I may well be the only dude on earth with a genuine appreciation for Vanilla Sky. It’s a little overwritten, and Tom Cruise mugs his way through the whole mess, but Crowe was really diving into themes of guilt and ego that weren’t being explored in mainstream movies at the time. And John Toll’s cinematography is so deft at melding the story’s moments of reality and surreality. But yeah, I take a lot of shit for that opinion.
Bob, I think you’re opening a very messy can of worms with that idea. Might make some divorce lawyers very happy though.
Rob and smokedphish: Yes to Hook, hold’s a VERY special place in my heart.
I’ll start with tom cruise movies and then move on
Valkyrie
Vanilla Sky
Eyes Wide Shut
Last Samurai
Minority Report
(Seriously I can’t believe people can consider the above movies as bad, they’re amazing)
Spaceballs
Pineapple Express
Any Jackie Chan movie
THE CELL
^^(probably one of my favorite movies of all time, not even a joke)
X-Files: I want to believe
Troy ( i hated gladiator with a passion)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
The Cable Guy
That’s all i can think of now. I’m sure there are a lot more.
Didn’t your mother tell you you’ll go blind watching that, Croonie. You’re right to be ashamed.
I agree with David on Brown Bunny. I’m usually pretty hip to my boy Ebert, but he really put his thumb up his ass on that one. Probably the best film about America this decade.
I’m gonna go ahead and throw Gerry into the ring as well.
Bloodsport – Mainly because of that monkey warrior and the huge Asian dude. Not so much that I’m a Van Damme fan.
The Aviator – Mostly dismissed by Scorsese fans because it isn’t a gangster movie – but I thought it was one of his better ones.
Road to Perdition – Nobody I’ve mentioned it to seems to like this movie, or even know about it, but I enjoyed it.
The Long Kiss Goodnight – Another great DVD I own that is unfairly ignored or dismissed by people. I quote it relentlessly!
Au Hasard Balthazar – I guess I could list any foreign or independent movie here since my friends all seem to hate them. I guess these days, if it is less than a $50 million budget, it is not worthy of most people’s time.
Anaconda, Deep Blue Sea
THE FOUNTAIN, seconded. All my friends hated it, and still bring it up as an example of my bad taste blindspot.
de palma, of course…
“the happening” i can’t say i love, but i don’t see what the fuss is all about
how could i forget, the perfect example: “ghosts of mars”! it’s just an awesome badass sci-fi horror action (and more) yet everyone just bitches about it
The Fountain, thirded (sp? haha). Cinematography, absolutely amazing, and the microscope reactions are such a cool idea.
monty python’s the meaning of life
The Village
Unbreakable
Hellboy. 1 and 2. They’re so aesthetically pleasing.
I’d just like to go on the record for ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ ‘Showgirls’ Garden State’ Crash’ and ‘Unbreakable’. I don’t know if any of these are really hated but they were all listed as such above and I have love for them all. ‘Showgirls’ is the only one I have trouble defending because it really was a terrible movie but terrible in a way that was almost magic. Just find another ‘Showgirls’ fan and start quoting bad dialogue with them. It doesn’t get much better than that. As for the other four, I think they’re all genuine classics and ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ in particular doesn’t get near enough respecct. Ron Shelton is one of our great underrated screenwriters. His dialogue is exceptional.
I dunno – when I’m not here, I lead a very working-class existance. The vast, overwhelming majority of people I run into, if movies ever come up as a topic of conversation, find the appeal of pretty much anything I love to be beyond any kind of comprehension. Usually I just steer the conversation into some kind of tangent.
As for movies that people here might hate, I have a serious weakness for nature-on-the-rampage flicks: Day The Earth Stood Still, Food Of The Gods, Earthquake, It Came From Beneath The Sea, Twister, Day After Tomorrow, Orca, Jaws, China Syndrome, the string of assorted bee-releated things that popped up in the late 70s. I will watch, with popcorn, and very usually enjoy.
Well apparently The Dark Knight. LOL.
Seriously, Ang Lee’s Hulk. People talk about it like watching it will give them cancer. It’s basically a $200 million dollar psychodelic art film with a giant green monster. The CGI absolutely does work because Lee doesn’t fully commit to realism (hence his extreme shade of green coloring). That and I had no idea where it was going towards the end, so I was genuinely surprised with it. Compare it with “The Incredible Hulk” with Edward Norton which is like a low rent sequel. I hated it. I’ll take Lee’s over that cartoon garbage.
