Didn't get any of the emotional impact people who liked this film describe. I felt the movie trying to manipulate me, and my natural reaction to that is to clam up and pull out of the movie.
I also think it is not a great portrayal of slavery. Mostly because the slave owners are not believable people. Maybe that's how they really were - I wasn't there. But I've seen interviews with serial killers where I empathized more with the killers than I did with these slave owners. So... gonna say that was probably an overplay on the part of making the slave owners look evil.
I don't really see how your opinion that Fast and Furious is a good movie counts as an argument against films being objectively good. Unless I'm confused and you're just making an unrelated statement.
And in that case, Fast 5 was more tolerable than the previous Fast and Furious movies, but it was nothing special - it doesn't even stand out to me among action movies.
Well, you can argue two ways about that. You can say, "Objectivity is impossible, so it is impossible to say whether a film is objectively good." Or you can say, "'Good' is inherently subjective, therefore a film cannot be objectively good".
Really though, I think we mean "objective" in a loose sense, so we can ignore the first argument. By objective, we usually mean "measurable" or "quantifiable". The problem is that the term "good" is very poorly defined. Because of that, it's difficult to argue about the statement "No film is objectively good". It depends on how we formulate "good".
If good simply means "I like it", then yeah, good is subjective, and no film is objectively good.
It's fair to disagree with the ordering. The fact that a lot of people like a movie doesn't make it objectively good.
Though, this list is just a statistics tool, so disagreeing isn't going to change much. You might as well say, "It sucks that California is the most populous state, Michigan is way better!"
Everybody's got a handful of movies from this list which they really don't like (mine are American History X, Princess Mononoke, Into the Wild, and Crash). And that's fine, different tastes for different folks.
Movies like Pirates make it here because the IMDB formula factors in popularity into its rankings. And pretty much everybody likes Pirates enough to give it a good to great score, though few people think it is a masterpiece.
The vast majority of these movies are in english - if anything there is a heavy bias toward American and British movies. And the ones which aren't all have subtitles. You may be only 20, but you can read, can't you?
You don't see the value in having a list of nominees which were supposedly the Best 5 movies (or 10, or 3) of their respective years?
I guess you agree with every decision the academy has ever made, then, eh? By all means, "Shakespeare in Love" is a far better movie than "Saving Private Ryan". "Pulp Fiction" and "Shawshank Redemption" have nothing on "Forrest Gump". History has clearly shown that "How Green Was My Valley" is a far better movie than "Citizen Kane" or "Maltese Falcon".
Damn fine movie, glad it got the oscar! Anyone who thinks this is American propaganda is either an idiot, or they somehow missed the part where just about every American in the movie is an asshole. Next you'll be telling me that Schindler's List is Nazi propaganda because Schindler isn't an asshole.
Does it rouse the masses? I was under the impression that it was somewhat popular at the time, but not extraordinarily so. It rouses film buffs, perhaps. It puts me right to sleep.
In any case, I don't think talking about personal physiological reactions to the movie is a productive effort. I don't mind so much that you like the film, I'm simply annoyed at the fact that it, and other silent films are still considered amongst the best films of all time. And even that I can deal with.
heh, that's an interesting point you make there. Do YOU think that Avatar, for instance, is going to still be hailed as one of the greatest films ever produced 80 years down the line? I don't. I don't think it should be either. Yet Potemkin still is, for some reason.
As for your Shakespeare comparison - sure, let's take away the fact that his dialog was remarkably original for its time. Is the dialog still good? Yes, I would say so! It's incredibly clever (although you might need a good study guide to understand half of the outdated in-jokes and references), even if you forget its place in history.
Now do the same for Potemkin. If you forget how original it is, it's not very exciting. It's overacted, slow paced, and completely lacking in subtlety.
If you don't believe me, go show Potemkin to a bunch of people who know nothing about it (a room of high schoolers, for instance). Then show them one of the film re-enactments of Shakespeare's plays. Is there even any doubt that every single one of them is going to prefer Shakespeare?
Comments 1 - 25 of 41
Movie comment on 12 Years a Slave
naikou
Didn't get any of the emotional impact people who liked this film describe. I felt the movie trying to manipulate me, and my natural reaction to that is to clam up and pull out of the movie.I also think it is not a great portrayal of slavery. Mostly because the slave owners are not believable people. Maybe that's how they really were - I wasn't there. But I've seen interviews with serial killers where I empathized more with the killers than I did with these slave owners. So... gonna say that was probably an overplay on the part of making the slave owners look evil.
Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
I don't really see how your opinion that Fast and Furious is a good movie counts as an argument against films being objectively good. Unless I'm confused and you're just making an unrelated statement.And in that case, Fast 5 was more tolerable than the previous Fast and Furious movies, but it was nothing special - it doesn't even stand out to me among action movies.
Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
Well, you can argue two ways about that. You can say, "Objectivity is impossible, so it is impossible to say whether a film is objectively good." Or you can say, "'Good' is inherently subjective, therefore a film cannot be objectively good".Really though, I think we mean "objective" in a loose sense, so we can ignore the first argument. By objective, we usually mean "measurable" or "quantifiable". The problem is that the term "good" is very poorly defined. Because of that, it's difficult to argue about the statement "No film is objectively good". It depends on how we formulate "good".
If good simply means "I like it", then yeah, good is subjective, and no film is objectively good.
Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
too*This site needs an edit feature or something.
Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
Thanks, I was worried the joke was a little to subtle. :PToplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
That depends on your definitions of objective and good.Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
It's fair to disagree with the ordering. The fact that a lot of people like a movie doesn't make it objectively good.Though, this list is just a statistics tool, so disagreeing isn't going to change much. You might as well say, "It sucks that California is the most populous state, Michigan is way better!"
Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
Nolan's movies appeal to internet moviegoers far more than all moviegoers in general.I don't think Inception or Dark Knight is any stranger than Star Wars, or Fight Club, or LotR.
Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
Miyazaki seems to be really well-liked around the internet, but... I can't stand him. So yeah, I'm also serious.Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
This site gets pretty regular updates, actually: http://www.icheckmovies.com/about/changelog/And if you've seen all the other Miyazaki movies on this list, you should pretty much know what to expect from Nausicaa.
Movie comment on Drive Angry
naikou
Pretty hilarious and awesome movie, provided you go in with the right expectations.Really though, what kind of expectations can you have for a movie called "Drive Angry 3D"?
Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
Everybody's got a handful of movies from this list which they really don't like (mine are American History X, Princess Mononoke, Into the Wild, and Crash). And that's fine, different tastes for different folks.Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
Movies like Pirates make it here because the IMDB formula factors in popularity into its rankings. And pretty much everybody likes Pirates enough to give it a good to great score, though few people think it is a masterpiece.Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
@TerryMalloy54 - you'll get your award sometime in the next 24 hours, when the server updates.Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
The vast majority of these movies are in english - if anything there is a heavy bias toward American and British movies. And the ones which aren't all have subtitles. You may be only 20, but you can read, can't you?Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
It was one of my favorites this year. I'd much rather have it be here than Black Swan or The Fighter.Toplist comment on Academy Award - Best Picture Nominees
naikou
What does it hurt to have them all together?Toplist comment on Academy Award - Best Picture Nominees
naikou
You don't see the value in having a list of nominees which were supposedly the Best 5 movies (or 10, or 3) of their respective years?I guess you agree with every decision the academy has ever made, then, eh? By all means, "Shakespeare in Love" is a far better movie than "Saving Private Ryan". "Pulp Fiction" and "Shawshank Redemption" have nothing on "Forrest Gump". History has clearly shown that "How Green Was My Valley" is a far better movie than "Citizen Kane" or "Maltese Falcon".
Movie comment on Crash
naikou
That was pretty bad, hahah. Not sure I'd go with pretentious, but it's very one-note.Toplist comment on Academy Award - Best Picture
naikou
I'd rather have the winners included on the nominees list, personally.Movie comment on The Hurt Locker
naikou
Damn fine movie, glad it got the oscar! Anyone who thinks this is American propaganda is either an idiot, or they somehow missed the part where just about every American in the movie is an asshole. Next you'll be telling me that Schindler's List is Nazi propaganda because Schindler isn't an asshole.Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
Nice, Kurosawa is fantastic! Although somewhat ironically, Seven Samurai is pretty far down there on my list of Kurosawa movies (still great though).Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
If you've seen Princess Mononoke, you've seen Nausicaa. You could just go ahead and mark it! ;DToplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
Does it rouse the masses? I was under the impression that it was somewhat popular at the time, but not extraordinarily so. It rouses film buffs, perhaps. It puts me right to sleep.In any case, I don't think talking about personal physiological reactions to the movie is a productive effort. I don't mind so much that you like the film, I'm simply annoyed at the fact that it, and other silent films are still considered amongst the best films of all time. And even that I can deal with.
Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
naikou
heh, that's an interesting point you make there. Do YOU think that Avatar, for instance, is going to still be hailed as one of the greatest films ever produced 80 years down the line? I don't. I don't think it should be either. Yet Potemkin still is, for some reason.As for your Shakespeare comparison - sure, let's take away the fact that his dialog was remarkably original for its time. Is the dialog still good? Yes, I would say so! It's incredibly clever (although you might need a good study guide to understand half of the outdated in-jokes and references), even if you forget its place in history.
Now do the same for Potemkin. If you forget how original it is, it's not very exciting. It's overacted, slow paced, and completely lacking in subtlety.
If you don't believe me, go show Potemkin to a bunch of people who know nothing about it (a room of high schoolers, for instance). Then show them one of the film re-enactments of Shakespeare's plays. Is there even any doubt that every single one of them is going to prefer Shakespeare?
Showing items 1 – 25 of 41