Unpopular Opinions

[GHScorpiosRule]

30 minutes ago, JustaPerson said:

Ha! That hair didn't help and it was disconcerting to see him without a beard after so long on GOT, but how could you not be enchanted by how blue his eyes were in the film?

THIS! That is, his eyes. I've referred to them as unearthly. And they're more riveting in Medici: Masters of Florence! He really is a chameleon, in that, I totally didn't recognize him in Cinderella. Usually, an actor still looks the same or is recognizable in a beard, but Madden? Looks nothing like Robb or Cosimo without his signature beard!

At least he's now doing other works after leaving Game of Thrones.

[JustaPerson]

3 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

THIS! That is, his eyes. I've referred to them as unearthly. And they're more riveting in Medici: Masters of Florence!

I've had that on My List on netflix for a while but I haven't gotten around to it yet. My heart still belongs to Robb (RIP) on GOT. 

*SWOON*

[ribboninthesky1]

Hee!  To each their own.  For me, the combo of clean-shaven, straightened hair, and whatever make-up/lighting/photoshop used was a turn-off.  

[millennium]

I don't care about the Oscars.   I think they are pretentious, elitist, and insufferably self-important.

I didn't watch the Oscars show yet a mere 24 hours later I feel like I've been watching it on a constant loop thanks to all the newscasts and headlines about the "envelope snafu" and "how envelope-gate happened."    I mean big fucking deal.   There was a mix-up.   Shit happens.   We don't need coverage of it as if we've inadvertently insulted another nation and caused an international incident.    The repeated footage of all those idiots milling around on the stage.  They keep showing it like it's the Zapruder film.

The timing couldn't be worse.    Half the nation already hates Hollywood.   The absurd degree of hype this mix-up is getting will probably start eating into the other half now.

La La Land, Moonlight ... who cares.   In all likelihood I will never see either movie.  

[proserpina65]

On ‎02‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 11:35 AM, Dancingjaneway said:

I'm sure this one will get me in some trouble but here goes. I have NO urge to see the live-action Beauty & The Beast. Nothing about it interests me. I liked the animated version but that's it. 

I'll take this one further: I hate the Disney animated Beauty & the Beast.  The only version I've ever cared for was the Jean Cocteau one.

On ‎02‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 11:58 PM, millennium said:

I don't care about the Oscars.   I think they are pretentious, elitist, and insufferably self-important.

I didn't watch the Oscars show yet a mere 24 hours later I feel like I've been watching it on a constant loop thanks to all the newscasts and headlines about the "envelope snafu" and "how envelope-gate happened."    I mean big fucking deal.   There was a mix-up.   Shit happens.   We don't need coverage of it as if we've inadvertently insulted another nation and caused an international incident.    The repeated footage of all those idiots milling around on the stage.  They keep showing it like it's the Zapruder film.

The timing couldn't be worse.    Half the nation already hates Hollywood.   The absurd degree of hype this mix-up is getting will probably start eating into the other half now.

La La Land, Moonlight ... who cares.   In all likelihood I will never see either movie.  

I've found Envelope-Gate to be a pleasant distraction from that orange horror in Washington.

[proserpina65]

I'm not outraged that Casey Affleck won an Oscar.  I hadn't seen any of the nominated performances, but judging by everything I'd read about Manchester By The Sea, it seems Affleck gave one hell of a performance and deserved that Oscar.  Which, to me, is the applicable criteria.  I realize others may disagree.

Edited March 1, 2017 by proserpina65

[Bruinsfan]

Another vote here for Madden being swoon-worthy in Cinderella. I know if an abusive step-family tried to get between that and me, I'd have my "Oh, they moved off to Italy when Lady Tremaine found a new beau and left me behind" story hammered free of any inconsistencies by the time people noticed they'd gone missing and started asking questions.

[ribboninthesky1]

On 3/1/2017 at 2:40 PM, proserpina65 said:

I'm not outraged that Casey Affleck won an Oscar.  I hadn't seen any of the nominated performances, but judging by everything I'd read about Manchester By The Sea, it seems Affleck gave one hell of a performance and deserved that Oscar.  Which, to me, is the applicable criteria.  I realize others may disagree.

