How come everyone likes....?

[swee'pea99]

I use IMDB religiously to check out movies before recording them for later viewing. Last night I got round to watching Minority Report, recorded a fortnight or so ago on the basis of a 7.9 rating, and couldn't believe what a steaming pile of cack it was. Just piss poor in almost every way. And yet people seem to like it, and according to IMDB it took over $1/3billion at the box office.

I generally find myself rather boringly in line with the mainstream - I do like The Beatles, I do like ET, I do like The Great Gatsby. But every now and then, I come across a popular something that just leaves me not only cold, personally, but genuinely baffled as to how anyone could feel differently. Do you ever feel that way?

 

[BSRU]

I liked Minority Report, although have not seen it for a while, but I thought ET was an over-hyped pile of sugar coated doggy do.
But then thankfully we are all different.

 

[Cheddar George]

The same as all the other Tom Cruise films these days ....... mildly entertaining.

 

[ianrauk]

Well, I really don't understand why people like the Beatles. I fully understand their place in music history. But they really were just awful, the music amateurish, bland and insipid.
They are now a myth that is continually perpetuated by the music press at how wonderful they were. By Beatles Nazi's that will simply not have it that someone could dislike the band. It's ok to dislike the Stones & Elvis etc, but not the precious Beatles. 'if it wasn't for the Beatles... blah blah blah'
So do me a favour just let them them die and be forgotten for gawds sake, relegated to the dusty back pages of Record Collector mag.

Altogether now.. 'We all live in a Yellow Submarine'

Cack.. cack.. and more overrated cack.

 

[Cheddar George]

Well, I really don't understand why people like the Beatles. I fully understand their place in music history. But they really were just awful, the music amateurish, bland and insipid.
They are now a myth that is continually perpetuated by the music press at how wonderful they were. By Beatles Nazi's that will simply not have it that someone could dislike the band. It's ok to dislike the Stones & Elvis etc, but not the precious Beatles. 'if it wasn't for the Beatles... blah blah blah'
So do me a favour just let them them die and be forgotten for gawds sake, relegated to the dusty back pages of Record Collector mag.

Altogether now.. 'We all live in a Yellow Submarine'

Cack.. cack.. and more overrated cack.

Burn the unbeliever ........ burn him !

 

[swee'pea99]

"Will you still be sending me a valentine?
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine..."

 

[smutchin]

I like the Beatles. The problem with them is that they were so darned prolific and didn't really exercise any quality control... Generally, I listen to the Stones more - although nothing post-1973.

Now, if it's overrated you're after, I give you Oasis. Mediocre pub rock band with two good songs at best (and Wonderwall isn't one of them).

d.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Well, I really don't understand why people like the Beatles. I fully understand their place in music history. But they really were just awful, the music amateurish, bland and insipid.
They are now a myth that is continually perpetuated by the music press at how wonderful they were. By Beatles Nazi's that will simply not have it that someone could dislike the band. It's ok to dislike the Stones & Elvis etc, but not the precious Beatles. 'if it wasn't for the Beatles... blah blah blah'
So do me a favour just let them them die and be forgotten for gawds sake, relegated to the dusty back pages of Record Collector mag.

Altogether now.. 'We all live in a Yellow Submarine'

Cack.. cack.. and more overrated cack.

You had to be there to understand the impact they had and how different they were. Much of what they did that was highly acclaimed was specific to the short lived "psychedelic" era and now does seem quaintly dated. None of the band were particilarly talented in their own right and did little of note afterwards.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

Minority Report is the only film I can watch that has Cruise in it that I can watch as I really do not care for him much. What I remember about Minority Report is that I quite liked it and would of liked it even better if it had a better lead actor.

Take IMDB with a pinch of salt as I believe that as films have gradually got worse over the years the ratings have crept up so that a film that is a touch above average is considered great. I watched Inception last year mainly because of the good reviews and an IMDB rating of 8.8. I am not keen on the lead actor in that film either but I honestly thought it was the biggest pile of shite I had seen years. I suffered an hour and a half of it and had to switch it off. I guess a lot of people like it but when a film like that gets 8.8/10 and films like Blade Runner 8.3/10, Goodfellas also 8.8/10, Alien 8.5 there is something wrong as these films are in a different league (just IMHO).

Try Rotten Tomatoes instead. It lists film critics reviews as well as joe publics. Films like Inception are still highly rated, but you get the odd critics review like "
It's a bold, stunning feature of impossible technical virtuosity. It also has the tendency to be about as emotionally stimulating as a college lecture".

Best films I have watched lately are foreign to be honest, with Hollywood films I just expect style over content and films aimed at a huge audience to make as much money as possible.

Having said that I did enjoy watching The Woman In Black recently. That got a modest rating of 6.7/10 on IMDB.

For a recent foreign film try, "The Secret In Their Eyes" a very, very good Argentinian film. I believe a US remake is planned, I will probably avoid that.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

 

[jonny jeez]

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surely you could argue that most of the stuff that "the masses" love, is in fact total drivel. Why you are surprised that a mainstream vehicle for the ageing Mr Cruise would fail to be the exception, baffles me.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

It's ok to dislike the Stones & Elvis etc.

It's ok to dislike the overrated and unoriginal Stones but everyone like Elvis don't they, uh-hu?

 

[Beebo]

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surely you could argue that most of the stuff that "the masses" love, is in fact total drivel. Why you are surprised that a mainstream vehicle for the ageing Mr Cruise would be the exception baffles me.

I have to agree that it is all lowest common denominator stuff.

As for the Beatles, I am no grteat fan, but you have to view them at the time, they were trendsetters when there was very little else around to compete with. They were only mainstream for 8 years from 1962 - 1970 and produced a huge cannon of work and their sound developed massively over that very short period, from Please Please me to I am the Walrus.

A band like Oasis were mainstream for 16 years from 94 - 2010, and their sound never changed.

 

[smokeysmoo]

I enjoyed Minority Report as well TBH. Although I do find I generally dislike other films that the public/press seem to go nuts over. Mainly things like Mamma Mia, Chicago etc do absolutely nothing for me yet they make millions, go figure!

My rule of thumb is if the hype is good the film isn't, and if the critics pan something I genearally enjoy it.

Good job my living doesn't depend on spotting a money spinning script/film idea, I'd be ruddy well skint!

 

[Archie_tect]

Never seen Minority Report... haven't got a Beatles LP, was given Rolled Gold on 8 track cartridge -loved Lady Jane and the like- but lost it... never liked Elvis, apart from In the Ghetto... agree about Oasis too. Thought Kate Bush was special in 1978. Loved to drive my old Beetle with the Beach Boys playing on my cheap stereo [dodgy speakers wired under the seats!]

Enjoyed films like the original Oceans 11, Italian Job, Shrek, The Green Mile and Toy Story, even though I got sick of seeing the lead actor in everything, Tom Hanks... in fact I've just realised that I like films with moral tales, even if the retribution isn't necessarily legal- appeals to my sense of justice!

 

[Noodley]

Which one is Minorty Report, is that the one where he is a teenager left alone in his house for the weekend, gets a job as a jet fighter polit and ends up pouring cocktails in a local bar?