No Respect: Thread of Underappreciation of the Media Variety

[emperor26]

I know a few films that I felt didn't gain the recognition that I felt it deserves at the time.

Aside from a few animated features such as Cats Don't Dance or The Iron Giant, there was an animated feature that I felt was so amazing, and in spite of being based on an old book, I considered it to be a fabulous film. It was Disney's own take of Treasure Island, but with a sci-fi twist, and a new title: Treasure Planet.

When I first saw the trailer, I couldn't believe how beautiful it looked; the character designs were fitting with the movie, the combination between CGI and traditional was very unique and I like the style this film bought on the silver screen. Unfortunately, it bombed in theaters when it was released, due to competition with Harry Potter and Die Another Day.

Hopefully, should the Simpsons Movie be successful in theaters (which I hope), then the public might be convinced that 2-D animation isn't a thing of the past.

[AerostarMonk]

I think Lucas works best with others. All of the best films with Lucas' name attached were in tandem with others. One of the best scenes in the prequel trilogy was the Obi-Wan and Anakin battle. That scene was storyboarded by the Beard himself, Steven Spielberg. Not saying that Lucas is horrible like so many others say, I actually like the prequels. It's just that he works best with others. But I think he hit it on the head when he said that most fans don't want to admit that the films were always intended for children. He gets a lot of guff, but the world he created is absolutely incredible. You should hear him explain how he came up with the podracers. I applaud anyone who never let adulthood get in the way of imagination.

One of my picks for unsung movies is one that is despised by many, and I actually can see why. That movie is Wild Wild West starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh and Salma Hayek. First of all, it really alienated fans of the original tv series, because in truth other than titles and character names it had absolutely nothing to do with the series. Second, summer burnout, it couldn't hold its own with the blockbusters of that year, The Matrix, and The Phantom Menace. Third, I understand that it's there but I'll never quite understand why, the utter hatred of Will Smith by many moviegoers. Just read anything about a movie that has just cast Smith and you'll see some of the most hateful things uttered about a movie star.

However, I still loved this movie. The production design, the score, the story, all of it. I must admit even I was a bit peeved by the way it strayed from the show, but after reading a few websites that actually went away. If you suscribe to a Wold Newton type universe the entire movie actually takes on a complexity that is quite interesting. Not only are there two James Wests and Artemus Gordons, but both Miguelito and Arliss Loveless are direct descendants of Ada Lovelace herself. Will Smith's Jim West is the son of the famous John Henry, and Kline's Gordon was an actor who was originally just a decoy for the real one who went on to become much more. But even if you don't apply this you still have a fun movie. Branagh's Loveless is just one of the greatest screen villains I've ever witnessed. A cultured and educated Confederate vet who has no qualms about undermining the entire US government simply to get revenge for the surrender at Appomattox, and with his current condition you can tell why he's more than just a bit bitter about the whole ordeal. His steam-powered inventions are glorious mixes of steampunk and malicious whimsy, such as the 80 foot tall Tarantula that rampages through the Utah desert, or the land ironclad the decimates everything in its path.

One of the best turns in the movie was Ted Levine's Bloodbath McGrath, a man who simply wanted the Confederacy back but had no idea what it would cost him. In his last moments you can even see that it wasn't really the Confederacy he wanted back but his name cleared and honor restored.

I cannot say enough about Elmer Berenstein's score. Acclaimed for such Western scores as The Magnificent Seven, Berenstein mixes the modern sensibility of the film and the nostalgic themes of the Wild West itself. Plus, he even sneaks in the original tv theme a couple of times.

In recent years, the director Barry Sonnenfeld has had some very hard times. After the lukewarm reception to both MIB II and Big Trouble, and the almost unredeemable RV, Sonnenfeld has really stumbled lately. He's no longer the Hollywood Golden Boy who lensed Raising Arizona or brought us the incredibly entertaining Addams Family film series. However, I hope he's able to bounce back. With movies like Addams Family, Men In Black, Get Shorty, Big Trouble and Wild Wild West on his resume, I think it would be a shame to lose such a talent.

