Unpopular Opinions

[Blergh]

Interesting about Mr. Reeve's reaction to having worked on the same movie that Mr. Brando had . .. participated in. Yeah, it can't have been fun to have been trying one's best to give one's all in a breakout role while the person who was supposed to play one's inspiring (albeit deceased) parent made it very clear he was oblivious and indifferent! 

Of course, it should be said that Mr. Reeve expressed his POV about Mr. Brando without touching upon Mr. Brando's personal life (which even then was by no means smooth even at that point) and it doesn't appear that Mr. Brando protested Mr. Reeve's assessment much less attempted to reconnect with the younger performer before their respective deaths in 2004. 

[VCRTracking]

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

Interesting about Mr. Reeve's reaction to having worked on the same movie that Mr. Brando had . .. participated in. Yeah, it can't have been fun to have been trying one's best to give one's all in a breakout role while the person who was supposed to play one's inspiring (albeit deceased) parent made it very clear he was oblivious and indifferent! 

Of course, it should be said that Mr. Reeve expressed his POV about Mr. Brando without touching upon Mr. Brando's personal life (which even then was by no means smooth even at that point) and it doesn't appear that Mr. Brando protested Mr. Reeve's assessment much less attempted to reconnect with the younger performer before their respective deaths in 2004. 

And Reeve didn't think Brando was overrated he was disappointed he didn't seem to care about acting anymore. Brando had gotten really cynical about the business by that point:

Matthew Broderick has a funny Brando story from working with him on THE FRESHMAN.

 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by VCRTracking

[WritinMan]

Spaceballs sucks.

Yeah, I said it.

[Blergh]

On 8/31/2020 at 5:05 PM, WritinMan said:

Spaceballs sucks.

Yeah, I said it.

Agree! I saw it at a free screening and STILL didn't consider that I got my monies' worth from the experience! 

[VCRTracking]

I saw it at as a kid and will always have affection for it. Not on the same level as the best Mel Brooks movies but there are still funny moments, most involving Rick Moranis' Dark Helmet and Brooks' President Skroob. Also I love the song by the Spinners.

[proserpina65]

On 8/31/2020 at 6:05 PM, WritinMan said:

Spaceballs sucks.

Yeah, I said it.

I like Spaceballs, and there are some very funny bits, but overall it is a bit overrated, and I never quite understood how it became some kind of classic.

Plus, I love Bill Pullman.

Edited September 2, 2020 by proserpina65

[AimingforYoko]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

I like Spaceballs, and there are some very funny bits, but overall it is a bit overrated, and I never quite understood how it became some kind of classic.

It's definitely on the lower end of the Brooks' canon, but I still laugh. (Definitely above Dracula, Dead, And Loving It.)

Edited September 3, 2020 by AimingforYoko

[kiddo82]

I got you all beat.  

 

 

I don't like Princess Bride.

[Anduin]

2 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

I got you all beat.  

 

 

I don't like Princess Bride.

Me neither! Maybe because it was hyped up, and I had no way of watching it. By the time I did, maybe my expectations were too high. But it wasn't half as good as its reputation holds.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

I don't like Princess Bride.

I've never seen it, or Spaceballs; both are films I figure I should watch because of their writers, directors, and/or cast - which might make them far better than they sound based on their plots - but I've still yet to muster up enough interest to do so with either one.

[kiddo82]

7 hours ago, Anduin said:

Me neither! Maybe because it was hyped up, and I had no way of watching it. By the time I did, maybe my expectations were too high. But it wasn't half as good as its reputation holds.

Yeah.  I watched it with some friends back in college as it was one of those "You've never seen (fill in the blank)!?" movies for me.  Maybe had I grown up watching it I'd appreciate it more, but seeing it for the first time in my late teens/early 20s I was unimpressed.  I really don't understand the attachment to it.

[Blergh]

I'd have liked Princess Bride better

Spoiler

had there been ONE hint of a even the slightest comeuppance for the evil villain after all he put everyone through but since there wasn't,

I felt cheated and, unlike Fred Savage's character, had no desire to go through  it again. 

[VCRTracking]

My problem with The Princess Bride was I thought both the production design and music were both subpar for a Hollywood movie. Hell even the costume designs and cinematography were just ordinary, especially compared to other 80s fantasy movies. The acting, writing and directing were great but the technical stuff was lacking for me.

