Most overrated movies ever

[PlayMSTie]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a rarely mentioned, but VERY overrated movie.  Yes, I enjoyed it, but I think
it's doing the movie a disservice to treat it as tearful, maudlin, acadamy-darling oscar-winning gold.  It was cheeseballing
at its finest!  The over-the-top stereotype mental cases (like the sensitive, quiet giant indian guy who immediately recovers
from his catatonia after Jack Nicholson talks to him), not to mention how quick the audience is to identify a lying, cheating rapist,
pedophile and woman-beater as our hero simply because he takes mental patients along with him on a wild ride of hedonism and
self-indulgent behavior. 

This film is a very transparent rebels-vs.-authority movie, and not even a good or serious one like Coolhand Luke.  It pretty much
reduces a lot of deep and complex questions about the mentally disturbed to "crazies are our friends and they shouldn't be caged up;
they should be allowed to spread their wings and SOAR!"   ....and then freak out when something triggers a panic attack and accidentally
kill six or seven people.   

In conclusion, this movie fails to be a serious rebels-vs.-authority-figures movie like Coolhand Luke, and it also fails to be a good comedy
about the mentally ill like Harvey, or King of Hearts, although it comes closer to the latter sorts of movie.  This is definitely a movie that requires
you to shut off your brain to enjoy, so I guess that's what the Academy did when they showered it with oscars.

Odd.  Take out the references to mental patients and replace "Oscar-winning gold" to "Oscar-nomination bait," then you've basically got A Clockwork Orange.  Main character who is less than agreeable whom we are given the task of sympathizing with, rebels-vs.-authority, shutting the brain off to enjoy... it's stylistic and pretty to look at, and I enjoy the performances, but personally, I don't really see it as a movie that bears multiple viewings, and it's something I don't really think deserves the excessive amounts of praise that it's received.

The main problem that I have with the movie is that Kubrick used the American release of the novel to base the movie around, and that release took out the final chapter of the book.  The final chapter was dedicated to Alex's life after the Ludovico treatment and shows that he's grown past that part of his life, anyway, solidifying the idea that Ludovico was unnecessary in the long run.  Without that little tidbit, the entire meaning of the story, as the movie had revealed, is completely different.  The Ludovico treatment and the eventual cure for it seemed more like an inconvenient derailment from his basic, rotten attitude.

I hope this doesn't come across as "I hated this movie because it wasn't like the book in the end."  That's only a fraction of my argument, and is just a foolish thing to state upfront, anyway.  The movie was simply, "I'm a bad person; being forced to be a good person really sucks; I'm cured of being a good person, I think I'll be a bad person again."  Not exactly something to be revered.  It's this dodgy moral that I dislike the most about the movie and makes me think that it doesn't deserve the heaps of praise that it has received.  (Then again, I'm judging the "heaps of praise" thing solely on its rating on IMDb, so I might be horribly mistaken in calling it overrated.)

See, that's the same kind of problem I had with Children of Men. It wasn't just that the book was better, or even that the characters were changed in major ways, but that the themes of the film were COMPLETELY changed. I've never seen a movie take such a 180-degree turn from its source material.

[BEERxTaco]

[Dim of the Yard]

I think it fits the description of "overrated" because it's a decent movie but it gets treated as some sacred
holy artifact that's completely perfect in every way by fanboys who have a deep-seated homosexual attraction to Bruce Campbell and probably watched
Xena just because he was in it.   Thoughts, comments?

Bruce Campbell was in Xena?  (runs off to download the entire series)

[Tyrant]

I feel I have to add Army of Darkness to this list, because more than any other movie I can think of, geeks treat it with the same quiet awe and reverence that Jews attribute to Schindler's List.   I've never heard a single bad thing said about this movie, ever.   And I'm not saying it's bad,
but I definitely prefer Evil Dead I and II over it.   I think it fits the description of "overrated" because it's a decent movie but it gets treated as some sacred
holy artifact that's completely perfect in every way by fanboys who have a deep-seated homosexual attraction to Bruce Campbell and probably watched
Xena just because he was in it.   Thoughts, comments?

