Overrated and disappointing films

lumphammer2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121495609#Comment_121495609

Scarface is a great film .. have watched it loads of times ...

TheIrishGrover

I was very underwhelmed by "The Departed".

Now, I will admit, much of this was down to the fact that I'd been a big fan of the original "Infernal Affairs" trilogy. I remember renting them out on DVD in my local Xtravision as they were coming out and championing them to anyone who would listen. Like The Departed, it had a monster cast: Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Eric Tsang, Tony Wong, Kelly Chen.

The first film pretty much following the same path as The Departed. The second was a prequel, mainly charting the rise of Eric Tsang's mob boss Sam and Tony Wong's Chief Inspector Wong. The third movie flipping between 6 months before the end of movie 1 and 6 months after with all the cast returning

Spoiler Warning

The scene with Lau and Leung both revealing their identities to Chen as their shrink is awesome)

But on top of the familiarity, I just wasn't gone on some of the remake characters:

What was the point of Mark Whalburg except to be angry?

Jack Nicholson was just, well, doing Jaaaaaaack that he's been doing for years. Compare his histrionics with Tsang's quiet anger and menace.

Leung's pent-up anguish and quiet desperation to get out compared with DiCaprio's Oscar-baiting twitching affectations.

Plus... It just looked so cool. That late 90s/early 00s Hong Kong style: Cool colour palette, sharp clothes (Well, for the time), rooftops, Mexican stand-offs, Mexican stand-offs ON rooftops, flashbacks to something that happened like 5 mins before. Not quite as bombastic as John Woo (Fewer doves).

I just thought it was.... well.... meh

Lefty2Guns

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121509076#Comment_121509076

Loved the first Infernal Affairs movie. Never watched the other two, must try find them.

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120973010#Comment_120973010

I think you can add all Wes Anderson films to this category

He must just be laughing at us. 'I can't believe they keep letting me make the same film over and over and over again"

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121493760#Comment_121493760

So you didn't actually watch the film and have decided it was rubbish.

You might not have added it to your all time greatest movies list, but leaving in the first act before the story even got going properly, and then deciding that you're qualified to judge it is one of the reasons our society is crumbling all around us

Bobson Dugnutt

Scarface.

Pacino at his most hammy, obvious story, loved by scumbags.

DeadHand

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121509128#Comment_121509128

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy Christmas and peaceful, prosperous New Year.

Man Vs ManUre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121509128#Comment_121509128

I struggled all the way through it and my conclusion is that it was in fact absolute rubbish. Nothing Nowhere not happening. Can’t believe it won big at the Oscars, it was time for a sci-fi or even horror film to win big but not this one.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121495756#Comment_121495756

One of the worst movies I have ever seen. Was expecting biting satire about zero hour contracts and racism in the workplace based on the promo.

Instead it turns out to be a terrible as you say "film school" level sci-fi.

TheIrishGrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121509083#Comment_121509083

I rewatched them recently (About 18 months ago). Just to see if it was a rose-tinted glasses affair (No pun intended) and they really hold up. Sure, you still have all the usual clichés mentioned above and it's a bit dated at parts but they really did hold up surprisingly well.

The first one is great: You know the story

The second is a prequel following the rise of Sam and Wong and is also very good. Not quite as good as the first but still well worth a watch

The third is set about 6 months before the end of the first and 6 months after and is really excellent. Quite possibly the best of the trilogy. Unfortunately I do not see it on any streamers (After renting them originally I spent quite a bit of money importing them on DVD many years ago), Definitely worth trying to see

TheIrishGrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121509145#Comment_121509145

Never rated Scarface meself either TBH

lumphammer2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121481923#Comment_121481923

I enjoy The Shining but would not rate it as a horror film at all ... it is an excellent psychological thriller imv ... nothing truly horrific in it ... more the thriller genre for me this one and a good one .... something like The Fly from 1987 would be more horror for me ...

One thing about The Shining though is what is the meaning of the picture at the end?? ... the Jack character was immortal or something ?? ..

It is interesting to note Jack Nicholson played a few characters call Jack ... his version of The Joker in Batman was also called Jack ...

lumphammer2

Another overrated film is The Karate Kid .... know the sequels are terrible but the original is not as great as it is supposed to be ... sure it is not exactly what one would call a bad film and certainly ain't awful like say Fifty Shades of Grey ... but it is nowhere near as great as some people state in raving reviews ...

Bullit and The Searchers are 2 more that I have not got into on a scale where I would rate them in my top 20 ... they'd make somewhere in my top 200 anyhow not sure where though ... admittedly only watched them 2 times and it was 2013 I last watched both so may give them another go ... maybe I wanted Dirty Harry and the Dollars trilogy/Magnificent 7 respectively ... but both films didn't excite me ... despite they being considered great ... they most certainly are not bad ... they are quite good but not something that I would call gripping ...

