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Most Overrated Movies of 2007
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
What were the most overrated films of 2007? Stephen Whitty, Chairman of the New York Critics Film Circle and Newark Star-Ledger critic, and Christian Science Monitor film critic Peter Rainer weigh in.
What do you think were the most overrated movies of 2007? Tell us by leaving a comment below.
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I thought "Ratatouille" was way overrated. It astonished me that it made it to some movie critics' best-of lists.
ratatouille, I am Legend, Golden Compass,
Knocked Up, definitely. It was essentially a chick flick where the chick was a cipher. if Katherine Heigl weren't so charming and Seth Rogan weren't so hilarious more people would have noticed. Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd were utterly depressing, and when oh when will Apatow be called to account for his homophobia?
American Gangster. Another superficial treatment of a potentially interesting situation by Ridley Scott. It worked well with Blade Runner but then again that was about cyborgs.
Another thing, does Denzel Washington ever play a character with a real weakness?
No Country For Old Men - nicely filmed and good performances, but extremely contrived (Josh Brolin's character decides to bring water to a guy who was almost dead 12 hours earlier, instead of hopping a plane and living happily ever after?) and essentially pointless. And what the heck was Tommy Lee Jones babbling about a t the end?
To me overrated means, aside from having too much hype and credit, when it comes to film, it's more of being not nearly as good as what the Hollywood ad execs and critics seem to think the film is. So, the overrated films of 2007 are: Hannibal Rising, Pirates of the Caribbean -- At World's End, Factory Girl, Babel, The NameSake, Kite Runner, Beowulf, No Country for Old Men (ending was a let down). These are the movies I've seen, which I had high expectations of and turned out to be a let down. The other movies (300, Transformers, etc.) are just movies that you know ill be bad but want to see it anyway just to pass time. And movies such as, Because I Said So, you know it will know bomb and won't even bother to see it. I'm sure I'm missing something here. A more interesting discussion would be the most underrated movies of 2007.
I'm Not There - Utter bore. Didn't learn anything new if you've seen the usual Bob documentaries. Understood films intentions, but it violated rule of all drama, NO CONFLICT. Only interesting part was with Cate Blanchet b/c she had an advisary via the journalist that made things interesting.
I agree with the post above: Knocked Up was not funny at all.
To those who did not like No Country for Old Men: Please read the book (Cormac McCarthy). And then go on and read all of his work!
Hi Leena, I've read most of Cormac Mcarthy's book, as well as Kite Runner, and other books that was made into film that was released in 2007 -- the topic is the most overrated film of 2007, not worst films, or disliked films -- I like No Country For Old Men -- I just think it was overrated.
I agree that Knocked Up was overrated. To me, it was just not that funny.
Knocked up was by far the most overrated film of the year. Thought the trailer made the film look uninteresting and treacly; maybe a bit funny. I would never have seen it, though, had it not been for the rave reviews, especially by A.O. Scott, who normally trust.
By far the most over-rated over-hyped film was "the 300"
It was truly awful. I didn't expect Shakespeare or anything deep going in mind you...but i expected it to at least be interesting and/or entertaining but it was incredibly trite, stupid and silly (Leonidas puts his spear down and there's a huge explosion sound effect..sooooooooo stupid)
A realistic portrayal of the real history and Spartan culture would have been far more entertaining and compelling
Without a doubt, "American Gangster" takes the prize for most overrated film of 2007.
Perhaps this had to do with the amount of hype surrounding the release, but the film itself was flat. Not only has this story been told countless times before, but the characterization was lifeless and the plot seemed to clunk along until its predictable and overly drawn-out conclusion.
PS- I respectfully disagree with "No Country For Old Men" being mentioned on this list.
"No Country for Old Men". Since when have critics stopped considering believability and interesting & important storylines in their choices for Best Drama. Juvenile, boring, and uninspiring...reminds me of the hype that "Pulp Fiction" (another adolescent film) received...which was cleverly constructed, but painfully ridiculous.
No Country for Old Men was, without a doubt, the most overrated film of 2007. It has made just about everyone's top ten list and I can't for the life of me understand why.
"Knocked Up" - not funny, not boring but not that funny.
I totally disagree with Knocked Up. It's the best movie of the year.
