Your controversial opinions on movies and TV

[bosk1]

Why don't we have this thread?    Well, now we do!


Here's the thought that prompted this.  And maybe this actually isn't very "controversial," but...  I don't want to know a whole lot about the real lives of most TV/film actors and actresses.  Why?  Well, two issues, really.  And there is often a great deal of overlap between the two.  First, I find that I frequently find the views of a LOT of actors and actresses to be naive, ill-informed, and sometimes even just outright repugant and off-putting.  Second, many of them, if they got into acting and became celebrities at a very young age, have lived a very different, insulted life than the vast majority of people.  Or even if they got into it a bit later in life, they have lived that life for long enough that they don't really remember or identify with what it means to live a "regular life" in the "real world."  They are out of touch and don't appreciate how things actually work in the "real world."  They are idealists without understanding why their ideals are often completely misplaced.  I would be content if they would just shut up and not pontificate about real-world issues.  I would be content to not know what they really think about...well, just about anything.  Because once I find out, I tend to lose a lot of respect for them.  I would rather just appreciate their work onscreen.  /rant

[KevShmev]

I'll start:

Most classic westerns from the 60's and 70's are boring.  A friend once talked me into watching The Outlaw Josey Wales and I was never so bored.

The Wire isn't all that like many insist.

Jack Nicholson is more great personality than great actor.

 

[MirrorMask]

2001 - A Space Odyssey is utterly boring.

Yes, it was technologically groundbreaking for the time, it would be silly to deny it. It would be even sillier to deny that it was influential for the entire sci-fi genre (it basically invented sci-fi) as much as the Beatles were influential for today's music.

But the actual story itself as portrayed in the movie? I couldn't wait for it to end. I watched it to experience such a classic and influential movie but I will never, ever watch it again, not even some little bits here and there.

[The Walrus]

Pulp Fiction is hot garbage. Kill Bill (both parts, but specifically part 2) is Tarantino's best film.

[pg1067]

Here's the thought that prompted this.  And maybe this actually isn't very "controversial," but...  I don't want to know a whole lot about the real lives of most TV/film actors and actresses.

I don't know if it's controversial either, but I agree both that I don't care much about the personal lives of celebrities, and that I don't care in the slightest what celebrities think about issues that are outside the purview of their profession.  I don't really care what Russell Crowe thinks is the best way to prepare for a role, but that's at least something within his area of expertise, but I really don't give a rip what he thinks about stuff outside of his purview.


My (possibly) controversial opinions:

1. The Cosby Show sucked.
2. Quentin Tarantino hasn't done anything worth a damn (I've disliked everything he's done that I've seen and don't give a rip about stuff I haven't seen).

[bosk1]

Most classic westerns from the 60's and 70's are boring.  A friend once talked me into watching The Outlaw Josey Wales and I was never so bored.

That's an interesting one for me.  Growing up, I didn't like westerns at all.  Wasn't into the genre at all--not even a little bit.  In the late '80s, we got some REALLY good ones (for my tastes), namely, Tombstone and the Young Guns films.  A bit after Tombstone, I remember seeing Gunfight at the OK Corral, and rather liking it.  Recently, I was reading up on Clint Eastwood a bit and thinking to myself that I should go back and see the ones he was in, and thinking that I might actually like the genre a bit more now if I were to go back and see them.  I'm curious to see whether or not that plays out.

Kill Bill (both parts, but specifically part 2) is Tarantino's best film.

Of the two, I think I prefer part 1.  But I enjoyed the whole story, honestly, even though his brand of filmmaking and the vulgarity of it all generally isn't my style.

The Cosby Show sucked.

  Wha??  I just--I don't even--I--   

[The Walrus]

Cosby Show definitely sucked. 

[pg1067]

The Cosby Show sucked.

  Wha??  I just--I don't even--I-- 

Well...the mother was annoying as fuck, and the kids (esp. the girls) ranged from sickenly precocious to pretentious to obnoxious and entitled.  Bill's character was the only tolerable one (sometimes the son was ok too).

