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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
I disagree with a lot of his choices but when you set out to make a 101 over-rated movies it's difficult not to make enemies.
Do I think American Beauty is overrated? Perhaps. Is it a great film? Definitely.
But I think it's kinda inane to slander him for putting 'award-winning' films on his list. It's his opinion, and if by definition an overrated film has to be highly rated in the first place, then award-winning movies seems like a good place to start...
And I mean, a film with well-wounded characters and without plotholes isn't necessarily a great film, and may still be overrated. In my opinion, most of the best picture winners are overrated. That's not to say they're not good films, but they're still over-rated.
"The Flux capacitor. It's what makes time travel possible."
Heavenly Creatures blew me away when I first saw it, mainly because I knew so little about it. At the time I went in expecting to see this nice, little art-house film from New Zealand.
Expectations play such a big role in your enjoyment level of a particular film, as well in determining whether or not it is overrated. In the case of HC it was a foreign film that received little press here in North America where I live.
On the subject of overrated, Minority Report will always be the biggest disappointment for me when you factor in my expectations. An interesting premise but it never really went anywhere with it.
"If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it." - Albert Einstein