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Defend a Maligned Movie
I don’t believe in “guilty pleasures” – why should I feel guilt because the critical groupthink scorned something I think has merit? It’s not as if those individual critics don’t pull the shades and watch something the rest of the priesthood demeans. (Unless Marty Scorcese gave it a nod in an interview, and then it’s time for a Fresh New Look.) I also don’t believe in watching bad movies to revel in their awfulness, unless there’s some meta-level payoff. (Plan Nine really is the apotheosis of true unintended hilarity.) I’m watching something right now that makes eyes roll if you try to make the case for its importance, but that’s not important right now. (No, I’m not watching Airplane!) I’ll hand it off to you: defend a movie dismissed by the gatekeepers.
Published in General
“Men at Work” was the dumbest, most puerile, sophomoric, and vacuous movie I have ever busted a gut to. It is without any obvious redeeming qualities that I can see, besides the lowest level humor executed with fiendish cleverness. It definitely is a most guilty pleasure, and I will not defend it, because I cannot defend it. But see it if you haven’t
Galaxy Quest. Really love the beginning at the convention. So real it hurts while I’m laughing. Can’t watch, can’t quit watching.
I agree that it’s not a maligned movie, at least as far as I know.
If it is, then this is definitely the winning answer, Maj! As ol’ Jack Burton always says at a time like this — great movie.
“Airborne” I don’t know if this movie is much maligned, I just know I’m the only person I know, besides my older brother, that has ever seen this early 90’s gem. From beginning to end this movie is less a teen drama then kitchen sink of late 80’s early 90’s teen movie cliches. (Including a picking an outfit montage set to Right Said Fred’s “Too Sexy”.) Fish out of water surfer kid from California is sent to live with his relatives in Ohio? He shows up, no one likes him except his weird cousin (a great Seth Greene), the biggest jock in school hates him, and the girl he falls for is said biggest jocks little sister. High jinks ensue. Anyways, what should be entirely unwatchable, ended up a fun and quirky 90’s teen comedy. Even has a decent downhill rollerblade race (there is nothing more poseur than rollerblades btw…) reminiscent of an earlier teen classic “Thrasher”. Oh, and very early appearance by Jack Black. Anyways, will go to my grave stanning for this one, even if no one else ever sees it.
Some gatekeepers loved it.
https://www.steynonline.com/11083/galaxy-quest
It’s come out on blu-ray, and is also torrentable (but you didn’t hear that from me).
How about “Battleship” its got all the things that make action movies great – guns, big really big guns, explosions, special effects montague of cities being destroyed, high body count, a seemingly invincible villain. And taking place in Hawaii some striking scenery in the back drop.
Its not a deep thinker – but its a lot of fun, with great visual effects and a sound track that includes AC/DC “ThunderStruck”… What more do you need?
GREAT movie!
I’ll never forget the day I put this one in the DVD player:
Kinda reminds me of “Under Siege.”
Other than it stars the same ship (the USS Missouri) I wasnt thinking of that.
No one maligns this movie. It’s a recognized classic.
Agreed. Rotten has it at 90/79. When the critic and audience scores are so high – this is a recognized Gem.
I think the only people a little upset with it, where Star Trek fans, because it does parody them quite heavily.
Most the hard core trekkies I know, I mean convention going types, love that movie too.
I loved Galaxy Quest. So good that my wife and I visited Goblin Valley State Park in Utah to see the actual location.
Which leads me to a second movie, that while much maligned, is actually a solid “Good” movie. “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”. My only real complaint is that some of that cool mid-century modern kitsch from the 60’s became earth toned 70’s cheesiness, with goofy jumpsuits (bleh). I remember being bored and hating it as a kid (I grew up on all things Star Trek), but I think the problem is back in the 80’s we were watching this on a small tube tv with crappy color and a worn out speaker for sound. No one is gonna like a movie like this on that set-up. As and adult I went back and watched it with a large screen HD tv, decent sound system and speakers, and it was a whole new movie.
Great effects, great Star Trek wonder, and the TOS cast is always great.
You didn’t see it in a proper theater? That seems to have been the first mistake.
STMP could have been much better. Its a grind to watch. Its way too long at 2h12m it should have been at most 100 minutes. (star trek ii Wrath of kahn, a much better film, is 1h53m long) there just isnt enough plot to fill the whole 2 hours…
Zardoz. Then. Now. Forever. Your argument has no merit.
Speaking of Kubrick. 2010 is a much better movie than 2001. The first movie is banal trash, which makes you despise the Vienna Waltz by the end.
No way. It was a warmed over TV episode with only worse elements added to the screen play to make it longer. It was a huge disappointment to me when it came out. I’ve gone back and watched it recently and could find no redeeming part of it.
I think he also sings somewhere on the score for Gran Torino.
The one part that might have been/was somewhat interesting, and could have been redeeming, was the Spock coming back from Kholinar and essentially rejecting the relationship he had built up with Kirk and McCoy over the course of their five year mission. It adds dramatic tension, and might have opened avenues to explore the time that the film ultimately chooses to skip over.
When they ran the exact same plot on TOS, it only took 38 minutes with commercial breaks.
Much less CGI, too, and more dogs with glitter horns strapped on their heads.
With all due respect, my friend, I have to differ on that assessment. I have no strong feelings about 2010, but 2001 occupies a well-deserved place in science fiction cinematic history as the first truly great science fiction movie — Metropolis and The Day the Earth Stood Still notwithstanding.
Uh, no. Back when TOS was on, an hour TV episode had something like 50 minutes or more of actual show. It’s only been in the last several years that an “hour” has become at little as 40 minutes or even less.
But that said, there’s a reason why TMP is sometimes referred to as “Where Nomad Has Gone Before.”
Keeping in mind that there was originally planned to be a new series, and then got reworked into a movie.
For a brief second I thought maybe you were going to go with Zandalee: