Five Things I Hated in “Ferris Buellers Day Off”

How is it possible that it’s been forty damn years since I had one of the funnest times I ever had at a movie, watching Ferris?. It was different with its fourth wall gags (common place today) right to that end credits scene which caught everyone off guard (nowadays end credit scenes are commonplace). 

Released June 11,1986 this movie is nearly perfect. Oh I know John Hughes may have more loved movies out there, but this was my favorite. It’s a love letter to Chicago that made Matthew Broderick a star. Hard to believe I wasn’t even in junior high when it was released! And right through high school if I had a day off chances were it was this movie I was watching (or Back to the Future).  As you know I like to discuss five things I “hate” in good movies. Except this is so well written, so well directed, so well edited and so well cast that it’s very hard to find legitimate problems. So forgive me if I resort to nitpicking for this article. Here are five things I “hated”. And you will not see one word about Ferris being a “sociopath” or any of that nonsense that has popped up over the years. Remember just enjoying a movie for what it was? 

Five Things I Hated in Star Trek-First Contact

A few months I discussed the follow up episode, it’s seems high time to discuss the movie itself, It’s almost hard to believe it, but this year is the 30th anniversary of Star Trek-First Contact. The one and only decent Next Generation movie. It’s amazing what a mess those movies were, it’s a shame they were in such a rush to get them out. The creators forgot that one of the big reasons the original movies succeeded was the nostalgia factor. People just didn’t miss TNG yet (It's why people were excited when the cast did reunite on Picard Season 3 even if thar series was less than perfect). But this is the one movie which managed to at least be good. 

The movie was released November 1996 and as I noted is the one movie that was considered pretty good, even great. Making the Borg the villain was a no brained and the lovely Alice Krige made a great Borg Queen. Yeah she was a retcon but not a terrible one. It made sense, sort of. However while the movie was really good that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Here are five things I hated. 

Five Things I Hated in "Pretty Woman"

 35 years ago a little rom com directed by Gary Marshall came along...and became a monster hit. It was one of the most successful movies in 1990 and propelled a certain unknown named Julia Roberts into superstardom. Of course I am talking about..

Released March 23,1990 this movie had plenty working against it. Disney had watered down the original idea, the movie was shot very weirdly, and Richard Gere didn't even want to do it at first. So how did this sleepy little movie do so well? The brilliant chemistry between our leads, and Julia Roberts herself, along with a great supporting cast (Hector Elizondo and Larry Miller steal their scenes and I adored Laura San Giacomo) and one of the best soundtracks I ever heard did the trick. Does that mean that everything in the movie is perfect? Course not and here are five gripes about the movie.

Five Things I Liked in Spider-man 3

 Recently I decided to revisit the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies. It’s hard to believe the first one is over 20 years old! As I watched them something occurred to me, The first was sillier than I remember. The second was ok. AndI think of the three the third one is the closest to being a good movie. ok ok let me explain…

Spider-Man 3 was released on April 30,2007 and people were pumped that they were doing the whole Venom story. Even I was as that was the only Spidee-Man story I ever read. And, yeah, it was a letdown in many ways. But I insist there are good things in this movie! 

Five Things I Liked in “Batman & Robin”

 As you may know I like to do things I like in bad movies and thinks I hated in good movies. But there’s one little movie I’ve ignored up to now. Because, what’s to like? But I decided after almost thirty years it was time to rewatch:

I literally have not seen this since it came out. It premiered June 12, 1997 and killed the Batman movie franchise. But is it really that bad? Yeah….lets discuss 

Five Things I Liked in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"

This year is the 50th anniversary for Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. This is one of those movies everyone like, and has truly become an icon. It's just the right mix of drama, humor, and even some dark moments to make a really delightful film. Based of course on the Roald Dahl, this movie is always a must watch for me.

This movie was released in 1971 and was not instant hit. But has certainly become a classic since. Now normally when I do these I nitpick the good movies and praise the bad, but since we are celebrating a big anniversary let's give some love to this movie with five reasons why I love watching it over and over.

The Music & Sets

Ok I hate that song Charlie's mother sings as much as anyone. It slows down the whole movie so a character that will soon vanish from the movie can explain something we've already figured out. Yay. Putting that side, the music is well done. Of course the big song when they enter the candy room, and the Oompa Loompa songs which are done well. And the Candy Man song at the start. The style of the songs doesn't match the movie, at all, but they work. The sets were also well done even the home where the family lived. The chocolate room is still amazing fifty years later! And no I won't go into every scene because they are all good and we will be here all day.

