1. Less Than Shining

Incredibly, upon release, The Shining received quite mixed critical attention. It even got multiple Razzie nominations. So Opinionated Strangers’ sentiment is not unshared. Although since The Shining is now considered a classic, many may view this opinion to be as deranged as Jack Torrance.

2. The Boy Who Bored You Senseless

Harry Potter is one of the biggest film franchises ever and a special part of many childhoods, J.K. Rowling’s horrific transphobia aside. But not everyone could fall under the series’ spell. Jodie’s post proves that.

3. Mars Attacks vs Arrival

Arrival was loved for the interesting way it dealt with the Alien visitation concept. It dealt with language barriers, perceptions of time, and human nature. Nevertheless, according to Vin Hlz Mars Attacks, a critical disappointment, is much better at what it does than Arrival. Sometimes you just want a good old-fashioned alien invasion movie.

4. Oliver Stone’s Unsung Masterpiece?

How can you definitively state Oliver Stone’s best movie when Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, JFK, and Natural Born Killers are in his filmography? Well, Eric Rowe believes his best movie is actually the underseen Nixon. It’s always nice to see love for an underappreciated film.

5. An Offer Refused

As Family Guy showed, not loving The Godfather is a hard position to hold. And to not like other highly-rated gangster films like both Scarface movies and Casino as well? If nothing else one must admire FKA “Bulletproof Heart” Leo London for being honest. That’s the kind of talk that can leave someone sleeping with the fishes.

6. An Impossibly Underrated Sequel

One mission that mostly proved impossible for the Mission: Impossible series was getting people to praise Mission: Impossible 2. Unanimously considered the series’ low point. Thankfully this goal was finally accomplished thanks to Hasta Lavista Baby.

7. Dragon Wars

There have been several occasions when two movies with strikingly similar themes or plot elements have been released close together. Think Armageddon and Deep Impact. And in this battle, it would be easy to write off Wish Dragon given how high-profile Disney’s dragon animation Raya and the Last Dragon was. But sometimes underdogs can strike a chord with fans. As Wish Dragon did with TheCinematicBandicoot.

8. Defence of the Dead

It’s fair to say from the lacklustre reactions that many general moviegoers were probably expecting something different from what The Dead Don’t Die delivered. But to those familiar with Jim Jarmusch’s work, like Eden Limchawalit-Smith, it provided a unique entry into the zombie subgenre.

9. Not So Quiet on the Sequel Front

Both Quiet Place movies garnered a huge amount of praise from audiences and reviewers. That said ScareCandy Podcast thinks that the second film was much less effective because it felt like a repeat of Part 1. And no matter how good something is repeating the same thing is likely to wear patience thin quickly.

10. Calm Down Raging Bull

Last time we discussed how one Twitter user saw Martin Scorsese as a lesser filmmaker than Brian De Palma. Now we find user Reuben throwing shade at Raging Bull, widely considered one of Scorsese’s best works and the film which earned him his first Oscar nomination for directing. What a left hook sting.

Do you agree or disagree with these hot takes? And what unpopular film opinions do you hold?

Also Read: #FilmTwitter Gives Their #UnpopularOpinion On Movies – Do You Agree?

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The idea that the migration crisis of the novel is part of the “apocalypse” comes later in the book, when certain cities, such as London or San Francisco, into which many have arrived through the aforementioned magic doors, have been ghettoised. There have been violent clashes between “natives” and newcomers, political policy has failed to control this new influx of people, and the boundaries and borders of countries appear “to be somewhat illusionary”, meaning people are left questioning “what role they to play” in this new order.

Hamid’s description of the apocalypse as terrifying but also not yet quite apocalyptic can be so easily lifted from the novel and applied to the state of 2021. After all, in the past few months, we’ve witnessed horrendous images of men on horseback forcing back Haitian refugees along the American border, the ocean caught fire and burned in a wild fury, and we’re still in a global pandemic that has, to date, killed an estimated 4,771,122 people worldwide. In the UK, we are being led by a government that only sees what it wants to see, that is happy to sit back and watch the country fall apart as their friends line their pockets with money from shady contracts which they will then squirrel away in tax havens. It doesn’t quite seem like the apocalypse we were expecting, and yet it feels like, perhaps, that isn’t too far away. 

Earlier this year, Barack and Michelle Obama acquired the rights to Exit West via their production company Higher Ground, which currently have an exclusive deal with Netflix. It is set to star (one of my biggest crushes) Riz Ahmed as Saeed, and Yann Demange will direct. It is one of many projects, both recently made or in-production, that deals with what might be the end times, in worlds that don’t seem too far from our own. To look back at the dystopias of the previous century is to look at beautiful utopias, years in the future, that turn out to be less than perfect. Now these worlds we seek out that appear so grim are merely a stone’s throw away from our current experiences. As Ed O’Loughlin worried in the Irish Times: “Our reality has overtaken, or will soon have caught up with, many of our best/worst fictional futures.” Why is it, then, that we are so obsessed with these worlds? Why does it appear as if they’re becoming more prevalent as our current times get worse? 