Yes, this is probably the biggest defense for Wild Wild West you'll find on the entire internet because this movie gets no respect.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Originally Posted by AerostarMonk

Branagh's Loveless is just one of the greatest screen villains I've ever witnessed. A cultured and educated Confederate vet who has no qualms about undermining the entire US government simply to get revenge for the surrender at Appomattox, and with his current condition you can tell why he's more than just a bit bitter about the whole ordeal. His steam-powered inventions are glorious mixes of steampunk and malicious whimsy, such as the 80 foot tall Tarantula that rampages through the Utah desert, or the land ironclad the decimates everything in its path.

I'll admit, I actually didn't really LOVE Wild, Wild west but i by no means hated the movie. I enjoyed it for it's sharp dialogue and excellent acting performances, especially as you noted Monk, Loveless. He truly was a great villain and I thought he was a riot. Both as a menacing bad guy and as a comedic character.

I was totally shocked when I realized that's the same guy who played Gilderoy Lockheart in Potter:Chamber of Secrets. However I can agree that I think there was too much absurdly advanced technology in that movie in comparison to the fact they are in the west. My biggest beef would probably be the pointless "cyborg" bad guys Smith faced on the giant robo spider at the end.

That to me just seemed a bit much. Yes Smith made it funny as usual but it just seemed a bit much for my tastes. I also enjoyed Levine's performance as Blood bath. I also want to jump in on the Star wars prequels. I think it's truly unfair of fans to honestly expect a double hat trick, no one will EVER be able to top the first 3 Star wars movies.

It cannot be done, it really can't, no matter how much money or time Lucas has when making these prequels. And while the movies are indeed flawed (and I'm more then eager to feed Jar, jar a glass of shut-the-hell-up), i really enjoyed them and enjoyed both Ewan and Hayden's performance as a young Anakin and Obei-wan.

I think Anakin's face is pretty much iconisized (not a word I know) in my brain, and i honestly feel that actor brought Anakin to life the way he was meant to. The best thing about the prequels to me comes in 2 forms: 1- Revenge of the Sith, the best prequel film and the ONLY one that I think was magnificent enough to stand somewhat, slightly on par with the older Star wars films.

I stress the word slightly. And 2- the villains. The Prequels gave us some of the most incredibly bad ass and memorable villains I've seen in a long time. Count Dukoo, Jango-Fett, Palpatine (not new but kicking even more ass then the first time we saw him) of COURSE Darth Maul and my personal new favorite: General Grievous. I thought he was an excellent new villain.

His voice, his appearance, and the fact he acted (and even hunched) like an old Snidely Whiplash kind of villain was very cool. Now since were bringing up turd films that have been globally despised and spit on by pretty much everyone, I personally would like to say (and I know I'm probably the ONLY person who will admit this or say this) I actually really liked the 1998 "Godzilla" movie.

[AerostarMonk]

Not at all. I adore the 98 Godzilla film and the cartoon series that is spawned. In fact if you look closely enough most people did, or at least would've if it weren't for the fact that it was called Godzilla. That's the biggest beef, everyone wanted the Japanese Godzilla not a mutated monitor lizard. I did not share this beef at all. If you wanted Japanese Godzilla watch Japanese Godzilla, this one is whole different monster. But apparently according to die-hards and regs alike you can't label a film Godzilla that isn't kaiju in anyway. It's a real shame really. It had just the right mix for a modern monster movie, and could've spawned a whole series of cinematic features. The real Catch-22 that sickens me to no end is the fact that if it had not been called Godzilla it would've been spurned as nothing more than a half-baked rip-off. The American Godzilla is one of the few movies that actually works but because of its giant monster trappings is destined to get no respect either way.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

I personally am a HUGE Godzilla fan, I've seen all 28 Japanese Godzilla films and can see how people can hate this being called Godzilla. However, I always go into movies with open minds and closed comparisons, I went in this movie to watch it as a movie, not to debate on how much it was or was not like Godzilla in Japan.