[proserpina65]

23 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

I got you all beat.  

 

 

I don't like Princess Bride.

I don't like Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  Ferris is an annoying ass.

[kiddo82]

2 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I don't like Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  Ferris is an annoying ass.

No argument here.

[GreekGeek]

23 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

I got you all beat.  

 

 

I don't like Princess Bride.

 

21 hours ago, Anduin said:

Me neither! Maybe because it was hyped up, and I had no way of watching it. By the time I did, maybe my expectations were too high. But it wasn't half as good as its reputation holds.

 

14 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

Yeah.  I watched it with some friends back in college as it was one of those "You've never seen (fill in the blank)!?" movies for me.  Maybe had I grown up watching it I'd appreciate it more, but seeing it for the first time in my late teens/early 20s I was unimpressed.  I really don't understand the attachment to it.

I saw it when it was new and enjoyed it well enough, but I have no desire to watch it over and over and quote it continually. I feel the same way about Back to the Future. I haven't seen any of the BttF sequels either.

[Wiendish Fitch]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

I don't like Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  Ferris is an annoying ass.

No argument here. Something about Matthew Broderick sets my teeth on edge. Ferris is a smug little sociopath in the making. Jeannie was the only thing I liked about that movie.

[andromeda331]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I don't like Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  Ferris is an annoying ass.

Neither do I. I hate Ferris.

[Bastet]

There are a (very) few amusing scenes, or moments within scenes, in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but I don't understand the film as a whole having a fan base beyond 13-year-old boys; Ferris is a jackass, and doesn't deserve to get away with his shenanigans.  Team Jeanie!

[VCRTracking]

I like it more when you think about it as really Cameron and Jeannie's individual story arcs and Ferris is this Trojan horse character to get you to watch them. 1980s Hollywood would never make a big budget movie about a depressed loser neglected by his father or an unpleasant girl who's angry all the time as they go through their character development. Ferris isn't meant to be a real person but Cameron and Jeannie are.

Edited September 4, 2020 by VCRTracking

[QueerGirrl]

I like your perspective on Ferris Bueller's Day Off VCRTracking.  Never looked at the movie that way.

[VCRTracking]

2 hours ago, QueerGirrl said:

I like your perspective on Ferris Bueller's Day Off VCRTracking.  Never looked at the movie that way.

I remember reading Roger Ebert's three star review where he saw  Ferris helping out Cameron as the real reason he takes a day off which first gave me a different perspective. I totally understand why people hate Ferris. A smug, entitled upper middle class kid who breaks the rules without facing any consequences, I'd hate someone like that in real life. However think of what he actually does. He just plays hooky, borrows a car, goes to a baseball game, a fancy restaurant, a museum, lip sync at a parade(which happens on a school day somehow). Nothing actually malicious toward anyone. The worst you can say his parents treat him nicer than Jeanie but that's their fault.

Edited September 4, 2020 by VCRTracking

[Ambrosefolly]

3 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

I remember reading Roger Ebert's three star review where he saw  Ferris helping out Cameron as the real reason he takes a day off which first gave me a different perspective. I totally understand why people hate Ferris. A smug, entitled upper middle class kid who breaks the rules without facing any consequences, I'd hate someone like that in real life. However think of what he actually does. He just plays hooky, borrows a car, goes to a baseball game, a fancy restaurant, a museum, lip sync at a parade(which happens on a school day somehow). Nothing actually malicious toward anyone. The worst you can say his parents treat him nicer than Jeanie but that's their fault.

But at least Jeanie got the car while Ferris only got an 80s computer.

[wallflower75]

On 9/4/2020 at 6:09 PM, Ambrosefolly said:

But at least Jeanie got the car while Ferris only got an 80s computer.

Which always seemed stupid to me.  Jeanie's younger than Ferris, right?  He says he's graduating from high school soon, and no one ever said he and Jeanie were twins.  So why did the younger child get a car first instead of the one who would be leaving for college within the year?  Sure, having a computer would be helpful, but not more helpful than a car.

And I may win the "I got you beat" contest because I don't like Back to the Future and I've never seen the original Footloose, nor do I have any interest in doing so.

