Films You Are Embarrassed to Admit You Haven't Seen

Shardlake · July 2013

SaintMark wrote:

So if you have seen Wages of fear or Les diaboliques you know your film classics and are knowledgable. I did see both and enjoyed them as great movies. But I have seen many movies and my preference generally goes to French, Italian and even Spanish cinema and the b/w movies of the 60's and earlier. I have even seen quite a few silent movies and do have a few of them in my collection.

I feel no embarrrasment for having missed a few movies that I will undoubtely will see sooner or later, the movies named in this thread I have seen, bar one the Rachel Welch movie.

While I enjoy the mainstream blockbusters, Cap America or the Avengers are in my view no soulless blockbusters as the men behind them are pretty good directors with love for their subject matter imho, I do visit the filmhouses as well for the less fortunate movies that do not receive a place in the big cinemas and am more often than not very surprised by the sheer quality of storytelling and visuals.

And indeed I am more in awe of Tim Burtons visuals as I am of Nolans visuals, I like the fairytalesque views from Burtons visions over the industrial visions of Nolan. And I think that the superheros are modernday fairytales hence my preference to Burtons vision. And his "Batman returns" is the one movie where he gets a balanced fairytale where in Batman he focused to much on The Joker but Batman does play a far stronger part in esablishing his character than in BB by Nolan. ANd like all of these movies they have their beauty faults and lesser moments. TDK is indeed Nolans best movie of the three, BB is inexcusable a stolen/copied movie from one of my guilty pleasure movies namely "the Shadow", this pulphero in Old Time Radio, pulpmagazines and this one great movie is somewhat of a sift spot for me.

To be honest the whole fairy tale element that Burton gives off is unlike you what turns me off. As for Burton's film establishing Batman better than Nolan's then that is down to opinion and I felt far more satisfied walking out the cinema in 2005 than I ever did with the Burton films and felt we'd finally got a proper Batman film at last after Burton's efforts and Schumacher's atrocities.

As for Begins ripping off The Shadow I don't know I've not seen it but I doubt it was thought about for a second when Nolan and Goyer envisaged their Batman. Also I believe allot of their ideas are culled from the comics so where their ideas originated from is more likely to be here than some cult box office flop. So your accusation of Begins being a rip off is more likely your bitterness that Nolan's film was a success and your favourite wasn't. Kind of reminds me of music critics who spend most of their review telling you how terrible an album is because the band aren't as good as some band they love that only 3 people have seen in a basement.

Burton's film leave me cold, I do like Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood is my personal favourite, Sweeney Todd was admirable but the likes of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the soulless and CGI soaked Alice In Wonderland which when I watched I felt a piece of me dying. I also caught Dark Shadows on Friday as my Wife wanted to see it, while I it wasn't too bad it seemed to have no balance of what it wanted to be and had awkward shifts in tone throughout.

The last paragraph were I discussed what films I had not seen and should have wasn't a dig at yourself it was just my opinion, I have watched too many blockbusters and feel an need to address this. I'm not saying I won't watch anymore I always need my popcorn (film not the food) fix from time to time although prefer the quality type not the vapid empty cheesy stuff allot of Hollywood calls product these days.

I personally fail to see what makes Captain America any good it was directed by the man who gave us the worst Jurassic Park film and also made a complete hash of The Wolfman. As for Josh Weedon I've never seen the appeal and found The Avengers utterly soulless, the last 40 minute was having my retina's punished with a barrage of CGI and pounding action sequences that neither thrilled or moved me.

My thoughts on the comic book films are not favourable, I've just about had my fill of this over saturated and all dominating genre that seems to be sucking up all of Hollywood's capital as countless sequels and spin off's are green lighted by the likes of Marvel, the next raft of CB films just leave me wondering has commercial cinema got anything else to say anymore or is this it?

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 · July 2013

I wonder how loved the Burton Batman would be if Anton Furst hadn't been on hand.

chrisisall · July 2013

Shardlake wrote:

As for Josh Weedon I've never seen the appeal and found The Avengers utterly soulless, the last 40 minute was having my retina's punished with a barrage of CGI and pounding action sequences that neither thrilled or moved me.

The Avengers is one of the top box office earners of all time for many reasons, one of the strongest being how Joss Whedon (I can spell the names of directors I don't care much for as well as those I like) wrote & directed the CHARACTERS. Without great characters you end up with just another Transformers; Avengers was a hoot, and those that don't at least have a small bit of fun with it either go into seeing it with a huge cinematic elitist chip on their shoulder, or just plain hate movies that aren't all grim & gritty & dark. :))

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 · July 2013

chrisisall wrote:

Shardlake wrote:

As for Josh Weedon I've never seen the appeal and found The Avengers utterly soulless, the last 40 minute was having my retina's punished with a barrage of CGI and pounding action sequences that neither thrilled or moved me.

