Discuss: Movies That Everyone Seems To Love But You
Filed under: Action, Drama, Fandom
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a little post about Movies That Nobody Seems To Like But You, and it was an awful lot of fun for you (over 100 comments) and me -- so today I thought we could flip it around because I happen to know for a fact that there are movies that everyone seems to love but you ... because for me, that movie is Heat.
Released in 1995, Michael Mann's crime drama was an unofficial remake of his made-for-TV film, L.A. Takedown, and is still considered one of the greatest crime films of all time. The story centered on an LAPD homicide detective and a career criminal (played by 'Method heavies' Al Pacino and Robert De Niro) in a battle of wits with Mann's trademark themes of masculine identity and how our work can define us as people. But, no matter how many times I have tried to give this movie just one more chance, I still walk away wondering what I'm missing. In fact, it's a great example of how it doesn't matter how good a movie may be, it will always come down to your personal tastes.
After the jump: it's not a 'guy thing' and what's the big deal with that diner scene?...
Of course, when I tell people that I don't like this flick, the usual response goes something like, "Well, most girls don't like that movie" -- but sorry, no dice, because I'm a huge fan of Mann's equally macho films (I even defended Miami Vice), so the 'guy thing' argument just isn't going to do it. Intellectually I know that this is a great film with solid performances and harrowing action sequences, but by the time I've crossed the two-hour mark, I'm ready to hit pause. I guess it all boils down to the fact that I may respect the hell out of this movie, but that doesn't mean I have to like it or love it.
Whenever people try to convince me of the genius of Heat, the diner scene is Exhibit A. But even though the film historian in me knows what makes this scene so special is that it was the first time that DeNiro and Pacino had ever appeared on screen together, the film-goer in me was just, well, kind of bored
But now that I've spilled my guts, it's your turn: sound off in the comments and tell me the movies you think everyone seems to love but you...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
11-04-2009 @ 10:38PM
DKr said...
Pirates of the Caribbean. Especially the first one; but I have tried to watch it multiple times and struggled to stay awake. Sure Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow is iconic and very well preformed, however the rest of the movie I found to be rather dull and uninspired...
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11-04-2009 @ 10:41PM
Michael said...
The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles. I have absolutely no idea why either is as beloved as they are. Every scene is like a knife in my brain.
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11-11-2009 @ 2:59PM
Kate Sim said...
I so agree! They were horrible movies... I had to wake myself on five minute basis...
11-04-2009 @ 10:41PM
Reuben said...
Aliens.
To be far, I don't dislike, I just don't love it. Alien is a masterpiece in my eyes, but I've never felt the same about the sequel.
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11-05-2009 @ 9:47AM
Reuben said...
I'd like to add Dodge-ball, and Slumdog Millionaire. I enjoyed Slumdog, but thought it was extremely overrated with a fairly predictable ending. Also, I had never seen an Indian/Bollywood movie before, so when everyone started dancing at the end I could not believe it.
It was a very good "wait..WHAT" sort of moment.
11-04-2009 @ 10:46PM
Bryan said...
I have two: Donnie Darko, and A Clockwork Orange.
Darko hasn't survived quite the way I expected it to, but in high school ALL of my friends tried to make me watch it repeatedly. As I've grown up, the hype has kind of (mercifully) died down. I just thought it was weird and hard to understand.
Clockwork...I really don't like anything by Kubrick. He is obsessed with penises, and frankly that weirds me out. Clockwork is particularly psychotic and trippy, and I don't think he makes the social commentary that he intends to make with the film.
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11-05-2009 @ 2:17PM
CMart said...
I agree with you on Donnie Darko, I didn't get the hype behind this film. I had no connection or liked Donnie (could be that I'm not a fan of Jake Gyllenhall, or anything he does), I just didn't care about his little evil bunny visions. Here's a gun kid, kill it or yourself an leave me alone.
