3/7     What are some of the popular movies you've always hated but didn't
        dare to express it in public because you didn't want to be
        ridiculed?
        \_ Totoro. It was such a torture watching something so silly and
           stupid. It's almost like watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit. What
           the hell is the point of the story? I mean, what is the message
           or the moral values that it is teaching our kids? It's worse
           than Pokeman, which IMHO, is also pointless and stupid. The
           creator of Totoro was probably on meth and weed at the same time.
           And I have no idea why everyone wants to go to JTown to buy
           little pillow/beanbags that you attach cheap plastic eyes on,
           printed with Japanese tags and the word "Totoro" on it, for
           $89.99 for a 12" model and $259.99 for a 24" model. There, my
           confession is out. Go ahead and ridicule me because I'm stupid
           and "I just don't get it"
           \_ Not a ridicule, but I do have a couple of questions.  Are you
              asian or white?  If asian, how old are you and where did you
              grow up?  If you tell us that, I can understand why you
              hated Totoro so much and just didn't get it.  -totoro fan
              \_ Uhm, as a long time fan of anime, I think I can confidently
                 say that racial ethnicity as a measure of "how much or why
                 you like Totoro" is a crock of shit.  I know people of all
                 demographics that like it, and hate it.
              \_ What does it matter if you're asian or white, taweisan?
        \_ I pity you.  Lord of the Rings Trilogy was weak.  Peter Jackson is
           a mediocre director at best, and badly needs an editor.  BTW,
           what's with the ungame questions? -dans
           a mediocre director at best, and badly needs an editor. -dans
           \_ Blah. Jackson's a great director, and Heavenly Creatures proved
              that. LOTR cemented his rep not because the movies were well-
              directed, but because he directed the three simultaneously
              in a plethora of locations. The logistics were mind-blowing.
              Also see his low-budget offerings for further examples of his
              technical mastery. --erikred
              \_ HE CHANGED FARAMIR!!!!!!1!1!1 THE MOVIE IS A FRAUD!!!1!!!
        \_ I can't stand LOTR. I hated Empire Strikes Back. I cannot forgive
           Lucas for freezing Han. I also didn't like major parts of TWOK.
           -stmg
                 \_ I haven't even posted to this thread, but somehow I feel
                    that I am being made fun of.
                    \_ Flaming Flying Denethor!  What makes you think that?!?
              \_ I'll check out Heavenly Creatures.  Depends on the production,
                 but it's usually the producer's responsibility to handle
                 logistics.  Usually the director's role is very focused on
                 what's happening on-set (or on-location) right *now*. -dans
                 \_ Not so for LOTR. Jackson took advantage of realtime
                    vid-conferencing and other such to review work as it was
                    done by the ADs. The extras on the Extended Edition DVDs
                    cover a lot of this. It was an amazing piece of film-
                    making. --erikred
                    \_ It's pretty common to view the dailies. I think
                       there's a disconnect here. Dan is talking about the
                       logistics of production, which the producers do
                       handle. You are talking about directing (artistic
                       direction) three movies at once. Both are feats,
                       but Jackson was really only responsible for the
                       artistic direction. Yes, Jackson had a lot of
                       autonomy from New Line. I know this because I went
                       to a lecture given by one of the producers (and
                       Sean Astin). There was some sense of "We've given
                       Jackson $xxx million and we haven't heard anything
                       in a while. What's going on over there? Get on a
                       plane and find out." But that's from the standpoint
                       of the executive producers at New Line. The line
                       producers were handling all of the logistics for
                       Jackson (at his behest). Also, I have to say the
                       the editors probably contributed a hell of a lot,
                       turning all of that footage into three movies which
                       made sense. --dim
                       \_ Pax. I certainly didn't mean to belittle the
                          contributions of the editors or the producers. That
                          said, I say he's a great director because he was
                          able to ring-lead the entire enterprise.
        \_ I can't stand LOTR. The books were terrible, the movies were worse.
           I hated Empire Strikes Back. I cannot forgive Lucas for freezing
           Han. I also didn't like major parts of TWOK. IRL I keep these
           opinions to myself b/c I don't want to be accosted by over-zealous
           LOTR and SW cosplayers. Not that they would hurt me, BUT being seen
           w/ such people might reduce my street cred as a hard core star trek
           fan. -stmg
           \_ Do you write http://www.the-editing-room.com ?
