Controversial opinions about other movies

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  • I think ET is overrated. I could never connect with that film, even as a kid.

    Me too. I was 15 I think? - perhaps already too old? - but I thought it was synthetic, not real emotion but just sentimentalism.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    I love ET, absolutely! And Williams' fabulous score is an integral part of that love. But I will concede that there's a proper age at which to discover ET. Too old, and the magic will probably be lost. I've had a similar experience with Poltergeist. I respect the film, but I was never scared or anything by it, mainly because I saw it for the first time when in my twenties.
  • Posts: 16,169
    I was going into 2nd grade when ET was released and I remember the hype.
    Movies back then really seemed to be hyped up. These days the number 1 box office winners are films I often have to look up, only to discover they're yet another superhero movie.
    I do have a nostalgia for ET, but that's nowhere near the devoted love I have for the following year when we got OCTOPUSSY, JEDI, and others.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    Maybe it’s the timing. I was probably 6 years old when I first saw E.T., but that was in 1993, well after the hype had passed.

    That said, I was crazy for one film that very year by Spielberg: Jurassic Park. No boy at my age then would have possibly been uninterested in a movie about dinosaurs.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    A few:

    - Not sure if this is controversial or not, but I find Sir Alec Guinness' performance as Prince Faisal in Lawrence Of Arabia the best of his career. I've seen the man in many other films, and he's never not good or even great, but Davil Lean certainly managed to elicit a superb acting job from him.
    - A more general statement: movies have a hard time winning me over if the lead character is played by an actress who speaks with her throat rather than her mouth--you know what I'm talking about. And yes, I'm looking at you, Anna Kendrick. Produce a sound, ar-ti-cu-late, don't swallow the words down to the lower base levels of the vocal cords, almost as if you're roaring rather than speaking. Clear sounds, please! I want to be able to understand language without having to decipher an actress' attempt at mimicking an electric toothbrush.
    - I'll just flat-out say it: I love Torn Curtain and Topaz. The general consensus seems to be that Hitchcock lost it after Marnie, but in truth, those two, along with Frenzy and Family Plot, have always struck me as quite entertaining and well-made.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I'll just flat-out say it: I love Torn Curtain and Topaz. The general consensus seems to be that Hitchcock lost it after Marnie, but in truth, those two, along with Frenzy and Family Plot, have always struck me as quite entertaining and well-made.

    I like Torn Curtain. It's common for people to single out for praise the scene in which Armstrong and the woman kill Gromek, but for me, the highlight of the film is that scene between Paul Newman and Ludwig Donath. How wonderful to see such an exciting scene based on a potentially uncinematic concept. They're writing equations, derivatives and what have you, and I'm enjoying every second. "You've told me nothing... you know nothing!"

    I have yet to see Topaz and Family Plot, but I'm sure I'll enjoy them. Frenzy is just a superb film; I cannot praise it enough. "Twenty to bloody one!"
  • Posts: 2,402
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    - Not sure if this is controversial or not, but I find Sir Alec Guinness' performance as Prince Faisal in Lawrence Of Arabia the best of his career. I've seen the man in many other films, and he's never not good or even great, but Davil Lean certainly managed to elicit a superb acting job from him.

    I think it's pretty universal, actually, that Faisal is Guinness at his absolute best. That's certainly the first performance I think of when I hear his name, and I'd actually argue that he did his best work with Lean overall (he's magnificent if perhaps a touch more in the background in Doctor Zhivago, he's absolutely electrifying in every frame of TBotRK, and A Passage to India which has become quite underrecognized in the past couple decades features similarly brilliant work).
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    - I'll just flat-out say it: I love Torn Curtain and Topaz. The general consensus seems to be that Hitchcock lost it after Marnie, but in truth, those two, along with Frenzy and Family Plot, have always struck me as quite entertaining and well-made.

    Torn Curtain is fairly underrated but imperfect. Family Plot is a slog. Frenzy is God-tier Hitchcock and a mainstay in my top five.

    But Topaz? You're insane, my good man. Topaz is his worst film and that's really saying something considering it's competing against garbage like Jamaica Inn and Waltzes from Vienna.

    Actually here's my controversial Hitchcock take: The Birds is an exceedingly mediocre film with moments where it veers into being quite awful, it has aged horrendously in ways that no other film of his has (give me the shot of the autogyro in The 39 Steps, a film made 28 years earlier, over a lot of what's here), and the overwhelming praise that this film elicits has always confounded me.
  • Posts: 526
    The Star Wars prequels were 10x better than the other two trilogies. How is that for controversial : )
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    @ShakenNotStirred
    That does sound like a controversial assessment, to be sure. ;-) I can't agree with your take on Topaz, and neither with The Birds. But hey, that makes life interesting.
  • The Star Wars prequels were 10x better than the other two trilogies. How is that for controversial : )

    Ah, a fellow Prequel Fan! Hoorah!
  • Posts: 7,507
    The Star Wars prequels were 10x better than the other two trilogies. How is that for controversial : )


    That sure is very controversial!
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    edited November 2021 Posts: 7,021
    I'm not a big fan of The Birds either. I haven't seen Marnie in a long while, but I remember liking it much more, and not only because Sean Connery is in it.