I felt this movie was done in something obviously very risky: making Godzilla realistic. It's not always easy to sell to Americans that you got a monster that can't be killed at the end of the film, Godzilla has been pretty much become immortal in his film series so they had to make it a bit easier to swallow. I thought the film had a great cast and an EXCELLENT musical score. The chasing sequence with the helicopters was amazing and really well shot.

The only thing I honestly, really disliked about the film was the fact Godzilla didn't breath fire and instead breathed this nitro based gas that ignited when fire struck it. I seriously didn't think having him breath fire would have been too much to ask. The cartoon series kicked just as much ass, I loved the show and it had some REALLY original monsters.

Not to mention mad props for actually bringing back the movie Godzilla to life as a cyborg in creating an excellently recreated "Destroy all Monsters" set up. I didn't mind the fact they called this creature Godzilla, it's just another version of him, doesn't mean that it makes him evil for having the same name.

Spider man in India has a skirt like carpet on his outfit, and in Japan he drives a high tech race car and a super robot. Different packaging, same product (more or less). I also know personally that Japan does NOT totally hate Godzilla 98 because they incorporated 98's Godzilla into the Japanese Godzilla movie series TWICE.

Once by a verbal reference in "GMK: Godzilla, Mothra, Ghidorha all out attack", and actually appearing AND facing Japan's Godzilla in a battle in Godzilla's (to date) last film "Godzilla Final wars".

[AerostarMonk]

I always tell that to the die-hards. I mention that the Japanese wouldn't have even allowed the name to be granted much less included in their series if they didn't respect our Godzilla. But it always falls on deaf ears, go figure.

Rumors abound say if Emmerich had not done The Patriot, Godzilla would've been fighting an Americanized Mothra. That movie I would never have seen. Not because of the fact that it sounds terrible, it doesn't, it's that little phobia of the class Lepidoptera that would've kept me away from that one. Same reason why I don't watch the original Mothra, and I have no idea why Ben Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Mostly due to praise from Kevin Smith and Jay, but I did enjoy Affleck in Phantoms and thought he was better in there then he usually is in most of his bombed out roles. The moth in "Phantoms" though doesn't last for very long on screen.

Mothra however would have had been to necessary considering she's actually Godzilla's greatest enemy. She is actually "the good guy" or girl rather, and she's been more of a threat to big G even more so then King Ghidorah. The other monsters rumored for the sequel were Ghidorah and Rodan as well.

The most commonly heard plot was that Godzilla's body would be hit by a nuclear missile, truck, or vehicle in order to bring Godzilla back to life but also to mutate him into resembling a more accurate form of his older appearance in Japan.

[Medikor]

I love Godzilla! I haven't seen many of the films but the 98 movie was my first. Granted, I'll take King of the monsters over that one but it was still very enjoyable. And its spin-off series was great Saturday morning fun!

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Originally Posted by Medikor

I love Godzilla! I haven't seen many of the films but the 98 movie was my first. Granted, I'll take King of the monsters of that one but it was still very enjoyable. And its spin-off series was great Saturday morning fun!

I highly recommend you checking out some of the older Godzilla movies, some of them are absolutely amazing. I personally recommend the following:

Godzilla vs. Hedorah
Godzilla vs. Biollante
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2
Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla
Godzilla vs. Destroyah
GMK: Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, all out monster attack!
Godzilla: Final Wars

[Medikor]

Thanks for the suggestions, Mr.M! I do pick up any Godzilla flicks I find. I've see King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs the Sea-monster and Godzilla 2000. I really want to see any that star my fave monster, Anguirus.
Back on topic, another movie I feel that gets no respect (outside of the fanbase, anyway) is the 1986 Transformers movie. Yes it was a cheesy hour in a half 80's cartoon movie filled with Corney 80's music with the soul purpose of selling toys to kids, but it showed just how great the characters were (and still are). Who didn't shed a tear when Optimus Prime died? Who didn't think Unicron was freakin' menacing? Who didn't want to slap duct tape on Wheelie's mouth and throw him into the vacuum of space?
I will always love this movie. The animation was slick, the music, while Corney, will always be in my top ten list. And it showed just how dark and violent a kids property could be taken. All of this would affect future animated films that followed for a long time...by showing them what not to do if they didn't want to bomb at the box office.