What critically acclaimed or "block buster movies" do you not care for?

[Liberalynn]

For me I swim against the tide on "Star Wars" ( Now I loved Star Trek, BattleStar Galactica{the original} and Andromeda so I'm not anti science fiction), The Wizard of Oz, The Grapes of Wrath, and Gone with the Wind.

I do like the music from Wizard of Oz just not the movie.

[sharp_stick]

1. I hated Good Will Hunting

and I can't really put my finger on a single reason why. When we left the theater my girlfriend kept talking about how great it was and then for the next week or so everyone was talking about it as though it was the greatest film since Citizen Kane.

I hated every minute of it and I have never been happier to see end credits roll.

[Liberalynn]

20. It's so hard when you can't stand the movie

but you're with friends or family and it would be rude to just get up and walk out. Plus if you are like me, you start thinking about the money you spent on the ticket and the two hours of your life you can't get back.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. These days, essentially all of them.

Our tastes tend toward minimal dialog/independent/foreign, so few if any big releases over the past decade or more are to our tastes.

[Populist_Prole]

7. Come to think of it, that's the case with me too

In genre and timeline. Anymore, the bigger the hype surrounding a movie and the more people who talk about it, the more I'll figure it'll suck.

[Liberalynn]

18. the last movie I went too that I liked

was the one with Denzel Washington trying to bring a runaway train under control. I think it was called Unstoppable?

I don't go that much either. I thought I would like Philomena with Dame Judy Dench so I rented it on pay per view. Wasn't impressed.

[3catwoman3]

3. I hated Forest Gump...

...and Terms of Endearment. (I know these are really old. I guess I need to get out more.)

[Liberalynn]

19. That's okay

I don't go to many movies any more either. Can't say I cared for Forrest Gump either.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

77. I've only ever seen snippets

of Gump, never the full movie. People are always astounded when I tell them I've never seen the movie. They stare at me like I'm from Mars when they say; 'What? You've never seen Forrest Gump?"

[d_r]

53. me too

I never saw terms of endearment but I'm OK with it.

[pipi_k]

4. Any movie that seems

to go on forever because of long, drawn-out scenes.

Like "Titanic". Hated it.


and "Lord of the Rings". There were a couple of spots in the movie where I thought it would be appropriate for it to end, but NOOOOOO.....!!!! It kept going on and on and on.

yawn

[Liberalynn]

23. Titanic wasn't

a great movie in my opinion either. I did like a lot about the Lord of the Rings movies but agree they were far too long.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

5. The Dark Knight was highly overrated to me.

People talk of it as some sort of classic, but the story seemed choppy and silly, and the acting from many of the actors was uninspired.

It wasn't horrible, but it was thoroughly "meh" in my book.

[Liberalynn]

24. Didn't see that one.

I used to watch the campy Batman show on TV as a kid but never really got into any of the Bat man movies.

[Ampersand Unicode]

67. It also went on about an hour longer than it needed to

I didn't think Keith Ledger was all that great in it either. I still think he only won the Oscar because he died.

[sendero]

6. I have to go back a while..

.... but ET? Piffle. In fact, a lot of SS movies are piffle IMHO.

And most of the superhero films (I stopped watching them a decade or so ago) suck ass, generally not capturing the spirit of the comic at all.

[Liberalynn]

25. I haven't gone to many of the Superhero movies.

Though I confess I did love the Superman Movies with the late Christopher Reeve when I was a teen.

[Populist_Prole]

8. Any of those Indiana Jones movies

Most action films really, but those I really couldn't stand. Stupid "good guys vs bad guys" escapist bullshit.

[Liberalynn]

26. Didn't care for those either

My friend's liked them so I went though.

[Populist_Prole]

37. I sure caught hell from friends and others who liked those

I just can't bring myself to get into the whole suspension of belief "its just a movie" mindset, nor could I just go along with the whole rah rah angle; the square-jawed clean cut hero vanquishing the bad guys. I rooted for the bad guys just for spite.