Another one is Wonder Boys. I just didn't believe Michael Douglas' character as being genuine and Tobey's character was annoying (could be that I'm not a fan of Tobey Maguire, or anything he does... except for Ice Storm). I just got bored with this film.
11-04-2009 @ 10:48PM
Chad said...
Amen! Heat bored the hell out of me. I was looking forward to it too.
Slumdog Millionaire was the one from last year that eluded me. I felt like I was the only one who saw right through its emptiness.
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11-05-2009 @ 8:57AM
Tony le Stephanois said...
ditto.
11-05-2009 @ 3:05PM
Megan said...
Finally, reasonable people who don't think Slumdog Millionaire is Jesus in film form. That movie didn't do it for me at all. I didn't connect with the characters and the ending was saccharine.
11-04-2009 @ 10:56PM
Zach said...
Boondock Saints, My friends herald it as a masterpiece, But its really just dumb.
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11-05-2009 @ 2:20AM
Creep said...
Ditto. Boondock Saints. Many of my friends love it but to me it feels like a poorly executed knockoff of modern crime movies. Seeing Overnight didn't help.
11-04-2009 @ 11:03PM
Kate said...
'Twilight'. If past teeth-gnashing, beastly bellowing, and eternally whiney comments of previous posts weren't proof enough.
The infuriating part is 'New Moon' looks kind of interesting based on the evil vampire designs and the fight scenes. *resumes teeth gnashing*
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11-05-2009 @ 6:33PM
Katy said...
thank you! i honestly cannot see what all the hype is about. the only reason new moon appeals to me is because taylor lautner is hot and that creepy edward leaves. people kept telling me i had to read the books to have a valid opinion. i read the books, they sucked.
11-05-2009 @ 9:15PM
Raven said...
Ditto. I attempted to watch it last spring out of morbid curiosity (my roommates wouldn't stop quoting it, and I'd never read the book series so I was going in cold), and it was easily the most brain-meltingly awful movie I have seen in a really long time.
Ham-fisted acting? Check.
Bargain-basement special FX? Check.
Crappy dialogue, flimsy plot and unlikable characters? Check.
Daytime soap opera-worthy awkward pauses/glances? Checkity check check.
I can usually sit through a bad movie if a friend really wants to see it, but this was the first time that a movie actually made me angry over how horrible it was. The only saving grace was that I watched it on dvd, and avoided actually paying money to sit through that trainwreck.
11-04-2009 @ 11:23PM
Isaac Richter said...
Raging Bull for me. I see why people like it, but I absolutely hate it, because I feel Scorsese is trying too hard to make his audience suffer with this film (and I read LaMotta's book, which I found way more interesting). I actually love a lot of Scorsese's films (Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Departed) but this one I hate. I also find Goodfellas overrated (not bad, just not that great).
Also, Fight Club is a film that everyone lists as one of their favorites, the film lost me in its crowded second hour and I ended up not caring about the twist. I honestly find it overrated.
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11-05-2009 @ 4:01PM
David said...
Hail to thee, Isaac Richter! I DESPISED this movie when I first saw it, and walked 80 blocks home that night, fuming at why I was supposed to feel anything but revulsion at these horrible characters. And then to have it propped up time and again as "The Single Greatest Movie Of The 1980s" just got me angrier and angrier. (And I love "Goodfellas" and "Mean Streets" and even "Kundun," so don't throw that at me.)
The very next night, I saw Kurosawa's "Kagemusha," and his mastery of understatement -- experiencing an entire battle sequence through the face of an eyewitness -- completely rejuvenated my faith in cinema. "Raging Bull" was that awful for me.
11-04-2009 @ 11:16PM
Kyle s said...
Wall-E. Im not saying it was a bad movie but i don't think it deserved the extremely high praise it received.
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11-04-2009 @ 11:23PM
matt.hinkley said...
Cast away...no freakin dialogue...couldn't stay awake!!!
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11-05-2009 @ 9:10PM
CParis said...
I've never watched it all the way through - too booorriiing!