The Most Misunderstood Movies of 2008

[J_UNTITLED]

Agree or disagree with these picks?

[P@t_Mtl]

For me the most misunderstood movie of 2008 was Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.

For some reason people are stuck on things like the gophers and the monkeys that are on screen for not even 1 minute total for both. Then everyone is making a huge deal about Indy surviving a nuclear blast using a fridge and screaming that we never saw stupid stunt like that in the other films. Of course not, because jumping out of a plane with a rubber boat from 1000 feet up and surviving or having a rollercoaster ride inside a mine and jumping a 20 foot gap on the track and landing perfectly on the other side is not stupid, that happen's all the time. Plus it was a good idea to have aliens, the story take's place in the 1950's. Look back to those years, space, aliens, nuclear threat this was what movies were about back then.

Indy was a great hommage to the movies of that time and was exactly what every other Indy movies were, fun, exciting, with adventure and over the top stunts that have nothing to do with the real world. Why suddendly film goers have decided that the 3 previous Indiana Jones movies were realistics just goes beyond me.

[jasoncarmony]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

For me the most misunderstood movie of 2008 was Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.

You know, I agree with you. I hear a lot of people complaining about the movie. True, I thought that Shia swinging on vines was terrible. I hated those scenes, but I enjoyed the rest of the movie.
What's more realistic, Aliens or someone being alive after his heart is pulled from his chest and lowered into a lava pit. Or drinking from a cup and aging rapidly.
Indy movies are supposed to be unrealisticly fun and adventerous. That is what they gave us.

[Belloche]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

For me the most misunderstood movie of 2008 was Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.

For some reason people are stuck on things like the gophers and the monkeys that are on screen for not even 1 minute total for both. Then everyone is making a huge deal about Indy surviving a nuclear blast using a fridge and screaming that we never saw stupid stunt like that in the order films. Of course not, because jumping out of a plane with a rubber boat from 1000 feet up and surviving or having a rollercoaster ride inside a mine and jumping a 20 foot gap on the track and landing perfectly on the other side is not stupid, that happen's all the time. Plus it was a good idea to have aliens, the story take's place in the 1950's. Look back to those years, space, aliens, nuclear threat were what movies were about back then.

Indy was a was a great hommage to the movies of that time and was exactly what every other Indy movies were, fun, exciting, with adventure and over the top stunts that have nothing to do with the real world. Why suddendly film goers have decided that the 3 previous Indiana Jones movies were realistics just goes beyond me.

I think you are absolutely right. As soon as the first poor reviews started to come in for this movie it started a wave of intense hatred that I don't understand. I think it has something to do with the internet and how easy it is to find people willing to complain and repeat back ideas given to them.(relax, if you hated this movie after judging it fairly and in context, that's cool)In a couple of years I guarantee these same people will be telling you the movie is good and they knew it all along.

[Marquoz]

If the nuking the fridge bit hadn't happened in the very beginning I think a lot more people wouldn't have been like WTF and then nit picked the rest of the movie. It started out on such an odd note that you were just jarred out of the movie almost as soon as you settled in.

[Crim122]

Originally Posted by Marquoz

If the nuking the fridge bit hadn't happened in the very beginning I think a lot more people wouldn't have been like WTF and then nit picked the rest of the movie. It started out on such an odd note that you were just jarred out of the movie almost as soon as you settled in.

The ending was terrible too.

[drobswim13]

Originally Posted by Crim122

The ending was terrible too.

Agreed...it almost felt like the movie tackled everything that the 1950's generation was afraid of, including nuclear war and aliens. I'm not saying that it is necessarily a bad thing, but it is not really a great thing either. I will just say that I did not particularly find the movie at a level near the first three, but it was an ok film. The original script torn up by Lucas was a lot better, though.

And as a sidenote, being nuked and surviving in a fridge is a little more unrealistic than falling out of a plane in a raft that was on the downslope of a mountain.

[J_UNTITLED]

Anyone agree or disagree with any of the actual picks in the link?

[Marquoz]

I only saw Burn after Reading, and I don't think I misunderstood it. It was an interesting movie that built up, built up, and then ended with an amusing ending where it all just gets swept under the rug and ignored. Great movie! The rest I never saw so can't comment on.

[drobswim13]

Originally Posted by J_UNTITLED

Anyone agree or disagree with any of the actual picks in the link?

I have not seen Burn After Reading yet and from the way they explain the other picks, I'm not sure if those will really be my cup of tea, not to mention I have no idea where to watch them.

[Crim122]

Originally Posted by Marquoz

I only saw Burn after Reading, and I don't think I misunderstood it. It was an interesting movie that built up, built up, and then ended with an amusing ending where it all just gets swept under the rug and ignored. Great movie! The rest I never saw so can't comment on.

Agreed, I dont see why its on the list at all.

[Riff Magnum]

I've only seen Burn After Reading from that list, but the authors synopsis of that movie seems a little overdone. He's overthinking it a bit too much. The Coens are mocking the audience for putting their work on a pedestal? What the heck? Why couldn't he just say, "if you like the Coens you'll like this."

[Lacit170]

yea i ahve not seen any of them and have only heard of Burn after Reading.... on a side note... does anyone know anything about "Martyrs"?? this sounds really good to me

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

For me the most misunderstood movie of 2008 was Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.

Too bad the list only wanted "Misunderstood" = "Quirky independent"...

Indy IV was certainly "misunderstood" by its own co-producer (Steve was trying to END it, George!--Give him a little slack for some period nostalgia), and wasn't quite "Worst movie like ever, d00d! ", but was the product of its own twenty-year studio stubbornness.

But let's face it: If this was Yahoo!Movies' list, they'd STILL try to find some way of squeezing a "The Happening" joke out of it...
Okay, so it wasn't Hitchcock or "The Birds", but I'd rather see M. Night Shamalyan try to imitate Hitchcock and fail, than try to imitate Joseph Campbell and fail, with mermaids and pools and self-cameos, 'n stuff.
Like Indy IV, it helps when you know what a director was trying to do, even if he never quite got there.

[Lacit170]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Too bad the list only wanted "Misunderstood" = "Quirky independent"...

But let's face it: If this was Yahoo!Movies' list, they'd STILL try to find some way of squeezing a "The Happening" joke out of it...
Okay, so it wasn't Hitchcock or "The Birds", but I'd rather see M. Night Shamalyan try to imitate Hitchcock and fail, than try to imitate Joseph Campbell and fail, with mermaids and pools and self-cameos, 'n stuff.
Like Indy IV, it helps when you know what a director was trying to do, even if he never quite got there.

um... i like hearing the jokes about the happening,, cuz it WAS THAT BAD... and M night Shamalama is complete crap and cant end a movie for his life anymore

[JamesKurtovich]

I, too, don't like these lists. They only subject you to the opinion of the list's writer - nothing more.

[EricJ]

Tragic case of mistitling the article--
(As the author wanted to believe the reason we didn't see "Burn After Reading" or three other indies we'd literally never heard of was that they were "misunderstood"...There's no self-nailed Martyr like a Sundance-fanboy. )

So, if the prize were clarified to Most Misunderstood REAL Movie of 2008, the clear and away winner would technically depend on a show of hands of who actually bothered to look up the old 60's cartoon before watching "Speed Racer":
This would neatly divide the actual critical appraisals apart from the slacker kids saying "It looks weird and they act goofy!" and the mainstream critics saying "The colors make my brain hurt!" , while trying to rationalize the worst May release date since "Prince Caspian"...

[Crim122]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Tragic case of mistitling the article--
(As the author wanted to believe the reason we didn't see "Burn" or three other indies we'd literally never heard of was that they were "misunderstood"...There's no self-nailed Martyr like a Sundance-fanboy. )

So, if the prize were clarified to Most Misunderstood REAL Movie of 2008, the clear and away winner would technically depend on a show of hands of who actually bothered to look up the old 60's cartoon before watching "Speed Racer":
This would neatly divide the actual reviews apart from the slacker kids saying "It looks weird and they act goofy!" and the mainstream critics saying "The colors make my brain hurt!"

real movie?

[sa412]

i only saw burn after reading. never even heard of the other ones on the list. i thought BAR was hilarious.

[Variable]

Indiana Jones may have been misunderstood but I still wouldn't say it was a good movie. People complain about things that surprise me but I still don't think it's a good movie.