The Most Overrated Movies of All Time

Discussion in 'Movies/TV' started by RavensShallBurn, Feb 28, 2011.

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  1. onetontitan

    onetontitan Marioto

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    Getting inside the mind of a disgruntled and psychopathic war veteran is the most enticing thing to me about Taxi Driver. The screenplay by Paul Schrader is absolutely flawless in every sense of the word. The script was (and still is) innovative, stylish and relevant. It depicted New York City as it was BEFORE Giuliani cleaned it up. The streets were overflowing with crime, poverty and a sense of dread. The perfect breeding ground for a sociopath.

    The acting is unbelievable. De Niro as Travis Bickle (easily among the greatest actors in film history) was one of the most powerful and mimicked performances of the 20th century. It was here that De Niro took the world by the gonads and made them listen closer. Add in a great ensemble cast who were equally brilliant in their respective roles and the movie is an instant classic...now enter Martin Scorsese.

    Scorsese directed the almighty ____ out of this movie. His camera work was innovative and cunning, his work on the editing floor can't be ignored and he obviously had no problems directing his actors. The film mixes violence and paranoia better than any film I've ever seen. It is a political film that isn't political (if that makes sense). Hell, you can even catch Marty acting in this one.

    Sorry I didn't give you a better rebuttal last night, I had a few to drink. :wink2:
     
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  2. RavensShallBurn

    RavensShallBurn Ruck the Favens

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    How exactly do I not know what I'm talking about?

    This is an opinionated thread. Kubrick is isanely overrated and his movies are extremely boring (with the exception of a couple) IMO.
     
  3. onetontitan

    onetontitan Marioto

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    I just hate your opinion, haha. Different strokes, I guess.
     
  4. KamikaZ

    KamikaZ Ex-Hall of Famer

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    I think Kubrick is talented, but self-indulgent. There's nothing wrong with thinking he's a genius, but a I tend to think some of his work lacked the subtitles that maneuvered so well inside his other films (Strangelove, Lolita, Spartacus, etc. etc..

    Strangelove had subtlety while still being daring and pointed. Space Odyssey, for example, often felt too indulgent for it's own good. I've watched that film probably eight times, and I've never gotten past the HAL section as making any relative sense.

    Basically, anything after '64, to me at least, seemed over-produced by Kubrick. Sure you have iconic roles (McDowell and Nicholson and Emery are obvious choices in their respective films), but I don't see them as genius as some aficionados seem to. The same thing that many accuse of the Coen's of being (i.e. making works that seem to appeal more to auteur's sensibilities as a whole) , I usually think of as "classic Kubrick".
    That can work for some, for many, but not for me. Not all the time.

    I'll take Strangelove and The Killing or Path of Glory any day, but his later work definitely divides me.
     
  5. CRUDS

    CRUDS Moderator Staff

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    Welp, no point in defending Taxi Driver. OneTon took that one to the house.

    There's one exchange in that movie that I just love. No definitive reason why but it just works so well. I get a chuckle every time..
    Travis approaches Sport on the stoop and they discuss some things.
    As Travis gets ready to leave Sport says "Catch you later, Copper"
    Travis comes back with a line about not being a cop etc. and then says "I'm hip.."
    Sport replies with "That's funny, you don't look hip.."
    The subsequent moment when Travis just stares at him with those blank, dead, Great White Shark eyes is when you just know sht is gonna end badly for Sport.
    A thing of beauty really..
     
  6. onetontitan

    onetontitan Marioto

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    I can see your point. How do you feel about other ambiguous/visual/cerebral directors such as Lynch, Malick, Gilliam or Cronenberg?
     
  7. KamikaZ

    KamikaZ Ex-Hall of Famer

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    I don't want to pick on Tack, but it's opinions like his on something like Taxi Driver that sort of scare me about younger audiences (and I am part of that younger audience).

    There is a severe lack of appreciation that you see for filmmakers, ones that are still working today (like Scorsese).

    I can't tell you how many people my age say they prefer The Departed or Shutter Island to Raging Bull or Taxi Driver. Yes, there's never accounting for taste, but I think there's always been a rampant "the newer voice is the right one", even for artists who have been around a long time and have made their meals earlier in their careers.
     
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  8. onetontitan

    onetontitan Marioto

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    Couldn't have said it better. You hear more about Tarantino than you do about Leone. People don't understand that without a Leone, you have no Clint Eastwood, Tarantino, and countless other actors/directors. Same goes for guys like Scorsese, Coppola, Altman, etc...

    Sad.
     
  9. KamikaZ

    KamikaZ Ex-Hall of Famer

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    See that's the thing. I forgive it in other genres, ESPECIALLY with guys like Lynch and Cronenberg. But I think I jive better with what they're putting on celluoid, and I just often can't with Kubrick. I think it's a bit hypocritical of me to forgive it when Lynch is doing "noir" or Cronenberg is doing "science fiction" (I find both directors, particularly Lynch, to be "genre-less"), because they can be over-indulgent too. But the difference is I understand the indulgence. Often with Kubrick, I think I miss it, or if i do "get it", I think "so what?".

    I put Kubrick and Malick in the same boat - visually, maybe some of the most gifted directors ever to do it. But I often don't jive with their styles, especially Malick. I have a "Love-meh" relationship with Kubrick, but a more "like-hate" dynamic with Malick. I liked Badlands. That's about it.

    Gilliam does some stuff I love - Fear and Loathing and 12 Monkeys being the most obvious. Other stuff, not so great. I also tend to pass over his MP work just because of the genius of all collective there.
     
  10. Childress79

    Childress79 Loungefly ®

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    Love Gilliam...a wacky guy who can also play it straight.

    12 Monkeys is a wonderful film,one of my all time favourites.
    The Adventures of Baron Munchausen,Time Bandits,Brazil....sublime.

    Cronenberg seems to be getting better and better.

    David Lynch.......I hate and I mean hate Blue Velvet
    His treatment of Dune says he's never read trhe source material.

    However I love:
    The Straight Story.......Richard Farnsworth, just wonderful.I defy anyone not to enjoy this film.
    Wild at Heart
    Twin peaks (tv series)
    Lost Highway
     
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