Which Movies Can we Like?

[Don Quixote]

Okay, I know this is a bit of an odd topic for a thread, but run with me on this:

Which movies are we, as Misties, allowed to like? I mean, we love a show that criticizes bad cinema, and yet a majority of the films we like are considered trash by many. Are we only supposed to like the classics like Citiczen Kane? I realize that people all have different tastes, but where do you draw the line between having a high tolerance and laughing at a bad movie to just having crappy taste?

[Afgncaap5]

Like whatever you want, man.

I like Star Trek Nemesis. I don't *care* that it affected the continuity in a bad way. I don't *care* that Data died. I don't *care* that the script wasn't a good one, or that the director didn't seem to get it. I liked it. I can't explain it, or justify it, or rationalize it in any way. I just liked it.

I also liked Star Trek V.

And Commando Cody. I loved Commando Cody. Un-MSTed, watched all three (I think) hours of it.

So just watch whatever you'd like. I reserve the right to criticize you for it though, just as I'm sure a few people will yell at me for saying that I dared to like Nemesis.

[Unsavory]

I think the best thing you can do is recognize why you like a movie and why other people don't. After that, it doesn't matter. If you like... say.... Resident Evil because it has a great story which has inspired your existence in some way... I'm not above questioning your ability to think rationally. I probably SHOULD be above it, and with a few years of maturity ahead of me maybe one day I will be, but for now I will indeed be happy enough to question your sanity if you found something deep hidden within that particular movie.

However, if you recognize the flaws, forgive them, and can somehow get into the action and story despite their issues, that's great. It's a non-issue, and anybody who thinks less of you because of their supposedly superior tastes is really not worth associating with. There's a lot of insults I could heave at people like this, but they're all obvious, and not worth mentioning.

So all we're supposed to do is think and recognize. What you like in cinema isn't a big deal, even if it's crap.

[Joseph Javorsky]

for me I guess I probably have bad taste, I like a lot of pretty bad movies and I am usually a sucker for the summer blockbusters and stuff like that, I guess I will usually give any movie a fair shot to either be good or bad

[Chuck]

MST3K taught us, if anything, how to watch a bad movie.

I sat through Manos. I sat through Titanic. Which is the better film? (Which is worse, gluttony or lust?) Personally, I'd rather watch Manos hands down.

The point is, that we, MST3K fans, watch movies differently than the general public. (If a movie has zero stars, it's one I've GOT to see.) We have learned to watch movies, and accept them for absolutely what they are, and to laugh and enjoy in spite of it being bad. We've been shown that you have to keep a sense of humor going into any film. And everyone has his or her own personal taste. We've learned to watch Ed Wood films as comedies. (And, sorry, Ed: they ARE funny. We DO laugh at them. We DO appreciate them. Just not the same way you meant them.)

I enjoy cheesy movies, because I grew up during the period when they were making all the Sci-Fi/Horror B movies. Hell, B movies period! They don't make 'em any more. And I miss them very much.

My coffee's worn off now.

[mightyjack]

I could really give a chit anymore even IF you find something life affirming in Resident Evil - who am I to give you a hard time about it.

I have things I distinctly loathe and if you want my opinion I'll give it. But as far as what were suppose, or allowed to like, ahh to heck with that. Like what you like.

Oh, and I dug Nemesis too Afgncaap5 - It was fun and I had a good time watching it. If someone thinks that's wrong - Bite me!

[Chuck]

I watched part of House Of the Dead, and it was soooooo terrible that it was funny.

[siamesesin]

One thing I admire most about MSTies is not only what they watch, but how. Finding humor in the stupid and crappy is a gift. And at the same time, we'll stand by what we like. It's an active participation/appreciation of the art. I love it that Affy and MJ can say they like a movie like Nemesis (I didn't have issues with it myself) and while some may give them a ration of teasing, there seems to be an underlying current of "but it's still okay you like that". I hate hype of both the positive and negative variety. I don't always have a problem with blockbusters and I don't always swoon over artsy stuff. I can enjoy what I want for the very simple reason that I just like it.

A little disjointed, but that's how I feel.

[Chuck]

And then there's Battlefield Earth . . .

[Don Quixote]

coincidently, I like Star Trek V as well. Nemesis, while my least favorite Trek movie, is still infinitely preferable to anything starring Jennifer Lopez.

But what about modern 'blockbuster' sorta movies? like 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?' You have no idea how much guff I've gotten for liking that movie. I know it's not a great dramatic experience, but for what it is, it's a decent film. Just don't go into it expecting the depth that you get in the comic, because that never happens in ANY comic movies (including Spiderman and Batman), and you can still enjoy it.

[Mr. Atari]

I tend to agree with Ebert on this one:

The most important thing in a movie isn't what it's about, it's how it's about it.

A movie can be the dumbest, most insulting story ever, but if it's done in an interesting or entertaining way, it can be a good movie.

And a movie can be the best idea ever, but if the execution is poor, it can be a terrible movie.

With criteria like that, I think we can judge artistic quality/merit objectively. But as far as personal taste goes, it's all subjective and like what you want to like.

[Afgncaap5]

For the record, I loved League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I actually thought that, in some ways, the plot was superior to the comics it was based on.

I just wished they'd done a sequel to it so that the League could've tackled the War Of The Worlds martians.

[spacechief]

I love "Independence Day". I love the new "Godzilla". I thoroughly enjoyed "Titan A.E" and "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow", all of which have received poor reviews and mocking. Basically I love sci-fi.

[Detective Mitchell]

I enjoyed Emilio Estevez's WISDOM. To me, it was a pretty good action/crime drama despite it's critical and box-office reputation, some bad dialogue and a ending that feels it was tacked on by the studio. I would rather watch that than some of the pretentious, 'arty' films out there now (hell, I'd rather watch the 1998 Roland Emmerich GODZILLA or BATTLEFIELD EARTH than a lot of those. Unlike a lot of art films, it's actually entertaining, and in BE's case, not in the way they intended). Gus Van Sant is a prime example of why I hate some of these 'art' films.

Among movies that I like that should be filed under "guilty pleasures," we have:
-The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
-The Manchurian Candidate (2005) (My uncle, who saw and loved the original, told me that aside from the modernizing of many elements, the remake followed the original's story closely)
-Men at Work
-Q: The Winged Serpent
-The Stuff (not intended as a horror film, but as a social commentary)
-Doom (so sue me, I liked it. Pretty faithful except for the extra chromosome thing)
-JFK (Historically inaccurate? Yes. Entertaining mystery that manages to hold your attention for 3 1/2 hours? Yes)
-Toys (very, very underrated. Good cast and a nice anti-war theme that took a couple of viewings to figure out)
-Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (I'm a sucker for old-school style action)
-The Rocketeer (see above entry)
-Cobra (Don't expect an Academy Award-winner here. Just expect some nice action and wheels of cheese)
-Street Fighter (I don't see why this bombed)

A taste for action films runs in the family. My late grandmother loved Steven Seagal movies, and my dad loves films with Bruce Lee, Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Schwarzenegger, and much of Stallone's output.

[Torgo]

I like what I want whenever I want.

I'll be the first in here to admit that I enjoyed both Resident Evil films. Not because they changed my life, but because I find their incompetance amusing. I get a kick out of watching this direct to video material being played out with a decent buget and actual effort into making it look good. It may come across as the worst of both worlds to some, but the schlock lover in me found them to be gems in their genre, along with the other films of Paul WS Anderson such as Soldier and Mortal Kombat.

I'm not above watching any type of movie. But there are some that I enjoy more than others.