It seems like most of the outrage towards Affleck was to juxtapose Nate Parker's crash and burn (and thus, Affleck should have met a similar fate).  And look, I'm usually all about racial nuances and double standards, but it's much more disturbing to consider that no one would have given a shit about the Affleck allegations if Nate Parker's history and epic fail of a press tour hadn't become front and center last year.  

[Wiendish Fitch]

2 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

Another vote here for Madden being swoon-worthy in Cinderella. I know if an abusive step-family tried to get between that and me, I'd have my "Oh, they moved off to Italy when Lady Tremaine found a new beau and left me behind" story hammered free of any inconsistencies by the time people noticed they'd gone missing and started asking questions.

I approve of this scenario. :)

[wallflower75]

2 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

It seems like most of the outrage towards Affleck was to juxtapose Nate Parker's crash and burn (and thus, Affleck should have met a similar fate).  And look, I'm usually all about racial nuances and double standards, but it's much more disturbing to consider that no one would have given a shit about the Affleck allegations if Nate Parker's history and epic fail of a press tour hadn't become front and center last year.  

I think there may have been some talk about the allegations against Affleck in the sense of "another man doing what he wants to women and getting away with it," but yeah, not as much there would've if not for Nate Parker.

[aradia22]

Quote

I thought Sebastian in La La Land was way more likable than Jerry in An American in Paris. Yeah, I said it. 

Agreed but that's not really a high bar. For the most part, Gene Kelly played jerks. The jazz douche stuff is irritating but in the story, Sebastian is not really enough of a person for you to feel that strongly about him. I always felt like I was watching Ryan Gosling do things that Chazelle told him to do. Whereas Jerry is a total stalker. 

Quote

uncomfortably long reaction shots where the actors aren't even really reacting

I don't really have an opinion on Joshua Logan but I wish there was a name for this. I notice it so much, especially on bad TV shows. But then maybe those actors think they're reacting... 

[vibeology]

7 minutes ago, aradia22 said:

Agreed but that's not really a high bar. For the most part, Gene Kelly played jerks.

It's nice to hear someone else say this. I love Gene Kelly but pretty much every character he played was at least a bit of an ass. I watch Singin' In the Rain for dear Kathy Selden, campy Lina Lamont and the dancing. Don Lockwood is a jerk. Gabey is a jerk. Jerry Mulligan is a jerk. Joe Ross is a jerk. He's fine in Xanadu, I guess. I mostly remember finding that whole movie crazy.

I kind of think it's a bit of real life slipping into his roles. Industry people always praised him for his talent but I always got a sense from those statements that he could be a bit of a demanding jerk on set. Still, mad talented and there's nothing wrong with pushing for greatness as long as you know and respect other people's limits.

[aradia22]

I might have said this already but I find Michelle Williams and Sienna Miller bland and unremarkable. I don't get the praise at all. 

[Browncoat]

21 minutes ago, vibeology said:

Industry people always praised him for his talent but I always got a sense from those statements that he could be a bit of a demanding jerk on set. Still, mad talented

And he had a damn fine ass [/shallow].

[Silver Raven]

3 hours ago, aradia22 said:

I might have said this already but I find Michelle Williams and Sienna Miller bland and unremarkable. I don't get the praise at all. 

Have you see Manchester By the Sea?  Michelle Williams killed me.

[JustaPerson]

The "lunch" scene! Michelle Williams and Casey Affleck were heartbreaking in that scene. 

[kiddo82]

In my perfect world, Viola Davis would have won the Oscar for Fences in the lead actress category and Michelle Williams would have taken one for supporting in Manchester by the Sea.

[ramble]

On 2/27/2017 at 10:58 PM, millennium said:

I don't care about the Oscars.   I think they are pretentious, elitist, and insufferably self-important.

I didn't watch the Oscars show yet a mere 24 hours later I feel like I've been watching it on a constant loop thanks to all the newscasts and headlines about the "envelope snafu" and "how envelope-gate happened."    I mean big fucking deal.   There was a mix-up.   Shit happens.   We don't need coverage of it as if we've inadvertently insulted another nation and caused an international incident.    The repeated footage of all those idiots milling around on the stage.  They keep showing it like it's the Zapruder film.