The Avengers is one of the top box office earners of all time for many reasons, one of the strongest being how Joss Whedon (I can spell the names of directors I don't care much for as well as those I like) wrote & directed the CHARACTERS. Without great characters you end up with just another Transformers; Avengers was a hoot, and those that don't at least have a small bit of fun with it either go into seeing it with a huge cinematic elitist chip on their shoulder, or just plain hate movies that aren't all grim & gritty & dark. :))

Or you could be like me who went into it hoping to be excited, liked it enough to satisfy myself but wasn't really moved by much of anything considering I knew every twist and spoiler thanks to loud-mouths both on and off the internet and even in some of the trailers for the damn movie itself. [-(

SaintMark · July 2013

Shardlake wrote:

As for Begins ripping off The Shadow I don't know I've not seen it but I doubt it was thought about for a second when Nolan and Goyer envisaged their Batman. Also I believe allot of their ideas are culled from the comics so where their ideas originated from is more likely to be here than some cult box office flop. So your accusation of Begins being a rip off is more likely your bitterness that Nolan's film was a success and your favourite wasn't. Kind of reminds me of music critics who spend most of their review telling you how terrible an album is because the band aren't as good as some band they love that only 3 people have seen in a basement.

Somehow I expected somebody to say just this so especially for you, read and ........ whatever you fancy.

http://www.shadowsanctum.net/interactive/tidbits_archive/shadow_batman-movie_comparisons.html

That said it is well documented that the original writers of Batman were influenced heavily by a certain Old Time Radioplay character and main character of pulpmagazines when they created Batman. Even some of the early stories were nicked, but that is all matter of record.
So I am sure that Batman would be heavily influenced as have other similar characters have been by the original Shadow.

O:-)

chrisisall · July 2013

SaintMark wrote:

http://www.shadowsanctum.net/interactive/tidbits_archive/shadow_batman-movie_comparisons.html

Wow, that's amazing, no wonder I liked BB, I had liked the earlier version years before!
Now I REALLY have to get The Shadow on DVD!!! Thanks @SaintMark!

Shardlake · July 2013

chrisisall wrote:

Shardlake wrote:

As for Josh Weedon I've never seen the appeal and found The Avengers utterly soulless, the last 40 minute was having my retina's punished with a barrage of CGI and pounding action sequences that neither thrilled or moved me.

The Avengers is one of the top box office earners of all time for many reasons, one of the strongest being how Joss Whedon (I can spell the names of directors I don't care much for as well as those I like) wrote & directed the CHARACTERS. Without great characters you end up with just another Transformers; Avengers was a hoot, and those that don't at least have a small bit of fun with it either go into seeing it with a huge cinematic elitist chip on their shoulder, or just plain hate movies that aren't all grim & gritty & dark. :))

Because I don't like The Avengers I'm elitist? Seriously where do you get off? So what I got his name wrong, pretty mild considering some of the grammatical crimes on this forum.

Seeing I love the likes of Back To The Future, Raiders of The Lost Ark and Jaws, none of them dark or gritty, the difference being these are example of the highest level of blockbuster film making. The likes of The Avengers is not and doesn't stand out at all from all this comic book nonsense, you are welcome to all the blockbusters, keep paying for the tickets and watching this guff, I'll stick to my so called elitist cinema.

Shardlake · July 2013

SaintMark wrote:

Shardlake wrote:

As for Begins ripping off The Shadow I don't know I've not seen it but I doubt it was thought about for a second when Nolan and Goyer envisaged their Batman. Also I believe allot of their ideas are culled from the comics so where their ideas originated from is more likely to be here than some cult box office flop. So your accusation of Begins being a rip off is more likely your bitterness that Nolan's film was a success and your favourite wasn't. Kind of reminds me of music critics who spend most of their review telling you how terrible an album is because the band aren't as good as some band they love that only 3 people have seen in a basement.

Somehow I expected somebody to say just this so especially for you, read and ........ whatever you fancy.

http://www.shadowsanctum.net/interactive/tidbits_archive/shadow_batman-movie_comparisons.html

That said it is well documented that the original writers of Batman were influenced heavily by a certain Old Time Radioplay character and main character of pulpmagazines when they created Batman. Even some of the early stories were nicked, but that is all matter of record.
So I am sure that Batman would be heavily influenced as have other similar characters have been by the original Shadow.

