Don't Believe the Hype

[Kell]

I refused to see the 2005 Pride & Prejudice, partly because I loathe the sight of Keira Knightley, and partly because the BBC had got it so perfect a decade before I felt no need to see any other version ever.

You're not missing anything. It's dire. Knightly can't act for toffee and Macfadyen was the worst possible choice for Darcy - honestly, he just comes across as being bored most of the time. But then, I think that's just Macfadyen - I couldn't watch more than a dozen episodes of Spooks because I hated him in that so much and he was the lead. He's dull as ditchwater and I will never enjoy watching him in anything. He could ruin a masterpiece just by walking through a scene in the background. Not that the film version of P&P was a masterpiece - far from it. It was awful. Mostly because of the leads being, as I've already mentioned, terrible actors, but also because they had absolutely no chemistry, either when sparring or when in love. I was sad to see Donald Sutherland sink so low as to appear in such tosh.

 

Give me Firth and Ehle any day of the week!

 

I've actually been put right off seeing the forthcoming Never Let Me Go (which I was really excited about when I first heard it was being made into a film) because Knightly is playing Ruth. Talk about miscasting and ruining another great novel!

Edited May 1, 2010 by Kell

[Lucybird]

I have to add my voice to Raven's in defense of The Lord of the Rings! Great movies! But the book is still better...

 

As for those that are overly hyped, definitely Titanic. I saw it once, couldn't understand the big deal, never saw it again. I have no desire to see Avatar for the same reason. Maybe it's a James Cameron thing.

 

I also agree with The Blair Witch Project. It was a little creepy, to be sure, but nothing like what people were saying.

 

Also:

 

Pearl Harbor

Romeo + Juliet

 

I agree about Pearl Harbor. But Romeo + Juliet is one of my favourite films.

[Weave]

Oh, wait, I didn't mean to come across as if you'd insulted me, cause you absolutely didn't. Just meant that hating Celine Dion wouldn't be a reason not to watch the film, because it really doesn't have all that much to do with eachother, think (can you see how much attention I payed to it since I don't even really know for sure) that that song's only played in the film without her singing.

But if you're in the mood for sappy, obvious, sometimes hilarious romantic films, then I'd think you'd enjoy this, as long as you don't hate Leonardo or Kate.

 

I will check it out when its next on, thanks Univerze

[chesilbeach]

Also:

 

Romeo + Juliet

 

Oh no Hate to disagree with you, Echo, but Baz Luhrmann is a genius. The Red Curtain trilogy is awesome, three of my favourite films of all time (Strictly Ballroom is my second favourite film EVER).

 

Back to the over hyped:

 

E.T.

[Stephanie2008]

Definitely ET. I really don't understand the fuss over that movie.

 

I'm also really put off by Avatar at the minute, too much hype. I don't think I'll ever chose to sit and watch that.

[chesilbeach]

I feel exactly the same, Stephanie. Haven't seen Avatar, and no inclination to watch it at all.

[Karsa Orlong]

The Blair Witch Project - Possibly the most overhyped horror film of all time. "Oh, it's so scary - I could hardly watch." "Oh, it's all true, you know - those students really did disappear while making that film!" "Oh, the film makers were cursed after making it and they all died shortly afterwards in bizarre accidents!". It was utter tosh. It was badly filmed (and gave me a headache!) and not remotely scary. The only thing that was handled remarkably well was the marketing! It certainly got people talking, and I know many people will disagree with me, but I thought it was a dreadfully dull film.

Yes, that would be my choice too. What an absolute waste of time it was. The strange thing was, for me, if I had caught it late night on tv without knowing anything about it I probably would have found it quite unsettling, so the hype worked against it in that regard. Still, fair play to the people who made it - it was probably the first example of the internet being used to create hype in that way, and it worked for them.

 

 

I'm not sure I agree with the earlier posts about Avatar. For me the comments are the wrong way around - I didn't think it was poorly made at all. As a 3-D cinematic experience, it was unlike anything I'd seen before, and even on blu-ray in 2-D it is still stunning. What lets it down for me is the story, which is just a re-hash of many that have gone before (Ferngully, Dances With Wolves etc etc) and there are some really stupid gaps in its logic which make it fairly laughable as a result. But then you kind of expect that from James Cameron, and it's still much better than most other blockbusters. Just about every Michael Bay film, for a start

[Dimitra]

In response to previous comments:

 

I've already expressed multiple times my love for the 2005 version of P&P.

