Badmovies.org Forum

On this thread, you can discuss the most overrated and the most underrated movies.

Most Overrated: Too many to list, but The Godfather is probably #1.  It seemed pointless and dull, and I wasn't moved at all by it.  Also: anything by Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, or any other "great" director is overrated.

Most Underrated: Roundhay Garden Scene (1888): C'mon, people!  It was the first movie ever! ^ _ ^

I've seen quite a bit from Kubrick, I gotta say he may be overrated since "great" directors often tend to be, but I can see why he's rated so highly if he is, his movies truly are great, IMO. :smile:
--------------
Overrated: Rear Window. Look, I can understand different tastes for different people, but it just irks me so much when people go on and on about the "suspense" of this film, which is nearly nonexistant in my humble opinion! Many of the same people call modern horror films (60s onwards :P) "too violent", "mindless", or "sadistic". I guess Rear Window is just their threshhold of terror :tongueout: . For all the talk about the suspense the main reason people laud this film is because of the symbolism. I can plainly see the symbolism but the whole "marriage/impotence" thing is like a totally different film! Okay, maybe not, I can see where it ties in, but when it keeps jumping back and forth from the whitebread investigation plot to out-of-place character development, the end result to me was a surprisingly disappointing "thriller". One final note is that this is most certainly not Hitchcock's finest film, in fact nearly everything else I've seen from him (Psycho, North by Northwest, Sabotage...) is substantially better.

Honorable mention: C.H.U.D. Not as cool as people say, not enough of the creatures, too much setup for too little substance, abrupt, open ending.

Underrated: Puppet Master. By no means a "great" horror film, nor is it the typical "cult favorite", however it had, in my opinion, a skillfull balance of the two and could have gone excellently either way if more care were put into it. We have the setup for an excellent chiller; A mysterious figure taking his own life as imposing men nonchalantly get close, psychically-talented people coming to mourn the eerie death of an obsessed colleague, gothically-designed figurines, moving by their own will, communicating in only gestures and odd moans, and a dark night with several bloody slayings, known fully to the audience but not to any of the characters... On the flip side we have the campy slash-fest most fans appreciate the film for; a drunken witch with a stuffed dog, sexually-active researchers, an uncomplicated main plot, skimpy character development, and deadly but sometimes bumbling killer-dolls who look odder than most mainline "killer doll" films. This film could have been a typical trash-and-slash, but due to some help by the director (David Shmoeller, who I hear is a very underrated horror director. I shall decide for myself once I see one of his apparent best, Tourist Trap), it was refined into an ever-so-slightly above average horror film. However, it seems due to the fact it was such an odd balance, most horror fans are either bored or insulted by it :tongueout: . Me, I can say appreciate the film, as well as the rest of the underrated, and similarily toned series that came after it.

Hnorable mention: Magic. A bit higher rated, accusations of being just another "killer doll" film are false, better characters than people give credit for, Fats's voice makes the film creepier, not funnier, brilliant mix of horror and tragedy.

Overrated-Silence of the Lambs - Not as "great" as I was led to believe.  Look, it was a decent enough movie, with a solid performance by Hopkins, but in my opinion, not a great movie warranting like, three sequels.

Underrated- Empire Records- Solid performances by several cast members, including Robin Tunney, Liv Tyler, Rory Cochrane and Anthony LaPaglia.  So often underlooked, it's a shame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avddxEad7u8

Agreed. Never underestimate the power of Ann Margaret letting the twins out. Anthony Hopkins was right, they SHOULD have been memorialized. .

I have to say, a couple of my favorites that I feel are underrated are 'Ghandi', and the original 'Man in the Iron Mask'.

