Overrated Movies (or "Why Does Everyone Like Tyler Durden?")
 

You know the feeling. Seeing a college dorm room and looking at the Fight Club posters or the Pulp Fiction DVD lying on the floor, worn from use. Going on some video game site or anything otherwise not directly film-related and seeing the Saint's Prayer or whatever from Boondock Saints.

You can't escape them. These are the movies that everyone and their mother's mother has seen, those helped on word of mouth and e-mail and poorly spelled Instant Messenger message. The films quoted by people who, in all probability, have only seen the trailers.

These are the overrated movies.

What would you say are some of yours and which ones can you absolutely not stand?

As a means of instigating, I will merely state one title:

Napoleon Dynamite.

I get the feeling that the group of Fight Club fans is about as large as the ''Hurr, this is overrated, and everyone totally missed the point!!'' camp.

Well, since the three movies you mentioned are all on my favorites list, I can only assume that you either have sucky taste in movies or you...OK nevermind. You just have sucky taste in movies.

Saying something is "overrated" is almost always an opinion - not a fact - but I didn't like the Matrix movies or the Star Wars movies. Does that mean they're overrated? Probably not. More likely they just aren't my thing.

Wouldn't saying someone has sucky taste in movies for disagreeing with one of your favorites be the exact same situation?

Is your sarcasm detector broken or what.

Well, the thing is that Fight Club is a well written, well executed peice of film. The problem is in the fact that people (and the internet) ruin everything - not unlike how Star Trek fans pissed all over Enterprise despite it having some of the best stories the franchise had in many years.

Did you actually "get" Fight Club?



*edit*
In my opinion the most overrated movie would have to be The Blair Witch Project, I heard so much hype about this movie "scariest ever lolz" but when i went to see it I was severely disappointed.

Read the book by Palahniuk first. I think it's better in that media, anyway.

Really, I have to wonder if he's seen any of the movies he mentioned or if he just decided in advance that they were "overrated".

Pulp Fiction overrated? That's like saying Don Quixote is an overrated book. Some thing just aren't up for debate.

Yeah, that one suprised me. I could kind of understand him thinking Fight Club was overrated, with people proclaiming it the best movie of all-time, but Pulp Fiction? Come on...

Well, Pulp Fiction suffers from oversaturation in the same way that Fight Club does. Having 15 year old boys putting up posters from great movies does nothing to bolster why they're great. If you asked them what makes them so great they'd probably say "That movie is sooooooo fucked up" - which is only the thinnest sliver of what makes either movie great.

The problem is that the general public doesn't understand what makes good things good. They lack the ability to go any further than what they see and hear in terms of quality.

Quoted for truth (sarcasm and all).

One movie that I really disliked was Lost in Translation. I would say that it's overrated, but I don't think that I "got it", so I won't.

Oh dear Lord, please don't. I can only take so many slaps to the face in one day.

So it's okay to say that some movies are overrated but not the ones you enjoy?

Just how weak-willed are you, woman?

Shaun of the Dead is one of the films i think was really over rated that sucked. All my friends were raving on about how hilarious it was so i thought 'Alright then, i'll have a watch of that' so i did and i was disappointed. I didn't laugh once. It was the most un-funniest thing next to The Office. It got way too much hype for what it was in my opinion

Maybe you just don't like humor that isn't "in-your-face".

Or parodies.

I think you just took the words out of my mouth. Ive never been able to aptly explain why I think movies like Waterboy or Wedding Crashers or Anchorman were incredibly awful - but I think you made the best damned way to argue that point. Thank you.

LeHah, I wasn't commenting on whether or not Lost in Translation is overrated, since that's really not anyone's call. I'm just saying that my delicate sensibilities have been offended enough in this thread.

People who get insulted by stuff on the internet need to log off and rethink their lives.

I've never been able to get into anything by Stanley Kubrick. But since I love Pulp Fiction and Lost In Translation, it's probably my taste in films rather than Kubrick being overrated.

Though I heard enough Napoleon Dynamite quotes to last me a lifetime in high school last year, I thought it was pretty good when I finally saw it a couple months ago.

Shaun of the Dead I love immensely =o

The Matrix movies were well beyond over-rated after the first movie. In all honesty, the Matrix "trilogy" should never have been. Wouldn't have left the series on a sour note with me.

Lost in Translation I got a slight smirk out of. The raves I heard about it was the acting. And Bill Murray delivered. Still, I watched it a couple times on TV, and I had to see it in a "Diversity" class that is required for our degrees here (I picked Women Writers. God help me...) and I don't wanna hafta see it again for all my days.

The teacher had more facts and random trivia about that movie than a Trekkie would know about Season 1.

Fight Club I haven't seen in some time, but I thought it was quite intriguing. The Bitch Tits disease thingie gives me a smirk to this day =p

Napoleon Dynamite floated on phrases largely. I saw it and thought it was average. Reminded me of a good ol' 80s comedy movie. Which isn't a bad thing at all. It had a timeless feel to it (aside from references to the internet) which gives a film a nice atmosphere for some odd reason. Of course, the horse is really getting beaten to death as the main character from ND is being snagged for every god damn movie role available. He'll either be around for a few decades and be remembered as The Pie Fucker Napoleon Dynamite or he'll flop and join the likes of Rob Schneider. Who has no soul.