    More controversy: I don't like Vertigo either. The mysterious, strange atmosphere it seems to be going for leaves me cold. As far as Stewart-Hitchcock collaborations go, I much prefer Rear Window and especially Rope. I haven't seen The Man Who Knew Too Much in full, but from what I've seen, I already like it better than Vertigo.

    Edit: Also, in Notorious, Ingrid Bergman should have made a copy of the key.
  • edited November 2021 Posts: 526
    The Star Wars prequels were 10x better than the other two trilogies. How is that for controversial : )

    Ah, a fellow Prequel Fan! Hoorah!

    @classic007bondfan High five my friend! Yes, prefer them 10 to 1 over the other two trilogies. Especially the new garbage. Would love to discuss the films sometime! @jobo , yes. There aren’t many of us! Haha.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,551
    The Star Wars prequels were 10x better than the other two trilogies. How is that for controversial : )

    Ah, a fellow Prequel Fan! Hoorah!

    @classic007bondfan High five my friend! Yes, prefer them 10 to 1 over the other two trilogies. Especially the new garbage. Would love to discuss the films sometime! @jobo , yes. There aren’t many of us! Haha.

    I love the renaissance the prequels are going through, but 10x better than ANH and Empire Strikes Back? Dubious…
  • edited November 2021 Posts: 526
    Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s controversial, right? I’m just being honest. Are they better films than those you mentioned from a keen critical eye ? Of course not. Do I enjoy them more? Absolutely. I do think Revenge of the Sith is the best film of the entire saga. I would go to bat for that opinion. I love the Jedi/Sith mythos. Which we really get to see thoroughly for the first time in Phantom Menace. And the light saber due in Ep I? Simply astounding.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,551
    I certainly would say ROTS is better than ROTJ, so I agree with you there. And if you enjoy the prequels more than the original trilogy? Power to you friend, I think they’re great films as well, especially 1 and 3, for the reasons you mentioned.
  • edited November 2021 Posts: 526
    Thanks. Yeah, I have watched them a ton. I don’t dislike eps 4-6, I enjoy them, but to see Yoda, Obi Wan in his prime, and yes-I even liked Hayden C. I blame the director for many of his issues. He’s not a good actor, but he’s passable. Favorite scene in the entire saga is Darth Sidious telling Anakin about Darth Plaugeis “The Wise.” What a scene! Now as for episodes 7-9, I simply can’t watch them. Last Jedi may be the worst movie I’ve ever seen. I was in shock for 2 plus hours. I was thinking, “this thing is getting worse?” Wow. And episode 9 was just a jumbled mess. Train wreck.
  • Posts: 2,402
    Actually for controversial Star Wars takes, Rogue One is a pile of trash and the worst film in the Star Wars franchise with the (possible, it's really competitive) exception of the 3D animated Clone Wars film and the Holiday Special.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,413
    Actually for controversial Star Wars takes, Rogue One is a pile of trash and the worst film in the Star Wars franchise with the (possible, it's really competitive) exception of the 3D animated Clone Wars film and the Holiday Special.

    I find it very un-Star Wars in tone, so I sort of know where you're coming from. If I'm in the mood to watch a SW movie I never put that on. The battle sequence in the last act is very good though.
  • Posts: 16,169
    Controversial opinion:

    I think A NEW HOPE is the best Star Wars movie.
    Even more controversial opinion:
    I don't care for the title: A NEW HOPE and far preferred the days when the film was simply referred to as STAR WARS.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,636
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    Controversial opinion:

    I think A NEW HOPE is the best Star Wars movie.
    Even more controversial opinion:
    I don't care for the title: A NEW HOPE and far preferred the days when the film was simply referred to as STAR WARS.

    I agree, it’s just more of George Lucas’s special edition garbage. The man needs to accept the fact that art is in the moment.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    edited November 2021 Posts: 4,007
    Actually for controversial Star Wars takes, Rogue One is a pile of trash and the worst film in the Star Wars franchise with the (possible, it's really competitive) exception of the 3D animated Clone Wars film and the Holiday Special.

    Agreed. Films like this just bleed every aspect of the series dry. All the mystery is sucked out of it. I couldn't give a toss how the Death Star plans were stolen. Same with Prometheus. I don't want to know where the Alien eggs came from. Keep the mystery.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,413
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    Controversial opinion:

    I think A NEW HOPE is the best Star Wars movie.

    I don't know if that's massively controversial. My controversial thought on that is that Force Awakens is better than Star Wars. Less original and iconic, most definitely, but a better film.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,551
    Actually for controversial Star Wars takes, Rogue One is a pile of trash and the worst film in the Star Wars franchise with the (possible, it's really competitive) exception of the 3D animated Clone Wars film and the Holiday Special.

    What about it don’t you like?
  • Posts: 2,402
    Actually for controversial Star Wars takes, Rogue One is a pile of trash and the worst film in the Star Wars franchise with the (possible, it's really competitive) exception of the 3D animated Clone Wars film and the Holiday Special.

    What about it don’t you like?

