"Oh HELL No!" Movie Moments That Anger Up the Blood

[Spartan Girl]

No offense taken :)

Moving on, Miguel's family in Coco really irritated me with their totalitarian music ban. They wouldn't even let Miguel play or listen to music for fun?! Geez. And I hated how his parents just let the grandma bully him and threaten him with not ending up on the family ofrenda. I don't blame Miguel for finally snapping and running away.

I also got mad when Imelda said she still couldn't forgive Hector even after she found out that he didn't really abandon her, he was murdered. I was like, "Forgive him for WHAT?!" Maybe he shouldn't have gone on tour with Ernesto, but how the hell was he supposed to know that his partner/best friend would wind up murdering him?! Hector didn't deserve to die anymore than he deserved getting cut off from his family and nearly fading out of existence for SOMETHING HE DID NOT EVEN DO.

Yeah, Imelda came to her senses eventually but GEEZ.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Spartan Girl

[Crs97]

Husband is rewatching The Rookie.  The father is such a horrible person that every moment of him on screen is a “Oh Hell No” moment, especially when

Spoiler

Jimmy gives him the game ball.  His son should have gotten that ball, seeing as he was the only one who wholeheartedly believed in him.

[Spartan Girl]

Rewatched Saving Mr. Banks and this one scene made me mad: on her flight to LA, PL Travers has is having trouble putting her bag on the overhead bin, but refuses the flight attendant's offer to take the bag. A nearby passenger, a woman with a baby, generously offers her bag to make room for Travers'. Instead of saying thank you, Travers just asks her if the baby will be a nuisance during the 11-hour flight, then snipes that she hopes the plane will crash so that she won't have meet Disney.

Look, I get it, she had a hard life, but that doesn't justify being awful to everyone.

[magicdog]

When I read up on what Ms. Travers did during her adult life (including her adopted son) the movie version was almost tolerable!

[Spartan Girl]

From the director's cut of Amadeus: when Salieri tries to sexually extort Mozart's wife in exchange for getting Mozart the tutoring position for the Emperor's daughter.  And when she does come back to his place later that night, he humiliates her by waiting after she's standing half naked in his study to ring for his servant to show her out.  That was low on so many levels.

[proserpina65]

On ‎03‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 9:53 AM, Spartan Girl said:

Rewatched Saving Mr. Banks and this one scene made me mad: on her flight to LA, PL Travers has is having trouble putting her bag on the overhead bin, but refuses the flight attendant's offer to take the bag. A nearby passenger, a woman with a baby, generously offers her bag to make room for Travers'. Instead of saying thank you, Travers just asks her if the baby will be a nuisance during the 11-hour flight, then snipes that she hopes the plane will crash so that she won't have meet Disney.

Look, I get it, she had a hard life, but that doesn't justify being awful to everyone.

From what I've read, P.L. Travers wasn't necessarily a very nice person in real life, so I can appreciate the movie having that moment, given how much it shied away from accurately reflecting her real personality.

[Spartan Girl]

There's nothing I despise more than a toxic Nice Guy that lashes out at others when he doesn't get what he wants.

So Martin vindictively outing Simon in Love, Simon (after blackmailing him for help in getting a girl) just because his little scheme didn't work sends me to my HULK SMASH place.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

4 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

There's nothing I despise more than a toxic Nice Guy that lashes out at others when he doesn't get what he wants.

It could be worse. I caught the last half hour of Precious on Starz, having forgotten exactly how monstrous Precious' mother is. I don't advocate violence as a general rule, but wow. I admired the social worker's restraint in not smacking the hell out of that thing at the least.

[Spartan Girl]

So I just watched the movie Room for the first time.  Even though I already read the book and therefore knew what was going to happen, it still was a tough movie to watch.  Merely the fact alone that Joy had seven years of her life stolen by that FREAK was anger inducing enough.