[Liberalynn]

45. LOL

My best friend thought I was nuts because I didn't think Harrison Ford was a great actor or all that sexy.

[sarge43]

9. 2001: A Space Odyssey

Beautiful cinematography, otherwise Kubrick at his most self indulgent.

[Liberalynn]

27. Have never watched that one all the way through.

[Liberal_in_LA]

32. didnt like it either

[Tom Ripley]

69. It's a lava lamp with great sound design

[sarge43]

74. That's snarky; I like it.

[Ron Obvious]

10. I'm with you on Star Wars

I also could not raise a single smile over A Fish Called Wanda or Ghostbusters despite being a fan of the people involved. I've watched them again recently, and no, still not funny. Don't know why, really.

[geardaddy]

11. I thought A Fish Called Wanda was unwatchable

[Liberalynn]

30. Agree with you both on a Fish Called Wanda

[Liberalynn]

29. There were moments for me

in Ghost Busters but not many. I think I liked Ray Parker Jr's video better than the movie.

[geardaddy]

12. Mel Gibson's "The Patriot"

Utter twaddle

[Liberalynn]

31. Totally Agree.

I also hated "Signs" The only Gibson films I enjoyed were the Lethal Weapon series and Tequila Sunrise.

[cemaphonic]

38. Even "The Road Warrior?"

But yeah, other than that, I never really liked any of his other movies, even before he outed himself as a crazy racist.

[Liberalynn]

44. I never really did get into the Road Warrior.

I think just after he did Braveheart, I kind of came to the realization that it was the character of Martin Riggs I really liked rather than the actor which was oddly comforting to me when he did reveal himself as a crazy racist.

[GGJohn]

64. Edge of Darkness was pretty darn good I thought.

Last edited Fri Oct 31, 2014, 01:12 AM - Edit history (1)

Have you seen it yet? If not, I would highly recommend it.

We Were Soldiers is also pretty good, it's based on the true story of the first major engagement of NVA and American forces in the Ia Drang Valley in 1965, Mel Gibson plays Lt. Col. Hal Moore.

[chrisa]

63. Such a shit movie. Signs was 1000X more horrific, though.

M. Night Shyamalan will always be a hack in my book. He was a one hit wonder.

[Odin2005]

82. "Braveheart" was even worse.

Wallace was a petty aristocrat of Norman ancestry, not some Roman-era Pict transplanted to 13th Century Scotland.

[geardaddy]

88. I never saw it.

After "The Patriot" I thought I'd skip that one. I'm not surprised that Gibson got all the history wrong.

[Xyzse]

13. Everything Tolkien.

Don't get me wrong, I like them... I just think they were over-rated.

It is pretty much how I feel about almost every James Cameron film as well.

Good for one showing, and I'm done with it.

[Liberalynn]

34. I liked the cast in Lord of the Rings

but agree overall that they were over rated. I think they were all stretched past the breaking point time wise.

[Xyzse]

36. Absolutely.

I can only watch them once.
After which, I refuse to watch them again.

Too much of a time commitment.

[skypilot]

14. "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

Just watched it a couple months ago after posting on DU that I had never seen it. One DUer practically begged me to see it. I saw it. I didn't get it. Maybe it was something that needed to be seen in the '80s when it first came out.

[cemaphonic]

33. "Maybe it was something that needed to be seen in the '80s when it first came out."

True of all of John Hughes movies.

[Liberalynn]

35. I've never seen it .

[d_r]

54. I loved it

But you are right it is probably a had to be there thing.

[NightWatcher]

56. You needed to see it on a day when you and friends ditched school and ordered pizza

Now when I see it, it takes me back to those glorious days of cutting school to eat Little Caesars, watch silly movies, and ingest chemicals.

[bigwillq]

15. Forrest Gump, Gladiator, Braveheart

A Beautiful Mind, Gone With the Wind

[Liberalynn]

39. Braveheart

was terrible IMHO too.