Edited September 6, 2020 by wallflower75

[Mabinogia]

4 hours ago, wallflower75 said:

And I may win the "I got you beat" contest because I don't like Back to the Future and I've never seen the original Footloose, nor do I have any interest in doing so.

You're not missing anything. Back to the Future is...okay. Footloose...apart from some of the music I found it laughably bad. 

[Kel Varnsen]

On 9/4/2020 at 7:09 PM, Ambrosefolly said:

But at least Jeanie got the car while Ferris only got an 80s computer.

I am not sure which would be better, an 80's computer with the limited number of things you could do on one, or an 80's car with the reliability of cars of that era.

6 hours ago, wallflower75 said:

And I may win the "I got you beat" contest because I don't like Back to the Future 

If this is a contest well I freakin hate Monty Python.

[Wiendish Fitch]

For the record, I love Ponyo and I hate Spirited Away. Do you have any idea of what a freak that makes me?

I hate It's a Wonderful Life more with each passing year.

I wish Cabaret had won the Best Picture Oscar over The Godfather. Yeah, I said it!

Greer Garson was a good actress, dammit.

Strictly Ballroom is the only Baz Luhrmann film I like.

Jean Harlow and Rita Hayworth had it all over Marilyn Monroe.

I think Bonnie and Clyde is overrated as hell.

You can keep A Hard Day's Night and Help!, Yellow Submarine will always be my Beatles movie of choice!

[andromeda331]

17 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I am not sure which would be better, an 80's computer with the limited number of things you could do on one, or an 80's car with the reliability of cars of that era.

If this is a contest well I freakin hate Monty Python.

Oh, I hate Monty Python! I had to watch it a lot because it was one of my friends' favorite movies.

I also hate the Godfather, Wizard of Oz, and Grease.

I don't like Casablanca except for that great scene between the French and German soldiers or the Maltese Falcon. Or any Audrey Hepburn movies. They seem to get referenced so much. But when I watched them I wasn't impressed. They seemed more like mediocre.  Same with Citizen Kane. 

[Nordly Beaumont]

2 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I also hate the Godfather, Wizard of Oz, and Grease.

I didn't mind the Godfather when I first saw it. Never needed to see it again though. Always thought Wizard of Oz was okay but kind of boring. But Grease? Oh, yeah. In my version of hell, Grease and Footloose are playing on an endless loop. Man, I hate them!

I could probably add "Dirty Dancing" to that endless loop as well, but I've never made it more than a little way into it, so I can't in fairness say I hate it. But from what I've seen, I'm pretty sure I would.

[VCRTracking]

12 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Greer Carson was a good actress, dammit.

Who thinks she wasn't?

I realize reading the 100 AFI list and IMDB top 250 list that I have pretty populist tastes. I like most of those movies, or should I say I don't hate them.

 

[Mabinogia]

13 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Jean Harlow and Rita Hayworth had it all over Marilyn Monroe.

I think Marilyn Monroe was one of the most overrated people ever. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

11 minutes ago, VCRTracking said:

Who thinks she wasn't?

I realize reading the 100 AFI list and IMDB top 250 list that I have pretty populist tastes. I like most of those movies, or should I say I don't hate them.

 

Critics then and now seem to actively loathe her, and there's always been grumblings over her Best Actress Oscar win for Mrs. Miniver. One, that movie is good and she's good in it, and two, I for one take umbrage with Nicholas Cage and Joaquin Phoenix having Oscars, so there!*

 

*That's not directed at you, VCRTracking, just at all the Garson naysayers.

Edited September 7, 2020 by Wiendish Fitch

[VCRTracking]

1 hour ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Critics then and now seem to actively loathe her, and there's always been grumblings over her Best Actress Oscar win for Mrs. Miniver. One, that movie is good and she's good in it, and two, I for one take umbrage with Nicholas Cage and Joaquin Phoenix having Oscars, so there!*

 

*That's not directed at you, VCRTracking, just at all the Garson naysayers.

Critics who didn't think she had range should have seen this:

 

 

[kiddo82]

On the subject of wildly overrated stars from the Golden era, I'd like to nomimate Katharine Hepburn.  I understand that no one at that time particularly underplayed anything but every performance of hers that I've seen seems so affected.  I don't think her performances have aged well at all.

