Movies That You Hate: An Anti-Recommendation Thread

[SearchingforPeace]

More movies I personally hate:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Forrest Gump (People: Life is like a box of chocol... - Me: Shut your mouth!)
Interstellar (Nolan's later works are just a handful of big budget, corny, unoriginal mess with weak characters and too much dialogue)
Finding Nemo (the most annoying animation I've ever watched)
Crash (the worst Oscars' winner of all time)
Chicago

And I thought I was the only one that hated Interstellar!

2001 I can almost forgive due to era and groundbreaking effects and such.

I hated Forrest Gump.... such a awful movie.

Crash is widely viewed as the weakest Best Picture, but I believe there are worse ones.

Your list made me recall my personal worst Best Picture, American Beauty, for all Kevin Spacey is one of my favorite actors. Ugh, I just hate the movie.....

 

[D'Ascoyne]

More movies I personally hate:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Forrest Gump (People: Life is like a box of chocol... - Me: Shut your mouth!)
Interstellar (Nolan's later works are just a handful of big budget, corny, unoriginal mess with weak characters and too much dialogue)
Finding Nemo (the most annoying animation I've ever watched)
Crash (the worst Oscars' winner of all time)
Chicago

Forrest Gump and Crash are garbage. 2001 was well done so I give it that, but after Tree of Life I'm starting to see Malick take after Kubrick. The rest I haven't seen and now I never will. Love these anti-recommendations!

 

[violet_crown]

It worked better for me because I was viewing it as a metaphor for our inherent relentless mortality and didn't get hung up on stupid moments like that one. There's something about feeling like you can never stop moving or you're going to die -- even if you think you're safe for the moment, death can still slowly but steadily track you down and finish you off. There is no rest, you must always remain wary... and in fact, in the end, it doesn't matter because you're still going to lose. That uneasiness is what I took away from that movie and it still kind of haunts me.

"Goodnight Mommy" I presume is the one you thought was decent but predictable. Yeah, that seems a fair description.

My problem is that I have trouble watching movies I think suck. For example, I tried watching "Vacation" (the last year remake) last night on HBO because it just came out, and I thought what the hell. Even though I found myself laughing at bits here and there (sometimes just because it was so outrageously ridiculous), I had to turn it off after 35 minutes because I just didn't give a shit about it anymore. It was just really BAD. Really, poor Christina Applegate; she's better than this movie (which is something, considering she first found infamy as Kelly on "Married with Children".)

So I usually have a decent idea what I'll be watching and avoid the obvious trash, and I've started to more take Ebert's comment to heart (or was it Siskel? Don't remember) about how watching a terrible movie is throwing away two hours of your life needlessly and it's not worth it to lose that time when you could be doing something else.

I recognize that my level of animus towards It Follows is not entirely rational. Technically, the film had a lot going for it; the movie was visually very beautiful. Had the hype level not been so high around it, I may have enjoyed it more.

Dream House: One of the first movies I remember that totally gave away the twist halfway through the trailer. (Terminator Genysis was another, in Trailer 3.)

The way that the trailer gave this one away was just mind-blowing. I actually ended up watching the movie at some point just to confirm that there wasn't some larger twist or something.

There wasn't.

Unrelated, but 1 Cloverfield Lane was quite good, and I think you'd enjoy it. 2016 has been a really solid year for horror, and a lot of the stuff I've seen coming out of SXSW this year has led me to believe we have a solid Fall season to look forward to.

Second unrelated point--have you seen The Collector? If so, what were your thoughts on it?

 

[Arctic Hysteria]

All this time I thought, I agree with this girl's tastes.

Holy mother of god how wrong was I.

I thought we already lost each other at Black Mirror a long long way back?

Your list made me recall my personal worst Best Picture, American Beauty, for all Kevin Spacey is one of my favorite actors. Ugh, I just hate the movie.....

Oh jeez I'm with you. Kevin Spacey is one of my most favorite actors and though he was great in it, American Beauty is one pretentious goo. Remember that plastic bag floating scene?