O:-)

Fair enough I'm big enough to notice when I'm wrong and you've shown me up for not researching my subject I'll concede. Fair play happy?

myworldisenough · July 2013

Taken and Taken 2. Watching the 1st one tonight.

SaintMark · July 2013

Shardlake wrote:

SaintMark wrote:

Shardlake wrote:

As for Begins ripping off The Shadow I don't know I've not seen it but I doubt it was thought about for a second when Nolan and Goyer envisaged their Batman. Also I believe allot of their ideas are culled from the comics so where their ideas originated from is more likely to be here than some cult box office flop. So your accusation of Begins being a rip off is more likely your bitterness that Nolan's film was a success and your favourite wasn't. Kind of reminds me of music critics who spend most of their review telling you how terrible an album is because the band aren't as good as some band they love that only 3 people have seen in a basement.

Somehow I expected somebody to say just this so especially for you, read and ........ whatever you fancy.

http://www.shadowsanctum.net/interactive/tidbits_archive/shadow_batman-movie_comparisons.html

That said it is well documented that the original writers of Batman were influenced heavily by a certain Old Time Radioplay character and main character of pulpmagazines when they created Batman. Even some of the early stories were nicked, but that is all matter of record.
So I am sure that Batman would be heavily influenced as have other similar characters have been by the original Shadow.

O:-)

Fair enough I'm big enough to notice when I'm wrong and you've shown me up for not researching my subject I'll concede. Fair play happy?

Us Shadow fans get annoyed when people tell us how great Batman Begins is. ;)

I do prefer the Shadow over Batman too, and feel he has been shortchanged in the movie business. That said I do enjoy the OTR cd's I buy occasionally especially the ones with Orson Welles voicing the SHadow.

Fair play, deal.

chrisisall · July 2013

Shardlake wrote:

Because I don't like The Avengers I'm elitist?

Relax, that's not what I said- I gave a couple of possible scenarios, if you don't fit into either, then take no offence. But you still haven't made it clear to me why you think a movie with excellently written characters and a generally GOOD story is worthy of your TOTAL dismissal-?
Here's an example of my own prejudice: I generally hate CGI, I'm an effects snob. An optical/practical FX elitist, if you will. Throw a bunch of CGI my way, and I'm ready to dislike a movie JUST for that. Yeah, the end of Avengers was FULL of the stuff (like most big blockbusters these days), but I CARED about the characters, so that made the CGI-fest more palatable IMO.

Shardlake · July 2013

chrisisall wrote:

Shardlake wrote:

Because I don't like The Avengers I'm elitist?

Relax, that's not what I said- I gave a couple of possible scenarios, if you don't fit into either, then take no offence. But you still haven't made it clear to me why you think a movie with excellently written characters and a generally GOOD story is worthy of your TOTAL dismissal-?
Here's an example of my own prejudice: I generally hate CGI, I'm an effects snob. An optical/practical FX elitist, if you will. Throw a bunch of CGI my way, and I'm ready to dislike a movie JUST for that. Yeah, the end of Avengers was FULL of the stuff (like most big blockbusters these days), but I CARED about the characters, so that made the CGI-fest more palatable IMO.

I admit I never saw it at the cinema but I did rent it on pay per view and found myself unable to engage in it at all, I know it was universally loved and no I wasn't much impressed with TDKR that summer, SF was the blockbuster for me last year although The Raid was last years outright winner and that cost probably the refreshment budget of The Avengers.

I had already grown tired of the Marvel films, Iron Man 2 was bloated and a mess and honestly I felt my head hurt while watching Captain America.

I will concede that I though RDJ was his usual entertaining self and that with Ruffalo they'd finally found the right man for both Banner & The Hulk the camaraderie was there with the cast but I need a story line and I felt it was almost non existent. It touched on some interesting ideas with Fury but the loud action sequence at the end was just too much and it went on for far too long.

Just like some really disliked Skyfall while I found it one of my favourite Bond films to date and still do but each to his own I guess.

chrisisall · July 2013

Shardlake wrote:

I will concede that I though RDJ was his usual entertaining self and that with Ruffalo they'd finally found the right man for both Banner & The Hulk the camaraderie was there with the cast

Most kind of you sir, to write that. I appreciate it.

May I assume that you will not be seeing Man Of Steel? I'll be renting, and expecting an unrelenting cartoon last third without the redeeming factors in Avengers...
:))

Shardlake · July 2013

chrisisall wrote:

Shardlake wrote:

I will concede that I though RDJ was his usual entertaining self and that with Ruffalo they'd finally found the right man for both Banner & The Hulk the camaraderie was there with the cast

Most kind of you sir, to write that. I appreciate it.

