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August 25, 2005
20 "Overrated" Movies - Part IV
Finishing up the whole 20 Most Overrated Movies thing... with Premiere's #5 through #1.
5. Chariots of Fire. Never saw it; I can't say that films about post-Victorian British men in running shorts really intrigue me all that much. When I checked to see which other films were nominated for Best Picture that year (1981 films, awarded 1982), I was flabbergasted. "On Golden Pond" had to be the sentimental choice, and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" had to be the popular choice (not to mention the film that's stood up best to the test of time). And yet this movie won. I think it had to be the cheesy New Age theme song.
4. American Beauty. What the hell? This was a great film, beginning to end. It was a fantastic skewering of both the tedious conformity of suburbia, and the fact that such uniformity and "perfection" is all a lie. It featured brilliant performances by Kevin Spacey and Annette Benning. It featured both Mena Suvari and Thora Birch topless. What's not to love? This list just got really stupid; no way was American Beauty overrated.
3. An American in Paris. Never saw it. But if it has Gene Kelly in it, it's got to be good; Kelly is probably my favorite "classic" actor. (And "Singin' In The Rain" is easily one of my favorite movies of all time.) I realize that this little blurb has nothing to do with An American in Paris, whose plot I'm not even familiar with. But this is my blog and my list, so I don't much have to stick to the topic now, do I?
2. A Beautiful Mind. Every so often, the Academy bestows a career achievement award on somebody, and calls it an Oscar for something far less than their best work. It happened with John Wayne for True Grit in 1969 (at the expense of both Hoffman and Voight for Midnight Cowboy), it happened with Henry Fonda for On Golden Pond, and it'll eventually happen for Martin Scorcese and Harrison Ford. In 2001, it happened for Ron Howard for this clunker. It was slow, boringly paced, and simply not that interesting. That year, both In The Bedroom and Moulin Rouge! were far better films. But Opie needed an Oscar after years of being overlooked, so here we were. Overrated? Hell yeah.
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey I have to preface this review with an admission - that 2001 is one of my favorite movies. I thought it was brilliantly shot, and was a compelling story. It should never have lost Best Picture to a freaking musical version of Oilver Twist. It features homicidal technology and one of the creepiest dialogues ever between a protagonist and villian. And it has that funky creeped out screaming-wraith-sound effect thing going on. Very cool.
That said, the movie is very methodically paced (and that's being nice). Its last 20 minutes are a pandering to acid-whacked hippies tripping out while in the theater. And it's hard for even a fan like me to say that a film whose first 20-25 minutes has not a word of spoken dialogue can keep viewers' attention. Is 2001 overrated? No, but it's close. Does it belong atop this list? Not by a long shot.
Coming next, a few of my suggestions that should have been on this list.
Comments
I agree w/ you comments, esp on AB -- wtf? I sat in the theater thinking how lucky I was to be seeing this for the first time and how many more times I'd get to enjoy it (and you catch new things every time).
I do think of all Opie's movies ABM is probably the best (I do get a kick out of the sappy/sweet "Parenthood" though). I think they said, "Let's give it to him for this one before he makes more crap." Never sat through "Apollo 13" though b/c I generally hate Opie movies. They rot my teeth.
Posted by: eden at August 26, 2005 03:30 PM
Your comments function hasn't been letting me post.
Posted by: Brent at August 26, 2005 07:20 PM
"What are doing, Dave?"
Posted by: Brent at August 27, 2005 10:35 AM
in the bedroom sucked.
moulin rouge was obnoxious crap
Posted by: Marquette Hoops at August 31, 2005 12:02 PM
MU - Moulin Rouge was unorthodox and fun. No wonder you didn't like it. ;-)
Posted by: Curmudgeon at September 1, 2005 06:27 AM
