Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Little Hawk
Date: 04 Aug 11 - 06:29 PM

Yup. I agree totally with your assessment of "Forrest Gump". A pretty movie, but not a smart one.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 04 Aug 11 - 06:28 PM

And profoundly stupid people start million dollar fishing business because they are too dumb to check the hurricane forecast before they go out.

That is the main theme in Forrest Gump. It allows him to take care of Jenny and Lt Dan and Bubba's family and to take care of little Forrest later in the movie.

Its a pretty movie. but not a smart one.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Little Hawk
Date: 04 Aug 11 - 06:11 PM

Good people triumph within themselves, but not necessarily in the outer world of society....where not so good people often appear to do very well...at least for quite a while...they sometimes end up very badly, though. Good people can also end up very badly in outer terms...what society sees...but that ain't all there is.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 04 Aug 11 - 05:06 PM

As for Forest Gump The movie and the book were completely different stories, the character names and the settings (Alabama and USA and Viet Nam) were the same but only a few of the incidents of the book and none of the funny ones, which there were many, made it on to the screen.

The movie, imho stands on its own and is pretty good. But it is not comedic as the book was and has a completely different point of view.

The book is a celebration of the humor of stupidity.

The movie is a fantasy that says that good people triumph because they are lucky no matter how dumb they are.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: RangerSteve
Date: 04 Aug 11 - 04:58 PM

I never saw "Rocky", but saw another in the series and thought it was pretty dumb. I don't like Stallone anyway.

As for Forest Gump, I read the book, and apparently it was really different from the movie, and I liked the book, so I'll skip the film

Schindler's List - I've been told (here at Mudcat) that it's not as depressing as it sounds, and the ending is kind of hopeful, but I can't bring myself to see it. Nazis make my blood pressure rise.

I didn't see Casablanca or the Maltese Falcon until sometime in the 1970's. I was in my 20's when I finally saw the Wizard of Oz.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Little Hawk
Date: 04 Aug 11 - 04:43 PM

Wow! I didn't think of that one. I haven't seen any of the Godfather film series either.

I watched about half of "Goodfellas" and it made me fill ill, so I turned it off.

On the other hand, I really liked "Miller's Crossing". That was a gangster flick with style.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 04 Aug 11 - 02:55 PM

Indeed it does. Another reason I don't go

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 04 Aug 11 - 02:54 PM

Wow LG doesn't that rule out at least half of all movies?

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 04 Aug 11 - 02:48 PM

I've never seen nor WANTED to see any Godfather movie.

Why celebrate the lifestyles of moral- trash?

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: ollaimh
Date: 03 Aug 11 - 11:13 PM

your really not watching enough midnight cable tv!!

i've seen parts of several of these. i often loose interest and go back to reading or playing with my new dulcimer, especially harry potter. do any of those movies make sense? they seem to all revolved around deus ex machina endings basd on MAGIC.

on the other hand i think avatar is the most revolutionary movie to come out of holiwood in decades, maybe ever.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 03 Aug 11 - 08:15 AM

You sound wistful Patsy ;-)

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 03 Aug 11 - 07:00 AM

Any of the 70s porn films complete with polyester shirts and 'Jason King' type moustaches.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: fat B****rd
Date: 03 Aug 11 - 04:54 AM

I just recalled. I've never seen Planet of the Apes.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 03 Aug 11 - 04:44 AM

Butch Casserole and the Suntan Kid

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Eiseley
Date: 02 Aug 11 - 10:59 PM

I agree with you about A Walk in the Clouds. So stupid! But I really liked a little known Canadian film, Strangers in Good Company about a group of old women who are on a tour bus and it breaks down. Lovely people in that group, and they played themselves, mainly.

Eiseley

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Aug 11 - 08:58 PM

One I was tempted to walk out of until I "got it" was Zardoz with Sean Connery. It's a farce, but you have to remember the opening credits to make sense of it.

Another one I almost walked out of was Rollerball. Again, by sticking around it made a lot of sense.

I should have walked out of A Walk in the Clouds. Stupidest damn premise and most idiotic ending of a story, with (if I remember correctly) a bunch of Mexican-American actors portraying second-generation Italians in the California wine region.

SRS

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 Aug 11 - 12:49 PM

I never saw that one with Ryan O'Neal...something to do with "love is never having to say you're sorry"? Love Story?