But what made me just as mad was how her dad couldn't accept Jack.  Look, I get that he was a child born of rape and that's hard to deal with.  I understand when it's the MOTHER that can't accept the child, as awful as it is, but her dad?  He wasn't the one that had it happen to him.  And Jack was just a little boy that didn't do anything wrong.  So the fact that he just takes off because he can't deal with any of it made it harder for me to sympathize with him.

[Wiendish Fitch]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

So I just watched the movie Room for the first time.  Even though I already read the book and therefore knew what was going to happen, it still was a tough movie to watch.  Merely the fact alone that Joy had seven years of her life stolen by that FREAK was anger inducing enough.

But what made me just as mad was how her dad couldn't accept Jack.  Look, I get that he was a child born of rape and that's hard to deal with.  I understand when it's the MOTHER that can't accept the child, as awful as it is, but her dad?  He wasn't the one that had it happen to him.  And Jack was just a little boy that didn't do anything wrong.  So the fact that he just takes off because he can't deal with any of it made it harder for me to sympathize with him.

Even worse was that evil, unethical piece of shit reporter basically slut/victim-shaming Joy during the interview. I was hoping for a coda where we find out that reporter never worked in journalism of any capacity ever again after that (or, better yet, was eaten by grizzly bears).

Edited August 6, 2018 by Wiendish Fitch

[Spartan Girl]

3 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Even worse was that evil, unethical piece of shit reporter basically slut/victim-shaming Joy during the interview. I was hoping for a coda where we find out that reporter never worked in journalism of any capacity ever again after that (or, better yet, was eaten by grizzly bears).

Right?! Trying to make her feel guilty that she didn't try to convince Nick or whoever the hell he was to leave Jack at a hospital after he was born. Bitch, you would trust a KIDNAPPING RAPIST with an infant child?! There was no guarantee he wouldn't just kill him or leave him somewhere to die!

[Spartan Girl]

Recent talk about The Birdcage on the "Heroes that are Actually Awful" thread has brought to light how much of a jerk Val is for making Albert and Armand hide who they are.  But the one thing that makes me madder than anything is when Barbara tells Val how nice Albert is, Val just dismisses that with, "Albert's not my mother, he's a drag queen."

Dude, FUCK YOU.  That "drag queen" loved and raised you as a son.  

[cpcathy]

Val is the WORST.

[Spartan Girl]

It would have been nice if there had been a scene or two of Val expressing some kind of guilt or remorse that he was shoehorning poor Albert out of his life, leading up to the part where he declares that Albert is his true mother. But nope.

While on the subject of Robin Williams, the ending of Dead Poets Society where the school and Neil's shit parents make Mr. Keating the scapegoat of Neil's suicide STILL enrages me. To paraphrase another movie thread title on the forums, Mr. Keating did nothing wrong, you jerks!

Also, the ending to Gone Baby Gone. Fuck you, Casey Affleck. Fuck you.

Edited August 19, 2018 by Spartan Girl

[Crs97]

24 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

While on the subject of Robin Williams, the ending of Dead Poets Society where the school and Neil's shit parents make Mr. Keating the scapegoat of Neil's suicide STILL enrages me. To paraphrase another movie thread title on the forums, Mr. Keating did nothing wrong, you jerks!

I also hated that no parent argued or sought answers or talked to his or her child before just nodding and washing their hands of the whole incident.  His roommate kills himself, and all the parents want him to do is shut up and sign without checking to see if he is okay?!?  Just no.

[NUguy514]

Oh god, Val is the WORST!!  They way he treats Armand and, especially, Albert is horrible.  Moreover, his cruelty causes Armand to be dismissive of and awful to Albert, too.  When I watched this movie as a teenager, I didn't really get that and just thought Albert was kind of ridiculous.  Now that I'm older and wiser, I understand that Albert is incredible and the hero of the story and that Val and Armand can go fuck themselves.

