So after reading the lists at Eternity of Dream , The Dark of the Matinee and Cinematic Paradox about 100 things they love about movies I decided to make a list of 50 things I don’t like about movies, moviegoing and the culture (100 things would be a stretch and would probably result in some weaker entries) :
1. Classics hardly are shown in the cinema
2. Steroscopic 3D (read that holographic 3D might solve normal 3D issues, although it possibly can’t be scaled to cinema size)
3. People talking (or basically doing anything resulting in them not paying attention and annoying others) in the cinema during a film
4. Knowing that I won’t be able to see all the great movies that have ever been made
5. People that refuse to watch a movie because it’s in black and white
6. Trying to stay spoiler free, but accidentally reading or hearing something which kind of ruins your enjoyment as you know what will happen
7. Movies which are out of print and can only be bought for extreme high prices on ebay (like My Sassy Girl director’s cut)
8. Anti-Piracy warnings on DVD. I already bought the thing, why can’t I just immediately watch the movie and have to wait until the menu appears as the warnings can’t be skipped?
9. Falling asleep during a very interesting movie just because I’m that tired
10. Knowing I won’t be able to finish watching a film because I really have to get up early the next morning.
11. Having to admit that I haven’t seen some movies and other people telling me “Really? That’s not possible!”.
12. People feeling the need to defend themselves because I didn’t like a movie. It’s ok, not everyone has the same taste
13. Someone not being able to enjoy a dumb action movie because they expected more story/a deeper meaning. Sometimes you just have to switch your brain off and enjoy these type of films for what they are.
14. Not being able to watch trailers as most of them spoil the whole movie
15. Trailers showing bits that are not in the actual movie
16. Ads in movies if they are just too obvious (yes, I’m looking at you I Robot, The Island, Gulliver’s Travels, Iron Man 2 etc)
17. That some movie experiences won’t be shown at the cinema the way the film maker intended them (Kill Bill, Grindhouse)
18. When a movie has too many cliches
19. Horror movies (although I don’t mind small horror elements), I don’t enjoy scaring myself if it’s not needed
20. Bad or too many sequels (I pretend that after Terminator 2 no other movies with Terminators were made)
21. Some instances of complete CGI backgrounds in movies (yes, George Lucas, I’m talking about you)
22. Sitting too close to the screen at action movies as it’s impossible to make out what is happening
23. The whole “giving a speech before I kill you” thing, resulting in the hero escaping
24. Movies with Barbra Streisand
25. Movies with Meryl Streep (although to a lesser extent as she was great in Kramer vs. Kramer)
26. Not being able to explain why Sam Worthington is in so many blockbusters
27. Not being able to understand why Megan Fox became so popular
28. Taking an amazing concept and completely messing it up with two sequels (Hello Matrix!)
29. Completely unrealistic computer interfaces or people hacking into something by just a few button presses
30. 8-Bit sound effects when someone is playing a videogame, even if it’s a current console
31. most Tyler Perry movies (yeah, I saw quite a lot of them)
32. when in a romantic movie someone is in a serious relationship and the main character just manages to totally wreck the relationship within an hour and a half. Am I supposed to feel great about that?
33. when a movie is set in Paris, having to show the Eiffel tower (for example in Hereafter)
Since I hardly give a 1 to a movie, these deserve their own spots:
34. P.S. I Love You
35. Mulholland Drive
36. Land of The Lost
37. Superhero Movie
38. Bad translation of slang in subtitles
39. Reboots
40. Most remakes
41. Some actors which only seem to be able to play one kind of role (Michael Cera, talk to your agent)
42. Movies not being as good as the trailers lead you to believe (Sucker Punch)
43. Most movies with Martin Lawrence
44. The more movies you watch the more predictable other movies get and it takes more for a movie to surprise you
45. Prices of the food at a movie theatre
46. Not being able to read my books about movies because I’d rather watch one instead
47. Not being able to go to the cinema as often as I would like to
48. Having doubts about a movie being good (but we need bad movies to see which ones are good)
49. Hardly any innovation/originality when it comes to animated films (with a few exceptions of course)
50. People slamming an upcoming movie based on the fact that the director’s previous movie was bad
Which are things you don’t like about movies?
And if you wonder if there are things I love about movies, then you can read 50 Things I love about movies.
Wow, it’s so negative, not the best post to read in the morning, but a very interesting read. What stroke me most in your list is the fact you don’t like movies with Meryl Streep! I’m totally shocked; she’s my absolute favorite of all times; however, indeed there are not so many great films with her.