And while I'm on the note -- every single American Pie movie sucked god-awful. I saw the first in theaters and caught glimpses of the latter ones on TV at points. I must say that those are horrible movies.

In addition, any movie with Will Ferrel seems to be over-rated. Everyone pounces on it saying "zomgsofunny~~" but it isn't my thing. Maybe my sense of humor is too dry for those movies to cater to.

The problem with this thread is that there are no overrated movies, only movies that people THINK are overrated. Thus arguing. :(

Your OPINION is over-rated, sir! :(

Who's rated my opinion higher than it's deserved? :O

Ebert & Roper gave it two thumbs up ;( Sell-outs...

Ebert & Roper are overrated.

Napoleon Dynamite. Never have I been so angry after a movie than I was after I realized I wasted my time on this one. I watched it way after it became mega-popular and I was just annoyed with how un-funny I found it. So that gets my vote for most overrated movie.

I can't disagree more. The show is about educated opinion - Ebert has been reviewing movies since the 60s and has helped establish many proper movies as cultural icones - Hoop Dreams and The Wild Bunch, for example. Movies that people would never have bothered with if it wasn't for him.

I only said it because it seemed to be the most obvious comeback ^_^, I dont actually know who those guys are, they mustn't be big over here.

Shawshank Redemption.
An innocent man goes to gaol and escapes, who cares? The moral is that the death penatly is bad. What makes it so good? It's just another prison movie.

Also

Amélie.
It's just a shitty chick flic, but in French. People speaking in French doens't make a movie good and it doens't make you arty watching it. It's no more highbrow than Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion or your average episode of Friends for that matter.

No, no, the most obvious comeback is:

"Your mom is overrated."

Hmm, I gotta remember that for later.

I'll post something of value in this thread later, I promise. >_> (I do agree with the idea that overrating is more opinion than any actual fact though.)

I love parodies but Shaun of the Dead just didn't do anything for me. See, stuff like Scary Movie i absolutely love because it's mad and takes the mick really well.

I agree about Shawshank Redemption. It's definitely very good, but I don't understand why so many people think it's the best movie ever. The only explanation that is usually given is 'get busy living or get busy dying'. Um, duh?

Wow. I don't even know how to reply to this.

Yeah what the hell. Scary Movie is an insult to good taste and wasn't funny until number 3. And by number 3 they realised they were no good at parodies and instead filled it with funny references. "I wonder what President Ford would've done."

Number 3 wasn't funny either. :(

"I wonder what they're trying to say"
*zooms out to reveal giant 'ATTACK HERE'*

Number three was the worst of them all. Wasn't funny in the slightest.

Léon. Natalie portman is horrible in this movie and i don't understand people's fascination with it.

Shaun of the Dead was amazing, the fact that you stated you enjoy the scary movie series,most likely instantly disqualifies you from this thread.

I seriously thought Natalie Portman's role in The Professional was her best acting ever. I didn't even realize it was her at first, and I was like "man, that little girl who looks like Natalie Portman is a pretty good actor". Then I looked at imdb to verify that it was actually her. Too bad she still uses the acting lessons she learned at age 10. Doesn't work once you're 20.

Anyway, I think Monte Python and the Holy Grail is pretty damn overrated. I mean, it has pretty funny parts, but it just drags on and on until it's just tedious to keep watching.

Anna Paquin > Natalie Portman

But I agree. Portman's acting has gotten repeatedly worse and worse as time goes on. I seriously wanted to slap the shit out of her for her 5 minutes in Heat.

I've never seen Pulp Fiction...

I thought Fight Club was pretty good. I had never really heard much hype before seeing it.

I would hardly qualify Napoleon Dynamite as overrated, my affinity for the film notwithstanding; only about half the people I know have seen it, and maybe half of those who saw it actually enjoyed it. I thought it was one of the most utterly hilarious movies ever.

I definitely enjoyed Lost in Translation.

Now, I'm gonna be torn apart for this one...A CLOCKWORK ORANGE IS OVERRATED! And while I'm going there, 2001 bored me to tears.

While I'll let the 2001 comment slide, as it was a bit boring, A Clockwork Orange was one of the greatest films ever made. Just because you didn't understand it doesn't mean it was bad.

I can see where someone would find 2001 boring.

But then I can see why people perpetuate that black people love fried chicken and run from the poh-lice.

Quentin Tarantino as whole is HIGHLY overrated.

He's done only 4 movies and they are the farthest thing from original.

1- Reservoir Dogs = Main storyline copied from Ringo Lam's CITY ON FIRE
2- Pulp Fiction = 80% written by Roger Avary
3- Jackie Brown = Based on a book
4- Kill Bill = Bits and pieces from his 'favorite' Asian and Western Spaghetti movies

Don't get me wrong, they are still enjoyable movies, but stop treating him like he's some sort of genius. Plus the fact that he whore his name on every movie posters doesn't help.

Quoted for Truth.

The only Tarantino movie I even enjoyed was From Dusk till Dawn, and I don't even know if he directed it for sure, or did anything but play a small role in the movie. It's not his old work that irritates me though, it's all of his recent, new stuff that people jump all over and rape before it is even out.