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Mrrzy
Date: 02 Aug 11 - 11:06 AM

The movie with Soylent Green in it. It may have been called Soylent Green.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 10:17 AM

>>Perhaps if the celebration, and/or glorification of violence, and the graphic portrayal of the end result of said violence, ceased to be regarded as entertainment, there would be more films that I wanted to watch! <<

There are plenty of films without all that. But don't expect to see them opening on thousands of screens on a holiday weekend.

Avoid the films aims at immature males and you will avoid most of that.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 07:38 AM

Perhaps if the celebration, and/or glorification of violence, and the graphic portrayal of the end result of said violence, ceased to be regarded as entertainment, there would be more films that I wanted to watch!

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 07:04 AM

These days hardly anything. If I did I would be more inclined to visit the cinema mid-week when it is cheaper and not in the school holidays. How parents manage with a family trip to the cinema I don't know, the popcorn alone is about £4.00 per carton maybe more? It would work out cheaper to take a family out to the country or beach.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 06:14 AM

'Last of the Mohicans' has been No.1 on my list of favourite films for several years now. I'm amazed at the way it re-creates the violent world of 18th century North America (a world I am certainly glad I never had to live in!).

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Little Hawk
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 12:53 PM

"hardly ever a film worth seeing"

Ain't that the sad truth.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 12:52 PM

"supposed to be seen?"

From whose point of view?   We have a large TV and a 5.1 surround sound system. I think films are supposed to be seen from the comfort of my sofa eating my own popcorn, with no one I do not love talking through it and with the ability to pause it when I want to pee.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 12:45 PM

"any films I've seen have been on TV"

In which case you haven't actually seen the films. In common with most of us. Any number of great films I'd love a chance to see the way they are supposed to be seen. Six screens at our local cinema, and hardly ever a film worth seeing between them.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Little Hawk
Date: 27 Jul 11 - 03:49 PM

I like to see that kind of faith, John. ;-) It's people like you who have prevented the world from drowning in a sea of unromantic boredom and mundane practicality.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 27 Jul 11 - 01:35 PM

Whadya mean, a man in a lizard suit? They were real monsters!

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Little Hawk
Date: 27 Jul 11 - 01:10 PM

I didn't think much of Fritz the Cat.

I didn't like Independence Day because I don't want my science fiction films to be silly or funny...unless they were made in the 1950s or they feature an 800 foot tall lizard that is clearly a man in a lizard suit. ;-)

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jul 11 - 01:05 PM

Fritz the Cat - bleh. I saw it years and years ago and hated it.

Independence Day is silly and funny (possibly unintentionally) but I think the story, like one we discussed in another thread, the newest King Kong, has aspects that bear consideration. In ID there was a great riff on the popular culture UFA literature as far as Area 51, in particular.

SRS

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Little Hawk
Date: 27 Jul 11 - 11:53 AM

LOL!!!

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Max Johnson
Date: 27 Jul 11 - 06:17 AM

Had the police shown up I could have offered them a slice because it wasn't very good pizza but better than having my ears assulted. I have never been tempted to go back.

That's not fair, gnu. The poor bloke who actually lived at 64 Crown Crescent is probably doing time.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: autolycus
Date: 27 Jul 11 - 02:47 AM

There is a prog on the Beeb called "I've never Seen Star Wars", in which celebrities are invited to try 5 things, different from one guest to another, that they have never tried before. They then give the resulting experience a mark out of ten.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Little Hawk
Date: 27 Jul 11 - 02:21 AM

Hmm. I've never seen it. Well, maybe it's on Youtube?

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: GUEST,number 6
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 08:39 PM

"The Misfits"

I'm with PoppaGator in regards that movie .... certainly is IMO, one of the greatest films ever to come out of Hollywood!!

biLL

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: JennieG
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 06:50 PM

Well....I have to say I have never seen any of the Star Wars movies, or any of the Lord of the Rings series, or any Harry Potter movies. I'm not precious, but science fiction and fantasy just don't do it for me. Loud blokey action movies aren't my style either.

On the other hand, give me a good musical and some comedy and I am a happy little vegemite......

The world would be a dull place if we all liked the same things, wouldn't it?

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: autolycus
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 06:17 PM

While people can be quite comfortable to write off most or all of classical music, I am equally happy to write off a lot of unseen popular films, and with greater reason.