Well, there are more things I like about movies, but wanted to write something different 🙂 and there are also things that annoy, which I’ve listed.
There’s something about Meryl Streep that I just don’t like when I’m watching her in a movie…I don’t know what it is, but I’m just not a big fan.
Pretty great list. Even though lists/movies are completely subjective I have to respond to you listing Mulholland Drive in this list. It’s a ten in my book. So sorry, just had to get that in there… and yes I did read your #12. On that note, I think it’s perfectly fine to defend a movie you love. Just as long as you’re able to respect the opinion of the other person. So respectfully: you are wrong, sir. 😉
#13: well there’s dumb action movies (Transformers, perfectly entertaining) and the’re are DUMB action movies (Transformers: revenge of the fallen, I don’t even… ugh).
Nice call on the book vs. movie reference there, I have the same issues. The positive thing about it though, is being able to compare to the two which can lead to some insightful stuff. On that note I hate it when people simply argue: “the book was better” and refuse to understand that they’re to completely different mediums.
And the DVD distribution sometimes bugs the hell out of me as well. The fact that it seems impossible to get a proper (R2) DVD of Melville’s Le Samoeraii… argh don’t even get me started on that. Haven’t seen My Sassy Girl yet, guess I should get an e-bay account huh?
An addition to your list: The Golden Globes. It’s pretty self explanatory but I’ll give you an example: The Tourist getting a nominee in the category called “best comedy and musical”. No it’s not a comedy. No Johnny Depp did not sing a song (that was that Tim Burton movie). And no, comedies and musicals have nothing to do with each other! Not to mention the fact that it’s insanely bad for a movie with such budget and so much talent involved.
And I hate that Darren Aronofsky won’t make The Wolverine. If the movie turns out to be bad we are going to end up saying: good job to Fox for wrecking another movie us movie geeks are passionate for. If it turns out to be good we’ll be saying: imagine how good it would be if Aronofsky had made it. I really wanted to live in a world in which a Wolverine movie by Aronofsky would exist.
Sidenote, the guys sitting in the picture of that dreadfull subway remake with the over-the-top Travolta look a lot like the guys from Brokeback Mountain.
Thanks. Mulholland Drive was just too weird for me and I switched it off, I don’t like it when a movie suddenly doesn’t seem to have any story or structure anymore. I guess it challenges me just too much.
Agree that there is a difference in dumb action movies, I didn’t like revenge of the fallen either.
Surprised to see that Le Samoeraï has no R2, but if I were you I would just get the R1 version and rip it yourself so you can still watch it. It’s not that difficult.
I don’t watch the movie related award shows. Somehow they don’t interest me enough. Surprised to see that “best comedy and musical” combination. It’s like saying “best airplane and fruit” category. You can’t group them….
Looking at that picture of the Taking of Pelham 123 you are actually right, they do look like the guys from Brokeback Mountain! 🙂
btw, tried to visit your site, but currently won’t load.
Interesting post. I would do a post like this, but I’m too positive. You should really do a more positive post to back this one up!
I think the positive one would be easier to write, I might do that as well. I’ll let you know once it’s up.
Great list. I totally agree with most things you say, particularly about not getting to the movies often enough. Sam Worthington: I also don’t understand. Megan Fox, I think it’s because she’s a Fox!
#22 Sitting too close to the screen; I think it depends on the film. X-men really annoyed me being right at the front, but Gladiator was amazing! It felt like I was in the battles. I saw it a second time at the cinema much farther back, and it just wasn’t the same.
#8 Anti piracy warnings on DVD. Totally agree. Have you seen The IT crowd spoof?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MgZqMx-qWw
Thing I hate: Hollywood doing a remake of a foreign language film because some people won’t go and see a film with subtitles (Girl with Dragon Tatoo, Let the Right One In). The film has already been made! Why make a new one?!
Glad to hear I’m not the only one who thinks like that about Sam Worthington!
As for sitting close to the scene…for me it really doesn’t work. It might when it’s a slowly moving film, but I usually see those at home.
That anti-piracy ad is really funny!
Yep, remakes in another language are usually worse (except for The Departed)
Ahaha nice idea for a post 😉 Obviously, I agree with the vast majority of them, except for Mulholland Dr. 😉 But nothing wrong with that, it’s definitely an acquired taste.
I know I was going to get the most comments about not liking Mulholland drive. It was the same on Twitter 🙂
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