Kevin's Watch

Have you ever watched a film, liked it, only to watch it a while later and wonder what you ever liked in it the 1st time around?

I just had that experience. The 1st time I watched Mrs Doubtfire I thought it was funny, especially a particular scene where Robin Williams' character is making tea and covering his/her face.

Years later, I just saw it on TV and found it boring and unfunny, especially the particular scene where Robin Williams' character is making tea and covering his/her face....

So, what's yours? The more embarrassing the better

Ooo you are pushign this one... LOL...

Um,,, "Killer Klowns From Outer Space" Recorded it and thought it was hilarious. Fast forward about 15 years later and I play it for a girlfriend of mine at the time, and it was AWFUL! So embarrassing...

Logan's Run. It's now just pure 'kitch' fun!

hmmm. lemme think about some more...

Minority Report is the first one that comes to mind. Liked it in the theater, but when I got the dvd, all those little inconsistencies started popping out at me.

The Lynch version of Dune, back in the eighties before having read any Herbert, I loved that film. Then I read the books , a few years later I watched the (very well done Mini-series on scifi), there is no going back to Lynch.

.. kinda agree with you, except that there is a 3 hour version out there that has since been repressed. I saw it on TV years! ago ... and haven't seen it since. It is fuller and much better (as I recall) to watch.
But the ending is absolutely appaulling.

Honestly, Lynch did a pretty good job with what he was given, the screenplay stands out as one of the most horrendous adaptations in film history. Seriously, I could write a better screenplay by whacking my keyboard with a copy of the book. All the idiotic inner monologue, stupid narration, and cheesy one liners (Sting embarassed the hell out of himself.) no one had a chance. Even the presence of Patrick Stewert couldn't save the movie.

The visuals and the design are completely stunning. The casting was excellent (even with the garbage they had to say, the performances were exceptional). It was a disaster that could have been prevented by hiring one moderately talented writer. (My hunch is that most of it ended up being written in a dark room at the studio. Why do so many big-budget movies from the 80s/early 90s have such terrifying screenplays?!)

Three just off the top of my head:
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy motion picture (actually, I enjoyed it the first two times through, but the third time started to feel sucky).

The Aristocrats.

That's about the only one I can think of.

-jay

Dodgeball. First time I saw it I had a gut ache from laughing; 2nd time I wondered just what the heck was funny.

Usivius wrote:
Um,,, "Killer Klowns From Outer Space" Recorded it and thought it was hilarious. Fast forward about 15 years later and I play it for a girlfriend of mine at the time, and it was AWFUL! So embarrassing...

That's classic cinema right there!

Two come to mind: I liked the Lost World the first time I saw it before I read the book (Crichton), after I read the book, though, I realized just how awful it was.

Also, the first Futurama movie, Bender's Big Score, though not as funny as the show, I was able to enjoy... until I saw it seperated into episodes and syndicated on Comedy Central... it seemed so... bad, like there was just 'joke' after 'joke' with no story flow in between... I threw up a little in my mouth...

I'm the opposite of this, but that's probably because my first reaction is usually to intensely dislike a film... by the time I get to the second viewing, I've loosened up a bit, and enjoy it a lot more.

I'm kind of like that, Rigel...or maybe not. If I intensely dislike a movie the first time around, I'll likely dislike it for life.

Terminator 3 is the only one I can think of for this topic. I thought that movie was decent at the time, and the Terminatrix was a pretty cool villain. Still, I didn't enjoy the movie enough to justify buying it. When I caught it on TV a few years later, I turned it off about 30 minutes in. The scenes had no life to them, and the principal actors were thoroughly unappealing.

You're right Rigel. I find that some films I'm supposed to like (ie. classics, award-winnning, critically acclaimed etc) are mediocre on the 1st viewing, and then I finally get them on the 2nd or 3rd viewings.

I watched the Godfather at a young age and found it lifeless and boring as batsh!t, but on many subsequent viewings, it has become one of my top X films.

But, this is about the rare, or otherwise, occasions where the opposite has happened, ie. liked it 1st time round, then didn't like it the next.

Comedies can be like that: Analyse this/that spring to mind... Anything with Jim Carrey could be mildly amusing first time around...

Surprisingly, I didn't enjoy Inglourious Basterds nearly as much the second time around. I still thought it was a good movie overall, but it seemed like there were really good scenes interspersed between mediocre scenes, throughout the whole movie.

Austin Powers 2
Backdraft
Predator
Rules of Engagement
Donnie Darko
Legend

...as far as I can think of right now.

Donnie Darko.

I find that it's a rare comedy that stands up to a second viewing.

Um...Highlander II. I watched it the first time and thought "you have GOT to be kidding, this SUUUUUUX". Then I watched it again a few years later and was DISAPPOINTED that it really wasn't any better the second time around.

Okay I can give a serious example.

Enemy Mine. At the theater I remember being impressed and entertained. When I finally watched it on dvd I was underwhelmed.

I couldn't stand and couldn't watch Pulp Fiction the first time I saw it (sober). The next time I watched it, at a party in various altered states, I loved it!

Donnie Darko I liked the first time. The second time, after having read the director's explanations and watching the director's cut, it just spoiled it.

Kung Fu Hustle, I thought it was great the first time I watched it, but the second time it was a bit meh (there are still some very good parts, but overall it's not as impressive as I thought).