Failed Movies -- Good or Bad


Guest Mores
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Guest Mores

On the tails of the Old TV Shows thread, thought I'd throw something in for movies. 

I came across a list of worst box office bombs of all time.  Many of them I could understand why they bombed.  But I'll be honest, several of them were movies I actually liked.

Titan A.E. -- Who didn't like Planet Bob?

Treasure Planet -- not me, specifically.  But my family.

47 Ronin -- That was awesome.  How did that not do well?  I guess I just have special tastes.

Chronicles of Riddick --  Not the best.  But decent.  Very watchable.

Cutthroat Island -- I'm honestly guessing that Gina Davis wasn't believable.  But the overall movie was pretty good.

Justice League --  I certainly agree it wasn't as good as any Avengers movie.  But it was still a good movie on its own.  I don't think it was nearly as bad as people say it is.  

.... Actually, strike that.  I think it was better than Age of Ultron.  And I don't know why this was considered a bomb.  It made hundreds of millions in profit.

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1 hour ago, Mores said:

Titan A.E. -- Who didn't like Planet Bob?

Treasure Planet -- not me, specifically.  But my family.

47 Ronin -- That was awesome.  How did that not do well?  I guess I just have special tastes.

Chronicles of Riddick --  Not the best.  But decent.  Very watchable.

Cutthroat Island -- I'm honestly guessing that Gina Davis wasn't believable.  But the overall movie was pretty good.

Justice League --  I certainly agree it wasn't as good as any Avengers movie.  But it was still a good movie on its own.  I don't think it was nearly as bad as people say it is.  

.... Actually, strike that.  I think it was better than Age of Ultron.  And I don't know why this was considered a bomb.  It made hundreds of millions in profit.

Titan A.E. -- Who didn't like Planet Bob?

I really liked this movie, and was shocked that it didn't do all that well.

Treasure Planet

I really liked this show also, although there were some things that I thought could have be improved. I can understand why this did not do well though.

47 Ronin --

I liked this movie, but could understand why it didn't do very well. At least from my own opinion.

Chronicles of Riddick --

I liked the movie, but again could understand why it didn't do well. This one I think they were playing more off the main actor bringing people to the box office rather than action and plot. Some parts were really good, and some parts were like (this story again just with a twist).

Cutthroat Island

Never saw it, so can't say anything.

Justice League

I thought this movie was entertaining, but they blew it with the previous movie of Superman vs. Batman. They were trying to rely on the DC comics reputation rather than creating a movie that would kill the rating like "Avengers - End Game" and all the others. My professional critique :)

Shows how we all have different thoughts -- Age of Ultron -- blew Justice League out of the water also. I believe it was considered a bomb in comparison with cost and profit ration in comparison with its main competitor's (Marvel) revenues. They expected Justice League to compete with Avengers, but didn't come close.

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1 hour ago, Midwest LDS said:

The Quest, a martial arts movie with Jean Claude Van Damme. It's currently rocking a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes, but I've watched it multiple times and I think it's a really fun movie. It's not perfect by any means, but I like it a lot. 

I really enjoyed that movie as a kid. I might still, but haven't seen it as an adult. Having trained in a variety of martial arts in my youth I really enjoyed martial arts movies. Having focused more on pure self defense as an adult, most action scenes are somewhat ruined for me because it seems apparent too many opportunities to resolve the struggle are wasted in the name of entertainment. Sword fights that are supposed to be struggles to the death using wasted strikes like punching with the hilt of the sword or kicking someone over when it could have just as easily been a death blow among other similar themes just irritate me a little these days.

The quest might stand the test of time for me though because it's supposed to be showcasing different styles in a tournament, so it's understandable if they're not using the most effective means to the end because it should be against the rules and may not fit the style being trained. I haven't checked out the bad reviews, but I'd venture a guess that some of them are because of feuds over what style should have prevailed.

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6 hours ago, SpiritDragon said:

I really enjoyed that movie as a kid. I might still, but haven't seen it as an adult. Having trained in a variety of martial arts in my youth I really enjoyed martial arts movies. Having focused more on pure self defense as an adult, most action scenes are somewhat ruined for me because it seems apparent too many opportunities to resolve the struggle are wasted in the name of entertainment. Sword fights that are supposed to be struggles to the death using wasted strikes like punching with the hilt of the sword or kicking someone over when it could have just as easily been a death blow among other similar themes just irritate me a little these days.

