Unpopular Opinions

[VioletWitch]

Jessica Chastain should have won the Oscar over Jennifer Lawrence in 2013. 

 

Felicity Huffman should have won the Oscar over Reese Witherspoon in 2006. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

17 minutes ago, VioletWitch said:

Jessica Chastain should have won the Oscar over Jennifer Lawrence in 2013. 

 

Felicity Huffman should have won the Oscar over Reese Witherspoon in 2006. 

Think that's unpopular? I'll do you one better.

I wish Emily Watson (sinfully underrated) had tied with Frances McDormand in 1997. In fact, it would not have broken my heart if Watson had won.

[VioletWitch]

1 hour ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Think that's unpopular? I'll do you one better.

I wish Emily Watson (sinfully underrated) had tied with Frances McDormand in 1997. In fact, it would not have broken my heart if Watson had won.

I love Emily Watson! I would have given her the Oscar for Hilary and Jackie over Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love (ugh, damn you Harvey) in 1999 

[proserpina65]

On ‎05‎/‎04‎/‎2020 at 5:53 PM, VioletWitch said:

I love Emily Watson! I would have given her the Oscar for Hilary and Jackie over Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love (ugh, damn you Harvey) in 1999 

I would've given either Emily Watson or Cate Blanchett the Oscar over Gwyneth Paltrow that year, although Paltrow's performance was fine.  My unpopular opinion is that Shakespeare in Love deserved its Best Picture Oscar over Saving Private Ryan, which yes, has that stunning first 20 minutes or so, but then devolves into good but not Oscar-worthy war movie clichés.

[Crs97]

Shakespeare in Love was a clever movie!  I had no problem with its Oscar win.  I wasn't bothered by Gwyneth's win, though I wouldn't have complained if others had beaten her either.

[proserpina65]

21 hours ago, Crs97 said:

Shakespeare in Love was a clever movie!  I had no problem with its Oscar win.  I wasn't bothered by Gwyneth's win, though I wouldn't have complained if others had beaten her either.

The dialogue was fantastic, and so were the performances.  Hell, I still think that's one of Ben Affleck's very best performances.

[Shannon L.]

I told this story a while back, but since the movie is being discussed again:  I have a friend whose husband is a screen writer.  When he saw this movie, he stood and applauded saying out loud "There's your movie of the year".  I liked it, but I thought Elizabeth was outstanding.

[PepSinger]

On 5/4/2020 at 5:53 PM, VioletWitch said:

I love Emily Watson! I would have given her the Oscar for Hilary and Jackie over Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love (ugh, damn you Harvey) in 1999 

If that's the movie with Rachel Griffiths, then I agree.

[proserpina65]

On ‎05‎/‎07‎/‎2020 at 11:58 AM, Shannon L. said:

I told this story a while back, but since the movie is being discussed again:  I have a friend whose husband is a screen writer.  When he saw this movie, he stood and applauded saying out loud "There's your movie of the year".  I liked it, but I thought Elizabeth was outstanding.

I liked Elizabeth, but them getting so much of the history wrong made it hard for me to love it.  (Well, that, and the fact that I thought it paled in comparison to the brilliant Glenda Jackson miniseries Elizabeth R.)  I say that as someone whose major in college was Medieval & Renaissance Studies; it can be a real pain sometimes when it comes to historical movies.

[andromeda331]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I liked Elizabeth, but them getting so much of the history wrong made it hard for me to love it.  (Well, that, and the fact that I thought it paled in comparison to the brilliant Glenda Jackson miniseries Elizabeth R.)  I say that as someone whose major in college was Medieval & Renaissance Studies; it can be a real pain sometimes when it comes to historical movies.

I'm a huge history fan. I've read hundreds of books and watched tons of documentaries. It can be a pain to watch historical movies when you know so much about the event or era. You notice right away. Its just hard not to see them. I watched Elizabeth when it first came out I was so excited she's one of my favorites. Wow did they get so much wrong. How? Why? Not only is Elizabeth pretty well documented but she's so damn cool. There's so much going on. I usually get 'its a movie not a documentary' yeah but your making a movie about Queen Elizabeth I. Your not making a movie about a made up Queen. It can be hard to turn it and just watch the movie. 

[Crs97]

Glenda Jackson was fantastic in Elizabeth R!  Everything else pales in comparison to that miniseries.  I hate when books and movies decide to change history.  Woe to the person who naively tells me some fascinating, incorrect historical fact that they learned from a movie or novel.  I try to be gentle, but sometimes it isn’t pretty.

