Unpopular Opinions

[Blergh]

21 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I agree.  Nicholson's Jack Torrence is obviously unhinged from the first scene so you lose his slow descent into insanity.   I get why book Wendy and miniseries Wendy are willing to take Danny with him to the Overlook, but not movie Wendy.   

Yeah, for some reason, Nicholson has never been believable when attempting to play a sane, rational person. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

33 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Yeah, for some reason, Nicholson has never been believable when attempting to play a sane, rational person. 

I've never cared for The Shining for just that reason. I mean, it's Jack Nicholson! He always seems nutty and/or evil! I could never imagine him playing, say, Dumbledore, or some real life inspirational teacher. I just can't. I once read an article that stated that Nicholson could easily play either Oscar or Felix from The Odd Couple. 

What the huh?!

I can only imagine him playing Oscar... who then murders Felix and hides the body!

Sorry, but I'm not a Nicholson fan. Never have been (though he is well-cast in A Few Good Men).

Edited October 28, 2019 by Wiendish Fitch

[BlackberryJam]

If you can’t stand Nicholson, sit right here next to me. I’ve never seen the man act. he just clowns. And has a weird face. I think people just give him pity accolades.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Just now, BlackberryJam said:

If you can’t stand Nicholson, sit right here next to me. I’ve never seen the man act. he just clowns. And has a weird face. I think people just give him pity accolades.

Thank you! Nicholson just mugs, and he seems like an utterly loathsome old toad. And I refuse to watch Chinatown until Roman Polanski has been dead for several years (he's sure taking his sweet-ass time about it), and even that's highly doubtful (a crucial plot detail has been spoiled for me).

Furthermore, I think As Good as it Gets is one of the most awful "critics' darling" movies ever! 

[BlackberryJam]

In my mind, Roman Polanski is dead. And never existed. Or something. I won’t watch his films....maybe ever. 

I never saw As Good As It Gets. I feel no regret for this. An old wealthy dude using money to entice and control a struggling woman thirty years younger? And it’s not played as something totally gross and creepy? Never going to find that interesting.

I generally have a NO response to any film about that involves middle-aged manpain and self-discovery. 

I did like Heartburn but that was Meryl’s movie.

Edited October 28, 2019 by BlackberryJam

[Wiendish Fitch]

13 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

I never saw As Good As It Gets. I feel no regret for this. An old wealthy dude using money to entice and control a struggling woman thirty years younger? And it’s not played as something totally gross and creepy? Never going to find that interesting.

As Good As It Gets bothers me because we're meant to find Nicholson's character Melvin charming and lovable when he is, in fact, a mean-spirited, racist, homophobic, misogynistic, icky old lech who throws his gay neighbor's beloved little dog down a trash chute*... oh, but Melvin has OCD, so that automatically makes it okay! We can't dislike him now! Gag.

Quote

In my mind, Roman Polanski is dead. And never existed. Or something. I won’t watch his films....maybe ever. 

On second thought, maybe even watching his films after he's dead is too kind.

Quote

I generally have a NO response to any film about that involves middle-aged manpain and self-discovery. 

Ugh, I get bored with these, too. Sometimes they're done well, but the majority of them are insufferable. 

*ps

For those who haven't seen the movie, don't worry, the dog lives (doesn't make it acceptable, though).

Edited October 28, 2019 by Wiendish Fitch

[BlackberryJam]

I unpopularly don’t give a flying about animals in movies, so the dog thing doesn’t bother me as much as the rest of it. UGH. So glad I’ve never seen it. 

No lie, when I watch The Witches of Eastwick I fastforward through the Nicholson parts. Same with Terms of Endearment. I should make a list of “Movies that would have been better if the Nicholson character were eliminated or played by a different actor.” 

Edited October 28, 2019 by BlackberryJam
verb tense

[Shannon L.]

I don't mind Jack's mugging and scenery chewing--I even get a kick out of it at times--, but I understand the criticism.  I also hated As Good as It Gets.  The only time I ever found one of his characters likeable was for a very brief moment in Terms of Endearment when he showed up for Aurora as she was struggling with watching her daughter dying in the hospital.

