Unpopular Positive Opinion Challenge

[Mysterious Dude]

Inspired by today's xkcd (https://xkcd.com/2184/):

https://i.postimg.cc/pLw2q6Ng/xkcd-2184.jpg

A few that got "thumbs up" from me:

The Last Legion (2007) 15%
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) 37%
Only God Forgives (2013) 41%
The Lone Ranger (2013) 31%
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) 48%

[transmogrifier]

All movies rotten (<60%) on RT that I score 70 or higher (my cut-off for films that I will actively defend as very good). If I included films that I like to some extent (60-69), this list would be far, far too long.

Bully (2001) - 78 (54%)
Samaria (2003) - 70 (50%)
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005) - 71 (59%)
Fast Food Nation (2006) - 71 (50%)
Funny Games (2007) - 75 (51%)
Hot Rod (2007) - 72 (39%) [this is the most egregious - RT critics don't know shit]
Air Doll (2009) - 73 (43%)

Nothing in the last 10 years, but the number of >70 films has reduced dramatically in that time

[Dukefrukem]

How do I even search for this?

[Dukefrukem]

Equilibrium (40%)
High Tension (40%)
The Mummy Returns (47%)
National Treasure (46%)
The Longest Yard (31%)
Shooter (47%)
Hot Rod (39%)
The Objective (33%)
The Tall Man (43%)
Dark Skies (42%)
The Colony (16%)

[Ivan Drago]

I really like the following movies:

Power Rangers (2017) 50%
The Box (2009) 44%
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) 52%
Southland Tales (2007) 38%
Across The Universe (2007) 53%
The Phantom of the Opera (2004) 33%

[TGM]

How do I even search for this?

Were you able to figure this out? Or just started looking up movies individually?

[Dukefrukem]

Were you able to figure this out? Or just started looking up movies individually?

Yeh i just went to letterboxed and looked at the two decades of movies I watched, sorted it by my rating and guessed which ones were perceived poorly.

[baby doll]

Off the top of my head:

I still say Hereafter (47%) is one of Eastwood's best films as a director (Unforgiven (96%) is minor Eastwood), and Domino (18%) is undoubtedly Tony Scott's masterpiece.

Some late Woody Allen films I like more than either Vicky Christina Barcelona (81%) or Midnight in Paris (93%): The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (46%), Whatever Works (49%), and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (46%), all of which I've seen more than once.

I've come around on Battle in Heaven (49%) after seeing it a second time, and Post Tenebras Lux (53%) is easily one of the decade's best films.

demonlover is just over the fifty percent threshold (51%) but I far prefer it to either L'Heure d'été (94%) or Sils Maria (90%). Admittedly, Boarding Gate kinda falls apart after Argento lands in Hong Kong, but 32%? What's up with that? (Speaking of Argento, Scarlet Diva (52%), though far from a masterpiece, is very much worth seeing.)

Some other borderline cases: La Frontière de l'aube (50%), Manderlay (50%), Éloge de l'amour (51%), Antichrist (53%), Marie Antoinette (56%), Film socialisme (59%).

[Philip J. Fry]

The Replacements (2000) - 41%

[Peng]

All these I rate 4/5.

Under the Silver Lake (57%)
The House That Jack Built (57%)
Deja Vu (55%)
To the Wonder (46%)
The Village (44%)
The Brave One (43%)
The Lake House (36%)
Blackhat (33%)

I think there are no rotten 4.5/5 or 5/5 films, although Gerry (4.5/5) comes the closest with 61%.

[MadMan]

I had a list somewhere of RT movies that have rotten scores that I love.

[Skitch]

The Box is a damn masterpiece.

[Mal]

The Rules of Attraction (2002) - 43%
is a messy blast with good performances and (for the time) wacky editing. Ian Somerhalder dancing to Serge Gainsbourg is still one of my favorite cinema moments. A lot of reviews at the time this came out said the film was hard to like because of the terrible characters, yet the film itself for me really nailed how college brings out the worst of us as we're still learning to get to know ourselves.

[Mysterious Dude]

Remember guys, it's gotta be lower than 50%. I don't make these rules, I merely enforce them!

[Dukefrukem]

All these I rate 4/5.

