Unpopular Opinions

[harrie]

The Belmont scene in Secretariat is one that drives me batty. Now, I'm a horse nut so I have a particular fondness for this race... but it seems like they stretched certain things out and the announcing they had in the movie is absolutely nothing compared to Chick Anderson's call during the actual race. I know that in Miracle they redubbed a lot of Al Michaels' calls for the USA/USSR game but they came to the conclusion that they could not redo the 'Do you believe in miracles?!' because it wasn't going to match up to the original.

 

Chick Anderson's 'And Secretariat is widening now... he is moving like a tremendous machine!' and everything that follows is a man calling a race he is watching and cannot believe he is seeing. And while I really don't care for the Bible quote and the choir singing as Secretariat coming around the final turn... what really gets me is that the most impressive shot is the one from the grandstand that played on TV. The sheer distance between Secretariat and the rest of the horses is mind-blowing. They used actual footage when they put the Preakness in the movie, which was a good move, because I cannot fathom how they would have shot a horse sweeping past the whole field in one move. I just wish they had done something similar for the Belmont. I really don't think they captured what happened there.

 

Any time anyone talks about that movie I say 'find the race on You Tube -- it's a bit fuzzy and it's not exactly high definition but it doesn't need to be. Just watch it.'

 

Dandesun, the hub and I have had the exact same discussion.  I agree there's no way they could have recreated the Preakness without noticeably pulling up the other horses - I was a little anti-Secretariat at the time, largely because I prefer underdogs and am stubborn, but there is no arguing about how amazing his Preakness and Belmont runs were. And I agree that the actual Belmont race footage would have been a much more eloquent statement. 

 

I had other gripes with the flick, too.

1)  Penny Tweedy was not nearly as retiring as Diane Lane portrayed her.  I know, it's not Lane's fault but the writers'.  Penny Tweedy was about as self-promoting a person as I had seen at that point in my life - and to be fair, I was 12 and have seen lots worse since. 

2)  Secretariat was never an underdog.

3)  The way Sham's trainer was portrayed. Ron Turcotte has stated in a number of interviews that Pancho Martin did not act like a jerk and was a decent guy.

4)  Religion, ie the use of "Oh Happy Day" (...when Jesus washed our sins away...) had nothing to do with Secretariat's win.  

5)  The horses playing Secretariat look kind of scrawny compared to the real thing.  The one running the Belmont has a pretty skinny neck that would look unattractive on any horse, never mind Secretariat, who had a mother of a big fat neck. 

 

That being said, we always watch it, and one of us is bound to say "I really think Sham is going to do it this time" sometime during the flick. 

 

 

 

At about :35, watch the horse on the outside start to pass everyone.  Great race.  Amazing freakin' horse.  And check out that neck.

Edited March 12, 2015 by harrie

[Dandesun]

Dandesun, the hub and I have had the exact same discussion.  I agree there's no way they could have recreated the Preakness without noticeably pulling up the other horses - I was a little anti-Secretariat at the time, largely because I prefer underdogs and am stubborn, but there is no arguing about how amazing his Preakness and Belmont runs were. And I agree that the actual Belmont race footage would have been a much more eloquent statement. 

 

I had other gripes with the flick, too.

2)  Secretariat was never an underdog.

5)  The horses playing Secretariat look kind of scrawny compared to the real thing.  The one running the Belmont has a pretty skinny neck that would look unattractive on any horse, never mind Secretariat, who had a mother of a big fat neck. 

 

That being said, we always watch it, and one of us is bound to say "I really think Sham is going to do it this time" sometime during the flick. 

 

I remain a bit pissed off that Riva Ridge just... doesn't exist at all in this flick. Riva won the Derby and Belmont in 1972 and was just as responsible for Penny Tweedy being able to save the farm. Sure, he's the forgotten hero next to the big flashy Secretariat but he more than did his part.

