Unfinished Books: Your Movie Sucks

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Roger Ebert is a good writer. I'm not going to argue he's a great writer, but he's certainly quite good. And his stuff is fun to read. But honestly, I'm going to continue reading but not finishing his Great Movie series instead of the negative collections. They're fun, but they're a terrible menu. It's better to be excited about something new to see.

These reviews are of movies that came out fifteen to twenty years ago. If I hadn't been working in the home-movie industry during that period, I would remember even fewer of them. They are rightfully forgotten movies. Why dredge them back up? And since I'm a pretty educated movie goer, I've avoided most of these movies, so I can't even share in the glee of evisceration. Even those I did see, I can barely remember. Here's what I've seen:

The Dukes of Hazzard (maybe I saw it? pretty sure?)

Godzilla (all his criticisms are fair and correct but I disagree with his conclusions)

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (don't really remember it, but it was terrible---a greater disappointment given how much I loved the books)

The Master of Disguise (I'm ashamed I got suckered into seeing this by relatives)

Men in Black II (see Rush Hour 2)

Mr. Deeds (even Adam Sandler apologists don't like this one)

The Princess Diaries (I'm glad I'm not alone)

Rush Hour 2 (see Men and Black II)

Scooby-Doo (he wonders if Scooby-Doo cultists will like it; this cultist did not)

13 Ghosts (well, I watched it on fast-forward....)

The Time Machine (pretty sure I watched this and was disappointed)

The Tuxedo (pretty sure I did NOT watch this, but I might be wrong---how would I know?)

The Village (I liked this and will defend my like of it, but admit to all its faults and am in no rush to watch it again...but would like to again, someday, to see what I think)

That said, the opening part of the book---before the reviews that come alphabetically---was very much worth reading. More in-depth looks at Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Chaos, and The Brown Bunny, including interactions with the filmmakers and such---those are worth reading. They include more about the value of criticism and the various results criticism can have.

The rest of the book is just slowing down on the freeway to look at carnage.