Under the Silver Lake (57%)
The House That Jack Built (57%)
Deja Vu (55%)
To the Wonder (46%)
The Village (44%)
The Brave One (43%)
The Lake House (36%)
Blackhat (33%)

I think there are no rotten 4.5/5 or 5/5 films, although Gerry (4.5/5) comes the closest with 61%.

Your first three are +50%.

edit: yeh, what Isaac said. pay attention! :)

[megladon8]

The Replacements (2000) - 41%

I always had fun with this one too.

[TGM]

Here’s some of mine:

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) - 29%
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) - 37%
Sucker Punch (2011) - 22% (I still consider this one to be among the Top 5 best movies I’ve seen this entire decade in fact)
The Counselor (2013) - 34%
Need for Speed (2014) - 22%
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - 28%

I’ll try and think of some more to look into. This’ll be a lot easier to do once I’m in front of a computer anyhow...

[Grouchy]

Out of other people's choices, I really like The Counselor and Only God Forgives as well.

[Skitch]

Here’s some of mine:

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) - 29%
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) - 37%
Sucker Punch (2011) - 22% (I still consider this one to be among the Top 5 best movies I’ve seen this entire decade in fact)
The Counselor (2013) - 34%
Need for Speed (2014) - 22%
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - 28%

I’ll try and think of some more to look into. This’ll be a lot easier to do once I’m in front of a computer anyhow...

I like most of these movies.

[Dukefrukem]

The Chronicles of Riddick is a good one.

[Grouchy]

Oh, I'm a fan of The Ninth Gate (43%).

[Skitch]

Oh, I'm a fan of The Ninth Gate (43%).

Polanski's best! (imo)

[megladon8]

Oh, I'm a fan of The Ninth Gate (43%).

Oooo yes that’s a great pick.

[baby doll]

Polanski's best! (imo)In my opinion:

Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Chinatown (1974)
The Ghost Writer (2010)
Bitter Moon (1992)
Repulsion (1965)
What? (1972)
The Tenant (1976)
Vénus Ã* la fourrure (2013)
The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971)
The Pianist (2002)
The Ninth Gate (1999)
Cul-de-sac (1966)
Tess (1979)
Knife in the Water (1962)
Carnage (2011)
The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me But Your Teeth Are in my Neck (1967)

[Mr. McGibblets]

I was sure Ocean's Twelve would qualify, but it's got a 55% rating.

I looked up movies that I gave an 8/10 or higher grade to and found three that qualify (I probably missed some).

Cassandra's Dream (46%)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (44%)
Elizabethtown (29%)

[Philip J. Fry]

I always had fun with this one too.*dances "I Will Survive"*

[Milky Joe]

I loved The Mummy (2017), currently sitting at 16%.

[Dukefrukem]

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (44%)


Yikes. Gotta ask. What do you see in this one?

[Skitch]

The Ghost Writer (2010)


This excellent film doesn't get enough attention.

[Skitch]

I loved The Mummy (2017), currently sitting at 16%.

I'm with ya!

[Skitch]

Yikes. Gotta ask. What do you see in this one?

Is that the third one? If so I'm in. Third one is my favorite of the series.

[Irish]

I thought "The Strangers," from 2008, was one of the best American horrors of the last 20 years and it's sitting at 48%.

You could probably cheese the contest by focusing on horror made before ~2013 or so, before the genre became really popular and mainstreamed and oddly commercial, somewhere between "Babadook" and "Get Out." Mainstream critics never really "got" it (and still don't watch enough of it).

[Irish]

Which reminds me, RT is a terrible gauge for this because they allow anyone to rate old movies at any time. Eg:John Carpenter's "The Thing" bombed and received terrible reviews on its release but of course now its reputation is much improved and RT rates it a 82%.

I always thought this mechanic was a shame, because the site coulda offered a perfect snapshot to critical reactions of one period or another and simply doesn't.

[Skitch]

Which reminds me, RT is a terrible gauge for this because they allow anyone to rate old movies at any time. Eg:John Carpenter's "The Thing" bombed and received terrible reviews on its release but of course now its reputation is much improved and RT rates it a 82%.

I always thought this mechanic was a shame, because the site coulda offered a perfect snapshot to critical reactions of one period or another and simply doesn't.