Ocean's Thirteen, Shrek 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End,
Charlie Wilson's War: no dramatic arc, no character development, neither witty nor insightful
Atonement: emotionally overwrought without making us care about the characters, trite (e.g. the dying French soldier), ineffective in connecting the love story with the war story
Ratatouille: noisy, vulgar, and those rats were really unpleasant
Totally disagree with "No Country For Old Men" being on this list as well
Did all the rave reviews for "no country for old men" make more people go see the film? Yes, it probably did. Was it better than most of the films released? Yes, it probably was. I think to get through the white noise of "transformers", "the golden compass" or of any hollywood movie, it must be raved about. I think it's really a question of tempering your expectations. "no country" was at least interesting, sometimes tangental.
As far as overrated in my definition, "charlie wilson's war" takes the cake. It had the emotional impact of a romantic comedy, and the intrigue of a trip to the dry cleaners.
Juno is a good film, but it's not a good as critics say it is. The dialogue, which is hailed as smart and sassy, is too smart, too sassy, and becomes self-conscious and cloying.
A teenager discovers she's pregnant, and at no time in the movie does she exhibit a moment of panic, anxiety, regret, self-doubt?
Yes, this is a somewhat unique, energetic take on an old story, but it isn't grounded enough to be truly effective. It, sadly, becomes a film that is more concerned with posing and attitude than it is with a truthful exploration of a difficult situation.
"LIONS FOR LAMBS" MOST OVERRATED, OVER-HPED, AND VERY DISAPPOINTING
I strongly second "Knocked Up". Glad others agree.
There will be blood. Should have been called 'there will be bloody boredom'.
I liked ratalouie.
No Country for Old Men
I am Legend
Beowulf
That's nuts. Ratalouie was awful.
Superbad, which was often bewilderingly unfunny. Critics, however, seemed to go out of their way to praise this as proof that they really aren't fussy sticks-in-the-mud. This crude teen comedy was less sophisticated and far more misogynistic than American Pie and no where near as charming as the equally scatological 40-Year-Old Virgin. Only Michael Cera's presence and the funny-disturbing keg party scene made this bearable.
There will be Blood had so much potential and was not a developed story. So many 'occuraces' took place and none were developed to create sympathy for any of the characters. It was also a caricature of both lead characters- the 'hungry' oilman taking over property and fundamentalist preacher. This film was unfortunately hollow, so much potential and too many undeveloped ideas.
Are my friends and I the only ones who thought the writing in Juno was way overdone? The quips and wit fit fine for Juno herself but why did everyone in the film have to speak that way? It seems clear that Diabalo Cody was so proud of herself and her own smarts that she didnt care whether the rest of her script suffered.
ratatouille was great, it talked about being an artist.
what an awful segment, when are u going to talk about the BEST movies of the year. something that changes this world.
I agree. I liked Juno too but did not think it compared to Little Miss Sunshine.
Most movies are overrated, certainly in the pre-hype, and then also in the critical consensus. Even when they're good, they rarely amount to anything more than good entertainment. Over the weekend I watched David Cronenburg's Eastern Promises, which I found to be an absolutely 2-dimensional, cliche film. Yet, on the Rotten Tomatoes website, which collects reviews from all over the country, it had 88% positive ratings. I don't get it. That said, I thought Zodiac, which has ended up on many 10-best lists, was the most overrated film of the year.
There's a topic - who's your favorite and least favorite film or book or art reviewer and why?
No Country For Old Men. An overblown slasher flick with (deceptively distracting) lush cinematography. Little to care about in the story or the individuals portrayed within. Indulgently violent, nothing to take away.
"Knocked Up"--and I do listen to reviewer's, so
I was unhappily surprised: "an instant classic????" from the NYT?
This movie has been designated a Critic's Pick by the film reviewers of The Times.
June 1, 2007
Bye-Bye, Bong. Hello, Baby.
By A. O. SCOTT
Published: June 1, 2007
It may be a bit, um, premature to say so, but Judd Apatow’s “Knocked Up” strikes me as an instant classic, a comedy that captures the sexual confusion and moral ambivalence of our moment without straining, pandering or preaching.
What percentage of critics are white men and women? I am wondering if a perspective on a movie changes based upon one's upbringing, race and ethnicity.
