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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board    Discussion of...    Books  ›  101 Movies To Avoid Moderators: Old Time Wesley, Chris_MacGuffin
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Takeshi
Posted: November 26th, 2006, 5:34am Report to Moderator
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I read an article in the paper today, about a new book called 101 Movies to Avoid by a critic calling himself Allan Smithee.

It's not so much a book about 101 bad movies, but it's more about 101 overrated movies.

Here's his top 10 most overrated:

1. American Beauty.
2. The Beach.
3. Billy Elliot.
4. The Crying Game.
5. Gone With the Wind.
6. My Beautiful Launderette.
7. Saturday Night Fever.
8. Sexy Beast.
9. Vera Drake.
10. West Side Story.

The article also mentioned his top ten underrated:

1. The Castle.
2. Curious George.
3. Elling.
4. Footloose.
5. George of the Jungle.
6. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.
7. Local Hero.
8. Manhunter.
9. Sahara.
10. Saved.

I actually saw his top 101 and I can't say I agree with them all. For example he listed: The Aviator, Clerks, Dead Poets' Society, Platoon, Rebel Without a Cause, Sideways and Trainspotting; I thought all of those movies were great and deserved every bit of kudos they received.

Anyway, I think it would make an interesting read. I'm always up for hearing someone discuss why they think a movie isn't that good; as long as they can make some valid points.    
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Alex J. Cooper
Posted: November 26th, 2006, 8:43am Report to Moderator
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I enjoyed American Beauty and The Beach and think they deserve all the praise they received.

Footloose and Sahara are underrated..... k.

I never knew The Castle was underrated, but thats because I live where it was made and understand the references to this great southern land.

I enjoyed Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and agree with him.

I watched George of the Jungle today -- It was on the Disney Channel -- and I enjoyed it, but not so much to say it's underrated.

People are going to buy this purely for the fact that they disagree with something he's said. Their going to try and find agrument in his opinion while he's swimming in the cash just because he has an opinion. I bloody hate these things.


Shorts:
I Named Him Thor
Footloose, Cut Loose
Tainted Milk
Marshmallows
Confucius & The Quest For Nessie
Wondrous Presentation

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Alex J. Cooper  -  November 26th, 2006, 8:47am
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George Willson
Posted: November 26th, 2006, 1:05pm Report to Moderator
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Allan Smithee is a classic pseudonym used by someone who wants people to know he isn't using his real name, but doesn't want to give it. It sounds like his list is only there to buck the system, and he probably likes a specific genre of movie that he feels needs to have more attention than the rather overblown epic historical drama Gone with the Wind (which for a nearly 4 hour film, is paced remarkably well). He may also be shooting for an emphasis on newer films, since his underrated list isn't all that old; Local Hero is the oldest at 1983. But his overrated list goes back to 1939 with GWTW and West Side Story at 1961. Seems a tad one-sided to me and he probably doesn't like movies older than he is.

I will bite on one of them though: The Beach as overrated. I saw this movie quite some time go, but what I remember of it is a guy wanting to escape society, so he ends upon this island and screws up their lives instead. His very presence was instrumental in destroying this perfect little society. I found it to be overall pointless, and I don't recall whether our lead even learned anything from the experience or just wallowed in self-pity at the end. Most of his action were self-centered and didn't do anyone any amount of good and I was glad when they ousted him, and he threw a freakin' tantrum.


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Takeshi
Posted: November 26th, 2006, 7:10pm Report to Moderator
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Quoted from Alex J. Cooper


I never knew The Castle was underrated, but that’s because I live where it was made and understand the references to this great southern land.

I enjoyed Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and agree with him.

People are going to buy this purely for the fact that they disagree with something he's said. Their going to try and find argument in his opinion while he's swimming in the cash just because he has an opinion. I bloody hate these things.


Obviously this guy isn't Australian, that's why he said the Castle was underrated, because it probably is outside of Australia. That American critic Roger Ebert screened it at his film festival, which he calls Ebert's Underrated. Hey, maybe Ebert wrote this book. Lol.

Personally, I've always had an aversion to the Castle, because to me, it came across as middle class humour designed to take that pi$$ out of the working class.