And also hold critics accountable for shitty takes.

[StanleyK]

Damn, I couldn't find a single one. There's plenty of acclaimed movies I dislike but apparently none the other way around. The closest is The Fountain at 52%, but that one's fairly well-liked, and I wasn't an adult when it came out anyway.

[baby doll]

Which reminds me, RT is a terrible gauge for this because they allow anyone to rate old movies at any time. Eg:John Carpenter's "The Thing" bombed and received terrible reviews on its release but of course now its reputation is much improved and RT rates it a 82%.

I always thought this mechanic was a shame, because the site coulda offered a perfect snapshot to critical reactions of one period or another and simply doesn't.I think it's flawed reasoning to suggest that a Tomatometer reading that only counted contemporary reviews would provide an accurate snapshot of a film's critical reputation at the time of its release. If, for example, half of reviewers in 1968 thought 2001 was a mess and the other half thought it was brilliant, that's not going to be reflected in a 50% rating.

[Irish]

I think it's flawed reasoning to suggest that a Tomatometer reading that only counted contemporary reviews would provide an accurate snapshot of a film's critical reputation at the time of its release. If, for example, half of reviewers in 1968 thought 2001 was a mess and the other half thought it was brilliant, that's not going to be reflected in a 50% rating.

I dunno, sorta? It'd be a helluva lot closer than allowing critics to post new ratings 50 years after the fact, though.

(Shit, tbh, I don't care about ratings. I'd just like a centralized database where I can look up & read what every major film critic thought of "Petulia" or "Wild in the Streets" or "Rosemary's Baby" or "Carrie" without decades of crazed fandom and accumulated appreciation layered on top.)

[baby doll]

I dunno, sorta? It'd be a helluva lot closer than allowing critics to post new ratings 50 years after the fact, though.

(Shit, tbh, I don't care about ratings. I'd just like a centralized database where I can look up & read what every major film critic thought of "Petulia" or "Wild in the Streets" or "Rosemary's Baby" or "Carrie" without decades of crazed fandom and accumulated appreciation layered on top.)It would be helpful if Rotten Tomatoes let you search for reviews from a particular time period, but then the site is designed for consumerism, not scholarship, and most of the major pre-internet reviewers aren't archived there anyway: no James Agee, no Manny Farber, no Dave Kehr. The earliest J. Hoberman review recorded on the site is from 2000 and the link doesn't even work, though I did find the first few paragraphs of Andrew Sarris' report on the 1970 New York Film Festival as the Voice reposted them a few years back (the man sure liked his puns). Not to mention that the site only indexes reviews in English.

[TGM]

Here’s some of mine:

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) - 29%
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) - 37%
Sucker Punch (2011) - 22% (I still consider this one to be among the Top 5 best movies I’ve seen this entire decade in fact)
The Counselor (2013) - 34%
Need for Speed (2014) - 22%
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - 28%

I’ll try and think of some more to look into. This’ll be a lot easier to do once I’m in front of a computer anyhow...

And now for a handful of more:

The Time Machine (2002) - 29%
Underworld (2003) - 31%
The Punisher (2004) - 29%
Constantine (2005) - 46%
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) - 39%
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) - 34%
Remember Me (2010) - 27%
Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) - 29%
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) - 18%

[Irish]

the site is designed for consumerism, not scholarship

Sure. But that doesn't prohibit me from wanting something different --- or wishing that the site took a more rigorous approach to what it's already doing (eg: by cataloging reviews from first publication and limiting new ratings on old movies, for instance.)

[baby doll]

Underworld (2003) - 31%I've been meaning to read the book for ages; I didn't know there was a film. I quite liked DeLillo's White Noise when I read it a few years back.

[Irish]

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) - 29%
The Counselor (2013) - 34%
Underworld (2003) - 31%

I'd put these on my list.

I saw "Riddick" in the theater and was in a spasm during the entire runtime. The movie was one of the best experiences I've had --- and, from memory, it's over-the-top ridiculous but goddamn if I didn't get a huge kick out of it.

"Underworld" had a low-key charm -- maybe the closest we've come to a legit heir of Universal monsters --- but I think it was made retroactively worse by an inevitable parade of sequels.