----------------------------------------
More to the hate list:

Fantastic Four franchise
Legally Blonde
Crazy, Stupid Love (a.k.a Gag-then-Snore Fest)
Clueless
Anything written by Nicholas Sparks
Anchorman (not my cup of humour tea)
Hunger Games series
Spider-man franchise
Grease
Austin Powers franchise
The Tree of Life
Anything with Johnny Depp in it since 2005 and that of course includes the whole Pirates of Caribbean franchise Jesus Christ they're making another one???

 

[SearchingforPeace]

I thought we already lost each other at Black Mirror a long long way back?



Oh jeez I'm with you. Kevin Spacey is one of my most favorite actors and though he was great in it, American Beauty is one pretentious goo. Remember that plastic bag floating scene?

I read that the movie went into courtroom drama mode for 30 minutes, but they dropped all that and just did the bag, as if there was some deep meaning.

Another for my list:

The Fountain. I get the movie and the filmmaking was good, but the entire movie just annoyed me in so many ways... ..A for effort but F for result. And I had a friend recommend to me, lol..... never listened to him again.....

 

[Totenkindly]

I recognize that my level of animus towards It Follows is not entirely rational. Technically, the film had a lot going for it; the movie was visually very beautiful. Had the hype level not been so high around it, I may have enjoyed it more.

I totally agree that that movie was overhyped into the mainstream audience. (I think Insidious and Conjuring were too, actually, but not as extreme as It Follows.) They can't really live up to that level of hype. I'm also not sure what the point of a sequel would be to It Follows. (What's it going to be? "It Follows Some More"? What else is there to say?!)

The way that the trailer gave this one away was just mind-blowing. I actually ended up watching the movie at some point just to confirm that there wasn't some larger twist or something.

There wasn't.

Yeah. I think I rented it for a buck just to give it a chance, but... yeah. Exactly. It did have Elias Koteas in it, I liked him since I saw him in "Some Kind of Wonderful" years and years ago, but not enough to justify this movie.

Unrelated, but 1 Cloverfield Lane was quite good, and I think you'd enjoy it. 2016 has been a really solid year for horror, and a lot of the stuff I've seen coming out of SXSW this year has led me to believe we have a solid Fall season to look forward to.

Second unrelated point--have you seen The Collector? If so, what were your thoughts on it?

Haven't seen "The Collector." I'll add it to my Watch list so I don't forget.

"10 Cloverfield Lane" is actually on my list, but I just didn't make it to the theater unfortunately. I'm looking forward to seeing it eventually.

---

I'm tempted to toss Batman v Superman on this list. However, there are parts of the movie I liked, even while I would acknowledge the story and depth of the movie was in shambles. (i.e., some interesting and enjoyable pieces, but the whole is missing something.)

Might as well throw in Human Centipede 1&2, though. I didn't see 3.

And "Batman & Robin."

----

And here is one to stir up the discussion: The Life of David Gale.

 

[Qlip]

This is very timely, but I've always felt I could whole heartedly not recommend any given Zack Snyder movie. 300 may be an exception, but watch Sucker Punch, and you won't be able to watch any of his movies without cringing again.

 

[Totenkindly]

This is very timely, but I've always felt I could whole heartedly not recommend any given Zack Snyder movie. 300 may be an exception, but watch Sucker Punch, and you won't be able to watch any of his movies without cringing again.

I thought "Sucker Punch" was ironic in that it is a bad movie that actually could be read as saying something profound after you dig through TWO layers.. and I think it was a total accident because Snyder just isn't that deep, now that I've seen the next few movies that he's made.

