Movies You Love (That Critics and Others Hate)

This was inspired by a similar thread in the Off Topic Music forum and I was curious about my fellow ATSers and their film tastes.

Back in the days of Siskel and Ebert, if they thumbed down an action or sci fi movie, it was a sign I was going to love it. If they gushed over a period piece drama, I was likely going to equally loathe it. But that has changed. Not just because they both are dead.

With IMDB, Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes, usually the general public are the ones reviewing the films and creating the scores, but there have been some films I absolutely love that have abysmal scores on both sites.

So now I am going to share one of my (I guess) guilty pleasure films.

Balls of Fury (2007)

IMDB Score: 5.2
Metacritic: 38
Rotten Tomatoes: 27%

I am actually pretty shocked at how low a score this films gets now that I'm looking at the numbers. Is it stupid? Yes, very, but in a sort of endearing way. It does have George Lopez in it but Thomas Lennon more than makes up for anything the former is lacking.

Anyone else feeling the same about a movie?

a reply to: MonkeyFishFrog

The Man with Two Brains

Actually, Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 76% so technically it is 'well received.'
But it is wacky, and you have to be in a silly mood to fully guffaw at its antics!

Steve Martin and Kathleen Turner.
Circa 1983

"Steve Martin and Carl Reiner concoct one of Martin's best comic vehicles with Martin playing the world's top brain surgeon, Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr -- he ought to know, he said so himself. Hfuhruhurr pioneered the radical new cranial screw-top technique..."

Rotten Tomatoes

Choice seems pretty obvious for me.




Roger Ebert...........

The Jerk” is all gags and very little comedy. After Martin hits the road, he has a series of adventures as a gas pump jockey, a weight-guesser in a sideshow, a hapless lover of Bernadette Peters, an inventor of a gadget to keep your eyeglasses from falling down. All of these gag situations are milked for one-time laughs. They don't grow out of his character, or contribute to it.

Most of Terry Gilliam's films are poorly reviewed. There are a few exceptions.
I find them to be, for the most part, pure genius.
'Tideland' is the first example that comes to mind.
That film brought me to tears, and most people seem to hate it.

I watch Rocky Horror Picture Show about once every month. The film, to me, is hilarious, inventive and camp.

www.imdb.com...

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Musical | 15 August 1975 (UK)
7.4 Your rating: -/10 Ratings: 7.4/10 from 91,254 users Metascore: 58/100
Reviews: 488 user | 109 critic | 7 from Metacritic.com

a reply to: MonkeyFishFrog

One of my favorites is American Dreamz. It is a multi-layered satire of both American Idol and the Bush presidency. It failed both financially and critically but I think it had a great perspective on both the American political process and the distractions used to keep people in the dark on what's really going on. You can usually find it in the dollar bin at various stores but personally I think it's worth the watch.

www.youtube.com...

a reply to: revswirl

I actually know that one. Was working at Blockbuster when it came out and it was an underrated film.

Damn, I watched one last year that had me and my partner laughing in tears, then when we went to look it up, we noticed it got horrible reviews!

Ever since that time, we take the reviews with a grain of salt. I guess that's a good example not to always follow the flock, sometimes you might like something the rest of them don't, doesn't mean YOU can't enjoy it!

Sorry, I can't remember the movie though, just my 2 cents on the topic

originally posted by: olaru12
www.youtube.com...

Interesting, reminds me more of an art project than a movie, not sure if I can endure 90 mins of it but I might give it a shot some time!

Thanks all for sharing, btw, some interesting titles to check

Legend. I love that movie. I love the director's cut more, of course, but I loved the theatrical version, too. For fans, get the set with both - all the stuff you wish they had done a bit dfferently, the director's cut fixes! Awesome movie!!

I know a lot of people smear it, but one of my favorites is What Dreams May Come, with Robin Williams. Different sites give wildly different rating. Ebert gave it 4 1/2 stars, while Rotten Tomatoes only gave it 21/2. I really enjoy the visuals. Especially the way everything looks once he goes in to the painting. Like living in a world made of cake icing.

Thanks One more place to come and humiliate myself Ok.......Romi and Micheles High School Reunion.
High on my list of nitwit companions. These two are so nitwit that there is no space. between the nit and the wit. Nitwit.
Inseparable in high school and inseparable for ten years after. Laurel and Hardy dumb. Dumb and Dumber dumb.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Wasn't that Tom Cruise and the hero and Tim Curry as the devil? Thee was a unicorn and oh, Tia Maria?

originally posted by: skunkape23
Most of Terry Gilliam's films are poorly reviewed. There are a few exceptions.
I find them to be, for the most part, pure genius.
'Tideland' is the first example that comes to mind.
That film brought me to tears, and most people seem to hate it.

I'm with you on that. One of my favorite movies, and most have never heard of it, the few that have wrinkled their nose.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Tom Cruise and Tim Curry, yes (as Darkness), and Mia Sara. Two unicorns. Lots of elves. That's the one! The director's cut has the score that was originally intended, and some other changes that make it WAY better. Still mostly the same. Always loved that movie, as did the friends that went when it came out.

a reply to: NightFlight

I think I seriously gut laughed the first dozen times a saw them jump in to Timewarp.
I can't really think of a bigger sleeper than this one.

a reply to: Greathouse

HA! Great scene!
Here's one of my favorites from Man with Two Brains:

"D@mn your drunk tests are hard!"

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

I think that Tim Curry seriously ruined me for any other devils. Yeah, the whole movie sung and just swept me along. I saw it maybe five or six times. Loved it.

a reply to: DAVID64

What Dreams May Come was one of those rare moments where I agreed with Ebert. It was a stunning and haunting movie.