[KevShmev]

I loved the Cosby Show back in the 80's. Haven't seen it in a while, so no clue if it has aged well, but I'd be surprised if it didn't.  That 2-hour run on NBC in the late 80's was money:

Cosby Show
Family Ties
Cheers
Night Court

[cramx3]

As a kid, I could never get into the Cosby show.  Not sure why as I don't remember my reasonings, but I loved a bunch of similar sitcoms when I was young like Family Matters and Full House, but wasn't a fan of the Cosby's for whatever reason.

[Cool Chris]

I loved the Cosby Show back in the 80's. Haven't seen it in a while, so no clue if it has aged well, but I'd be surprised if it didn't.  That 2-hour run on NBC in the late 80's was money:

Cosby Show
Family Ties
Cheers
Night Court

Thursday nights on NBC could not have been named more aptly than "Must See." Crazy how they dominated that night for decades.

I haven't watched any of those shows in decades, but imagine the first two (and about 98% of comedies from the 80s have not aged well) while the last two are still comic gold. Dan Fielding is one of my Top 3 TV characters of all time.

[Cool Chris]

Most classic westerns from the 60's and 70's are boring.  A friend once talked me into watching The Outlaw Josey Wales and I was never so bored.

I am a huge Eastwood fan and even I am not a fan of some of his westerns from that era (though I love the Dollars Trilogy) I never cared much for the Dirty Harry movies either. Not sure what that says about my Eastwood fandom. Has there ever been an actor/director who excelled so far in to their golden years as he has?

[ReaperKK]

I loved the Cosby Show back in the 80's. Haven't seen it in a while, so no clue if it has aged well, but I'd be surprised if it didn't.  That 2-hour run on NBC in the late 80's was money:
Night Court

I remember loving Night Court when I was younger

[Zook]

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is the greatest sitcom ever made, and nothing has come close to matching it.

[King Postwhore]

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is the greatest sitcom ever made, and nothing has come close to matching it.

This post is hot garbage. 

[ReaperKK]

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is the greatest sitcom ever made, and nothing has come close to matching it.

This post is hot garbage. 

I like the Fresh Prince and I still agree that this post is garbage

[Zook]

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is the greatest sitcom ever made, and nothing has come close to matching it.

This post is hot garbage. 

Point me to a funnier sitcom.

[KevShmev]

I am a huge Eastwood fan and even I am not a fan of some of his westerns from that era (though I love the Dollars Trilogy) I never cared much for the Dirty Harry movies either. Not sure what that says about my Eastwood fandom. Has there ever been an actor/director who excelled so far in to their golden years as he has?

I thought Dirty Harry was good when I finally saw it a few years ago, but I can't imagine watching it again. 

Dan Fielding is one of my Top 3 TV characters of all time.

He was really funny, but very much a 1-trick pony.  Even though I really liked Night Court, it used to bug me that he'd win the Emmy for best supporting actor in a comedy nearly every year over all of the great ones from Cheers (back when I thought those kinds of awards mattered). 

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is the greatest sitcom ever made, and nothing has come close to matching it.

This post is hot garbage. 

Point me to a funnier sitcom.

Seinfeld
Cheers
All in the Family
The Office (US)
Frasier
Curb Your Enthusiasm
That 70's Show
Friends
Everybody Loves Raymond
M*A*S*H

Should I keep going?

[axeman90210]

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is the greatest sitcom ever made, and nothing has come close to matching it.

This post is hot garbage. 

Point me to a funnier sitcom.

Just off the top of my head really quickly...

Community
30 Rock
The Office
Parks and Rec
Arrested Development
Veep
Seinfeld
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Archer
South Park

Fresh Prince is a perfectly good/funny show. I used to enjoy the weekday morning reruns on TBS I think it was when I was younger and not in school for some reason. That said, I wouldn't even put it in the same league as the funniest shows I've ever seen.

