RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted September 3, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 3, 2017 OK, I'll go out on a limb here and nominate a movie that is an institution - Where Eagles Dare. First off, I love watching the movie as it is terrifically entertaining and a thoroughly enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours. However, the plot is so full of holes and/or ridiculous premises that you don't have to engage full brain function for things to start falling apart. The Bell 47 helicopter is more than an anachronism, it is ridiculous. Yes it is terrific fun to watch, with a great cast but if looked at objectively you'd have to say that it leaves a few things to be desired. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 The worst film I ever started to watch was a sequel in the Jaws series. It may have had a wonderful plot and brilliant acting but I never found out. It was in 3D and glasses were not provided ion that cinema. A pounding headache after about ten minutes sent me out into the fresh air. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted September 3, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 3, 2017 So who's seen "The Emoji Movie?". I've only seen posters for it and I can tell it's one of the worst films ever made. I sat through two Pokemon movies. Most of the audience loved them though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian J. Posted September 3, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 3, 2017 OK, I'll go out on a limb here and nominate a movie that is an institution - Where Eagles Dare. First off, I love watching the movie as it is terrifically entertaining and a thoroughly enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours. However, the plot is so full of holes and/or ridiculous premises that you don't have to engage full brain function for things to start falling apart. The Bell 47 helicopter is more than an anachronism, it is ridiculous. Yes it is terrific fun to watch, with a great cast but if looked at objectively you'd have to say that it leaves a few things to be desired. That is a bit of a limb you're out on there. I think to quality as a worst movie (IMHO) then one or more of the following would need to be true: the cast has to be less than stellar or at best known but past it; the script awful; the delivery of lines wooden; the sets move; the music tacky; and probably quite a few more. Where Eagles Dare doesn't really fit those categories well, though it does fulfill some of them. I think also if a movie is an enjoyable romp despite its shortcomings, then it would be unfair to label it 'worst'. Of course, some of these things are in the eye of the beholder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted September 3, 2017 Author Share Posted September 3, 2017 The worst film I ever started to watch was a sequel in the Jaws series. It may have had a wonderful plot and brilliant acting but I never found out. It was in 3D and glasses were not provided ion that cinema. A pounding headache after about ten minutes sent me out into the fresh air. Jaws was quite a good film until the shark appeared. This, I found out later, was a synthetic skin stretched around a steel frame full of hydraulic servos and it was hauled along on underwater rails. But, inspite of it chomping on an oxygen cylinder and getting blown to pieces in the first film, it reappeared in the second film after having made a full and remarkable recovery. only to get fried chomping on a high powered under sea cable - silly shark... Anyway, the cast was strong and the script was good, even if the story wasn't. Allan. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 I call it the Syrup Season. As you say, the films are so predictable where the theme is either - A.- Parents going through divorce, sick kid with one leg brings them back together after getting lost in woods but gets found just in time for Christmas and all end up singing Silent Night and roasting chestnuts round the fire. B - Sick kid with one leg who's parents get lost in woods but get found just in time for Christmas and all end up singing Silent Night and roasting chestnuts round the fire. C - Sick kid with one leg AND parents get lost in woods but found just in time for Christmas and all end up singing Silent Night and roasting chestnuts round the fire. Then, when the season's over, everything's back to normal in America suburbia with everyone shooting holes in anything that moves and anything that doesn't. Allan You forgot to mention the sick child with no friends who doesn't believe in Santa Claus until his single mum is given a house full of presents on Christmas Day The pair of you have forgotten the other common plot line: Cynical adult who has stopped believing in Christmas after being "let down" by a broken family early in his childhood or did not get the presents he / she hoped for when a young child and is now making everyone's life a misery. Usually they are the boss of some kind of toy shop or factory. Then, by some festive encounter with Father Christmas, the Angels or one of Santa's elves he gradually changes his ways and falls in love with the dutiful young secretary or girl next door who always admired him in the first place! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted September 3, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 3, 2017 That sounds a bit like the plot of Scrooged!!