Overrated, I agree The Godfather, plus Breakfast Club, 2001 S.O., NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, ,

most overrated: scarface. it's not really fair to generalize, but i'd say that a good portion of the people who buy this movie do so just because their favorite celebrity showed it in their collection during an episode of cribs. ever check to see how many copies end up at used dvd stores? yeah. you're going to find a few on the counter, and i'd be more than willing to bet that they have a dozen or so of them kicking around in the stockroom just so they don't look desperate to unload the damned things.

most underrated: hard to pick just one...

phantom of the paradise. it seems like more people know about the rocky horror picture show sequel, shock treatment, than know about this great flick. same sort of crowd, too. the music is great, the characters are wildly over the top, and everything looks great. you've got some of de palma's split-screens, and allusions to a pair of classic tales of horror, those being faust, and more obviously, the phantom of the opera.

dog day afternoon. hey, when pacino's not playing a cop or a member of the mafia, he's still entertaining? amazing. i can sort of understand that when the star has so many other notable films to his credit, a film like this could easily get lost in the shuffle, but this is quite a bit better than some of his other films. maybe people just don't want to identify with a homosexual protagonist?

manhunter. like happygilmore said, everyone hails the silence of the lambs as an excellent film, and that's not entirely untrue, but when you ask them if they ever saw this earlier lecter film, they just stare back at you with a dumb, cocked-to-the-side puppy head. sure, the ending is a bit rushed and contrived, but it's really packed with emotion, psychology, and suspense. if you even try to compare this movie to red dragon, you'll have a hard time understanding how they were even based on the same book.

THE GODFATHER and GODFATHER, PART II are my favorite films and I have seen them more times than any other movie.  Definitely not overrated.  I don't think two better, or even equal, movies have been made since they were released.

However, I am prepared for all the hate mail I will get for saying the original STAR WARS is overrated.  This is a movie popularized by a cult following that saw it dozens or hundreds of times, driving up the box office totals.  These people (many in their forties or older) still walk around at conventions wearing Darth Vadar outfits.  Let's face it . . . the story is decent, but Mark Hamill is not a talented actor, the special effects aren't great (even by 1970s standards), and that damned white plastic body armor just looks silly.  As far as sci-fi goes, I'd rather watch 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN or PLANET OF THE APES any day.

Here are some underrated movies:

* THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE
* THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE
* THE GREAT SANTINI

 

Overrated:  GANGS OF NEW YORK.  I was very stoked for this film, and it just dragged on and on and on with no plot resolution in sight.

Underrated: Mel Gibson's THE PATRIOT.  I have seen this film multiple times, and it still makes me tear up in some places and cheer in others.  What a great war movie!

Overrated:  This is easy.  Just look at the "Best Picture" Oscar winners, and about 4/5 are overrated.  My pick is GOOD WILL HUNTING.  This happy-face pop-psychology pabulum is considered a great movie?

Underrated: This is a bit harder.  I consider most of the films that immediately come to mind as underseen, rather than underrated.  But I would nominate the complete works of Andy Sidaris.  They are tons of cheesy T&A/stuff-blowing-up fun, and perennial favorites on late-night cable, but nobody admits to liking them.  Well, I do--a lot!   

Overrated - "Dead Alive"/"Braindead" - Really just a load of childish spite, bad special effects and poorly executed 'camp' acting. The attempts at 'shocking' humour (zombie sex, Catholic Kung-Fu etc) merely seem like the sort of thing that dumb sixth-formers could come up with at lunch time. Kind of humour for people who don't have a sense of humour. I like Peter Jackson's films usually but this was poor by his standards. However, I still like the Sumatran Rat Monkey! Excellent stop-motion work.

Underrated - "Ghost Story" - An excellent but flawed little film from 1981 that features excellent cinematography, makeup effects and some of the best acting that I've ever seen in a horror flick by Alice Krige, Fred Astaire and John Houseman. The attempts to blend Val Lewtonesque atmospheric terror with 'Eighties nudity and gore are not entirely successful. I find it atmospheric and compelling despite the silly blue-screened opening shock scene and the weird, abrupt ending with the corpse from the car.

Bold choice--I don't think you'll find many here who agree with that one.  I loved DEAD ALIVE, but I hated BAD TASTE.

Bit of a blanket statement! Kubrick was overrated for some things but still a master director if only for Dr Strangelove. I'll agree with Shining and even 2001 being overated.
As for Spielberg, Jaws and Close Encounters both great films.
Scorsese, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, nuff said.

Most Overrated - (I know I'm going to get flak for this) Bladerunner. Dont get me wrong, I do love it but it's not the best sci fi ever made as it's be voted several times.

