Disappointments/Overrated
I know this doesn't apply to probably anyone but me, but I'm keeping a list of films that I thought were underwhelming or just downright terrible. Not all of them may be bad films, but they didn't provide an experience that I thought was as good as the hype surrounding them.
Also note, that a lot of the movies on this list are made by directors that I LOVE which is what adds to the disappointment. Persona (1966) being an example where I like Bergman, but don't like that specific movie to the degree that most others do.
Also also, sorry if some of these criticisms come across as rants.
Also note, that a lot of the movies on this list are made by directors that I LOVE which is what adds to the disappointment. Persona (1966) being an example where I like Bergman, but don't like that specific movie to the degree that most others do.
Also also, sorry if some of these criticisms come across as rants.
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- DirectorRobert BressonStarsAnne WiazemskyWalter GreenFrançois LafargeThe story of a mistreated donkey and the people around him. A study on saintliness and a sister piece to Bresson's Mouchette.I absolutely hate this film. It has poor editing, poor acting, and the dialogue is very weak and makes no sense. The pacing itself is also very poor where pieces of information that are important to the plot seem have happened completely off-screen.
The other thing that bugs me about this movie is that a lot of the praise the movie gets seems to be written by people with a presupposition of what is in the film. All the reviews I've seen that were glowing use almost the exact same buzzwords and phrases when describing characters in the film, which makes me think everyone who loves the film just likes it because someone famous at one point did or there is some "original" review that people are basing their reviews off of.
I can enjoy a good art film or a slow film, but this is not one of them. - DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsBibi AnderssonLiv UllmannMargaretha KrookA nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together.It's not terrible, but Bergman's masterpiece? Not in my opinion. While it is "avant garde" and what not it doesn't reach the same emotional depths that other Bergman films have.
Sure, the movie looks fantastic and has a neat/weird premise, but the ending is kind of a "it was all just a dream" sort of deal which kind of gets rid of a lot of the weight it could've had. - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioMatt DamonJack NicholsonAn undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.The second half is boring... and in a 150 minute long film that is a big portion.
The problem with these types of gang/cop/crime movies is that they all start to feel the same to a degree. There is a good cop, there is a bad cop, there is a conspiracy going on, someone knows the truth but everyone is trying to hide the truth, there is a forced romance blah blah blah we know how this rolls.
The basic premise of the movie is good, but the movie overstays its welcome by dragging things out for waaay too long, and the last 20 minutes of the movie are driven by confusing character choices that don't really make sense. - DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsRosa SalazarChristoph WaltzJennifer ConnellyA deactivated cyborg's revived, but can't remember anything of her past and goes on a quest to find out who she is.Bad script, bad action, poor pacing, and the story lacks any sense of tension or weight.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsAmy AdamsJeremy RennerForest WhitakerA linguist works with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world.This movie has some REALLY bad dialogue and most of it comes from the military. There is a scene in the movie where an Officer walks up to someone and says something like, "Here is a recording of two aliens talking. We know nothing about their language. Can you translate it just by hearing it this one time? If not, then you must be bad at your job."
The movie is FULL of dialogue like this that sounds like it is better fitting in a B-movie or an asylum production. The base premise of the movie is really good, but there are so many hilariously bad moments whenever the military gets involved with the plot. - DirectorSusanne BierStarsSandra BullockTrevante RhodesJohn MalkovichFive years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a mother and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety.To be fair, the hype for this movie might have been a big ol' marketing scheme, but regardless of that fact I still have to point out that this film is bad. It is very boring and all of the interesting bits are far too few.
- DirectorShin'ichirô WatanabeMary Elizabeth McGlynnTensai OkamuraStarsBeau BillingsleaMelissa FahnNicholas GuestA terrorist explosion releases a deadly virus on the masses, and it's up to the bounty-hunting Bebop crew to catch the cold-blooded culprit.I love Cowboy Bebop, but this movie is pretty boring after the beginning. Cowboy Bebop is great for the relationships and character interactions between the main cast, but most of this movie has everyone split up and on side-missions.
Also, as much as I love urban art and the "street feel" that this movie has, this movie suffers from not feeling like it is set in the Cowboy Bebop universe. Most of it looks like modern city streets and it gets really confusing as to why it doesn't look like the future. Where is the space? Where are the ships? Why do their cops look like modern day SWAT teams? Why does this film have at least 20 minutes worth of B-Roll??? - DirectorJ.J. AbramsStarsDaisy RidleyJohn BoyegaOscar IsaacAs a new threat to the galaxy rises, Rey, a desert scavenger, and Finn, an ex-stormtrooper, must join Han Solo and Chewbacca to search for the one hope of restoring peace.It's a remake of episode IV and it acknowledges that within the first three minutes of the movie. This seemed like the laziest route they could take and in retrospect it was probably done because they actually had NO IDEA where they were taking the story so they just decided to remake episode IV and then figure it out from there.