[proserpina65]

3 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

If you can’t stand Nicholson, sit right here next to me. I’ve never seen the man act. he just clowns. And has a weird face. I think people just give him pity accolades.

I'll add that it's a travesty that he won the Oscar for As Good As It Gets for basically playing Jack Nicholson, instead of Peter Fonda winning it for Ulee's Gold.

[Wiendish Fitch]

I just realized something:

Why in the hell wasn't Simon the protagonist of As Good as it Gets?????

There's potential to flesh out his character, we could see what his career is like, what it's like for him to have such a horrid neighbor like Melvin, and how he recuperates after being attacked...

Oh, wait, silly me, I forgot. Simon is a gay man, and As Good as it Gets was released in 1997, and during the 1990s you were lucky to get one movie a year that had decent representation of someone from the LGBT community. Poor Simon is relegated to being the token gay character who has the barest minimum of things to do and just enough of a personality to be a character, but that's it. He's sympathetic, sure, but he doesn't get to be much of anything else. 

God, I hate this movie more and more in hindsight.

[Wiendish Fitch]

19 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

No lie, when I watch The Witches of Eastwick I fastforward through the Nicholson parts. 

I hope you at least watch the part where Cher spectacularly tells him off in one of the most beautiful insult spiels ever put on celluloid:

[bmoore4026]

On 10/28/2019 at 11:31 AM, Wiendish Fitch said:

I've never cared for The Shining for just that reason. I mean, it's Jack Nicholson! He always seems nutty and/or evil! I could never imagine him playing, say, Dumbledore, or some real life inspirational teacher. I just can't. I once read an article that stated that Nicholson could easily play either Oscar or Felix from The Odd Couple.

Oh, it's too bad that so many here don't like Jack Nicholson.  I watched him The Raven (1963) recently and he's playing against type in that movie.  He's playing someone endearingly dorky.  Also, he fills out a pair of tights quite nicely.

Another unpopular opinion - I have never seen Apocalypse Now and have no intention to.  The documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse is more than enough, thank you.

[Wiendish Fitch]

44 minutes ago, bmoore4026 said:

Oh, it's too bad that so many here don't like Jack Nicholson.  I watched him The Raven (1963) recently and he's playing against type in that movie.  He's playing someone endearingly dorky.  Also, he fills out a pair of tights quite nicely.

Another unpopular opinion - I have never seen Apocalypse Now and have no intention to.  The documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse is more than enough, thank you.

Apocalypse Now is good... but a one n' done movie for me. No need rewatch.

[Blergh]

My Apocalypse Now UO: Not only did I dislike it for treating mass killings and wanton violence as a joke for almost the entire movie but

Spoiler

for all the build up of Col. Kurtz and all the needless casualties that happened just to GET to him, when the viewers, he just seemed a self-important, boring slob and his death seemed rather anticlimactic. 

Spoiler

Yep, Wiendish, ONE viewing of it per lifetime was quite enough for me! 

[WritinMan]

On 10/31/2019 at 8:44 AM, Blergh said:

My Apocalypse Now UO: Not only did I dislike it for treating mass killings and wanton violence as a joke for almost the entire movie but

  Reveal spoiler

for all the build up of Col. Kurtz and all the needless casualties that happened just to GET to him, when the viewers, he just seemed a self-important, boring slob and his death seemed rather anticlimactic. 

  Reveal spoiler

Yep, Wiendish, ONE viewing of it per lifetime was quite enough for me! 

Where did it treat those things as a joke?

[Blergh]

11 hours ago, WritinMan said:

Where did it treat those things as a joke?

Virtually all the middle part of the movie, at least IMO!

[Raja]

5 hours ago, Blergh said:

Virtually all the middle part of the movie, at least IMO!

I think they were going for how the soldiers became dehumanized by the situation that they were thrown into. The jokes and drugs were just coping mechanisms in Vietnam, but not something the audience was suppose to laugh at.

[WritinMan]

6 hours ago, Blergh said:

Virtually all the middle part of the movie, at least IMO!

We must have watched different movies, because I don't remember jokes.

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

I think they were going for how the soldiers became dehumanized by the situation that they were thrown into. The jokes and drugs were just coping mechanisms in Vietnam, but not something the audience was suppose to laugh at.

