Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

The category is contemporary mainstream movies that are supposed to be smart, edgy and artsy. Which one is most overrated? My pick is The Matrix (but Donnie Darko is close).

/twang

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

American Beauty

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

anything by david lynch.

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i think david mamet has a tendency to fall in love too much w/ his own dialogue...

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Ghost World.

recommended only for high school drama queens.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

Donnie Darko then Garden State.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

I wouldn't even put The Matrix anywhere close to this category in the first place, so yeah, if you think it's supposed to be smart and artsy, then it would be a good choice.

The Charlie Kaufman movies I've seen (Adaptation and Being John Malkovich) I really wanted to like much more than I did. I can appreciate that both are very clever without necessarily getting all that much out of them. They were both okay, but kind of overhyped for my taste.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

Resevoir Dogs - pure, unadulterated crap.

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I have a feeling I am going to be severely flamed for this, but...

The Usual Suspects

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Memento

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

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Donnie Darko then Garden State.

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i didn't like donnie darko (though i thought some parts were good) but i loved garden state.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

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The Charlie Kaufman movies I've seen (Adaptation and Being John Malkovich) I really wanted to like much more than I did. I can appreciate that both are very clever without necessarily getting all that much out of them. They were both okay, but kind of overhyped for my taste.

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I almost walked out of Eternal Sunshine, and continue to believe it's crap. That's my vote. God, that movie was annoying.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

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I wouldn't even put The Matrix anywhere close to this category in the first place, so yeah, if you think it's supposed to be smart and artsy, then it would be a good choice.

The Charlie Kaufman movies I've seen (Adaptation and Being John Malkovich) I really wanted to like much more than I did. I can appreciate that both are very clever without necessarily getting all that much out of them. They were both okay, but kind of overhyped for my taste.

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I think The Matrix, along with Fight Club, are the blueprints for these kind of movies. I liked Fight Club though. I agree 100% about the Kaufman movies.

/twang

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

The Matrix, clearly

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I hate Fight Club. Mostly just because of how many people love it though, and how 98% of them misinterpret the ending.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

Fight Club is actually another one I thought of that I don't like anywhere near as much as some as soon as I posted. I hate hate hate the ending and felt it didn't fit in with the movie at all. I frequently have that response to twist endings in movies where they don't seem to belong - the end of Unbreakable really annoyed me as well when I saw it.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

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I hate Fight Club. Mostly just because of how many people love it though, and how 98% of them misinterpret the ending.

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For those of us dumb enough to like it, could you explain the ending?

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anything by david lynch.

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you're clearly wrong.

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Memento

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disagree. This movie was awesome

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Can Amelie from Montmartre be considered mainstream? If so, I'll change my runner-up to that one because Donnie Darko had some parts that were ok and Amelie from Montmartre is one of the few movies I never finished. Awful.

/twang

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

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Can Amelie from Montmartre be considered mainstream?

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Yes. It can also be considered awesome. I heartily disagree with you on this one, though I can see how this is a love it or hate it kind of movie.

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i think david mamet has a tendency to fall in love too much w/ his own dialogue...

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AHAHAAH! This is so true. I rented "Spartan" the other day because I thought "Oh! Something by Mamet that I haven't seen."
The dialogue was so [censored] self-conscious that the movie was almost unwatchable.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

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I hate Fight Club. Mostly just because of how many people love it though, and how 98% of them misinterpret the ending.

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For those of us dumb enough to like it, could you explain the ending?

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fight club is one of my favorites. Found this link interesting

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Completely agree. I enjoyed Amelie, but I can see why people might hate it.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

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American Beauty

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XM Radio has a "soundtracks" music channel. They were playing American Beauty tunes and in between had snippets of dialogue. One of these interludes was the soliloquy by the "rebel teen" about the beauty in the plastic bag floating around.

For some reason I didn't change the channel until 2/3 the way thru and had to choke down water to get the taste of vomit out of my mouth.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

The Graduate.

Supposedly people thought this movie was great in the 60's...but they were wrong.

The whole time I was watching the movie I wanted to smack Dustin Hoffman upside the head.

Will

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

Whichever movie that a bunch of people like that I didn't particularly enjoy or see the point in.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

This is Eternal Sunshine, hands down.

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Does Vanilla Sky fit into this catagory? If so, I vote Vanilla Sky....

Mars

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

</font><blockquote><font class="small">En réponse à:</font><hr />
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I hate Fight Club. Mostly just because of how many people love it though, and how 98% of them misinterpret the ending.

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For those of us dumb enough to like it, could you explain the ending?

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Reef's link is good. I'll pose the same question that I think astroglide did in an earlier thread about Fight Club, "Who won in the end?"

2+2ers seem smarter than the average bear, so you probably understand it, but the vast majority don't.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

Tyler won I suppose. I never really thought about it in those terms. Tyler wanted Norton's character to learn how to live on the edge a little more, and to take some risks in his life. And in the end Norton's character shoots himself, not sure what is going to happen. The "Tyler" part of him died, but he went through the transformation through which Tyler wanted him to go.

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What's with all the Eternal Sunshine bashing? I thought it was one of the best films of last year. Cool, unique plot structure, great acting, great dialogue, funny as hell at times...what's not to like?

Will

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

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What's with all the Eternal Sunshine bashing? I thought it was one of the best films of last year. Cool, unique plot structure, great acting, great dialogue, funny as hell at times...what's not to like?

Will

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I agree, excellent movie. I think Kauffman is genius. Just chalk it up to differences of opinion.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

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Tyler won I suppose. I never really thought about it in those terms. Tyler wanted Norton's character to learn how to live on the edge a little more, and to take some risks in his life. And in the end Norton's character shoots himself, not sure what is going to happen. The "Tyler" part of him died, but he went through the transformation through which Tyler wanted him to go.

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Another scenario where book &gt; movie.

The time of Fight Club is about the only time in history where nihilism and anarchism aren't passe.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

eternal sunshine.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

Vanilla Sky is up there. I disliked Million Dollar Baby as well.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

The Usual Suspects.

~D

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels ought to be the most overrated movie ever. Maybe it's not a supposed-to-be-smart movie but it's still a big sac of crap that everyone mistakes for a masterpiece.

Other candidates include:
Adaptaion
American History X
The Gladiator
Braveheart

How come noone has mentioned Rounders?

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

how are lock stock, gladiator, and braveheart "supposed to be smart" movies?

lock stock is also awesome.

Re: Most overrated supposed-to-be-smart movie?
 

I always heard people say that they thought lock stock was smart and thought-through and whatnot. I missed their point. Admittedly though, it's not very artsy.

And you're totally right about the others, they're just overrated, not supposed-to-be-smart

EDIT: I don't think Amelie is supposed-to-be-smart either.