The reverse of that post I’ve made a week ago…
Rules: pick one movie or series and explain why you actually enjoyed it despite the criticism.
For me: The JJ Abrams Star Trek movies, by far the best ST stuff ever made, I couldn’t take seriously the original universe with the dated effects and stiff acting, same goes for NG… These movies did ST actually great looking and much more believable, not just the effects.
For me, it’s the movie Waterworld. I cannot get enough of that movie. So many people hated it. 🤣
Haters: it’s just Mad Max on water
Me: that’s awesome
DRY LAND!!!
I dont understand the hate other than cosner was the guy to hate in that era.
I’ve never understood Costner hate. He’s a good actor who stars in a lot of good movies.
I like Waterworld, and I like The Postman.
Postman was great! The book is worth a read, too.
The joke in my friend group was that Waterworld was Dances with Wolves on water. The Postman was Waterworld on land. Dances with Wolves was the Postman with Native Americans. Toss in whichever parallel you feel works best to not actually say the movie you’re putting on.
Solid Film. Quirky characters. Everyone seems to be having fun.
It inspired me to buy a kayak a few years back to have my Autistic Fish Man Summer.
If paper is the most valuable substance in the entire world, then why are they continuously smoking cigarettes that are rolled in paper? That would be like eating a chunk of gold every hour.
In my headcanon it’s some kind of smokable kelp wrapped in different kelp.
Have you ever smoked? When you’re addicted you’d trade in a chunk of gold for a cigarette if necessary.
I once walked 10 miles to get cigarettes, so yeah, I guess I get that.
Pretty sure when I went to WB world or whatever as a kid they had one of those 15min live shows of it. Jestskis and a few explosions. Surly it can’t be thst unpopular.
That was the first that came to mind, but I didn’t know it was very hated, just thought it bombed at the box office opening weekend because it was in competition with another movie that was way more popular.
It’s a fine movie, but people really don’t like being reminded of climate change or other environment issues. Same thing with Avatar. If you cast an environmentalist as a villain though, people seem to like it.
Me and about a dozen other people thought John Carter was great. To me, it was just a fun sci-fi/fantasy movie. Never undestood the hate.
John Carter was only hated by people who follow box office numbers instead of watching movies.
It was great!
My gal hates it because she’s a huge fan of the book and apparently they did the whole of it pretty dirty. One of those, “it’s fine if you weren’t hoping to see anything that made the book unique” type movies.
My go to for that criticism is that it’s a different medium, so it must be different.
It’s like complaining that a photo of Statue of David doesn’t show the whole statue.
Counterpoint: if I sell you a photograph which I advertised as of the statue of David and it’s just a zoomed in picture of his back, you would be in your rights to complain about leaving out the important parts.
At that point we’re in caveat emptor territory.
But, yes, nice counter point.
Floppy wieners?
I went to see it at noon after dropping the car off for work and was literally the only one in the theatre. I thought it was pretty good.
Yeah, i tend to agree. It was fun and refreshing. It was just kind of… forgettable.
Yeah I thought it was a fun movie too. It would have been nice to have gotten another scifi series that was more focused on fun.
John Carter was great. Zero dollars spent on marketing. They thought it was a household name or something because it was a book.
If you want a good read: John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood
https://www.amazon.com/John-Carter-Hollywood-Michael-Sellers/dp/0615682316
Looks interesting ty!
Me and my wife went to see it and really liked it. Unfortunately I think we were the only couple in the theater at the time. I don’t think it was marketed very well at all by Disney.
For me: The JJ Abrams Star Trek movies, by far the best ST stuff ever made, I couldn’t take seriously the original universe with the dated effects and stiff acting, same goes for NG… These movies did ST actually great looking and much more believable, not just the effects.
Just kidding… but not really.
Yeah, to each their own, but if you think this, you don’t understand why people like Star Trek.
Maybe I do understand why people like Star Trek, but I just don’t like that myself?
Dude if in universe they talk about hyper advanced races or warlords without mercy or AI and all the have is actors in shitty make up or awful “martial arts” and sword fighting, then the new movies are better by default. It’s about immersion
I say this purely tongue in cheek.
Enjoy your polished turd. But don’t look directly at it. It will blind you with lens flare.
