Controversial film opinions

[Art Vandelay]

Shawshank has you on a piece of string for the whole film. It's just so good at manipulating you, and then layering that up as you go. There's some magic there I can't explain though, as The Green Mile tried to hit the same buttons as is a massive turd by comparison. When I read some Lajos Egri and how he broke down how a good story works and honestly, he makes it sound easy. But I think that's maybe the genius of the film in that it has characters that are both broad and nuanced at the same time, and an incredibly simple story arc that's hugely satisfying to watch. Perfecting simplicity maybe? Probably the hardest thing to do. Red's little coda gives me an absolute kicking every time though, that's all I know.

[Plissken]

Yes, Shawshank is incredibly tightly written, with every individual beat building to something.  You also get a feel for the passage of time, but the real key to it is that events have dual purposes, many of which become obvious in hindsight. 

 

Do I need spoilers?  I'll spoiler it.

 

Spoiler

Andy's terror at being in solitary for so long isn't that he has given up hope, it's that his twenty-year plan will be discovered while he's not in his cell.  He's built trust and just as his plan comes to fruition, it might all be taken away from him just like his chance at proving his innocence was taken away.

 

Allied to a bunch of very good character actors at the top of their game, you have a classic.

[Loik V credern]

The Exorcist isn't scary and Ghostbusters has no ghostbusting in it. Both disappointing. 

[SeanR]

9 minutes ago, Loik V credern said:

The Exorcist isn't scary and Ghostbusters has no ghostbusting in it. Both disappointing. 

uh…

 

Quote

NORTH AMERICAN

(of the police) raid or search (premises where illegal activity is suspected).

"my flat got busted"

for “illegal” read ghost

 

Quote

be caught in the act of doing something wrong.

"I sneaked up on them and told them they were busted"

for “doing something wrong” read haunting.

 

 

[Masterbeef]

It’s been very interesting reading some of your controversial options!

 

 

I have a few of my own.

 

Matrix Revolutions is pretty decent.

The second Jack Reacher film is really good.

Batman Forever is good to.

Michael Bay is the third best director of action currently working. ( first two are the Russo‘s and McQuarrie ). Shame he is shit at every other aspect of movie making.

The Lone Ranger with Depo is great fun. 

 

I have never heard of Office Space. 

[Graham S]

On 03/08/2004 at 09:45, Graham S said:

It's hardly a controversial opinion, but I didn't like Tin Cup, even though it gets a lot of critical praise. Especially as I made my wife watch it with me once due to the Time Out writeup and now she brandishes Tin Cup as a weapon whenever there is a dispute about what film to watch. Don't believe anyone who even hints a Costner / Don Johnson movie about golf by the brains behind Hollywood Homicide and Bad Boys II is worthy of critcial attention.

Two decades on, my wife still bears a grudge about Tin Cup. She literally complained about it yesterday.

[Kromeo]

On 06/08/2022 at 17:19, Monkeyboy said:

Speed Racer is shit.

You shut your whore mouth.

[Loik V credern]

On 13/12/2022 at 20:06, Masterbeef said:

I have never heard of Office Space. 

 

Is there a joke here i'm missing, you have heard of it because you just mentioned it.

[JamesC]

I tried to watch 'The Return of the Pink Panther' and it was painfully unfunny and I had to turn it off. I don't think I like Peter Sellers, though I remember quite liking these films as a child.

I watched the first Pink Panther a few years ago and enjoyed it. Probably because Inspector Clouseau isn't in it very much and David Niven is really cool in it.

[Broker]

I watched Robin Hood 2018 the other day and really enjoyed it. Was surprised to see how poorly it was received. It’s got too much slow motion and the guy playing the protagonist is a weaker actor than the rest of the cast, but overall I thought it was very enjoyable. 

[CarloOos]

4 hours ago, JamesC said:

I tried to watch 'The Return of the Pink Panther' and it was painfully unfunny and I had to turn it off. I don't think I like Peter Sellers, though I remember quite liking these films as a child.

I watched the first Pink Panther a few years ago and enjoyed it. Probably because Inspector Clouseau isn't in it very much and David Niven is really cool in it.

The tone of the first two films (Pink Panther & A Shot In The Dark) is very different from what follows. The early ones are farcical thrillers whereas the later ones are more like live action cartoons (which, I agree, are painfully unfunny). 
 

Personally I find Peter Sellers and Mel Brooks both quite cringe. 

[MechE]

6 hours ago, Broker said:

I watched Robin Hood 2018 the other day and really enjoyed it. Was surprised to see how poorly it was received. It’s got too much slow motion and the guy playing the protagonist is a weaker actor than the rest of the cast, but overall I thought it was very enjoyable. 

In a similar vein the 2017 King Arthur movie is fun romp. It answers the question "What if King Arthur was a bit of a geezer, and the merry men were all 'ard bastards?", which wasn't a question I thought anyone was really asking, but I stand corrected.

[Nick R]

9 minutes ago, MechE said:

In a similar vein the 2017 King Arthur movie is fun romp. It answers the question "What if King Arthur was a bit of a geezer, and the merry men were all 'ard bastards?",

 

The Merry Men of the Round Table?

 

[ZOK]

It was Robin Hood who had the Round Table 

[Nick R]

The Merry-Go-Round Table

[ZOK]

Yes, the Merry-Go-Round Table of Sherwood Forest. Which, as legend has it, was carved from a single mulberry bush.

[Festoon]

10 hours ago, Broker said:

I watched Robin Hood 2018 the other day and really enjoyed it. Was surprised to see how poorly it was received. It’s got too much slow motion and the guy playing the protagonist is a weaker actor than the rest of the cast, but overall I thought it was very enjoyable. 

 

I kept thinking the characters were going to whip out a mobile, but yeah, it was alright.

[Masterbeef]

On 05/01/2023 at 09:49, Broker said:

I watched Robin Hood 2018 the other day and really enjoyed it. Was surprised to see how poorly it was received. It’s got too much slow motion and the guy playing the protagonist is a weaker actor than the rest of the cast, but overall I thought it was very enjoyable. 

Er, I own the 4k blu ray 

[Monkeyboy]

On 06/01/2023 at 19:44, Masterbeef said:

Er, I own the 4k blu ray 

My condolences.