Man Vs ManUre

I thought ‘2001 a space odyssey’ was total horse sh1t.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121512719#Comment_121512719

I assumed the picture meant that the hotel had taken or claimed him. Don't think he was on the photo in earlier scenes.

artvanderlay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121512724#Comment_121512724

I think people of a certain age have a lot of nostalgia for the Karate Kid because we saw it a million times when we were young. The tournament montage still stand up though and the overacting of some of the younger cast is fun to watch especially Steve McQueen's son.

flasher0030

I'd never have The Karate Kid in the overrated category, and definitely not in disappointing. Anyone going into it with an expectation of oscar-winning acting is delusional. And it is obviously cheesy. But that Crane kick will live in our memories forever. All the hours we spent practicing it on our younger brothers and sisters. And practicing the balancing act of doing it on the fence out the back yard. Life-changing moment !!!😀

Hangdogroad

That Will Ferrel Elf movie. Utterly hate it and the way its become seen as some kind of Christmas "classic". Not a fan of Ferrel in general, Anchorman is hugely overated as well.

SharkMX

Leave it all behind. If they ended it well it might make the whole movie worth watching. The last 5 minutes makes you want your money back, even though it was on Netflix.

SharkMX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121512803#Comment_121512803

I love most sci-fi but that film is utter scutter. I think a lot of people are afraid to say they didnt like it.

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121517602#Comment_121517602

In fairness, the first two thirds are great. But it takes a dive in last third.

igCorcaigh

Belfast (Kenneth Braghna)

It though it was so twee, with mostly bad acting and script writing.

I made it as far as the cinema scene and had to turn it off 😭

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121517623#Comment_121517623

2010 is good. Much more straightforward story.

Great cast too with Roy Scheider, Helen Mirren and John Lithgow

Man Vs ManUre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121517861#Comment_121517861

Was gonna post that when I saw the Xmas ads for it but u got in ahead of me. What an overrated film, nothing really happened in it. It was the most untroubled story of Belfast history I ever saw.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121517611#Comment_121517611

Do you mean 'Leave the World Behind'?

I really enjoyed it, great commentary on the state of the US and how much they've fallen socially since the 90s. Really emphasised by making the Darling of the US, Julia Roberts a hugely unlikeable miserable c*nt.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121517623#Comment_121517623

It's an incredible film and even that bit more incredible given it was made in 1968.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121518910#Comment_121518910

"It's an incredible film and even that bit more incredible given it was made in 1968"

Would have been better with just the HAL story and not the obilisk stuff.

Wouldn't be anywhere near my top sci-fi list.

coogy

Spirited Away (2001)

To date, the only movie I have ever walked out of. It was hyped to within an inch of its life when it came out, receiving 5 star reviews in every publication going.

Went to see a sold out screening in the then IFC in Temple Bar. Maybe it was because I wasn't a fan of or didn't know much about 'Japanimation' but there appeared to be no coherent storyline and the fantasy world element just bugged the crap out of me and made it impossible to follow.

There was only one thing for it............

TheIrishGrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121523979#Comment_121523979

Ohhhhhhhhh......

Now......

OK. Now I actually disagree with you in that i think Spirited Away is a masterpiece. BUT I will agree that it was not especially for a mainstream/non-anime fan audience.

I am a huge Studio Ghibli fan (the animation studio that made the movie) and have visited their museum outside Tokyo many times. Last time being less than three months ago.

But that's a different thread. I can understand your reception of Spirited Away. I remember, as you say, the (deserved) fawning over it. (For most people raised on Disney etc, Japanese animation can look less smooth and more jerky. But that is a intentional, cultural design choice... that is a whole other thing). I thought it deserved it but I absolutely also remember thinking "It's brilliant, (the brief bit on the train just kills me)... but it's not for everyone"

So, while I do not agree with you (as others would not agree with my opinion that Scarface is overrated) I know where you are coming from. If you have kids I would suggest starting with "My neighbour Totoro" or "Ponyo" and I will now stop trying to convert people :)

Anyway... Next?

Edit: typos and clarifications

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121517623#Comment_121517623

It's Kubrick at his finest; wonderful visuals, superb mood setting along with the perfect soundtrack and slow progression. I loved 2001.

The narrative about HAL was so forward looking, and added a tenseness to the film. And also that narrative did provide a hook to a film that was otherwise not based on narrative at all. This was 1968!

The obelisk theme also added an element of mystery. The playing on time, that wormhole scene, or whatever it was, the whole confusion about it and the lack of a clear ending suggested an element of absolute wonder. Brilliant film IMHO.

And who can forget that beginning! Profound and captivating throughout.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121524098#Comment_121524098

I find Studio Ghibli looks great but I tend to get bored with the fantasy plots. The only one I really loved was The Wind Rises.

Also loved Grave of the Fireflies which many mistake for a proper Studio Ghibli.