Some of the audience I was with DID laugh at them. 😢

[Spartan Girl]

My UO about The Shining: I liked Shelly Duvall's Wendy and I don't understand why everyone craps on her.  Poor Wendy should have been getting the lion's share of sympathy along with Danny, and instead everyone just makes cracks about how "shrill" and "whiny" she was and how any guy would have gone nuts being married to her.  Ugh.

Unlike Jaaaaack there's never a doubt that Wendy loves Danny and do anything for him.  For all the talk about her being "weak" give her credit for how she lashes into Jack when she thinks he's the one that hurt Danny, not to mention the fact that she beans him with a baseball bat and locks him into the supply closet.  And as someone who has been known to have a meltdown over plenty of lesser things, I can hardly judge her for being hysterical when she's stuck in a abandoned haunted hotel with a near-catatonic son and a man she's come to realize is a psychopath.  Wouldn't you be in the same situation?

[Wiendish Fitch]

8 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

My UO about The Shining: I liked Shelly Duvall's Wendy and I don't understand why everyone craps on her.  Poor Wendy should have been getting the lion's share of sympathy along with Danny, and instead everyone just makes cracks about how "shrill" and "whiny" she was and how any guy would have gone nuts being married to her.  Ugh.

Unlike Jaaaaack there's never a doubt that Wendy loves Danny and do anything for him.  For all the talk about her being "weak" give her credit for how she lashes into Jack when she thinks he's the one that hurt Danny, not to mention the fact that she beans him with a baseball bat and locks him into the supply closet.  And as someone who has been known to have a meltdown over plenty of lesser things, I can hardly judge her for being hysterical when she's stuck in a abandoned haunted hotel with a near-catatonic son and a man she's come to realize is a psychopath.  Wouldn't you be in the same situation?

You wanna know something? I hope I never meet the person who handles Wendy's situation with a smile and gentle good humor! Anyone who does is just as big a wingnut as Jack! There's a time to be a good sport, and then there's a time to be a human being with a fucking survival instinct! Jack is trying to murder them with an ax, now is the worst possible time to be the Cool Girl!

And Wendy got Danny out alive, so can we please give her props for that?!

[topanga]

11 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

My UO about The Shining: I liked Shelly Duvall's Wendy and I don't understand why everyone craps on her.  Poor Wendy should have been getting the lion's share of sympathy along with Danny, and instead everyone just makes cracks about how "shrill" and "whiny" she was and how any guy would have gone nuts being married to her.  Ugh.

Unlike Jaaaaack there's never a doubt that Wendy loves Danny and do anything for him.  For all the talk about her being "weak" give her credit for how she lashes into Jack when she thinks he's the one that hurt Danny, not to mention the fact that she beans him with a baseball bat and locks him into the supply closet.  And as someone who has been known to have a meltdown over plenty of lesser things, I can hardly judge her for being hysterical when she's stuck in a abandoned haunted hotel with a near-catatonic son and a man she's come to realize is a psychopath.  Wouldn't you be in the same situation?

Right on! I just re-watched this movie on Halloween, and Wendy was the classic abused wife for most of the movie. She rationalized all of Jack's bad behavior, even to herself. I don't know if Jack ever physically abused her, although her jumpiness around him makes me think he hit or shoved her a few times. Maybe not hard enough to send her to the ER, but still. 

And she was the one doing all of the work at the Overlook. All Jack did was sleep, sit in front of his typewriter, and play handball. I never saw him doing any of the household chores he was being paid to do. 

I did laugh when Wendy made those first half-hearted swings at Jack. She was holding the bat in the middle and had absolutely no torque. But when the time came, and she realized how crazy Jack was and that he really would kill her and Danny, when WHACK! She held the bat right that time. 

And for the rest of the movie, she was practical and effective, making sure she and Danny got out alive. 

[Spartan Girl]

5 hours ago, topanga said:

Right on! I just re-watched this movie on Halloween, and Wendy was the classic abused wife for most of the movie. She rationalized all of Jack's bad behavior, even to herself. I don't know if Jack ever physically abused her, although her jumpiness around him makes me think he hit or shoved her a few times. Maybe not hard enough to send her to the ER, but still. 