[Spartan Girl]

7 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

Oh god, Val is the WORST!!  They way he treats Armand and, especially, Albert is horrible.  Moreover, his cruelty causes Armand to be dismissive of and awful to Albert, too.  When I watched this movie as a teenager, I didn't really get that and just thought Albert was kind of ridiculous.  Now that I'm older and wiser, I understand that Albert is incredible and the hero of the story and that Val and Armand can go fuck themselves.

Well, to be fair to Armand, Albert was a bit of a pain, always flying off the handle at every little thing. Not to mention being paranoid and insecure. He would be hard to be married to.

And to give credit where credit is due, Armand did ultimately insist on Albert staying and trying to help him pose as an "uncle" because he knew how heartbroken Albert would be to be left out of Val's wedding.

[Wiendish Fitch]

In All That Heaven Allows, Cary (Jane Wyman)'s adult children are shocked and appalled that their widowed, middle-aged mother would date anyone but the stuffy old hypochondriac they approve of, let alone much younger gardener Ron (Rock Hudson). After giving their poor mother (a grown-ass woman who is free to date whomever the hell she pleases) grief, she caves and breaks it off with Ron. She tells her son what she's done, and how does he react? Basically along the lines of "eh, that's nice, anyway..." The little douchebag just treated it as a matter of course that his mom would bow to his wishes!

To cap it off, Cary's daughter then tells her she didn't have to break up with Ron, and instead of fully owning her hatefulness and encouraging her to get back together with him, she just gives Cary a half-assed apology and a TV set!

Yes, yes, I know, Cary should have put on her big girl pants and told off her worthless kids (in spite of the typical summaries, I think Cary is pressured less by society and more by her kids), but family ties can sometimes bind to the point of strangulation, and going against them can be easier said than done. 

This reminds me: I despise the trope of kids not only disapproving of their single parent's boyfriend or girlfriend and actively trying to sabotage the relationship. It's not cute, it's creepy, frustrating, and sends a poisonous message that kids know best and parents don't. 

[Crs97]

IIRC, the daughter even has the nerve to tell Cary that she must not have loved Ron because she caved to her children.  As I recall, I didn’t think Ron was all that big a prize either, considering his self-righteous disdain for Cary’s friends and family.  I like Jane and Rock in Magnificent Obsession best.

[Wiendish Fitch]

15 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

IIRC, the daughter even has the nerve to tell Cary that she must not have loved Ron because she caved to her children.  As I recall, I didn’t think Ron was all that big a prize either, considering his self-righteous disdain for Cary’s friends and family.  I like Jane and Rock in Magnificent Obsession best.

I do, too. Magnificent Obsession is underrated, IMO. Still, All That Heaven Allows does have plenty going for it (the cinematography is to die for, and Wyman and Hudson are always good).

In fairness to Ron, Cary's friends and family do suck, especially those kids... UGH!!

Edited August 20, 2018 by Wiendish Fitch

[andromeda331]

2 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

 This reminds me: I despise the trope of kids not only disapproving of their single parent's boyfriend or girlfriend and actively trying to sabotage the relationship. It's not cute, it's creepy, frustrating, and sends a poisonous message that kids know best and parents don't. 

I hate that trope whether their kids, teens or adults its absolutely horrible that they disapprove and actively try to break them up. Its not cute, its not funny or fun. Unless the boyfriend or girlfriend is abusing their parent its none of their business. Its not their relationship. They have no right to sabotage the relationship and give their parent a horrible time for daring to date someone. If the parent was doing that, they would be pissed and rightly so. So what makes it okay for kids to do that to their parent? I always wish the parent would go off on them instead of usually caving. Breaking up because the kids clearly are upset or don't like the boyfriend or girlfriend or the boyfriend or girlfriend will conveniently being revealed to be a jerk or something in order to justify that the kids were doing or show they were right. That's crap. They have every right to date who ever they want to date. Its up to the people actually in the relationship not their kids. If their kids don't like it well tough. Suck it up and get over it. 