May I assume that you will not be seeing Man Of Steel? I'll be renting, and expecting an unrelenting cartoon last third without the redeeming factors in Avengers...
:))

I was then I heard about the 3rd act being unrelenting noisy action, I'll probably catch it on the small screen at some point but it has been the most divisive film of the year so far, some love it and some really hate it.

I'm looking forward to At The World's End and Elysium, I'm intrigued by Pacific Rim as it's Del Toro but it could easily become Transformers, it would be nice to see a big screen spectacle that was of quality but I'll see how the reviews pan out till I commit.

I do enjoy a good popcorn blast but of recent I've been somewhat disappointed, I did enjoy Star Trek Into Darkness though nothing amazing but very entertaining.

valentinzukovsky · July 2013

Die Hard (all of them)
Top Gun
From Russia With Love *hangs head in shame*
Rush Hour 1&2
Star Trek(all of them )
Train Spotting
Where Eagles Dare
The Avengers
Pretty much every musical

hullcityfan · July 2013

valentinzukovsky wrote:

From Russia With Love *hangs head in shame*

Tut tut how could you not have ever watched From Russia With Love I watched all of them by the time I was 8. It's a pretty bad film because Grant dies too early and you don't see Bond until chapter 8 and Bond dies at the start.

valentinzukovsky · July 2013

hullcityfan wrote:

valentinzukovsky wrote:

From Russia With Love *hangs head in shame*

Tut tut how could you not have ever watched From Russia With Love I watched all of them by the time I was 8. It's a pretty bad film because Grant dies too early and you don't see Bond until chapter 8 and Bond dies at the start.

i'm now watching it

Suivez_ce_parachute · July 2013

TheWizardOfIce wrote:

I would listen to Shardlake over SaintMark Saunders as the Wages of Fear comment proves the guy knows his onions. (...) I take it you have seen Les Diaboliques though? Probably the best Hitchcock film ever made!

Well, French cinema has kept on doing some very good stuff during the 50 years after these movies :)

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:

I wonder how loved the Burton Batman would be if Anton Furst hadn't been on hand.

This is very tasteless.

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 · July 2013

Suivez_ce_parachute wrote:

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:

I wonder how loved the Burton Batman would be if Anton Furst hadn't been on hand.

This is very tasteless.

How so? I was simply implying that maybe Burton's Batman (loved at least in part for the Gotham City element) may not have been seen as such a box office smash of a film (considering Batman is quite the crazed fool in it) if the brilliant Furst hadn't aided Burton with his talents during production. I fail to see how that lacks taste, and find it to be an interesting question to ponder.

pachazo · July 2013

Shardlake wrote:

If you haven't seen the Nolan Bat films I would check themselves out for yourself rather than taking SaintMark's opinion, he's clearly more a fan of the campy Burton Batman, if that is your bag fine but these films have not aged well.

First off, I would like to say that I am a fan of both versions. I don't think that it's fair to completely dismiss Burton's version as campy though. While those elements are certainly present in his two films there are also some very dark moments and themes intertwined. Also, what films from 1989 and 1992 do you consider to have aged well?

Shardlake wrote:

I'll take this over Hopkins Lecter and Mads Mikklesen has stolen that role away from him now anyway.

In whose mind? Certainly not mine. I admit that I've only seen one episode of the series at this point and I liked both it and Mikkelsen's performance but I'm not ready to crown the guy just yet. I have actually liked Mikkelsen in everything that I've seen him in but I'm not sure that he even tops Brian Cox's very underrated performance from Manhunter.

Shardlake wrote:

I don't mind Returns but Joker as it should be called as he's the far more dominant character is just a disjointed mess which doesn't flow and has totally overrated hammy turn from Nicholson that overwhelms the film, Ledger is the definitive Joker by far.

My only knowledge of the Batman comics is the few that I read in the 80's. While Ledger certainly portrays the more psychotic aspects of the Joker he seems to be missing that zany, more charismatic flair that Nicholson captures perfectly. I'm not saying that I prefer Nicholson but I find your total dismissal of his interpretation to be more than a little ignorant.

Baltimore_007 · July 2013

Funny how the name 'Batman' manages to sneak into nearly every damn thread on these pages..

One movie I thought of straight away was the Matrix with Keanu Reeves. I mean, hasn't about 99.9 per cent of the worlds population seen it now, some 13 or 14 years after it's release, and I've yet to see this

Add to this, any of the Jason Bourne releases, Lawrence of Arabia, 2001 A Space Odyssey, A nightmare on Elm Street, Men in Black, Chariots of Fire etc. They're merely movie releases you know that just about anyone who is anyone, must have viewed by now, and I've still to put on a copy or take in a viewing

Creasy47 · July 2013

@Baltimore_007, I've been there. 'Wizard of Oz' seems to be one that literally everyone has seen BUT me, it feels. Same goes with a lot of movies. It took me many years to see 'Forrest Gump,' and now I feel like I've seen it too much. Hell, I just started watching the 'Harry Potter' films about a week or so ago.

Baltimore_007 · July 2013

I've seen Wizard of Oz, and believe me, it really isn't up to much

Forrest Gump is OK, but I failed to see the hyperbole in it. I thought Hanks was better in Saving Private Ryan

I could never watch any Harry Potter movie. Forget it. You've got more chance of me sitting through a damn Batman movie

What was that one a few years ago with Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro that everyone went to see. The Hunted or something. Haven't seen that either yet, although told i'm missing out on a great movie release, but don't feel embarrassed that I've yet to see it. Only stating it's merely another title that many have seen and I've yet to have that pleasure

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 · July 2013

Baltimore_007 wrote:

Funny how the name 'Batman' manages to sneak into nearly every damn thread on these pages..

Well, to be fair he is one of the greatest characters ever created. :)

Creasy47 wrote:

@Baltimore_007, I've been there. 'Wizard of Oz' seems to be one that literally everyone has seen BUT me, it feels. Same goes with a lot of movies. It took me many years to see 'Forrest Gump,' and now I feel like I've seen it too much. Hell, I just started watching the 'Harry Potter' films about a week or so ago.

I like to think of it this way: if I saw all the films that were deemed "important" in my lifetime I would be frustrated and upset. The fun of film is discovery, of finding directors and films you haven't yet explored and uncovering something to love about each of them. If you constantly have films you need to see, the fun can never die out and that always keeps movie-viewing interesting and engaging.

Creasy47 · July 2013

@0BradyM0Bondfanatic7, oh, I don't think my 'To See' list for films will ever run empty. I would love to just get an amazing TV, the best blu-ray player out there, and an endless supply of all of the blu-rays, DVDs, and shows I've had even a slight interest in, and just watch them all.

M_Balje · February 2015

I update my earlier post couple of times since June 2013. On this moment there are 60 titles left who end in my collection between 2004-2010 who i haven't seen.

But since more then 1,5 year have past, i also think it is time to post my list of 2011.
This list is without the first 14 Coen Brothers movies (True Grit i bought in 2013) that also be part of my 2011 collection.

2011 (Totaly of 119):

Modigliani (2004)
Proof (2005)
Get Shorty (1995)
The American (2010)
Spymate (2006) / My Family (1995)
Lost (2004) / Mi Casa, Su Casa (2003)
The Pandora Project (1998)
Second Skin (2000)
Brick (2005)
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
Eastern Promises (2007)
Munich (2005) *Starring Daniel Craig*
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
Fantastic Four (2005) - Extented Cut
Eye of the Beholder (1999)
Fireflies in the Garden (2008)
Flashbacks of a Fool (2008) *Starring Daniel Craig*
WarGames: The Dead Code (2008)
The Dilemma (2011)
The Kids Are All Right (2010)
Night Watch (1995) *Starring Pierce Brosnan* Excuse: It is a sequel.
Clubbed (2008) *Starring Colin Salmon*
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010)
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper (2005)
Airwolf Season 4 (1987)
Tideland (2005)
Green Zone (2010)
The Savages (2007)
The Fourth Protocol (1987) *Starring Pierce Brosnan* / The Whistle Blower (1986)
Invictus (2009)
Michael Clayton (2007)
Shrek Forever After (2010)
Donkey's Christmas Shrektacular (2010
Defiance (2008) *Starring Daniel Craig*
Revolutionary Road (2008)
Closer (2004)
Noble House (1988) *Starring Pierce Brosnan*

Lancaster007 · February 2015

for shame -
Schindler's List
Wings (1927)
The Big Parade (1925)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924), probably a few more to come…

Thunderfinger · February 2015

My biggest embarassment is not seeing UN CHIEN ANDALOU yet.

JWPepper · February 2015

have seen a lot of films, but Ive never seen a Mad Max or The Matrix movie.

patb · February 2015

The great thing about movies is that there will always be more to see. Sometimes when I watch a movie for the second or third time, I feel guilty that I have not spent that time watching something new. Streaming now gives great opportunities to fill in the gaps. Just posted about Gene Hackman on another thread and ashamed I have not seen "Heist". So many films, so little time. I cant work out if my sons are lucky enough to have such a great back catalogue of movies to see or unlucky as there are just too many.
PS some films I am proud I have not seen (Star Wars 1 to 3 for example)

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