Funny thing, I didn’t even really notice the lense flares until people started complaining about it… I guess when you live with something like that all the time (thanks, astigmatism), seeing it on screen just doesn’t have the same effect on you
Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone with this confusing of an opinion. And I’ve met Trump supporters that love Star Trek.
The new movies are more credible and feel more real for a sci fi movie, is that hard to understand?
You… You are aware just how much tech and effects have progressed in the last sixty years… Right? What they were doing was groundbreaking for the time, pretty much every time.
It was not great even for it’s time. It was passable and I’m also talking about the movie version of those old series with Kirk and Picard. Star wars came like what… A couple of years after? And looked much better, the next gen movies came after the old trilogy and still couldn’t look better…
The final results are what matter. With sci-fi, the special effects are a primordial part. Also I’m not just talking about effects. Old material was acted like a radio play or theatre… Not a fan. That slowly changed with next generation but still wasn’t enough.
JJ Abrams movies are “ST if it was actually on our world”. And the actors are EXCELLENT, even the haters admit all of them did excellent evocations of the old actors, some of them actually felt like the same actor but younger, which wasn’t necessary since that could alienate the viewer but whatever, it worked.
I don’t have any strong feelings about Star Trek. But I know enough to treat it as a piece of philosophy. It was never about the most advanced visual effects possible (although some of the effects and makeup are quite impressive imo). Star Trek was an investigation into what it means to be human, and the morality behind that. If there was cool tech stuff, that was bonus.
It’s hard to compare the two (original series vs. JJ Abrams), being across such vast differences in time (relative to the progress of technology and style in filmmaking) but its impossible if you’re just going to outright denounce all the qualities the original had for its time.
Star wars came like what… A couple of years after? And looked much better
Star Trek (1966-1969)
Star Wars (1977)
You do the math.
It was not great even for it’s time. It was passable… With sci-fi, the special effects are a primordial part.
What are you comparing it to? The progress in filmmaking during that time was ridiculous. The steadicam hadn’t even been invented yet so shots were much more static. For the time, people were blown away by the sets and effects.
Also I’m not just talking about effects. Old material was acted like a radio play or theatre… Not a fan.
All the acting and direction in every show and movie at that time was stilted and stiff and yes, very akin to a play. That was the time of Adam West Batman. You don’t have to be a fan. But your statements about it not being good for its time are… Ignorant? At best.
JJ Abrams movies are “ST if it was actually on our world”.
You’re delusional is you think “actually in our world” is measured by the visual effects technology and the progress of film/TV acting and direction of the time. Connection with the real world is quite literally what set Star Trek apart and made it change the course of sci fi film and television. It took real world politics and social issues and made them part of a sci fi story.
But if epic CGI space battles and intrusive lens flare from non-existent lights is your definition of reality, there’s not much else we can say.
actually, it’s about imagination
No is not. These aren’t books, it’s an audio visual media. Seeing Kirk in a bad looking cardboard looking set pretending to be another planet with soap opera acting won’t sell the idea
This is a bit right? You’re doing a bit? …right?
What are you talking about?
I’m with you. Both that I enjoyed the movie and don’t understand the point this guy trying to make.
Yeah, those crappy TV shows had brainwashed him
Ngl, I’m with you, holy crap they seem absolutely miserable.
@Platypus@lemmings.world I say this with all the love for a stranger I can have in my heart:
The original super Mario bros movie from the 90s. If I come across it I always get the urge to watch it. Its so weird and interesting, love it. Noone in my family will watch it though they hate it :(
Your family are weird then, that movie is cinematic gold.
They say its too weird :(
Got bust out the ol reliable “no u”
This is mine too. If you haven’t, look up the drama on set! The crew wore shirts stating they hate the directors, the actors were drunk, Haskins broke his leg and was in a cast most of the time (rumored to have been run over on set by another drunk actor, lol).
It’s insane and crazy that we got a movie so fun (seriously, it’s just so fun even if it doesn’t adhere to the source material).
I didnt know about any of that, thanks for the tip!
Way better than the recent animated movie IMO
Also the new movie basically ripped the exact premise from the OG
Green Lantern. I went in expecting cartoony quips and got what I expected. Everyone calls it a stupid movie like they went in expecting Shakespeare and found the Muppets. I went in expecting a live action comic book, and yeah that’s pretty much what I got. Fun show, watched it a few times now.