[VCRTracking]

14 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

In All That Heaven Allows, Cary (Jane Wyman)'s adult children are shocked and appalled that their widowed, middle-aged mother would date anyone but the stuffy old hypochondriac they approve of, let alone much younger gardener Ron (Rock Hudson). After giving their poor mother (a grown-ass woman who is free to date whomever the hell she pleases) grief, she caves and breaks it off with Ron. She tells her son what she's done, and how does he react? Basically along the lines of "eh, that's nice, anyway..." The little douchebag just treated it as a matter of course that his mom would bow to his wishes!

To cap it off, Cary's daughter then tells her she didn't have to break up with Ron, and instead of fully owning her hatefulness and encouraging her to get back together with him, she just gives Cary a half-assed apology and a TV set!

Yes, yes, I know, Cary should have put on her big girl pants and told off her worthless kids (in spite of the typical summaries, I think Cary is pressured less by society and more by her kids), but family ties can sometimes bind to the point of strangulation, and going against them can be easier said than done. 

This reminds me: I despise the trope of kids not only disapproving of their single parent's boyfriend or girlfriend and actively trying to sabotage the relationship. It's not cute, it's creepy, frustrating, and sends a poisonous message that kids know best and parents don't. 

As far as awful grown children in movies nothing holds a candle to the old Hollywood tearjerker Make Way For Tomorrow:

Wikipedia:
 

Quote

Make Way for Tomorrow is a 1937 American drama film directed by Leo McCarey. The plot concerns an elderly couple (Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi) who are forced to separate when they lose their house and none of their five children will take both parents.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Christmas is less than a month away, so I'd like to vent about one of my least favorite movies ever, the live-action Grinch. Like too many remakes, by trying to make the Grinch more sympathetic, they make him less sympathetic. He went from a grouchy schemer to an outright sociopath. My "HELL NO!"'s:

-The movie's moral, which is basically if someone is even the slightest bit of a dick to you, that completely justifies you nursing a decades-long grudge, breaking into their house, and stealing their stuff.

-Completely crapping on the goodwill of the women who fucking raised you by snarling, "You're still alive??"

- Tricking some poor slob into kissing your dog's ass.*

You know what I loved about the original animated special? That the Grinch was just some dude who disliked Christmas because of his noisy neighbors, and that was it. There was no "tragic" backstory (please, I got more grief as a child than the Grinch ever did), no justification, just a simple parable about re-examining others as well as your own preconceived notions. 

*This reminds me... why are people so offended by how the animated Grinch treats Max, but they're A-OK with that part?

[GHScorpiosRule]

Can I sit at your table, @Wiendish Fitch? I ADORE the original. It’s also why I GODDAMN REFUSE to see the “new” animated one. Like I care to see anything making that Grinch a victim.

[Wiendish Fitch]

7 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Can I sit at your table, @Wiendish Fitch? I ADORE the original. It’s also why I GODDAMN REFUSE to see the “new” animated one. Like I care to see anything making that Grinch a victim.

Thanks, GHScorpioRule! 

Taking my next point to the Unpopular Opinions thread. 

[Spartan Girl]

8 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Can I sit at your table, @Wiendish Fitch? I ADORE the original. It’s also why I GODDAMN REFUSE to see the “new” animated one. Like I care to see anything making that Grinch a victim.

The new one makes the Grinch actually seem NICE. WTF, the Grinch isn't supposed to be NICE! Not until the end, anyway...

On August 21, 2018 at 12:15 AM, VCRTracking said:

As far as awful grown children in movies nothing holds a candle to the old Hollywood tearjerker Make Way For Tomorrow:

Wikipedia:
 

I read the plot summary on Wikipedia. Not only was I infuriated, I cried for an hour afterwards and hugged both of my parents.

