Movies everyone loves that you don't get?
 

For me, I know this may be sacrilegious, it's The Big Lebowski.

The first half is a hilarious stoner comedy that I'm fully on board with then the laughs really fade, the plot gets repetitive and ultimately goes nowhere. Maybe just me.

I made a thread quite similar to this one a while ago.

Some more I do not get are...

Rashomon: Not my cup of tea. I thought it was a good movie, but I just can never understand the god-like worship of this movie. I think it is far from greatest foreign film, but that is just me. I like Ikiru better
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days: I felt like I was watching a movie and nothing else with this one, although now I got to admit that some of the camera work was quite interesting, most notably the scene where they are at the gathering/party. I felt the same way about this one like how Ebert saw A Taste of Cherry. A "masterpiece" that is really an "emperor without clothes". Maybe I am just not Romanian.
Dr. Strangelove: This one is always considered one of the greatest all time comedies, but I did not think it was funny until the last 5-10 minutes. Why is this being put on the same pantheon as Monty Python and the Holy Grail when it was not even as funny as that one.
8 1/2: Still wonderful, but seems like one of those movies that cinemaphiles just say is their favorite in order to be a part of the crowd and look sophisticated. I prefer La Strada and La Dolce Vita anyway, since they were more interesting to watch.

Yeah, I am Spartacus on this one too.

Honestly, same choice. I can see why people like it, and I love the Coens, but obviously it's the kind of comedy where you're either really into the vibe and things that aren't ostensibly "joke-like" come off as really funny, or they don't and you're left kinda confused.

I find it consistently amusing but that's about it.

^ Same here..

So, that's three people in one hour that don't 'love' The Big Lebowski.
Disqualifying The Big Lebowski as a movie 'everyone' loves.

Re: Movies everyone loves that you don't get?
 

I am a huge Coen Brothers fan and like The Big Lebowski plenty, though I do have it about fifth in their filmography so I don't consider it their crowning masterpiece or anything. The cult-like devotion that has grown around it I appreciate but it has outsized the film itself from time to time. Though that is probably true of just about any flick that has people dressing up as the characters. John Turturro's The Jesus Rolls simultaneously shows both the limits of that fandom and puts in perspective just how good The Coen Brothers and The Big Lebowski really are.

But that's just, like, my opinion, Man.

Re: Movies everyone loves that you don't get?
 

Dr. Strangelove
Dr. Zhivago
Bridge on the River Kwai

Jaws

A big part of it may be the "meme juice" extracted from this film at that moment when we were first becoming consciously focused on the idea of memes (as image macros - text at top, image, text at bottom) and the meme-economy in our pop-culture.



Films get made into the canon in a way that is like getting made in the Mafia. You may not deserve it, but once you have it, you're protected. It does not matter so much how you get your coattails. Once you have them, you've leverage and grace.

Make that four people that don't 'love' The Big Lebowski...I thought it was annoyingly stupid. There are some Coen films that I think are amazing but that ain't one of them.

Terrific movie, seen it many times, don’t understand your comment. It is a movie.

I had to force myself to finish this movie. Tough slog. Definitely not Jeff Bridges’s greatest role IMO.

Taste of Cherry is Iranian not Romanian. I basically loved all the films you mention there. I do prefer La Strada to 8 1/2 though.

Re: Movies everyone loves that you don't get?
 

"La Strada" is my 2nd favorite movie, but despite a second viewing, I just don't like 8 1/2. I LOVE "Taste of Cherry" and hope its still on YouTube.

I think you all may not have been high enough to watch it with the proper appreciation.

Re: Movies everyone loves that you don't get?
 

"The laugh fades when the high fades, man"

I said that 4 Months was Romanian, since I failed to be able to relate to it. I felt that I had to be Romanian or know how they felt in order to feel the movie. Maybe I might rewatch it when it comes back to Criterion Channel, because I do not understand the big deal about this one.

Isn't this a disadvantage of any film that one is allegedly supposed to watch while high?



Is this advice the literal implementation of "just turn your brain off"?



Is it true that an egg frying on a stove is my brain on drugs?

It might only apply to stand-up comedy.

To answer the last question, it's not even a stove - it's a rug that ties the room together.

My comment meant that with this movie, I felt like I was just staring at the screen and watching actions happen, and then it was over. It felt like an average viewing experience as opposed to something magical or exciting that would come from a movie that I really liked. Other movies where I felt like I was just sitting down and watching them and I learn nothing at the end of them are Adoption and possibly Lola.

I gave this movie a 9/10. I like it even more than the great "Close-Up". The mention of this got me looking, and it's on Amazon Prime or HBO. Taking a break right now to exhale. It's not an easy movie to watch (pretty dark).