For instance, two months before Kill Bill premiered people were already hailing it as an awesome movie, the best ever...even before it came out -_-

So yeah, Tarantino and Napoleon Dynamite get my vote for most overrated films of all time.

As for Leon (don't know how to put the accent on words :( i fail), the movie was brilliant, hands down. Still a fave of mine to this day. Shame is the first time I saw it was when I was around 10 years old, and was waaay too stupid to realize how great of a movie it actually is.

Edit: Also, on the Tarantino thing, it's amazing how just putting his name on something makes it instantly awesome to people. Example: Hostel. Horrible movie which was a Sadists wet dream pretty much, but it is GREAT cause Tarantino's name is on it...only reason why it made money.

Tarantino isn't a film.

Man you have no soul. 'Just another prison movie'? That's like saying the Godfather is just another gangster movie.

The comment about the Matrix trilogy only applies to the first one, I really haven't seen anyone praise the other two at all.

Movies that are overrated, I can't think of any movies off the top of my head.

Was going off the post above me :(

Besides, I'm sure if there was a biography on Tarantino's life, it'd make more money than Spider-Man's first weekend box office release. Not because a lot of people would see it, but because those who did would buy twenty tickets to prove they saw such an amazing flick.

Tarantino makes movies, his movies are overrated.

Your point was?

My point:
Try reading, next time.

I think Natalie Portman's performance in "V for Vendetta" was pretty good. She is not a bad actress imo...

Anyway, i never understood the hype for "The Ring". The movie wasn't scary in any moment. It has some disturbing images like the "nail" part in the videotape, but apart from that, it's a common movie.

I'm glad someone had the balls to come out and say it. Enterprise was hated on for no legitimate reason whatsoever.

Fucking A+ LeHah

Sorry, but you're saying there's something wrong with a movie because IT IS BASED ON A BOOK? That pretty much includes half of all films, ever. Originality does not exist, get your head out of your ass.

Hah! A battle of semantics. I love it.

If you're thinking of The Ring as a common movie, then I think I need to go pray now.

This thread is just going in a large circle. Person A says Movie is overrated. Person B replies with why Person A is damn wrong and should be taken away to mental asylum. Repeat.

Here's a handy way to see what movies you think are overrated:
Go to IMDB's Top 250.
Run through the list, pick which movies you don't like.
Those are your overrated movies.

I can't enjoy The Godfather or the Lord of the Rings because they were movies from books? Insanity.

My head seems just fine on my shoulders. What you missed to understand is that I never said they were 'bad' or 'wrong', I said people tend to forget those points and elevate him as a sort of genius who who wrote and 'imagined' every pieces in his four movies. Hence, he is overrated.

Not questionning if your head is at the right place, but rather, do you have one?

And what you don't understand is that the vast majority of films are based on something else. So, he didn't think of the original story, or he didn't write the damn thing. So what. He still interpretted it for the screen, and did a hell of a job. Everyone knows he borrows things from other films. It's called influence. You can justify any films unoriginality if you try hard enough.

What, what? Most people know perfectly well that Tarantino just mixes various pop-culture stuff together; in fact, that's what he's most famous for.

Rent CITY ON FIRE; exact copy of Reservoir Dogs but it was made in the '80s and Tarantino never acknowledged that it was based on it.

Pulp Fiction, Avary never got mentions from any 'Pulp' fan that he wrote the piece.

You're gonna deny that?

Yes, I am going to deny that. Roger Avary also started off directing and writing another great movie, Killing Zoe. I always give Avary the recognition he deserves for his writing.

And for City On Fire, sure, it has the same plot, but does that in any way detract form Reservoir Dogs being a great film? No, it doesn't. Enjoy both of them. Tarantino knew this was a great movie, and also knew that not a whole lot of the North American audience would have heard of it. So, he copies it, causing you some distress. In the meantime, he made one hell of a film, and through his love of Asian cinema, has exposed western moviegoers to techniques and plot devices they may not be comfortable with. If anything, he has greatly increased the chance of people going to see City On Fire, which isn't a bad thing at all.

I'm shocked nobody has mentioned the most highly overrated film in all of existence - The Boondock Saints.

What a dumb fucking piece of shit. I like to call it "the stupid person's Pulp Fiction." It has nothing going for it at all. The "style" is pathetic and is a complete waste of time. I couldn't believe people actually praised this pile of shit movie when they talked to me about it. Oh well, some people are just less evolved than others.

I agree, the script is bad, and the style is awful, but what it does have going for it is Willem Dafoe, who gives an absolutely great performance.

It was mentioned in the first post. :confused:

I have no idea, and I don't think it matters for this particular argument.

My point is that, whether or not Tarantino acknowledges and documents all his influences, he is definitely not known for basing any of his films on his own imagination only. He is not famous for creating every piece of his movies from scratch; he's famous for the way he takes different pieces and puts them together. Thus, saying that 'people elevate him as a sort of genius who who writes every piece in his four movies' is just absurd, in my opinion.

Influence and copy are two diferent things.

That's super! Yet, completely lacking in any relevance.

Tarantino "copies" some things and is "influenced" by others. No one is saying otherwise.

Aardark nailed the point I wasn't eloquent enough to get across with:
His films are not about being original, they're about enjoying the movie, subtle and not-so-subtle references included.