[Wiendish Fitch]

3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

The new one makes the Grinch actually seem NICE. WTF, the Grinch isn't supposed to be NICE! Not until the end, anyway...

Back to the Jim Carrey one, Carrey is not good at conveying genuine warmth and niceness (he tried in The Mask and The Majestic, but it rang so false). It doesn't help that the live-action Grinch was released in 2000, back when innocence and sincerity were uncool and had to be parodied somehow (okay, not that much has changed, but some filmmakers are trying to go the opposite direction now). As a result, the Grinch's character arc falls flat, because if he doesn't fully believe it or embrace it, why should we?

That's what made the original animated special so powerful: the Grinch's whole worldview has been challenged, he dares to question his preconceived notions, and it changes him for the better. 

Edited November 28, 2018 by Wiendish Fitch

[Spartan Girl]

Because Freeform insists on airing the awful The Lion King 2 whenever they air the original movie, allow me to vent about my Hell No moments from that movie.

First of which the retconning of adding Scar's lioness supporters just to character assassinate Simba.  The idea that they even existed so stupid: ALL the lionesses were fed up with Scar's vain incompetence for nearly destroying the Pridelands.  The only supporters Scar had were the hyenas, and even they turned on him in the end once they (finally) figured out he was just using them.

But the big HELL NO I have involves Kiara, the Bella Swan of the Disney universe.  When Kovu's deception of him and his pride endangering Kiara's life on purpose just to get back in the Pridelands and assassinate Simba is revealed, does she get mad at him?  Nope.  No outrage, no feeling of violation or betrayal, "wait, you tried to kill my father?" or "wait, your family almost killed me just so that you can 'rescue' me and trick me?"  None of that at all.  She takes his side completely, even leaving her own family to follow him into exile.  A guy she basically knew for two seconds as a cub and a few days as an adult.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I know that Kevin acts like a spoiled brat in the beginning of Home Alone, but he’s a kid. And I get pissed off that his parents don’t say anything to his asshole of an uncle-(who is his father’s brother) when he calls Kevin a “stupid jerk!”🤬🤬 And what happened was an accident-Kevin didn’t mean to spill the milk over that asshole. But do his parents say anything? No. Instead, his mom sends him upstairs to the attic.🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

[anna0852]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I know that Kevin acts like a spoiled brat in the beginning of Home Alone, but he’s a kid. And I get pissed off that his parents don’t say anything to his asshole of an uncle-(who is his father’s brother) when he calls Kevin a “stupid jerk!”🤬🤬 And what happened was an accident-Kevin didn’t mean to spill the milk over that asshole. But do his parents say anything? No. Instead, his mom sends him upstairs to the attic.🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

I think I've said this in other threads but if my brother called my kid a jerk, my brother is the one being removed from the gathering. And Buzz should have been disciplined hard as well. The Mccallister parents are awful!

[Spartan Girl]

Another Love, Simon moment that made me angry was how Simon's so-called friends got so pissy about the things Martin forced him to do under the threat of being blackmailed. Yeah, it was wrong but he was BLACKMAILED. So they abandon him right when he was outed and did NOTHING when those jerks humiliated him in the cafeteria. All because Simon stopped those two from hooking up earlier and Leah was sore that Simon wasnt in love with her.

Freaking teenagers, man ...

[NUguy514]

Eh, I think it was pretty shitty of Simon to have messed with Abby and Nick like that, no matter the reason, and I think those two had every right to be mad at him.  Actually, I should say that I thought movie Simon was shitty; I had a lot more sympathy for book Simon.  Yes, Martin was blackmailing him, but he didn't force Simon to do anything; Simon made the choice to fuck with his friends, and you don't do that to the people you love.  Also, his friends did try to reach out to him when Martin outed him, and Simon could have come clean about everything but chose to shut them out.  Had he done so, I bet they would have been a lot more understanding; he didn't, they found out about his lies, and they were mad at his betrayal.  It's true that they didn't cover themselves in glory in the cafeteria scene, but I think Nick and Abby had very legitimate reasons for being mad at Simon (Leah, not so much, she makes more sense in the book).