I'm not sure Jack ever hit her either, but I'm willing to bet that he was definitely a mean drunk. His verbal abuse to her was bad enough, specifically when she strolls into his "writing room" and sweetly tries to make conversation only to have him bite her head off. And she barely reacts, just tries to de escalate the situation. I get the feeling she was used to that sort of crap from him and took it all in stride. But Wendy's the shrew. *eyeroll*

And the worst part was, as we later found out, he wasn't even writing the entire time.

Give her credit for this: even though she made excuses for him accidentally breaking Danny's arm that one time, from the way she reacted when she thought he grabbed Danny again, she definitely wasn't the sort of battered woman that would just look the other way when he abused their child.

[Blergh]

13 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

  Wendy got Danny out alive, so can we please give her props for that?!

That part I will agree with you.Although, frankly, IMO Danny himself did a great deal of the heavy lifting for the both of them.  Moreover, I don't think it was solely Jack's abuse that caused Danny to create Tony  but the fact that deep down he learned WAY too early that he could NOT rely even on his own mother to protect him that was a major contributing factor to create Tony who COULD protect him. 

[FormerMod-a1]

Maybe I'm too young since I only ever saw the movie "long" after it was out (although not that young since I watched it on VHS) but I don't recall hearing any complaints about the Wendy character or Shelley's acting.  I do recall people poking fun of her looks though, which may be worse.   The nicest of which was calling her "Olive Oil" (from Popeye).

[starri]

Alan Rickman deserved an Oscar nomination for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Judi Dench deserved one for Skyfall.

[Popples]

3 hours ago, starri said:

Alan Rickman deserved an Oscar nomination for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Absolutely.

[ShadowHunter]

I have a huge one. I was always fine with Laurie ended up with Amy in Little Woman. 

I was always more surprised Jo ended up with anyone because I never got the marrying vibe from her.  

[andromeda331]

8 hours ago, ShadowHunter said:

I was always more surprised Jo ended up with anyone because I never got the marrying vibe from her.  

Neither did I. She always seemed like someone who'd be really happy never marrying and living on her own. It just never really seemed like something that interested her or she wanted. I could see her writing, traveling, living alone and having close knit friends. 

[Simon Boccanegra]

My Apocalypse Now UO: I watched the longer "Redux" version from 2001 and the more famous one from 1979 close together last year, and I definitely preferred the longer one. The prevailing view seems to be that the scenes reinserted, especially the sequence with the French colonials on the rubber plantation, just slow the movie down. I thought they gave it more variety of texture, a broader human canvas, more of a sense of an epic journey. And in neither version is it a movie I'd exactly call lean. A certain "drifting" quality is built in. So it's not as if they violate the tone.   

I also think the concluding portion with Kurtz is better for the additions.  

But I'm having trouble thinking of any movie that exists in shorter and longer versions in which I prefer the shorter one. I very frequently see "deleted scenes" that I'm grateful were not included, but usually when some auteur actually assembles an official cut, I feel that more is more. 

Then there are some shorter versions that are just terrible, such as Once Upon a Time in America at 139 minutes with the scenes in chronological order, or more recently Margaret chopped down to satisfy Fox Searchlight's demand that it not exceed 150 minutes.  Great films, both, but my advice is go long or don't go.  

Edited November 15, 2019 by Simon Boccanegra

[Spartan Girl]

Kubrick was overrated.

[BlackberryJam]

2001: A Space Odyssey is worth watching over and over again, especially the beginning. 

[Anduin]

3 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

2001: A Space Odyssey is worth watching over and over again, especially the beginning. 

The beginning is good, the end is... interesting. But a large chunk of the middle really drags.

[Blergh]

6 hours ago, Anduin said:

The beginning is good, the end is... interesting. But a large chunk of the middle really drags.

Totally agree re 2001: Space Odyssey (1968)! Of course I didn't see it until decades after it was released but then I saw it to the end- and after the very lengthy,talky middle of draggy, dull stuff depicted with virtually no colors whatsoever,

Spoiler

the END of it with all those vivid, 'trippy' colors exploding,

I got to thinking 'no WONDER all those LSD users loved this movie'! LOL

Of course, MY UO about this, is that I actually preferred the sequel 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)- not only were things much clearer but also I think this was one of the first times the legendary performer Helen Mirren got to depict a Russian so I can imagine she had her fun considering that her father was Russian!