Most Underrated - (Also an odd one) David Lean's Dr Zhivago. It's better than Lawrence of Arabia or at least as good but it doesnt appear in IMDB's top 250 list. That is shamefully underrated as it's probably one of the best films ever to be commited to celluloid.

I agree with you about Star Wars.  Hell, I couldn't even make it longer than a half an hour.

Overated: Definitaly the SAW series, this is more aimed at my generation, because enough people liked it so they made another one when in all reality it wasn't that great. The shock gore thing had been done before and had been done a lot better.

Underated: I'm going to say The Quartermass Xperiment. The actors do extremely good for their limited budget and technology, hell the first time I saw it, the movie actually creeped me out a bit which I wasn't expecting. It's by no means a cinematic masterpiece. But I do think it's a classic 50s film that deserves more than the cult following its got.

As one of the geeks who Star Wars multiple times in the theater (23!!), I wish I could disagree that it is overrated. I love the movie, I collected the trading cards and other paraphernalia, etc., but I have seen other, better movies. I think the original is the strongest in the franchise in terms of story, acting, and overall feel, and that Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are more overrated than the original, but episode IV has become overrated through the years.

However, that said, my pick for overrated movie is anything by Quentin Tarantino. I have yet to see anything by him that holds together as a good story, and I have never been particularly fond of his dialog as many others are. In early interviews, he came across as a guy that would probably be fun to hang around with, but now he seems to think he's worth all his hype, though at heart he's just a very lucky fanboy who managed to actually break into the industry. I know there are Tarantino fans on this board, and I mean no offense; his movies just don't do it for me. And before you get too angry, read my picks for underrated movies, and you'll probably be able to dismiss me as someone with no taste anyway  :twirl:.

For underrated movies, I'd pick Mom & Dad Save the World first. It's very silly, but it's also incredibly fun to me. John Lovitt can admittedly be very annoying, but he can also be hysterical when allowed to do his own thing, as he is in this movie. Teri Garr is always fun to watch, and Jeffrey Jones puts in a good performance, too (too bad he doesn't know how to act in the real world). The effects are quirky but charming, and it's nice to see regular folks rising to the challenge when necessity calls. I'd also pick Shakes the Clown, the movie that sank Bobcat Goldthwaite's acting career. It's also loads of fun in a very strange, goofball way. The acting is okay (Goldthwaite's is probably the weakest performance in the movie, with the possible exception of Julie Brown), but the movie delivers in terms of entertainment value. It would be hard for this one not to be underrated, as only about 3 or 4 people ever saw it in the theater, but it is still on my list.

Though I do think it's fun and entertaining, I also think it's Overrated: TITANIC (1997) A Romantic Action-Adventure Disaster Drama.   :lookingup:
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO as "Jack" and KATE WINSLET as young "Rose" are on a 900 foot vessel that sleeps 2500 but like true American teens the only place they can find to have sex is in a car... !!! :question:

At the very end, GLORIA STUART, as old Rose, is in her bunk on the ship, and beside her bed has several large ornately framed photographs of herself (young Rose) climbing into the cockpit of a plane, on a horse, a glamour shot...  :lookingup: Well JIM CAMERON wanted us to know that Rose had had a good life.  She certainly took care of herself.  Of course, before snuggling up to her dreams and candid collection, Rose quite selfishly discards the blue diamond "Heart of the Ocean" that BILL PAXTON and his crew have spent years searching for, and does the deed from the very deck of her host's ship... 
:hatred:  I don't care how old she is!  Punch face! BIATCH!!  :bouncegiggle:  :hatred:

Overrated: Mary Poppins- Granted, I haven't seen this in YEARS, but I wasn't too enthused watching it as a kid. 

Underrated: The Butterfly Effect- Odd putting an Ashton Kutcher movie in the underrated category.  The Butterfly Effect is a movie about a boy named Evan who suffers from blackouts.  He suffers through several traumatic events as a kid, such as seeing his dog set on fire as well as being forced to do child pornography, and keeps notes in a journal to help him remember things.  When he gets to college, he starts re-reading his journals.  He then realized that he can transport back in time through his memories to try and change things.  Then the film goes about showing how one little change, such as dropping a ciggarette on himself, can change the future. 