"The Counselor" was unfairly maligned and I'd actually go to bat for that one. It's messy, sure, but the cast holds nothing back and the direction is smooth and assured as anything Scott had done previously. I wish more movies were as wild and daring as that one hoped to be.

(Although, tbh, of the 3, I'd only want to see "The Counselor" again.)

[Irish]

Christ that reminds me --- AEON FLUX (2005) 9%

Do I win a prize?

ETA: I just realized I can crib from Duke's Intelligent Sci-fi thread (http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?6430-Intelligent-Sci-Fi-Discussion/page2).

Soldier (1998) 12%
Automata (2014) 28%
Death Note (2017) 38%
Alien 3 (1992, cough cough) 42%
Book of Eli (2010) 47%
Robocop (2014) 49%
Tomorrowland (2015) 50%

[Neclord]

MacGruber (48%)

[baby doll]

"The Counselor" was unfairly maligned and I'd actually go to bat for that one. It's messy, sure, but the cast holds nothing back and the direction is smooth and assured as anything Scott had done previously. I wish more movies were as wild and daring as that one hoped to be.I don't consider The Counselor a successful film, and having read two of McCarthy's novels (albeit not the popular ones), my sense is that plot isn't his strong suit: Suttree is frankly episodic and Blood Meridian is basically three hundred pages of affectless beheadings punctuated by landscape description. Some of the dialogue in The Counselor is amusing for McCarthy's use of anachronistic language (Fassbender barking "Hemlock!" in response to a waitress asking him what he wants to drink just after receiving some very bad news) but mostly it's just awkward (Fassbender telling Penelope Cruz she has "the sweetest pussy in all of Christendom"; the Mexican drug kingpin's monologue about actions having consequences).

[Irish]

I don't consider The Counselor a successful film, and having read two of McCarthy's novels (albeit not the popular ones), my sense is that plot isn't his strong suit: Suttree is frankly episodic and Blood Meridian is basically three hundred pages of affectless beheadings punctuated by landscape description. Some of the dialogue in The Counselor is amusing for McCarthy's use of anachronistic language (Fassbender barking "Hemlock!" in response to a waitress asking him what he wants to drink just after receiving some very bad news) but mostly it's just awkward (Fassbender telling Penelope Cruz she has "the sweetest pussy in all of Christendom"; the Mexican drug kingpin's monologue about actions having consequences).

Oh, I don't consider it a successful film either. But I do think what it tried to do (and sometimes does) was waaaaaay more interesting than most of the "product" loitering about contemporary theaters.

Or, as I put it back in 2017:


One last note: I've developed a soft spot for sci-fi movies that contain ideas, or elements I've never seen before, despite completely fucking up their narratives or generally half-assing it in other areas. I'd rather watch movies like 28 Days Later, Solaris, Aeon Flux, Automata, The Rover, and the Robocop remake than most of the stuff in The Playlist's top ten. They aren't "better," just a helluva lot more interesting. (Automata, for one, is almost a complete clusterfuck but contains an idea I've literally never seen represented in another feature film).

"The Counselor" isn't sci-fi but the idea still holds, ie, from the same thread, "the stuff that interests me most are the movies that swung for the fences and almost totally whiffed it." This is an area of film that rarely gets discussed, because it doesn't fit into the "thumbs up / thumbs down" or "fresh / rotten" binary, which too often captures the conversation.

[DavidSeven]

Two pages deep and not one mention of Speed Racer?

Match-Cut, you’ve changed.

[Philip J. Fry]

And now for a handful of more:

The Time Machine (2002) - 29%I enjoyed that one.

[Dukefrukem]

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) - 34%

Another good one.

[Skitch]

Christ that reminds me --- AEON FLUX (2005) 9%

Soldier (1998) 12%
Death Note (2017) 38%
Alien 3 (1992, cough cough) 42%
Book of Eli (2010) 47%
Robocop (2014) 49%
Tomorrowland (2015) 50%

Good stuff!

Per the Kingdom of Heaven pick...I would make an asterisk on that one. Theatrical was butchered. Directors cut is damn near masterpiece. That's my go to for the question if a DC is ever better than theatrical. Totally different films.

[Dukefrukem]

MacGruber (48%)

Winner!

[TGM]

Two pages deep and not one mention of Speed Racer?