Five Things I Liked in "Beetlejuice"

In 1988 a then relatively unknown director named Tim Burton arrived with a new horror comedy movie. The movie was called Beetlejuice, and was a monster hit. Even I saw it, and was expecting to hate it since it was a genre I hate. However, there is just something about this movie that makes it impossible not to enjoy it. The movie of course is...

In honor of Halloween, and it's thirty anniversary that I totally ignored, let's discuss this film. It came out March 1988 and I still remember how my whole school was talking about it. Normally I list bad things in a good movie. But since it's Halloween, and finding anything bad in this movie is very hard, I decided to discuss the five things I love about this movie. 

Scary and Funny

Its often hard for a movie to settle on one tone, let alone managed to successfully handle two. And yet this movie does, being down right scary at times and really funny. A great example is when Delia and Otho look into the closet and Barbara pulls her face off. Not realizing Delia and Otho cannot see her. The scene is horrific and funny in a way only Tim Burton could pull off.

Five Things I Liked in Star Trek-The Motion Picture

So a few months ago I gave myself a challenge. As you know I like to do articles where I take bad movies and find five good things in them. So I decided to do it with one of the biggest disappointments ever! A little movie called….

   

I sat myelf down and watched it. No fast forwarding or anything, actually watch it straight through. And at the end, I had nothing. There is really that little good in this movie. I mean even the damn uniforms are awful! But I had to talk about this one because last year was a big milestone (that I overlooked). This movie came out in 1979 making it 40 years old! It’s hard to believe how excited people were for this, it was the first Star Trek they had gotten in 10 years! That’s probably why people didn’t realize how awful it was at first (the same thing happened with The Phanto Menace 20 years later).

Five Things I Liked in “Galaxy Quest”

20 years ago a little movie called Galaxy Quest came out, and wasn’t a big hit. But over the years it had developed a bit of a following. And I gotta be honest, I love this movie. I’ve seen it a bunch of times. What is it about this movie that works so well? Let’s see!

 

If you don’t know, Galaxy Quest was a take on “Star Trek”. And in the movie, real aliens seek out he “crew” because they foolishly believe the footage they intercepted was actual footage and not just entertainment. Usually I find things to pick on good movies,  but since it’s the 20th anniversary let’s share a little love instead.


Quotable

There are some great lines in this movie, like my favorite “Never give up! Never surrender!” Then of course we have the line that Alan Rickman’s character has had to live with whether he wanted to or not. “By Grabthar’s hammer, by the suns of Worvan, you shall be avenged”. It’s no “Live Long and Prosper” but still…..

Five Things I Liked in “Return of the Jedi”

It’s been almost twenty years since “The Phantom Menace” came out. I still can’t believe how long it took us all to accept how awful that movie was. So I thought today it would be fun to pretend it was twenty years ago, and we still live in a world with only three Star Wars movies. If you recall this simpler time, you may recall that of those three “Return of the Jedi” was considered the “bad one”. Where it ranks today is another discussion for another day. Instead I wanted to talk about this movie, which was my favorite of the three.

 

Released in 1983, this movie did not wow critics or fans. And I get that, I mean another death star battle? I give then credit for using Lando at least but it was still dull. Also I will admit as I have aged that the Ewok’s beating the empire’s best troops like that is kinda…stupid. True Vader’s redemption could be considered too easy. And don’t get me started on that revised ending I will always prefer the original. So ok it wasn’t the strongest movie, but I still love it. Here are five reasons why, aside from the fact that it was  the first Star Wars movie I was old enough to really appreciate in theaters.

Five Things I liked in "Scrooged"

Yep, another classic Christmas movie has an anniversary this year. There are lots of variations on A Christmas Carol set in modern day, but very few that clicked. This is one that definitely did. In 1988 we saw this movie in theaters, and loved it. This is the movie that made people realize Bill Murray was more than just SNL or Ghostbusters, and this would my favorite holiday movie I’ve ever seen in a theater. Until The Santa Clause came along anyway.  Now normally when I do these kind of articles I nitpick flaws in good movies. But since it’s the 30th anniversary, here are five reasons I love “Scrooged”.