The timing couldn't be worse.    Half the nation already hates Hollywood.   The absurd degree of hype this mix-up is getting will probably start eating into the other half now.

La La Land, Moonlight ... who cares.   In all likelihood I will never see either movie.  

This, times 100 for me. I'll take it further because I don't give a flying fig about any of the award shows. (Since this is the movie category I'll focus on that, but I mean all of them, music, tv, and stage.) I watch movies and hopefully I enjoy them and am entertained, or find them thought provoking or educational, but then I'm done. I don't care if the movie or actor won an award. It doesn't make me want to see the movie more, and sometimes it has the opposite effect. I don't care what the actor, producer, director, etc. has to say, who they thank or what they feel compelled to speechify about. I don't care for the huge production of these numerous award shows. They feel self-congratulatory, excessive and honestly I find them boring. I would rather clean my bathroom then sit through the lengthy self-love festivals packaged as award shows. 

Edited March 10, 2017 by ramble

[UYI]

On 2/27/2017 at 3:48 PM, Silver Raven said:

I can deal with animated clocks and wardrobes when they're cartoons, but when they're live action, they just look fake.  Especially Mrs. Potts and Chip.  They just look dumb.

For me, I think it's less that they look fake and more that they look creepy. 

I'm bigger fan of Sixteen Candles than The Breakfast Club.

I also think, when push comes to shove, I'm a bigger fan of Hannah and Her Sisters than Annie Hall. I also love Radio Days. 

[UYI]

On 3/9/2017 at 11:00 AM, vibeology said:

It's nice to hear someone else say this. I love Gene Kelly but pretty much every character he played was at least a bit of an ass. I watch Singin' In the Rain for dear Kathy Selden, campy Lina Lamont and the dancing. Don Lockwood is a jerk. Gabey is a jerk. Jerry Mulligan is a jerk. Joe Ross is a jerk. He's fine in Xanadu, I guess. I mostly remember finding that whole movie crazy.

I kind of think it's a bit of real life slipping into his roles. Industry people always praised him for his talent but I always got a sense from those statements that he could be a bit of a demanding jerk on set. Still, mad talented and there's nothing wrong with pushing for greatness as long as you know and respect other people's limits.

Didn't the woman in your avatar actually become friends with him? I think they even had a ritual of having tea together. I know she idolized him as a child. 

I have always preferred the 1987 Hallmark TV version of The Secret Garden to the 1993 full length movie version, even if Mary in the TV movie was obviously an American. And Barret Oliver as Dickon had my heart at nine years old and still does. Sigh. 

Edited March 11, 2017 by UYI

[Bastet]

54 minutes ago, UYI said:

I'm bigger fan of Sixteen Candles than The Breakfast Club.

So am I.  I have significant issues with Sixteen Candles, such that I can only watch it by fast-forwarding through certain scenes, but, although The Breakfast Club is less offensive on its face, Sixteen Candles is somehow the one I'd watch more readily/more often of the two.

[starri]

Redheads are not Pretty in Pink.  There, I said it.

[kiddo82]

I hate The Breakfast Club.  We can talk about the kids today being special snowflakes and yell at them to get off our lawns and such but The Breakfast Club is part of that too.

Edited March 11, 2017 by kiddo82

[starri]

But we ARE all a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal.  I don't see snowflakes, I just see archetypes.  And as we've discussed in the "That Wouldn't Work" thread, there's no way you could tell that story today.  Brian would have been expelled for bringing a gun (even a flare gun) to school, and Andrew likely would have been as well.

Of course, as an athlete, if he'd raped someone, that would have been perfectly fine...

[Wiendish Fitch]

Every time others express hatred for The Breakfast Club, I feel a little less alone in the cold, cruel world.

I'll always be alone in loathing Spirited Away and loving Ponyo, though. Oh, well.

[Crs97]

Hating The Breakfast Club?  I have found my people!  One of the worst movies ever, and I was 17 when it came out so therefore it's target audience.

