Groucho

I disagree with the first theory. Everybody has felt like an outsider at one time or another, especially at the high school level. IMHO, one of the flaws of the movie is that it assumes that the kids are unique in feeling that way, when in fact they wouldn't be at all.

Corvin

Do you think the film really assumes that? I'm not quite sure I do. I haven't seen the film in a while, but isn't Seymour (Steve Buscemi) as much of an outsider as the two girls?

Supermallet

You must be hanging around with more patient people than I hang out with. Most people I talk to say, "I liked the monkeys at the beginning but then it got really boring!" Most of them don't even make it to the Star Gate.

And you can mention Stalker, but I'd say just about any Tarkovsky film would fall in the category.

antennaball

My wife hated Vanilla Sky because she didn't get it. I got it and still thought "eh".

Rival11

Exactly - my point was that it wasn't serious either and whoever took it that way "didn't get it"

(I myself though thought it was kind of funny)

shill66

I don't think you guys are "getting" the gist of this thread, at least not as I "get it". This doesn't seem to be a question of understanding a movie or its meaning, but more a question of viewing the movie with the proper frame of mind, the frame of mind the filmmakers intended their movie to be viewed from.

It's not movies that are hard to make sense of (as in Mulholland Dr or Tarkovsky's films), it's movies that are hard to appreciate if you're not looking at them the right way (as in the mentions of Mars Attacks and others).

A good current example would be The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, although that one's pretty obvious... and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow might fit too. Movies that you have to see with different eyes than the ones with which you normally watch a movie.

Did that make sense?

Supermallet

Well, then that would be every movie. Every film sets up its own rules, its own way of doing things, and you have to buy into that to enjoy it.

I mean, it's not that hard to get that Mars Attacks! is a comedy or that The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is lampooning and paying homage to cheesy 50's sci-fi/horror flicks.

Drexl

Okay then: porn.

Rival11

Shill - we actually get it just fine - check out our earlier posts in this thread and you'll see - the above talk was about Mars Attacks in general - we went a little off topic but that's ok - we're only human.

Groucho

I think every movie requires it's own state of mind. One doesn't sit and watch Schlindler's List in the same state of mind that they'd use to watch American Pie (at least I'd hope not), yet nobody would consider those movies hard to "get."

shill66

Of course not. It's the movies like Starship Troopers - people who watch it as a serious sci-fi action film get a completely different experience from those who watch it as a comedy/satire. But it has no obvious flags to tell the viewer that it's a satire, so many people won't see it that way. They don't "get it".

Yes, every movie requires its own state of mind... but those states of mind are usually obvious.

Groucho

That's the job of the marketing people, isn't it? It's hardly the fault of the audience if they are led to believe they are seeing one kind of movie, and end up with another. Starship Troopers is an excellent example of that, but then again satire is a hard nut for most audiences any way you crack it.

Dr. DVD

shil: you just said what I meant to say in the firts post. Thanks for helping me communicate my point better.

I really do feel that there a lot of movies people dislike the first time that need a second viewing with the person already knowing what to expect and judging the movie on those grounds. I recently re-watched Hulk with a different frame of mind and found myself liking almost everything about the movie moreso than the first time. The last fifteen minutes still stink up the screen though.

antennaball

I must seriously be in the "not getting it" camp, because even after a re-watch, I can't stomach that movie.

Groucho

Only way I'm rewatching The Hulk is if you strap me in the "Clockwork Orange" movie-watching chair.

Daytrip

i know that a lot of movies are only good because of the atmosphere in the theatre. movies i'm sketchy about i go to on opening day when everyone is pumped up for it

Hulk
Star Wars Prequels
Matrix(all 3 of them)

are among the movies that where great fun at the theater but don't get a lot of play on DVD

PopcornTreeCt

Some movies that I absolutely love that other people don't care for are: Lost In Translation, Master & Commander, Punch Drunk Love, 21 Grams, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

And I don't think "getting it" is the correct term. Movies you think are great because you "got it" doesn't mean that another person who didn't like it didn't "get it" It just means that the movie effects you on a certain level while others it misses. Example: I "got" the Matrix sequels but it didn't affect me on the same level as Memento.

And one last thing audiences shouldn't have to "get it" I'm not saying all movies should be dumb but they should be simple take your breath away, edge of your seat, I can't wait to see what happens next kind of way.