No matter how nice you are about Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds still won’t call you. Don’t ask how I know, it’s a touchy subject.
I know why he’s mad, it was a box office disaster. Nothing can fix that short of a time machine.
I would 100% watch Muppets doing Shakespeare. That’s basically what the comedies were in those days anyway.
A million ways to die in the west is a solid dumb comedy. The movie has dogshit reviews on every review site but I enjoyed it.
I unironically really want to see Seth McFarlane do more comedies like this one. It was a blast all the way through.
I can’t believe I want to see him in more sci-fi. I miss the Orville so much.
For some reason he’s who I pictured in my head when reading Project Hail Mary.
Was that show good? I actually never watched it.
It’s Star Trek with Seth MacFarlane’s humor mixed in. I really enjoy it, and hope the rumors of a season 4 starting filming this year are true.
Plus I have a huge crush on Adrianne Palicki.
I went in expecting family guy in space and instead I got a really good spoof of star trek with a comfortable mix of low-brow humor and well thought out commentary. I’d honestly give it a go if I were you, Seth McFarland is so much funnier than most give him credit for.
I know! I wish he did more.
“Ain’t nobody have a dollar!”
“Yeah, show us the dollar!”
Pulls out a $1 bill; crowd gasps
“Take your hat off and show some respect, boy, that there’s a dollar bill!”
Dad: You’re late!
Seth: Late for fucking what?!
Dad: Fair Enough
It’s full of good, snappy writing, too. Great skits all throughout.
It’s not as good as Ted but still great.
Huh, I think I didn’t know (or just forgot) that it was panned… I liked it, it was fun
SOLO - I know everyone hated on this film, but we get a space western mixed with a heist movie. Woody Harrelson and Donald Glover are icing on the cake. Plus we get a robot uprising. 5 bags of popcorn and throw in a couple of those Darth Vader cups.
I did not enjoy the sequels, but Solo? Yeah, that is a solid fun time. I even have a Solo T-shirt that I still wear on occasion.
I don’t think this is really a hot take. I know quite a few star wars fans and most of them (including me) love Solo, even those who can’t stand any of the other new movies.
For some reason I was thinking you were talking about that Mario Van Peebles movie
Yea I enjoyed Solo, good popcorn flick
It’s easily the best Star Wars movie in the last 30 years. Its only major faults are some bits of bad cinematography and a bit of cringey fan service.
That’s Rogue One.
I did like Solo, but can’t but feel it would have been better had the main character not been Han Solo, because nobody was really going to live up to Harrison Ford in the originals.
Its easily Roque One, Theres just no competition movie wise. In general its Andor, that show was just peak Star Wars
Nah, Rogue One is as bad as the other sequels. The main character is about as interesting as a wet dish rag. Several of the side characters are annoying. Zombie Tarkin. There’s no story arc or characters that are worth caring about and the entire plot is just a thin excuse to have cringey fan service and CG action scenes.
Wild Wild West has a 16% on Rotten Tomatoes but I genuinely enjoy that film. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen also at 16% and also a movie I enjoyed
The latest matrix. I liked it for the critique that it is.
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Yeah, I wasn’t that excited about the idea of sequel in the first place, mostly because I didn’t think there was much point to one. So when I saw Resurrections I was actually pleasantly surprised, and genuinely enjoyed the different tone and lamposting of the dumbness of unnecessary sequels.
This movie did not work with me at all. I kinda understand the satirical elements but as a fan of the first film I couldn’t stomach it.
The parts where its clear they were forced to make the
video gamemovie or someone else would is great. The rest is… not good imo. Neo uses the force push every 30 seconds and solves all of his problems.As a huge fan of Sense8, I loved the latest Matrix.