[bmoore4026]

Jayne Mansfield > Marilyn Monroe.  That is all.

[Wiendish Fitch]

46 minutes ago, bmoore4026 said:

Jayne Mansfield > Marilyn Monroe.  That is all.

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? is one of the best comedies no one has ever seen. Until I saw it, I never saw any resemblance between Jayne Mansfield and Mariska Hargitay, but Hargitay has her mom's eyes and smile! 

[Anduin]

As Aragorn cleaned up during the course of the LOTR movies, he became less interesting. I like Strider a lot more than King Aragorn II Elessar of Gondor and Arnor. And yes, Gandalf the Grey was better than Gandalf the White. I suppose I just like scruffy wanderers, possibly because I'm naturally pretty scruffy myself.

[VCRTracking]

It's Maria's fault her brother died in West Side Story. "You must stop the rumble Tony!" 

[Blergh]

22 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

It's Maria's fault her brother died in West Side Story. "You must stop the rumble Tony!" 

Yeah, why didn't she, I dunno, call the cops?

[kiddo82]

Boba Fett has to be one of the most overrated movie characters of all time.  The fawning over him baffles me.  

[Blergh]

46 minutes ago, kiddo82 said:

Boba Fett has to be one of the most overrated movie characters of all time.  The fawning over him baffles me.  

THANK YOU! And on a shallow note,  let's not forget that even when he was supposed to be in a 'relaxed' setting (Jabba's Palace), he NEVER took off his helmet  so for all the viewers knew he could have looked like Jabba's uglier bro underneath it! 

And how I wish Lucas had told those who whined about his apparent death by Sarlaac to get a life/buzz off instead of pandering to them to retcon the whole thing! Yeah, boo me! 

 

[Anduin]

1 hour ago, kiddo82 said:

Boba Fett has to be one of the most overrated movie characters of all time.  The fawning over him baffles me.  

I'm not the biggest Fett fan, and you're perfectly entitled to dislike him for any reason.

But I think the coolness of Boba Fett comes from a couple of places. "No disintegrations." Also, look at what he does. He knows Han's trick to float away in the garbage and tracks him long enough to determine heading for Bespin. Then he doubles back and tells Vader. I appreciate that kind of 'outclevering' move. But let's not get carried away with these things. 🙂

[VCRTracking]

5 hours ago, Blergh said:

THANK YOU! And on a shallow note,  let's not forget that even when he was supposed to be in a 'relaxed' setting (Jabba's Palace), he NEVER took off his helmet  so for all the viewers knew he could have looked like Jabba's uglier bro underneath it! 

And how I wish Lucas had told those who whined about his apparent death by Sarlaac to get a life/buzz off instead of pandering to them to retcon the whole thing! Yeah, boo me! 

 

It wasn't retconned by him. It was in the Expanded Universe, which even before he sold his company to Disney he considered it its own thing. He might take certain ideas and names from it but for the most part he never really considered it canon. He doesn't even like Mara Jade! Paul Dini(writer of Batman the Animated Series) once worked on the mid 80s Star Wars DROIDS cartoon and Boba Fett was going to appear in an episode. George asked Dini why fans were so obsessed with Fett. He just didn't get it!

I think Boba Fett was popular simply because he had a cool costume.

Edited May 15, 2020 by VCRTracking

[andromeda331]

9 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

Boba Fett has to be one of the most overrated movie characters of all time.  The fawning over him baffles me.  

Same here. I've never understood why he's so popular. He didn't do much and got killed off in Return of Jedi. Well until that of course got undone.

Edited May 15, 2020 by andromeda331

[Kel Varnsen]

6 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

I think Boba Fett was popular simply because he had a cool costume.

It was a cool suit especially by 1980 standards. Plus he showed up in the best movie in the series boosting his popularity by association.

[Blergh]

6 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

It wasn't retconned by him. It was in the Expanded Universe, which even before he sold his company to Disney he considered it its own thing. He might take certain ideas and names from it but for the most part he never really considered it canon. He doesn't even like Mara Jade! Paul Dini(writer of Batman the Animated Series) once worked on the mid 80s Star Wars DROIDS cartoon and Boba Fett was going to appear in an episode. George asked Dini why fans were so obsessed with Fett. He just didn't get it!

I think Boba Fett was popular simply because he had a cool costume.

