Home Opinion Midweek Mouth-off: Swimming against the stream

Midweek Mouth-off: Swimming against the stream

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This week it’s all about going against the flow. We want to know about the films you love… that everyone else hates. And vice versa.

What much hyped movies have left you cold? Are you still searching for the appeal of cult classics like Blade Runner, 2001: Space Odyssey and The Evil Dead? Do you think critical darling and fan favourite filmmakers like Christopher (Inception, The Dark Knight) Nolan and Joss Whedon are horribly overrated? Do Best Picture winners at the Academy Awards tend to be pretentious tosh? Mouth off now…

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Critical Hit as an organisation.

Last Updated: March 14, 2012

31 Comments

  1. Geoffrey Tim

    March 14, 2012 at 10:51

    Star Wars is rubbish – yes, even the originals. Also, most super-hero movies really suck.

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      March 14, 2012 at 10:55

      I can’t find the DIE NOW BUTTON….

      Reply

    • DieJason

      March 14, 2012 at 10:57

       Which super-hero movies did you like?

      And every time you see a bad super-hero movie, you should watch “The Pumaman” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081693/ Everything is brilliant compared to it.

      Reply

      • Geoffrey Tim

        March 14, 2012 at 11:02

        I liked Nolan’s Batman stuff, and the Watchmen. And that’s about it, really. 

        Reply

        • Gavin Mannion

          March 14, 2012 at 12:12

          I couldn’t make it through Watchmen.. the movie or the game. both bored me to death

          Reply

          • Justin Hess

            March 14, 2012 at 12:37

            Watchmen, the movie, really was a massive pile of cack

    • Tracy Benson

      March 14, 2012 at 12:16

      I’ll agree with you on the superhero movies, but maybe not for the same reason? I usually just hate them for straying so far from the source material so as to be unrecognizable

      Reply

  2. Gavin Mannion

    March 14, 2012 at 10:57

    I love Starship Troopers, Underworld, Water world and … Battlefield Earth.

    yes I know it’s a terrible movie but I enjoy it everytime I watch it.

    I was terribly disappointed in Inception, such an obvious movie from beginning to end with some fancy SFX is all.

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      March 14, 2012 at 11:32

      Battlefield Earth? Really? REALLY REALLY?!

      Jeez, this just changed my entire opinion of you.

      Reply

    • Tracy Benson

      March 14, 2012 at 12:13

      Starship Troopers I can get, Underworld 1 I enjoyed, Waterworld I liked when I watched it first (I was so young) and I think I’d probably think differently about it if I saw it now, and thankfully I haven’t seen Battlefield Earth. 

      Reply

  3. Kervyn Cloete

    March 14, 2012 at 10:59

    Hi, my name is Kervyn and I really loved Waterworld and He-Man, but could never really get into any of Sam Raimi’s horror-comedies, including the Evil Dead series.

    Also – and you might need to sit down for this one, as it’s a doozy – I don’t think that Star Wars episode 1 is as bad as some make it out to be.

    Reply

  4. Christo Kruger

    March 14, 2012 at 11:07

    Hi, I think Joe’s Apartment and Joe Dirt are both brilliant movies and re-watch them at least once a year.

    Reply

  5. David Hecker

    March 14, 2012 at 11:23

    Star Wars Ep1 is better than 4, 5 and 6. 2001 is a snore-fest and The
    Shining is terribly boring. I also think that Johnny Depp is useless.

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      March 14, 2012 at 11:30

      You know, in some twisted, barely comprehensible kind of way, I can still forgive you for the Episode 1 statement, but hating on 2001? Oh no he di’int!

      Reply

      • David Hecker

        March 14, 2012 at 11:43

        Oh yes I did! I have honestly tried to watch it at least 15 times and still haven’t made it all the way through without falling asleep – regardless of the time of day or my caffeine levels. There’s just something about it that works like a lullaby on me and puts me under. I do love the technical achievements for it’s time (as with the original Star Wars) but the writing and pacing are so damn borin…ZZZzzzzz

        Reply

        • Parker

          March 14, 2012 at 12:02

          It’s intentionally slow paced, so as to weed out all the viewers with short attention spans 😛
          Seriously though, 2001 is a timeless classic, probably the definitive science fiction movie, along with Blade Runner. Modern audiences might get distracted due to the lack of explosions and boobs, but for the rest it’s an unmatched experience.

          Also, I find that you have to be in a certain mood to watch it. You can’t do it in the afternoon, whilst doing the ironing or browsing the net. Set one night out to watch it, turn off the phone, make some coffee and popcorn, and give it another go.