There's so much good stuff in the way of music, films, plays, works of artand books [if nothing else, like new people to meet, relations to see and places to visit] that I think I may not have time to get around to.

So not finding the time for stuff that may be popular but one believes isn't worth the time seems reasonable.

From the original list, I've seen

Toy Story
Saving Private Ryan
Good Morning Vietnam
Groundhog Day
Sleepless in Seattle

All were pretty good. I just don't feel I'm missing anything with the rest, especially given what I wrote at the beginning.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Little Hawk
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 05:14 PM

Yeah, it's ridiculous how they have the sound cranked in modern movie theatres. And the sad thing is, a whole generation of young people are becoming accustomed to expect that level of sound inside a theatre, so they'll take it for granted from here on in.

One could wear earplugs when at the movies, I suppose... ;-)

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: gnu
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 05:08 PM

I went to a Star Trek movie in one of the new theatres here about a dozen years ago. I had to leave after a few minutes because the sound was deafening. I asked for my money back (2PM) and the young girl said I would have to speak to the manager but he wasn't in and I would have to come back after 6PM. I said, "No, I don't have to come back. You have to call the police and tell them my name is Gary Owens and I live at 64 Crown Crescent." She looked rather perplexed. I repeated what I said and then took a half dozen large pizza slices from the display and walked out with them.

Had the police shown up I could have offered them a slice because it wasn't very good pizza but better than having my ears assulted. I have never been tempted to go back.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: GUEST,Chongo Chimp
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 04:48 PM

I've seen "Bedtime for Bonzo". Terrible specist crap! The one saving grace is that the chimp outacts everyone else in the film, and no surprises there! Chimps generally get poor roles in Hollywood films, but Bonzo blew Ronnie Reagan right off the screen in that one.

As for...

Rocky, (any)
Jaws, either
Pirates of the Carribean
Cars
Superman, any
Toy Story
Saving Private Ryan
Good Morning Vietnam
Armageddon
Independence Day
Groundhog Day
Sleepless in Seattle

Seen 'em all. Loved 'em all, except for Good Morning Vietnam which I was sorta neutral on.

Are you missin' anything, John? Yeah! Yer missin' a life. I suggest you go out and get one while there's still time. Ook! Ook! ;-D

- Chongo

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 03:09 PM

"I've seen most of the films hated by the OP"

He didn't say he hated them, just that he'd never seen them and wondered if he'd missed anything.

I've never been to Australia. That doesn't mean I've anything against it.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 02:55 PM

You say you've seen them on TV not in a cinema. I haven't been inside a cinema for about 25 years, and like you, any films I've seen have been on TV, except for a couple I watched on planes. Apropos of which, on my flight to Australia, and my return, the 2 main films on offer were, Legally Blonde, and Notting Hill. I read a lot that trip!

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Will Fly
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 02:55 PM

Haven't seen:

Rocky (any)
Saving Private Ryan
Armageddon
Independence Day
Gone With The Wind
Mary Poppins
The Sound Of Music
Straw Dogs
Forrest Gump
Schindler's List

But am continually entranced by:

The Battle Of Algiers
Un Homme Condamné a Mort Est Echappé
The Day Of The Jackal
The Third Man
A Matter Of Life And Death
Dead Of Night

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: PoppaGator
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 02:33 PM

Wow, I thought I was a fairly sophisticated guy, but I must really be an asshole; I've seen most of the films hated by the OP and enjoyed most of them.

Disclaimer: saw more of them on TV than in theaters. I suppose that helps enhance one's enjoyment when there's no possibility of regretting having spent way-too-much on a ticket.

Well, each to his own, no accounting for taste, etc., etc. Far be it for me to criticize anyone's else's aesthetic taste...BUT:

Someone went out of their way to tell us how much he/she HATED "The Misfits"!!?!?!?

One of the greatest films ever to come out of Hollywood!!:

~ Shot in black and white in 1960-61, many years after virtually ALL non-documentary films used color exclusively;
~ Directed by the great John Huston;
~ Screenplay by the even greater dramatist Arthur Miller (not enough snob appeal for you there?);
~ Final screen appearance before his death by the great Clark Gable;
~ Final screen appearance before her death by the great Marilyn Monroe
~ Terrific supporting performances by Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, and Thelma Ritter...