The above changes nothing re my POV of Lucas's deal with Boba Fett. He approved this and so many other infuriating changes in the EU rather than attempt to stop the authors from sabotaging and trashing virtually every positive thing dealing with the Original Trilogy (and I firmly believe that   that Lucas had  the legal right( to say nothing  of the means) to have done so but has seemed  content to cash in on whatever piece of the royalties pie he's gotten via rubberstamping them.Boo to Lucas and the EU authors for caving into to whiners over Fett's fate! 

Edited May 15, 2020 by Blergh

[Anduin]

43 minutes ago, Blergh said:

The above changes nothing re my POV of Lucas's deal with Boba Fett. He approved this and so many other infuriating changes in the EU rather than attempt to stop the authors from sabotaging and trashing virtually every positive thing dealing with the Original Trilogy (and I firmly believe that   that Lucas had  the legal right( to say nothing  of the means) to have done so but has seemed  content to cash in on whatever piece of the royalties pie he's gotten via rubberstamping them.Boo to Lucas and the EU authors for caving into to whiners over Fett's fate! 

God forbid they try to make the fans happy. Although, that kind of fan pandering possibly led to the kind of whiny shits we see these days. "It isn't exactly like I wanted/expected, therefore it's completely shit and I will continue complaining loudly."

[Wiendish Fitch]

Sorry, Hitchcock purists, but I prefer the 1956 remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much to the 1934 original. The remake is longer, but better paced, and the suspense was tighter. I found the original, despite the Hitchcock-ian touches, stodgy and dull, and I didn't care about the kidnapped child as much (I know that's awful of me). And how did the Master of Suspense manage to make a shootout so boring?! And why was all the furniture made of balsa wood?!

Plus, the abuse heaped on poor, dumb Nigel in the original left a bad taste in my mouth.

[VCRTracking]

1 hour ago, Blergh said:

The above changes nothing re my POV of Lucas's deal with Boba Fett. He approved this and so many other infuriating changes in the EU rather than attempt to stop the authors from sabotaging and trashing virtually every positive thing dealing with the Original Trilogy (and I firmly believe that   that Lucas had  the legal right( to say nothing  of the means) to have done so but has seemed  content to cash in on whatever piece of the royalties pie he's gotten via rubberstamping them.Boo to Lucas and the EU authors for caving into to whiners over Fett's fate! 

 Here's a link to find out the details.

 https://www.bobafettfanclub.com/news/fettpedia/veitchkennedy-brought-back-fett/

 

[jrzy]

20 hours ago, Blergh said:

Yeah, why didn't she, I dunno, call the cops?

That's always bothered me !  I LOVE that movie but when she tells Tony to intervene,  I shout at the TV. 

[VCRTracking]

The worst thing that would have happened is they would have got bruises and minor injuries!

Edited May 16, 2020 by VCRTracking

[Wiendish Fitch]

The Basketball Diaries is nothing but a "dark n' gritty", 2 hour After School Special. 

 

[WritinMan]

On 5/16/2020 at 10:10 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

The Basketball Diaries is nothing but a "dark n' gritty", 2 hour After School Special. 

 

You must have watched some different After School Specials than I did. 😆

[VCRTracking]

I don't have an issue when a leading man is in his 40s and 50s and his romantic co-star is a woman in her 20s in movies because honestly that happens a lot in real life. Young women tend to be willing to be in relationships with older more than young men with older women. The problem is when the movie ignores the obvious age difference. There's no jokes about the older man confounded by the younger woman's taste in music or her not knowing about a popular TV show or movie from 2 decades ago!

Edited May 19, 2020 by VCRTracking

[Dandesun]

On 5/18/2020 at 9:50 AM, WritinMan said:

You must have watched some different After School Specials than I did. 😆

Does it get better than Helen Hunt crashing out of the second story windows of her high school after sniffing angel dust?

[bmoore4026]

Barbara Streisand can't hold a candle to Ethel Merman.  In fact, Babs could never reach Merman's peak, if you ask me.

On 5/16/2020 at 9:10 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

The Basketball Diaries is nothing but a "dark n' gritty", 2 hour After School Special. 

 

More spankings would have solved so many problems. 

[VCRTracking]

9 hours ago, bmoore4026 said:

Barbara Streisand can't hold a candle to Ethel Merman.  In fact, Babs could never reach Merman's peak, if you ask me.

