Pedro or Summer?

Page 2 of 2<12
Poll
3 votes (33.33%)
2 votes (22.22%)
4 votes (44.44%)

9 members have voted

September 20th, 2013 at 3:10:19 PM permalink
Wizard
Administrator
Member since: Oct 23, 2012
Threads: 239
Posts: 6095
Quote: Fleastiff
All Quiet on the Western Front.... never saw anything much happening in it.


Never seen it. My entry as the most overrated movie is Gone with the Wind.
Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber
September 20th, 2013 at 5:55:06 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: Wizard
Never seen it. My entry as the most overrated movie is Gone with the Wind.


It's an early classic WWI movie. The book's not bad, either.

But the most overrated movie of all time is The Matrix. From the hype, you'd think it was a movie worrth watching. I suspect Avatar is worse in this respect, but I haven't seen it yet.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
September 20th, 2013 at 6:12:04 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: Fleastiff
All Quiet on the Western Front.... never saw anything much happening in it.


It is a major film because it is the most significant anti-war film made in the early years of film making. Some other films with anti-war sentiment were:

J'accuse 1919
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse 1921
High Treason 1928
All Quiet on the Western Front 1930
Cavalcade 1933

There was a rash of anti-war films made right before WWII, then during the war nobody dared to make such a film. There were several made after the war but they were mostly about the high human cost of combat. On the Beach (1959) really started off the apocalyptic "films and the horrors of ever fighting a war.

If you watch "All Quiet" today it seems overly crude in it's blatant sentiment, but that is partly because you've seen dozens of anti-war films. You can't really go back to a time when it was shocking.,
September 20th, 2013 at 9:58:15 PM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
Posts: 7831
Most films made before world war two were Warner Brothers films aimed at stirring America up to war fever ... see Celluloid Soldiers.
Particularly when FDR ordered the sandbags and machine guns at all Federal courthouses and post offices everywhere in the nation.
Harvard, Hollywood and Washington, DC were the centers of war fever.
September 21st, 2013 at 2:50:03 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 154
Posts: 5052
Quote: Fleastiff
All Quiet on the Western Front.... never saw anything much happening in it.


It was all quiet all the time!
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]
September 23rd, 2013 at 8:39:57 AM permalink
Wizard
Administrator
Member since: Oct 23, 2012
Threads: 239
Posts: 6095
Quote: Nareed
But the most overrated movie of all time is The Matrix. From the hype, you'd think it was a movie worrth watching. I suspect Avatar is worse in this respect, but I haven't seen it yet.


I agree on both counts.
Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber
September 23rd, 2013 at 1:43:38 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Avatar is more like a thrill ride in an amusement park than a movie.
September 23rd, 2013 at 1:43:38 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Avatar is more like a thrill ride in an amusement park than a movie.
September 23rd, 2013 at 2:17:55 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: Pacomartin
There was a rash of anti-war films made right before WWII, then during the war nobody dared to make such a film. There were several made after the war but they were mostly about the high human cost of combat.


The antiwar films came back using Vietnam as the subject. Even on TV's MASH, which was set in the earlier Korean War, the subject often was Vietnam.

As for the Matrix movies, Avatar, etc. the hype consists of ground-breaking visuals and little else. This can also be said of Star Wars, which has a shallow, shallow, shallow story line and cardboard cut-out characters, often played by good actors (Ford, Guiness, Jones, Neeson, Portman, to name a few). the original trilogy is still good enough at an adolescent level (for adult level SW, see Tim Zahn's Thrawn books). The prequels are overhyped, visually stunning trash.

Of course, one of my all-time favorite movies has a storyline so thin it gets lost in the visuals. But I maintain "Tron" is not about what it's about, but about how it looks like.

That said, the best SF is always on TV, where it has room to grow over time. All Trek series had several amazing episodes (even Voyager and Enterprise, yes). Babylon 5 was a one-of-a-kind phenomenon even its creator could not repeat (alas!!) Futurama is one fo the best comedies ever, though you have to like SF to enjoy it. Stargate SG-1 si the best War/adventure series I've ever seen. In all cases, some heavy topics get tackled now and then.

Look at one of the defining eps of Star Trek: The Next Generation, one that is a favorite of fans all over. The one when the Borg first invade the Federation. It's called "The Best of Both Worlds," and that refers to Riker's career decisions and his life's path (and of course he saves the day in the end). What more could anyone want?
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
Page 2 of 2<12