Can a film be both underrated and overrated at the same time? While I enjoyed all of these films, the year that each of these films was released, it made a critic's "10 best list" and a critic's "10 worst list."

Apocalypto
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Moonlight Mile
O, Brother Where Art Thou?
Snow Falling on Cedars
Beloved
Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas
Bram Stoker's Dracula
The Fisher King
Vampire's Kiss
The Mission
Return to Oz
Lair of the White Worm

I do think what these films have in common, is that--for the most part--they are not your "typical" film.

The most overrated might be Citizen Kane. Please don't get me wrong, it's a great film, probably top fifty, but I can't see it deserving its near universal acclaim as THEE greatest film ever made.

As for the most underrated, I don't know but I sincerely hope the passing of time leads critics and audiences to be kinder to The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. I was blown sideways by how good this movie was, yet almost everyone I've ever heard mention it puts it down.

-Over-rated-Any thing Woody Allen. Can't stand that guy.  :hatred:

Under-rated-wow....I could make a BIG list here...The creepy The SCREAMING SKULL, Bava's KILL BABYKILL, COMBAT SHOCK,the sick CASTLE FREAK (starring the under rated Jeffery Coombs), Edgar Ulmer's creepy  MAN from PLANET X,
ROCKETSHIP X-M, shoulda been a mega-hit JACKIE BROWN, FEAR NO EVIL (1981), the bizzare The DAY the WORLD ENDED (love the multi-horned,four armed,three eyed monster...sooo many more!

The most overrated in history: TITANIC  :hatred:

I agree with that statement.  It was a horrible movie and with so many historical mistakes.  Pearl Harbor is up their as well.

Overrated : JAWS.  Never really though this film was as great as everyone makes it out to be.  I mean it's a good film but not one of the best ones around.  Independence Day I didn't care for it that much when I saw it when it was in theaters and when I saw it 4 years ago in High School again I still didn't like it.  I just though the whole plot of the film was pointless.  

Underrated: Office Space  When I first saw this film I though it was awesome.  It still is awesome to watch and I understand it more now that work in an office.

Oh, I forgot, underrated: the legend of hell house, as someone says in user comments of IMDB, "It's the Mount Everest of haunted houses..."

phantom of the paradise. it seems like more people know about the rocky horror picture show sequel, shock treatment, than know about this great flick. same sort of crowd, too. the music is great, the characters are wildly over the top, and everything looks great. you've got some of de palma's split-screens, and allusions to a pair of classic tales of horror, those being faust, and more obviously, the phantom of the opera.

I have to agree, this movie is a million times better than shock treatment. A lot of people just dont get it, although, I think if it had that audience participation element that Rocky Horror has, that wouldnt matter. Some might try to dismiss depalma's message as hippie BS, but I think the basic idea - of corporations turning art into crap for the sake of a profit, and celebrities using self destructive behavior for media coverage - still holds up today (especially considering we now live in a world of Britney Spears and American Idol).

Another film that's grossly underrated is The Cell. Sure, JLo's in it, but she does a great job in her role. The visuals are incredible, and even the absurd plot, which would have failed in lesser hands - using a device to literally enter the mind of a comatose killer and find his last victim - really works.

Overrated: No Country For Old Men. Villain's a cheap Two Face knock-off, and they forgot to write an ending.

Underrated: Going Berzerk. It's kind of like a John Candy version of The Jerk.

I agree with you there, , Good movie, , ,but BEST, , not even close.

Underrated:- Return to Oz- A sequel of sorts to The Wizard of Oz, fifty or so years after the original came out.  Not a big hit, and rated PG instead of G.  More dark than the Wizard was.

THE MOST OVERRATED MOVIE The Matrix



errbin

I wonder how Rose's husband, who she apparently was married to for many happy years and raised a familly with, felt when she died and went to heaven rather than see him again she wanted to be with some girly himbo she knew for a couple of weeks! 

Not only do I think there are a number of movies that are underrated, I think there are a number of directors out there whose entire body of work tends to be underrated. They include . . .