[The Walrus]

Do shows like Parks and Rec. and The Office count as sitcoms? I never really know what to call them... when I think of sitcoms I think of laugh tracks and particular set designs and camera angles.

[Zook]

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is the greatest sitcom ever made, and nothing has come close to matching it.

This post is hot garbage. 

Point me to a funnier sitcom.

Seinfeld
Cheers
All in the Family
The Office (US)
Frasier
Curb Your Enthusiasm
That 70's Show
Friends
Everybody Loves Raymond
M*A*S*H

Should I keep going?

No, you proved my point enough.

I'll elaborate:

Mash is one of the most boring shows I've had the displeasure of watching. That 70's Show had a great first season, and I kept watching beyond that while it was still on, but a few years ago when I tried to rewatch it, I noticed something I hadn't back in the day. They had a live studio audience for the first season. By season 2 they switched to canned laughter and as an adult, that just put a sour taste in my mouth and turned me off.

Friends was funny, but not as funny. Cheers was also boring, but I barely watched any of it. It was one of those shows that was placed in the middle of two good shows. I havent watched every Seinfeld episode, but what I've seen was great.

Raymond was kinda meh. I don't consider Curb to be a sitcom. I'm talking traditional Fresh Prince TGIF style. I thought Step by Step was better than most of that line up. Kinda still holds up.

Anyway, havent watched All in the Family, The Office or Fraiser, but The Office isn't a sitcom. Again, TGIF style. Technically I guess it is a "situational comedy".

One I forgot that does actually rival Fresh Prince: 3rd Rock from the Sun. Pretty sure they switched to canned laughter at some point as well, but it was a much better show than That 70s Show.

[Grizz]

2001 - A Space Odyssey is utterly boring.

Yes, it was technologically groundbreaking for the time, it would be silly to deny it. It would be even sillier to deny that it was influential for the entire sci-fi genre (it basically invented sci-fi) as much as the Beatles were influential for today's music.

But the actual story itself as portrayed in the movie? I couldn't wait for it to end. I watched it to experience such a classic and influential movie but I will never, ever watch it again, not even some little bits here and there.

I can see where this comes from even though I love the movie.

What helped, for me, was seeing the film re-issue done by Christopher Nolan down at Village East Cinemas (I think DT did the D/T launch party there?). Seeing it on a massive screen, with loud surround sound, plus a little assistance from weed and Adderall, helped to really get into the vibe of the film. At home, it's a slow-ass film because it's harder to experience the immersion created by the sluggish pacing.

Plus it's kinda esoteric, obviously deliberately so. The whole structure and indirect storytelling really requires interpretation. In all honesty, my brain is not suited to literary/artistic interpretation, but a mild understanding of what was going on beforehand helped me to appreciate it instead of just being like "what?"

[Grizz]

My controversial opinions:

The Office (US) got bad long before Michael left the show. Married Jim and Pam are insufferable. SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT CICI

The Golden Girls is funny and good

Richard Dawson > Steve Harvey

[MirrorMask]

2001 - A Space Odyssey is utterly boring.

Yes, it was technologically groundbreaking for the time, it would be silly to deny it. It would be even sillier to deny that it was influential for the entire sci-fi genre (it basically invented sci-fi) as much as the Beatles were influential for today's music.

But the actual story itself as portrayed in the movie? I couldn't wait for it to end. I watched it to experience such a classic and influential movie but I will never, ever watch it again, not even some little bits here and there.

I can see where this comes from even though I love the movie.

What helped, for me, was seeing the film re-issue done by Christopher Nolan down at Village East Cinemas (I think DT did the D/T launch party there?). Seeing it on a massive screen, with loud surround sound, plus a little assistance from weed and Adderall, helped to really get into the vibe of the film. At home, it's a slow-ass film because it's harder to experience the immersion created by the sluggish pacing.