Thank you

All my friends love that movie and it just drives me up a wall. It's *so* bad.

Ah, so it was...

*backs away slowly*

:lolsign:

I thought of another one that has annoyed me - Wedding Crashers. Yeah, it was pretty funny. Ok? PRETTY funny. It's not the funniest movie ever made though. It has it's moments, but come on now.

Everyone has mentioned Napoleon Dynamite, so no need to harp on that one any more than needed.

Harry Potter. Lord of the Rings. Fuck those movies and fuck every asshole with their shitty livejournal icons filled with shitty "witty" commentary referencing some retarded moment that happened in a series of shitty shit movies.

Both are overrated like all hell.

The two that come to mind at the moment are the aforementioned Boondock Saints, and Requiem for a Dream. There was some clever cinematography in Requiem, but with regard to the actual story, I felt absolutely no sympathy for any of the characters. No, not even the crazy TV-addict mom. I'm as anti-drug as the next guy, but in this case, drugs ultimately had little to do with their demise. Drugs can't destroy a person's life if they don't have one in the first place.

Frickin' plastic bag.

I really enjoyed Pulp Fiction and the first half of From Dusk Till Dawn. Sure, Tarantino's not as amazing as some people say he is, but I have nothing against him.

Fight Club was awesome. It had this great style and atmosphere that few movies even come close to giving. The story also made you think, and it was just really entertaining.

Someone also mentionned Leon, which I really liked. Maybe it's because I could care less about Nathalie Portman and watched it for Jean Reno. The action scenes were tight.

I think SAW is overrated. People deal with SAW as it is the second coming of horror. I don't believe it. I feel nothing but pity for the next sorry soul who says "OMG teh ending is sooo cool!" I think it's just plain stupid. Now, add Danny Glover reprising his role from Lethal Weapon in a cliché-ridden "fucked-up cop" side story. Ah, yes, it's also a good this that the Jigsaw killer didn't want his two prisoners to act their way out of the basement... So, we end up with some creative killing methods + Michael Emerson + Shawnee Smith= Second coming of the Horror movie genre? I still don't believe it.

Actually, I found the sequel to be a better movie although a cancer-stricken serial killer setting up an entire house with deathtraps goes way beyond my acceptance level for "suspension of disbelief".

Fight Club :( the movie was great, but it left out a lot of good stuff from the book (yeah, i read the book. Chuck is an amazing writer. check out his other books too *pimp*). I really wished they put in the part about making the chicks mum into soap... (long story).

Napolean Dynamite. I guess it isn't as bad as it was last year, where everyone in my highschool would talk about it, say the jokes and shit, and every friday night a teacher would show it in their room as a 'club.' yeah.

And Family Guy. it's not a movie (well...there is one) but FUCK stop quoting it.

Double Post:


He takes a lot of things from Takashi Miike and suppousively Takashi is one of Taratino's "All time favorite directors." He just plainly takes a HELL of a lot of things from japanese movie directors. :(

Saw is one for me. I couldn't understand how a predictable horror movie with a stupid villain who had stupid motives and shitty acting could ave garnered the affection it did. I mean, really. Each flashback sequence is introduced by a brilliant line such as this:
"I remember it now..."
"It was like it was only yesterday..."

Added to that, I could see who the true killer was a MILE away, and while I didn't see the big twist at the end coming (i.e. where the killer was), I still thought it was shit and pointless. Ugh. Utter trpie.

The Empire Strikes Back is also overrated. It's certainly a fucking awesome film, and forever influenced pop culture, but I preferred the first Star Wars film, personally.

I was not all that impressed with Raging Bull. I can appreciate the cinematography and visual design, but as a piece of entertainment I think it was clunky and tended to drag on when it should have been captivating. The premise was good, but the execution was less good.

I know, I'm a heathen.

I can't think of many movies that I absolutely can't stand that also managed to become popular. I can always seem to find one thing or another to like about a film that hits it big. Akira is an example of one that I just can't swallow, though. Everyone harps on it like it's the Genesis Of All That Is Animated, and really it's just a mishmash of a bunch of unconnected shit and random happenstance.

The Matrix series is pretty overrated. I work at blockbuster and I tend to like obscure movies and things that aren't so mainstream. I loved the first Matrix, but Reloaded was horrible. I think the Wachowski Brothers did an awesome job on V for Vendetta though. I have nothing against them.

I'm curious as to what you perfer in Star Wars over ESB

The Passion of the Christ is waaaaay overrated. I got so sick of people telling me how "important" this movie is and how I should see it immediately. If I want to see 2 hours of torture I'll just watch Hostel.

I love Fight Club, though it's not for everyone. It's easy to understand, but some people have different tastes. Let's say some of those people hated seeing blood or nudity in a movie, they'd instantly deem 'Fight Club' a bad movie. Why? Well, it had an element they didn't like, so they are quick to judge it. The majority of everyone that are interested in movies suffers from this.

I'll have to nominate Napoleon Dynamite as well. I enjoy low-budgeted movies that become something more than they were originally envisioned to be. But I just couldn't enjoy it.

