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Podcast Awards
Hello Filmspotter,
From Chicago, this is The Dope Sheet... I'm Sam Hallgren.
Our sincere thanks to everyone who -- for the second year in a
row -- made us a finalist for a Podcast Award in the category of
Movies/Films! Voting is going on NOW and runs through August 11. You
can vote once a day.
Vote Now!
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Movies I Thought I Liked
Ken Allen wrote in with this Top 5 suggestion: "You recently
had a top 5 of movies that you surprisingly liked (Top 5 Movies We
Should've Hated). How about a flip of that idea: Top 5 movies you
liked/loved on the first viewing, but ended up really disliking when
viewing the movie again. Personally, I can't think of 5, but I have a
couple:
My sister and I, both full-grown adults, saw "The Hitcher"
(Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, C. Thomas Howell) and were
absolutely creeped out. Walked out of the theater into the bright
sunlight and couldn't shake the feeling of haunting dread. A few
years later, we both happened to watch "The Hitcher" on TV and both
realized it may have been the most senseless and non-frightening
thriller ever.
Another: "Far From Heaven" with Dennis Quaid and Julianne Moore.
When I saw it the first time around, I guess I was taken by the art
direction (which really was striking); the second viewing, though,
really showed how almost SILLY Quaid's performance was, especially
his breakdown scene. I mean, really ... unwatchable.
I might disqualify my own suggestion by asking this, but could it
be the difference of seeing something "on the big screen" vs.
watching it at home?
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Top 5 Movies That I Thought I Liked (Until I Saw Them Again And
Realized That I Hated Them)... It's a good suggestion, Ken. I know
Adam has one that he's mentioned a couple of times on the show --
"As Good As It Gets." Like you, I'm not sure I'd be able to
put together a complete top 5, but a couple of movies came to mind
immediately:
"American Beauty" and "Forrest Gump."
"American Beauty" was on my Top 5 Overrated List
(Filmspotting/Cinecast #32) and I think I may even be on the record
as "hating" it. And it's true. I do hate it. I think it's shallow,
unoriginal and deeply cynical. But I didn't realize all that until I
saw it for a second time. When I saw it in the theater, I was really
blown away by the theatricality of it. And I was even a little moved
by the floating paper bag. I remember leaving the theater and
walking into a grocery store and feeling like I was still in the
world of the movie. I was so aware of the store's phoniness and
garish commercialism.
And then I saw the movie on video. And I was really furious at
myself for being drawn in by it the first time. Spacey doing his
smug act; the too-obvious irony of Chris Cooper's repressed
homosexuality. The lack of depth masked by art direction and arch
performances. It's this sense of being duped that fuels my hatred for
this movie.
I had a similar experience with "Forrest Gump." Had a lot of fun
with the movie at the theater; was moved by the ending. Found it
literally unwatchable the second time around. And this can't be
explained by mere backlash at a popular movie. The whole thing just
struck me as silly. Hanks' performance; the "clever" coincidences;
the dummy's eye view of 20th century history.
Which raises the question that Ken asked in his e-mail. How much
difference does it make: seeing a movie in a theatre versus seeing it
at home on TV? The obvious thing that a movie theatre experience
gives you that watching a movie at home cannot is a sense of leaving
your life behind. Escape. It's easier to suspend your disbelief.
It's easier to be moved. Even a perfectly equipped home theatre
can't make you forget that your family is in the other room, or keep
the phone from ringing, or someone coming to the door.
And I think the difference is particularly stark when you
re-watch a movie at home that you saw in the theatre. The second
time around is often going to be less magical. Maybe the
performances are a little weaker; maybe the suspense isn't as great;
the action not as exciting. You want to have the exact same (great)
experience you had the first time and you can't.
(Another Top 5 suggestion: movies that were great the first time;
disappointing the second time; great again the third time around. A
strange phenomenon. Has anyone else experienced this? There's at
least one for me: "Out Of Sight." Steve Zahn, right?
Hilarious. Then I saw it a second time and wasn't laughing. Third
time: loved it again.)
Because we've been watching so many classic movies recently as
part of our marathons, this movie theater vs. at home experience has
been on my mind. Many of the films deemed classics by experts -- and
by the public -- were films that people ONLY saw in the theater. And
before the days of video and, later, DVD, the only thing (most)
people were relying on when they made a list of classic films was
their memory of that movie theater experience. The scenes that have
become a part of our collective memory, the famous lines and
performances. They were originally catalogued by people that saw
movies -- yes, maybe multiple times -- at the theater. Sprinkled
with pixie dust. Rarely studied in the harsh light of TV sets and
imperfect viewing conditions.