Spoiler

Oh, and I liked how HAL got  a good chance to redeem himself at the end with a touching reunion! And, THAT movie's end was quite cool to see in the theater! 

Of course it's fun y watching the latter movie and seeing just how many 'futuristic' predictions worked out far differently than was imagined at the time! 

[Blergh]

I hate that Doctor Sleep opted to make the demons that haunted Danny from childhood onward be  literal demons and made it seem as though he had virtually no choice but to become a hopeless and self-destructive alcoholic. 

Spoiler

Yes, I know that in the original Shining there also were ghosts and characters' premonitions. However; in the original Shining, this was done sparingly enough for the viewer to understand that the Overlook and catalysts to Jack's murderous solipsism and he clearly had had the potential to have done what he did BEFORE  the family ever set foot on the Overlook grounds. IOW, the viewers could still opt to  believe that all the ghosts,etc. that they were dealing with were figments of Jack and Danny's imaginations but ultimately their choices to murder/ rescue themselves were THEIRS- NOT the Overlook's  and its denizens. In Doctor Sleep, the place is spook central and now the viewer is hit over the head with all this mumbo-jumbo having to be REAL instead of figments of the characters' imaginations wrought via isolation and the characters' unresolved pasts that had been failed to have been sufficiently confronted- and worse   it  currently and retroactively shifts the blame/ responsibilty for ALL the choices the characters themselves had made AWAY from them and towards the spooks. At least the Shining DID start much needed dialogue about the effects and consequences of domestic violence and alcoholism which, at the time, were still barely acknowledged if not considered jokes .Doctor Sleep seems to avoid any kind of attempt to address legit issues but instead opts to treat these serious issues as things entirely out of protagonists' control with their lives dominated by legit spooks!  IMO, Doctor Sleep COULD have had a good, entertaining update on the lives of the surviving Torrences in the REAL WORLD but instead just dove headfirst  into the schlock and spook trend and never came up for air.

For the above reasons, I consider it a complete fail! 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Blergh
tense

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

I hate that Doctor Sleep opted to make the demons that haunted Danny from childhood onward be  literal demons and made it seem as though he had virtually no choice but to become a hopeless and self-destructive alcoholic. 

  Reveal spoiler

Yes, I know that in the original Shining there also were ghosts and characters' premonitions. However; in the original Shining, this was done sparingly enough for the viewer to understand that the Overlook and catalysts to Jack's murderous solipsism and he clearly had had the potential to have done what he did BEFORE  the family ever set foot on the Overlook grounds. IOW, the viewers could still opt to  believe that all the ghosts,etc. that they were dealing with were figments of Jack and Danny's imaginations but ultimately their choices to murder/ rescue themselves were THEIRS- NOT the Overlook's  and its denizens. In Doctor Sleep, the place is spook central and now the viewer is hit over the head with all this mumbo-jumbo having to be REAL instead of figments of the characters' imaginations wrought via isolation and the characters' unresolved pasts that had been failed to have been sufficiently confronted- and worse   it  currently and retroactively shifts the blame/ responsibilty for ALL the choices the characters themselves had made AWAY from them and towards the spooks. At least the Shining DID start much needed dialogue about the effects and consequences of domestic violence and alcoholism which, at the time, were still barely acknowledged if not considered jokes .Doctor Sleep seems to avoid any kind of attempt to address legit issues but instead opts to treat these serious issues as things entirely out of protagonists' control with their lives dominated by legit spooks!  IMO, Doctor Sleep COULD have had a good, entertaining update on the lives of the surviving Torrences in the REAL WORLD but instead just dove headfirst  into the schlock and spook trend and never came up for air.

For the above reasons, I consider it a complete fail! 

I'd like to point out that Dan did realize towards the end that he DID have a choice, and got his life together and strove to become a better man than Jack, and eventually found the strength to face his demons

evidenced by how he was able to keep the Overlook Hotel ghosts at bay when they possessed to save Abra and sacrifice himself by burning down the hotel

.  JMO.

