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Monday Movie Meme – Roll Credits, Already!
Monday, September 9, 2013 at 10:30AM 
Last week, I rented “Adaptation” starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep, from Blockbuster but did not watch this movie in its entirety. The film didn't keep my attention enough to warrant spending any more time than necessary on its story or characters – which got me wondering how many times any of us have watched a movie that caused us to re-direct our energy towards other, more enjoyable, activities. Thus, need I say more about this week’s Monday Movie Meme? I think not: Roll Credits, Already!
Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies that you purposely stopped watching mid-way through. Maybe the flick offended you. Maybe there was too much (or too little) going on in the story. Maybe the genre of the film is just not your cup of tea, no matter how hard you try to give it a shot. Or maybe the movie just sucks, for whatever reason. Actually, you didn’t even have to make it that far – films that lost your vote after only a few scenes in are also included, making my list for this week’s “Roll Credits, Already!” theme longer than usual.
I do plan on trying to watch a few of these movies again, just to give them another looksee in case they really are worth at least one full viewing. I mean, why give up on a film so easily when it has the potential to become one of your favorites?! Just sayin…
Salt – I had high hopes for this action film about a CIA agent accused of being a Russian Spy. After all, it stars Angelina Jolie and I like a lot of her films. Unfortunately, I turned it on, watched a few scenes – it started to feel like a long ass dry story about people doing nothing and talking about nothing, so I turned it off. No deal!
Nights and Weekends – I really wanted to like this movie, especially because I enjoyed viewing a handful of other films starring and/or made by Greta Gerwig and Joe Swanberg. This particular one, about a couple and the decline of their long-distance relationship, just didn’t do it for me, so I clicked the “STOP” button to save enough remaining minutes on my (then) limited Netflix streaming plan, for me to watch something else.
1408 – I like some of John Cusak’s work. I like some of Samuel L. Jackson’s work. So you’d think I have a winner here, right? Yeah, I did too. I watched the beginning of this mystery horror flick about an author (or journalist or whatever) who stays in a hotel room said to be haunted, so he can investigate the validity of its infamous reputation.
The movie seemed promising but it didn’t take long for me to tune out of the story. I did watch the end of the film, just to see if things got more interesting. They did per se but not the way I had hoped – instead, things got kinda weird. To this day, I’m not sure if that’s a plus or a minus for the flick.
The Real Cancun – Yes, I get it -- I should’ve known better; still, I think this was the first movie (or one of the firsts) that I ever rented from Netflix. Big mistake! It doesn’t have a story – like, not even in its Spring break infused reality world. There’s no real drama, comedy or action anywhere in this movie, worth latching onto. My family’s home videos from Thanksgiving holidays past feature more interesting characters than those starring in “The Real Cancun.”
Psycho – Yeah I know, I know….some of you are probably like “What???!!! – she doesn’t have a clue” but bear with me for a minute. I did turn it on and I did watch this legendary horror flick – just not for long. So, I turned it off not long after the beginning of the movie. It’s a simple as that.
Amistad – Looking back on when I first checked out this historical drama about a free man involved in a mutiny on a slave ship in the 1830s, my mood was probably leaning towards lighter fare. Anyway, I remember feeling like it takes too long for the story to evolve. Anytime I’m thinking “when are we going to get to the good parts?” that is not a good sign. So, I stopped watching it. Perhaps, the length of the entire film – being damn near three hours, didn’t help the situation.
(500) Days of Summer – I love me some Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which is one of the reasons why I might give this romantic comedy about a brokenhearted guy who reflects on the highs and lows of his previous relationship, another viewing. Despite being a quite popular independent film, I found it to be so annoying the first time I tried to watch it that I turned it off without hesitation.
The Box – This movie is so beyond retarded that even the few scenes I did manage to watch were still a waste of my time.
Breathless – Maybe being an old, black and white flick did not help this movie’s case, but, that’s not why I lacked the patience to watch Jean Luc Goddard’s classic piece about a newspaper saleslady who unknowingly gets involved in a crime spree after meeting a thief. Although I turned this movie off during my first attempt at watching it, I’m giving it a second try, given that it is praised among the standout titles in the history of cinema, and all.
Sherlock Holmes – I didn’t spend more than 10-15 minutes watching this action crime movie. Being set in the 1800s didn’t help, but, the delivery of the story was just not done in a way that kept my attention – even with Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role. I like him; it’s not him that’s the problem, it’s the overall movie that I was not digging. So, something MUST be wrong when I won’t even give a Robert Downey flick some play!
What movies have YOU pressed the “STOP” button on, walked out on, made you change the channel or caused you to ignore it altogether and do other activities while it continued to play in the background?
Would YOU consider giving any of the movies you stopped watching some play a second time around?
Reader Comments (5)
Wow, I've turned off so many movies I wouldn't know where to start. Maybe with the only movie where I've walked out the theater. I don't often PAY THAT KIND OF MONEY for a movie, I'm a hulu, netflix, amazon prime, redbox girl. But "Two of a Kind" was so bad that all four of us walked out. It was my first date with The Engineer, and it was a double date, and not one of us could stand this movie. I was really disappointed. I loved Olivia Newton John and John Travolta together in Grease so I thought this would be fun. NOT.
We're constantly on the lookout for B rate sci-fi. When we find D-rate, we turn it off. There are too many in this category to list.
Mostly though what happens to me is that if a movie is bad, I fall asleep. If there's nothing to engage me, then I'm out like a light. The Engineer is pretty stubborn and will watch almost anything all the way to the end, so he watches "alone" a lot of the time. Sometimes, though, I'm just so wiped out from the day that I fall asleep and then have to finish the movie the next day. This happened with Hunger Games, which is a very well done movie, but I was just not able to keep my eyes open.