Some of those classic scenes and lines and performances totally
hold up. Others don't. And maybe some don't because they only
worked in the theater. And so is it unfair to suggest that movies
today face much higher standards? Just think: if "American Beauty"
had only been shown in theatres and never released on DVD ... if
videos and DVDs didn't even exist ... all I'd have is my memory of
the impact it made on me. And "American Beauty" would be in my Top 5
Penalty Box.
[Editor's note: Adam would like to add that Ken is wrong about
"Far From Heaven" and Quaid's performance; Sam is wrong about
"Forrest Gump, and mostly wrong about "American Beauty; finally, "Out
of Sight" was brilliant the first time, the second time and the 12th
time.]
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Pulling a Siegel Part Deux
I also wanted to address the "Pulling a Siegel" topic from last
week's Dope Sheet. Using Joel Siegel's (now famous) response to
"Clerks II" as a jumping off point, Adam asked if there were films
you had walked out of (or wish you had walked out of). We got some
great responses:
"Guys, Last summer's King Kong made me pull a Siegel. I left
about the time they got to the island. Now I think I probably left
before the only good part. Oh, well." --John from Peoria
Depends who you ask, John. I'd say "yeah, you should have stuck
around for the action on the island and then left." Adam might have
actually suggested that you stay for the whole thing. Which is
basically like getting no advice at all.
"The Thin Red Line - This one is a rare gem. It was so disjointed
and confusing we technically finished it by fast-forwarding it just
to see if anything ended up happening visually while adding our own
dialogue as though it were from the movie, with this nebulous
philosophical tone which makes no sense. Thanks to Filmspotting for
comparing The New World to this movie. I avoided it completely."
--Kit Rees, Columbus, OH
Kit also mentions Filmspotting favorites "Reservoir Dogs,"
"Clerks" and "Me and You and Everyone We Know" as movies he pulled a
Siegel on. To quote two wise film critics: "I understand what you're
saying, Kit, but you're completely wrong."
"Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (my friend's pick, she
apologized halfway through and we went into another theater in time
to catch Henry V for the third or fourth time). Natural Born Killers
(I can't stand Oliver Stone, the hype on this movie made me decide to
check it out anyway.) I hated, hated, hated it. The Doors -- Another
"Oh, yeah, I remember why I can't stand Oliver Stone" movie, but I
actually made it through this one and then wondered why I bothered."
--Colleen McMahon
And finally, Pulling a Siegel: The Play-At-Home Version: This may
not qualify as a "walkout" since it was a DVD rental, but I thought
"Meet Joe Black" was the most interminable, laughably bad movie I'd
ever seen, and I was almost ready to walk out of my living room until
I remembered I could just turn off the TV." -- Rob "Hawkeye Glory"
Smith
The only movie I've personally ever walked out on was M. Night
Shyamalan's "Unbreakable," as I mentioned during our "Lady In The
Water" review. My mom and I were running late to a Thanksgiving
dinner. We were also bored out of our minds.
But, like Adam, I'll add my Filmspotting Era Movies I Wish I Had
Pulled a Siegel On: Star Wars: Episode III; Fantastic Four; Willy
Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; Lords of Dogtown; The Bad News
Bears; Fever Pitch; The Interpreter; The Island; Transamerica.
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Overlooked DVD Pick: Return to Paradise
 "Return To Paradise" (1998) - 3 stars
Available on Peerflix - Long Wait
Directed by Joseph Ruben
Vince Vaughn, Joaquin Phoenix, Anne Heche
A movie I thought of as I put together my Male Bonding Top 5...
Three friends (Vaughn, Phoenix and David Conrad) are living it up in
Malaysia, smoking dope, having a good time. Phoenix stays behind
only to be arrested as a drug smuggler thanks to some hash Vaughn
leaves behind when he leaves. The proposition: Phoenix gets executed
unless the two friends come back to share jail time. I remember being
really drawn in by the performances. Phoenix particularly has a
couple of really nice scenes. An unnecessary relationship developes
between Vaughn and Heche (a lawyer representing Phoenix), but other
than that a pretty good tale of what lengths people will go to for
their friends.
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