The Good, The Bleh, and The Ugly: Movie Recommendations

[sun_set_bravely]

We signed up for the Blockbuster version of Netflix in mid-August, and have since then watched 20 movies. The cool thing about Blockbuster's rental system is that you get 2 free in-store rentals per month. So when you have an itch to watch those two movies RIGHT NOW, you can be-bop down to the local store and pick them up to satisfy your craving.

For my memory's sake, and for any of you who might be looking for movie recommendations, here's my breakdown of the 20 movies.

The Good, The Bleh, and The Ugly.

Good = anywhere from "I'd watch it again" to "It changed my life." I've starred the ones that I highly recommend.
Bleh = anywhere from "Wait, I've seen this movie? I already forgot about it" to "It was mildly offensive."
Ugly = anywhere from "This movie was regurgitated film formula and bored me to death" to "I didn't finish it because it was so bad."

The Good
50 First Dates
*Step into Liquid
Sixth Sense
The Game
*Station Agent
*Monster
*Shaolin Soccer
Spellbound
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Blue Crush
Starsky & Hutch

The Bleh
Johnny English
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Barbershop 2: Back in Business
Big Fish

The Ugly
Dirty Pretty Things
Love Actually
Alex and Emma
Cold Mountain


And the winner of the "It Was So Bad, It's the First Movie I've Not Finished in a Long Time" award goes to:

Election

Really, folks, it was bad. I was warned ahead of time by freak1c and mikecheck about how bad it was, but I put it on the list anyway, swearing up and down that someone had recommended it to me. But I was wrong. It was really, really bad. I stopped at 50 minutes before I lost any more time that I could never get back. I'm sure it was supposed to be dry humor, but it was mostly just dry. And gross.

If anyone would like explanation or my opinion on any of these movies, please feel free to ask.

Comments

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

Netflix has been pushing Election on me since I joined. Apparently it caters to my unique tastes. I guess it's time to click the "not interested" button.

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

For the sake of all that is holy in this world, tell them you're not interested. I may be exaggerating a bit, but not much.

[nickelchief.livejournal.com]

I thought Election was a well-done satire, though it is dark, perverse, and ugly. It's a glimpse of the seedy grimy underpinnings of human perversion, and I thought it was funny in an unpleasant, wincing sort of way. I don't remember enough about it to defend it more than that, though.

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to get multiple opinions on the film. I understood that the filmmaker was trying to create an interesting satire, but I thought it was a sloppy effort, and its themes were more of a teenager's fantasies than a grown person's satirical ideas. But hey, that's just me.

[paularubia.livejournal.com]

I thought Election was a well-done satire, though it is dark, perverse, and ugly. It's a glimpse of the seedy grimy underpinnings of human perversion, and I thought it was funny in an unpleasant, wincing sort of way. I don't remember enough about it to defend it more than that, though.

That's pretty much my opinion. I think above all else I was impressed with Reese Witherspoon's performance.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

I liked the barbership sequel. It fulfilled my secret Mayberry in Chicago urges.

[oceanic.livejournal.com]

Dirty Pretty Things?? But that movie was so amazing! Certainly dark and extremely fucked-up, but.. man. I really loved that movie, though I would not see it again willingly (too hard to watch).
I turned off Lara Croft 2 within thirty minutes, and that was with the hot guy in it that I had been salivating over for months while watching the preview. The upside-down push-ups were the only good part of that movie.
Loved The Game. So damn cool. Love Actually was tolerable schmaltz. Otherwise I agree with you. :)

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

Dirty Pretty Things suffered because I saw it the day after I saw Monster. And I thought Monster was an amazingly well-crafted piece of film. So DPT was, to me, cliche and very predictable. Had I seen it on another day, I might think better of it.

[oceanic.livejournal.com]

Ah, see, I haven't seen Monster. Maybe DPT will pale by comparison. Really, I just loved the main character. He was great.

my cranky two cents :)

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

Election aside, I agree with most of your estimations, although I might bump Love Actually up a grade; parts of it were genuinely sweet and moving. I'd probably kick the Game down a notch, as the ending really didn't work for me (for spoiler-laden reasons I won't go into here); Big Fish, on the other hand, was extremely moving; it was the first Tim Burton movie I've seen in ages that didn't leave me saying "For heaven's sake, tim, it Looks great- now how about the script...?"


...and I'm still smiling over that picture of the smiling bulldog; is it okay if I make it into a user icon?

Re: my cranky two cents :)

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

I went into "Love Actually" with high expectations, just because everyone that I've spoken to ADORED the movie. But I also grant that I watched it in the middle of the summer, when it's really a winter movie. Had it been snowing outside and had I been all bundled up with the holiday spirit, I might have liked it more.

And I'm not sure why I didn't find "Big Fish" more moving. I thought the story was a nice one, and I enjoyed it well enough. I was disappointed with Billy Crudup's performance; I felt it was really dry and lacking. Not that I could have done a better job, mind you... :)

And of course you may use the bulldog as an icon! I'm flattered. Would you mind noting its source when you debut it on your journal?

Re: my cranky two cents :)

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

Of course I will credit you; it's a wonderful photograph, too :)

(And you're right about Love Actually; it's definitely a hot cocoa and blanket type of movie.)