LOTR kicks a**.

I'm a fan of all 6 Star Wars.

Avatar had a cliche story yes, but the execution made it fresh again.

 

Now back to my most overrated list:

 

Out Of Africa: 7 academy awards including best picture? Seriously?! I barely managed to stay awake during the last 30 minutes.

 

The Remains Of A Day: That was boring too and the main character so annoying. The fact that Never Let Me Go was written by the same guy is what worries me about the film, not Keira Knightley.

 

No Country For Old Men: The film was OK, but I didn't get all the fuss, not to mention winning best picture and adapted screenplay over Atonement.

 

The White Ribbon: Maybe I understand why many went crazy over it, but it really didn't do much for me. When you read comments like "There's no other film like this one" you expect for more.

 

Mad Max: Why is this film iconic? Apart from well-executed stunts, it doesn't offer much.

[Kreader]

When I took my nephew aged 12, to see Avatar in 3D the tickets sold out so we had to settle for 2D. The film was colourful, the story was horrible and my nephew fell asleep midfilm. His mother later took him to see the 3D version hoping things would be better. They enjoyed the effects for a while then my nephew fell asleep, midfilm, again. With a better story line, tightly edited so it was not as long maybe my nephew would have stayed wide awake thoughout the film.

[Peacefield]

I never saw Avatar or the 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice. Avatar just isn't my kind of movie, and I just never felt the need to see P&P mostly because I loved the BBC version so much.

 

I saw Titanic and thought that one viewing was enough for me! I never understood my friends who saw it multiple times, I mean, how much tragedy can a person sit through?

 

Blair Witch Project was creepy, but being alone in the woods at night is always creepy to me, so I was sufficiently scared, LOL.

 

A lot of these movies I'm not sure if they were overhyped, but just aren't my kind of film (huge budget/fantasy). All the LOTR films I saw once, but just never felt the need to see again.

 

I will say that I too loved District 9, and ET because that was really part of my childhood. Seeing that in the theatre when it came out was so exciting for me and I loved every minute of it.

[Lucybird]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Harry Potter films. Unless you've read the books they don't make sense half the time and Daniel Radcliff can't act!

[Chrissy]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Harry Potter films. Unless you've read the books they don't make sense half the time and Daniel Radcliff can't act!

He has got better with each film, although I would have to say that his fellow Potter actors have certainly surpassed him now.

[chesilbeach]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Harry Potter films. Unless you've read the books they don't make sense half the time and Daniel Radcliff can't act!

But has anyone ever really "hyped" the Potter films? I don't remember them ever getting glowing reviews or people I know raving about them as brilliant films, so there's no hype to believe?

[Lucybird]

hmm I think so, at least the first one. It seemed to me it was something you had to see.

 

I guess it depends on what you call hype.

[iamnotreal]

Oh, and I hated Titanic too. I mean, you start the film knowing it's going to sink - LOL!

 

LOL! That made me laugh so much.

 

I didn't like Titanic. It's not my kind of film at all.

 

And I must agree with you on Percy Jackson, Kell - it looked good on the trailers, but I hadn't read the books (a friend had) and it was the most predictable film I've ever seen! It was quite entertaining, though, so I didn't mind. I thought Hades and Persephone were the best part of it.

[Brida]

I have to agree with both Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Spiderman.

 

The 1st one seemed...empty, the 2nd one I expected to be nothing but empty but I went with a friend who wanted to see it because of James Franco...

[Vladd]

I have seen the first half of Titanic and then fell asleep, luckily we were watching a DVD at home. This film is a bit of a sore point in our household because of the terrible and historically inaccurate way the officers of the titanic were portrayed. The 4th officer Joseph Boxall, who survived as he was in command of one of the life boats, is my wife's great uncle, though now sadly deceased, and so James Cameron's shall we say anti english slant did not go down well with family Boxall.

[poppy]

Titanic would go down in my top 10 over-hyped movies of all time. Nearly got put off Kate Winslet and Leonardo Dicaprio for life, but now think they are both very good actors.

 

But I absolutely loved Avatar ....the imagery was amazingly beautiful.

[ian]

In a moment of pure bad judgement on my part, I bought the DVD of Mama Mia for my wife. We both agreed afterwards that it was one and a half hours of our lives we weren't going to get back.