So glad to hear someone else feel underwhelmed by Michael Clayton. As a former legal proofreader, I was also pretty amused by the idea that Tom Wilkinson read all those darned documents by crazy old self. (But he did get to be naked, which for us Wilkinson fans, was a plus.)
Also not knocked out by Knocked Up, which seemed to me like a very proper lady of a film in fake hipster clothes.
Has Sweeney Todd come up? My girfrend wants to see it - please tell me it's overrated.
...the kingdom (left the theatre mid movie), juno, golden compass, spiderman 3 (yawn), ocean's thirteen (no need for this sequel), pirates 3, american gangster (it's time for denzel to take a break from the scene), the diving bell and the butterfly, the brave ones, before the devil knows you're dead...
"Ratatouille" was marvelous. I recommended it to my European friends, who loved it.
If your idea of cooking is to punch up the numbers of the local take out place then I can see why you didn't "get it".
This was a sophisticated work of art that exceeded my expectations.
Oh, and please spell the title correctly!
No Country for Old Men: I don't get it, Does our culture really enjoy this type of violence and gore? It made me sick.
I AM LEGEND. There is no plot. There could have been...but instead of going into the story they just dotted the eerie Manhattan landscape with one monster after another. If you want to look at nothing, Will Smith and Monsters, without much dialogue or story, then this is the right movie for you.
No way Ratalouie was marvelous. It was about a rat and a pot or something. Was it supposed to be French?
My French friends loved Ratatouille enough to convince me to see it (eventually)
Steve- Not only is Sweeney Todd overrated, it is flat out awful. It features blood and gore for the fun of it, and bad singing for the apparent lack of talent of its leads. While Depp and Carter may be good actors, they are NOT good musical theater actors. This movie also featured a mutilated score that heretofore had been amazing. If your girlfriend wants to see a musical, go to the live theater.
Your critics were a bunch of grumps. The most overrated recent movie was surely Persepolis, which managed to make the dreadful drama of fundamentalist Iran into a rather boring tale of an obnoxious and narcissistic young girl. On the other hand, both Michael Clayton and Charlie Wilson's War, panned by your guests, were brilliantly written and very entertaining.
"There will be Blood had so much potential and was not a developed story. So many 'occuraces' took place and none were developed to create sympathy for any of the characters. It was also a caricature of both lead characters- the 'hungry' oilman taking over property and fundamentalist preacher. This film was unfortunately hollow, so much potential and too many undeveloped ideas."
I'm not sure we were meant to sympathize with its characters, and I'm not sure they were caricatures at all: the character was more in depth of the performances than in the breadth of the action, if that makes sense: even where the oil man is, as a matter of self-styling, merely an oil man, he's clearly much more than that. There's more character in the look on Daniel's face as he watches the preacher's "hell of a show" than needs to be spelled out to us in dialog. I think many people's desire to have things spelled out is a yearning for reductivism that is not the same thing as the "minimalism" of There Will Be Blood. Hollow it was not.
Was Klimt a 2007 film? I saw it in 2007 and it still makes me furious. John Malkovich is the most selfish actor I have ever seen. He just stands there sneering at people and letting everybody madly try to act off him. (And I used to like him...)
I thought the use of non-stop cute music ruined Juno. And Sarah is right - that much sharp sarcasm and wit is way over the top for me (c'mon Diablo) .
oh, and Before the Devil Knows Youre Dead made me want to kill something.
No Country for Old Men is overrated. The story is contrived and Tommie lee Jones is seen to much better efffect in the Valley of Eliah.
Gone Baby Gone has a terrific performance from Amy Ryan. Affleck and Monahan are tolerable. The plot is kind of hackneyed, especially with two of the main characters coming from Louisiana. Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman are usually welcome, but not here.
How about a segment on the most overrated film critics?
For a documentary, "No End in Sight" was a bore which didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. They should read Naomi Klein instead.
And I disagree about "Sweeney Todd." For the music, read what Sondheim had to say about the score (or what was left of it) in the Times before the film opened. Hde agreed with the cuts.
Was this a covert IQ test?
most overlooked/underrated: Great Wall of Sound
most overrated: There Will Be Blood
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