[Shannon L.]

On 9/6/2020 at 12:58 PM, wallflower75 said:

And I may win the "I got you beat" contest because I don't like Back to the Future and I've never seen the original Footloose, nor do I have any interest in doing so.

I could probably beat that.  As a huge fan of the Marvel movies.....Black Panther?  Was....ok.  I think it was well done and has earned it's place in the top tier of the best of those movies and I acknowledge what an important movie it is.  I'm thrilled that it was made and became so popular (RIP to the amazing Chadwick Boseman who was made for that character), but there are a number of the Marvel movies that I can watch over and over and  Black Panther isn't one of them.  I've seen twice and I have no interest in sitting through it again and would probably only do so if I was watching it with someone who had never seen it before. 

[Popples]

11 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Critics then and now seem to actively loathe her, and there's always been grumblings over her Best Actress Oscar win for Mrs. Miniver.

Really? I thought she was fantastic in that film.

6 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

On the subject of wildly overrated stars from the Golden era, I'd like to nomimate Katharine Hepburn.  I understand that no one at that time particularly underplayed anything but every performance of hers that I've seen seems so affected.  I don't think her performances have aged well at all.

I'll co-sign this; also after so many years hearing about how hilarious Bringing Up Baby is, I was terribly underwhelmed by it. I found Hepburn's character more exasperating and irritating than the spunky, breath-of-fresh-air that she's supposed to be.

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

On the subject of wildly overrated stars from the Golden era, I'd like to nomimate Katharine Hepburn.  I understand that no one at that time particularly underplayed anything but every performance of hers that I've seen seems so affected.  I don't think her performances have aged well at all.

I agree.  I could probably just be not all that impressed with her and leave it at that but then I heard about the way she judged other actresses and that made me move from underwhelmed to active dislike.

[proserpina65]

On ‎09‎/‎04‎/‎2020 at 3:55 PM, VCRTracking said:

I remember reading Roger Ebert's three star review where he saw  Ferris helping out Cameron as the real reason he takes a day off which first gave me a different perspective. I totally understand why people hate Ferris. A smug, entitled upper middle class kid who breaks the rules without facing any consequences, I'd hate someone like that in real life. However think of what he actually does. He just plays hooky, borrows a car, goes to a baseball game, a fancy restaurant, a museum, lip sync at a parade(which happens on a school day somehow). Nothing actually malicious toward anyone. The worst you can say his parents treat him nicer than Jeanie but that's their fault.

It may not be malicious, but he's still a smug asshole.  I wanted him to get caught and punished.

On ‎09‎/‎06‎/‎2020 at 8:43 PM, Mabinogia said:

You're not missing anything. Back to the Future is...okay. Footloose...apart from some of the music I found it laughably bad. 

I would never assert that Footloose is good.  It's junk, but enjoyable junk to me.  I hate Back to the Future.

On ‎09‎/‎06‎/‎2020 at 10:31 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

Strictly Ballroom is the only Baz Luhrmann film I like.

Me too.  Although I've never seen Australia, so maybe I'd like that one?  That was him, right?

On ‎09‎/‎06‎/‎2020 at 10:31 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

Jean Harlow and Rita Hayworth had it all over Marilyn Monroe.

Totally.  I never really got the appeal of Monroe.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Re: Katherine Hepburn

I happen to like, even love, the Great Kate, but I never cared for Bringing Up Baby or Stage Door. Go figure.

[Crs97]

Not only was Katharine Hepburn overrated as an actress, I don’t find her sleeping with a married Spencer Tracy who left his wife because he couldn’t deal with having a deaf son the great love story for the ages.  Bridge too far?

[Bastet]

I love Katharine Hepburn, but I also completely understand her acting style rubbing someone the wrong way.  Indeed, I most love her subtle moments in dramas (yet also love every frame of Bringing Up Baby).  I'm more drawn to a natural style like Myrna Loy's, but Katharine Hepburn is a huge exception to the rule.

[Ohiopirate02]

23 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

On the subject of wildly overrated stars from the Golden era, I'd like to nomimate Katharine Hepburn.  I understand that no one at that time particularly underplayed anything but every performance of hers that I've seen seems so affected.  I don't think her performances have aged well at all.

