Highly Rated Movies You Had To Turn Off

Blow-Up

Oh, that's a shame; I enjoyed Blow-Up. I haven't seen it in ages.

Slumdog Millionaire...that movie bored the crap out of me...turned it off about 30 minutes in.

I left the theater 20 minutes into Kingdom Of Heaven. It was just falling so flat for me. I went to a buddys house and played Dynasty Warriors.

I shut these DVDs off after 15-20 minutes.

The Big Short
Silver Linings Playbook
Mad Maxx Fury Road
Whiplash
The Great Gatsby (2013)
Black Swan

I try not to give up on movies, especially after a short time. But the start of Into the Wild was so obnoxious I have little desire to watch the rest.

You and I have talked about Silver Linings Playbook, Citizen...I wish you would give it another shot, but I won't push. I thought Black Swan was good, but I can certainly understand it's an acquired taste. Oh, and I agree with you regarding The Big Short, turned it off after about 15 minutes.

Why did you shut Whiplash off? It's a simple, straight-forward story of passion and commitment and music; what's so bad about that? Black Swan is kind of a sad movie to see here as too...

But I'm totally with you on Gatsby though; if I hadn't been in the theatre and watching it (free tickets thankfully), then I'd shut it off. Big Short I understand as well.

Fair enough question, MM.

I shut off Whiplash, as I couldn't suspend my disbelief at how violate the music teacher was. Any teacher in today's lawsuit happy climate in America would have been sued or charged with criminal conduct. Especially as he hurls in the opening scene a heavy metal chair (I think it was?) at a student. Had he not missed he would have seriously injured the student.

That scene plus his almost caricature performance, caused me to roll my eyes and say to myself 'no way would there be a music teacher like that in the 21st century'...I get so tired of Hollywood's 'bigger is better' attitude, got pissed at the movie and shut it off.

Gotta get back to that stripped down realism of 50's Noirs and Musicals.

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Letterboxd

CR, I felt like that watching the trailer for Whiplash. I seem to recall a lot of eye-rolling in the cinema, then being really surprised when it got nominated for all sorts of awards. That's as far as I got with it. But maybe I'm wrong and it is a good movie after all. I'll have to give it a try one day.

I bet Whiplash is a good movie. I've almost went back and watched it a second time, maybe one of these days.

You know we often praise directors for their brillances, but if I had the director's ear during shooting of the opening scene, I would have said to him: 'less is more, less if more powerful, tone it down some and have the teacher slam his fist into his podium instead of throwing a chair'.

I like movies that don't go over the top, and I like smaller movies that touch on a real humanity. Maybe Whiplash did all of that, but I was put off by the opening scene. You know what they say you only get one chance to make a good impression.

Whiplash did $13 million domestic. This is not big budget Hollywood film making.

Citizen Rules - I shut these DVDs off after 15-20 minutes.

The Big Short - I agree this was a tough movie to get into at first, Bales performance was too spot-on, and not a likable character in the bunch. Fascinating watch though.

Silver Linings Playbook - Same. First 20-30 minutes when he is unmedicated is painful to watch him, but then after the character gets on meds, its quite fresh.

Mad Maxx Fury Road - Well if you didnt like the first 15-20 minutes then theres just more of the same later.

Whiplash - Never saw it, and probably wont.

The Great Gatsby (2013) - Yeah, watching first part of 2013s Gatsby, what the hell am I looking at?! Moulin Rouge?!

Black Swan - Never saw it. Heard it was a psychological drama i.e. pretentious turd.

You're right it's not a big budget film. But like so many newer Hollywood films, it seemed to me to have the film making philosophy the bigger the better (albeit based on the opening scene, the rest of the film might be great).

I stopped watching the James Bond movies many years ago, as each time they came out they tried to top the last one. Eventually it just got tiring.

OK I know that's not the same as Whiplash, I'm just saying I didn't believe that there could be a music teacher who behaved like that in the 21st century America.

Oh yeah, I also tried to watch Moulin Rouge twice and couldn't stomach it....And Nicole Kidman looked great but it wasn't enough.

Well tge guy that wrote it based it on one of his teachers. I think it is probably somewhat exaggerated but the themes are spot on. I would point to Bon Knight if you think these types of personalitues are kept in check by the era we live in.

I hear what you're saying. What I'm trying to say (and maybe not saying it well) is I wished the director would have told the actor playing the teacher to play that scene a little smaller, which I think would be more powerful.

There's a similar director's choice with a scene in Blade Runner that I hope some one will bring up in the 10th so we can discuss it.

That character is our entrance into the film and world so if you don't like him, you won't like the film. It just seems like the realism criticism has cracks in it. I just say that because I don't think a lot of films you love are pretty unrealistic. I don't think old Hollywood movies are very realistic on the whole. Especially in their characterisations.

Exactly, I agree with what you said....and that's how I felt. I hated his character.

True but with a caveat. When it comes to most films I love (musicals, old Hollywood) the style they offer is not based on realism but based on theatrical style of acting, that comes from the stage. So I expect those movies to be unreal or dramatized, in fact that's what I love about that. But with a film like Whiplash it presents itself as a slice of life, and in that it failed me (in the opening scene that is) I just don't believe anyone could act as the teacher did without having his pants sued off. I blame the director for making a poor decision in going big with the action.