On the DVD commentary of THE SIMPSONS episode that homaged ITS A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD the show's writers and producers agreed out of that huge cast of comic legends, Ethel Merman was the funniest person in the movie.

They also complained that the movie only had the Three Stooges for that one second cameo and weren't given anything to do! Here's an unpopular opinion: while the Marx Brothers had better movies, routines and individual characters, the Stooges were the better comedy team. The Marx Brothers movies have to set up so much why Groucho would be involved with Chico and Harpo. Their relationship each movie involves a lot of plot. The Stooges meanwhile you can introduce together from the start and their dynamic is incredibly simple: Moe's the leader, Curly's the dumbest and Larry's in the middle.

Edited May 21, 2020 by VCRTracking

[Anduin]

I was trolled twice by one movie series. "Hannibal, huh? We talking war elephants?" No, it's a serial killer. "Ooh, Red Dragon! Does it feature an actual red dragon?" Guess what? It's the same serial killer!

I was crushed, I tell you. Crushed. Especially because I don't like horror. While I'm not opposed to people making or enjoying movies about serial killers, I now have a grudge against the works of Thomas Harris.

Return of the King has both elephants and dragons. But a man can't live on one meal alone.

[proserpina65]

23 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

The Stooges meanwhile you can introduce together from the start and their dynamic is incredibly simple: Moe's the leader, Curly's the dumbest and Larry's in the middle.

I don't know if it's considered unpopular, but I hate the Three Stooges.  Not that crazy about the Marx Brothers either.

[VCRTracking]

10 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I don't know if it's considered unpopular, but I hate the Three Stooges.  Not that crazy about the Marx Brothers either.

I never questioned the belief that women hate the Stooges. I thought "Of course, I don't see how that would appeal to them." Then I found out how much women under a certain age love HOCUS POCUS and that's basically the Three Stooges as witches!

[bmoore4026]

Spaghetti Westerns are vastly overrated.  Many of them aren't that good and I hate how gushed over they are, like Westerns weren't a thing before they came along.

I don't mind the Terence Hill and Bud Spencer Spaghetti Westerns, though.  Maybe it's because the two of them had such great chemistry together.  Oh, and there's one starring "Little" Rita Pavone that's campy fun.  But other than that, forget Spaghetti Westerns.  Give me the 40s/50s Westerns any day.  Hell, give me The Three Mesquiteers and Hopalong Cassidy anyday.

[Blergh]

On 5/21/2020 at 1:05 AM, bmoore4026 said:

Barbara Streisand can't hold a candle to Ethel Merman.  In fact, Babs could never reach Merman's peak, if you ask me.

 

She's now older than Miss Merman got to be so if she can no longer count on folks thinking her  youth's the only thing keeping her from catching up to Miss Merman. Oddly enough, for all of Miss Merman's renowned . .. forcefulness, I never heard of her attempting to direct any of her movies and stage shows. But neither Miss Streisand or the late Miss Merman would have been folks I'd have wanted to have gotten on the bad side of because they sure pulled no verbal punches! 

[EtheltoTillie]

On 4/11/2020 at 2:06 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

As flawed (okay, fine, bad) as the 1940 Pride and Prejudice is, I still think Greer Garson is a good Elizabeth Bennett. Oh, what could have been if the screenplay had been better...

I actually love the movie, despite its flaws. I see you like Greer Garson, as you commented on Mrs. Miniver earlier. Me, I prefer Random Harvest.  I never noticed this thread before, so now I will keep checking it out. 

[kiddo82]

On 5/22/2020 at 9:24 PM, VCRTracking said:

I never questioned the belief that women hate the Stooges. I thought "Of course, I don't see how that would appeal to them." Then I found out how much women under a certain age love HOCUS POCUS and that's basically the Three Stooges as witches!

Hah!  Maybe that's why I never felt the nostalgia for it.  I feel like such a traitor to my demographic (Thora Birch and I are probably the same age) but the annual fawning over that film is so lost on me.  I don't remember it being my favorite as a kid but I'm sure I liked it well enough.  Then somewhere along the line I just outgrew it.  But if we're talking mid 90s movies for preteen girls starring Thora Birch then Now and Then was more my jam anyway.

Edited May 26, 2020 by kiddo82

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, kiddo82 said:

But if we're talking mid 90s movies for preteen girls starring Thora Birch then Now and Then was more my jam anyway.

I was more than ten years past pre-teen when it came out, but I really liked that movie.  I can rattle off a list of flaws, sure (especially with the present-day characters), but I re-watched last year on Netflix and still liked it; I can forgive a lot in a film centered around female friendship.

I've never had any interest in Hocus Pocus, though, despite the presence of Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Thora Birch.  It just looks dumb, and whenever I come across it on TV I can't convince myself to find out if that's true. 

[Anduin]

Denis Villeneuve's Sicario. After watching Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival, I was excited to catch up on the back catalogue. But I hated this. The whole story was wrong. Emily Blunt's character was a complete idiot, whereas Benicio Del Toro was, I suppose, an anti-hero? I didn't want him to be anything resembling right.

Also, why was a drug lord in such a lightly defended compound? He must have been a minor player in the drug lord stakes. I've read a bit about the Mexican drug war. The higher-ups are far better dug in. In real life, I can't see Del Toro having a chance of getting in, let alone getting the drop on his arch-enemy.

Yeah, I know stories have to bend to let the heroes win. But sometimes I can suspend belief, and sometimes really I can't.

[Wiendish Fitch]

8 hours ago, GussieK said:

I actually love the movie, despite its flaws. I see you like Greer Garson, as you commented on Mrs. Miniver earlier. Me, I prefer Random Harvest.  I never noticed this thread before, so now I will keep checking it out. 

Oh, Random Harvest is my #1 Greer Garson flick, always and forever. I merely like and staunchly defend Mrs. Miniver, because I think it (and Ms. Garson) get dumped on by critics too much. 

I mean, the titular character slaps a Nazi! Come on, how can I not love that??!

[EtheltoTillie]

On 5/22/2020 at 9:24 PM, VCRTracking said:

I never questioned the belief that women hate the Stooges. I thought "Of course, I don't see how that would appeal to them." Then I found out how much women under a certain age love HOCUS POCUS and that's basically the Three Stooges as witches!

Just chiming in late.  I do not like the Stooges.  And I do not like Van Johnson, who was discussed on the TCM thread a week or so ago. 

 

[VCRTracking]

13 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Oh, Random Harvest is my #1 Greer Garson flick, always and forever. I merely like and staunchly defend Mrs. Miniver, because I think it (and Ms. Garson) get dumped on by critics too much. 

I mean, the titular character slaps a Nazi! Come on, how can I not love that??!

Because Walter Pidgeon played her husband so many times, when he was in FORBIDDEN PLANET and he talks about his dead wife(the mother of Anne Francis' Alta) I picture Garson!

Edited May 27, 2020 by VCRTracking

[EtheltoTillie]

18 hours ago, Bastet said:

I was more than ten years past pre-teen when it came out, but I really liked that movie.  I can rattle off a list of flaws, sure (especially with the present-day characters), but I re-watched last year on Netflix and still liked it; I can forgive a lot in a film centered around female friendship.

I've never had any interest in Hocus Pocus, though, despite the presence of Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Thora Birch.  It just looks dumb, and whenever I come across it on TV I can't convince myself to find out if that's true. 

What was the original post about. I can’t find it. I like Ghost World in the Thor Birch canon. 

[VCRTracking]

12 hours ago, GussieK said:

I like Ghost World in the Thor Birch canon. 

Same. I read the graphic novel first and was stunned how much Birch looked like the main character.  Also the opening credits where she dances to the pop song from that 60s Bollywood movie is great.

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by VCRTracking

[katha]

I've been watching a bunch of Harrison Ford movies, since I'm scooped up at home like everyone else. 😉  It's clearly a different historical context, a whole different media landscape that can't be brought back etc. So it wouldn't work today, probably. But I have to say, I prefer his kind of action hero/leading man to many versions that are around today.

He's fit and clearly has been working out, but doesn't look like he spends all his time in the studio and with personal trainers. He's competent and smart, but apart from the Indiana Jones movies, where that is the gag, he doesn't produce unlikely physical feats or genius knowledge in 10000 different fields. They're mostly experienced, smart, confident men who deal with extraordinary circumstances to the best of their abilities. 

I realize that a lot of that is the particularly quality and charisma that Ford brought to every role; but this sort of more nuanced, humanized leading man isn't around as much anymore IMO.

[supposebly]

I guess my unpopular opinion is that I would never put the words nuanced and charismatic together in a sentence with Harrison Ford.

It mystifies me what so many see here. To me he has an underlying aggression that I find utterly offputting especially with his leading ladies/love interests/background wives.