I'm alluding to the top level of women abused in an asylum being exploitative; and then the "hot anime chicks kicking ass" layer to be Snyder's supposed level of empowerment but really coming across as yet another level of exploitation; but you never actually see Babydoll dance, which would have been overt exploitation.... and the next layer down is the realization that even if the women "empower themselves," they still can't beat the system and the best they can settle for is the "Brazil" ending where Babydoll can choose to embrace a particular form of freedom as her best way out, and in that way still maintain her autonomy even if on the surface she loses. But basically in the end, that's the best these women can hope for because they're totally trapped in the system; even Sweetpea getting out still depends on the help of the Wise Man. I know, I know, that's not very optimistic; but it's probably the most interesting thing I have ever seen in a Snyder movie... and I think it was a total accident.

 

[Kas]

I think that "Suing the Devil" and "The Blair Witch Project" were two worst movies I've ever seen.

Both were bad to the point where they were not even funny.

 

[violet_crown]

Haven't seen "The Collector." I'll add it to my Watch list so I don't forget.

"10 Cloverfield Lane" is actually on my list, but I just didn't make it to the theater unfortunately. I'm looking forward to seeing it eventually.

My last three moviegoing experiences have been The Witch, Zootopia and 1 Cloverfield Lane. All have been outstanding in their own way. The Witch and 1 Cloverfield gave me this inkling that we're entering a new moment for the genre that's leaving behind a lot of the "gimme" jumpscares and a lot of the more infantilizing tropes that have seemed to have been around since Paranormal Activity. Both films are very ok with just letting the suspense unfold, and making you sit with it. It's really exciting to see, and for all that I'm not a fan of It Follows, I feel it was a part of a tipping point towards whatever this development is.

Then again, Conjuring 2 trailers look pretty paint by numbers, but I've already established that I'm pretty whelmed by that franchise.

I'm tempted to toss Batman v Superman on this list. However, there are parts of the movie I liked, even while I would acknowledge the story and depth of the movie was in shambles. (i.e., some interesting and enjoyable pieces, but the whole is missing something.)

Might as well throw in Human Centipede 1&2, though. I didn't see 3.

The Batman v Superman reviews have been startlingly bad. You'd think that someone at WB would have phoned a friend at Disney or something. It did give us Sad Ben Affleck, though.

Speaking of superhero dross, I'm still working through my feelings with the Marvel Netflix franchises. I think I appreciate the thematic novelty of Jessica Jones, but felt like I was being beaten over the head with it by the end.

More specifically, I think her character didn't really grow, so the commentary on emotional trauma could only go so far. Maybe the point was more how survivors of traumatic events impacts others as well.

Daredevil Season 2 was probably better than Season 1, but again, the protagonist is not someone I really care about. It was just hard to get invested in any of it. I think similar things could be said about House of Cards. A lot of these Netflix original shows are kinda coming apart at the seems it feels like...

 

[D'Ascoyne]

Oh jeez I'm with you. Kevin Spacey is one of my most favorite actors and though he was great in it, American Beauty is one pretentious goo. Remember that plastic bag floating scene?

----------------------------------------
More to the hate list:

Fantastic Four franchise
Legally Blonde
Crazy, Stupid Love (a.k.a Gag-then-Snore Fest)
Clueless
Anything written by Nicholas Sparks
Anchorman (not my cup of humour tea)
Hunger Games series
Spider-man franchise
Grease
Austin Powers franchise
The Tree of Life
Anything with Johnny Depp in it since 2005 and that of course includes the whole Pirates of Caribbean franchise Jesus Christ they're making another one???

The Fountain. I get the movie and the filmmaking was good, but the entire movie just annoyed me in so many ways... ..A for effort but F for result. And I had a friend recommend to me, lol..... never listened to him again.....

The Batman v Superman reviews have been startlingly bad. You'd think that someone at WB would have phoned a friend at Disney or something. It did give us Sad Ben Affleck, though.

I love Sad Affleck!! His, "I agree" at the end is just so full of pathos.

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

It was like if Diablo Cody decided to make a horror movie and it sucked as much as everything else she does.

 

[Totenkindly]

Then again, Conjuring 2 trailers look pretty paint by numbers, but I've already established that I'm pretty whelmed by that franchise.

Yeah, they found a "schtick" to hang a certain horror approach on, and now are promoting it. It looks pretty much like The Conjuring, just in England.