[GHScorpiosRule]

From what I saw of the live version of Lady and The Tramp:

I

DON'T like that Jim Dear and Darling didn't introduce Lady to the Baby.

I don't like that Lady was mean to Tramp when they first met and threatened to "out" him to the dog catcher for...reasons.

I don't like that Tramp didn't give two shits for his friends Trixie and Bull, and was looking for a way to avoid being seen by them. And had to be convinced to free them.

That Lady knew what a baby was before she saw the baby. Or that they changed the baby to a baby girl.

That Lady wasn't...Lady

I don't care if it was a "remake" or whatever. I was prepared to see if they could make it almost as good as the original, which was a love letter to all fur babies.  And they could have, but they didn't.  And it FAILED. Except for Sam Elliott.

[Ohwell]

I rewatched Dr. Zhivago again today and my UO is that Lara's Theme is played over and over and over throughout the movie to the extent that it just drives me nuts.  While I enjoy the movie itself, it would have been so much better if there hadn't been so much emphasis on that one song.   I had the same issue with Lawrence of Arabia.

[ShadowHunter]

As a female I had no interest in the new Charlie's Angels movie. Just because a film has female leads does not mean I am going to run to see especially when I am not a fan of the property.  

Edited November 21, 2019 by ShadowHunter

[kiddo82]

4 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I rewatched Dr. Zhivago again today and my UO is that Lara's Theme is played over and over and over throughout the movie to the extent that it just drives me nuts.  While I enjoy the movie itself, it would have been so much better if there hadn't been so much emphasis on that one song.   I had the same issue with Lawrence of Arabia.

I can't hear the Lawrence of Arabia theme without singing the lyrics that the Simpsons gave it when Homer was lost in the desert in the Holy Land:  "Thirrrrrsty.  I am so thirrrrrsty.  And hungry and horrrrnyyyy.  But mostly just thirrrrrsty."  

I also sing it when I'm thirsty.  

[Blergh]

22 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I rewatched Dr. Zhivago again today and my UO is that Lara's Theme is played over and over and over throughout the movie to the extent that it just drives me nuts.  While I enjoy the movie itself, it would have been so much better if there hadn't been so much emphasis on that one song.    

Yeah, between THAT SONG that made me feel like throwing something if I had had to hear it one more time AND the fact that the two leads are incredibly selfish and solipsistic folks, weighed down my enjoyment of the wonderful cinematography, beautiful sets and clothes. Hence, I have to say once was quite enough re that movie! 

[Wiendish Fitch]

22 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Yeah, between THAT SONG that made me feel like throwing something if I had had to hear it one more time AND the fact that the two leads are incredibly selfish and solipsistic folks, weighed down my enjoyment of the wonderful cinematography, beautiful sets and clothes. Hence, I have to say once was quite enough re that movie! 

Hooray! Someone else who dislikes Doctor Zhivago! Yuri was a cheating asshole, Lara was a dull-as-tombs cypher (and I never thought Julie Christie was the ravishing beauty everyone touts her as), and my heart ached for poor, sweet Tonya every step of the way. 

[kiddo82]

The Simpsons also improved upon Dr. Zhivago in a way that words cannot give justice.

And for the record, I hated Lawrence of Arabia and thought Dr. Zhivago was okay but way too long.  Like, somewhere in there is an entertaining movie but you have to parse through the actual movie to find it.  

Edited November 22, 2019 by kiddo82

[kathyk2]

On 3/8/2019 at 5:47 PM, UYI said:

I mean, I love St. Elmo's Fire, but that probably counts as a guilty pleasure, so never mind. 🙂

OTOH, liking St. Elmo's Fire is not exactly a popular opinion, so it's still appropriate for this thread!

I don't know how much of a UO this is, but I really wish Steve Martin had done more serious roles in his career. I especially love him in Parenthood. He has comedic scenes in that movie, but that's not what I remember it for overall (not even the cowboy scenes, great as those are). 

If you want to see Steve Martin in a great dramatic role see Leap of Faith. He plays a traveling evangelist and his monologues are incredible.

[proserpina65]

Not only do I not care about the new Mr. Rogers movie, I don't give a damn about Mr. Rogers himself.  I wouldn't have wished him ill, but he was not a part of my childhood (we didn't get public television) and I don't think him the be-all and end-all of children's tv.