I agree with you on Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Alex. That was a beauty. It would've been even better if I hadn't seen half the gags in the trailer, before seeing the movie.

Anyway, I don't need to buy the book, because they printed his top 101 overrated films in the paper.  


Quoted from George Willson

I will bite on one of them though: The Beach as overrated. I saw this movie quite some time go, but what I remember of it is a guy wanting to escape society, so he ends upon this island and screws up their lives instead. His very presence was instrumental in destroying this perfect little society. I found it to be overall pointless, and I don't recall whether our lead even learned anything from the experience or just wallowed in self-pity at the end. Most of his action were self-centered and didn't do anyone any amount of good and I was glad when they ousted him, and he threw a freakin' tantrum.


It’s interesting that this guy thinks the Beach is overrated, George. I remember when it came out; most of the critics saw it the way you did and panned it.


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Alex J. Cooper  -  November 27th, 2006, 12:16am
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George Willson
Posted: November 26th, 2006, 8:01pm Report to Moderator
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Quoted from Takeshi
Anyway, I don't need to buy the book, because they printed his top 101 overrated films in the paper.  


Quick question here...is there a link to this article online? Some papers have online stories they print.



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Takeshi
Posted: November 27th, 2006, 12:33am Report to Moderator
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Quoted from George Willson


Quick question here...is there a link to this article online? Some papers have online stories they print.


I checked, George. The article is on the site but the list isn't.
Here's the article: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20819418-5006016,00.html

But just for the hell of it, I'll write out the list.

1 American Beauty
2 The Beach
3 Billy Elliot
4 The Crying Game
5 Gone With The Wind
6 My Beautiful Laundrette
7 Saturday Night Fever
8 Sexy Beast
9 Vera Drake
10 West Side Story
11 Angel
12 Angela's Ashes
13 The Aviator
14 Bad Education
15 Bad Lieutenant
16 Batman
17 Bean
18 A Beautiful Mind
19 BeetleJuice
20 Belle de Jour
21 Bird
22 Blair Witch Project
23 The Bourne Supremacy
24 Brazil
25 Broken Flowers
26 Calendar Girls
27 Chariots of Fire
28 The Cider House Rules
29 Clerks
30 Close My Eyes
31 Closer
32 The Constant Gardener
33 The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover.
34 Dead Poet's Society
35 La Dolce Vita
36 Dr Strangelove
37 Dirty Dancing
38 Election
39 The English Paitent
40 Fahrenheit 9/11
41 Four Wedding and a Funeral
42 Gangs of New York
43 Ghost
44 Girl With a Pearl Earring
45 Gods and Monsters
46 Good Morning Vietnam
47 Good Will Hunting
48 Heavenly Creatures
49 Hilary and Jackie
50 House of Flying Daggers
  


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greg
Posted: November 27th, 2006, 12:43am Report to Moderator
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You know what movie I think is overrated?  The Breakfast Club.  That's right, I said it.  I think the acting is brilliant, but I just don't see what's so special about this movie.  

As for underrated, The Score with Robert Deniro and Edward Norton.  It's a brilliantly made robbery film that quietly made about $70 million in the summer of 2001.  Highly recommend.


Be excellent to each other
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Takeshi
Posted: November 27th, 2006, 12:46am Report to Moderator
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51 House of Sand and Fog
52 Ice Age
53 In the Cut
54 The King
55 Ladies in Lavender
56 Last Tango in Paris
57 The Man Who Knew Too Much
58 Marle Antoinette
59 Mary Poppins
60 Match Point
61 The Matrix
62 The Mission
63 Monster's Ball
64 Mulholland Drive
65 9 Weeks
66 The Pianist
67 The Piano
68 The Piano Teacher
69 The Pink Panther
70 Platoon
71 Pollock
72 The Producers (6
73 Proof
74 Raising Arizona
75 Ray
76 Rebel Without a Cause
77 A Room with a View
78 Run Lola Run
79 Scent of a Woman
80 She's Gotta Have It.
81 Shine
82 Sideways
83 Sliding Doors
84 Something Wild
85 Sylvia
86 The Talented Mr Ripley
87 The Thomas Crown Affair (99)
88 Titanic
89 To Die For
90 Trainspotting
91 Training Day
92 28 Days Later
93 24 Hour Party People
94 Twenty Four Seven
95 2001: A Space Odyssey
96 Les Vacances
97 de Monsieur Hulot
98 The Village
99 War of the Worlds
100 Withnall & I
101 X-Men
102 Young Adam

