Endlessly quoted round Mate manor and in public; 'Stop that train!'

Underrated:

Trust by Hal Hartley - Brilliantly realised Indie Romance.

Housekeeping by Bill Forsyth - Masterpiece in understatement by misunderstood genius.

Fear of a Black Hat by Rusty Cundieff - Lives up to the billing "This is Spinal Rap".

Overrated:

Jesus of Montreal - This has bugged me for years. Dares to compare the "torture of an artist", to the crucifixion. Precious beyond belief.

Sideways - Pathetic fantasy clearly written by an unfulfilled forty-something twat. Appalling soap opera acting by that Madsen woman who apparently got an Oscar nomination for her role.

Another Year by Mike Leigh - Perhaps the worst of his uneven output. What a pointless waste of effort on behalf of all involved. I tried to be open-minded but I was left absolutely unmoved and unable to see any more merit in it than the omnibus edition of Eastenders.

I tried to watch Alien. Fell asleep. Tried again, as I am supposed to be a sci-fi fan and this is supposed to be a masterpiece. Fell asleep again.

Aliens was supposed to be much better. Fell asleep from that one to.

Never bothered with number 3.

Incidentally, I don't usually fall asleep when I watch movies, but one other it has happened with was The Matrix.

...but, oh, what the hell. Wet suit: on. Breathing gear: on. Diving into the chamber marked "Overrated".

BLADE RUNNER: Yep, a good film but not as fantastic as just about everybody seems to think. Watchable. Some classic scenes. Not earth-shattering as an overall work, though.

RESERVOIR DOGS: Soon wears thin. Several yawn-inducing segments in which the director overplays his alleged knack for dialogue. Doesn't stand up to a second viewing.

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE: I waited two and a half decades to see that movie. What a letdown. I can't put my finger on it. Just over-intellectualised garbage, I guess.

ALSO: The Shawshank Redemption (good, but surely not all-time no.1, IMDBers?); The Matrix; The Usual Suspects; American Beauty; Sideways; Fight Club; Inception.

My mates Justin and Roy were extras in that. The riot scene. You need to be a dab-hand with the freeze-frame to spot them.

sb mentioned Alien, as I just watched I and II....

I'll post elsewhere.

Overrated? Try:

* Clockwork Orange (with adfox on that, waited ages, was a kid when the furore kicked off only to find it was Benny Hilll SF)

* Citizen Cane

Too clever by 'alf.

* Anything by Wim Wenders

* Anything by Woody Allen

* Er, anything by Tim Burton – to boot!

Underrated:

Well, this usually involves pet loves, which may or may not be underrated, just unknown.

* The Long Goodbye

Altman's version. Elliot Gould is uber fab, as is Sterlin Hayden, John Williams score a Chinese puzzle of arrangment pizaz, and an opening sequence worthy of any Bond movie.

* Nosferatu

Herzog's take. Hm, I seem to be nominating remakes....

Once again, there's a shabby honesty to this movie that is bettered for horror only by the original. All others pale (pun intended) by comparison.

* Solaris

Soderberg's remake of Tarkovsky manages to retain the emotional core of the original (all the best SF has emotions beating in its silicon-iplanted heart). And, actually, is a lot more watchable than the original, even though the end lacks the socking existential impact of Tarkovsky's.

* Existenz

This one seems to have fallen between the cracks. Cronenberg's pre-emptive strike on what gaming and virtual reality is (done in the 90s). The only film worth watching with Jude Law in it.*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existenz

* Rush, Exit Stage Left

Surely a rock document that nails the band at their best.

_________

* Ok, maybe the Sherlock Holmes redux things too.

Underrated

The Mission
One of Ennio Morricone's near flawless scores combining tribal and classical elements underpins a very understated film about the threats of colonialisation and how it affects the people there, people who in the realms of world politics, don't have a voice for themselves, all underpinned with religious tension, murder, forgiveness, slaughter and unfailing faith in face of adversity.

Wristcutters: A Love Story
Another understated subtle, yet humourous film, this time about a sort of purgatory for people who have killed themselves. As you'd expect for such a place, everything is like the real world but just slightly worse. A heartwarming love story ensues with the two main characters being given a second chance at life, waking up in the hospital together. With Tom Waits.

Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
Yes, I'm aware it is neither the BBC radio series or the television one, but without the fuzzy haze of nostalgia to help me (both before I was born), they both seem incredibly dated. The film on the other hand has the League of Gentleman, Martin Freeman in befuddled everyman role, Zooey Deschanael looking hot, Mos Def worrying about towels, Helen Mirren as a computer, songs by Neil Hannon and Stephen Fry as the voice of a book. What's not to like?

16 Blocks
Yes another Mos Def one, this time with Bruce Willis in one of Bruce Willis' career highs, a film where he acts, not just hits people in a vest, as a burnt out alcoholic cop who ends up taking on the joie de vivre of the small time criminal turned witness in a murder trial as they avoid being shot at in busy New York. With cakes.

Overrated

Down By Law
Fell asleep 3 times during the film. Couldn't be bothered to try and finish it. Maybe another time. Jim Jarmusch's films in general have a somnabulant film about them. No pace whatsoever.

Barney's Version
2 hours of my life expecting some sort of humour, black at least, wasted on a film about someone quite unlikable who does very little and ends up developing dementia. Thoroughly depressing, and not in a good way. And I like depressing films!

Avatar
I mean, seriously, blue elf people fighting the Americans to save their mystical floating world? How was this one of the highest grossing films of all time?

Tideland
Terry Gilliam's ode to childhood, as depicted through two drug overdoses, mental illness, borderline child abuse, decay, abandonment and ends literally with a train wreck. Cheery Christmas viewing? Erm, no. Even viewed from the child's perspective this story is just horrific.

How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Most predictable romantic comedy ever? Yes. I gauged when they would make up, break up and make up again to the minute before it had even started. I don't exaggerate. I literally guessed what would happen from minute to minute. I'd like an hour and a half of my life back please? Thanks.

Harry Potter 1-8
Meh.

Of course we all know the Clint Eastwood Sergio Leone stuff and "Once upon a Time in The West" but this is also a great film that maybe got a bad rap for awhile but has been rediscovered the last few years.

Has to be Woody Allen's films of this century. All good. And he writes and films such quality every year! At his age! I know there are are plenty amongst The Massive who don't agree. Luckily, I also know that I'm right and they're all wrong. Which is nice.
Overrated I'd say Some Like It Hot. Dated humour which wasn't that funny in the first place.

Probably ranks as under rated. But not round these parts.

More great lines than you can shake a raspberry ripple at. I could watch it again and again.

but not widely enough appreciated;

Distant Voices, Still Lives
The Long Day Closes

sheer cinematic genius.