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 The pair of you have forgotten the other common plot line: Cynical adult who has stopped believing in Christmas after being "let down" by a broken family early in his childhood or did not get the presents he / she hoped for when a young child and is now making everyone's life a misery. Usually they are the boss of some kind of toy shop or factory. Then, by some festive encounter with Father Christmas, the Angels or one of Santa's elves he gradually changes his ways and falls in love with the dutiful young secretary or girl next door who always admired him in the first place! That made me remember "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians" Here's the trailer, it only goes for 1:26, go on - do yourselves a favour! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnEJrwYXXsI 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 There was also a film called "The Santa Suit" that had such a plot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 (edited) Jaws was quite a good film until the shark appeared. Allan. Good to see you pop up, Allan. Edited September 4, 2017 by DDolfelin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 OK, I'll go out on a limb here and nominate a movie that is an institution - Where Eagles Dare. First off, I love watching the movie as it is terrifically entertaining and a thoroughly enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours. However, the plot is so full of holes and/or ridiculous premises that you don't have to engage full brain function for things to start falling apart. The Bell 47 helicopter is more than an anachronism, it is ridiculous. Yes it is terrific fun to watch, with a great cast but if looked at objectively you'd have to say that it leaves a few things to be desired. Always worth a watch, if only to spot the camera crew perfectly reflected in the side window of a truck . I was once a big fan of Alistair MacLean's work but, with the objectiveness of age, I'd be the first to admit that the books are decidedly patchy in quality. I gather he drank rather heavily which might explain a lot. Anyhow, once passed through the filter of the film industry, some of the plots (including Where Eagles Dare) became even sillier than they were on paper. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted September 4, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 4, 2017 He was one of those writers who essentially repackaged the same story in different environments and delivered books that his readers would feel warm and comfortable with as you knew exactly what you’d get. Another writer like that was Douglas Reeman/Alexander Kent, I used to read his books as a boy and looking back you can see how almost all of them were essentially the same story with the locations and a few character names changed. Or the aforementioned Sven Hassel who wrote two good books (the first two) and then enjoyed a good career basically just churned out repeats of the ones before. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy these books (equally I’ve never felt any urge to revisit them) but in hindsight I must admit I look back and wonder at how I got so enthused by them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 He was one of those writers who essentially repackaged the same story in different environments and delivered books that his readers would feel warm and comfortable with as you knew exactly what you’d get. Another writer like that was Douglas Reeman/Alexander Kent, I used to read his books as a boy and looking back you can see how almost all of them were essentially the same story with the locations and a few character names changed. Or the aforementioned Sven Hassel who wrote two good books (the first two) and then enjoyed a good career basically just churned out repeats of the ones before. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy these books (equally I’ve never felt any urge to revisit them) but in hindsight I must admit I look back and wonder at how I got so enthused by them. Another master of the art was/is Jack Higgins. Whilst I still think that The Eagle Has Landed was pretty good, along with one or two others, there was a lot of repackaging going on. I can think of at least two cases where not only were plots the same but two ostensibly different novels were pretty much exactly, word for word, the same book with only the characters' names changed and the odd minor detail altered. Fortunately I was getting most of them at three for a quid from my favourite secondhand book stall in Newcastle's Grainger Market so I didn't feel too badly ripped off. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted September 4, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 4, 2017 That sounds a bit like the plot of Scrooged!!! I think it's actually the plot of loads of films - several of which have been remade a generation later using exactly the same plot. Once the 'Christmas film' season gets underway on one of the more remote Freeview channels you'll get at least two examples a week (more if you're daft enough to spend even longer looking at the listings) for several months on end without a single one of them being repeated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted September 4, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 4, 2017 He was one of those writers who essentially repackaged the same story in different environments and delivered books that his readers would feel warm and comfortable with as you knew exactly what you’d get. Another writer like that was Douglas Reeman/Alexander Kent, I used to read his books as a boy and looking back you can see how almost all of them were essentially the same story with the locations and a few character names changed. Or the aforementioned Sven Hassel who wrote two good books (the first two) and then enjoyed a good career basically just churned out repeats of the ones before. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy these books (equally I’ve never felt any urge to revisit them) but in hindsight I must admit I look back and wonder at how I got so enthused by them. Slightly off subject but with a Douglas Reeman book you could remarkably easily predict within a couple of pages where a particular event or plot development would happen in each story. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