[Kingofalldems]

16. No Country For Old Men

Preposterous situations. Bad guy knows every move of the protagonist.

[Liberalynn]

40. Didn't see that one.

It sounds far fetched.

[Number9Dream]

66. Don't know anybody who liked it.

Nobody I've talked to about NCFOM could watch it more than once.

At the end the psychotic killer walks away with just a broken arm... great ending???

[Throd]

17. Avatar. What a steaming pile of shit.

[d_r]

55. YES!!!

They are making sequals. I think they will flop now that novelty of 3d has worn off.

[Odin2005]

83. YOU SHUT YER PIEHOLE!!!

[bettyellen]

91. Yes! I knew RW morons who thought they cared about poverty and ecology because of Avatar!

that film and felt sympathetic to the plight of imaginary people only.
I don't think they wanted to know it's actually supposed to make you think of planet Earth.
Also, those florid electric blues and greens look like silly crap designed for 10 year olds.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

21. Did not care much for Gravity, despite the 10 Academy Award nominations and 7 Oscars won

I loved Star Wars and I'm a big science fiction fan. I'm also a fan of Sandra Bullock (not so much George Clooney) but I found myself going to sleep when my mind wasn't wandering. The story is just a one-note that could have been condensed into a 30 minute TV episode. Apart from the almost non-existent plot, the character development was lacking and the dialogue was not convincing. It didn't make me like the characters and therefore care for them when imperiled. The only novelty in my opinion was to see a woman making important life and death decisions in a space capsule in outer space. Seeing a strong woman taking charge and saving her own life is fascinating but not enough to carry a movie in my opinion. I wanted to like it because of all the hype and because I love films about space missions, science fiction, and the like. I avoid rewatching it when it comes on my satellite dish movie channels.

[Initech]

28. I wasn't a big fan of Gravity either. Watch this:

"Mysteries of Gravity: Why is George Clooney, an astronaut, telling Sandra Bullock's character, a medical doctor, what happens medically during oxygen deprivation? "

[Liberalynn]

42. I was thinking about going to that one. Glad I changed my mind now.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

46. I wouldn't change your mind about a movie just because someone said they didn't like it.

I'd rather come back after watching that movie and if you hated it, you get to tell that person, "Why didn't I listen to you?"

[RebelOne]

57. I loved Gravity. Watched it on Comcast.

It was a totally nail-biting movie. I was on the edge of my seat throughout it.

[wfulro]

22. ghost

I think they were over-rated. in my opinion

[bigwillq]

41. Hello

Welcome to DU!

[Liberalynn]

43. Agreed

[hibbing]

47. Men in Black

Any of however many of those stupid things they made.

Peace

[Lydia Leftcoast]

48. I haven't liked most recent blockbusters

So much that I'm not even interested in seeing them. I don't like movies that are made up entirely of special effects, gross-out comedies, macho movies (or the other extreme, sappy romantic comedies), movies made up of explosions and car chases, slasher flicks, or movies centering on superheroes, vampires, or monsters. There's most American movies.

I am so uninterested in those genres that if I know a movie is in one of those genres, I just won't bother seeing it.

I like stories about interesting people in interesting situations. That's why I see foreign films almost exclusively.

[GeorgeGist]

49. Lincoln

Just awful IMO.

[BlueJazz]

50. Blair Witch projectile.

[arcane1]

51. I didn't get why the Big Lebowsky is supposed to be funny. Saw it in 2009 and shrugged.

[bettyellen]

97. Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

[d_r]

52. I've never seen Titanic

It has become a thing for me.

[KamaAina]

58. The English Patient

[Rob H.]

71. Or as a friend of mine calls it, 'The Endless Patient'

I saw it in the theater and maybe it was just my mood at the time, but I really couldn't get into it.

[KamaAina]

72. That was a Seinfeld reference

Elaine took all kinds of guff because she didn't like The English Patient.

[Rob H.]

