Movies About Which You and I Disagree

Do you have movies that you love that everyone else seems to hate? Or vice versa?

I thought I'd share two lists: movies I hated but everyone else loved, and my top movies I loved that everyone else hated (or at least they were indifferent to.)

Which movies have prompted you to have a contrary opinion?

Movies I loved that others hated (or almost hated)

• Titanic: I know it was the biggest movie of all time, so perhaps it's odd to have it in the "others hated" category, but it's become quite fashionable in the decade since Titanic reigned at the box office to deride it as a shallow love story pasted onto a disaster flick. Sure, the romance charted no new territory (although it was enlivened by DiCaprio's and Winslet's terrific chemistry), but the lovingly crafted ambiance of the era and the spectacular realization of the ship, not just as an amazing setting but as a character whose loss is deeply felt, won me over. I believe this is the only movie that I've seen in the theater three times, at least in my adult life.


• The Abyss: Yes, I'm a James Cameron fan. And yes, the ending of this movie was a letdown. But up until it's final couple of minutes, The Abyss is a spooky, tense, exciting, and surprising thrill ride. It never caught on at the box office and I know people who dismiss it with a shrug, but this one of my favorite films of the late 80s.


• Children of Men: I thought this film was a masterpiece. Critics agreed, but almost no one to whom I've recommended the film liked it. I was swept away in the somber mood of a society in mourning and barely hanging onto its sanity because women are unable to conceive. I think the handheld camera work (which for me added urgency and realism) bothered many. Others had difficulties with Clive Owen's anti-hero, Michael Caine's eccentric, and the discordant jolts of humor sprinkled throughout the tense film (which to me felt like real life). Others complained that no explanation was offered as to the sudden human infertility or questioned why the protagonists' strove so greatly to find "The Human Project," a group about which they knew nothing but myths and stories, but to me these are what made the film so realistic--it's the story of real people facing problems they cannot solve and clinging to any hope they can. Children of Men is a very vivid and evocative film.


• Artificial Intelligence: A.I.: Many consider this one of Steven Spielberg's worst movies (although that distinction is well earned by the dreary, unfunny 1941), but I found this a challenging, thought-provoking, moving, and beautiful movie. The multiple endings, somewhat uncertain finale, and perceived sappiness of the film's conclusion turned off many, but I felt the themes of humanity, love, and loss were intense and deeply felt.
  
• Into the West: No, this is not the TV miniseries. Nor is it a western. This small Irish film was released in 1992, and then because the studio so believed in it, it received a rare second release. Alas, neither time did audiences catch this heartfelt movie, which follows two Irish children and a mythical horse on a journey across modern Ireland. This is one of those children's movies that really wasn't made for kids and should appeal to any adult with a heart.

Movies I hated that others loved

• Adaptation: Normally, I'm a fan of Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman. (Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine are brilliant!) But Adaptation felt mean-spirited and achingly obvious. It's a one-joke movie: the writer doesn't want his movie to become a shallow Hollywood film, which is exactly what the film itself becomes. How very meta. The random violence and characters who change personalities as quickly as they change outfits left me very cold.


• Forrest Gump: Normally, I'm the first guy to love an allegorical fantasy, but I could barely sit through this film. Over time, the coincidences stacked one upon another didn't seem ironic or funny; they just seemed obvious and clumsy.


• Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby: Many people seemed to love this movie. Perhaps I am the wrong person to critique this film considering I'm not a NASCAR fan. That said, this seemed like a very thin movie with very few funny bits. Sure, I love the scenes around the family dinner table, but just about everything else failed to live up the sorts of hilarious antics I've come to expect from Will Ferrell.


• Jerry Maguire: To me, this is the king of movies I don't understand. I walked out of the theater thinking Cameron Crowe had just perpetrated one of cinema's greatest acts of cynicism--he'd created a love story without love and a tale of inspiration without inspiration. It slowly became apparent to me he intended it (and others found it) to be heartfelt. I still don't get it. From the very first scene when Zellweger's mousy character falls in love with the sound of Cruise's voice (as he is trying to pick up a woman by telling her how he was embarrassed into getting engaged to his fiance) to the final scene (the unbelievable and hammy transformation of a fallen and injured athlete into an acrobat doing flips off of the stand), this movie seemed faker than a $3 bill. "You complete me," my butt; you didn't even start me!

So, what are some movies you've seen where your opinion seems to differ with just about everyone else's?