Tank Girl, it got shit reviews when it came out, but has grown a cult following since then, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tank_girl
I am also partial to Dude Where’s My Car
I don’t hate Tank Girl for what it is but for what it could have been. Like that was the greatest casting imaginable for Tank Girl in any era of film and the soundtrack was magical at the time. It had so much potential but got lost due to budget and film industry input
I think the set and costumes are on point for a satirical punk comedy.
both awesome movies. don’t trust “experts”, siskel and ebert rated Tommy Boy the worst comedy they’d ever seen. fuck them lol
I made the mistake of watching dude wheres my car again recently. I enjoyed it as a kid, but the way that trans charcter was done really upset me. I entirely forgot she existed in the movie, but a cis actress who was dubbed with a cis man voice was used to trick the main charcters into making out and then played as gross out humor. Her whole storyline was just flat out upsetting stereotypes.
The tattoo scene is still a total gem, but the rest of it aged so poorly.
The 90s in general were pretty bad for portrayal of trans and lgb+ characters. Remember Ace Ventura, first one?
I agree, though, close minded people ruin everything.
Pet detective was my favorite movie growing up, now I try to forget it exists. Most movies haven’t aged well in terms of casual bigotry of all flavors. Yet they still hold value, some more than others. It’s just important to remember they were products of their time. Which makes them good measuring sticks for how audiences have changed. Sometimes the real joke is what I used to find funny as a kid.
Tbh, some of these scenes were pretty mind boggling to me even as a kid. Never understood what people have against different bodies.
Zoltan!
If you ignore the leads Valerian was an incredible set.
The desert bazaar sequence was actually tolerable.
But yes, the art department deserves full recognition.
Sometimes you just have to turn off expectations towards the story and accept that a movie is worth watching because it is pretty. I first learned this lesson with Speed Racer, but Valorian is another big title for me that falls into this category.
I don’t think that’s a particularly hot take. Pretty much everyone thinks that it was good with the minor exception of for a the actors.
I don’t get the fuss about the leads, either. Came in with no preconceptions & thought it was fine. 🤷
It felt like two highschool drama rivals inexplicably got cast in a big budget show piece. I don’t know who the characters are, but they had the chemistry and acting skills of porno step siblings.
You asked for one, but I’ve got two hills to die on, sorry.
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Solo: A Star Wars Story was a lot of fun and I thought it was a solid entry. I didn’t really like the Sequels or Prequels, but Rogue One and Solo both stuck out as good titles to me.
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Lightyear was a good movie. I really enjoyed it and didn’t really understand why it got so much flak.
Solo is a great movie. I know it tried a little too hard to answer every question ever about Solo’s backstory, but apart from a clunk here and there, it’s exactly what the idea of “A Star Wars Story” should have been. I would have signed up for more.
Solo was great. Haters will always find flaws.
Lightyear was great.
I actually liked the prequels, and I think they were far better than the stuff they’re making now.
Same, I grew up with those movies and along with LotR are some of my all time favorites
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I don’t think Red One deserved the hate it got. I know everyone is getting tired of Marvel and the Rock, but I thought applying a Christmas theme to the tropes was actually refreshing.
Like not a great movie, but way more watchable than the last few Capeshit flicks I’ve seen.
The Rock decided that Republicans buy too much of his shitty tequila to risk taking a stand against things like Actual Fascism right around the same time I got fucking exhausted of seeing him everywhere. I’m done with that meathead.
I did not know anyone really hated that movie, watched it and recommended it to some people. Yeah, the rock not doing it great, but it was a solid film imo, it was an interesting and funny twist on winter mythos. Not great, not worthy of a sequal, but solid.
Same; I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. My cousin raved about it for so long on Christmas that I downloaded a copy and streamed it from my phone to my aunt’s TV. Everyone loved it.
Lots of people love to hate Cloud Atlas. I see it as flawed work of art with a good message and an amazing cast, produced under such nearly impossible circumstances that we are more than lucky it ever saw the light of day.
I can watch really bad movies as long as the score is good, and cloud atlas has a banger score. How they weave the different timelines while playing that music really does it for me. I’ve watched it a few times and now that you reminded me I’ll probably watch it again soon.
The concept behind Cloud Atlas made for a much better movie than book, IMHO.
Having the same actor play the same part in each time made following the plot easier, at least for me. The book was a bit of a slog at times and following each characterization was confusing.
Plus some of the casting in the movie was really good. Jim Brodbent in particular, I thought, delivered a spectacularly good performance.
You’re probably right. I’ve never read the book.
Having the same actor play the same part in each time made following the plot easier, at least for me.