 

And, no, you're right, Secretariat wasn't an underdog. He was named Horse of the Year as a 2 year old which is a rare enough occurrence to be notable. Secretariat's story isn't the story of Seabiscuit who was an underdog.

 

As for size... I tend to be a little lenient there because Secretariat was a monster of a horse. Big neck, huge chest, long, long, long stride. You just don't find that type of horse anywhere. It's as difficult to cast Secretariat as it would be to cast Man O' War (same situation... big, monstrous red horses that ate up the ground when they ran) -- I mean, when you watch the '73 Belmont and Secretariat pulls away from Sham and then widens his lead... with every stride widening... I get why they kept shifting the camera to different people because, somehow, with all the movie magic available they couldn't recapture that race.

 

As for 'maybe Sham will pull it off this time' -- I went to see the movie with my Mom and when Lucien burned his old news clippings she gasped and said 'I hope that doesn't bring them bad luck!' I started to laugh in the theater and whispered back 'You know how this ends!' Hey, she was into it.

[dusang]

As for 'maybe Sham will pull it off this time' -- I went to see the movie with my Mom and when Lucien burned his old news clippings she gasped and said 'I hope that doesn't bring them bad luck!' I started to laugh in the theater and whispered back 'You know how this ends!' Hey, she was into it.

 

In any movie, fiction or non, it just makes my skin crawl when people burn photos/keepsakes/momentos/etc.  Like, I get you're mad right now but please, stop and think about what you're doing!!

[harrie]

I remain a bit pissed off that Riva Ridge just... doesn't exist at all in this flick. Riva won the Derby and Belmont in 1972 and was just as responsible for Penny Tweedy being able to save the farm. Sure, he's the forgotten hero next to the big flashy Secretariat but he more than did his part.

 

As for size... I tend to be a little lenient there because Secretariat was a monster of a horse. 

 

As for 'maybe Sham will pull it off this time' -- I went to see the movie with my Mom and when Lucien burned his old news clippings she gasped and said 'I hope that doesn't bring them bad luck!' I started to laugh in the theater and whispered back 'You know how this ends!' Hey, she was into it.

 

Dandesun, I'm totally with you on Riva Ridge.  Disney seems to have to inject extra drama into their movies, no matter how dramatic or interesting the original story might have been.  For that reason, I usually skip Disney stuff; but we watched this the first time because -- horses!  I'll watch them in anything unless there's a Running W involved (I'm looking at you, Michael Curtiz, you bastard!). Or The Misfits.

 

Secretariat was a freakin' beast -- a magnificent beast, in fact. I know he can't be duplicated, especially by horses that are movie-friendly, but a couple of the Belmont shots in particular seem to highlight just how much the movie Secretariat doesn't look like the real thing. 

 

Your mom's too funny - I'm glad she enjoyed the film.   

 

And one more thing -- the movie remarks on how hot and awful it was the day of the Belmont, and it was in real life, but one of the Tweedy girls in the stands is wearing a collared shirt with long sleeves. She was just begging for heatstroke.

Edited March 12, 2015 by harrie

[Dandesun]

Dandesun, I'm totally with you on Riva Ridge.  Disney seems to have to inject extra drama into their movies, no matter how dramatic or interesting the original story might have been.  For that reason, I usually skip Disney stuff; but we watched this the first time because -- horses!  I'll watch them in anything unless there's a Running W involved (I'm looking at you, Michael Curtiz, you bastard!). 

 

See, I love Disney so I get the need to inject drama... I just didn't think any needed to be injected here. I supposed that the storyline of the singular horse that saved a woman's father's farm is meant to be something people understand but, for me, I felt it unnecessary.

 

Why not acknowledge Riva Ridge? Why couldn't Secretariat be drama enough? Oh, sorry, a giant red horse that won the Triple Crown for the first time in 25 years, setting records including one record that is still two full seconds faster than anything that comes near it isn't enough drama? Really?

[harrie]

YES!  YES!   YES!!

