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?

The post Even More #UnpopularOpinions From #FilmTwitter appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Spoiler Warning – Spoilers for Ocean’s 12, the Alien films and X-Men: First Class

The Worst Idea Ever

Ocean’s 11 is an enjoyably silly heist film, George Clooney is his charming self, Don Cheadle has a ridiculous Cockney accent and they even had filmmaking legend, Carl Reiner, in it. Ocean’s 12, however, did the worst thing any film has ever done. This is not worst in terms of morality but worst in terms of the worst idea anyone has ever had for a film. This takes some beating. After all, there have been nine films in the Fast & Furious franchise with two more planned, so that’s nine bad ideas in a row, with each idea getting exponentially worse. However, these films are just bad and ultimately that is a matter of opinion and I know that many people love these films. Ocean’s 12 though cannot be countenanced.

Ocean’s 12 starts in a typical heist film fashion with the team being brought together, in this one the person they stole from last time is out for revenge and demands they do a job for him. Fairly standard heist stuff. And then it goes off the rails. There is an artistic idea of “the willing suspension of disbelief” meaning that we put aside our parts of our critical thinking to simply enjoy a piece of art. Ocean’s 12 is determined to push this suspension to breaking point. One of the lynchpins of the heist is that Tess, played by Julia Roberts, looks quite like Julia Roberts, so she can pose as Julia Roberts. When watching Ocean’s 12, and indeed any film, we understand that these are actors portraying these characters. Whether that actor “exists” in the world of that film isn’t important as no one thinks that character looks like that actor, otherwise every film would constantly be full of people saying, “You know, you really look like Michael Caine.” So this insulting plan is put into action only for – and get this – Bruce Willis to show up! The real Bruce Willis who is of course friends with Julia Roberts! Oh, the shenanigans that ensue.

Perhaps the worst thing about this is the filmmakers seem convinced this is the Greatest Idea of All Time! Like the “why don’t they make restaurants that look like food” idea for architects, this has occurred to every filmmaker and quickly is dismissed. There are films that play with similar “meta” ideas in good ways – in A Cock and Bull Story Steve Coogan plays both Tristram Shandy and a version of himself making a film about Tristram Shandy. The Last Action Hero plays with many of the little inconsistencies that make films work, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Pleasantville, Wandavision all play with these ideas but the difference being that is the point of those films – that is what they’re exploring.

Ruining What Came Before

As I’ve written about before I am a huge fan of the film Aliens, and believe it does the near-impossible challenge of adding a young child to a film who not only isn’t annoying but improves the film. Ripley’s relationship with Newt makes that film. So why on Earth in Alien 3 is Newt killed at the start? And even worse – she is not killed in service to the story, she is killed in a sentence or two about problems with the ship. Imagine if in The Lost World: Jurassic Park we learned the children from the first film had died off-screen? Alien 3 famously had something of a development hell, with numerous scripts being written and tossed out but even so, it’s hard to imagine how they settled on this script.

Magneto might be the most interesting character in the X-men films and probably the one who would have the most interesting origins film. So naturally what was meant to be the Magneto Origins film became X-Men: First Class. This is a film in which a survivor of the Holocaust literally rips the fillings out of a person’s teeth and it was thought that was what needed was the hijinks of young people. X-Men: First Class is half of a great film – a powerful mutant seeking revenge across the world caught up in the tumultuous events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The scene in Argentina where Magneto confronts Nazis is astounding (although the choice for the final line to be delivered in English is bizarre) and the decision made by both Russian and American governments to kill the mutants who just saved the world goes further to explain the Magneto we know from the earlier films. He is a man haunted not just be what happened to his family at the hands of Nazis but even when he saved the world humans still wanted to kill him. But this incredibly dark storyline is combined with something far more light-hearted and neither storyline is served well by this combination.

So a brief look at some of the worst ideas and decisions in films and I’m sure there will be a lot more in the future.

Also Read: From Blockbuster to Mockbuster: Big Films and Their Copies

The post Some of the Worst Ideas In Cinema History appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

1. Star Wars: The Rise of Positivity

The only thing Star Wars fans agree on is that Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back are great. However, from there opinions vary wildly. Some find Return of the Jedi either a fitting end to the original trilogy or a dumbed-down entry for kids. Most people initially didn’t like the Prequels and Disney’s handling of the property has produced mixed critical and fan reactions, to say the least. So perhaps the most controversial thing a Star Wars fan can do currently is resist the pull of the dark side and say, “there are zero bad Star Wars movies”. Well, MoviePreviewShow managed it.

2. My Not so Fair Lady

My Fair Lady was a real winner in its time. It won 8 Oscars including Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Picture. Although, viewed all these years later people like Martin Something-or-other find that My Fair Lady leaves a lot to be desired.

3. Defending Daredevil (2003)

The exact opposite of our last entry. The Ben Affleck Daredevil movie was derided upon its release. However, since then it has gained a cult following. It was also given a director’s cut release which many say makes the film into something special. Because superhero movies are currently taking a break maybe it’s time to revisit Daredevil (2003)? You may find yourself like Retro Gamer.

4. Battle of the Directors

Martin Scorsese is considered one of the best directors of all time. Creating great films like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, and Wolf of Wall Street to name only a few. But can he compete with Brian De Palma the director of classics like Carrie (1976), Scarface (1983), The Untouchables, and underappreciated gems like Phantom of the Paradise and Dressed to Kill? Not according to RVD the Dudar.

5. Excellent Adventure Vs Bogus Journey

When most people speak about the Bill and Ted films, they talk about the first entry, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Which is understandable, because it is the highest-rated and highest-grossing film in the franchise. But Direct Questions thinks the claim that it’s the series’ best film is bogus. He believes Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey is the superior film.

6. Streaming Wars

With a lot of production companies moving into the streaming market, many are beginning to make their content exclusive to their own services. Which definitely doesn’t sit well with Jonathan Boyd.

7. The Horror of Children

The opinion that children in movies are more annoying than they are effective is nothing new. Though kids in horror films not being scary when movies like The Innocents (1961), The Exorcist, The Omen (1976), and The Shining (1980) exist? Eric S. Kim’s opinion is definitely controversial.

8. Trashing Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino is one of modern cinema’s most acclaimed filmmakers. With several of his films being considered among the best ever made. However, as with anyone who is well acclaimed there are always those who believe them to be overrated. But which camp do you fall into? Are you a true Tarantino aficionado or are you like Global Affairs?

9. Stay Mysterious

Many agree that trailers and reviews sometimes give too much away. But how much should you know about a movie to become interested? To Rigmarole Film a movie is improved vastly when you know as little as possible going in. And therefore, have more of an open mind.

10. Henry Cavill’s Superman

Henry Cavill’s Superman films generally divided opinion among both audiences and critics. However, some people, like (thereal)Chris Grant Jr., consider him to be their favourite Superman portrayal.

So ends our brief look at unpopular film opinions circulating social media. What do you think about some of these controversial opinions? What are some of your film hot takes? Please let us know.

Also Read: The Film Fan’s Guide To Time Travel

The post #FilmTwitter Gives Their #UnpopularOpinion On Movies – Do You Agree? appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.