The quest might stand the test of time for me though because it's supposed to be showcasing different styles in a tournament, so it's understandable if they're not using the most effective means to the end because it should be against the rules and may not fit the style being trained. I haven't checked out the bad reviews, but I'd venture a guess that some of them are because of feuds over what style should have prevailed.

I get where your coming from. I avidly study military history. Which means every time I watch a movie with a battle scene, and the two armies just run screaming at each other, no tactics, no formations, no attempt at ruses or deception, (Braveheart comes to mind) it does the same thing to me. It's one reason why I like the movie Gettysburg. While it doesn't have accurate artillery strikes (in the 1860's there were far more cannon balls used than explosive shells by artillery, but that would have been hard to film in the early 90's) they actually do a pretty good job of showing the things I mentioned because most of the extras were legitimate American Civil War re-enactors and knew what they were doing.

As an aside, I don't practice martial arts although I think they are awesome, but I can't stop myself from laughing when the hero is attacked by 1 bad guy at a time while surrounded.

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Guest Mores
7 hours ago, SpiritDragon said:

I really enjoyed that movie as a kid. I might still, but haven't seen it as an adult. Having trained in a variety of martial arts in my youth I really enjoyed martial arts movies. Having focused more on pure self defense as an adult, most action scenes are somewhat ruined for me because it seems apparent too many opportunities to resolve the struggle are wasted in the name of entertainment. Sword fights that are supposed to be struggles to the death using wasted strikes like punching with the hilt of the sword or kicking someone over when it could have just as easily been a death blow among other similar themes just irritate me a little these days.

The quest might stand the test of time for me though because it's supposed to be showcasing different styles in a tournament, so it's understandable if they're not using the most effective means to the end because it should be against the rules and may not fit the style being trained. I haven't checked out the bad reviews, but I'd venture a guess that some of them are because of feuds over what style should have prevailed.

I highly doubt that the majority of the people watch action films for "martial arts accuracy".  They want "plausible martial arts" that "really look good". And by plausible, it doesn't mean that it could pass for a legitimate move in some form of martial art.  It simply means that an untrained eye could believe that such a move could be used and could possibly do some damage.

If you want accuracy, go to your local dojo or watch pay-per-view.  

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3 hours ago, Mores said:

I highly doubt that the majority of the people watch action films for "martial arts accuracy".  They want "plausible martial arts" that "really look good". And by plausible, it doesn't mean that it could pass for a legitimate move in some form of martial art.  It simply means that an untrained eye could believe that such a move could be used and could possibly do some damage.

If you want accuracy, go to your local dojo or watch pay-per-view.  

Indeed. People want to be entertained and real world violence is gut wrenching and not as much entertaining. For real violence I can simply watch the news and look out around my neighbourhood (like the fight in the street last night). I just find the theatrics of fight scenes too much these days, but I can still appreciate the time and talent that go into it. Kind of like how professional wrestling barely resembles wrestling at all, but is still entertaining to those who enjoy that type of thing. The athletes still need some serious conditioning to pull off the stunts they perform and need to be able to take a beating, they just also need to be able to follow a script and act out a persona.

My point being that I'm not really suggesting the movies have to change how they portray violence (though they are and do change over time), but that to a large degree my knowledge of the topic has decreased the entertainment value for me. The movie makers can focus on making money by entertaining their base and don't need to cater to me - they'd go out of business as the last time I saw a movie in a theater was three years ago and that was because it was free, it was at least another three years prior to that where I went to a movie I paid for.

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18 hours ago, Mores said:

Titan A.E. -- Who didn't like Planet Bob?

I liked Drew Barrymore enough to like Planet Bob.

18 hours ago, Mores said:

Treasure Planet -- not me, specifically.  But my family.

Never saw it.

 

18 hours ago, Mores said:

47 Ronin -- That was awesome.  How did that not do well?  I guess I just have special tastes.

Loved this movie.  But then I have a special place in my movie heart for Keanu Reeves.

