More Unpopular Movie Opinions

[darlingnikki]

I think I'm beginning to like movies better with Rifftrax.

[Shanmac]

It didn't make sense to me that a movie that is supposed to address mental illness in an honest way decided that persistent gambling is a fun and exciting hobby that brings people together rather than the mental disorder it actually is.

Huh. It's weird, I didn't see it that way at all (but from what I'm reading here and other places, maybe I'm the only one). I kept saying to my husband, re: De Niro's character, "Wow, he's sicker than [Bradley Cooper's character]." I thought we were meant to see the gambling as the sickness it was -- maybe this was my own little fanwank, but I thought it was meant to show that mental illness had been swept under the rug in that family for generations, and that it was finally coming to light (thanks in part to BC's relationship with JL's character). The dad's freakouts about the Eagles/gambling/sports struck me as more disturbing than BC's illness for sure. It made me feel really sad for BC (and even worse for the mom) and I wondered how long they'd been dealing with that. I thought it was supposed to be the dancing that brought everyone together (well, that and the fact that JL's character was supposed to be SO! AWESOME!* and made them face their problems for a change). Basically, I didn't get the impression that the gambling was presented in a lighthearted manner at all (I thought it was troubling as all hell).

(Can you guys tell that I can't remember any of the characters' names? )

All that said, I didn't really like the movie. I thought it was way overrated and agree that it was boring (it DRAGGED and felt about twice as long as it needed to be). I did think it was a nice departure for Bradley Cooper, though, and I like what the filmmakers were trying to do re: addressing the stigma of mental illness. It's not something I'd watch again, though, and I don't get the love for it that so many people seem to have.

* I liked her character a lot but thought it was really creepy that she wrote the letters pretending to be BC's ex. However, I did find it refreshing that a character we were clearly supposed to like did something so "unlikable."

[Deleted]

Huh. It's weird, I didn't see it that way at all (but from what I'm reading here and other places, maybe I'm the only one). I kept saying to my husband, re: De Niro's character, "Wow, he's sicker than [Bradley Cooper's character]." I thought we were meant to see the gambling as the sickness it was -- maybe this was my own little fanwank, but I thought it was meant to show that mental illness had been swept under the rug in that family for generations, and that it was finally coming to light (thanks in part to BC's relationship with JL's character). The dad's freakouts about the Eagles/gambling/sports struck me as more disturbing than BC's illness for sure. It made me feel really sad for BC (and even worse for the mom) and I wondered how long they'd been dealing with that. I thought it was supposed to be the dancing that brought everyone together (well, that and the fact that JL's character was supposed to be SO! AWESOME!* and made them face their problems for a change). Basically, I didn't get the impression that the gambling was presented in a lighthearted manner at all (I thought it was troubling as all hell).

The dancing ended up being tied in with the gambling, which really annoyed me. JL's character ingratiated herself to BC's family by proposing a bet. And the ending, which I think was meant to be

SPOILER: Click to show

Spoiler
perceived by the audience as a happy ending, showed the family better off for their involvement in gambling with De Niro still involved in sports betting (if I remember right).

The love story and reflections on mental illness got lost in all of these gambling shenanigans IMO.  

[Neurochick]

All that said, I didn't really like the movie. I thought it was way overrated and agree that it was boring (it DRAGGED and felt about twice as long as it needed to be). I did think it was a nice departure for Bradley Cooper, though, and I like what the filmmakers were trying to do re: addressing the stigma of mental illness. It's not something I'd watch again, though, and I don't get the love for it that so many people seem to have.

Yes, the movie was so boring. It went on and on and on; I didn't think it would ever end.

* I liked her character a lot but thought it was really creepy that she wrote the letters pretending to be BC's ex. However, I did find it refreshing that a character we were clearly supposed to like did something so "unlikable."

Especially since the only reason she did it was so he'd be her partner in the dance competition. And come to think about it, there was a lot of gambling talk in the movie. It didn't hit me, since I'm not into gambling, nor do I know anybody who's into it; but it was kind of strange how they suddenly were all talking about the Eagles all of a sudden.

[Deleted]

I once dated a gambler. That's probably why I noticed it so much and was so put off by the way it was presented. When JL's character got involved and proposed that bet and it was clear that this was considered "cool" (even by the psychiatrist!), there was nothing that could have made me like this movie from that point on. And the ending made me flat out HATE it!

[Deleted]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban isn't the best in the series IMHO. I always wondered how people who hadn't read the book even made sense of that mess of a script. The time-travelling thing was not the climax of the book but such a big deal in the film. Why??
I always felt that many people/fanboys love it because it was suddenly ok to find Hermione hot and because Cuaron is considered a much cooler director than Chris Columbus.

[Deleted]

I always wondered how people who hadn't read the book even made sense of that mess of a script.

Speaking for myself, I didn't! I went to all the Harry Potter movies with my kids, and while I enjoyed them more or less, half the time I had no idea what was going on. The Half Blood Prince was the worst for me. I was completely clueless AND bored with that one.

[Hamatron]

I found most of the Harry Potter movies boring. I enjoyed the books a lot. Hell, I even hung out on a HP board that was created by Fametracker members when the site went down. However, most of the movies bored me to tears. It took me forever to get up the energy to watch the last ones, and I didn't feel better once I did. There was just so much about that franchise that was a mess. I can't imagine someone watching and making sense about WTF was going on without knowing the books very well.

I've always felt that the series was pretty much made to become a BBC mini-series someday, but that probably won't happen if some major US studio owns the rights to it. And it's not like you can casually reboot that series like Batman or Spiderman. All eight books are pretty much an origins story.

[ikmccall]

Oct 27, 2013 17:45:08 GMT -4 Hamatron said:

I found most of the Harry Potter movies boring. I enjoyed the books a lot. Hell, I even hung out on a HP board that was created by Fametracker members when the site went down. However, most of the movies bored me to tears. It took me forever to get up the energy to watch the last ones, and I didn't feel better once I did. There was just so much about that franchise that was a mess. I can't imagine someone watching and making sense about WTF was going on without knowing the books very well.

I've always felt that the series was pretty much made to become a BBC mini-series someday, but that probably won't happen if some major US studio owns the rights to it. And it's not like you can casually reboot that series like Batman or Spiderman. All eight books are pretty much an origins story.

Yes, yes, yes to this entire post!

[kateln]

Oct 27, 2013 20:38:53 GMT -4 ikmccall said:

Oct 27, 2013 17:45:08 GMT -4 Hamatron said:

I found most of the Harry Potter movies boring. I enjoyed the books a lot. Hell, I even hung out on a HP board that was created by Fametracker members when the site went down. However, most of the movies bored me to tears. It took me forever to get up the energy to watch the last ones, and I didn't feel better once I did. There was just so much about that franchise that was a mess. I can't imagine someone watching and making sense about WTF was going on without knowing the books very well.

I've always felt that the series was pretty much made to become a BBC mini-series someday, but that probably won't happen if some major US studio owns the rights to it. And it's not like you can casually reboot that series like Batman or Spiderman. All eight books are pretty much an origins story.

Yes, yes, yes to this entire post!

Seconded! I haven't seen the last movie, and fast forwarded through the last few.

On the other hand, I adore the books, and reread them all every couple of years...and then am so disappointed when I finish the seventh book, and I can't hang out with them anymore.