[LilWharveyGal]

15 hours ago, UYI said:

I have always preferred the 1987 Hallmark TV version of The Secret Garden to the 1993 full length movie version, even if Mary in the TV movie was obviously an American. And Barret Oliver as Dickon had my heart at nine years old and still does. Sigh. 

Yes!  And Downton Abbey will always be Misselthwaite Manor to me.

[Lugal]

I can't stand the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack.  The movie is awesome, one of my faves and I can't wait for volume 2, but I had to listen to most of those songs on the radio at work for Eight...Long...Years

[Joe]

1 hour ago, Lugal said:

I can't stand the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack.  The movie is awesome, one of my faves and I can't wait for volume 2, but I had to listen to most of those songs on the radio at work for Eight...Long...Years

Yeah, I agree. I'm all about the crazy space opera, but not the music.

[ramble]

On 3/11/2017 at 0:25 AM, UYI said:

I have always preferred the 1987 Hallmark TV version of The Secret Garden to the 1993 full length movie version, even if Mary in the TV movie was obviously an American. And Barret Oliver as Dickon had my heart at nine years old and still does. Sigh. 

I think I've seen both versions, although I don't recall exactly so neither must have stuck with me too throughly. I doubt anything could live up to what my young imagination had dreamed up. I will second your sigh for Dickon, however my young girl's heart was for the Dickon in the book & my imagination. 

[SherriAnt]

I've never seen, nor want to see, a Woody Allen movie. I've read about them, of course, and I think he's way too New York nerdy weirdo. After the whole thing with his kids and step kids, I see I was right, lol.

I also am not a fan of any mob movies, The Godfather, Goodfellas, any of them. I find pretty much every single character in them disgusting, and most of them are purposely stupid, which drives me crazy.

One of my biggest pet peeves is shoehorning a romance into every single story! You don't have to have sex in every movie! Sometimes people can be just friends.

Really, the only new movies I enjoy are animation and comic book.

[proserpina65]

On ‎03‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 1:25 AM, UYI said:

I have always preferred the 1987 Hallmark TV version of The Secret Garden to the 1993 full length movie version, even if Mary in the TV movie was obviously an American. And Barret Oliver as Dickon had my heart at nine years old and still does. Sigh. 

Derek Jacobi - that is all.

[Browncoat]

I am also not a fan of Woody Allen or his movies.

[kiddo82]

topanga posted in the business thread about plans for an upcoming Matrix reboot which is prompting this response.  I don't necessarily mind reboots/remakes but I don't understand the rationale behind reinventing a franchise that's not yet 20 years old.  I mean, I know the answer is money, duh, but if you're going to update something, why not something that could actually benefit from a modern audience or some modern exposure?  My UO is that I'd be all in favor of something like a Thin Man reboot.  Don't get me wrong, Powell and Loy are positively delightful as Nick and Nora (and quite frankly, the only reasons why the movies are so enjoyable in the first place) but that doesn't mean those movies would necessarily suffer from a little 21st century retooling in the right hands.  If anything, it might inspire fans to check out the originals which is something they might otherwise not do.  Even if the new movies are comparatively lesser than it doesn't mean they can't be viewed as entertaining in their own right.  (When did we ge into this dichotomy where if something is good what we compare it to must be bad?  No.  Two things can be good.  One can just be better.).  The problem with modernizing an already modern movie is that most of your audience has probably already seen said movie and I don't think you can win.  I haven't seen the Matrix in a while but I'm sure the graphics are dated and you know the new one will get released in IMAX but people will still be attached to the 1999 version for better or worse.  Just thinking out loud, I wonder if Feud will net a Whatever Happened to Baby Jane remake. You know someone at Warner's is thinking about it. 

Edited March 15, 2017 by kiddo82

[coppersin]

4 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

My UO is that I'd be all in favor of something like a Thin Man reboot.  Don't get me wrong, Powell and Loy are positively delightful as Nick and Nora (and quite frankly, the only reasons why the movies are so enjoyable in the first place) but that doesn't mean those movies would necessarily suffer from a little 21st century retooling in the right hands.  If anything, it might inspire fans to check out the originals which is something they might otherwise not do.  Even if the new movies are comparatively lesser than it doesn't mean they can't be viewed as entertaining in their own right.  