- DirectorMel BrooksStarsCleavon LittleGene WilderSlim PickensIn order to ruin a western town, a corrupt politician appoints a black Sheriff, who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary.The first Act is funny, but the rest of it feels like they had no idea where they were going. Plot lines will show up and disappear with no explanation, stuff happens, attempts at humour through "references", and fairly forgettable by the end.
- DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsJean DujardinBérénice BejoJohn GoodmanWhen George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.Not a bad film, I just feel like the most interesting ideas in the film should've been explored much further.
- DirectorRyan CooglerStarsChadwick BosemanMichael B. JordanLupita Nyong'oT'Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past.Do I really need to explain how this is not worthy of a "Best Picture" nomination?
- DirectorSylvain ChometStarsMichèle CaucheteuxJean-Claude DondaMichel RobinWhen her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters--an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire--to rescue him.The Illusionist (2010) is one of my favorite films of all time, but The Triplets of Belleville feels more like an extended portfolio piece. Sure, the animation is ASTOUNDING and it is visually interesting, but for some reason it gets a ton of attention while The Illusionist rests in its shadows.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsMiki ImaiToshirô YanagibaYoko HonnaA twenty-seven-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo.I might need to see this movie again, but I remember it had some very good moments and ideas but didn't work well as a whole.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsShûichirô MoriyamaTokiko KatôBunshi Katsura VIIn 1930s Italy, a veteran World War I pilot is cursed to look like an anthropomorphic pig.It has some really nice heartfelt moments, but it feels like it ends at the halfway point of a movie. While I don't think it needed a big violent conclusion or anything like that, it did need something more than a "midpoint conflict" as its finale.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYôji MatsudaYuriko IshidaYûko TanakaOn a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.Visually stunning, but the character acting and voice acting are some of the worst I've seen in a movie. None of the characters emote in this movie and they all carry this emotionless neutral facial expression (the big bad lady suffers from this the most).
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJonathan PryceKim GreistRobert De NiroA bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartKim NovakBarbara Bel GeddesA former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.Vertigo is one of those movies I don't think I will ever understand why it is becoming so beloved and considered "The Greatest Film of All Time". Nothing about it is remarkable or really stands out compared to other competitors for the greatest film ever (Wild Strawberries, Tokyo Story, Psycho, Citizen Kane etc..)
I figured out the first major twist in the movie, because I know Hitchcock doesn't do ghost movies, so I knew right off the bat there has to be a conspiracy involved. This means that the first 2/3 of the film wasn't very interesting to me and then the last third is just the movie treading water to extend its run time.
The actual ending is suppposed to be sad/ironic but I burst out laughing when it happened. I was half expecting the Looney Tunes logo to pop-up with Porky Pig due to how anti-climatic and silly it felt. - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.B-roll the movie. About half of this movie could be cut out and you would still get the same story.
- DirectorPatty JenkinsStarsGal GadotChris PineRobin WrightWhen a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, Diana, an Amazonian warrior in training, leaves home to fight a war, discovering her full powers and true destiny.It's just boring. There is nothing about this movie that is very extraordinary or interesting. DC released an "average" movie and because it was better than their last film everyone claimed it was a masterpiece.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsHolly HunterHarvey KeitelSam NeillIn the mid-19th century a mute woman is sent to New Zealand along with her young daughter and prized piano for an arranged marriage to a farmer, but is soon lusted after by a farm worker.I actually have a funny story about this movie: I saw this movie as part of a film history class due to it having a female director and being deemed "historically significant". Our teacher (who was female) told us that it would be good to see a movie directed by a female and how the "male gaze" is an issue in film.
Well... unfortunately the idea that this movie is revolutionary and will make men less sexist by watching it is actually the opposite theme that this movie has. THE WHOLE PLOT IS ABOUT A DUDE PSYCHOLOGICALLY RAPING A WOMAN AND HER LEARNING TO LOVE IT AND REGAIN HER VOICE FROM IT!
I'm not even kidding. I have never seen a movie with a more mixed up message and crazy premise where it thinks the romantic scenes are romantic, but they are actually terrifying. We had students walk out of the theatre due to how disturbing they found the movie.