           \_ I love your unswerving lack of nerve in failing to stand up for
              what you love in a non-anonymous forum like IRL. --erikred
              \_ Hey, the topic asked for people who had no nerve to
                 post and be counted. If I had a backbone, I'd be
                 wearing my Vulcan ears to class. -stmg
           \_ You do know that Lucas didn't direct the Empire Strikes Back,
              don't you? -dans
              \_ Lucas has writing credit for the story.
                 \_ But Leigh Brackett scripted it.  She's awesome.
                    \_ The freezing of Hans seems like a story element rather
                       than a screenplay element.
                       \_ Yeah, actually I just wanted to get it a Leigh
                          Brackett plug, 'cause she's awesome.
              \_ Yeah, so what? If Lucas had said "I read your crappy
                 script and I hate the part where you freeze Han. Let's
                 freeze that stupid long haired looser dweeb Luke instead."
                 Do you think they would have said no? Of course not. I
                 cannot forgive Lucas for failing to do the right thing.
                 -stmg
        \_ I couldn't stand Gladiator.  Terribly predictable movie.
           \_ I think Gladiator sucks too.  The screenplay is also a direct
              copy of an older 60ish movie, which I saw on TV.  It's like
              wow, isn't this movie exactly the same as Gladiator?  Did
              they acknowledge the older movie (forgot it's name)?
              \_ Spartacus.
                 \_ I'm Spartacus!
                    \_ *I* am Spartacus!
                       \_ No!  *I'm* Spartacus!
                 \_ No it's not Spartacus, which I've seen.  I found
                    out the name of the movie - The Fall of the Roman
                    Empire:
                    http://www.allwatchers.com/Topics/Info_4046.asp
                    Read the storyline above and you can see Gladiator
                    is a shameless ripoff of the above movie.
           \_ I liked it because I'm a sucker for that kind of historical
              recreation. The sets and costumes are really entertaining,
              and the fighting is ok (but the opening battle had too much
              cutting). I also enjoyed Kingdom of Heaven a lot, for basically
              similar reasons. Actually I enjoyed KoH more. I guess I'm a
              heretic for thinking Braveheart was overdone though. It's overly
              long. I guess I still liked it too though. They are all a bit
              predictable especially if it's based on historical events.
              I also saw Troy and thought it mostly sucked, but still enjoyed
              the sheer spectacle of it and the subject matter. I'll have to
              check out Alexander sometime.
              \_ I am also a sucker for historical recreations, but I didn't
                 like Gladiator.  I think the reason is because the plot
                 is too naive and the characters flat and without depth.
                 I liked Braveheart.  I even liked Troy.  For Troy, I liked
                 the unique take on Achilles and Briseis.  I also
                 didn't mind the Agamemnon all bad, Hector all good
                 portrayals.  I watched Troy on TV only recently because
                 the reviews were bad.  Could've found a more intimidating
                 looking actor for Hector, but Bana did ok otherwise.
                 Haven't watched Kingdom of Heaven.
        \_ E.T.  I just don't get it.
           \_ It's simple. Kids are kind in heart and sees good in people
           \_ It's simple. Kids are kind in heart and see good in people
              (and in this case ET) regardless of their looks. Adults on
              the other hand are mostly motivated by fear and greedy thus
              want to quarantine and open up ET "for the good of mankind."
              I guess *kindness* and *tolerance* were the messages. So,
              are you a conservative or something?      -liberal troll
              want to quarantine and disect ET "for the good of mankind."
              I guess *kindness* and *tolerance* were the messages.
              \_ Well, the message I got when I was 8 was that DIRT BIKES
                 KICK ASS.
              \_ Wow, now I'm quite sad that I never got that message.  I
                 still am not an E.T. fan, but I figure I should have been
                 able to analyze it.  Damn.
           \_ I'm with you.  I don't think there was that much to get.
              Glowing finger, ugly little alien, flying bicycle.  Shrug.
              \_ I think this depends on whether or not you were into BMXing.