Nostalgia, certianly (though I wasn't around when any of the original films came out, it's still nostalgic). Grand Moff Tarkin is essentially the true villain and arguably more evil than Vader was (he doesn't even justify destroying Alderaan, unlike Anakin's "peace in the galaxy" crap), and Peter Cushing's performance is fantastic. It's also incredibly impressive given the budget constraints of the film in terms of effects.

It's certainly borderline in my preference for the first and second films, as ESB does have so much more to offer, but there's simply something about SW that gets me. Maybe I always prefer the underdog of the collective film-audience's mind (because apparently RotJ is better than SW).

You can't try to make yourself enjoy something. That only makes it worse.

I wasn't try to enjoy it; I was trying to watch it and learn what it is, what story it is telling - just like any other movie viewing. Just I couldn't find myself enjoying it, since I didn't like it.

But thanks for the advice.

I don't think it's been mentioned yet, so I'll go ahead and say Donnie Darko. The movie isn't even really bad, but it's not good either. I bought it after hearing everyone say how awesome this movie was. Too bad it only had 2 cool scenes. And of course when I say I didn't like it the "you didn't understand it" people come in. Even if I didn't, who gives a rats ass, movies like that are fucking retarded anyways (with a few exceptions). I watch a movie to get entertained, not to give myself a headache trying to figure what the fuck just happened. If you have to think after the movie as to what just happened, it's probably not a good movie(again, there are a few exceptions).

I wanna call you a retard, but I can't.



Wait, I just did.

Hmmm... I disagree with quite a bit in here, but thats a matter of perosnal opinion really...

Lost in Translation
not saying it was great or anything... it was ok... however, maybe different in your region, but there was NO hype for this movie.

Boondock Saints, Shaun of the Dead, and Donnie Darko have/had at most moderate hype, although I think that;s an over-exageration. I think they recieved the moderate levels of praise they've recieved.

Matrix, Fightclub; both good for the most part in my opnion. Both had lots of hype. I probably wouldn't have been as impressed if I had seen them post-hype.


mine are:
-napolean dynamite
Heard so much crap from this movie... saw it... and well. It was boring, and I foudn the humor not so humorous.

-Matrix Reloaded
Had alot of hype here, but it was a letdown. Felt it added very little to the 3 part series.

-Saw
Everyone thought it was so amazing and so original... but I've seen it done, and this time it wasn't even done that well IMO.

-Kill Bill
Lotta hype. The first one was decent. The second one bored me.

-Scarface
Don't get me wrong, its good and all... but its not THAT good. Lotta hype for this one in my region. I see alot more posters for Scarface than I do for boondock saints, pulp fiction, matrix, kill bill, and fight club combined. Although, its probably just my region.

Can't think of anything else right now. Although, I know there's more.

Are you serious? I love movies I can think about it. It adds so much more to the movie.

Sorry I upset you nerds, but believe it or not, thats actually just my personal preference. Movies are supposed to be fun, if I wanted to think I'd do actual work on something. I don't even know if I said it right. I don't mind movies where you think, and like movies I can still think about after they're done, but stupid shit like Donnie Darko is just outrageous. I like how none of the movie even makes sense.

But whatever, go ahead and try to act witty.

Being stimulated and challenged intellectually by a movie is a bad thing by your standards? Is it hereditary?

enjoying thought != nerd
I'm actually much more invovled in sports than in "nerd" related activities.

Donnie Darko made plenty of sense for me the first time through. However, the more I htought about it the more it unfolded, which is where it becomes even more intresting and enjoyable imo. I don't buy most movies that leave you knowing everything, because I see no point in watching them again(I own like no comedies :P).

I found Lost in Translation horribly overrated. That and Brokeback Mountain, which simply road the controversy wave that had people ignore that it was a subpar movie at best.

IMO anyways, the whole premise of "overrated" is a movie that everyone liked and raved about but which you didn't like yourself. It's all subjective, there's no absolute truth in these sort of things.

While I greatly enjoy the movie - I'm sick and tired of hearing about it. People think its some kind of underground, secret movie and treat it like only select few should know.

I like Donnie Darko a lot, but mostly for the setting. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but the entire film has a very distinct atmosphere that I've never seen anywhere else.

Anyone else who's seen it get the same feeling? To me, it's almost like they managed to instill every scene with a vague sense of foreboding that kind of comes to a climax in the end.

I'm probably just nuts. Anyway, Donnie Darko would definitely fit with Boondock Saints and Napoleon Dynamite in the "overhyped by teenagers" category.

What I liked about Napoleon Dynamite was that everything came full circle. Every seemingly pointless event that happened or random item that he got ultimately had a purpose. The glamour shots photo, Pedro's cousins, and of course the dance music tape (<3 Jamiroquai, btw). Almost like Signs in that regard, except without the religious overtones.

I found Traffic to be very overrated. It came very close to winning the Best Picture Oscar (Gladiator took it instead, I believe), but I think the movie was one big snooze. I guess some would call the insane mono-color digital grading "artistic", but it made the movie a literal pain to watch.

I have to agree about Lost in Translation. Watched it cause I like Scarlett and Tokyo, but neither was worth it.

Like Napoleon Dynamite, Donnie Darko was only cool when nobody really knew about it. Now every emo/goth goes around with their "mad world" ringtones like the uptight emo twats they are.

Two movies I could never quite appreciate were Signs and The Ninth Gate, the former being far below my personal expectations set by The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable and the latter just didn't make much sense to me, it dragged on quite a bit and the ending felt rushed.