 

Sorry, got a little carried away.

Edited March 13, 2015 by harrie

[ramble]

... Had she not been cast as Katniss Everdeen, she wouldn't have drawn as much attention - or as much flack - as she has, and now that Russell has decided he likes working with her, she's at Anne Hathaway levels of being disliked by some people. Imagine if she'd been cast in Fifty Shades of Grey instead of poor Dakota Johnson. The internet would have caught fire.

And we all know fire is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us!

eta: I'll show myself out.

Edited March 12, 2015 by ramble

[DHDancer]

I'm so glad I discovered this forum.  Yay!   And isn't it interesting how Unpopular Opinions are actually POPULAR given the right audience!!

 

I've learned to be very wary of Nominated movies: generally I've hated them.  This year?  1.  Guardians of the Galaxy:  Really? If you are a tween boy I guess because I fell asleep and before I did that I cringed at the dialog and action.  I wanted to love the raccoon but couldn't.  If I had a fave it was Vin Diesel's tree... but not enough for this movie to rate more than a 3 on my scale.

2.  The Theory of Everything.  OK, Redmayne (who I'm not a fan of) was uncanny in his performance and I can understand Hawking's comment about reminding him of himself but IMO it was detracting.  I am also spoiled by having seen Cumberbatch's 2004 "Hawking" which I found quite moving and a much better drama.  But then I'm a Cumberbitch...I've seen most of his work and have enjoyed it.  I appreciate obviously intelligent actors.

 

The only time I was delighted to be wrong about nominated movies was Master and Commander.  I really wanted ROTK to win, as representative of the three films (yes, LOTR fan here), so was very happy. But then I watched MC, and was truly wowed and felt Weir was robbed (he's a terrific director and I love most of his stuff).  It's now one of my favorite films.   I am a Russell Crowe fan, I have to say.  I really like his Robin Hood (ah, that's probably an UO, right?) and I liked Noah (another UO I'm sure but I found it thought provoking).

Edited March 14, 2015 by DHDancer

[Wiendish Fitch]

Some mean UOs (apologies to those I might offend):

 

I don't think Wachowskis are relevant anymore. The Matrix was their one big moment, but that's it. Jupiter Ascending had the kind of boring, dime-a-dozen, convoluted plot you'd see on any SyFY TV movie. In fact, that's all their movies are: SyFY movies with bigger budgets.

 

Boy, I'm a Grinch... not only am I 500 different varieties of over Frozen, but I have the UO that Rapunzel from Tangled had it way, way, way rougher than Anna did. Rapunzel was kidnapped, kept prisoner in a tower, was exploited by her captor on a daily basis, deprived of her power as a princess, had no friends outside of a damn chameleon, and didn't even see the world until she was 18. Anna had a huge castle to run around and explore, had some human contact with the few servants who worked there (we're given no indication that they were anything but nice to her), had some clout as a princess, and could at least go outside if she wanted. So Elsa "shut her out"? For God's sake, that's how a lot of sisters are! My sister and I couldn't stand each other growing up! Hell, we didn't even like each other until we were in our 20s! I don't know why everyone acts like Anna is the most tragic character in history!

[ribboninthesky1]

And not to mention, Elsa had it worse in most ways.  I always thought Anna was a brat, and loved that, when she whined how she "can't live like this anymore" because Elsa wouldn't give her blessing to marry a man she met five minutes ago and sang a song with, Elsa responded in the Disney version of "Don't let the door hit you on the way out." Loved her from that moment on. It's nice that Anna risked her life to save Elsa's, but she was the reason that Hans obtained power in the first place.        

Edited March 14, 2015 by ribboninthesky1

[ChaseMCP]

One of the things I did dislike about Frozen was the fact that it was never mentioned to Anna that Elsa "ignored" her all those years to protect her after almost (accidentally) killing her. Elsa never mentioned it, the rock troll never mentioned it, nothing. I don't know if the people behind the movie did this on purpose or if they forgot to include a mention of it, but it bugged, cause there could've been a moment when Anna acknowledged Elsa's sacrifice, therefore showing maturity on her part. It also felt like a plot drop when it was so important at the beginning of the movie.