It’s true that genre films and television have often aimed to reflect the issues of their time. Horror, famously, is filled with metaphor while fantasy has often reflected our political systems or histories. Perhaps, in their allegorical nature, those who enjoyed these in the past (or even now) were able to do so as a form of escape, the messages washing over them without be too direct. Yet, it can’t be denied that, in our current times, interest in dystopias has risen, and studios are trying to meet that demand. Production on a television adaption of Emily St. John Mandel’s pandemic novel Station Eleven began before the majority of the world shut down due to Covid-19, and the finished product is due to air on HBO Max later this year. An adaption of the 2013 videogame The Last of Us, set in a post-apocalyptic future, is coming to HBO too. Over at Hulu, The Handmaid’s Tale has just aired its fourth season and is gearing up for a fifth. On top of that, the streamer recently premiered its post-apocalyptic series Y: The Last Man in which, all at once, all the men in the world bar one die mysteriously. Apple TV+ has just premiered Foundation, based on stories by Isaac Asimov, about a new empire, long in the future, that is not all it’s cracked up to be as it’s led by those who are driven by self-interest. As for the big screen, The Matrix is returning, as well as A Quiet Place for a third time. 

This craving speaks to what might be considered “anti-escapism”. In an article for NPR, Jason Heller wrote, “The world feels more precariously perched on the lip of the abyss than ever, and facing those fears through fiction helps us deal with it.” Is this true? That our obsession with the end of the world is more than mere schadenfreude linked with some defeatist mentality, but rather a form of affirmation? Proof that our world is not yet as bad as it is in these shows or movies – that it can be salvaged? For how long will that be the case, though? We seem to be living in the times that novelists and filmmakers of the past warned us about as, day-after-day, the likes of Atwood, Orwell, and Bradbury are proven right. 

Still, I can’t help but wonder if it is better this way. To look the future in the eye and, perhaps, inspire some sort of saviour. I keep thinking of Steven Spielberg’s 2018 film adaption of Ready Player One, in which the opposite is true and citizens of a ravaged world escape into a more exciting, virtual one as a means of coping. In the age of the internet, it might seem like that would be what we want, yet it doesn’t appear to be the case. We are not yet ready to give up on the physical world just yet, we’re not content with disappearing online, and perhaps that is what our appetite for dramas on the end of the world proves. In all the bleakness of the futures they present, we can see the one thing we need most: hope. 

Also Read:

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It’s understandable. Many of 2019s highest-grossing movies were remakes or sequels to popular films. And properties like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and 2019s remake of Little Women proved to be critically well-received. Showing that remakes, sequels, and reboots can excel when they want to. But there comes a time when you must put your foot down and say no to certain things. So today I’m going to list five more movies that shouldn’t be touched. Some of these continuations are already on the way, but hopefully, I can convince you why continuing with these properties is an awful idea.

1) Children’s Film: Disney’s Robin Hood

Disney has recently become notable for remaking many of its classic titles. Providing slight updates to their older animated film’s stories and showing off advancing special effects by reimagining them in a live-action style. But while the effects are impressive, and the updates understandable, the changes mostly serve to hamper the simple fairy-tale charm of the stories, and provide us with ugly visuals that pale in comparison to their animated counterparts. So the prospect of seeing Disney’s Robin Hood (a personal favorite of many) remade in this style doesn’t bode well. And in the past decade, we’ve already had two high profile Robin Hood movies that failed to justify their budgets at the box office. It seems audiences aren’t really interested in this material. Do yourselves a favor and stick to Disney’s original. Oo-de-lally what a good day you’ll have.

2) Horror Film: A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place works best as a self-contained experience. By the end of A Quiet Place, every plot thread was tied. We learned the monster’s weakness and our heroes were ready to take on the threat. That was the perfect ending for the story. Continuing the story seems pointless. The characters know the alien’s weakness and most horror sequels also make the mistake of overexposing their monster. Which diminishes how scary they are to audiences. And a sequel also ruins the unique charm of the first film’s gimmick of having the characters remain mostly silent. Either they stick with the gimmick and repeat it until it becomes boring. Or they abandon it and make the film like every other horror movie. This is one property that should have remained quiet.

3) Comedy Film: The Naked Gun

Reboots like Vacation and Ghostbusters have shown that reboots of comedy franchises beloved for their original casts don’t go over well with fans. Naked Gun is a franchise that shouldn’t be touched for this reason. Leslie Nielsen (the spoof movie king) was the star of the original franchise since Police Squad, the TV show that spawned the Naked Gun films. His unique deadpan delivery and timing elevated the Naked Gun into being one of the best parody series ever. So, rebooting the series without Nielsen in the lead not only goes against the series’ main selling point but also seems quite disrespectful. Don’t ever let me catch you guys trying to reboot this one.