I agree with some of the movies on your list, some I've never seen and have now been duly warned. Thanks!
Tina @ Life is Good
Funny about comparative tastes. Adaptation is among the few films that I immediately rewatched after seeing it. I loved it. There are several in your list that I liked a great deal and about half of your list I haven't seen. I saw Amistad in the theater so I stayed for that. The film I'd compare to that one is Spielberg's Lincoln which I found to be far less interesting than Amistad.
I've seen a number of films that I've intensely disliked and would probably have done well to have turned off, but I'm stubborn once I've started watching something and I'll usually give it a chance to the end to redeem itself. Other than maybe turning films off that are on regular TV, I can't think of any films I've just stopped watching.
Well, I did fall asleep in the theater for George Clooney's version of Solaris and so did my wife. Maybe that's kind of the same. I've thought about rewatching it, but I'd hate to waste time that could be spent on other films.
Lee
Tossing It Out
There have been a number of movies that I've tuned out and turned off. One such movie was Youth in Revolt. I've enjoyed other Micheal Cera movies, like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World but YiR just left me wondering why I even wasted my time. I watched it all the way through, but only because it was group outing to the theater and I was riding with someone else lol!
Tina,
Talk about memorable first dates! On the one hand, it's a shame that "Two of a Kind" wasn't able to convince four paying theater goers to stay through the while picture and get their moneys' worth. Good things still came out of that experience though, because it brought you and The Engineer together. Now, if the other two people who were with you are a couple today as well, then THAT would be cute. I share your disappointment with movies that star actors/actresses you love, giving you certain expectations for what you think you're going to get and then falling short of your anticipated viewing experience. I liked John Travolta in Face Off and Domestic Disturbance but I can't recall seeing him in any other movies that I've watched.
I cannot believe that you watched "Hunger Games" in portions, given that it's one of the biggies (compared to talkative, dramatic and/or historical pieces and all) that was released in IMAX, etc. but I probably did the same thing for one of the "Harry Potter" movies -- either the Goblet of Fire or the Prisoner of Asktaban (or whatever it's called). I was just not digging one of them and got distracted but didn't really miss picking the rest of the scenes back up at a later time. I suppose, your "Hunger Games" experience goes to show how busy life and all of its responsibilities can surely get in the way of watching a movie in its entirety, even when we have the best intentions to do so. Had that been the same case with "Two of a Kind," where you rented it or saw it on TV instead of going to a theater to see it, I doubt you would have put in the extra effort to finish the movie on the following day, after falling asleep on it. Unlike "Hunger Games," I guess you wouldn't have been missing much.
Don't take my word for how good or not-so-good the movies on my list for this week's meme are. You might like them; the comments I made are just based on my experience and yours may be different. It doesn't hurt to give them a try. After all...I finally did watch "Finding Nemo" this summer and while I do think it's a cute movie, I wouldn't place it among my top ten favorite animated films and I probably wouldn't want to watch it again. So, you and I have different thresholds for what we deem entertaining and such. I am curious, however, to know which of the movies on my list you agree with for this 'ROLL CREDITS, ALREADY' them :)
Arlee,
I think finding what fits with our likes and dislikes are one of the best things about movies -- there is always something for just about every taste. Take your comparison of "Amistad" to "Lincoln" for example -- I still have yet to see the latter and am very much looking forward to watching it based on how well it was received by friends and associates of mine who saw it and on my continuous enjoyment of Speilberg's work. It's great that you stick it out with the movies you watch, to give them an opportunity to get better, scene after scene. You and Tina's husband have that in common, I guess.
"Solaris" must not have been that interesting if both you and your wife fell asleep on it...in a theater and I like your point about it being a waste of time to rewatching movies that didn't keep your attention the first time around, because that same time could be used to watch another film. Now that you mention George Clooney, I recently watched "The Descendants" and was less than enthusiastic about it during a portion of the first half but I wanted to give it a chance so much because it was a different type of movie than I'm used to seeing him in, that I kept watching it until the end; good thing too, because I ended up liking it. I probably wouldn't want to watch it again, lol, but I do think that first viewing was time well spent.
Angela,
I feel for you being stuck in a theater, watching a movie that isn't doing it for you in terms of entertainment and/or an engaging plot. I'm not sure if I've heard of "Youth in Revolt" before but I think that your experience watching it shows that there are times when hybrid cinema/lounge/bar type theaters can come in handy. It's easier to semi-separate from a group without actually leaving, by remaining in the same building/vicinity but doing your thing while those who enjoy YiR do theirs and then y'all can all meetup afterwards and you can still have your ride, popcorn and eat it too :)
Psycho is a perfect example of how the pacing of films has changed dramatically over the years. How many movies would show someone walking to their car, getting in and driving for an extended period of time in silence? How many movies would show someone getting in a car anyway? When I watched this recently I thought the same thing, but it's when the main character gets killed that the movie picks up. I don't blame you for skipping it.
The Box is the one of the most worthless movies ever made since it's based on a brilliant episode that gets dragged out for an hour.
I guess these movies are a good example of bad pacing.
My problem is once I get involved in a story, even a bad story my curiosity makes me watch it to the end. I guess the movie I'd list is the Mockbuster "Terminators" which I have, but never finished watching. It still bothers me when I pass it on the shelf though. Good list Nicole and I always appreciate your insights into film and film-making.