43179 Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 Slightly topical - Id also like to nominate "Atomic Train" - hilariously bad.. Jo 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted September 4, 2017 Author Share Posted September 4, 2017 Try sitting through 'Rough Night In Jericho' as Dean Martin and George Peppard slog through the plot without an anti coma injection. When it first came out I rushed right across London just in time to catch the last 7.30 pm performance. Dean Martin was forever trying to bed the leading lady whilst George Peppard shed sawdust every time he spoke. And then there was this where the song at the end says it all. Allan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v19PfOKd5v0 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 One of the worst films I have seen by far is an Aussie film called Lone Survivor bought from Tesco. Awful! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classsix T Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 I keep meaning to mention in this thread, back in the day, Amiga Power magazine carried a column called "Down the All-night Garage". As you can imagine, it featured a number of straight-to-DVD 1990's clunkers. Many, few, or none of which are now stinking up various TV channels! Certainly not a waste of time though is an occasional airer on CBS Horror, Virtual Nightmare. No online listing as far as I could find, possibly made for TV only. It was a delightful (if grim) mind poke low budget 90 minutes, asking questions of commercialisation, mind control and aspirational consumption of goods. (A bit like Logan's Run and how the first Robocop had cool spoof ads. "I'd buy that for a dollar"!) Well worth a watch, if you can find it. C6T. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross34 Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Star Wars - obviously..nodded off after 10mins. All the Police Academy efforts...again rather obviously. Independence Day...just bad. U571...really!!...nobody actually paid money to see that surely!. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Star Wars - obviously..nodded off after 10mins. All the Police Academy efforts...again rather obviously. Independence Day...just bad. U571...really!!...nobody actually paid money to see that surely!. Yes they were bad - but I quite enjoyed the Police Academy movies in my younger days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 New nomination. The Dark Tower. Just got back from the cinema and I want my $11 back. Apart from character names I don't think there was a single point at which movie and books intersected. Reasonably clever stuff from Stephen King miraculously transformed into bog standard "misfit kid meets crusty bloke who turns out to be a father substitute" fairy tale, with added firearms and a massive special effects budget. One steaming pile out of five . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 It isn't bad in the sense of being rubbish, but I really didn't enjoy Grave of the Fireflies: a heartwarming tale of two children being orphaned in WW2 Japan, resented by their aunt, and eventually starving to death in a cave. Pretty brutal watching, really. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted September 6, 2017 Author Share Posted September 6, 2017 (edited) It isn't bad in the sense of being rubbish, but I really didn't enjoy Grave of the Fireflies: a heartwarming tale of two children being orphaned in WW2 Japan, resented by their aunt, and eventually starving to death in a cave. Pretty brutal watching, really. Best American Christmas syrup movie ending is when Santa's sleigh side swipes the Empire State building, decapitates the Statue of Liberty and crashes into the Hudson as mom and dad turn to amputee kid and say " Not to worry sweetie, we'll buy you a nice new leg for Easter " just as the leg floats to the top in the closing shot. It ain't happened yet but I've sent the idea into Hollywood. Allan. Edited September 6, 2017 by allan downes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRat Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Jaws was quite a good film until the shark appeared. This, I found out later, was a synthetic skin stretched around a steel frame full of hydraulic servos and it was hauled along on underwater rails. But, inspite of it chomping on an oxygen cylinder and getting blown to pieces in the first film, it reappeared in the second film after having made a full and remarkable recovery. only to get fried chomping on a high powered under sea cable - silly shark... Anyway, the cast was strong and the script was good, even if the story wasn't. Allan. That shark retired and lived his life out at Universal Studios, Orlando. Always good fun that ride, now replaced by Harry Pottersville. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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