75. LOL, I thought my friend came up with that herself

That's what I get for working swing shift at the time.

[KamaAina]

76. I hear the show has been rerun once or twice

[kwassa]

59. I avoid blockbusters, actually. I miss entire franchises.

I love a good action movie, but most popular ones are dumb as bricks.

Any Transformer movie. Anything directed by Michael Bay.

Lots of loud and stupid.

The current problem is that any kind of spectacular but false effect can be computer generated, and this is abused rather than creating true suspense in a film.

I like offbeat films that depend on psychological observation, or a creative artistic personal vision on the part of the director. There are very few of these out there. I don't see many movies anymore.

[Laffy Kat]

60. I think I'm the only person in the world who couldn't stand..

"The Godfather" and "The English Patient". I can recognize "The Godfather" as a wonderful piece of work, a beautiful canvas, but it just did nothing for me; perhaps it was the subject matter. "The English Patient" bored me to tears and I would have rather sat in the car for three hours.

[ailsagirl]

80. come on out of that hiding place...

I'm with you 100%

The English Patient bored me to TEARS
What was it-- five hours long? It sure seemed to be

Godfather was a bore (not my kind of movie)

Also disliked

Clockwork Orange

Titanic

[IrishEyes]

61. Here is my list.

Titanic
The Wizard of Oz
Chicago
E.T.
Top Gun (Hated the movie and really despise the theme song "Take my Breath Away".)
Sherlock Holmes (The one with Robert Downey Jr)
Avatar
Inception

There are more but that is off the top of my head.

I really like science fiction and action films. I also love old black and white films like screwball comedies, westerns and film noir.

[chrisa]

62. All saccharine overload movies like Forest Gump. Also, any Tarantino movie. So pretentious.

You can tell he thinks writing long, drawn out dialog about absolutely nothing is clever, when in reality it's annoying and boring.

[WinkyDink]

65. Don't care for "blockbusters" at all. They're all about Special Effects for foreign distribution/$$.

[Tom Ripley]

68. I try to avoid all "blockbusters" Special effects, car crashs and men in tights don't interest me.

Critically acclaimed movies I don't care for?
2001
Sideways
Lost in Translation
The Master

[GOLGO 13]

70. The Hunger Games, Fast & Furious, Twilight,

- The Hunger Games...in a dystopia future a young girl with nothing to lose fights for...something that only she gives a shit about.

- Fast & Furious....LOUD we're so fucking LOUD and we drive fast! No, see you don't understand we're driving real FAST!

- Twilight...sad male vampire that can't keep his shirt on wants to be friends with a girl that's half asleep. Vampires do NOT fucking sparkle! Where's a Van Helsing when you need them?

[LWolf]

96. Since

I teach teenagers, I end up reading most of what they're reading. I'm sad to say that Twilight is so bad that the movie was actually an improvement, which I didn't think possible. Book or movie, though, it's still dreck. Fast and Furious? I didn't see it. I've got zero interest in cars as status symbol, phallic symbol, or sport, so I didn't bother.

The Hunger Games, on the other hand, is decently done. The book is better than the movie, but that's often the case. It's a young adult book and movie series, and one has to relate to the young adult mindset to see the value. The love triangle is clutter to those of us who are no longer teenagers, but the rest has some merit.

[hunter]

73. "The Big Chill"

I still sometimes have nightmares about it.



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085244

[LanternWaste]

78. The Matrix. The closest I've ever gotten to simply leaving the theater halfway through

The Matrix. The closest I've ever gotten to simply leaving the theater halfway through the film (I didn't)...

[Tommy_Carcetti]

79. It's a very well made movie, but I don't *like* Goodfellas....

....on account of the fact that there's not a single sympathetic or likable character in the entire movie. It's hard to enjoy it, despite all the strong acting, writing and directing.

The same exact thing could also be said for The Wolf of Wall Street. Scorcesi seems to have a knack of making well-written, well-acted movies with completely despicable, unredeemable characters.