I think this did not do well because, even with the success of the Matrix, Keanu is just not popular as an action hero in Asia as, say Tom Cruise.  And in the US, US-Japan cross-overs, especially one about "honor" is not very popular.  Unless you got star power like Tom Cruise.  But that's just my opinion.

18 hours ago, Mores said:

Chronicles of Riddick --  Not the best.  But decent.  Very watchable.

Cutthroat Island -- I'm honestly guessing that Gina Davis wasn't believable.  But the overall movie was pretty good.

Haven't seen these either.

18 hours ago, Mores said:

Justice League --  I certainly agree it wasn't as good as any Avengers movie.  But it was still a good movie on its own.  I don't think it was nearly as bad as people say it is.  

.... Actually, strike that.  I think it was better than Age of Ultron.  And I don't know why this was considered a bomb.  It made hundreds of millions in profit.

It is as bad as people say it is.  Man of Steel, Dawn of Justice, Justice League - SUCKS.

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Other failed movies:

King Arthur:  Legend of the Sword.  Loved this movie.  But then Charlie Hunnam is one of my favorite actors.

John Carter - I loved this movie and saw it several times in the big screen.

Stealth - Loved this movie.

Mortal Engines - This was great for the world building.  The script was too shallow for the world.  Overall this was ok.

Lone Ranger - Ok, this one sucked.

 

Edited by anatess2
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Guest Mores
37 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

But then I have a special place in my movie heart for Keanu Reeves.

Mine too.  He's really a dreamboat, isn't he?  Ahhhhwwww.

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8 minutes ago, Mores said:

Mine too.  He's really a dreamboat, isn't he?  Ahhhhwwww.

Hah hah.  No.  I first saw him on Bill and Ted and he just looked like an idiot.  

But, for some insane reason... if Keanu is in it, I tend to like it.  Even if it bombs in the theater - like Replicas.  :)

And then... my husband and I's favorite movies of all time - Point Break, Speed, Matrix, John Wick... it's weird how a lot of them have Keanu in it when Keanu is... really have only 3 muscles in his face.  Hah hah.

 

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16 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

Hah hah.  No.  I first saw him on Bill and Ted and he just looked like an idiot.  

But, for some insane reason... if Keanu is in it, I tend to like it.  Even if it bombs in the theater - like Replicas.  :)

And then... my husband and I's favorite movies of all time - Point Break, Speed, Matrix, John Wick... it's weird how a lot of them have Keanu in it when Keanu is... really have only 3 muscles in his face.  Hah hah.

Well, since you're such a fan, have you heard about his "marital status"?

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1 minute ago, Mores said:

Well, since you're such a fan, have you heard about his "marital status"?

Oh yeah.  It was quite tragic.  It happened around the time of The Matrix.  My husband and I saw The Matrix at least 20 times at the theaters.  We even followed it all the way to the dollar movies.  So we were hyper aware of Keanu at that time.

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Guest Mores
8 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

Oh yeah.  It was quite tragic.  It happened around the time of The Matrix.  My husband and I saw The Matrix at least 20 times at the theaters.  We even followed it all the way to the dollar movies.  So we were hyper aware of Keanu at that time.

I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing.  I'm referring to Winona Ryder.  What on earth are you talking about?

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4 minutes ago, Mores said:

I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing.  I'm referring to Winona Ryder.  What on earth are you talking about?

Oh no... I'm not talking about a movie wedding.  I'm talking about Reeves real-life partner.  I can't remember her name, but it happened right around the first Matrix movie.  Reeves was living with this woman for a while and they got pregnant but the baby was born dead.  Both of them spiraled into depression, split up, and the woman died in a car crash due to DUI over her depression pills or something like that.  Ate Reeves up because he felt he wasn't there for his "wife" after the loss of their daughter.  He's always been one of those down-to-earth not-jaded inner-nice always-mindful-of-other-people hollywood celebrities and for him to go through a tragedy like that that he felt was because of him must have been crazy terrible to go through.

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Guest Mores
13 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

Oh no... I'm not talking about a movie wedding. 

So, you haven't heard.  I'll tell you later. Note that I did put it in quotation marks.