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Alex J. Cooper  -  November 27th, 2006, 1:00am
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Takeshi
Posted: November 27th, 2006, 12:48am Report to Moderator
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Well bugger me; there's 102 on the list.
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greg
Posted: November 27th, 2006, 12:56am Report to Moderator
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Interesting list.  The Matrix and Titanic are probably on every overrated list out there.

Another underrated film IMO is the Peter Sellers comedy "The Mouse That Roared."  Granted it's a little out of date for today, but the premise is absolutely brilliant.


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chism
Posted: November 27th, 2006, 2:07am Report to Moderator
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I hate this guy. This critic is obviously some kind of moron. American Beauty overrated? It's quite possibly the greatest film of all time. Strangelove, 2001, Gone With the Wind. These are brilliant movies. Thank god he didn't mention The Godfather, Apocalypse Now or Silence of the Lambs otherwise a well-timed assassination may have been in order. I agree with him about a few things though, especially Billy Elliot and Trainspotting.

You can say he's entitled to his opinion if you want, but seeming how much of a tool this critic is, I don't think he should be allowed to have one legally.


Cheers, Chism.
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Takeshi
Posted: November 27th, 2006, 2:58am Report to Moderator
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Talking about this has got me thinking about a book called 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. It was compiled by a team of critics, but Steven Jay Schneider is credited as the author. The copy I have covers movies from 1902 - 2002. However the latest edition (listed online) goes through to 2005.

Here's the link:http://www.listsofbests.com/list/1081

It's not surprising, that a number of the movies on the Overrated list, are also on Schneider's Must see list.


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chism
Posted: November 27th, 2006, 4:03am Report to Moderator
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Yeah I remember seeing this book in an Angus & Robertson a while back. Seemed like a well-edited book at the time, even though I didn't read it all the way through.


Cheers, Chism.
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Takeshi
Posted: November 27th, 2006, 4:49am Report to Moderator
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Quoted from chism
Yeah I remember seeing this book in an Angus & Robertson a while back. Seemed like a well-edited book at the time, even though I didn't read it all the way through.
Cheers, Chism.


It's a good book, Chism. It has interseting reviews and it's put me on to a great movies, that I otherwise wouldn't have heard about.

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George Willson
Posted: November 27th, 2006, 7:42am Report to Moderator
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I love that 1001 movies book. I checked out the link up there and if you want to catch the first two silent films, you can get The Movie Begin, which is a 5 disc collection of films from the beginning of the film era to aroun 1913. It's a great watch to see us go from "movig pictures" to actual storylines and what they do without dialogue or modern effects. I say modern effects because they use special effects to the wonder of even myself.

To address this joker's list, it definitely sounds like he's trying to make waves. When someone puts multiple award winning best pictures on a list of movies to avoid, he's probably an idiot. Now there are a few best picture winners that I think the Academy was on acid to give an award to (The English Patient comes to mind), but for the most part, they do award really good movies. At the very least, the film they award have a plot free of holes and good, rounded characters. Theme is in the eye of the beholder.

His list is very, very eclectic, I'll give him that. You don't normally get The Crying Game, The Blair Witch Project, and Ice Age in the same list. I don't think it's of any account, personally.

EDIT: Looking over the article, I guess I can see the point he is going for, but even he has little confidence in it, or he would use his own name. That alone tells you the author's opinion of what people will think of his list. However, he is not advocating the worst films; it is the most overrated films. And in many respects, there are quite a few here that were definitely overrated. However, does that make them avoidable? I don't think so. If anything, this list will garner interest in the films he lists because now people will want to see these movies to find out WHY they're avoidable. Doesn't he understand reverse psychology? Maybe so. There are an AWFUL lot of Warner Bros. films on this list. Is Warner trying to drum up some business?


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