[bettyellen]

90. the writing and directing in Wolf is just awful though. Hated it. Goodfellas was so well done.

[ailsagirl]

81. Ingrid Bergman was right-on

She said she never hesitated to walk out of a movie she didn't like. She contended it was
a total waste of her time and there were a hundred other things she'd rather be doing

Hear, hear!!

[jmowreader]

84. All the Christopher Nolan Batman films

The problem with Nolan's Batman films is all the characters in them are assholes, with almost no exceptions. (Mr. Fox is the only one I can think of.) You get no sense of motivation from any of the scumbags...can anyone really explain why the Joker was the way he was?

[Manifestor_of_Light]

94. "Explosions and Shit" "Another Fucking Elf"

Like The Dark Knight. No human interest, no emotional interaction, the lady characters are killed off before you see any character development, nothing but the glorification of violence and chaos. Nothing I can sympathise with. I got shuttled into it when I went to see the Second X-Files movie but nobody else showed up (in a little town) and they shuttled us into the dark knight. I thought it was an utter waste of time, talent and film. The only characters with dignity were Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.

Don't like gangster movies like The Godfather, and Million Dollar Baby, for the same reason. People committing endless, senseless violence. I can't sympathise with them or give a damn.

I also don't like to get the crap scared out of me. Refuse to go to horror movies, scary movies. Couldn't watch Alien on TV, the monster was too gross. They will give me nightmares. I can watch war movies if it's something historical that actually happened.

The last movies I saw in the theater that I liked were "Get On Up" about James Brown, and "Now You See Me" about four magicians and a bank heist.

[Ampersand Unicode]

85. The Dark Knight and Napoleon Dynamite

Dark Knight was too long and could have been wrapped up an hour earlier than it was.

Napoleon Dynamite, I just didn't "get." More so I didn't get why it was such a big hit or why it's so "funny."

[Wolf Frankula]

86. "Lost In Translation"

Two boring people sitting around a hotel room.

"About Schmidt"
Ordinary person doing ordinary things. Dull.

"La Dolce Vita" Boring Italian film types swilling Scotch. (They don't like it, but they drink it because it's expensive and they want to show they can afford it.) Paparazzi swarming over everything. It made me want to call out the regiment and give them a volley. Yawn.

Wolf

[betsuni]

87. I can't bear special effects that make movies more like animation.

For some reason I hate animation. Also how actors don't have their own hair or faces or bodies anymore, they're all bleached and extended and lifted and tucked and inflated and not allowed to age. Gives me the creeps.

[Ino]

89. 2001 Space Odyssey

also Slumdog Millionaire
Hurt Locker
The Artist
Casablanca
Forrest Gump
The English Patient
Out of Africa
Star Wars

...are the ones that come to mind!

[bettyellen]

92. Titanic,anyone of us could have come up with a better script. Tripe.

[sendero]

93. Most Steven Spielberg..

.. movies would fit the bill for me. Hokie is the adjective that comes to mind.

[LWolf]

95. Titanic.

That's probably a misleading answer, because I only see a few movies a year and don't really know what I'm missing, or not, in the rest. As a matter of fact, this movie was more than a decade old before I saw it, because I really had no interest to begin with. It was on, for free, and I was stuck at home sick, so I watched it. I wasn't impressed.

Of course, I was raised on The Wizard of Oz, so it has nostalgic hooks for me. Star Wars? I saw it first in a drive in theater when I was in high school, and, at the time, we were all completely blown away by the special effects. I know...a talking trash can was cutting edge, lol.

The Grapes of Wrath...I like it. Gone With The Wind? Meh.

[HeiressofBickworth]

98. Scent of a Woman

Hated it -- dumb story, horrid casting, dreadful acting. Never understood why anyone liked it.

Thelma & Louise and The Perfect Storm -- hated both of them. Same story line in both. People making stupid decisions that lead to their death. Both were popular -- never saw the reason.