Match-Cut, you’ve changed.

I was honestly a little surprised this hadn’t been mentioned yet too. :p

[TGM]

Christ that reminds me --- AEON FLUX (2005) 9%

Do I win a prize?



I still haven’t seen this one. o.O

[MadMan]

Off the top of my head:

The Golden Child-26% RT (my rating is 8/10, one of my favorite movies)
Godzilla KOTM-41% (9/10 from me)
Torque-23% (8/10 from me, I've seen it at least 5 times)
MacGruber-48% RT (9/10, hilarious movie, saw it in theaters)
The Doom Generation-47% (9.5/10 from me)
Let's Scare Jessica To Death-25% (9/10)
Disturbing Behavior-34% (8/10)

Too many other ones I like are above 50% but still not fresh. Also I noticed that Lost Highway now is fresh at 60%. Hmm. Also Big Jake doesn't even have a Tomatoemeter rating despite being one of John Wayne's most famous westerns.

[transmogrifier]

I was honestly a little surprised this hadn’t been mentioned yet too. :p

Match Cut has grown up and realized that it is just cotton-candy nothingness :)

[MadMan]

I never saw Speed Racer.

[Skitch]

Match Cut has grown up and realized that it is just cotton-candy nothingness :)

I assumed we all finally agreed it was the bomb diggity.

[Grouchy]

Not to mention that the site only indexes reviews in English.
Are you sure about this? I think they include anyone who sends a review for submission.

[Wryan]

From ones others have mentioned so far, I'd +1 The Mummy Returns, Chronicles of Riddick, The Time Machine, Jurassic Park III (shocked this hasn't gotten mentioned) and The Lone Ranger. I'm quite forgiving on genre stuff.

[Grouchy]

The Lone Ranger was quite good - I think the poor reception of that has more to do with Westerns being out of fashion with the blockbuster crowds than with its quality.

[megladon8]

Didn’t quite get panned, but Soderbergh’s Solaris (66%) was universally seen as lukewarm at best, while actually being a masterpiece.

[transmogrifier]

I assumed we all finally agreed it was the bomb diggity.

That would just be silly. Like Speed Racer!

Boom, roasted.

[TGM]

Perusing others’ lists for ones that I liked which abide by the rules:

The Mummy Returns (2001) 47%
Shooter (2007) 47%
The Book of Eli (2010) 47%
The Lone Ranger (2013) 31%
Robocop (2014) 49%
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) 48%

[baby doll]

Are you sure about this? I think they include anyone who sends a review for submission.I can't say for sure but I've never seen any professional reviews on RT in a language other than English.

[baby doll]

Didn’t quite get panned, but Soderbergh’s Solaris (66%) was universally seen as lukewarm at best, while actually being a masterpiece.I find most of Soderbergh lukewarm at best (notable exceptions: sex, lies & videotape, King of the Hill, and Behind the Candelabra, though as good as those films are, I'd be reluctant to call any of them masterpieces), but his Solaris remake strikes me as an atypically cautious film, not only paring away the difficulties posed by Tarkovsky's film but also forgoing the sort of nutty stylistic doodling that makes Soderbergh's hackwork (e.g., Haywire) somewhat livelier than the run of the mill hackwork. It feels more like the Soderbergh who made Erin Brokovich than the Soderbergh who made Bubble.

[Irish]

I can't say for sure but I've never seen any professional reviews on RT in a language other than English.

Several Spanish-language pubs appear on there but excerpts are written English (with a "full review in Spanish" disclaimer next to the outbound link).

I don't think it matters much in this context, because your point stands --- the site focuses on a Western / English-speaking world.

[megladon8]

Well, we ARE in America. So I sure as hell would hope they give more focus to them movies what talk American.

[Grouchy]

Several Spanish-language pubs appear on there but excerpts are written English (with a "full review in Spanish" disclaimer next to the outbound link).

I don't think it matters much in this context, because your point stands --- the site focuses on a Western / English-speaking world.
I'd seen those and assumed there were other languages as well.

[Grouchy]

Oh, right, Femme Fatale (49%).

[MadMan]

JP 3 and Shooter are both solid flicks.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Match Cut has placed Speed Racer in the canon of great films. It therefore has no business being in this thread.