Plus it's kinda esoteric, obviously deliberately so. The whole structure and indirect storytelling really requires interpretation. In all honesty, my brain is not suited to literary/artistic interpretation, but a mild understanding of what was going on beforehand helped me to appreciate it instead of just being like "what?"

Oh well, I can see your point. But I guess I'm not give it a second try, sorry  glad that you had fun with it however!

[King Postwhore]

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is the greatest sitcom ever made, and nothing has come close to matching it.

This post is hot garbage. 

Point me to a funnier sitcom.

Seinfield
30 Rock
Cheers
All In The Family
Brooklyn Nine Nine
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Taxi
The Bob Newhart Show
Brockmire

I could go on.

[CrimsonSunrise]

Pulp Fiction is hot garbage. Kill Bill (both parts, but specifically part 2) is Tarantino's best film.

Pulp Fiction is my #1 movie of all time.

[CrimsonSunrise]

Mash is one of the most boring shows I've had the displeasure of watching.

M*A*S*H was one of the top sitcoms of all time.  I'm curious, did you watch it when it was a first run?  Something folks don't consider too much is that old sitcoms like M*A*S*H were templates for great sitcoms that followed in the 80's and 90's.  Is it dated today?  Probably, I don't watch the re-runs.  But in the day, it was awesome.

[The Walrus]

Pulp Fiction is hot garbage. Kill Bill (both parts, but specifically part 2) is Tarantino's best film.

Pulp Fiction is my #1 movie of all time.

I know it has a devoted fanbase, which disappoints me that I hate it so much. I cannot stand the way the story is told, the way it's edited together, the script, the way the characters look, everything about it annoys me. 

[Phoenix87x]

I can't stand contemporary Hans Zimmer. His work from the 90's and early 2000's was excellent, but lately his quality and style of composition I can't stand.

Dunkirk and blade runner 2049 I would cite. The score is so grating and discordant. I want something that meshes well with the film, not takes me out of it. Makes me super worried that he's doing Dune 2020

[Zook]

Mash is one of the most boring shows I've had the displeasure of watching.

M*A*S*H was one of the top sitcoms of all time.  I'm curious, did you watch it when it was a first run?  Something folks don't consider too much is that old sitcoms like M*A*S*H were templates for great sitcoms that followed in the 80's and 90's.  Is it dated today?  Probably, I don't watch the re-runs.  But in the day, it was awesome.

I wasn't alive when it was first on. It was again one if those show that came on after a good one, or before a good one, but everytime that theme song came on I ran for the remote.

Night Court was really good too.

[lonestar]

Seinfeld was ridiculously overrated.

[MirrorMask]

Maybe not controversial, but I'm quite annoyed at the lack of proper titles for many episodes. So many series have now "Chapters" or "Episode 1 2 3 4".... I mean, you conjured up a series, you went all the trouble to get it approved, you thought of the story, the writing, the casting and all of that, but you can't be arsed to come up with a damn title for the episodes? yeah, I know it could be argued that many people talk about the numbers anyway, and even 20 years ago Friends made a point about it naming all the episodes in colloquial terms, "the one where....", but COME ON, just think of a damn title you lazy phucks.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Spider-Man 3 isn't as bad as people say. Certainly better than TMAS 1 and 2.

Shrek 1 and 2 are both unironically better than most of the Disney Renaissance films.

I find Friends to be one of television's most overrated and boring television sitcoms and never got how so many got so invested into it.

[The Walrus]

Shrek 1 and 2 are both unironically better than most of the Disney Renaissance films.

Fisticuffs by the bike racks, 3 PM tomorrow.

[Volante99]

I find Friends to be one of television's most overrated and boring television sitcoms and never got how so many got so invested into it.

Boy, I’m glad someone agrees. All of the characters act like annoying idiots (and not in a funny  or endearing sort of way).

I’ll throw a controversial opinion out there: 99% of the projects Judd Apatow is involved in are hot garbage. 40 Year Old Virgin, Anchorman, and Step Brothers being the only exceptions. The rest is crap.