Well its been a fun journey, but all good things must come to an end. For Overrated Films' final blog entry we decided to create a short video discussing what we think makes a film overrated?
Fantastic Four has been made a few times in the past, but the most recent reboot came out in 2015. We follow the story of Reed Richards, Dr. Franklin Storm, Victor Von Doom, Ben, Sue and Johnny.
(Image via Roadshow Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures, found at View.co.uk)
What description springs to mind when you think: Mad Max. For
me personally, I picture Mel Gibson driving down the Highway with a sawn-off
shotgun and a GT Ford Falcon Coupe. Fast forward 35 years and not much has
changed. Still in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, still got Max and still got
some pretty cool high octane stunts. Only problem: It seems like the same
entire formulae has been repeated and regurgitated for a modern audience.
(Image via Roadshow Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures, found at Movietele.it)
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the film. As I did most of the
movies we have reviewed. Not to mention, with actors such as Tom Hardy and
Charlize Theron, and George Miller at the helm, great visual effects, high
octane stunts (as mentioned before), 10 Academy Award Nominations and a 97% on
Rotten Tomatoes (Yes, 97 PERCENT!), It is difficult to fault such a movie.
(Image via Roadshow Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures, found at The Mad Max Wiki)
On top of a recycled list of plot features, the fact that the
story was incoherent, disjointed, had no general direction and made a 2 hour
run time feel like a decade left me feeling like I was waiting for something…
and the explosions! Wooo …... and waiting again…. and still waiting.
(Image via Roadshow Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures, found at Gizmodo Australia)
All in all, A decent film that got a bit full of itself with
Oscar nominations and decided to save budget on writing by taking all the previous
Mad Max movie plots, putting them in a blender and then reconstructing them in
no discernible order.
(Image via PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, found at Quotesgram)
The Usual Suspects is one of those times
where an overrated film isn’t a bad film by any stretch. It was just over-hyped
and spoiled by positive accolades.
Little Miss Sunshine was shot on a relatively
low budget and generated a lot of hype when it came in 2006. Little Miss
Sunshine was a filmed loved by many but why it’s so popular is beyond me.
(Image via Warner Bros. Pictures, found at BadMovieVault)
From the
directive vision of Zach Snyder, (Director of superhero movie “Watchmen”, Hero
movie “300” and superhero movie “Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga’hoole” …
Uh, actually scratch that last one) comes Man of Steel; the attempted rebirth
of a nearly destroyed comic book icon… Superman.
Now straight
off the bat, Man of Steel could not have possibly done any worse than Superman
Returns (Which is pretty much the “Batman and Robin” of Superman films, if you
take the hint). So, in typical Zac Snyder fashion, A larger than life epic with
a ludicrous budget ($225 million), an insane amount of visual effects (most
which are pretty decent), a drawn out, slow story line/plot and an all-out
war/alienation of the protagonist. An in all departments, Man of Steel
delivered in spades.
(Image via Warner Bros. Pictures, found at Aceshowbiz)
Since the
release of Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and the announcement of Justice
League, It is widely received that Man of Steel was just a basic
re-introduction to the origins of Superman as a void filler to keep the fans
interested until the real blockbusters come out (and if it was Dawn of Justice…
It definitely missed the mark). So partly, that could be the excuse for
mid-range plot development (at best) and recycling/re-purposing the major fight
sequences and events from a previous movie (pretty much most of Superman and
Superman II).
(Image via Warner Bros. Pictures, found at ComicBook)
Overall, If you
want a more complete Superman experience, You should either watch Superman and
Superman II with Christopher Reeve or start invested in a few comic books (If
you’ve got the time and money, it’s definitely worth it!)
Most 90’s kids likely grew up watching Toy Story so it was only natural that when Toy Story 3 came out in 2010 that the demographic most excited about the movie would be teenagers. Although the movie gained a lot of praise from critics some even saying that the parents would cry more than the children it was just a giant let down in my opinion. The movie had a lot of hype around it, which made my expectations even higher but I just couldn’t (and still can’t) understand the glowing acclaim around it.