Gable was very ill, missed some days during filming (although you really can't tell by his performance ~ musta taken some guts), so it was no surprise thast he passed away soon after wrapping the project. Marilyn's passing, on the other hand, was much more untimely and came as a shock to millions.

What's not to like??!?!!?

I watch this movie every time I get a chance, which is several times a year since Turner Classic Movies keeps it in "heavy rotation."

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Becca72
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 09:35 AM

I absolutely loved Armageddon. It's not a brilliant story line. The acting isn't top-notch. It's loud and brash. But I've seen it a half dozen times and still love it. Bruce Willis is perhaps the sexiest man to ever walk the face of this earth...or any other. :-)

I have seen all of the movies on the OP's list. Some I enjoyed, some I didn't. I'm OK with not being very cool. Like ranger1, I watch movies to be entertained. Same reason I read fiction. It's brain candy.

Oh, BTW, I have seen Star Wars upwards of 100 times. I collect anything and everything Darth Vader. Am I a geek? Yes. But I'm fine with that.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 08:27 AM

I walked out of 'Lost Horizon' a musical version of Shangrila most of the people in the cinema did that night too so I wasn't alone.

Fritz the Cat was good but I tried to find the 'ladiesroom' (loo) half way through couldn't find it so made my way to the pub next door. Then I discovered I hadn't taken my ticket with me to get back inside. So went back to the pub for a lemonade or two (it was early days and didn't feel right buying alcohol back then) and waited outside for my beloved who wondered where the heck I'd been. So I still don't know how it ended.

John MacKenzie I remember the first of the multiscreen cimemas. The sound system was so rubbish you could hear the movie playing in the next room, one in Bristol was like that and to add to that the noise from the traffic outside could be heard drowning the film being watched. At the time I wasn't too happy about the prospect of all the cinemas being turned into multiscreened cinemas luckily they have solved that problem.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 07:47 AM

I loved Fritz the Cat
My biggest disappointment was Tommy. The film was great, but the pokey little multiscreen cinema I saw it in, had a crap sound system, and that's one film that really needs a good sound system!

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: GUEST,Raggytash
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 07:34 AM

The last film I watched was American Werewolf in London went it was first released in the UK, before that it was Fritz the Cat, if this makes me cool, well Wow, I've never considered myself to be cool before.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 Jul 11 - 07:21 AM

I just get irritated when the sound is too loud and the words are hard to make out because of all the background, and the special effects overload everything.   Nothing to do with not wanting to be entertained - in fact quite the reverse - I don't like being bored, and I find those things very boring.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Little Hawk
Date: 25 Jul 11 - 11:10 PM

Yup! ;-D Sure is.

*****

This thing about not liking the mainstream popular stuff that almost everyone else apparently likes is a very tempting thing to the ego in many people. It sets you apart when you don't like mainstream stuff, but you like oddball, rare, and unusual stuff instead. It suggests that you're way cooler and smarter than most of the people around you, and what could be more gratifying to the ego than that?

I know I've fallen into that very conceit at various times in my own life, and a lot of other people have too. I recently had a young friend, for example, who had a passion for music that NO ONE else his age was listening to. In short, he loved Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and Leonard Cohen. Now, there's no reason not to love those guys' music, admittedly, but I can't help feeling that it was his natural desire to set himself well apart from his peers that led him into picking that music in the first place when all his buddies were listening to more modern stuff.

It's that heady feeling that only YOU and a very few others are "in the know", and you're surrounded by dummies who aren't.

What could be more fun than that? ;-) I can remember any number of times I've felt that way. It can have some justification too...but it usually involves a sort of self-absorbed ego trip at the same time. If we can detect how our own ego is leading us into such attitudes, we can laugh at it a bit, I figure. No reason to feel bad or guilty about it, just see the funny side.

Subject: RE: Films I alone haven't seen{apparently}
From: Mrrzy
Date: 25 Jul 11 - 11:04 PM

I haven't seen Saving Private Ryan either. I have seen clips and previews.

Movies I waited waaaaaaaaaayyy too long to see for the first time:

***The Wizard of Oz - I'd have loved it as a child

***King of Hearts - played all the time at the vintage theaters the decade or so I lived in Boston, didn't see it till a couple of years ago, what a treat

***2001 - didn't see it till 2001, hated it, might have liked it as a teenager

(Kinda like I didn't read 1984 till 1984, but that one, I loved.) But I digress.