Ralph Bakshi
Roger Corman
Sam Fuller
Spike Lee
George Pal
Alan Parker
Ken Russell

one producer

Val Lewton

And I use to think that Martin Scorsese's body of work was underrated, but with his recognition by the Academy with an Oscar, I finally think he's getting the attention he deserves.

Try 4 days... Oh!  And "Hmmm... Picasso somebody's..." painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon did not sink with the Titanic...  :lookingup:
image deleted
(Okay, okay, my sister the painter advised me that PICASSO created many studies before the finished canvas...) 
I still think that scene near the beginning is dumb. 

I will keep the movies I compare to be very similar in nature and in every case they seem to come out about the same time.  In each case the better movie was swept under the carpet because the studios pushed the overrated movie with a higher advertising budget.  If you have not seen any of these underrated movies... do yourself a big phat favor and watch it ASAP.

Overrated: Armageddon
Underrated: Deep Impact

Overrated: Sixth Sense
Underrated: Stir of Echoes

Overrated: Volcano
Underrated: Dante’s Peek

in that vein . . . .

OVERRATED . . . . SHAKESPEARE INLOVE

UNDERRATED . . . ELIZABETH

I certainly agree on Woody Allen films, Titanic and the Matrix as overrated.

I totally disagree on Bladerunner. That movie kicked off the cyberpunk genre. Yes the genre existed in Neuromancer, but Bladerunner made it a phenomena. I truly loved that movie.

There are a number of movies which may be overrated, but they don't really pique my interest. I'd just knock them down a notch.

Overrated:
Dogma (When that movie is brought up I just want to start hitting people.)
The Blair Witch Project (Shakey cam be damned!)

Underrated:
Tron (Doesn't deserve the crap it gets.)
Bubba Ho-Tep (That is a cult classic.)

Overrated: Scream - I can't stand to watch this film at all and have never understood why it was so popular or how it is even considered a "horror" movie. All the characters are painfully irritating, it goes from one ludicrous scene to the next at about 1000mph. How in hell people say it "saved the horror genre" I do not know, it has spawned a whole host of copycat teen "horror" films with cheap scares, stupid plots, annoying teens that won't die, obvious plot twists, annoying plot twists where every single person is "the killer" and they all get stabbed and no-one really dies!" Aarrghh!  :hatred: ....and breathe....

Underrated: I could list 100's, some have already been mentioned. Special mention though to, "Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man".   I have no-idea why people think it's a bad film, yeah it's not great, but it's alot of fun and really different to alot of similar "buddy" action movies.

Can not really think of underrated ones right now.
But..
Over rated:
LESS THAN ZERO:Is this the correct title?I think Edie Falco is in it..something or other about gangs.
Not only is it just absolutely full of unneccesary profanities(F**k is said what seems like every 10 seconds)but I can not think of a movie with more unlikable characters.I hated every single one of them  :hatred: and was hoping that it would end with them all killing one another.
FARGO:For this Frances McDormand won an Oscar???  :lookingup:

Can't agree with you there.  McDormand played a character that hadn't been seen on the screen before, and pretty much nailed it.  I think her Oscar was well deserved.

I hated this movie.  Perhaps "hated" is too weak for my feelings on it.  I felt it was a slap in the face to all the real people who died on the ship.  Basically Cameron took one of the worst disasters in history and exploited it for a mindlessly written love story that teenagers and lonely 40 something housewives ate up.

As for the "Heart Of The Ocean", perhaps Rose would have thought of her numerous kids/grandkids.  Perhaps they could have used a few extra million or so.  I was hoping her shaky old ass would fall over the railing at the end of the film.  Perhaps I was the only one who laughed when Rose kept telling Jack "I won't let go" as she let his dead body fall into the abyss. 

Then theres that f*cking awful Celine Dion song... :hatred:

On a positive note, Billy Zane rocked in that movie.  I cheered for him.   :thumbup:

Most Underrated:  I've said it before and I'll say it again, Josie And The p***ycats 

Overrated(but probably not by you):
PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN
I wanted to see T3 but we ended up seeing this instead.The pirate ghosts were kinda' cool but the rest..zzzzzzz
underrated
STUART SAVES HIS FAMILY
For once,an SNL movie with a realistic and not so happy ending.I can't stand listening to Al Franken speak about politics,but I thank him for making this movie.