 For its hardcore following, I would venture to guess it has more to do with Ash's one-liners than anything. Well, and the fact that Ash is a badass. I think the overall fondness for Bruce Campbell mostly stems from the fact that he, as an actor, has never taken himself too seriously. It's refreshing to see a personality like that in the world of actors/actresses. Even the B-movie ones.

 Army of Darkness doesn't even try to be a good movie, though. It just tries to entertain. It's a high budget B-movie and I think the director was really going for that, so I suppose in that respect, it IS a perfect movie. Just not perfect compared to most other "perfect" movies (frankly, I don't think there is such a thing). I'm with you in terms of folks thinking it's the best thing since sliced bread, but I tend to think it probably is one of the best high-budget B-movies ever made.

[Pak-Man]

Army of Darkness is a bad movie with a LOT of Charisma. Everyone KNOWS it's a bad movie, but it wins us over anyway. :^)

[Chaos]

The fact that AoD didn't even TRY not to be bad is what makes it so damn funny. There's a certain comedic entertainment value in understanding that the writers, actors, director, and producers all understood that they were making a giant, flashy piece of crap... like sticking glitter on a pinecone.

[Principal_Skin-trade]

I don't know how Army Of Darkness was overrated, all I know is it kicks ass.

[bettertomorrowamy]

Schindler's List.

So long and depressing, and in black and white.  How much more do I need to know about the Holocaust?

[Tyrant]

Schindler's List.

So long and depressing, and in black and white.  How much more do I need to know about the Holocaust?

  Well, the Holocaust was long and depressing, so I suppose the movie fit the bill.

  Since one of my family members was a Schindler Jew, I found the film fascinating. It's an important chapter in the long running and ongoing tale of Anti-Semitism and, despite a few questionable changes here and there, is factual enough to have been shown in classrooms. It's definatly not a feel-good movie so I don't blame anyone from either not liking it or avoiding it. I will defend its reputation, however. Maybe I'm little biased (okay, maybe a lot biased), but I consider it well-deserved of all its awards and what not.

[the long undertow]

Schindler's List.

So long and depressing, and in black and white.  How much more do I need to know about the Holocaust?

How much do you know about the Holocaust?  Maybe you didn't mean to sound callous about 11 million people being systematically killed, but sheesh.

[bettertomorrowamy]

Schindler's List.

So long and depressing, and in black and white.  How much more do I need to know about the Holocaust?

How much do you know about the Holocaust?  Maybe you didn't mean to sound callous about 11 million people being systematically killed, but sheesh.

How much do you know about the Holocaust?  Notice that I did capitalize the 'H' in Holocaust.  Isn't that enough respect?

[Tripe]

Schindler's List.

So long and depressing, and in black and white.  How much more do I need to know about the Holocaust?

How much do you know about the Holocaust?  Maybe you didn't mean to sound callous about 11 million people being systematically killed, but sheesh.

I know it's more than 11 Million, for example.

[bettertomorrowamy]

I feel the same way about Passion of the Christ as Schindler's List.  Do I really need to know how much Jesus suffered during his crucifixion?
Isn't the real point why he suffered?  Overrated!

[Tripe]

I feel the same way about Passion of the Christ as Schindler's List.  Do I really need to know how much Jesus suffered during his crucifixion?
Isn't the real point why he suffered?  Overrated!

And with that I agree, though I've said this a number of times about the passion. It utterly misses the point and it actually exaggerates parts of Christs passion while not accurately depicting what it is that makes crucifixion the horrendous death it was.

It does however reflect the rather interesting  internal life of a sexually frustrated German nun however.

[Minnesota]

well since people are admitting to "avoiding" Schindler's List I'll admit two movies I'm avoiding as well...

Crash... looks terrible, I'm tempted to see it, but not overtly
Passion of the Christ... the whole torture porn aspect doesn't do it for me

^^^ anyone want to recommend these, otherwise I'm content to avoiding them