Yes, but The Ninth Gate isn't overrated because nobody liked it.

For me, the first Lord of the Rings was overrated. It took a while for the story to get going, so the first half was rather boring. But the second and third films were excellent in my opinion.

False: Napoleon Dynamite was never cool.

Hahaha, that's the point. Its complete dorkiness is why people find it so charming. A lot of them identify with those awkward years (or at least know someone who went through them).

Agree with you, sir. While the picture didn't bother me too much, I was quite annoyed by the lack of scenario, acting and directing. Only Benicio Del Toro saved the house. I found myself 80% asleep during a good part of the movie. It was plain boring, simple as that. Most of Soderbergh movies does that to me anyway, I never get the hype around Ocean 11/12, Erin Brockovich, etc. "hey but most of the jackass hyped actors wanna play in his movies for a cheaper paycheck !" Wow that's awesome then.

Pretty much anything Spielberg's done for the past 5 years.

A.I., Minority Report, The Terminal, War of the Worlds...

BLECH. He could put a still-frame image of elephant dung onscreen for an hour and a half and the critics would give him 4 stars.

(I haven't seen Munich. It looked different than the other tripe he's been doing lately, so maybe it was good.)

It looks more like that you just don't like his sci-fi work.

While I'm pretty wishy-washy on Minority Report - I think that the first two thirds of War Of The Worlds is amazing and A.I. is flawed genius. I can see why people would disagree with A.I. because its such an unusually paced movie - but WotW? Why did you dislike it?

I don't just hate the Sci-Fi movies (as you can see above, I remembered The Terminal and edited it in).

Welcome to science fiction.


I've only seen the film once, but I received the impression from certain parts of the film's photography and imagery that Spielberg injected an environmental message.

War of the Worlds was only dissapointing in the ending. That infuriated me, and no I don't mean how the aliens died.

The way the aliens killed humans was pretty damn creepy. Certainly not Spielberg's best, and won't win any awards outside of visual effects. Just an entertaining popcorn flick.

That's exactly what I thought [i]wouldn't happen in real life. These people are transfixed, effectively in shock. Running is a last-second response of the mind. And why on earth would spreading that information be more important to Ray than protecting his family? You really missed the point of that film.

Rushed? Because from Ray's point of view he's really going to see the slow, eventual destruction of the machines and their operators.
Those lines are from the book, too. They're not cheezy, they're over half a century old.

Kubrick films are sort of hit or miss in my opinion. I didn't like Eyes Wide Shut (Actually, I have mixed feelings about this one technically/artistically it was good, but I still couldn't "enjoy" it), Barry Lyndon or Lolita. However, I did like Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining.

The films I usually think are overrated are Jim Carrey films. He's really good in some stuff, but it seems like he plays the same character over and over again (Yeah, he's good at physical comedy, but it sort of annoys me at the sametime, it's painful to watch). I haven't seen Eternal Sunshine, but everyone tells me it's good, I just can't get over the fear of having to sit through it feeling totally disappointed/uncomfortable watching it. It's totally me, though, I can't explain it but watching him on screen makes me nervous and very uncomfortable.

As far as critically overrated movies, but underappreciated otherwise: the remake of Solaris with George Clooney. Yeah, there's an ass-shot, it's really brief though, get over it. I think one of the big things in this movie for me was how well the soundtrack fit the mood they were trying to convey with the film. Cliff Martinez's best work (Yes, better than the soundtrack to Traffic).

Munich was Spielberg doing what he does best. He really redeemed himself in light of A.I. and WotW. Although, I did like Minority Report, myself, but that's mainly because I'm a fan of cyberpunk stuff.

Most overrated movie I can think of off the top of my head is Open Water. I fail to see how it was suspenseful or freaky or anything.



Another one I wasn't fond of was The Village. It had a very interesting idea behind it, but it ended abruptly and right when it was finally getting good. I think it's fatal flaw was it was a movie, which have insane time restrictions. It should've been a book or game instead, and thus able to last long enough to pan out into anything great.

Overrated:
YES, Napoleon Dynamite. I can't believe the hype it got, everyone talked about it for at least a month. They re-quoted everything from that movie. And when I finally got around to watch it I thought it was a terrible movie. Waste of my time, I almost fell asleep too.

The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions - I'm sorry, terrible movies. But The Matrix original one was underrated and amazing. Not only till recently, when they started the production of the next two of the trilogy did the Matrix truly become popular.

Anything Quentin Tarantino - Seriously, finally someone agrees. Everyone where I live thinks Tarantino is god. Pulp Fiction was "okay". Kill Bill was mediocre but the hype it got was definately overboard.

Saw I/II - Bleh. Let's ruin it for you, HE CUTS OFF HIS LEG! I'd have to say the trailers and advertisements for this movie ruined it before I even watched it. Second one was even worse.

Dodgeball/Wedding Crashers - I'm sorry, these movies were bad. I didn't laugh once. Everyone was talking about how funny these movies were. No. Dumb humour doesn't get to me anymore.

Not overrated,
Lost in Translation - I watched this movie 4 times. First 2 times I stopped watching half way through because I thought it was terrible. Then I watched it a third time and laughed constantly. This movie seems more of an aquired taste. And it was not popular at all here.