I knew of the Warrens (and Annabelle, who is actually a Raggedy-Anne doll) probably as far back as the early 90's; I've picked up a number of books about demon possession occurring in different countries, and "The Demonologist" about the Warrens is one of the books I happened to snag before I knew who they were, and they had black and whites of Annabelle in her case in the book. So they are kind of celebrities in that circle; I just never expected a movie franchise out of them.

The Batman v Superman reviews have been startlingly bad. You'd think that someone at WB would have phoned a friend at Disney or something. It did give us Sad Ben Affleck, though.

I actually feel bad for Ben, and he's not someone I am normally sympathetic to. I think he, and Cavill, and Eisenberg were actually three of the best parts of the movie. (I would like to add Gadot, but she never got to act, really -- she was more a product being promoted, a symbol of a particular kind of female, archetypical [rather than fleshed out] as her image resonates with the viewer market.) Anyway, I can spare him a little moroseness here, he couldn't have done more with that script than he did.

I have seen rumors that it might not all be the writers or Snyder's fault; the studio might have been messing in the soup a lot, because they were trying to rush their JLA franchise. It would explain why the parts are all jumbled. The introductions to the potential JLA members were really ham-fisted.

Speaking of superhero dross, I'm still working through my feelings with the Marvel Netflix franchises. I think I appreciate the thematic novelty of Jessica Jones, but felt like I was being beaten over the head with it by the end.

More specifically, I think her character didn't really grow, so the commentary on emotional trauma could only go so far. Maybe the point was more how survivors of traumatic events impacts others as well.

I really like Jessica Jones (I just finished it this weekend); I'll grant a flavor of your overall point, although I think she made progress:

Pretty much near the last 2-3 episodes. She's a bit more open with Luke and Trish and even the guy who lives on her hall -- she allows them to help her versus being entirely self-reliant, and her language/interactions become noticeably more open. I consider her pretty fucked up when the series starts, and entirely unable to communicate anything of relevance. I felt like I had been punched in a gut when Killgrave reveals that he told Luke to say the words he had said to her earlier, about forgiving her; she had started to open up, and that's the kind of experience that would have left episode 1 Jessica flipping her shit and never letting anyone in again... but she doesn't do that, remarkably.

Her road to vulnerability will be long in coming.

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

The Batman v Superman reviews have been startlingly bad. You'd think that someone at WB would have phoned a friend at Disney or something. It did give us Sad Ben Affleck, though.

"Did I forget to turn the Nanny off before I left?" - Ben probably

 

[Beargryllz]

The Hobbit trilogy - absolute garbage CGI and closer to fan-fiction than the actual source material
The Phantom Menace - lol
Alien VS Predator - light-hearted PG-13 mashup of two of the most violent, terrifying, grimdark sci-fi franchises
The Blind Side - one of the most blatantly racist, circle-jerky films ever released. I was extremely offended on both accounts.
Pearl Harbor - this one might be some kind of advanced romantic satire that I just didn't appreciate

The Blind Side is the worst of the bunch I listed. My list is not exhaustive because I've probably forgotten most of the other bad movies. But this isn't a thread about bad movies. This is a thread about movies that you hate, and I truly hate these movies. I've changed my opinions about some movies. I cannot bring myself to ever watch Pearl Harbor again, but I have a suspicion that this one is a next-level comedy. It might be beyond me in the way that Freddy Got Fingered was beyond Roger Ebert. The man could not comprehend Freddy Got Fingered, nor could he bring himself to rewatch it. I'm in a similar boat. I understand that deep down there might be something very meta about Pearl Harbor, like it's a generations-wide deconstruction of romance in film, but this is unlikely and probably wholly unintentional. It's probably just an absolute shit-heap of a movie.

