I don’t even remember ever hearing about the 25th Hour. Maybe I wasn’t watching a lot of movies in those days.
Hate but respect:
Blue Velvet by David Lynch:
The entire movie had me feeling uncomfortable and as such I just didn’t enjoy it at all, but I respect it for what it is. It isn’t often a piece of film can affect me the way Blue Velvet did, I just don’t want to relive the experience.
Bowling for Columbine:
Although it is arguably an important documentary Michael Moore makes me want to physically attack him because of the way he spins things. I can’t sit through the whole thing in one sitting because I feel like he’s trying to manipulate rather than educate. Although I personally can’t stand the film I recognize it as being more than mere blather.
Watchmen:
I didn’t enjoy the movie that much. I felt like they tried to do too much in one movie and as such nothing stayed on the screen long enough to really sink in, everything felt rushed. I know the director wanted to stay as true to the graphic novel as possible (within a certain amount of reason), but I’m willing to accept changes to canon (through pacing or whatever) if it helps improve the (translation to screen) story. I respect what he brought to screen, and how loyal he tried to stay, but I think this could have done with the Kill Bill treatment of splitting it up into two meatier films. I hate it for what it could have been.
Some Kind of Monster:
Watching the kings of heavy metal cry…
I hated United 93 because of the way it made me feel. I was nauseous the entire time I was in the theater and the instant the movie was over it passed. I knew I was going to see the movie the day it came out and the whole week leading up to it I was irritable and unpleasant. I didn’t realize until afterward that it was the idea of seeing the movie that had turned me into a raging asshole for a week. Clearly I had some unresolved issues regarding 9/11. United 93 brought them all to the forefront and they made me physically ill. I hate that movie but I certainly respect it as a well made piece of film if not the best movie that year.
Curse of the Golden Flower is strange kind of movie filled with historic pastiches so exotic they become discomforting with an underlying sociopolitical philosophy closer to those Nurenburg movies like Triumph of the Will. Seeing clear modern day propaganda with such high production values, and such a relatively weak script, is a new experience.
I file most of Lars Von Trier films under the “hate but respect” section of my brain, alongside other several film iconoclasts such as Takashi Miike, Fruit Chan, Todd Solonz, etc.
Also, would it be artless of me to suggest that while I hate Transformers 2, I respect the technical work that goes into making the film? Not as much as the technical work in District 9, or Up, but still, the CGI in that movie was pretty good.
I don’t really respect that one either. I think highly of Snyder for doing the best he can, but in the end I don’t really think it’s a great movie on it’s own. I did just buy the director’s cut though so I’ll give it another viewing and post my thoughts on why.
I respect Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, but I don’t like them. It’s not a matter of hate though.
In a time where the action movie genre is so incredibly stagnant atleast the Wachowskis TRIED something. They have far greater ambitions than 99% of film directors, especially those making action films.
There are great moments in The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions and a lot of shitty moments but I definately respect the efforts when compared to Hollywood’s usual effort to aggressively re-tread stale concepts.
I’d also put Phantom Menace in that category… it’s a horrible piece of shit for the most part but after I listened to the commentary I was filled with some kind of weird admiration for Lucas. In Phantom Menace atleast Lucas was making what he thought he should make. This was Lucas’ version of a new Star Wars movie. It was horribly miscalculated but the next two were far more cynical attempts to give the audience what they wanted. For example, if Lucas had his way the second and third Star Wars movies would be FILLED with Jar Jar. But because of fan reaction he removed him almost entirely from the films.
Oh, I’ve seen it multiple times since that first viewing, including the director’s cut :) I guess I’m a glutton for punishment.
Blue Velvet by David Lynch:
The entire movie had me feeling uncomfortable and as such I just didn’t enjoy it at all, but I respect it for what it is. It isn’t often a piece of film can affect me the way Blue Velvet did, I just don’t want to relive the experience.
I find Blue Velvet to be absolutely brilliant as a deconstruction of small-town America. But I also admit to having shown it to people just to watch them squirm. In fact, I did that with my in-laws a few years ago. Mostly because they had just dragged me to an off-Broadway of “Tiny Alice” the night before. I needed revenge.
I was going to say to the original poster that the answer was “no, that’s impossible”, but then someone mentioned Lars Von Trier and I was defeated.
Has “Requiem for a Dream” been mentioned?
Reloaded was just a retread of the first film, only EXTREME! He fights one agent, now he fights a hundred! He stops a few bullets, now he stops a 100! There’s a couple of scenes that are alright action and actual creativity (the ghost fight for instance)… but it wasn’t trying to be anything different from the first film.
Revolutions though at least felt like a new movie. It spent more of its time out of the matrix, had the cool mech sequence, the over the top one on one showdown, etc. That felt like they were flexing their creative muscles if not particularly well.
A little late here but the Two Towers is my favorite LOTR movie. A few reasons but generally it had an awesome army battle that the first didn’t have and none of the extra over-the-top everything + kitchen sink that the third movie had.
I don’t think you understand the topic, Jazar. Or are you just commenting on someone else’s choice?
Anyway, some have mentioned Let the Right One In, and I watched it on the recs of the people here and found it horribly plodding. I don’t get the love, though I admit that some of the filming (scene staging, etc.) was really quite good.
I certainly don’t dislike Two Towers, primarily because the Helm’s Deep battle is fantastic in ways the Battle of Pelennor Field isn’t, but it really is the least of the three for me. It drags a lot in the middle during the Ent stuff and the “Aragorn is dead/no he isn’t!” song and dance.
I love the action and resolution in RotK, but Fellowship is definitely my favorite of the LotR films. It has more structure in many ways, a more appealing color palette, and the balrog exceeded all expectations. Really that’s probably why I like it more than the others, because I went in thinking it would be a decent if unspectacular adaptation of the story and I was completely blown away. The other two I had high expectations because Fellowship was so well-done, so they weren’t quite special in the same way.
I didn’t like the second two as much because they felt a bit lazy as writing/direction let them follow typical action adventure movie beats and structure. I don’t think that was the intention, but that’s what happened.
IIRC, one of the special features confirmed my impression as Jackson said they felt more comfortable to depart from the source material and do a little bit of their own thing with writing the Two Towers and Return of the King. I think it really shows in the tone of the latter two as well.
I didn’t like the second two as much because they felt a bit lazy as let them follow typical action adventure movie beats and structure. I don’t think that was the intention, but that’s what happened.
IIRC, one of the special features confirmed my impression as Jackson said they felt more comfortable to depart from the source material and do a little bit of their own thing with writing the Two Towers and Return of the King. I think it really shows in the tone of the latter two as well.
To continue the off-topic drift here, I also thought The Two Towers was the best movie of the trilogy by far. I didn’t think it was even close. The scenes with Gollum’s incredible virtual acting when he’s talking to himself, the battle at Helm’s Deep, and just so many other little things make it my favorite. What really sells it to me the most, though, is Gollum and Sam and Frodo. Their side of the story in Two Towers was incredibly tense and engaging, and I get lost in it every time.
I think the Two Towers is the one that had me most impressed. I need to rewatch them before naming a favorite.
To get back on topic, I found Pan’s Labyrinth to be a beautifully created and performed masterpiece that touched mature themes while being appealingly fantastical.
And it completely bored the shit out of me.