We’ve all had that experience (except shut-ins) where everyone (either critics or friends) tells you its the best movie, then you go to see it and it is an oozing piece of donkey feces. For me, Gladiator was that movie. What was it for you?
American Beauty
Blair Witch Project
Titanic…most definitely Titanic
Actually, quite a few, I could go on and on
Ok…i’m not seeing how American Beauty was overated…but that’s my HO.
Have to agree on Titanic…what a piece of overated rat feces.
Oh…and i guess i’d have to say that Saving Private Ryan was n’t all that it was drumed up to be.
Perfect Storm…I would say Titanic, but I’ve never seen it. I never will see it.
I agree: Titanic and American Beauty (as well as my original, Gladiator.) I think I’m seeing a pattern here. The movies everyone’s mentioned so far were pretty long. That certainly didn’t help them (for people who hated them.)
How can you go past ID4 (Independance Day)?
American Pie…don’t know why all people my age think its the greatest movie ever…
Oh yeah, ID4 was most definitely a let down. How about Star Wars the Phantom Menace not quite living up to the hype?
As for American Beauty, HalberMensch242, I suppose I didn’t really get it. I mean, I don’t think that it was a bad movie, it was pretty good, I just didn’t thinnk it was as good as everyone said it was. Although, nothing ever really is.
Star Wars. I’ll probably get flamed for that, but I just don’t see the whole appeal.
The Shining.
The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Possibly the biggest waste of two and a half hours in my young life. I went into it with two friends and high hopes. Everybody I’d talked to had told me, “You have to see this movie! You haven’t lived until you’ve seen this movie!” So I went to see this movie and it sucked dead dog farts. There came a time when the whole audience gave up watching, about fifteen minutes from the end, and everybody in the theater started talking. Then, near the finish, Cate Blanchett said something about “I’ll talk to you later” and the horrible thought that there might, in fact, be a later in this movie almost made us walk out. To this day I don’t know how I stuck it out to the credits - sheer stubborness, I guess. I couldn’t let that awful movie win.
Oh, Blair Witch Project was a waste of my money, too. One of my friends had to escape and throw up halfway through from motion sickness.
Sara
I gotta go with E.T. on this one. I remember how everybody and their brother said how great it was, it’s the wizard of oz for this generation, the whole thing. Then I took my then-eight-year-old sister to it. What I saw was a movie that was definitely NOT for kids. There was rude language, adults being treated like buffoons, the title character dies,Then they do electro-shock on him. This was a scary freakin movie. To this day I have only seen it the one time.
Definitely ID4.
I hate sounding like Bill CLinton, but let’s try to DEFINE “overrated.” Overrated by whom? Critics? The public at large?
I mean, there are LOADS of terrible movies that have raked in hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. I HATED “Twister,” but it drew huge audiences. Does that make “Twister” overrated? No… because even the people who paid to see and and more-or-less enjoyed it rarely or nver claimed it was a masterpiece or a work of art.
Overrated in terms of awards? Certainly, the Oscars and Golden Globes regularly go to movies that were neither very good NOR very popular. “Out of Africa,” for instance, was a crashing bore, got only so-so reviews from the critics, and did only tepid business at the box office… and yet, it swept the major Oscars.
Well, then, overrated by film critics? I can name DOZENS of movies that critics raved about that NOBODY outside the critics’ community would ever pay to see. Critics are NOT representative of the public at large (though, in fairness, nobody COULD be! There are way too many people out there with way too many different criteria).
Suffice it to say, a homosexual coming-of-age story filmed in black-white-film with subtitles is going to be a critics’ darling! But 99% of the time, ordinary people who listen to the critics are going to come home confused or repulsed.
So… if the question is “What are the worst movies to make tons of money,” I’d say…
- “Twister”
- “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace”
- “Coming to America”
- “Grease”
The worst movies to win a lot of Oscars?
- “Out of Africa”
- “American Beauty”
- “The English Patient”
- “The Greatest Show on Earth”
The worst movies ever to get flooded with critical praise?
- “The Ice Storm”
- “American Beauty”
- “Breathless” (Godard)
- MOST of Stanley Kubrick’s movies, but especially “2001”
- EVERYTHING by Robert Altman, except “Nashville”… especially the incredibly bad “The Player.”
Of course, I must admit, MOST of the films critics rave about are movies that only play in “art houses,” and which I’d never dream of seeing… so, it’s entirely possible that there are FAR worse movies among the critics’ favorites than these.
What exectly is so awfull about Kubrik’s films(with the exception of Eyes Wide Shut, which i wasn’t too fond off)?
American Beauty was one of the worst scams perpetrated against the moviegoer in years. A contemptible, sophomoric piece of fetid dreck masquerading as insightful. Blair Witch was the same–but raised to the tenth power, cubed.
astorian is quite right to break this question down into categories. Ok we’re talking all-time here. So here are the top 100 movies according to The American Film Institute:
Top 100 Movies
I’m gonna get raked over the coals for this, but I never understood the fuss over “Casablanca”
I also think that “Raging Bull” is way overrated.
I didn’t care for “On The Waterfront.” A completely humourless picture that needed a little comic relief.
E.T.-sucked
Why all the hate for American Beauty? 
What…you guys gona rip Blue Vevelt apart next?..i know it’s comin…just get it over with already.
What is up with all the American Beauty hatred? There was no hype. The only reason I saw that in theaters is because I went into the wrong theather. I never heard of it before then and it had been out for a few weeks.
I don’t know about you, but I did not hop on the bandwagon once it was nominated, I was driving the damn thing long before anyone paid attention.
As for movies not worth the hype, I would have to say the big winner is Hannibal, it was ok, but not as good as everyone said it was.
And on a final note…
What the hell is Ebert’s problem? He keeps bitching that he does not like Gladiator because of the “shotty graphics”. Oh kiss my ass you ball of flaming shit. “Boo Hoo, I can’t make out the faces of the people in the top row and I do not like the colors they have in the early morning, through the mud! Waa Waa!” Get off of it Ebert. Look at Pulp Fiction, it was low budget and had the shottiest effects known to man, but that did not take away from it. Ass.
Star Wars