 

[uumlau]

Matrix Revolutions (and maybe the 2nd in the trilogy as well; the first was awesome, though)
The Lone Ranger (Johnny Depp version ... oh, yeah, and pretty much anything with Johnny Depp in it)
Her (painful painful painful ... couldn't even get through 20 minutes of this)
Prometheus (I slept through most of it)
Equilibrium (same)
The Hobbit (I never watched the 3rd one. Ugh.)
He Never Died (I -should- have liked it. The characterization was pretty good. The only thing it was missing was a plot to go with the characters. More like a 90 minute-long snapshot than a story.)

Never saw and not interested in seeing:
Sequels to Hunger Games
Sequels to Divergent
The last few Harry Potter movies

Performers that indicate that a movie is going to be really bad:
Adam Sandler
Leonardo DiCaprio
Johnny Depp

The last movie I watched in the theater was Inside Out. The next MIGHT be Batman vs Superman, but I wait until the crowds dwindle. I am VERY picky about what I'll invest my time in watching.

I must admit, however, that I've been surprised by a few movies recently, that felt worthwhile watching even though my goal was to just relax and otherwise just pass the time:

Barely Lethal (fun send-up of the kiddie-spy genre with Samuel L. Jackson and Jessica Alba as supporting characters)
-> If a movie is intentionally tongue-in-cheek, it can be very fun.

John Carter (remarkably good, way better than I thought it would be)

John Wick (Keanu Reeves as a deadly assassin avenging his dead puppy)
Man of Tai Chi (Keanu Reeves as the master martial artist boss of an illegal fighting operation)
-> I am VERY impressed with Keanu Reeves of late. He plays ruthless killers with alacrity, not too good as a romantic lead, though.

Looking back through this list, the pattern I see is an aversion to pretentiousness and preachiness. Movies should just tell their stories and let people judge on their own. DiCaprio's and Depp's personalities scream "pretentious" to me. I've learned to avoid things based on the young adult book genre, for the same reason.

And well, Sandler is just stupid and without merit.

 

[Frosty]

I know he is dead but I can't stand Robin Williams. He ALWAYS plays the EXACT same character. This happy go lucky free thinking radical whose every wish pretty much ends up being the command of the universe around him. I mean many movies do this-- many actors are drawn to roles like this- but there is something about Robin Williams just 'prancing around' while doing so... offensive and painful for some reason. I mean, Mrs. Doubtfire... Ok- tolerable, maybe. At least I have been able to get through it- recently no, so its just a maybe. But that really is all I can give him. Patch Adams. Just the worst thing ever. The worst. I am sorry, but no. I mean the idea is good- but it ISNT at the same time. And that side really is vilified. Qualitative shit is important but... erg- not... something about that movie rubs me the wrong way. Good Will Hunting- is... his performance is acceptable. Because he is more... he plays a fucking human. I can't get through dead poets society. I feel harsh for disliking him now that he has passed- but this is a longstanding thing.

Nicholas Cage is another...'Oh... Well I guess I can reluctantly give it a chance.' Movies. Similar reasoning. Overacting. And overacting in a serious role.

I think that is why I can stand Adam Sandler- because he so very rarely asks to be taken seriously anymore.

Not sure if I am responding to uumlau or not.

Anyways

I liked 'Cloverfield'.

I liked 'Room' but not as much as the book.

I didn't really like Pulp Fiction tbh. I mean- I dont know- I would need to be in the mood I think.

Avatar was just OK. Story wasnt really all that great even if special effects arguably made up for it. Not really in my book.

The Martian was pretty good.

Hm. I dont know what else is memorable that I watched recently. 'I'm not scared' Was interesting.

Oh

Beasts of No Nation was wow.

That is what is going to happen to Tv/movies-starting already.

 

[Qlip]

I thought "Sucker Punch" was ironic in that it is a bad movie that actually could be read as saying something profound after you dig through TWO layers.. and I think it was a total accident because Snyder just isn't that deep, now that I've seen the next few movies that he's made.