          Reply

          • Gavin Mannion

            March 14, 2012 at 12:11

            I stopped reading after “lack of explosions and boobs”

            I’m part of the problem aren’t I?

          • David Hecker

            March 14, 2012 at 12:16

            I know it’s a classic and possibly the only decent thing Kubrik made (except for his foundation work on AI). I absolutely don’t watch films just for explosions and boobs, and I managed to make it through the LOTR extended editions back to back – so it’s not an attention span thing. I have genuinely tried to watch 2001 in as many different constructs as possible – even by making sure I get enough sleep, being really excited for it, drinking *lots* of coffee and having great company with me, but I can’t make it through. I really, honestly want to do it, but it just won’t let me. I will try again, but can’t promise it will work any differently to before.

  6. Hugh Lashbrooke

    March 14, 2012 at 12:09

    I fell asleep during the director’s cut of Blade Runner – I just don’t see why it’s such an epic film.

    A movie I rather guiltily enjoyed was the GI Joe movie – can’t stand the actors in it, but it had some top notch action that made it damn fun to watch. Also, for some reason a lot of people hated Mars Attacks, but I loved it – have watched it dozens of times. Not sure what the general consensus is on that…

    Reply

  7. Tracy Benson

    March 14, 2012 at 12:14

    Black Swan. That was… awful. I understood what was going on, I just didn’t “get” it. It was too weird. 

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      March 14, 2012 at 14:06

      But the weirdness is exactly why I loved it. I’m a huge fan of mind-screwing psychological thrillers.

      Reply

      • Tracy Benson

        March 14, 2012 at 15:04

        See I thought it went completely over the top. I wanted to like it, and I appreciate it stylistically, but the more I thought about it afterwards the less I actually enjoyed it.  

        Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      March 14, 2012 at 15:47

      I am yet to see it and everytime it comes on DSTV my wife reminds me of how much she hated that film

      Reply

      • Tracy Benson

        March 14, 2012 at 16:42

        The only reason I would recommend it is THE scene, the Natalie Portman/Mila Kunis schmexy lesbian scene, if that’s the sort of thing that blows your hair back. Otherwise sitting through hours of an edgy, freaking-out ballet dancer losing her s**t. Kinda makes me glad I quit ballet. 

        P.S. are we allowed profanity? Or for the sake of decency should I be doing character substitution?

        Reply

        • Gavin Mannion

          March 14, 2012 at 16:47

          Profanity in the comments is fine, as long as it’s not targeted at someone or completely over the top.

          As for Black Swan, as much as a Natalie/Mila lesbian scene is appealing I think this ones going to be given a skip… I’m sure I can find that scene on the underside of youtube somewhere 😉

          Reply

          • Kervyn Cloete

            March 14, 2012 at 16:51

            Gavin, knowing your film tastes, I think you’d be well advised to give this one a skip.

          • Noelle Adams

            March 14, 2012 at 17:05

            I enjoyed Black Swan, but after watching that other batshit crazy “woman in the arts” film, French movie The Piano Teacher, the Portman movie did feel kind of tame.

          • Tracy Benson

            March 14, 2012 at 17:11

            Noted, thanks. 

  8. Noelle Adams

    March 14, 2012 at 14:33

    Off the top of my head – cult classics that leave me cold: Evil Dead, 2001: Space Odyssey, pretty meh towards Blade Runner too.

    I thought Inception, Inglourious Basterds and No Country For Old Men were waaay over-rated; didn’t like Batman Begins much at all (mostly because of how they treated the Scarecrow). Oh, and Return of the King was my least favourite of the LOTRs.

    On the other end of the spectrum, Temple of Doom is my favourite Indy film, and I have special places in my heart/memory for Grease 2, Clifford and Spice World.

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      March 14, 2012 at 15:33

      I actually rate Batman Begins as a far superior film to Dark Knight Yes, Ledger’s performance was amazing, and Nolan’s direction was faultless, but DK was not a Batman movie.
       It was an immaculately made crime thriller that happened to feature Batman.

      And of the original trilogy, Temple of Doom is by far my least favourite of the Indy movies. And it’s mainly because of one reason: Kate Capshaw. 

      How in the hell Spielberg went from writing possibly the strongest female lead in modern cinema with Marion Ravenwood, to the cliched, utterly useless, perpetual damsel in distress that is Willie Scott is simply beyond me.

      Reply

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