Overrated:

A Christmas Story:  I actually like this movie, but the non-stop showings on TNT killed my taste for it.

Scarface: A few exciting sequences barely make up for a very dull film, that owes its reputation to rap stars and their lemming fans. 

Underrated:

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory:  I loved the fact that Tim Burton took a more twisted take on this story.  Everyone holds up the original film as some sort of untouchable classic, when it's really just an OK early 70's pitch for a chocolate bar that lasted only a few weeks on shelves.

The Fisher King:  Terry Gilliam actually made a movie that made people who watched it feel good, and all the Brazil-loving purists out there hated him for it.  But I will always appreciate this wonderfully quirky film, which has just the right touches of darkness to it. 

 

Overrated: Chicago.

Yeah, it had some good songs, but come on!  There's hardly ANY likable people in this movie, and I'm supposed to feel for the main character like she's a hero or something cause she was cheating on her husband and shot some guy.  Gee, wonder how well that would work had the genders been reversed. 

Personally, I would have it end like this: the husband (Mr Cellophane, as he calls himself) ends up killing his wife in a fit of jealous rage, and ends up finally getting the attention he's sought all his life.

 

Sorry, I disagree with everybody on this one. One of the best films I have ever seen, every shot is perfection and Al Pacino gives one of the best performances of his career. It was slated when it came out because critics couldn't seen past the profanity and violence, but has not got it's reputation solely from "rappers" at all. Yes, lots of rappers cite it as an influence, but that's due to Tony Montana's determination to make a better life and his rise to power - it's a great story of triumphing in the face of adversity and that you can lose sight of youself at the hands of immense greed. I love it, I will never accpet it as overrated - Scarface is a masterpiece IMO.

I guess I fall into the "Brazil-loving purist" category, but only barely. I didn't care for The Fisher King as much as for other Gilliam movies only because it didn't feel like a Gilliam movie except in small sections. It just felt more like Gilliam tried to make a mainstream film to gain a little commercial success. There's nothing wrong with that; it just didn't work as well for me as most of his other films. And incidentally, I'm more of a Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen lover than a Brazil lover. I like Brazil, but it is difficult to watch because it is extremely bitter; even Gilliam admits that. Munchausen is horrifically underrated, mostly because so few people have seen it, and it is definitely a "feel good" movie.

A college roommate of mine once finished reading _Ghost_ (Piers Anthony) and threw it across the room.  I saw him do it.

I wanted to throw 'Brazil' across the room, in much the same way.

I am in no way comparing the artistic integrity of the two works.  I am comparing my reaction to my roommate's reaction.

Pfagh!

That s**t makes me laugh...  :bouncegiggle:  :bouncegiggle:  :lookingup:  That f*ckin' dumbass movme bowlee...
I kind of like that song, it's sad and dreamy and the very ending of the film is lovely and happy/sad...  :lookingup: 
Repeat: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon did not sink with the Titanic...  !!!

What do you like about Ralph Bakshi? I was in college when Fritz the Cat came out. That made Bakshi pretty popular with the college set. It's a cartoon! And it has sex in it! Wow! I never saw it then, but rented it a couple of years ago to see if I could figure out what all the fuss was about. Not much to it.

But he was making a name for himself as an innovator in animation. So people were really excited when his version of Lord of the Rings came out, which did feature an innovative technique (something involving drawing over live actors, I think, sort of like A Scanner Darkly). But that movie was a flop, even though Tolkien was ridiculously popular. I had just finished reading the trilogy, so I could sort of follow some parts of it. But it was incoherent, and just ended abruptly in the middle of the story.

I don't remember hearing anything about Bakshi after that.

Rotoscoping.

Wizards (http://www.badmovies.org/movies/wizards/) came out just before "Lord of the Rings" and I think its a much better film.  It mixes Bakshi's strong points, and it's probably my favorite quirky cartoon.  He also made "Fire and Ice" after "Lord of the Rings" and that is a much better fantasy attempt.

He had an opportunity to turn it all around in 1992 with "Cool World," but that film turned out just horrible.  Ugh.