I felt the same until Johnny Depp was cast as Nick. Fortunately that fell through. Still, with a better cast, I would 100% love a new Thin Man.

[Blergh]

Inasmuch as I can't stomach movies that glorify addictions and toxic folks, I never bothered with "Trainspotters" and would have been perfectly content if the sequel had never been made. It's a testament to Ewan MacGregor's sheer talent that somehow he became a full fledged international movie star in spite of having been in that movie, IMO.

[proserpina65]

37 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Inasmuch as I can't stomach movies that glorify addictions and toxic folks, I never bothered with "Trainspotters" and would have been perfectly content if the sequel had never been made. It's a testament to Ewan MacGregor's sheer talent that somehow he became a full fledged international movie star in spite of having been in that movie, IMO.

It's Trainspotting, but otherwise I absolutely agree.

[Blergh]

Oops! Thanks for the correct, proserpina!

[Mulva]

I liked the plot of Beauty and the Beast a lot better before I learned about Stockholm Syndrome.

[blueray]

I probably the only one with this opinion. But I finally saw part of My cousin Vinny and wow that is a dumb movie! I left the room after the first half hour or so. I know you aren't supposed to take it serious but I was finding hard to follow anything as it was so stupid. The only part that was good was the one actress, but she's a supporting role. I know a lot of people love this movie, I don't get it.

Edited April 2, 2017 by blueray

[Blergh]

Blueray,

 

 I liked that movie overall but I guess my unpopular POV is that I MUCH prefer Fred Gwynne's 'YOOTS?' quote to Marisa Tomei's often quoted rant. Yes, I know she won the Oscar for her role but being needlessly profane instead of, at least attempting ,to respect a courtroom, professional setting is annoying rather than funny or clever, IMO.  I know it was a comedy but I was  hoping Judge Gwynne would have slapped a 'Contempt of Court' for her character for said rant.

[DisneyBoy]

Quote

I'll take this one further: I hate the Disney animated Beauty & the Beast.  The only version I've ever cared for was the Jean Cocteau one.

You don't even like Lumiere? Lumiere Is awesome. The original animated one of course.

I also have no desire to see the live-action Beauty and the Beast. If Emma Watson can't sing, why is she playing Belle? If the movie can't improve on the backgrounds from the animated film, why is it even being made? I saw a brief glimpse from the Something There scene and was really disappointed by how fake the topiaries behind the Beast looked. I mean at this point live action movies are animated movies anyways with all the CGI happening, so there isn't even the thrill of seeing the animated sets done for real. It just bums me out.

Here's my UO: In spite of all of the superhero movies that are being made, I have no passion for superhero movies anymore it seems. Back in the day when we got a Batman or Batman Returns once every few years and were lucky to have a show like Lois & Clark playing on our TV screens, I would have freaked out at the possibility that studios might start making multiple superhero films every year. But at this point they've all mushed together. We are now seeing our what...third Spider-Man? Our third Batman? Sorry - make that our fifth Batman. If they were sticking to making superhero movies with a unique vision the way Burton did for example then maybe I could get excited about them. But it just feels like these movies are getting made because Hollywood is creatively bankrupt and knows that there's a big comic book audience out there. I mean, I still haven't seen the Avengers for pity's sake! And everybody raves about that movie. But I'm just not especially interested.

That's the other thing - people will always say a movie is good for the first few weeks after it comes out and only about two months later will they admit that the movie was only so-so and that they bought into the hype. And then about six months later everyone will admit the movie was a total piece of crap...as if they weren't raving about it the week it first came out. I just have no faith in reviews anymore or even word of mouth.

[caracas1914]

Acting wise, I think Marlon Brando is the weak link of "The Godfather".   His mumbling , cotton in his mouth acting choices are OK, but they seem excessively  mannered compared to Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, down to even minor characters...

[DisneyBoy]

I haven't seen enough of Marlon Brando's work to judge him as an actor, but everything I've read about him as a person makes me never want to watch one of his movies. The man was a sadist and an egomaniac.

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, caracas1914 said:

Acting wise, I think Marlon Brando is the weak link of "The Godfather".   His mumbling , cotton in his mouth acting choices are OK, but they seem excessively  mannered compared to Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, down to even minor characters...

