still, the movie is otherwise an utter mishmash of storylines that in a few areas just don’t make any sense at all. It’s all atmosphere. Sizzle, no steak. 2. The Shawshank Redemption. Honestly, what is the big deal about this movie? Rated on IMDB as one of the very best movies ever made; would not make my Top 300. 3. Apocalypse Now. Guys love this movie, and I fully agree the film is full of wonderful, wonderful scenes. But as a whole it’s still disjointed and pompous. Much of the supposedly deep, meaningful dialogue is just high school poetry bullshit. 4. Blade Runner. I think people like the IDEA of Blade Runner more than the actual movie, which is horribly slow. I give the movie big props for being innovative in a lot of ways, but it’s dated and it gets boring. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/110 "2012-09-11T06:50:24Z")
No Country For Old Men was a waste of time. There Will Be Blood wasn’t much better, although it did have some good acting. ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/111 "2012-09-11T07:25:01Z")
_The Artist_ It wasn’t bad. I thought it was “cute” but what’s with all the awards. Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/112 "2012-09-11T12:47:07Z")
> [@DataZak](#): > > _The Artist_ > > It wasn’t bad. I thought it was “cute” but what’s with all the awards. Seriously? It was a throwback to the early films, just as an African-American actress won the Best Supporting Actress won for playing a domestic, just like the first one did. ---
**Author:** ![jordanr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/113 "2012-09-11T13:18:37Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > 1. The Shawshank Redemption. Honestly, what is the big deal about this movie? Rated on IMDB as one of the very best movies ever made; would not make my Top 300. It’s been at the top of that list for as long as I can remember, but there’s no reason to take that list seriously as anything but a measure of zealotry on the part of fanboys, who will routinely do things like giving _The Godfather_ a 1 to boost the rating of their preferred film, or start multiple accounts to vote up something like _Dark Knight Rises_. IMDB also recently jettisoned all movies with fewer than 25,000 votes from the list, which makes it even less defensible as anything but a trivial popularity contest. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/114 "2012-09-11T13:54:30Z")
There’s another survey just out of critics’ picks for best movies of all time, and Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” was #1. I love a number of his movies (“Rear Window”, “North By Northwest”, “Psycho”, “Strangers On A Train” etc.) but “Vertigo” has always seemed fairly dull and lifeless by comparison with his best stuff. Another over-rated Hitchcock film - “The 39 Steps”, often described as a classic thriller but to me way inferior to the novel. > [@RickJay](#): > > Blade Runner. I think people like the IDEA of Blade Runner more than the actual movie, which is horribly slow. I give the movie big props for being innovative in a lot of ways, but it’s dated and it gets boring. Seconded. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/115 "2012-09-11T14:11:52Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > 1. L.A. Confidential; I’ve never understood why this film was so highly praised. I will grant that the acting performances are first rate though, curiously, the one that got the Oscar (Kim Basinger’s) was the least impressive. Still, the movie is otherwise an utter mishmash of storylines that in a few areas just don’t make any sense at all. It’s all atmosphere. Sizzle, no steak. I couldn’t disagree more (except with your dislike of Shawshank Redemption). We can agree the acting was exceptional (and you’re spot on that the worst actor in the whole movie ended up with the Oscar), but the writing was just as good, if not better. It wasn’t a “mishmash” of storylines, it was a well plotted, interesting story told through different characters that comes together at the end. And the characters are well-written and interesting and how they react to the investigations and how the story unfolds (which is another bit of excellent writing) was very engaging. It’s certainly complex and deals with topics that aren’t necessarily engaging to most viewers (finding your own morality and character), but I loved it and thought it was well deserving of all the praise it received. Plus it introduced me to James Ellroy, which was nice. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/116 "2012-09-11T14:36:57Z")
Mel Brooks, his movies are like a standup routine for a 10 year old boy’s birthday party. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/117 "2012-09-11T15:28:10Z")
I guess I’ll be the first to say _ **The Avengers** _. Just didn’t work for me. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/118 "2012-09-11T16:07:09Z")
> [@norvalnormal](#): > > As for Overrated, has Oscar-winner _Amadeus_ been mentioned? A wafer-thin premise for a play, and subsequent movie, making a “profound” statement (incidentally, not all that true, never mind profound) about “genius” … er … “childlike genius” and enabling even yokel moviegoers to have the satisfaction of having sat through a bona fide “work of art” about “classical music,” no less …! Aww, that’s the one I came in to pan. _Alien_ might be overrated by your college buddies, and _Titanic_ might be overrated by teenage girls, but _nobody_ nominates them to the Pantheon of High Art. _Amadeus_ sits atop a pedestal in that Pantheon…and farts, and giggles to itself. > [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > I actually think that \*Amadeus \*has a pretty strong premise. It’s based on the verse drama “Mozart and Salieri” by Pushkin, which in turn is based on the Cain and Abel story. It’s at heart a theological drama, about the seeming arbitrariness of God’s favor, and the sin of envy (the name “Amadeus”, fittingly, means “God’s love” or “loved by God”). > > The problem with the movie is just how far it goes in libeling its main characters. …and that it’s pretentious and boring. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > The plsay does a much better job of getting you inside Salieri’s madness. It seems quite reasonable on stage. In the film, he seems just to be crazy. I’ve never seen the play, but it makes sense that something that’s obvious in the play wasn’t captured in the pedestrian film. The movie seems to be mostly about costumes, and uses Mozart’s infantile behavior in pretty much the same way _Pulp Fiction_ was accused above of using violence – as a stunt to distract the viewer and create the illusion of substance. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/119 "2012-09-11T16:39:46Z")
**The Dark Knight**. It’s not a bad movie, it’s well done, slick, and decently acted, but the amount of solemn praise it gets is baffling. It’s about a guy who dresses up as a bat to fight crime. he has a tank that shoots motorcycles. Movies like this should be fun and tongue in cheek, not turgid and depressing. I loved the avengers because it was aware of its own silliness. Also Ledger’s performance was good, but he’s hardly the first antic psycopath in movies. Frank Booth was a lot scarier. Plus, if Joker was so manic, how did he get so many henchmen? Wouldn’t most of his thugs just have said “Screw this, let’s just go rob a liquor store.” And why did Batman have to take the fall for Dent’s going nuts? Dude just had his face burned off and went on a revenge quest against the people who were responsible for that (and Rachel’s death.) Shocking, but not a secret that needed to be kept from the citizens of Gotham. None of this would have hurt a less self-serious movie. Loki’s plan didn’t make a lot of sense–“A bunch of guys on flying jet ski’s are going to blow up your cars. And then they’ll dismount and fight hand to hand for some reason. Tremble before me!”—but that didn’t bother me because the movie was so much fun and so tongue in cheek. Also the action scenes were confusing and not well filmed. Actually the action sequences in the new movie were much better. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573/120 "2012-09-11T16:49:27Z")
I have compiled a list of my ten most over-rated (recent) Best Picture nominees, just to fan the flames of discussion. I dislike every one of these films: Awakenings The Blind Side The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Dead Poets Society Erin Brockovich Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Jerry Maguire Network Terms of Endearment The Tree of Life mmm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-movies/633573.md?page=7)