bch@unc.UUCP (Byron Howes ) (10/05/83)
Not being afraid to generate flames, I thought I'd post a list of films that I think are highly overrated. These are films that the critics generally like, did well at the box office, but that I thought were genuine rip-offs. (1) Last Tango In Paris -- Came from nowhere, went nowhere and had Marlon Brando in one of his more wooden performences. If anyone can figure out what this film was supposed to mean, I'd like to know. (2) Bonnie and Clyde -- The ultimate legitimation of Sam Pekinpah. Warren Beattie greases and Faye Dunaway freezes though a film that tells us nothing we haven't seen before. Gene Hackman turns in a creditable performance (as usual.) (3) Reds -- Aaaarrgghh! I didn't care what happened to Warren Beattie and I don't think Diane Keaton did either. Why in the world would she sled across Finland to find this character? (4) Young Frankenstein -- Typical Brooks/Reiner fare. Shotgun sophomoric humor in the hopes we'll laugh at something. I was highly insulted that Brooks wouldn't let the audience slowly realize what was going on in the "Putting on the Ritz" routine. What could have been a great comedic moment was totally blown. Insulting. (5) Return of the Jedii -- I'm gonna get blasted for this one -- Ten years from now, when the special effects aren't so special you're gonna wonder why you liked it. Let's face it. Lucas blew it and blew it badly. Did anybody mourn Yoda's death? Why not? (6) Chinatown -- Faye Dunaway again, with Jack Nicholson doing his best Warren Beattie imitation. (7) Network -- (hmmm, another flame generator) -- a great deal of predic- table silliness feebly attempting to be scathing social satire. Did it tell us anything or merely conform to our biases. Very overdrawn though worth the price of admission for Peter Finch and Ned Beatty. Paddy Cheyevsky's script was definitely not one of his better works. (8) Superman I -- The film that couldn't make up its mind whether to be serious, nostalgic, comic, pretentious or romantic. They could have made four or five television episodes out of this thing. (9) Dr. Zhivago -- Why did I bother to sit through this thing four times on various occasions? I dunno? Let me know if someone ever shows this as a double feature with "Reds" so I can come and catch up on my beauty sleep. (10) E.T. -- The space child's "Lassie." Not a dry eye in the house, but then you cried during "The Waltons," didn't you? I have more films I'd like to list, but let's chew these over for awhile. I also have a list of "underrated" films, but they can wait as well Byron Howes UNC - Chapel Hill decvax!duke!unc!bch
berry@zehntel.UUCP (10/07/83)
#R:unc:-597600:zinfandel:8300015:000:135 zinfandel!joe Oct 6 14:43:00 1983 Hi. Apparently the two main characters were men in the original story. This fact added some sense to the film after the fact, for me.
mcewan@uiucdcs.UUCP (10/08/83)
#R:unc:-597600:uiucdcs:10700040:000:320 uiucdcs!mcewan Oct 7 12:27:00 1983 You left off Close Encounters of the Third Kind - The aliens have arrived! They kidnap people and remove them from their friends and families for thirty years. They kidnap young children for God knows what purpose. They brainwash people and destroy their personal lives. All of which proves that they're FRIENDLY!
twt@uicsl.UUCP (10/08/83)
#R:unc:-597600:uicsl:7600034:000:498 uicsl!twt Oct 7 17:37:00 1983 A. You forgot "Blazing Saddles". FLAME ON!! B. WHAT THE HE;; KINDA DRUGS WHERE YOU ON WHEN YOU SAW "E. T."????????? I like a movie that makes me feel something, anything. If it makes me laugh or cry and doesn't bore me it's good. If you didn't like E. T. you are probably a heartless I don't know what who kicks dogs and drowns cats -- or you're too egotistical to think that humans can share the universe. YOU said you weren't afraid to generate flames. FLAME OFF. Mary
ariels@orca.UUCP (Ariel Shattan) (10/12/83)
E.T. was shallow, manipulative, anti-science, and anti-adult. It purposely tried to tug at the heartstrings, and instead of playing them like a harp, it yanked them like bowstrings. It had no emotional sophistication at all, the characterization of the alien was very poor, and the very people who had the least little chance of keeping the alien alive were treated as the villains, as was anyone over 5 ft tall. The children were all smart-ass and cutsie, like sit-com kids. I'd rather see a film like The Incredible Journey, which works by making you care about the protagonists, even if they are only two dogs and a cat, or a play like Cyrano de Bergerac, which has the tragic appeal of a noble soul who doesn't understand his own beauty. But E.T. ranks up there with The Return of the Jedi for sacrificing story, characterization, and overall quality for box office. I mean, it wasn't even Camp (which saved Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars)! *Whew* It sure felt good to finally say that in public. Flame away, all ye who disagree. I got thick skin anyway. Ariel Shattan
lpa@houxo.UUCP (10/13/83)
I think that there is nothing wrong with movies that are anti-adult and anti-science. I feel that was one of the strong points of the movie E.T. (along with many others I might add!!). You call the movie manipulative, I call it an emotional story revolving around the classical theme of "A boy and his dog", etc. I think I've said enough. Andy Andres, AT&T Consumer Products Laboratories, Neptune NJ ...houxo!lpa
dp@astrovax.UUCP (10/14/83)
Ridiculous!! There is NOTHING anti-science or anti-adult about E.T. It is about a child's misinterpretation of positive adult activities. Only adults who get carried away emotionally by the film and do not think about it could possibly interpret the film in this manner. I despise truely anti-science movies (like Bakshi's "Wizards"). Don't catagorize "E.T." in this genre! An angry astrophysics major