This is what I expected to see on first watch, and was a bit confused that at least some actors did actually “switch sides” between timelines. Going by interviews, it seems this was possibly meant to reflect an evolution of souls. But to me the message of the movie works just as well, if not better, if you leave out the concept of persistence of souls or individuals altogether, accept that some of them just look similar, and think more in terms of repeating patterns and ideas across eras.
Jim Brodbent in particular, I thought, delivered a spectacularly good performance.
Hard agree. His contemporary and light-hearted “shady publicist to nursing home jail break” plotline also really worked well to ground the movie in between epic-dramatic segments.
It has one of the coolest trailers ever
I absolutely loved Cloud Atlas and I was crying at the end. I didn’t know anything about it, didn’t know about the book, didn’t know it was hated until now. Just a movie that I liked the trailer for, so I watched it and I’m glad I did.
Not universally hated by any means. But there are plenty of people that expect a movie to fit a certain Hollywood formula, which includes not challenging your audience too much. And so they judge movies by standards that an epic artistic endeavor like Cloud Atlas was never trying to meet.
Also the whole “gender- and race-bending” made some people uncomfortable, even though it’s merely the same actors portraying completely different characters.
Add to this that certain influential studio voices in Hollywood had previously rejected the project outright when they were first approached by the Wachowskis. So it was clear they would never give it a fair shake after it was produced in Europe, against their judgment and without their blessing, and under such unconventional circumstances.
Ain’t that the tru-tru.
What’s the message? I didn’t really catch any, besides some notions about souls, reincarnation and sex not being fixed.
The things you mention are narrative elements. The message is repeated almost like a mantra throughout the movie, and later revealed or summarized as the ‘prophetic’ words of Son-Mi:
Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.
This is the core thesis of the movie, standing in direct opposition to the various antagonists’ ideology, which can be summed up as self-serving nihilism and upholding the status quo of might makes right / the natural order by any means.
Thanks. That completely slipped from my memory.
Reminds me of The Egg short story I’ve reread yesterday.
It spoke to me when I watched it at the right point in my personal development. As is often the case with movies or experiences that try to convey something meaningful, whether the message lands depends just as much on the watcher. I honestly don’t blame anyone for whom it was a lengthy and confusing blurb. The narrative structure and casting choices are so far outside what audiences are used to, that the script was thrown out by every major Hollywood studio at the time despite the prestigious names behind it. I myself was quite confused on some of the timelines and characters until my 2nd rewatch, and that’s a lot to ask for a movie of this length. It really never had a shot at mass appeal, so in an economic sense those studios were right. I’m just fascinated and grateful it ever got made. It truly was a leap of faith and a labor of love for many, the Wachowskis and Tom Hanks in particular. And I feel like this shines through in the final release, rough edges and all.
I read the story you linked and I absolutely see the parallels. I feel like I may have read it once already years ago. It’s quite the philosophically intriguing concept.
Kurzgesagt has also arranged it in short film form if that’s your thing : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6fcK_fRYaI Personally, it’s one of the most impactful stories I’ve read.
Check out Mr. Nobody (2009) if you liked Cloud Atlas.
Man, I love that movie totally unironically. Cannibal Hugh Grant, dude.
It needed to be like 4 hours longer to capture the feel of the book. Some of the actors didn’t have the range to pull off all their parts which caused some sequences to fall flat. It’s still good though, I remember hearing a lot of positive things about it.
Dune (1984)
I didn’t know people hated this movie. I think it’s better than the new sand movie we got.
I really like the two news ones too!
I walked out after part 1 saying, “What did I learn in that movie that I didn’t learn in the first half of the other one?” I mean, the new one is nicer to look at, but the first 2 parts already out cover the 84 version in like 3x the run time!
Having read the books I feel like the 84 version was great for the first half and then they said “ah fuck we’re out of time” and just cobbled together the second half
It went through serious development hell and producer interference.
However there’s a fan edit with salvaged editing room floor footage. “Sand diver’s edit” or something. It’s amazing.
Hey thanks I’ll have to check that out!
Thanks for that. I’ll look for it.
The Lynch movie is what the characters will always look like in my head. I liked the Syfy miniseries too (which I watched shortly after reading the books). And I also like the new movies.
I thought most people loved that garbage.
And how!
It’s glorious garbage.