Oh, and Bonfire of the Vanities. I didn’t understand why it was so hated until I read the book, which is fantastic and set a bar for the film which couldn’t possible be cleared. It’s by no means a great film but very entertaining and better than it’s rep. Also ‘’The Devil’s Candy’ which details the movie’s production history is a really good read if you’re interested in a behind the scenes look at the makings of a high profile picture.
I actually agree with you Shane, and not only did I find the CG great in Ang Lee’s version, but I thought it absolutely took a step DOWN in quality with the Norton one. At times during the Ang Lee film I was actually convinced of the Hulk’s realism (and I despise CGI, I mean really I am not a fan)…during the Norton film it never once didn’t look like a big cartoon.
I actually liked In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale. Yeah it was Uwe Boll but it was surprisingly watchable reminded me of crappy 80s swords and sorcery films. Ray Liotta was probably the most over the top medieval/fantasy villain since Alan Rickman in the Kevin Costner Robin Hood (which is worth seeing only for Alan Rickman saying “Join us or die”). In terms of recent fantasy/medieval battle movies, I would put it above Eragon and even say Kingdom of Heaven (I still wish Verhoeven had made Crusade with Ahnuld). It’s easily Boll’s best movie yet despite some horrible editing choices.
i couldn’t begin to start this list. i love all cheesy actions movies. all of them. there’s fun movies then there’s serious film and some people don’t find that too hip
bruce willis deserves to be tattooed smoking a cig with bleeding feet and an automatic weapon.
SAMUEL L JACKSON
and shinichi: gladiator is awesome,
troy is borderline gay porn
and the only borderline gay porn i like is fucking top gun
The Matrix Reloaded
I love the movie because it presents two things I absolutely love completely gratuitously, well choreographed action sandwiched in between conversations on philosophy. I love and respect the Wachowski brothers doing completely original and incredibly risky ideas. Whether it be making a two and a half hour, big screen version of Speed Racer, or having millions of people revved up for a long awaited sequel only to be confronted by a conversations about Manichean determinism.
I am anticipating Ninja Assasin. I hope the action will be just as well done as in Reloaded.
I have suggested that the Criterion Collection should release their first movie BOUND on a proper DVD. The only version of the film that is out now is the definition “bare bones” release.
- Excalibur (my favorite Swords and Sorcery/mythological film. Similar to how Apocalypse Now isn’t about Vietnam, IT IS Vietnam; Excalibur isn’t about or an adaptation of Arthurian legend, IT IS THE Arthurian legend). A lot of people don’t like this film for this very reason.
- Buckaroo Banzai. So randomly awesome. Neurosurgeon, rockstar, time traveling, astronaught, samurai, action hero.
- Con Air. This movie is a classic of unintentional comedy.
- Flesh and Blood. Rutger Hauer as a robber knight who takes over an entire castle by himself? awesome.
- Caligula. so bad but fun to watch as because it’s so poorly edited together you never know what the hell is coming onscreen next
- Conan the Barbarian. I love James Earl Jones in this. “Crucify him on the Tree of Woe!”
- Dragonslayer
- Rocky 4. Rocky stripped of all filler, boiled down to its cheesy core.
- Time Cop. Most people think Van Damme lost his way after Bloodsport and Kickboxer but I think it was after Street Fighter: The Movie. Starts out very strong but how the fuck did they get such a confusing movie from such a dumb fun idea. Still good though.
- Point Break. Bromance gone wrong.
- Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey.
- Dracula AD 1972
- Die Hard 1 and 3. 1 is probably the best action movie of the 80s. 3 is the only sequel to even come close to matching it.
- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Only for Alan Rickman chewing more scenery than a black hole.
- Street Fighter: The Movie. Raul Julia is great as the villain M. Bison. Van Damme is so bad, he’s funny
- The Hitcher. the original is great.
- Lair of the White Worm. Hugh Grant fights lesbian vampire cultists? must watch for me
Daniel Clancy, I’m now trying to figure out why I enjoyed your list so much. Must be presentation. Or the enthusiasm. (Thulsa Doom was GOOD! wasn’t he)
The April Fools. I do not know that others HATE it, but I think that at least I love it more than almost all folks.
Wild at Heart. Even Lynch’s fans get off the bus on that one. But it just came out at a certain time in my life when I identified with the characters’ passionate search for freedom. I still think of it as sort of the Breathless of my generation. So shoot me. And another film, I don’t really think people hate it so much as they don’t know it that much: Little Boy Blue.
croonie
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I’m ashamed of myself. Like a boy who has been caught doing naughty things to himself.