Against the Crowd Blogathon 2015

Let's talk about movies for kids....? That's where I ended up when I finally landed on the films I would discuss in my entry in Dell on Movies' Against the Crowd Blogathon. 

The Rules

The rules for participation are simple:

1. Pick one movie that "everyone" loves (the more iconic, the better). That movie must have a score of at least 75% on rottentomatoes.com. Tell us why you hate it.

2. Pick one movie that "everyone" hates (the more notorious, the better). That movie must have a score of less than 35% on rottentomatoes.com. Tell us why you love it.

3. Include the tomato meter scores of both movies.

4. Use one of the banners in this post, or feel free to create your own.

That's pretty much it.

I have to be honest: I struggled coming up with a good, "notorious" for being hated film. There were so many that came to mind (I mean, I seriously wanted to go all out in support of Michael Bay's 1998 masterpiece Armageddon. Alas, it is outside the range at 39%, and I really want to follow Dell's rules.), but what I ended up with is a nice contrast. I have two films made for younger audiences, one that worked for no critics, but did for me as a kid and still does; one that I saw just this year that is undoubtedly one of the most-loved films of all-time. I hated it.

So, are you ready? Because...

A Movie "Everyone" Loves

Spirited Away

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 2001

I hate it.

I'll start by saying that maybe this movie might have worked if I'd seen it as a kid, but that wouldn't have been possible. I was 18 when it came out. I only watched for the first time at 30. I'm sure you, reader, will be willing to tell me what I'm missing.

Honestly, I can't remember the last time (Heck! It may never have happened before.) I saw a movie so widely revered that was just so awful to sit through. Watching Miyazaki's Spirited Away, my first and only experience with his work, I felt like an ADHD kid I see in my class, shifting and fidgeting and just waiting for it to be over. I had to actually will myself to NOT pick up my remote control and turn it off. It was just...boring. And weird. And made no sense whatsoever, even in an Alice in Wonderland sort of way. A comparison that is just silly (and I've read it so many times).

Alice in Wonderland is a story of wit and humor and playful language and how intelligent conversation and adventure lead to true growth. Spirited Away is a story of, well, I have no idea. I literally have no idea. I suppose its about a little girl named Chihiro who is upset with her parents for moving her away from home, so she somehow steps into world of oddities, including ghosts and huge babies and more ghosts and some 'friend" guy who shows up every once in awhile and then is a flying dog dragon thing and an old woman with a huge head and a dude with a bunch of spiders and a bunch of sludge and slime and other such liquids.

This could all be cool and entertaining. But the dialogue is totally unmemorable, coming off as a cheap Saturday Morning Cartoon devoid of any understandable lesson, and the magical world Miyazaki has created ends up just being something pretty to look at every once in awhile.

I can't argue with shots like this. They are gorgeous. And the work it took to make this film, illustrated by hand, is impressive.

But there's also this, the thing that just turned me off and made me want to turn this movie off. I think I seriously never recovered. Our heroine's little imagination goes here: 

Mommy and Daddy eat too much and turn into disgusting pigs. Gross! 

If you want to read more of me hating on this movie, check out the conversation I had with the Four Ways a Best Picture 2002 panel. 

A Movie "Everyone" Hates 

(well, critics anyway...)

Hook

Dir. Steven Spielberg, 1991

I love it.

I was 7 years old when it came out. My Mom took me to see it on a school night. She did that a lot. The funny thing is...I still love this movie the same every time I see it.

A box office flop and a critical disaster, Steven Spielberg's reimagining of Peter Pan starred the late Robin Williams as Peter Banning, an orphan turned full-time lawyer, part-time family man, who stumbles into an imaginary world of his own as well, but it's a world we know and it is fun and cool and filled with boys on skateboards, living in tree houses. It's Neverland. Land of fairies and mermaids and Lost Boys and Captain Hook. Hook has Peter Banning's two children. Peter Banning must realize that once upon a time...he was Peter Pan. This he must if he wants to defeat The Hook once and for all and rescue his kids.

I get some of the arguments agains the film. The sets look like sets. The script is a bit loose and repetitive, I suppose. It doesn't have the full-on Spielberg zest in its action sequences.

But it's still a lot of fun. The score is impeccable as is expected from the great John Williams. Dustin Hoffman is an oddball choice for Captain Hook that totally plays. And then there's Rufio. And there's the opening scenes in Old Lady Wendy's Victorian home in London. And shots like this:

Just classic, cool Spielberg with a camera and an adventure story to tell. It is a totally satisfying ride. I have seen this movie at least a dozen times. It never fails to entertain me.

I think I may do a Pepsi challenge with these two films when I have kids one day. Which one would come out on top with a 10-year-old? The pretentious "hot mess" (quoting myself) or the sincere (if a bit on-the-nose), colorful, action-filled Peter Pan story?

We'll see....