Seen any really dumb movies lately?

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Okay, this question has nothing to do with today's journal entry, and I know we've had a similar question before. But let's hear it. Did you hate Fight Club and American Beauty as much as Patrick did? (Excellent reviews, by the way, but be warned there are lots of spoilers.)

The movie I watched last night was Up Close and Personal, with Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford. It was absolute dreck, which I knew going in. It was on TV, though; I definitely wouldn't have paid any money for it.

We haven't been to the movies since we saw Sixth Sense. I want to see Bringing Out the Dead and Boys Don't Cry, but nothing else is interesting me at the moment.

The last movie we rented was some French movie about an actress from Hong Kong -- or maybe she was an American who made movies in Hong Kong -- who was remaking some silent movie in France. Anyone see that or have a clue what it was called? Vera something, maybe? It confused the hell out of me, although I sort of liked it. It didn't have a plot, though, so I spent much of the movie with my brow furrowed in confusion. Well, at least until the part where I fell asleep.

So what bad movies have you seen lately?

-- Anonymous, October 24, 1999

Answers

It would have to be "The Haunting." Ha ha, you thought I was gonna say "Blair Witch," didn't you? It was dumb, too, but in a creepy, campy, hip sort of way. Well, maybe not hip. What's hip about kids drinking and smoking and saying the eff word interminably. I mean, get a vocabulary, already! But "The Haunting" had such potential. Until they got to the hokey special effects. That's where they blew it. The monster in the closet is always way creepier than the one you can see. And in this case, the one you could see was too over-the-top. Ih (to plagiarize Pamie). Ih.

Sunshyn

-- Anonymous, October 24, 1999


Definately go see Boys Don't Cry. I saw it last night and I am still reeling, it is really hard to watch in some places and there is one part I would have changed but other than that it was quite worthwhile I can't really describe what i feel about it but I can say it was very well acted by both Chloe Sevigny and Hillary Swank. Both actors never appealed to me before this movie but now I am quite impressed. Go see it but be warned it is a very hard movie to watch. OK I'll stop now

-- Anonymous, October 24, 1999

I agree, the Haunting was bad, as was Blair Witch (good movie if it were actually REAL which we all know...err, maybe you all don't know. Nevermind.)

We saw Three to Tango yesterday, and it was a good use of 2 otherwise boring hours... Lots of gay stereotypes, if you like that sort of thing... and, god Julia, Neve Campbell doesn't have a very wide acting range, does she?

-- Anonymous, October 24, 1999


I don't know about her acting because I've only seen her in Scream I, Scream II, and Wild Things. I do know she looks like a Berenstein Bear. I crack up every time I see her weird little nose and jaw line.

-- Anonymous, October 24, 1999

Completely off the topic I know, but were there 2 close up pictures of Jeremy on todays entry that have magically vanished or am I going crazy? I just remember thinking, hey, it's the first time we've actually seen his face where you can make him out! He's pretty cute! And then poof! gone. oh well.

-- Anonymous, October 24, 1999


I was in a movie with Neve Campbell, believe it or not... Anyone seen "The Craft?" It was filmed before her fame increased twofold. At the time I think she had just started the tv show, "Party of Five."

As for me, I had just gone through my divorce, and to cheer myself up I took a cross-California road trip-vacation visiting friends and relatives all along the way. Anyway, one of my best friends is a film grip, and I was able to visit him on the set, if you want to call downtown L.A. a set. They filmed "my scene" in a real seedy area where I was sure someone was going to mug me. We walked through this alley and there were RATS EVERYWHERE!

How I went from visitor to acting extra occurred quite simply. The extras started walking to where they were filming and I followed them. And then I had the nerve to pretend I was one of them. My friend was shocked to see me on the other side of the camera, and he motioned for me to come talk to him, but I slightly shook my head no and ignored him. I didn't want to get caught! I want to act! I want to be a star! (Talk about your delusions of grandeur.)

The director then had us walk up and down the street over and over again as this man with a snake chased this girl down the street. I mad sure I was in a position where I'd cross right in front of the camera. I even bumped the camera one time and I thought for sure the jig was up. But they simply asked me to be more careful.

When I returned to my home state and town I told everyone of my great movie adventure and when the film was released I was nowhere to be seen on the screen. I was so embarrassed... and so disappointed... I had to wait until the movie came out on video to slow it down and show my kids where I was. I'm on the screen for about two zip-zip seconds.

And now when ever we see Neve in anything on tv or the movies I say to my kids, "Look! There's my co-star, Neve." They just roll their eys and go "Right, dad..."

-- Anonymous, October 24, 1999


Sorry, Sarah; those were removed at the man's request. I'll try to get some face shots he's actually happy with -- although he's never happy with anything.

-- Anonymous, October 25, 1999

Blair Witch was extremely dumb, boring, and annoying, and I was rooting for the witch to off that airheaded Heather after the first five minutes. I liked the original website, but the movie sucked bigtime.

Other dumb movies this year include The Phantom Menace and The Spy Who Shagged Me. Both incredibly boring in different ways. I liked the first Austin Powers movie a lot, so was really disappointed that the second one was such a load of garbage.

As for Star Wars, I liked the first three, but this one was way beyong boring (I fell asleep in the middle), and a few good special effects did not make up for how tedious it was. I felt sorry for Liam Neeson, an otherwise great actor, and from what I heard him say about it, apparently he was sorry he did it too.

-- Anonymous, October 25, 1999


beth, it was "Irma Vep" that you saw. With Maggie Cheung, the hongkong action movie dream queen. It's a french movie. I really enjoyed it, myself, but i like that kind of thing. Phantom menace sucked bigtime.