Interestingly enough, everyone in the class got the opposite message that we were supposed to get and instead got this message: Deep down inside women want to manipulated and controlled and they don't know it until you force them into it... very... er... progressive? - DirectorTravis KnightStarsCharlize TheronArt ParkinsonMatthew McConaugheyA young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armour worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past.
- DirectorMark OsborneStarsJeff BridgesMackenzie FoyRachel McAdamsA little girl lives in a very grown-up world with her mother, who tries to prepare her for it. Her neighbor, the Aviator, introduces the girl to an extraordinary world where anything is possible, the world of the Little Prince.
- DirectorGareth EdwardsStarsAaron Taylor-JohnsonElizabeth OlsenBryan CranstonThe world is beset by the appearance of monstrous creatures, but one of them may be the only one who can save humanity.
- DirectorDon CoscarelliStarsChase WilliamsonRob MayesPaul GiamattiA new street drug that sends its users across time and dimensions has one drawback: some people return no longer human. Can two college drop-outs save humanity from this silent, otherworldly invasion?John does not, in fact, die at the end.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMasayuki MoriKyôko KagawaA vengeful young man marries the daughter of a corrupt industrialist in order to seek justice for his father's suicide.While this movie definitely has its moments, I think its biggest flaw is that it doesn't conclude any of its plot-lines in a satisfying manner. None of its story arcs really hit a resolution and the movie kind of ends where it begins. You could read into this a lot and just say "that's the way it was intended to be" but to me it feels more like a misstep.
I know a lot of people say the ending is unsatisfying because it was supposed to reflect current issues in Japan where bad people were constantly getting away with bad stuff even when there a lot of evidence against them, but even so I still think the movie needed a little more closure than what it has. - DirectorLuc BessonStarsBruce WillisMilla JovovichGary OldmanIn the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr. Zorg at bay.I don't get if people like this movie ironically or not. I've seen reviewers give big in depth explanations about how the movie is "Deep", "Profound", and "Complex", but from what I saw it is just a goofy sci-fi flick with poor pacing issues and bad editing.
- DirectorDean DeBloisStarsJay BaruchelAmerica FerreraF. Murray AbrahamWhen Hiccup discovers Toothless isn't the only Night Fury, he must seek the Hidden World, a secret Dragon Utopia before a hired tyrant named Grimmel finds it first.
- DirectorSatoshi KonStarsMegumi HayashibaraTôru EmoriKatsunosuke HoriWhen a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients' dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist, Paprika, can stop it.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsTom CruiseJack NicholsonDemi MooreMilitary lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.I don't know what I was expecting, but a little more than a generic late 80s early 90s film. The cinematography looks like a TV show, the soundtrack is laughably cheesy, and a lot of the dialogue is a hodge-podge of clichés.
While I have to give the movie some credit that it tries to defend the military to some extent and explain why people in the military could come across as so cut-throat and delusional, the military acting is still overplayed to a cartoonish degree.
A lot of the characters seem more like Rocky and Bullwinkle characters spouting stuff like, "The only two books I need are the military code and the New King James Bible." The movie makes marines out to be a bunch of brainless simpletons who can't tell their left hand from their right hand. It's just very hard to take the movie seriously when half the cast is an extreme stereotype.
This movie suffers from the 80s-90s male protagonist writing problem where we are told to care or like a certain character and the rest of the cast will say cliche things like, "Wow, you are so extraordinary!" or "I know you can do it, because you are special!". However, Tom Cruise's character has no likable attributes. He is selfish, arrogant, cocky, lazy, sexist, rude, ungrateful, takes people for granted and so on and so forth. The only thing he is good at is the court case, but other than that is miserable to be around. However, since he is the protagonist the movie expects us to easily go with awful personality. To add to movie cliches, the girl who hates him ends up having a soft spot for him because "She simply misunderstood how good he really was!... even if he is still a completely selfish a**hole." - DirectorCarol ReedStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenAlida ValliPulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.I feel like this movie's greatness got inflated with time (much like Vertigo). It isn't a bad movie by any means, but I don't think it really sticks out against the films released decades prior to it or after it.
In terms of visuals, it isn't a bad looking film, but it isn't "M" or "Citizen Kane". The story isn't bad and it can be fairly engaging, but the film never feels like it has the weight that it needs to be truly effective. Even though we are told there are high stakes, we never truly get a sense of danger.
It also doesn't help that the main protagonist (in my opinion) is fairly obnoxious and unlikable. He even gets someone killed by sharing private information to someone who he suspects TO BE A MURDERER! Moments like this in the movie make him come across as grossly incompetent and irresponsible, which could be interesting if done right, but the movie never manages to use these moments to make the protagonist grow.