Also, I don't need a Frozen 2. It was a cute movie that I liked when I saw it, but now will need at least 5 years before I can watch it again without hating it on sight. A second one doesn't help.

[Wiendish Fitch]

I love Wes Anderson, but Grand Budapest Hotel did absolutely nothing for me. I thought it was too cold and kind of mean-spirited, and the pacing felt off. Fantastic Mr. Fox is still my favorite Anderson movie.

[caracas1914]

"Birdman" was just meh to me.

[DeLurker]

I love Wes Anderson, but Grand Budapest Hotel did absolutely nothing for me. I thought it was too cold and kind of mean-spirited, and the pacing felt off. Fantastic Mr. Fox is still my favorite Anderson movie.

I was unimpressed with the Fantastic Mr. Fox.  I expected to enjoy it more since it got some really positive reviews, but I did not think the story or the animation were anything special.  It's been well received by those supposedly in the know, so most don't agree with me.

Edited March 25, 2015 by DeLurker

[caracas1914]

Meryl Streep can do accents, but I find something missing in alot of her performances.  Not all, mind you, but in say something like "Osage County" I can smell her "acting" a mile away.

[harrie]

I'm neither a fan nor detractor of Ms. Streep, but I got the impression you could smell a lot of things about August: Osage County, not just the acting.

[Julia]

That was one awful, awful movie. It felt like they threw every family-of-origin trauma movie of the last thirty years in a Cuisinart and gave it to Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts to drink as a smoothie.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Julia

[dusang]

That was one awful, awful movie. It felt like they threw every family-of-origin trauma movie of the last thirty years in a Cuisinart and gave it to Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts to drink as a smoothie.

 

Well put.

[Dandesun]

Speaking of John Hughes - I neither loved nor hated his films.  They had no cultural significance in my coming-of-age years.

 

Oh I am in this boat. I like some of them for pure entertainment factor: Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles (plus, Jake's fucking hot), Weird Science... But the ones that are supposed to really resonate like The Breakfast Club, Some Kind of Wonderful and Pretty in Pink... yeah, I don't really like those movies. I never belonged to a specific clique in high school...  I had friends in various 'groups' and didn't discriminate. I mean, the teenage years are fraught with all sorts of weirdness and emotional upheavals and all of that but nothing John Hughes ever did made me go 'It makes sense now!' or 'This speaks to me!' Really, they gave me a very different view of what high school ended up being. Gigantic ragers that everyone went to that trashed the house because parents weren't home? I never heard of such a thing in real life... I mean, I was a well off suburban girl but I wasn't rich and I knew some of the rich kids who got brand new cars for their 16th birthday and trashed them within the week but those weren't the kids I hung out with. They were jerks and I didn't have to deal with them because I didn't live in a movie.

[harrie]

I love Some Kind of Wonderful for all the wrong reasons, in a sort of hate-y way.  Everything about the story is just way too overwrought and high drama - it's like a soap for high school kids.  I like Eric Stolz in almost everything he's done except this, but I can't blame him for taking a job that, being a John Hughes product, might have paid a little more and raised his profile.  But I think Elias Koteas steals every scene he's in; he's the one thing I do actually, not ironically, like about SKOW.

 

I also grew up in an affluent town, and there were certain kids who had the big parties.  I didn't go to them either, because I was (and am) shy, but I did hear some of the aftermath stories, and there were some pretty good trashings going on.

Edited March 27, 2015 by harrie

[Crs97]

What I dislike about The Breakfast Club and those kinds of movies and most YA literature for that matter is that they seem to blame the parents for kids' bad decisions. Even when I was the target audience I rolled my eyes through most of the "my parents don't understand me" whines.

