Poll

Which of the following is the most underrated movie gem?

A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
10 (29.4%)
Breach
2 (5.9%)
Breakdown
1 (2.9%)
Death to Smoochy
3 (8.8%)
Definitely, Maybe
2 (5.9%)
Far and Away
1 (2.9%)
Frailty
0 (0%)
Galaxy Quest
12 (35.3%)
Idiocracy
1 (2.9%)
Prime
0 (0%)
Timecop
0 (0%)
Tommy Boy
2 (5.9%)

Total Members Voted: 34

Author Topic: Entertainment Weekly's 12 Underrated Movie Gems  (Read 4455 times)

1SO

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Re: Entertainment Weekly's 12 Underrated Movie Gems
« Reply #30 on: January 11, 2011, 11:11:26 PM »
This has turned into a Random Movie Deathmatch between A.I. and Galaxy Quest.


1. Galaxy Quest
2. Breakdown
3. Frailty

4. Idiocracy
5. Definitely, Maybe
6. Breach

7. Tommy Boy
8. Far and Away

9. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
10. Timecop

11. Death to Smoochy



FroHam X

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Re: Entertainment Weekly's 12 Underrated Movie Gems
« Reply #31 on: January 11, 2011, 11:12:52 PM »
No way in Hell Idiocracy is a better film than AI. No way in Hell.
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flieger

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Re: Entertainment Weekly's 12 Underrated Movie Gems
« Reply #32 on: January 11, 2011, 11:16:40 PM »
11. Death to Smoochy

Red is my new favourite colour in this thread.

Bondo

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Re: Entertainment Weekly's 12 Underrated Movie Gems
« Reply #33 on: January 11, 2011, 11:18:18 PM »
I actually probably like AI better than Galaxy Quest but voted GQ because I thought it was more underrated (or underseen) than AI which everyone has pretty much seen but is divisive. Given the poll results maybe I should change my calculation and vote for it.

1SO

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Re: Entertainment Weekly's 12 Underrated Movie Gems
« Reply #34 on: January 11, 2011, 11:45:06 PM »
No way in Hell Idiocracy is a better film than AI. No way in Hell.

THIS IS A CONDENSED REPRINT FROM MY MARATHON REVIEW...

A.I. is one of the most disappointing movies I have ever watched.  It starts out as one of the greatest films ever made, and while it’s technically amazing throughout, after the first hour the entire enterprise goes right down the tubes.  And I was amazed how far down the tubes go.  As the story rolls along, small problems with the structure of Spielberg’s screenplay become giant gaping wounds.

Some very basic logic problems:  If David is a prototype, why doesn’t William Hurt keep better track of his activities, especially considering the personal connection to David we learn about later on?  They carefully select the test family and then give the thing away as a gift.  Hurt should have been receiving constant reports from the father and diagnostics checks from David.  (Should be in his email every morning.)  They don’t even put a tracking device in David.

And while Hurt sells us on the idea of a child robot who can love, it’s actually a terrible idea.  What happens to the parents as they grow older and their 11-year-old child STAYS 11?  Won’t they find that to be frustratingly creepy?  And what happens when a mother inevitably dies, yet the boy robot is still programmed to love her?  Which is how I wish the final hour had been presented to us.  

How is it that David is built for extreme temperatures and can even survive for long periods under water with his mouth open, yet he can flood his circuits with food?

As A.I. opens up to a much bigger journey, it turns its back on a lot of unexplored ideas, and the further away from the family A.I. gets, the worse it becomes.  We’re meant to care about David, but his quest for the Blue Fairy is a major programming glitch.  I agree with Roger Ebert that somewhere along the way the kid should have been rebooted.

The Flesh Fair is among the worst directed passages of Spielberg’s career.  It’s an unholy mess and Spielberg seems way out of his element portraying the redneck hillbilly crowds cheering along while Kid Rock plays on the stage.  Who would pay for this kind of entertainment?  It seems to suggest a future more in line with Idiocracy, a film which had a more believable arena crowd sequence.

Opening Section: A
Jude Law Intro: A-
Flesh Fair: D
Rouge City: D (Visually Grade A)
New York: F
2000 Years Later: F-


Idiocracy gets as high as a B+ and never lower than C- at its worst.

FroHam X

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Re: Entertainment Weekly's 12 Underrated Movie Gems
« Reply #35 on: January 11, 2011, 11:46:49 PM »
And Idiocracy is still worse. Idiocracy is not a good movie despite a hilarious concept and a few things like the show Ow My Balls.
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