Movies I don't ever want to see again - really

Since it seems it may take me a while to get back on track, I thought I would go review some movies that I have seen in the past that I really do not ever need to see again. I realize many may disagree, and that's okay, I won't prevent you from watching them. These are in no particular order:

The Exorcist, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Mixing, 1973, National Film Registry

Unlike some of the other movies in this list, I didn't hate this movie, I just don't like movies of this genre (I'm not all that thrilled about Rosemary's Baby and The Omen being on my watch list). I'm not really religious, but I don't like to play around with evil (that probably sounds really wacky). I remember watching this movie with a group of friends from junior high and being scared, but not too creeped out, and I think that was the benefit of watching this with a group in the daylight and being a dumb teenager. Aside from the eerie voice used by Mercedes McCambridge as the Devil and Linda Blair's makeup, I always think of the music "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield. William Friedkin directed and Ellen Burstyn is Regan's (Linda Blair) mother. Essentially Regan becomes possessed and undergoes an exorcism. Terrible things happen.

The Tin Drum, Best Foreign Film, 1979

As I look at the list of these films that I never want to see again, it occurs to me that in fact, I may have seen some of them more than once, and that is the case for The Tin Drum. It wasn't on purpose, trust me. Wikipedia calls it a surrealistic black comedy. I cannot explain it, reading the synopsis in Wikipedia it doesn't ring a bell with me at all. I must have successfully blocked it all out. It was over two and a half hours running time. The Tin Drum is a German film and the main character has a...tin drum which he bangs on a regular basis. There was a creepy scene where Oskar is banging his drum and screaming and that's all. I just know that if it ever comes up again, I will not be watching it.

The Silence of the Lambs, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, 1991 #74 on AFI, National Film Registry

I watched The Silence of the Lambs for the first time in the theater and was riveted for the whole time. It was a great piece of film making and storytelling. Jodie Foster won an Oscar for her role as Clarice Starling, a troubled FBI agent who takes on Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins in an Oscar-winning role) and Buffalo Bill in a bizarre and frightening tale. If you haven't seen it yet, I don't want to give anything away. And even though it's on a list of movies I don't want to see again, you should see it at least once; I have seen it twice, and it's just so suspenseful and tense, I'm not sure my old heart can take it. Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins created characters (under the direction of Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme) that are now part of American lexicon, especially Hopkins/Lecter. Hopkins beat out Robert DeNiro in Cape Fear, Robin Williams in The Fisher King, Warren Beatty in Bugsy and Nick Nolte in The Prince of Tides (Williams was incredible in The Fisher King, but I think Hopkins locked it up the minute they roll him out in his mask). Foster beat out out both Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon from Thelma and Louise as well as Laura Dern in Rambling Rose and Bette Midler in For the Boys; it's possible that Davis and Sarandon cancelled each other out and I am not familiar with the other two movies.

Forrest Gump, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, 1994, #76 AFI, National Film Registry

I might upset some people, but I hated this movie. Who cares? I didn't. The movie just seemed to go on and on, and I'm fairly certain I fell asleep at some point during the 142 minutes.I don't think 1994 was a stellar movie for strong male leads if you look at the list of nominees (no offense to anyone), so maybe it wasn't a surprise that Hanks won the Best Actor, but Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite movies and Morgan Freeman was nominated in his role as Red; John Travolta was nominated for Pulp Fiction (I have not completely watched that movie, so I'll withhold judgement).

The Usual Suspects, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, 1995

I was so thrilled when I read that Roger Ebert hated this movie too! I felt some redemption for all the people who thought it was so wonderful and clever. It was too clever for its own good and it annoyed the crap out of me. This is another movie I watched twice (you have to give me credit, I try), and liked it less than the first time. I hate pretension and this movie is full of it. It's smug as well. I feel like a thesaurus trying to come up with words to describe my feelings. Give it a miss.

Titanic Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Song, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, 1997, #83 AFI

I may be at my most petulant in this review, which some of my friends find amusing, you may or may not. Just like with Titanic, I don't care. I was literally dragged to see this when it first came out in the theaters and didn't enjoy it. I was later cajoled into going to see Celine Dion who performed "My Heart Will Go On", and then was in a relationship where the other person LOVED this movie. Is it any wonder it's on my list? It would be on the list anyway as I am hard-pressed to find a James Cameron movie that I like. The man is certainly in love with himself, that's for sure. The movie, like most Cameron movies,was an endurance test, lasting over three hours. You'd think he was David Lean or something. Anyway, in case you have no idea what this movie is about, it tells the story of  The Titanic which was making its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York. It was filled with aristocrats and other socialite types as well as immigrants housed in steerage. The story focuses on fictional characters Rose (socialite played by Kate Winslet) and Jack (immigrant played by Leonardo DiCaprio); it's an ill-fated love affair, much like the ill-fated cruise they are on. I'll save you the suspense, the boat sinks. I have more than put in my time with this movie, probably seeing it at least 5 times. It sank every time.

Talk To Her, Best Foreign Film, 2002

I don't always like movies by Pedro Almodovar, my favorite of his is Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, but I find them intriguing. I cannot even tell you what I thought of Talk to Her, except to say that is contained one of the most bizarre scenes I have ever witnessed in a movie. It was so bizarre we actually watched it several times because we could not believe it. The blurb in Wikipedia says it's a movie about the difficulty communicating between sexes, loneliness and intimacy, I can neither confirm or deny that, I was so traumatized by the one scene, I don't remember anything else. And WHAT IS THAT SCENE, you wonder? Well, a man and a woman are driving in a car, then in a moment of surrealism, the man shrinks down to miniature size. He then proceeds to climb into the woman's nether regions, walking in and out. This is where we lost it. The set looked like something Salvador Dali would have created, and it just seemed so ridiculous. It's possible there was very intellectual reason for this scene, but I can't tell you. I just know I don't need to see this movie again.

On a happy note, and to mention a movie that I would watch again and that is apropos of this holiday weekend, I would totally recommend seeing Easter Parade with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland.