It’s Thanksgiving in the United States this week, so a lot of people will be thinking and talking about gratitude and blessings and crap like that, so let’s go in the opposite direction:
What movie(s) do you regret watching? If so, which ones? If none, why not?
As a movie professional, I am duty bound to say — and it really is true — that I never regret watching even the worst, most unredeeming of movies. There is always something to learn, even if it’s just how or what not to do onscreen. But I do not expect many movie fans to share my expansive and ecumenical spirit.
I agree that you can get something out of even the worst movies. For me, the bottom of the stack is Highlander 2, but at least it provided me with a yardstick for badness. Staying on sequels, I do kind of wish I hadn't spent time or money on RoboCop 2, which still leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I remember it. Repulsively violent, and somehow without any of the wit, satire, or just general humanity that makes the violence of the original somewhat palatable. At least Highlander 2 is just a monumentally silly train wreck.
Like you, if I am at a film - or a play - if I find it unsatisfying in any way I start to study it in a detached way, working out what is wrong. I look for the aspects that do work, and speculate about how the people making the film had the heart to keep going when it was such obvious tosh. After all, it takes about the same amount of effort to make a crap production as a good one!
That said, the only film I ever saw that I thought was unredeemably bad was the Porky's (1981). But some people must have liked it, as they made two sequels!
loaded question: What movie(s) do you regret watching?
I agree that you can get something out of even the worst movies. For me, the bottom of the stack is Highlander 2, but at least it provided me with a yardstick for badness. Staying on sequels, I do kind of wish I hadn't spent time or money on RoboCop 2, which still leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I remember it. Repulsively violent, and somehow without any of the wit, satire, or just general humanity that makes the violence of the original somewhat palatable. At least Highlander 2 is just a monumentally silly train wreck.
Like you, if I am at a film - or a play - if I find it unsatisfying in any way I start to study it in a detached way, working out what is wrong. I look for the aspects that do work, and speculate about how the people making the film had the heart to keep going when it was such obvious tosh. After all, it takes about the same amount of effort to make a crap production as a good one!
That said, the only film I ever saw that I thought was unredeemably bad was the Porky's (1981). But some people must have liked it, as they made two sequels!