On one of the DVDs I have, I think it might be "Wizards," there is a little feature about him.  He comes off as horribly self-absorbed.  "I was doing this.  I was doing that.  It was all awesome.  I was awesome." - that sort of thing.

I've already posted on this topic but you know maybe I should have put ET as the most overrated instead of Citizen Kane. I think ET is probably the first movie I can actually remember seeing in a theater, and even back then in my single digit days it failed to hold my attention. I saw it again on VHS in high school and again didn't think much of it. Well, just the other day I sat in on it again and once more, I didn't feel the love. It seemed by the numbers manipulative and so hokey it made me laugh for the wrong reasons. And this was once a cultural phenom that topped best of lists, achieved instant classic status, and held the top spot on highest grossing film for something like eleven years? Yep, I change my vote to ET.

It is the Wizards DVD that features the great, the awesome, the magnificent Bakshi documentary. I enjoyed Wizards, but I have found little else to enjoy in Bakshi's work. Cool World was horrible. Lord of the Rings featured one of the most annoying songs ever written ("Frodo of the Nine Fingers"). But that documentary about how awesomely magnificent and original he is was a real piece of work.

Overrated:  Any film starring Adam Sandler in a comedy role. Aside from the wedding singer (which I like only for the nostalgic value) I simply don't get why he is considered "funny". 

Can I just say that UHF is easily one of the most underrated comedies of our time.  Sure, a good percentage of people understand that on this board but the general population dare frown upon it.   Fine by me, let them have their "funny" Adam Sandler comedies.   :lookingup:  I'll take Weird Al any day.


Man I could tear that film apart.  Speaking of paintings, I love the brief part where Jack sees them and starts wooing over them.   He says something like, "see the color he uses in there" which I suppose shows even further the connection Rose has with him.   :lookingup:  The dude is a street rat, I doubt a guy who draws naked prostitutes would care of fine art.  Then again maybe I'm wrong.  I know for sure the film sucks. 

UHF is such an overlooked movie it's a damn shame.  It's full of wonderful jokes and sight gags.  Unfortunately, the studio felt it'd be a nice summer blockbuster, and decided to open it the same summer weekend against: Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Batman, Lethal Weapon 2, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  Pretty much got trampled over, didn't last long, and now when people hear of it, they don't wanna watch "A Weird Al movie."

I'm a Sandler fan though, so, I can't really agree with the other statements.  I can appreciate them, as I can understand why people wouldn't like him.  Plus, I give him some credit.  He's very loyal to his friends, going so far as to give them small roles in his movies, and even producing movies for them.  Not just his former SNL castmates, but old college buddies like Allen Covert (Grandma's Boy).  Plus, he's generally called one of the 'nicest' Hollywood guys.  He'll talk to his fans at a bar and even buy rounds, whereas most guys just say hi and walk away.  Tom Green commented on Sandler: "When I married Drew Barrymore, Sandler was at the wedding.  Of her Hollywood friends, the only one who even bothered talking to me or my 'non famous' friends was Sandler.  He even danced with my mother, who was a fan."  So, his movies might be crap, but he's a nice guy.

First, I can't believe Godfather is one this list. Calling it “pointless” shows a total lack of understanding of the film. But everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, like the opinions I’m about to share with you.

Most overrated film? Independence Day. The worse two hours in the theater I’ve ever spent.

Underrated? Mystery Men! After reading so many reviews about how bad this film was, I actually enjoyed it very much

overrated : SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
- can't believe I'm the first person to mention this mind-numbingly boring, bloated 'epic'. (sorry if I missed it and someone mentioned it, I didn't see it in the thread anywhere.)

underrated : A MIGHTY WIND.
- most reviews I've read say "well it's good but it's no SPINAL TAP or BEST IN SHOW". in my opinion it's way better than both of those...attention to detail, the songs, and the comedy is 10/10 first class

I agree--I didn't think it was exactly bad, but I have no idea why it's so many people's favorite movie.  I thought it was rather average, a bit sappy, and way too long.

yeah I mean it's potentially a decent film, if it was handled differently. but the whole thing seems to be head-over-heels in love with how 'profound' it is...zzzz

And how exactly would Shawshank have been handled differently to make it a "better" film?  I've always loved this film, so I have to take issue with some of the comments thrown at it.  I often assume that people who dislike this kind of film has a short attention span and can't appreciate a good drama film, but I want to try not to do that here.

Overrated: THIS IS SPINAL TAP

This one isn't terrible, but I definitely prefer "Best in Show", "Waiting for Guffman" and "A Mighty Wind" over this.  I really just didn't laugh at most of the "funny" moments, and it also got pretty dull and slow near the end. 

Other overrated films:

Once upon a time in the West - Too long for it's own good.  Still a decent film to watch but way, way too long.

National Lampoons European Vacation - All of all the NL Vacations that were released not counting the Christmas Vacation 2 Direct to DVD release which I haven't seen this film is not that great.  I found it to be way too dependent on European Stereotypes.  I mean now and then it's okay to have a stereotype in there for the sake of a joke or the sake of a character, but having the whole film based on most is what bogged down this film. 

Underrated films:

Showgirls - It's a far better film that most give it out to be.  While yes it's campy and way over the top at times, that's what makes it such a great film to watch and enjoy.

Underrated: So I Married An Axe Murderer- Mike Myers flick from around 1993.  Coming out after his ultra successful Wayne's World turn, and a few years before his 'success' with Austin Powers.  A lot of people still talk about Wayne's World (wonderful film, don't get me wrong), but seem to ignore this gem.  Austin Powers was an okay movie, but I much preferred the Dr. Evil character and really felt they didn't need 3 movies or the upcoming 4th, although, I read that Austin 4 focuses on Dr. Evil. 

Mystery Men is very underrated.  Great cast, good writing and performances.  Wish it did more box-office. 

I thought it would have benefitted from a serious injection of subtlety.  I was not surprised by many of the plot turns or the message of redemption; I thought it executed the "feel-good" formula well, but it's still a formula.  I also thought it could do with some trimming, as I found parts uninvolving.  That said, I don't think it's a bad movie at all; I gave it 4/5 stars.  I consider it overrated because it's now listed as the #1 MOVIE OF ALL TIME on imdb (http://www.imdb.com/chart/top), ahead of THE GODFATHER, CASABLANCA, SCHINDLER'S LIST, LA DOLCE VITA, CITIZEN KANE, THE SEVEN SAMURAI... all movies I admire, many dramas that require a long attention span.

I just don't "get" why so many people have fallen in love with this movie.  Perhaps you can explain why you think it deserves to be in that kind of company (if you think it does).

No, I don't think it needs to be placed THAT high.  Those are all valid points you make, now that I think about it.  I guess I was just in a bit of a testy mood earlier.  Sorry for that.  :wink:

Underrated: PULP FICTION

Why am I making this underrated?  Because every I go now, people just seem to love tearing this film apart, and saying that it sucks.  At the same time though, they put Reservoir Dogs up on the pedestal as some untouchable classic. 

Personally, I've always preferred Pulp Fiction, as a funny, brutal, and all around entertaining film.  Reservoir Dogs is a little too Nihilistic for my taste.   

@D-Man, I admit I do have a short attention span when it comes to films so probably that is not compatible with a film like SHAWSHANK, definitely, but I wil echo what Rev.Powell said really regarding how it could have been different.

btw, agree with you on Pulp Fiction. it seems to have become 'cool' to slate it, I definitely think it is the best Tarantino film (so far) by a long way. every time it's on TV I still watch it all the way through despite countless viewings already...

It's been number 1 there for a long while.  Once in a while, Godfather claims it, but eventually it's back to Shawshank.  Personally Shawshank is my favorite 'movie' in the sense of it's a drama, well produced, etc.  Usually I am more interested in horror, comedy, so and so.  B-Movies, etc.  The other movies you named, like Casablanca, Citizen Kane, etc., I have zero interest in.  While I'm not debating they're better (most likely are, I"m just not interested), I do agree with Shawshank being in the top 10 or so of all time. 

I loved Shawshank and felt it was done perfectly.  Didn't feel it dragged at all and had good performances.  And I'm a guy who doesn't like Tim Robbins.

The only time I walked alone to a movie theater and back home,is when I went to see UHF.It was worth it.The audience I saw it with laughed a lot,as did I.