[Dandesun]

Well, the parents in a lot of cases seem to be completely non-existent. They seem to go away for weeks at a time leaving the kids behind in these gigantic mansions. I mean, The Breakfast Club at least had a bit of a cross section of affluence but even with that... did we ever see anyone in a John Hughes movie where there was a child of an extremely wealthy person who wasn't completely ignored? The kids who had both parents tended to be middle class or blue collar. And, man, if there are siblings involved there is such extreme favoritism involved.

 

John Hughes movies definitely have their tropes.

[funkopop]

I enjoyed Hancock and was surprised to find out there was such a disdain for it.  I was almost in tears when Will's character realized the only way Charlize could physically heal was for him to leave.  I thought that hospital scene was very well done.

Edited March 30, 2015 by funkopop

[shang yiet]

Secretariat was never an underdog.

 

I almost felt sorry for Sham, destined to come off second best. He would have won the Triple Crown if not for Secretariat.

Edited March 30, 2015 by shang yiet

[tribeca]

I found Jeff Goldblum sexier than Will Smith in Independence Day.

[harrie]

I found Jeff Goldblum sexier than Will Smith in Independence Day.

 

I found Judd Hirsch sexier than either of them!  Okay, not really true, I just could't resist. But Bill Pullman....

 

 

 

I almost felt sorry for Sham, destined to come off second best. He would have won the Triple Crown if not for Secretariat.

 

True, even considering that that era had some kind of magical thing going - lots of great horses running, another TC winner  just four (and five) years later -- any other year Sham would have been a super-serious contender..  

[proserpina65]

I found Judd Hirsch sexier than either of them!  Okay, not really true, I just could't resist. But Bill Pullman....

 

Totally.  Only reason I ever watch this movie on tv.

[Dandesun]

I almost felt sorry for Sham, destined to come off second best. He would have won the Triple Crown if not for Secretariat.

 

Possibly... he did not finish second in the Belmont but one could easily attribute that to ridiculous pace Secretariat set for it.

 

Alydar in 1978, however, definitely would have won the Triple Crown if not for Affirmed as he was second in every single race. And, let's face it, the 1978 Belmont where they went head to head for a mile and a half... that was magic in its own right. (I always had a soft spot for Alydar... resurrecting the Calumet colors and then going on to sire some of my favorites like Easy Goer and Alysheba. What a sire he turned into!)

[methodwriter85]

Oh I am in this boat. I like some of them for pure entertainment factor: Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles (plus, Jake's fucking hot), Weird Science... But the ones that are supposed to really resonate like The Breakfast Club, Some Kind of Wonderful and Pretty in Pink... yeah, I don't really like those movies. I never belonged to a specific clique in high school...  I had friends in various 'groups' and didn't discriminate. I mean, the teenage years are fraught with all sorts of weirdness and emotional upheavals and all of that but nothing John Hughes ever did made me go 'It makes sense now!' or 'This speaks to me!' Really, they gave me a very different view of what high school ended up being. Gigantic ragers that everyone went to that trashed the house because parents weren't home? I never heard of such a thing in real life... I mean, I was a well off suburban girl but I wasn't rich and I knew some of the rich kids who got brand new cars for their 16th birthday and trashed them within the week but those weren't the kids I hung out with. They were jerks and I didn't have to deal with them because I didn't live in a movie.

 

I thought the Breakfast Club was realistic- the idea that all these kids went to school together and didn't know each other because they really just didn't run in the same circles. It was more realistic that all these social groups just kind of ignored each other. But Pretty in Pink, and then especially Some Kind of Wonderful, went overboard with the idea that the rich popular kids terrorize the school while the poor kids are left to fend for themselves, and I just found that so unrealistic. First of all, when did rich parents send their kids to public school? And if this is a school that has such a high affluence surrounding it that wealthy parents are willing to forgo private school, how do poor kids get into the school?