But I did so love how he smacked Sonny down after Sollozzo approached them and mentioned how the Tattaglias could guarantee protection or some such bullshit. And I guess I just have a soft spot for Brando because this was the first movie of his I saw and I loved how he pet the kitty in the opening and slapped Johnny and told him to "act like a man" and mocked Johnny's whining.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

2 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

 If they were sticking to making superhero movies with a unique vision the way Burton did for example then maybe I could get excited about them. But it just feels like these movies are getting made because Hollywood is creatively bankrupt and knows that there's a big comic book audience out there. I mean, I still haven't seen the Avengers for pity's sake! And everybody raves about that movie. But I'm just not especially interested.

That's the other thing - people will always say a movie is good for the first few weeks after it comes out and only about two months later will they admit that the movie was only so-so and that they bought into the hype. And then about six months later everyone will admit the movie was a total piece of crap...as if they weren't raving about it the week it first came out. I just have no faith in reviews anymore or even word of mouth.

"This town needs an enema!" [/Jack Nicholson's The Joker]

More seriously, Burton's version of Batman is almost an entirely different genre than the current one, and it doesn't have anything to do with who is playing the character, IMO. As much as The Joker is pretty much always a psycho who wants to ruin everyone's day, Nicholson's iteration spawned Heath Ledger's, which in turn spawned Jared Leto's. I haven't seen Suicide Squad yet, but as the universe Batman exists in became darker, so did the characters. Tom Hardy's ridiculous growling as Bane is only part of it, and I usually really like Hardy as an actor. When everything is all Gloom and Doom and Angst, the lighter Marvel stuff like The Avengers is like a ray of sunshine peeking out from behind the clouds. At the bare minimum, and I may have said this before, if I never thank Joss Whedon, as flawed a director as he is, for anything the rest of my life, it'll be for deciding to cast Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff.

[proserpina65]

4 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

You don't even like Lumiere? Lumiere Is awesome. The original animated one of course.

Nope.  I hated everything about the animated version, especially the singing and dancing.  Although it did lead to Mr. Burns singing "See my vest, see my vest, made from real gorilla chest", so there's that.  Of course, I hate pretty much all of the animated musicals from Disney's alleged renaissance, not just Beauty and the Beast.

I am with you on the superhero/comic book movie trend, though.

Edited April 6, 2017 by proserpina65

[ribboninthesky1]

4 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

That's the other thing - people will always say a movie is good for the first few weeks after it comes out and only about two months later will they admit that the movie was only so-so and that they bought into the hype. And then about six months later everyone will admit the movie was a total piece of crap...as if they weren't raving about it the week it first came out. I just have no faith in reviews anymore or even word of mouth.

The bolded sums up the Marvel and Stars Wars film universes in a nutshell for me.  

In general, I've learned to avoid reviews - in my experience, a film is rarely as fantastic or awful as the strongly-voiced media critic/social media machine implies.  Plus, discussion of a highly anticipated film can go on for years before it's released, especially these blockbuster franchises.  So lot of hype or acrimony can be generated online before the public even sees a trailer.   

That said, I have and still do make a decision about my interest in a film based on trailers I see.  There have have been few films I perceived to be completely contrary to the marketing. 

[raven]

Sort of in the theme of the last couple of posts, I liked Deadpool, it was fun and funny but it's not a brilliant, subversive movie.  It's a straightforward anti-hero origin story, right down to saving the girlfriend.

2 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

There have have been few films I perceived to be completely contrary to the marketing. 

I think this is definitely true, some movies are marketed to drive traffic even if what's being shown isn't central to what you see in full.

[Kel Varnsen]

2 hours ago, raven said:

Sort of in the theme of the last couple of posts, I liked Deadpool, it was fun and funny but it's not a brilliant, subversive movie.  It's a straightforward anti-hero origin story, right down to saving the girlfriend

After i watched it and talked about it a bit, i am starting to wonder if doing the super  simple origin/revenge/save the girl plot wasn't chosen intentionally. Like a kind of wink at the camera satire of a serious super hero movie.