Originally posted by: gopunk
It was a good and entertaining story with many laughs and lots to think about. There's a lot of bad decisions made in movies, I don't know what the big deal is. I greatly enjoyed Dumb & Dumber and they are much more "retarded" then the characters in Trainspotting.
*Gasp*
they're not retarded in the same way. i've never watched it, but i would guess that their retardedness is one such that i would laugh because of it, whereas i would not be inclined to laugh from the retardedness of the characters in trainspotting (with respect to the addiction at least).
and yes, there are lots of bad decisions made in movies, but not many movies focus on the main character making the same GD un-funny mistake over and over again. for example, if they had a movie about rabbit's mom from 8 mile, i probably wouldn't want to see that either. i don't mind watching movies that aren't happy or that deal with depressing subjects, but i do mind watching movies about people who f*ck their own lives up in a non-comedic fashion.
look, you like it.... other people like it... that's great. all i'm saying is that i didn't like it, and giving my reasons. there is no right or wrong when it comes to things like this.
Fair enough, sounds like you're a little sensitive about certain storylines. I don't know who rabbit's mom is but I'm wondering if you're more inclined to be sensitive about drug stories for some reason or whether it's just anyone making bad life decisions.
What about if you're watching a horror movie and the characters decide it would be a good idea to split up?
I'll watch movies with just about any subject matter as long as they are done well.
It's the latter... rabbit's mom wasn't doing drugs... at least not that I was aware of. She was just your typical trailer park trash that kept on making bad decisions. Like I said, I just don't like watching people being retarded when it isn't humorous.
Originally posted by: flavio
It's the latter... rabbit's mom wasn't doing drugs... at least not that I was aware of. She was just your typical trailer park trash that kept on making bad decisions. Like I said, I just don't like watching people being retarded when it isn't humorous.
Well, it is sad to see otherwise likeable characters make bad decisions. But this is all about a preference for subject matter and has little to do with what makes for a good movie.
when somebody asks you if a movie is good, i think they are looking for your personal opinion on the movie.
Originally posted by: flavio
Well there's lots of people out there that don't like any movie that doesn't have a happy ending. It may seem ridiculous but it's more common than you think.
when somebody asks you if a movie is good, i think they are looking for your personal opinion on the movie.
Now if I asked for their opnion on whether a movie was good or not without knowing about their bias for happy endings I would miss out on alot of good stuff since I don't share this bias.
The same way in which you have a bias against movies with characters that make poor life decisions. Most people do not share that bias and will miss out on many good movies if they don't know about your bias about certain subject matter.
Originally posted by: flavio
Well gopunk, you've got me wondering what other good movies you wouldn't like because of this preference of yours but I'm having trouble coming up with "poor life decision" type movies at the moment.
How about:
American Beauty
Cool Hand Luke
Taxi Driver
Dog Day Afternoon
...and I would say definately stay away from Requiem For A Dream. While it left me speechless, on the verge of tears, and determined to buy it the next day...it just isn't for you.
as long as they don't have retarded people who keep in f*cking up their own lives in them. i see enough of that in my own life, watching it on a screen is not entertaining for me.
Originally posted by: Jzero
as long as they don't have retarded people who keep in f*cking up their own lives in them. i see enough of that in my own life, watching it on a screen is not entertaining for me.
But the catch is that Renton clambers out at the end and manages to start his life anew. He has the power to make "good decisions," but was constantly dogged by wanting the acceptance of his "so-called mates." But when you've just about given up on Mark Renton ever breaking free of his loser friends, he jumps and does it.
By and large, the few people I've found who didn't like Trainspotting seemed to be those who couldn't get past the "shock" of the dead baby, Tommy's death, and the "toilet scene" to actually see the real message. It DOES have a happy-happy feel-good ending, but this is one of those movies (which are rare of late) where you actually have to look for it. It doesn't smack you across the face.
hmm, perhaps i gave up on it too soon then.... i ejected it after he went back to heroin for the 3rd or 5th time and the baby was crawling on the ceiling.... *again*
Originally posted by: Jzero
hmm, perhaps i gave up on it too soon then.... i ejected it after he went back to heroin for the 3rd or 5th time and the baby was crawling on the ceiling.... *again*
Doh! I encourage you to watch it the whole way through. I find that the message of hope at the end redeems all the nasty parts of the movie.