The movie ended up wining the Best Animated Feature Oscar and was even nominated for Best Movie of the year!! My main complaint about the movie is that it’s pretty basic. The film starts with an outstanding opening and a touching ending but it’s the main plot that does not resonate with me. I found it extremely repetitive and there was nothing endearing about it like the first two movies. Overall, I felt extremely let down with this movie mainly because I loved the first two but I think this movie had many flaws and it was most definitely overrated.
(Image via DreamWorks Pictures, found at SquareEyed)
I never had
understood why Anchorman became the pop-cultural cornerstone that it did. Sure
it had some great quotable moments – many of which have developed a life of their
own as online jokes, animated gifs and quotes – but as an actual movie, Anchorman is just plain unfunny.
Expectations were high for the release of the much
anticipated Gone Girl directed by David Fincher. The film closely follows the
#1 New York Times Bestseller book by Gillian Flynn. The film has an intriguing
dark edge, however the plot is sporadic and often unbelievable.
Nick become the focus of the media when his wife Amy
goes missing, with Nick the prime suspect for his murder. The twists and turns
of the plot are vague or implausible. For example, it was unclear to me why
Amy, apparently a sociopath, abandons her intricate plan to frame Nick for her
death, commit suicide and then adamantly returns to her despised husband.
I have trouble understanding all the claims that this
film conveys underlying messages prompting feminism and portraying a modern
marriage. While I can appreciate the cinematic techniques, the film appears to
me to be largely overrated.
The title of a
movie plays a big role when one is deciding on a movie to watch. Any movie with
the word ‘disaster’ in the title is setting itself a low standard. This movie
could go one of two ways; it could either blow it out of the park with how
amazing it is or be a complete train wreck.
(Image via Fox Searchlight Pictures, found at WUNC)
The idea of
Birdman was brilliant. A washed up actor (Michael Keaton) known for playing a
superhero (*cough* Batman *cough*) wants to finally be taken seriously in his
acting (perhaps via a film such as this).
(Image via Universal Pictures, found at TMV Tours)
Boyhood has received nothing by praise and exultation
from many movie critics. The New York Times referred to it as ‘one of the most
extraordinary movies of the 21st century’, while Film Comment labeled it
‘wondrous’. Unfortunately, I did not agree, earning Boyhood a place on the list
of overrated films.
(Image via Universal Pictures, found at The Guardian)
Boyhood was filmed, written and directed over the
course of twelve years by Richard Linklater. The film uses the same actors and
watches as Mason literally grows up from a child of 6 to a young man of 18. Starring
Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason's parents, and Lorelei Linklater as
his sister Samantha, Boyhood captures the struggles of growing up and
parenting.
I didn't entirely hate Boyhood. It does nostalgically
capture the moments of childhood and adolescence incorporating important scenes
of family relationships, milestones, school and work. However, I thought it was
at best, an average film with a production technique more interesting than the
actual film.
(Image via Universal Pictures, found at Forbes.com)
With a star studded cast including the likes of Sam
Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver (just to name a few) and director
James Cameron at the helm, Avatar created a hype and expectation of a
blockbuster for the ages. Yet, even with incredible and revolutionary Visual
Effects and Motion Capture Technology, 9 Academy Award Nominations (with wins
in Art Direction, Visual Effects and Cinematography), a rating of 7.9/10 on
IMDB and 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the Highest Worldwide Box Office Income in
history (Nearly $2.8 Billion), Avatar offers an almost incomprehensible plot
that drags outs over 3 hrs and leaves more questions than it answers. As
explained by James Cameron though: “Nah it’s all good, I’ll Just announce 3
more sequels” (Not actual quote)
The idea of watching a movie about a novelty topic, such as Mother's Day, left me wondering how sappy and obvious this movie would be. Just as I was starting to believe that perhaps this movie wouldn't be all that bad, the release date was set on Mother's Day.