4) Western Film: The Wild Bunch

This just shouldn’t happen. Firstly, The Wild Bunch is regarded as one of the best westerns ever. Which already makes it impossible to think about how anyone could equal it. Secondly, the original is so synonymous with legendary director Sam Peckinpah and his filmmaking style that remaking it becomes akin to staining someone’s legacy. Finally, a large reason why The Wild Bunch worked was because of when it was made. Released in 1969 the film pushed the boundaries of cinematic violence and how it could be used to tell stories. Today a Wild Bunch remake would simply amount to another violent western; dilute the legacy of the original. So of course, Hollywood has already decided to try and do it. This project should have been shot down immediately.

5) Martial Arts: The Raid

The Raid is one of the best action movies of the 2010s. Featuring incredible choreography, excellent cinematography, great writing and brilliant physical performances from the likes of Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian. The idea of remaking it for western audiences seems like an exercise in taking something unique and making it blander for mainstream appeal. And a direct remake is already pointless since the movie Dredd already took elements from the original Raid and made it into a thrilling sci-fi action film. Lightning hardly seems likely to strike twice. So, Hollywood please leave the Raid alone.

Thus ends our list. Are there any movies or franchises you would hate to see remade, rebooted or sequeled to death? Tell us about them in the comments.

Also Read: 5 Films That Don’t Need A Sequel, Reboot or Remake

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For me, A Quiet Place came out of nowhere. One day I heard there was a new film coming out where the hook was none of the characters spoke or made noise in the film. This was A Quiet Place and while it wasn’t as silent as the original stories suggested to make a film with so little dialogue was very ambitious. The film could have been a disaster, it could have been a gimmicky movie that just didn’t work and it’s a testament to all involved that it was a great film. With IMDb estimating the budget at $17,000,000 and it making around $50,000,000 in its opening weekend in America it’s not terribly surprising that a sequel is coming out.

What happened in Part I?

A Quiet Place showed a post-apocalyptic world where society had completely collapsed, the cause was terrifying monsters who hunted by sound but essentially couldn’t see anything. The film followed the Abbott family as they tried to survive in this world, going to extraordinary lengths to not make any noise. Viewers immediately picked up on one potential problem which was Evelyn Abbot was pregnant. The film was a masterpiece in tension with the audience constantly on the lookout for potential causes of noise – at one point a loose nail sticking out of a floorboard was shown and everyone knew it was a matter of time before someone stood on it. At the end of the film, Evelyn managed to give birth but they lost the dad, Lee Abbot (played by Josh Krasinski), who sacrificed himself to save his family.

The Trailer

The trailer shows us some glimpses of the moment these monsters arrived and the chaos they caused but mainly focuses on the life of the Abbot family, forced to leave their home and find somewhere safe. The sight of them trudging out is not at all hopeful and not long after reaching a deserted city they set off a trap. Fleeing this trap leads them to Cillian Murphy’s character who seemingly saves them. They join a community of survivors of which Murphy is a part, but whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is not quite clear.

Potential Pitfalls

The monsters – in the first film the monsters were barely glimpsed, sometimes you saw a flash of movement, sometimes not even that. Yet in the new trailer, it is clear you see more of the monsters. It’s long been a cliche of horror films that you shouldn’t show too much of the monster as it will always be disappointing (Alien perhaps being the classic example of getting this right with only glimpses seen until the very end of the film). Secondly, while many monsters are terrifying it’s often hard to imagine how they would seemingly overwhelm modern armies. Yes, they’re good at killing, but are they better than helicopter gunships?

Stretching Credulity – the first film had a very contained environment, most of it revolving around the family’s home consisting just a few buildings in a secluded area. The family went to extraordinary lengths to limit the sound they made and that was how they survived. It’s hard to imagine the family simply taking off and managing to keep the requisite level of silence – and, of course, they also have a newborn baby. And as the trailer shows – they are going to find a lot of people, how will their survival be explained?

Losing The Mystery – People always want to know how a situation came to be, in this case, how did these monsters destroy society but it’s not always a good idea to give them what they want. Sometimes the mystery is better.

Lightning Never Strikes Twice – A Quiet Place is ninety minutes long, which is about as short a film you can get away with these days, the director, also Krasinski, knew that after a while an audience would get sick of the confined world of virtually no dialogue. It’s a very clever idea but it could very easily have been a bad film and it is very risky thinking that idea will stretch to a second film. It’s a good sign that Krasinski is back to direct but I’m not sure it’ll be enough.

Should There Even Be A Part II?

I’m sure we all have examples of films where you wish the sequel hadn’t been made; where an interesting and original film was left as a complete story. Will A Quiet Place II be one of those films? I’m not sure as I am intrigued by the trailer but I certainly think the first film did not need a sequel. There was no need to continue the story, especially as the first film ended on a note of tragedy the sequel cannot possibly match. Still, whatever happens A Quiet Place will remain a great film.

Also Read: The Best Horror Films of the Decade

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