 

And I thought Andie's bullying story was so unrealistic. A real-life Benny would haven't given a shit about some poor girl, especially since we're talking second-semester seniors in high school, not freshmen or sophomores. Senior year everybody is just counting down the days until it's over, not stirring up dumb drama. People generally get out their last bits of drama with people during junior year. And really, the bullying tends to be more WITHIN the social group, not out of it. Mean Girls really nailed that aspect. The only way Benny's bullying of Andie would have made sense would be if she realized that Stef was totally into Andie, but I never got the vibe that she knew.

 

I pretty much only like Pretty in Pink for the soundtrack. If You Leave is just a brilliant, brilliant tune. It almost makes me wish I had graduated high school in 1986 so that could have been my graduation year song.

 

Some Kind of Wonderful is almost unwatchable for me, because they took my same beef with Pretty in Pink and amped it up. The climax scene where the hero confronts Poor Man's Stef, who basically wets his pants when Elias Koteas shows up, is just freaking ridiculous.

Edited April 1, 2015 by methodwriter85

[proserpina65]

A real-life Benny would haven't given a shit about some poor girl, especially since we're talking second-semester seniors in high school, not freshmen or sophomores. Senior year everybody is just counting down the days until it's over, not stirring up dumb drama. People generally get out their last bits of drama with people during junior year. And really, the bullying tends to be more WITHIN the social group, not out of it.

I agreed with most of your post, but not with this part.  Real-life Benny's bullied the weird or different kids all the time when I was in high school in the early 80s; I can attest to this fact from personal experience.  It wasn't just within social groups.  And Andi wasn't just poor; she was very deliberately different from the popular crowd.

[DeLurker]

I thought the Breakfast Club was realistic- the idea that all these kids went to school together and didn't know each other because they really just didn't run in the same circles. It was more realistic that all these social groups just kind of ignored each other. But Pretty in Pink, and then especially Some Kind of Wonderful, went overboard with the idea that the rich popular kids terrorize the school while the poor kids are left to fend for themselves, and I just found that so unrealistic. First of all, when did rich parents send their kids to public school? And if this is a school that has such a high affluence surrounding it that wealthy parents are willing to forgo private school, how do poor kids get into the school?

When I was growing up, the only kids who went to private schools were because of religion or they were so bad they got kicked out of public schools.  The schools within the same district were pretty defined by how affluent the surrounding neighborhoods were.  There was some bussing, but that really didn't make much of a difference.

 

When I was an adult, living in So Cal and pregnant, one of the first questions everyone asked me was "What school (meaning private) was I planning on sending my yet-to-be-born baby too?".  Almost everyone I worked with, regardless of pay grade, wanted to send their kids to private school. 

 

So I don't know what the norm was on the public vs private school issue.

 

Looking back at the John Hughes films now, they have some shortcomings but when they came out they were reflecting a snapshot of what had been a largely ignored age group and topics.  I think Breakfast Club holds up the best.

[UYI]

My UO is that my favorite Brat Pack movie is actually St. Elmo's Fire--the ONE Brat Pack movie John Hughes had no involvement with whatsoever! 

 

Yes, the characters are kind of whiny and it's sort of ridiculous, but I love it and I actually relate a lot to Rob Lowe's character and how he struggled to find a job after graduating from college (unfortunately, haha).

 

And while I love The Breakfast Club, I love Sixteen Candles just a little bit more, especially the soundtrack. 

[Shannon L.]

I don't recall enjoying St. Elmo's Fire that much, but I loved the theme song.  I still turn it up and sing along when it comes on the radio.

[Dandesun]

Oh... this I WILL say about John Hughes movies... the soundtracks are phenomenal.

[UYI]

I don't recall enjoying St. Elmo's Fire that much, but I loved the theme song.  I still turn it up and sing along when it comes on the radio.