Eh? Which universe do you come from? The Matrix was a surprise box-office smash. There wouldn't have been any sequels had it not been so phenomenally successful.

Agreed. This came right out of Sundance on a wave of praise and it was nothing but a messy piece of crap. Okay, so they're in the middle of the ocean. There may or may not be a shark. No SFX and no flashy gimmicks means more realism thus automatically more tension. No, the reason people liked that was that at the beginning they just had to have some random scene where the female lead was completely naked. She could have been under sheets, you know disorderly sheets so it wouldn't be too "Hollywood" clean, more true to life, but they didn't have to show her completely nude. There was no point except for that it was a small budget and nudity is a big drawing factor so if all else failed, it would be a contingency. Yeah, that failsafe didn't work for me.

Oh dear. Seems to me that there is a problem with you yourself rather than some of the masterpieces you just mentioned. How the hell can you watch something twice, finding it unfunny to the extent that you stop it half way through, then on the third viewing laugh constantly? Sorry, but that is retarded. Maybe you need to watch Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction 37 times so that you can 'acquire' their taste. May I ask, do you dislike Anime/Spaghetti Westerns/Kung Fu/Samurai/revenge flicks? This is the only logical reason as to why anyone would think Kill Bill is mediocre.

Limed for great justice! Though, that said, Fellowship was by no means horrible and did the job it was supposed to do. And had the best material for all those LotR animated .gifs going around.

What? It's cool if you think that Kill Bill is super awesome, I liked it myself, but saying that there is only one possible logical reason why someone might dislike it just isn't serious. Don't call people retarded if the only argument you have is 'you probably hate movies in general, why else would you dislike this one specific film?'.

Tarintino is unbelievanly over-rated. Pretty much every character in all of his films are the same. Tarintino movies are movies for the 15 year olds. LoTR was overrated too, I got the feeling that Peter Jackson was laughing at me while I was watching. Bruce Lee films are overrated as well, give me Chan or Stephen Chow over Lee any day.

Dude, I didn't say it's retarded to not like Kill Bill, I said that the Lost In Translation scenario was retarded.

Ultimately the problem with War of the Worlds was that it wasn't good science fiction. Science Fiction is supposed to be reasonable fiction, not some fantasy pull-it-out-your-ass bullshit like the situation featured in the movie. It requires that it be based on enough scientific principles, or reasonable circumstances in order to remain plausible in a future or alternative past setting.



Like Lehah said, the first 2/3s of the movie was a great experience, but Spielberg gayed it up with a retarded premise, and a feel good everything turns out alright ending.

I'm not so keen on films being labelled as "overrated". I agree that some films are shoved in your face too much and everyone raving on about the film being absolutely amazing, but when you see if for yourself and it's not as good as it was hyped to be you may feel that the film was overrated. But really, it's all down to a matter of opinion and personal taste.

I try and not read reviews or listen to people when they talk about the latest film of the moment, because that's when the whole overrated thing comes into action. I like to watch a film with an open mind not knowing if it's gonna be good or bad.

But really no one can lump together a list of films and say that these films are overrated end of story, because the chances are there's gonna be people who love those movies and an argument is gonna start.

For me personally I watched some stupid countdown of the scariest films ever made and The Shining made number 1. When I actually saw it, it didn't quite cut it for me, I thought the film was good and it had it's moments but it wasn't the scariest.

As for the Tarantino discussion I read briefly in here, I agree that his films are good but he's not a genius director people make him out to be. Another thing that pisses me off is how his name seems to crop up on films like Hero, so stupid people think that he directed it because it has a "Quentin Tarantino Presents" at the top of the case.

I would have to say that The Exorcist is the most overrated film I've ever seen. It is often billed as the scariest film of all time yet, when I watched it by myself and in total darkness, I did nothing but laugh. Now, were I to repeat the same act with something like Ju-on: the Grudge I would probably cry like a little girl.

This from someone with a Withnail & I avatar. Now that's a movie a don't see the appeal in.

Try being a hard-drinking English student.

I'm pretty sure the director of the film asks him either to be an executive producer or to provide guidance while the film is being made, at least that was the case with director Eli Roth for Hostile. I think a film with Tarantino's name on it draws people into a movie they wouldn't have checked out otherwise.

I don't think Tarantino actually takes any creative credit for the "Quentin Tarantino presents" films, it seems to me like he's just helping out lesser-known directors. I'm sure plenty of stupid people do go into those films thinking it's written and directed by him, but that's their problem.

As far as overrated goes: I would say just about any horror movie is overrated. Then again, suspense/thrillers/horror movies never did much of anything for me to begin with. With the exception of Killer Clowns from Outer Space, not because it's actually scary, but because it's a really great comedy. Or, at least I laughed my ass off through the entire thing.

But, seriously, horror movies have never held much entertainment value for me and I can't see why anyone would really like them so much. They aren't scary, and the only ones I've ever liked are only because they're exceptionally gory or there's sort of a cool premise/character. The most recent gore-fest I enjoyed, despite the shallow plot was High Tension, but that may be just because I would have the most awesome, earth-shattering sex with the girl who plays the main character.