Honestly, I watched that movie again last weekend, and I found myself getting really angry at Simon for much of the movie.  I didn't find Nick Robinson believable as a gay kid, honestly – or at least that particular gay kid: Simon came across incredibly differently to me in the book – more flamboyant/emotional – and Robinson just wasn't that kid.

[Spartan Girl]

This moment from Trading Places:

 

I like to think we all share Eddie's fury.

[Crs97]

Watching Castaway and just got to the part when Kelly’s husband comes to Chuck’s welcome home after four years on a deserted island to tell him Kelly has had it rough and Chuck needs to give her more time.  It’s my “hell no!” moment and from then on I hate Kelly.

[Spartan Girl]

9 hours ago, Crs97 said:

Watching Castaway and just got to the part when Kelly’s husband comes to Chuck’s welcome home after four years on a deserted island to tell him Kelly has had it rough and Chuck needs to give her more time.  It’s my “hell no!” moment and from then on I hate Kelly.

Preach it. That was shitty of both her and her husband to do. Also, SHE'S had it rough?! She wasn't the one stuck on an island! And she only waited, what, a measly year before marrying someone else? Oh, yeah, it's such a tough life for you.[/sarcasm]

Edited December 29, 2018 by Spartan Girl

[andromeda331]

5 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Preach it. That was shitty of both her and her husband to do. Also, SHE'S had it rough?! She wasn't the one stuck on and island! And she only waited, what, a measly year before marrying someone else? Oh, yeah, it's such a tough life for you.[/sarcasm]

Yes! I so wanted him to yell that to her. Oh one whole year? Boo hoo.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

6 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Preach it. That was shitty of both her and her husband to do.

What's worse is that she's all weepy and shit in the parking lot, like she wants to go in and talk to Chuck, but the new husband guides her back to the car while Chuck watches from inside. And she lets him. No matter how bad it was for her, the guy was stranded on an island by himself, but she's just going to allow the new man in her life to shepherd her home. Bleah.

[Spartan Girl]

Even though Hugh Grant was a jerk in Nine Months, I think Julianne Moore was out of line when she tried to make him get rid of his cat. I mean, that even if that stuff about the cat's litter box/poop being dangerous to infants is true (and supposedly it isn't) it is possible to keep a cat and have babies at the same time. Just have the other person change the litter box and keep everything clean, it's not that hard!

Whatever, that whole movie was stupid anyway.

[NUguy514]

3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Even though Hugh Grant was a jerk in Nine Months, I think Julianne Moore was out of line when she tried to make him get rid of his cat. I mean, that even if that stuff about the cat's litter box/poop being dangerous to infants is true (and supposedly it isn't) it is possible to keep a cat and have babies at the same time. Just have the other person change the litter box and keep everything clean, it's not that hard!

Whatever, that whole movie was stupid anyway.

Not that it would've progressed to this point to begin with, but if a boyfriend told me that he wanted us to move in together but that I had to get rid of my two cats in order to do so, I'd laugh, possibly punch him in the face, and definitely break up with him on the spot.

[paulvdb]

I didn't watch the movie, but I'm not a pet person at all. So if I was dating someone with pets we'd never get to the point of having a serious relationship where moving in was an option. Pets would be a deal breaker for me. That and smoking. A smoking pet owner would be the worst possible love interest for me.

[Spartan Girl]

I watched Pan's Labyrinth yesterday and as much as I hate Captain Vidal, I find myself hating Ofelia's mom just as much. No, she wasn't cruel, just weak, but she was a crappy mom to Ofelia nonetheless. Acting like there was something wrong with Ofelia because she was reading reading fairy tales (she was 13!), pressuring Ofelia to call the captain "father", and just generally being a passive ninny and failing to protect her daughter at all.