Quote

I'm talking about Reeves real-life partner.  I can't remember her name, but it happened right around the first Matrix movie.  Reeves was living with this woman for a while and they got pregnant but the baby was born dead.  Both of them spiraled into depression, split up, and the woman died in a car crash due to DUI over her depression pills or something like that.  Ate Reeves up because he felt he wasn't there for his "wife" after the loss of their daughter.  He's always been one of those down-to-earth not-jaded inner-nice always-mindful-of-other-people hollywood celebrities and for him to go through a tragedy like that that he felt was because of him must have been crazy terrible to go through.

That was not about "marital status" but about paternity.  Here's what I'm talking about: 

Open Hollywood Gossip column.

Apparently, because the wedding scene in Dracula didn't meet with the director's standards, he called them back to reshoot the wedding scene.  Later, Ryder discovered that the "actor" performing the ceremony was a real Roman Catholic priest or bishop or whatever.  And he spoke the real words that he would have spoken in a real ceremony.  And it was performed in a real Catholic Cathedral.  And both of them (Winona and Keanu) said the correct real words for the ceremony as well.

While marriage licenses and legal paperwork were not signed, they both have an "open religion" philosophy.  So, if they went through any religious ceremony of any kind (and they dabbled in many weird ones as well as mainstream ones) they considered it valid.

Wynona then started telling everyone that she believed they were married for real.  After she told Keanu about the details he responded,"Oh, wow. I guess we are married."  Ever since then she often texts Keanu calling him "husband."  They've worked on many movies together and consider each other best friends who have a huge crush on each other.

Kids these days.

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2 hours ago, Mores said:

So, you haven't heard.  I'll tell you later. Note that I did put it in quotation marks.

That was not about "marital status" but about paternity.  Here's what I'm talking about: 

I thought you put it in quotes because Keanu was not married but a common law husband to the mother of his child.

 

2 hours ago, Mores said:

Open Hollywood Gossip column.

Apparently, because the wedding scene in Dracula didn't meet with the director's standards, he called them back to reshoot the wedding scene.  Later, Ryder discovered that the "actor" performing the ceremony was a real Roman Catholic priest or bishop or whatever.  And he spoke the real words that he would have spoken in a real ceremony.  And it was performed in a real Catholic Cathedral.  And both of them (Winona and Keanu) said the correct real words for the ceremony as well.

While marriage licenses and legal paperwork were not signed, they both have an "open religion" philosophy.  So, if they went through any religious ceremony of any kind (and they dabbled in many weird ones as well as mainstream ones) they considered it valid.

Wynona then started telling everyone that she believed they were married for real.  After she told Keanu about the details he responded,"Oh, wow. I guess we are married."  Ever since then she often texts Keanu calling him "husband."  They've worked on many movies together and consider each other best friends who have a huge crush on each other.

Kids these days.

Winona is a weirdo... I’m betting Keanu is just playing along to be nice.  But then - special place in my movie heart... I’m biased.  Haha.

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Guest Scott
On 5/21/2019 at 8:27 PM, Mores said:

Ok.  So are there any other movies that you can think of that we're not popular that you really liked?

Solo.  I guess it was still popular, but not as much as expected.

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Guest Scott
On 5/23/2019 at 2:51 PM, mrmarklin said:

Some of these "bad" movies will survive to be come cult classics.  Think Rocky Horror Picture Show.  A flop in its day.

Shawshank Redemption was never considered a bad movie, but it was considered a box office flop.  It is definitely considered a classic by a lot of people nowadays.

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On 5/21/2019 at 10:27 PM, Mores said:

Ok.  So are there any other movies that you can think of that we're not popular that you really liked?

Tron.  The 80’s one.  The sequel sucked because the moviemakers did not understand why Tron had a cult following.  Super love the original movie.  Super hate the sequel.

Alita Battle Angel.  It’s popular in Asia but was meh everywhere else.  I super duper cooper love this movie.

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Guest Mores

I was just reminded of Speed Racer.  That brought back memories.  Plenty of homages to the original series (Trixie in the Helicopter).  The visuals were epilpsy-inducing.  But overall, I think it worked.  The plot was good.  The acting worked.  As an action flick alone, it was praiseworthy.

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