Oh, I love it too! Plus the Love Theme:

 

 

Plus, maybe a UO: Demi Moore has red hair in SEF and looks stunning. Without seeing her name I wouldn't have known it was her, but she looked great. 

Edited April 3, 2015 by UYI

[Chas411]

I don't think Megan Fox is a terrible actress. I don't think she's Meryl Streep but I find her perfectly enjoyable in all roles ive seen her in.

[methodwriter85]

My UO is that my favorite Brat Pack movie is actually St. Elmo's Fire--the ONE Brat Pack movie John Hughes had no involvement with whatsoever! 

 

Yes, the characters are kind of whiny and it's sort of ridiculous, but I love it and I actually relate a lot to Rob Lowe's character and how he struggled to find a job after graduating from college (unfortunately, haha).

 

It's probably even more relatable now to Millennials. LOL. I know a guy who's four years out and he still hasn't found a real job; I'm three years out and I'm just doing odds and ends jobs to get by. And I think Demi Moore's character could have easily been a young adult from circa 2007-2008, who got a great job right out of school and responded by putting themselves in debt up to their eyeballs for fancy houses/condos etc etc because they figured the good times would keep coming, and got burned hard. I used to watch House Hunters a lot, and I cringe when I think about the young homeowners who bought overinflated properties in areas that would soon be hit hard by the Recession.

 

I think the movie is helped by the fact that these people were playing their real ages, and I thought the movie did a good job at playing the tension between no longer being a kid, but not really being ready for adulthood, and not being ready to let go of who you were when you were in college.

 

I did really like that scene where Rob Lowe goes back to his old fraternity, and realizes he doesn't fit in there anymore. I think anyone who's visited their old college has had those moments...I went to parties at my old college up to three years after I had graduated, and just increasingly I felt less and less like I belonged there.

Edited April 4, 2015 by methodwriter85

[raezen]

 

I'm not inherently against remakes because I do believe many (contemporary) films are relevant for the time period in which they're set.  But that doesn't make them universal or timeless.  A remake can be well done if the producers are thoughtful about it.  Of course, how often that happens is a matter of perspective and debate.

I agree with this and I have a really UO that is related to this; I don't think that it is horrible or ruins anyone's credibility in Hollywood to partake in a remake of a British or other international tv show/movie. Okay, this was a way more UO before the success of The Office, but I still see people groan when they hear about a remake in the works. Yes, when they are bad they are awful but when they care to get good writers and producer that actually hone into the basic concept and try to make in work into a different culture, I think it only helps by pointing out the universal nature of the story.

[dusang]

I agree with this and I have a really UO that is related to this; I don't think that it is horrible or ruins anyone's credibility in Hollywood to partake in a remake of a British or other international tv show/movie. Okay, this was a way more UO before the success of The Office, but I still see people groan when they hear about a remake in the works. Yes, when they are bad they are awful but when they care to get good writers and producer that actually hone into the basic concept and try to make in work into a different culture, I think it only helps by pointing out the universal nature of the story.

 

I actually had a bit of an argument with some friends who were so appalled that an English version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was made.  They felt that people should just watch the original Swedish version and that it's so crass to make an English language version.  I had already seen both versions by the time we were discussing it and I was annoyed because a) many movies are actually remakes of foreign films that people are totally unaware of, so their righteous indignation over this particular one felt really false and b) I actually preferred the English version to the Swedish one, as it stayed truer to the book, particularly in how Lisbeth and Mikael first meet*.  Although both versions, IMHO, massively screwed up the confrontation between Lisbeth and Bjurman.  

Personally, the fact that she uses his own tools against him seems really important to that scene and neither film kept that. However, the English version was still closer to the book in that scene.

 

So perhaps that's my UO, the English GwtDT was better than the Swedish version.

 

*In the Swedish version, Lisbeth reaches out to Mikael, which is the exact opposite of what happens in the book and, again IMHO, completely changes the character dynamics.

[redlaces]

Have never thought Billy Crystal was funny. At all. 