Yes I know it was the 1940s and times obviously were not kind to women in her situation. Yes, there were all signs of the captain being abusive (or at least controlling) to her too. But IMO, it came off as though she knew what kind of person he was all along and yet she still married him based on financial security instead of who would be the best parent to Ofelia.

Bottom line: out of all the men she could have she picked, she goes with THAT GUY?! 

Edited February 2, 2019 by Spartan Girl

[Snow Apple]

All of Michael Caine's scenes in Quills. Hypocrites make me angrier than straight up villains.

Ironically, that's the movie that made me a fan of Michael. An actor who can incite such anger and hatred made me realize what a great actor he is.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Most of High Noon.

I caught it on one of the movie channels last night, and like Gone With The Wind it's a classic I don't really care for. Watching almost everyone turn on Gary Cooper's Will Kane (even his new wife) when he's only trying to do the right thing is infuriating, and I wish he'd left her behind when he rides out of town after he throws his badge on the ground. Even if she did help him at the last minute.

[Spartan Girl]

8 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Most of High Noon.

I caught it on one of the movie channels last night, and like Gone With The Wind it's a classic I don't really care for. Watching almost everyone turn on Gary Cooper's Will Kane (even his new wife) when he's only trying to do the right thing is infuriating, and I wish he'd left her behind when he rides out of town after he throws his badge on the ground. Even if she did help him at the last minute.

 Thank you, I hated her so much! The townspeople might have been cowards, but her reasoning for abandoning him was her so-called religious principles. What a whiny bitch. 

[Raja]

15 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Most of High Noon.

I caught it on one of the movie channels last night, and like Gone With The Wind it's a classic I don't really care for. Watching almost everyone turn on Gary Cooper's Will Kane (even his new wife) when he's only trying to do the right thing is infuriating, and I wish he'd left her behind when he rides out of town after he throws his badge on the ground. Even if she did help him at the last minute.

The story is that John Wayne and Howard Hawks so hated the plot behind High Noon that they went out and produced Rio Bravo where the Sheriff and a few selected Deputies made a stand without running unsuccessfully around town for help. And then remade Rio Bravo a few years later as El Dorado.

Both takes on the story with everybody turning their backs and the small team of expendables making a stand for everyone else have been made many times in cop, soldier/mercenary, science fiction along with the western genre.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Re: High Noon

I must respectfully disagree on the Amy hate. I get why Amy is flustered and more than a little pissed off. First off, it's understandable (not admirable, just understandable) where she's coming from: she just got married, and they were just about to go off to their new life together, and then Will had to get a bee in his bonnet about staying behind confronting Frank Miller (understandable and admirable).

Furthermore, Amy is a Quaker, and the most distinct doctrine of the religion is the avoidance of violence. Amy even explains she became a Quaker because of her brother's death in a shooting. Let me be clear: I'm not religious, and I'm not wild about religion in general, or people who use their religion as an excuse to mistreat or abuse others. However, I respect those who adhere to the positive aspects of their faith, especially if it involves not hurting anyone. Should Amy have been onboard from the get-go? Certainly, but I actually loved her arc of standing her ground, feeling justifiably miffed and confused, then taking the time to learn more about what Will is really about, seeing the light, and then aiding her husband at the eleventh hour. She did help him when no one else would, and that, IMO, shouldn't be discounted. 

I think Amy is one of the most rounded, interesting, and memorable heroine in a western (this goes for Helen, too), and that is not a genre that particularly cares about its female characters (honestly, I find that most women in westerns to be total bores).

So, agree to disagree.

[Spartan Girl]

Nice analysis @Wiendish Fitch. It's not that I don't respect Quakers and their religious beliefs on nonviolence, I do. It's just that it was infuriating that she was almost to abandon her husband for it, and that it took her so long to come to her senses. And yes, I'll give her credit for coming back, but you know who also deserves credit --Helen, for being the one to call her out and knock some sense into her. 