I wouldn't consider horror movies overrated due to the fact it doesn't have a large fanbase compared to other genres, a strong fanbase yes but not a BIG one. A lot of people also rip on 80s horror movies "which are the best IMO".

Shanghai Noon and Shaolin Soccer over Enter the Dragon? Really?

I saw I ♥ Huckabees the other night based on a reccomendation. It was the first movie in a long time that I actually fell asleep in. It seems they were far too occupied including as much existential yammering and imagery to remember to include a plot. It's as if halfway through they just decided to stop actually trying to make a movie, and just "let some stuff happen". The whole thing just screamed pretentious to me.

I mean admittedly, it was 1 AM and I was drunk so there is a good chance that I just didn't "get" it. I might one day rewatch it, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

I was neither drunk nor at 1 AM when I saw it and I felt the exact same way. After I finished watching it I felt cheated because the film seemed very pretentious for many of the reasons you listed.

A film that is rather similar but much better is Me and You and Everyone We Know; similar concept but much better execution.

If you want an existential movie that DOESN'T suck, check out Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

Watching I <3 Huckabees was like seeing somebody masturbate to a LiveJournal for two hours.

Quoted for basically stating what I had intended to...

I loved the first “Matrix”, thought the concept and execution were both well done. Then Reloaded came and ruined everything to the point where I didn’t even desire to see Revolutions, and still haven’t to this day. However, likewise, I loved “V for Vendetta” and it kind of proved to me that the first Matrix wasn’t just a fluke success for the two either.

I kind of felt like Office Space was overrated. There are a lot of jokes that can be told many times (and would make me laugh), but the overall story was alright. Not the SUPER AWESOME everyone made it out to be.

How are the last two Matrix movies overrated when no-one likes them?

I think its safe to say Napoleon Dynamite is the most overrated movie of all time. I never understood the cult following it got. Yeah there were a couple funny moments...but seriously it really wasn't that good of a movie.

Someone with a naruto signature is going to libel The Office. doubleyou-tee-eff.

Why do people insist on doing this? I'm not surprised, as this type of respond is typical of fans of an overrated film, but it just doesn't seem like your place to question my intelligence. Ask any teacher I've ever had, I've always been the top analytical mind in my class, whatever the subject. I never said the movie was bad or poorly done (though I'm not saying that it wasn't); all I said was that it's overrated.

Something I've noticed over the years of hearing people judge movies is...people barely seem to know what they're talking about when they say something is over or underrated. It's just like a knee-jerk reaction.

Heads. Heads. Heads.

Brokeback Mountain was overrated by the concensus of critics. Imagine an interracial hetereosexual couple. Or just a plain jane heterosexual couple. Then ask how great a "love" story it was.

Crash was overrated by critics I respect, as well as the academy. "A histrionic assemblage of contrivances and monologues that made me pine for Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing".

Equilibrium was overrated by GFF. Worse acting than the last three Star Wars movies combined, without the badass special FX.

I'll pick apart y'all lists later :)

Double Post:
Munich was lesser, high-minded Speilberg (like Amistad and A.I.). Noble, but lacking the lucid intensity of Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List.

Spielberg DID have a shot of triceritops dung onscreen for a minute or so in Jurassic Park, remember? :)

In case you haven't heard, Spielberg history of popular, sentimental, and excitable filmmaking has created a backlash amongst the pointy-headed professionals of film criticism. Some defend even his worst stuff to the hilt (Armond White). Others thought even Schindler's List was kiddified.

Er... That was the point of the movie. Not a gimmick. There would have been little to no dramatic conflict in the film had it been a "plain jane" hetero couple. It was the story of a forbidden love, and one that is still today often considered just that, whereas interracial relationships are generally better-received.

Exactly, just because its a male pairing should not make the movie great.

No, it was the story of a homosexual male love. A forbidden love between a man and a woman would have been crap. And a forbidden female homosexual pairing would of made it smut.


Jurassic Park was like 10 years ago or something :/. I actually like speilberg's more recent stuff. Most of his stuff always seemed so formulaic and for mass consumption, it's not until more recently that I've felt he's actually been creating several good films within a relatively short period of time.

The movie is AWFUL. The play is great.

I'm going to have to go ahead and disgaree with you, here.

Brokeback Mountain, in my opinion, WAS a gimmick. It was a love story between two fags in the most unexpected of places and people.

First of all, this is not the first movie of it's kind. If you think it is, I encourage you to browse other gay/lesbian film titles. There are PLENTY out there. The only thing that made THIS movie unique is that they actually put it out in the mainstream.

Sure, it indicates that fags and dykes are being more accepted in society, but the film itself was nothing new and nothing profound. It was just a gimmick.

It was just another love story in my eyes. Another boring, bland love story.

Sorry. =/

What astounded me the most about this was how incredibly dull the gunfights were. People were making a big deal about the gun-kata, but it doesn't even look like he's doing anything, he just waves his guns around and people die. True to how it might look in real-life, perhaps, but it makes for boring cinema. It should look like he has some method to his madness instead of coming off as a plot excuse to avoid complicated choreography.

The pistol fight at the end was badass, though. Not enough to justify sitting through the whole movie, but at least there was one worthwhile scene in it.

And THAT scene was ruined by the fact that no one was skilled enough to USE THEIR FEET!

Christ.