    Would it be a cop out if I said "everything"? :)) :))

    Honestly, the characters, mainly. Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor to me are both completely hollow, one-dimensional outlines that never feel fully formed. In addition, I don't think anyone who criticizes Hayden Christensen has a leg to stand on if they're fans of Andor, because Diego Luna is absolutely atrocious in this movie, I think Christensen in his worst scene is still better than anything contained in that performance.

    I've come around on Ben Mendelsohn as an actor but I also think he gives a particularly weak performance here as a nothing villain who similarly has no proper definition. I also find K-2SO incredibly annoying and I've never understood the fan love for him. Forest Whitaker also shows up and gives what is the worst performance I've seen from him BY FAR, this wheezy, weirdly accented, stilted nightmare of a turn that is unbecoming of him as an actor.

    Ultimately, I not only felt nothing when each of these characters died (except for maybe Donnie Yen), and in fact would say I'm glad in retrospect that they did as I don't have to deal with any kind of sequel (although they are making that Andor series which annoys the hell out of me).

    The entire thing honestly felt like a Star Wars fan film. Vader in the hallway was like a nugget of gold buried in the mountain of shit that Jeff Goldblum inspects in Jurassic Park, it was a magnificent scene but it amounts to all of 60 seconds of the film. The general adoration of Rogue One completely astounds me, it makes me wonder if the Vader scene was all those people have seen and they assumed that the rest of the movie was like that, too.

    In fact, Rogue One and the animated Clone Wars, out of all three trilogies and all of the spin-off films, remain the only Star Wars films I've seen but one time. I saw Rogue One at one of those early fan screening things and never looked back. My immediate reaction as the credits rolled was "that wasn't very good," and by the time I had gotten out to the parking lot it had already decayed to "you know what actually I bloody well despise this film." Hell, I even saw The Rise of Skywalker a second time and I hate that film, too!
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    Controversial opinion:

    I think A NEW HOPE is the best Star Wars movie.
    Even more controversial opinion:
    I don't care for the title: A NEW HOPE and far preferred the days when the film was simply referred to as STAR WARS.

    I always refer to it as just "Star Wars" and to the other two OT films as their subtitles alone. The prequels can be "Episode I/II/III" and the sequel trilogy I refer to as "Star Wars: Title." But that first film will ALWAYS just be "Star Wars" to me.
  • Posts: 1,394
    The Star Wars prequels were 10x better than the other two trilogies. How is that for controversial : )

    I wouldn’t go quite THAT far in calling the prequels 10x times better than the OT but for sure do agree that they are miles better than the creatively bankrupt sequel trilogy.

    I do enjoy the prequels a lot despite their faults.The world building is incredible,Terrific lightsaber fights and the clone wars animated series was so good that they make the prequels even more enjoyable ( They explain in several key episodes why the Clones were so quick to turn on the Jedi during Order 66 ).

  • Posts: 2,402
    Apparently it's deeply controversial to say this, given the discourse so far, but I think The Force Awakens is a top tier Star Wars film and pretty much EXACTLY the film we needed for a new era of the franchise, and The Last Jedi is even better; both are near the same level of perfection for me that SW and TESB are. I think The Rise of Skywalker is a steaming pile of crap, though, easily the most disappointing film I've personally ever seen considering what my expectations were after the first two ST movies.
  • Posts: 7,507
    No matter what what you think of each individual film, SW ep 7-9 is a masterclass in exactly how not to make a trilogy! Start off with recicled, nostalgic fan service, continue with a film that desperately tries to undo that and end with a film that says; "you know what, we didn't really mean any of that from the previous film, so let's return to square one". Was it really that hard to make a rough overview synopsis beforehand of where they wanted the story to go over the course of three films?

    It's also funny that the entire SW saga is basically the story of two families. Although I am no fan of The Last Jedi, I understand completely why Rian Johnson felt he needed to shake things up.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited November 2021 Posts: 16,413
    Apparently it's deeply controversial to say this, given the discourse so far, but I think The Force Awakens is a top tier Star Wars film and pretty much EXACTLY the film we needed for a new era of the franchise, and The Last Jedi is even better; both are near the same level of perfection for me that SW and TESB are. I think The Rise of Skywalker is a steaming pile of crap, though, easily the most disappointing film I've personally ever seen considering what my expectations were after the first two ST movies.

    Completely with you on TFA: it's a brilliant adventure film and a great Star Wars film. Slightly less with you on TLJ as I find it charmless and plodding, although it does contain lots of interesting ideas. ROS I agree isn't great, but is a totally inoffensive bit of Saturday-morning cartoon space opera stuff and I tend to think would be regarded as a pretty decent if unmemorable film if it didn't have the Star Wars title above the door, but because of that it gets torn apart, rather unfairly I think.
    I'm not a massive SW fan but I know the films and enjoy them, and ROS gave me everything I look for in a couple of hours at the cinema in front of a Star Wars film, even if it was in a mildly underwhelming package; where to be honest I thought TLJ didn't.
  • Posts: 526
    I don’t like “A New Hope” either. Much prefer the basic and succinct: Star Wars

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