[raezen]

I've never found John Belushi funny.

[Wiendish Fitch]

American Graffiti is one of the most boring movies I've ever sat through. All I remember is thinking that Suzanne Somers and Richard Dreyfus had absolutely no business playing teenagers (Dreyfus had a receding hairline, for God's sake!). I think its real title should be Morons Driving Cars for Two Hours: the Movie.

 

I never thought Joan Leslie's character did anything wrong in High Sierra. So she didn't marry the 50 or 60-something guy she barely knew, then was later rude to him when he was rude to her? Yeah, I refuse to see her as a villain.

 

I don't think Marlon Brando was all that great an actor, and I certainly don't think he invented modern screen acting. I think Burt Lancaster and Robert Mitchum did.

 

I didn't think A League of Their Own was all that great. Sorry.

 

I'd be perfectly fine if James Franco just went away and never came back.

 

I think I prefer the 2015 Cinderella to the 1950 cartoon, because they at least tried to give our titular heroine a personality and didn't focus on the tiresome antics of her animal sidekicks.

 

I love Astaire/Rogers, but the much ballyhooed Swing Time is redeemed only by their dance numbers. The plot is beyond stupid and uninteresting. For all the flack Top Hat gets for its plot, it's like Ibsen compared to the corny, zero-stakes storyline in Swing Time. And I just want to express my loathing for that creepy, hateful, mush-mouthed Victor Moore. Every time he's on screen, I either want to punch him or myself. 

Edited April 15, 2015 by Wiendish Fitch

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I said this an age ago in another thread, but I re-watched 'Terminator: Salvation the other day and Sam Worthington is still the best thing about it, much more affecting than Bale's screamy John Connor.

Edited April 15, 2015 by Cobalt Stargazer

[Julia]

II don't think Marlon Brando was all that great an actor, and I certainly don't think he invented modern screen acting. I think Burt Lancaster and Robert Mitchum did.

 

I would have said Paul Muni and Spencer Tracy.

[Wiendish Fitch]

I would have said Paul Muni and Spencer Tracy.

 

Ooh, them, too! Love Spencer Tracy (haven't watched enough Paul Muni, will have to remedy that).

 

I guess I get weary of the attitude that "acting sucked until Marlon Brando came along!" 

[proserpina65]

I don't think Marlon Brando was all that great an actor, and I certainly don't think he invented modern screen acting. I think Burt Lancaster and Robert Mitchum did.

 

If this is an unpopular opinion, then I don't want to be popular.  I thought Brando had some good moments, but overall he was a mediocre actor.

[dusang]

I remember watching A Streetcar Named Desire when I was younger and for the life of me I could not figure out if he actually had something in his mouth all the time or if he just could not speak.  It just... confused me.

Edited April 16, 2015 by dusang

[UYI]

As long as it's in the news, here's my UO:

 

I have never had much desire to see any of the Star Wars movies, and to this day I have still never seen any of them and don't care much to, either (and I'll admit, the grumpy contrarian in me has long been put off by the rabid fanbase--it's the same reason I never got into the Harry Potter books/movies--my sister was such a fan when I was growing up that it put me off completely). I've softened somewhat in the last few years and may eventually force myself to watch them, but none of them are exactly at the top of my list of movies to watch.

 

**runs away as an angry mob comes after me with torches**

[harrie]

Gayle King, is that you??   Seriously, I didn't get into the Star Wars or Potter stuff for the same reason -- if something's too popular, I just get kind of put off..  Kind of like Yogi Berra's feeling that "Nobody goes there any more, it's too crowded."

[UYI]

Haha, I didn't even know Gayle King said anything like that! :)

 

And to make myself even more unpopular:

 

I honestly think that Pinocchio has one of the best soundtracks of any Disney movie ever. "Hi Diddle Dee Dee", "I Got No Strings", "When You Wish Upon a Star"...all of them are perfect.