So, like you said, agree to disagree :)

[magicdog]

I always had a problem with the premise of High Noon to begin with.  One would imagine if the same scenario were to occur IRL (vicious outlaws riding into town on a train to cause serious trouble  and the town is well aware of it), the town would have all been waiting at the station with a shotgun.  The train would have pulled in, everyone would have taken a shot and then gone home!!

[Spartan Girl]

Spider-Man 2 had a lot of anger inducing moments because it was basically Peter getting shit on for two and a half hours.

But the moment that sent me over the edge was towards the end when Mary Jane told Peter that she somehow always knew that he was Spider-Man.

ARE. YOU. FUCKING. KIDDING. ME?!?

Then why did you act like such a petty brat over him missing your stupid play?! You had some faint inkling that he was leading a double life as a superhero, then did it ever occur to you to maybe saving other people's lives was an understandable reason why he kept bailing on people?! And maybe instead of icing him out or getting engaged to another guy just to make him jealous, or making him grovel to your answering machine until you deign to pick up the phone  (which is really shitty when you remember Peter had to use pay phones because he couldn't afford a cell),you didn't think to maybe TALK TO HIM and tell him about your suspicions? I mean, he would have denied it, but still...

No, I don't buy that bullshit for a second. The reason why she didn't know the truth sooner was because her head was too far up her whiny, shrill, solipsistic ass to concern herself with another person's problems for more than five minutes at a time!

[Wiendish Fitch]

The older I get, the more and more repugnant I find Adam Sandler movies, old and new. One that sticks out in my mind is Big Daddy and the fate of our protagonist Sonny's ex-girlfriend, Vanessa. Vanessa dumps Sonny for being a lazy, immature, no-future idiot who's holding her back. That's explicitly because Sonny is a lazy, immature, no-future idiot who's holding her back, but through this movie's lens, Vanessa's just a mean ol' bitch who needs to be taught a lesson.

First, Sonny tries to adopt a kid to impress Vanessa, but she's moved on to a new, much older boyfriend (so we get ageist jokes as well as sexist jokes, yay). Sonny eventually gets a new love in bland, accommodating Cool Girl Gina (inexplicable critics' darling Joey Lauren Adams), and Vanessa, who previously had a perfectly good job, now works at the Hooters her new boyfriend runs, and we're meant to cheer at her comeuppance and humiliation.

What What WHAAAAAAAATT?!?!?!?!??!

Okay, first off, why the hell is she now working at Hooters? Just because her boyfriend runs it, it doesn't mean she has to work there! Unless... is he forcing her to work there?! Because the implications of that are too horrendous to even think about!

Let's make one thing clear: Hooters, for all its sleaze, is still a perfectly legal establishment and the women who work there are there of their own volition! It's not a prostitution ring! This movie thinks that, however, and Sonny in particular loves to shame any woman who works or used to work there (he still patronizes those places, the fucking hypocrite). We're meant to think that it's okay to randomly slut-shame women for honest work and/or committing the unpardonable crime of breaking up with their boyfriend! It's pretty misogynistic and gross, to be honest. Hell, Warner from Legally Blonde dumped Elle for even worse reasons than Vanessa dumped Sonny, but he got off pretty easily by comparison!

There's no way I can say this without sounding like the worst human being alive, so I may as well say it: As heartbreaking and unfair as it is, people do have the right to break up with you. I'm not saying the act itself is always right, or that there isn't a laundry list of terrible reasons to break up with someone, or that they're even a nice person for doing it... but they still have the right to break up with you. Sucks major ass, but it's true. Are you reading this, Adam Sandler and his ilk? Women don't have to put up with your shit if they don't want to! 

God, now I want to shower again thinking about that vile ending! Just..... uuuuggghhh!!!

Edited May 6, 2019 by Wiendish Fitch