I agree.  Katharine Hepburn played every character as Katharine Hepburn.  I do love her as Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter.  She was bitchy perfection in that role.

 

Speaking of Marilyn Monroe, While I do think she was radiant in Some Like it Hot, I hated that movie.  I don't think it has aged well, and is just not funny.  Maybe if I was born 40 years earlier and was not spoiled about the last line I would have liked it.  But, I really don't know.  I didn't see It Happened One Night until I was an adult and loved that one.  And that was after growing up being able to quote Mel Brooks's Spaceballs.  

[VCRTracking]

My favorite Katherine Hepburn movie is THE AFRICAN QUEEN. I think that's when star persona and character really melded in the best way.

[Mabinogia]

I don't think Katharine Hepburn was the greatest actress, she was okay sometimes, a bit too much other times, but I did love her sense of fashion. lol 

Since we're in a sort of silver screen theme right now, I'll go ahead with my silver screen UO. As much as I adore old movies, as much as I wish I could live in a black and white film, I have absolutely zero interest in ever watching Casablanca. I should want to see it, but I just don't to the point that my movie pals wanted to do a movie night to get me to watch it and I declined. Neither actor particularly appeals to me but I don't hate them or anything, I just...I would rather watch pretty much any other old movie no matter how many times I've seen it. 

 

[Wiendish Fitch]

18 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Speaking of Marilyn Monroe, While I do think she was radiant in Some Like it Hot, I hated that movie.  I don't think it has aged well, and is just not funny.  Maybe if I was born 40 years earlier and was not spoiled about the last line I would have liked it.  

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: I think Tootsie is the superior "man-in-drag" comedy. I fail to see what makes Some Like it Hot so magical that AFI named it the #1.

[Ohiopirate02]

55 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

I don't think Katharine Hepburn was the greatest actress, she was okay sometimes, a bit too much other times, but I did love her sense of fashion. lol 

Since we're in a sort of silver screen theme right now, I'll go ahead with my silver screen UO. As much as I adore old movies, as much as I wish I could live in a black and white film, I have absolutely zero interest in ever watching Casablanca. I should want to see it, but I just don't to the point that my movie pals wanted to do a movie night to get me to watch it and I declined. Neither actor particularly appeals to me but I don't hate them or anything, I just...I would rather watch pretty much any other old movie no matter how many times I've seen it. 

 

I dont watch Casablanca for Bogart and Bergman.   That plot is like watching paint dry.  I watch it for the Free French extras and Claude Rains as Louis.  

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Mabinogia said:

I have absolutely zero interest in ever watching Casablanca.

I've seen it once and wouldn't make a point to watch it again.  I didn't dislike it - and I loved the "La Marseillaise" scene as much as everyone else who's ever seen it; I get chills if I just come across it online - and it has clever dialogue (not to mention being a frequently-quoted film, often by people who don't even know what they're quoting) but I just don't care about Rick and Ilsa's relationship.

[kiddo82]

Yeah.  I've seen it at least twice.  The second time was to see what I missed about it being as I was unimpressed the first time.  It's pretty forgettable save for La Marseillaise which is admittedly great.  

I've tried to watch the Maltese Falcon a few times but lose steam in the middle because I still have no clue what's going on.  I don't think it helps that film noir has been parodied to death so these older movies already feel like satires of themselves.  The Thin Man movies hold up much better because it's about Nick and Nora and the Powell/Loy chemistry than the mystery.  

 

[VCRTracking]

 

2 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I dont watch Casablanca for Bogart and Bergman.   That plot is like watching paint dry.  I watch it for the Free French extras and Claude Rains as Louis.  

Me too. The dialogue and all the minor characters are great. I love that atnosphere. One of my favorite moments after La Marseillaise and the Nazi Major Strasser demands Louis close up Rick's place:

[starri]

On 9/7/2020 at 11:25 PM, Popples said:

I'll co-sign this; also after so many years hearing about how hilarious Bringing Up Baby is, I was terribly underwhelmed by it. I found Hepburn's character more exasperating and irritating than the spunky, breath-of-fresh-air that she's supposed to be.

What's Up Doc?>Bringing Up Baby.