Direct by Richard Donner and released November 23, 1988 this movie is a real surprise. I should hate it, but I don’t. Why? Let’s see….

Five Things I Liked in “Hocus Pocus”

Some guilty pleasures are so lame, we can’t stop loving them! I’ve mentioned this movie here and there but never did a real discussion of it. So, since it’s the 25th anniversary this year, this is a good time.

 

I saw this movie in theaters when it came out July 1993. Why did a clearly Halloween movie come out in July? Got me. Maybe Disney was so excited about it they couldn’t wait. They certainly hyped it enough, with horrible ads that didn’t explain the plot at all. Just made it sound like the three sisters were here for wacky hi jinks. And some of the stuff in this movie is definitely silly. Like the stock bullies, big plot holes, and that idiotic zombie nonsense. But what works, really works in my opinion. And in fact it’s grown such a cult following that Freeform shows over and over in October.

 

So we all agree that it’s a guilty pleasure, at best, then what is it that brings us back every year? Well, here are five reasons for me anyway :





The Music

Of course Bette Midler is in the movie so we had to have a song. And “I’ve Got a Spell on You” is pretty good. It’s got a nice beat but isn’t ridiculous. But what is often overlooked is the rest of the soundtrack, which is also damn good. The music is great and really enhances the mood. I discussed composers earlier this year one name I overlooked was John Debney who does good work. The other overlooked theme is the song Sarah sings to lure the children which is, well, mesmerizing.

Five Things I Hated in “The Dark Knight”

It’s time to show my love for another great movie by nitpicking its faults. The Dark Knight came out ten years ago and as much as I hate this phrase, was a true game changer. Chris Nolan gave us a superhero movie that could be taken seriously but still had good action and great performances. And it was amazing, but was it perfect?

 

I think its the performances that make it work. Not only was Heath Ledger’s Joker great but Aaron Eckhart’s Two Face made me realize just how awful that “other” Two-Face really was and Gary Oldman just knocked it out of the park as Gordon. Michael Cain’s Alfred is great, almost every word he says is quote worthy, and of course Morgan Freeman is always a delight. The action was pretty intense too, though as we’ll discuss it may have been to intense. As I  mentioned before I could see seeds of “The Killing Joke” in the plot, and from what I’ve read the movie also borrows heavily from “The Long Halloween”.

But no movie is perfect and here are five things I did not like in this amazing movie. As always, just opinion and please feel me to correct me if I get a detail wrong.

Five Things I Liked in "The Truman Show"

Yeah nothing to celebrate this year. Not as if it’s the 20th anniversary of one of my favorite movies of all time. Sigh. I think I’ll check before I say that in the future. Anyway……

Hard to believe how little I’ve talked about this seeing how it really is one of my favorite movies ever. But then again it is a movie that’s a little hard to get a grasp on. It’s more of an artsy film and normally I hate those. This one works. I was surprised to see people hating on this movie but when I read the reviews I see what they’re saying. It’s not a “normal” movie which can be off putting. The pacing is slow, the plot a tad farfetched, and there’s almost no story structure. People who don’t want to read anything into a movie, they just want straight forward comedy or action plainly stated, will hate this movie.  Others hate it because it doesn’t try enough, but I disagree. If you’re willing to look a little deeper than it’s worth it.

Normally in these articles I pick on five things I hate in a movie I love, but the heck with that. Not only is that hard to to do here, but it’s time this movie gets some praise. So here are five reason I love this movie. And no this is not an in depth Analysis. I wish I were smart enough for that. I’m just a fan and this is for fun of course.

Five Things I Hated in “It’s a Wonderful Life”

Let’s talk about the Christmas classic, a story so familiar that it has been homaged and parodied to death!

As a kid I thought it was a little long, and boring, but when I got older I realized how important all that stuff is. It’s because the movie takes the time to get us to know and like the other characters that makes the angel stuff work so well. I also pointed out a long time ago that George Bailey is great character, beautifully played bu Jimmy Stewart. We feel what he feels and the acting is just superb.

But does that mean the movie is perfect? Well there are some things that bug me.

Five Things I Liked in “Home Alone 2:Lost in New York”

After Home Alone’s amazing success, a sequel was inevitable. And so in 1992, that’s just what we got!