I'm alluding to the top level of women abused in an asylum being exploitative; and then the "hot anime chicks kicking ass" layer to be Snyder's supposed level of empowerment but really coming across as yet another level of exploitation; but you never actually see Babydoll dance, which would have been overt exploitation.... and the next layer down is the realization that even if the women "empower themselves," they still can't beat the system and the best they can settle for is the "Brazil" ending where Babydoll can choose to embrace a particular form of freedom as her best way out, and in that way still maintain her autonomy even if on the surface she loses. But basically in the end, that's the best these women can hope for because they're totally trapped in the system; even Sweetpea getting out still depends on the help of the Wise Man. I know, I know, that's not very optimistic; but it's probably the most interesting thing I have ever seen in a Snyder movie... and I think it was a total accident.

Haha, thanks for explaining that one. Honestly, I saw it in first release and went 'ugh', and didn't try to do any digging past that. It's a interesting observation, but yes, way over Zack's head. I don't know why Hollywood keeps giving him high profile projects, I guess it's because he has a well defined visual style. You'd think the fact that everything else is crap would matter. He should be just directing Blade and Underworld sequels.

 

[Dyslexxie]

I don't care for Jennifer Lawrence and I don't know why people love her or her movies. Joy was a terrible movie, and her whole 'omg klutzy girl that likes pizza and is sewwwww relateable' is annoying. I have similar feelings towards Jennifer Aniston but she at least has some pretty funny movies.
I also generally avoid movies with the following actors:
- Jonah Hill
- Ryan Reynolds
- Ryan Gosling
- Sandra Bullock
- Amy Adams
- Seth Rogen

Some movies everyone loved that I can't really get behind include:
- The Reverant
- Wild
- Gravity
- any Fast & Furious movies
- Ted
- Hot Tub Time Machine

 

[SearchingforPeace]

Matrix Revolutions (and maybe the 2nd in the trilogy as well; the first was awesome, though)
The Lone Ranger (Johnny Depp version ... oh, yeah, and pretty much anything with Johnny Depp in it)
Her (painful painful painful ... couldn't even get through 20 minutes of this)
Prometheus (I slept through most of it)
Equilibrium (same)
The Hobbit (I never watched the 3rd one. Ugh.)
He Never Died (I -should- have liked it. The characterization was pretty good. The only thing it was missing was a plot to go with the characters. More like a 90 minute-long snapshot than a story.)

Never saw and not interested in seeing:
Sequels to Hunger Games
Sequels to Divergent
The last few Harry Potter movies

Performers that indicate that a movie is going to be really bad:
Adam Sandler
Leonardo DiCaprio
Johnny Depp

The last movie I watched in the theater was Inside Out. The next MIGHT be Batman vs Superman, but I wait until the crowds dwindle. I am VERY picky about what I'll invest my time in watching.

I must admit, however, that I've been surprised by a few movies recently, that felt worthwhile watching even though my goal was to just relax and otherwise just pass the time:

Barely Lethal (fun send-up of the kiddie-spy genre with Samuel L. Jackson and Jessica Alba as supporting characters)
-> If a movie is intentionally tongue-in-cheek, it can be very fun.

John Carter (remarkably good, way better than I thought it would be)

John Wick (Keanu Reeves as a deadly assassin avenging his dead puppy)
Man of Tai Chi (Keanu Reeves as the master martial artist boss of an illegal fighting operation)
-> I am VERY impressed with Keanu Reeves of late. He plays ruthless killers with alacrity, not too good as a romantic lead, though.

Looking back through this list, the pattern I see is an aversion to pretentiousness and preachiness. Movies should just tell their stories and let people judge on their own. DiCaprio's and Depp's personalities scream "pretentious" to me. I've learned to avoid things based on the young adult book genre, for the same reason.

And well, Sandler is just stupid and without merit.

Must disagree heavily with Equilibrium. Good action, good world, nice criticism of pharmaceuticals and T worldview, and a beautiful depiction of Fi. If you slept through it, you missed the point of it. I would recommend a rewatch.

I do agree with John Carter. I expected nothing of it and was very much pleased. So sad it was demonized by the reviewers and press.... so sad. Everyone that I know that watched it enjoyed it......