-- Anonymous, October 25, 1999

Now that I've seen it, I'm hugely disappointed in Phantom Menace. Man, did that movie not live up to the hype. Neither did Blair Witch, at least not for me. I didn't get sick, I didn't get scared, what I got was bored and annoyed at Heather -- I too was rooting for her disembowelment. (And it takes a lot for me to root for a specific mode of death.)

This past weekend I went movie crazy. I saw Random Hearts, which was disappointing considering how much I adore Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas. Both of them were just deplorably flat and boring, and the film was nothing like the book. (I understand that the author is pretty miffed about that, and has been using his website to bitch. Hehe, shouldn't have sold your rights, my friend!)

I also saw Fight Club. What an amazingly pointless, vapid waste of celluloid that was. Helena Bonham Carter proved that she is, indeed, useless without Kenneth Branagh's directing skills. Ed Norton wasn't even cute, which was annoying, as his cheekbones are the best thing about him. I shouldn't have been surprised, though, as I've never seen a Brad Pitt film that I've liked, this just goes in the pile with the rest of them (Especially the dreadful Meet Joe Black and 12 Monkeys).

I was also disappointed in The Sixth Sense, which I finally saw this weekend, because I figured it out about 45 minutes in, and I only stayed to see if I was right, and I was. Boo hiss. It'll probably get an Oscar nomination, but I pray that it won't win, because my fourth weekend pick, American Beauty, was phenomenal, and deserves many accolades. It's hard to watch, the characters are anything but likable, and the ending is somewhat contrived and inexplicable. But about an hour after you see it, it hits you over the head, and you go "Oh!" and I love any movie that can do that. And of course, it has Kevin Spacey, who could outact 90% of the men who are ruling Hollywood, especially the $20 million per picture set. You're seeing it here first, folks, I predict another Oscar for the Kev.

-- Anonymous, October 25, 1999



We just saw american Beauty. There were things we didn't like about it, but it was good. Kevin Spacey leaves me cold, though.

While on vacation we enjoyed watching soft core porn on some movie channel, and a very very bad made for cable movie about Jackie Lymon. We still don't have cable so bad movies on the TV were a novelty.

-- Anonymous, October 25, 1999


Good gravy. Meet Joe Black was simply horrible. It was sooooo-ooo-oo-ooo incredibly slow, and whatever-her-name-is (Claire Fairlane? Foreplay? I don't know) was totally wrong for her part. They expected me to believe this whiny little bitch who looked like she wanted to cry from constipation through the entire movie was a physician? Please. She couldn't handle a paper cut. And it really bothered me when Brad cartwheeled over that car. A little too realistic.

I saw Random Hearts, too. Blah. When Kristin Scott Thomas forced Harrison's hand downward and made him grab her crotch, the entire theater erupted in laughter. I saw two people asleep. My friend Christine and I kept everyone entertained with our comments throughout the film.

Hey, on another, slightly related note: Beth, I watched A League of their Own the other day... I hope you take this as a compliment, because that's how I mean it... but you look just like Lori Petty (Dottie's sister Kit). It's uncanny.

-- Anonymous, October 26, 1999

Wacky. Lori Petty was also Tank Girl; maybe I should shave my head and learn to sing Cole Porter songs. Right on.

-- Anonymous, October 26, 1999

"Wing Commander" pretty much sucked rocks and "Random Hearts" while interesting in concept was something of a lackluster presentation, though I would hesitate to call it a "bad movie."

Finally got to see "American Beauty" this weekend and it was truly excellent. We haven't been able to see any movies recently, which is why I have to dredge "Wing Commander" out of the spring/summer viewing frenzy.

However, next week is fair game for bad movies: our local video store just crumbled in the face of Blockbuster and we picked up a half dozen movies on sale for 6 or fewer bucks, including 'Disturbing Behavior" which I am sure is AWFUL, but will be good for the "horror yuks"

Amid some lesser selections, I was also way psyched to pick up a copy of the original "Alien Nation" movie for only 2 bucks tho:)

Oh and I forgot, one movie rental from a few months ago that was terrible: "Very Bad Things" with Cameron Diaz and Christian Slater and Jon Favreau. Awful, just awful movie. Gives me the willies to even think about it. It was billed as a black comedy but IMHO there was nothing funny about it at all.

My top worst movie of all time though, which I saw in high school, goes hands down to "Brain Dead" starring Bill Pullman as a scientist undergoing some very weird psychotic brain trips. If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil the ending, which is something of a surprise, but even though the movie is SUPPOSED to be confusing and bizarre, I just didn't like the sheer incoherence of it, or the large number of hypodermic needles.

-- Anonymous, October 26, 1999


Oh, don't get me started on Bill Pullman. He can ruin anything. ANYTHING.

-- Anonymous, October 28, 1999


This is kind of off the subject, but when I saw that Beth K. mentioned Alien Nation, I just couldn't help but saying something.

Let me make it known right now that I DO NOT watch "Felicity" on the WB. But I was happening to flip through the channels the other night and Felicity was there on the screen, in all her short-haired glory. Good gravy. She looks like one of those people from Alien Nation. Who gave her the idea that haircut was attractive? It's terrible.

Then, not five minutes later, I was reading TV Guide and I saw where she cut it because she didn't want the whole show to be focused on her hair. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the show was supposed to be based on her experiences in college, not her hairstyle. I'm pretty sure the show is called "Felicity", not "Felicity's Hair." Anyway. If good ol' Felicity doesn't want everyone talking about her hair, she shouldn't have cut it into that horrible style. It's awful. Simply awful.

There's a spider on my window screen. I hope he's outside. I'm too afraid to lean in for a closer look.

-- Anonymous, October 29, 1999

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