 

Also the remake of "The day the earth stood still". How could they do that to such a classic? Simply awful.

[Raven]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Harry Potter films. Unless you've read the books they don't make sense half the time and Daniel Radcliff can't act!

 

He has got better with each film, although I would have to say that his fellow Potter actors have certainly surpassed him now.

 

I'd argue Radcliffe is a better actor than Emma Watson, who can't act for toffee.

 

But has anyone ever really "hyped" the Potter films? I don't remember them ever getting glowing reviews or people I know raving about them as brilliant films, so there's no hype to believe?

 

They were a bit hit-and-miss in the adaptation stakes, but I think they've all pretty much garnered five star reviews. They have got better as they have gone along; as I've said before the last three have done a good job of adapting bloated, over-written stories into good family action adventure films.

 

Titanic would go down in my top 10 over-hyped movies of all time.

 

*Badum-tish!*

 

Also the remake of "The day the earth stood still". How could they do that to such a classic? Simply awful.

 

I've not been brave enough to watch that yet!

[Nollaig]

Paranormal Activity - pish. Blair Witch project was scarier.

Avatar - pish. So it looked pretty, big deal?! Go watch Dances With Wolves.

Inception - Well, not 'pish', but it's not THAT amazing. Very good movie, but it doesn't warrant comparison to the likes of The Matrix, unless you're referring to the basic structure of the film and the idea of not knowing what is real and what isn't. It has no real depth, just complexity. It's a proper blockbuster. It is good though, definitely worth watching.

[busy91]

Paranormal Activity was awful. I was told for months and months that I would be scared sensless. My daughter and I turned off the lights, in preperation for a scar fest. We were very dissapointed.

[lexiepiper]

Paranormal Activity was awful. I was told for months and months that I would be scared sensless. My daughter and I turned off the lights, in preperation for a scar fest. We were very dissapointed.

 

I was too.

[DanC_84]

Avatar is the one that springs to mind immediately for me. I didn't enjoy that film at all.

[my-sweetheart-is-drunk]

Lord of the Rings?!

 

LYNCH THE UNBELIEVERS!

 

My entry on this list is the ultimate cinematic let down:

 

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

 

I waited 16 years of my life for this film. 16 years!

 

The trailer looked bloody awesome, and then look at what we got . . .

 

I too love LOTR and almost cried after watching The Phantom Menace, I felt so let down that I haven't yet been able to bring myself to watch either Revenge of the Sith or Attack of the Clones!

 

I'd argue Radcliffe is a better actor than Emma Watson, who can't act for toffee.

 

I have to agree with this too, she's awful! Radcliffe seems to have grown with his character and become much more convincing where as Watson seems to have a perpetual look of someone who would rather be someone else and really can't be bothered, especially since the 4th film!

 

I'll watch pretty much anything to be honest and most films I enjoy just because I love film but obviously I've come across many that are over rated.

 

As has been mention the Spiderman films were terrible, Kirsten Dunst was only ever good in Interview with the Vampire and Toby Maguire cannot act 'conflicted' or angry or really at all except for in The Cider house Rules.

 

Ooh another Dunst film - Marie Antoinette hyped because of Sophia Coppola and her success with Lost in Translation. It was dire, I can't get the time I wasted watching that film back, even Schwartzman was bad and I usually enjoy his performances.

 

I thought Avatar was ok, I expected AWESOME but no cigar! Terminator 2 remains IMO Cameron's masterpiece!

 

Cloverfield - Why was it made and as importantly how on earth did anyone like it!

 

Sherlock Holmes was a waste of the £15.99 I paid for the blu ray, should've waited till it came on Sky Movies but "everyone" said it was great!

 

Every Twilight saga film ever made and probably then next two as well. Far too much of the screen time was devoted to looking soppy and 'loved-up'. Kristen Stewart was only good in Panic Room and blinks all the time until Eclipse where she seems to have gone from blinking to nodding her head all the time like those dogs you put in cars! Robert Pattinson has the charisma of a dead fish. Taylor Lautner who probably gives the best performances of the 3 main characters is overshadowed by the fact he appears shirtless ALL THE TIME! For me the best characters in the movies so far have been Aro and Jasper and Alice is ok.

 

Shakespeare in Love - Considering the hype and the awards it won and the films it beat to win those awards you'd think it would be good but it's not.

 

Almost every Bond movie except Goldfinger which is hilarious!