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?