The movie isn’t horrible but it isn’t great either. It clearly follows the same format as the first, almost note for note. Though everything is one upped from the first movie, including those traps which get kind of nuts. Bricks to the head, floor boards being removed, these guys are covered in paint, electrocuted, set on fire, and fall three floors into a basement! How many times would Harry and Marv died in this movie if it had been real life? Also in the first movie it was Kevin’s house, how exactly does Kevin know how the one in this movie is set up? Or heck even manage to get around the city so well? Other things just don’t work. The mother has a lot less urgency to find Kevin until she gets to the city, and how did they get a flight to New York with no trouble like that? The reason the family over sleeps makes even less sense and that closing gag with the father yelling about the room service bill is painfully forced.

And yes…..

 

Donald Trump has a cameo, who would have guessed that I would hate that scene twenty-five years later?

Anyway, there are things to like in this movie and here are five of them. And maybe this time Cinema Sins wont release a video a week later basically saying the same things I’ll comment on here. Don’t you hate it when that happens? 

Five Things I Hated in "Home Alone"

  

Home Alone came around in 1990 and was an enormous hit. It was a smash and became one of the most successful comedies of all time. It’s also a pretty decent Christmas movie, with plenty of Christmas music and colors in the movie. It propelled Macauley Culken into superstardom and was THE hit of 1990.

I didn’t take to it right away but these days it’s a much watch every holiday season. It really is a nice movie that makes you laugh and pulls at the heart struings, However, while I do enjoy the movie there is still some things in the film that leave me scratching my head. Here are five things I hate in Home Alone.

Five Things I Hated in Star Trek III-The Search for Spock

As I promised last week, let’s take a look at the third movie. Before Star Trek IV came along, this was my favorite Star Trek movie. I adored this movie. I can still remember seeing it in theaters, can still recall the places that got laughs and the audience loving it, still recall  talking to my mother about it afterward and excited at what the next would bring, and I think I saw it a million times on video (once right before a final exam, weird). This is the movie that got me to love Star Trek, and after came TNG, ST IV, and getting really caught up on the classic episodes. Yeah it’s not the greatest but I didn’t care.

Five Things I Hated in "Star Trek II-The Wrath of Khan"

In this series I either gripe about the flaws in a movie I love, or point out the good things in movies generally considered bad. Problem is while I promised this one while back everything about this movie is pretty perfect. There really aren’t any pointless scenes or story elements that make no sense, all I can really to do is a bit of nitpicking. In fact this was so hard it’s the first time I actually watched the movie while writing this because it was hard to find any flaws.

Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan is one of those movies that is just fantastic. It came out in 1982 and was a monster hit. It’s one of those perfect movies, doing absolutely everything right. But while everything in this movie works, that doesn’t mean there aren’t things to make fun of. And as always this is just opinion.



Here are five things I hated in Wrath of Khan.

Five Things I Liked and Hated in “Batman Forever”

Usually when I do these kind of articles, I either list things I “hate” in a good movie or things I “like” in less popular movies. It’s always good remember that just because something is good doesn’t mean it’s perfect and just because it’s bad doesn’t mean it doesn’t have something good in it. But this one made me pause, is this a good movie or a bad movie? It’s not Batman & Robin bad, it’s not Batman Returns dark,  and it’s also not Batman good either. And it doesn’t even compare to the Nolan films! I finally decided the heck with it, and do both. This is movie a major guilty pleasure for me, but as I have grown older and wiser I do acknowledge it isn’t perfect.

Batman Forever came along in 1993, directed by Joel Schumacher after the confusing mess that was Batman Returns. It was family friendly and was a big hit. Even if critics didn’t like it so much. And of course Schumacher went even more family friendly with the follow up…but we’ve discussed that elsewhere. And while it has it’s problems there are some things I really like in it.

First, five things I hated…..


Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face

I’ve mentioned this before but to put it briefly..I didn’t get the problem with Two-Face when I first saw this movie. It seemed like perfect casting! To bad Jones decided not to care, at all. But it wasn’t all his fault it was clear Schumacher didn’t get the character either. It wasn’t until The Dark Knight when I saw Two-Face done right I realize how bad this really was. It’s a shame too because could have worked. Carrey and Jones had decent chemistry together. But man, the way they took one of Batman’s most interesting villains and turned him into a cartoon character!