Now, if they made a movie about Captain Kangaroo . . .

[Danny Franks]

22 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Not only do I not care about the new Mr. Rogers movie, I don't give a damn about Mr. Rogers himself.  I wouldn't have wished him ill, but he was not a part of my childhood (we didn't get public television) and I don't think him the be-all and end-all of children's tv.

As a non-American, I feel entirely the same. In the current movie climate, I'm actually surprised that a studio made a movie that has such a narrow appeal. I can't see people lining up in Europe or China to watch a feelgood movie about a person they have no feelings for.

[Blergh]

On 11/21/2019 at 8:04 PM, kiddo82 said:

 .  Like, somewhere in there is an entertaining movie but you have to parse through the actual movie to find it.  

Yeah, perhaps someone should do an edit of the best 30 minutes worth of  scenery and train rides of Doctor Zhivago but somehow leaving out all footage of Dr. Zhivago and Lara! 

Edited November 24, 2019 by Blergh

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 11/22/2019 at 11:01 AM, proserpina65 said:

Not only do I not care about the new Mr. Rogers movie, I don't give a damn about Mr. Rogers himself.  I wouldn't have wished him ill, but he was not a part of my childhood (we didn't get public television) and I don't think him the be-all and end-all of children's tv.

I saw the highly praised documentary about him, and was very underwhelmed.  There was a mention that he was fat as a kid, but only the mention--no follow-up at all, and it was bound to have had an effect on him.

He seemed to me to be a kind person, and used his platform to preach kindness, which I didn't know because he was never on my radar except for Eddie Murphy.  But I didn't need an entire documentary to learn that.

I decided that people's adoration of the documentary had everything to do with fond memories of his show when they were kids.  And I suspect it will be the same with this movie.

Quote

Now, if they made a movie about Captain Kangaroo . . .

He kind of gives me the creeps. 

8 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I can't see people lining up in Europe or China to watch a feelgood movie about a person they have no feelings for.

Good point.  I hadn't given any thought about the all-important international market.  Maybe they think Tom Hanks will be enough of a draw. 

[Blergh]

12 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I saw the highly praised documentary about him, and was very underwhelmed.  There was a mention that he was fat as a kid, but only the mention--no follow-up at all, and it was bound to have had an effect on him.

He seemed to me to be a kind person, and used his platform to preach kindness, which I didn't know because he was never on my radar except for Eddie Murphy.  But I didn't need an entire documentary to learn that.

I decided that people's adoration of the documentary had everything to do with fond memories of his show when they were kids.  And I suspect it will be the same with this movie.

He kind of gives me the creeps. 

Good point.  I hadn't given any thought about the all-important international market.  Maybe they think Tom Hanks will be enough of a draw. 

Well, there WAS a pre-Wall post Detente exchange in which the then-Soviet Union's most popular children's show hostess appeared in the Neighborhood and Mr. Rogers appeared on her program (Good Night, Little Ones). It might make an interesting movie to show how THAT came about and be a good draw for the European and even Asian moviegoers (who all have had good reasons to keep an eye on Russia for decades). 

 As for Captain Kangaroo? No, the late Bob Keeshan was hardly in the saint category (e.g. his show had the performers in character pitch products to small children well into the 1970's- long after other children's shows had quit doing that). However;  it wouldn't be without its value considering how it kept the same format and nearly all the same main characters despite very changing times for virtually the same duration as Mr. Rogers had. Still, there might be the difficulty of how or whether to include the decline and tragic fate  of Debbie Weems- an apparent suicide at age 28.

[kathyk2]

On 11/22/2019 at 1:01 PM, proserpina65 said:

Not only do I not care about the new Mr. Rogers movie, I don't give a damn about Mr. Rogers himself.  I wouldn't have wished him ill, but he was not a part of my childhood (we didn't get public television) and I don't think him the be-all and end-all of children's tv.

Now, if they made a movie about Captain Kangaroo . . .

I liked Sesame Street and Electric Company more than Mr. Rodgers. I wish someone would do a documentary about Jim Henson. I would love to learn how he created the Muppets and Fraggles.