Don't Believe the Hype

Nothing is more disappointing than waiting for six months to see a movie that everybody says is amazing and then it just turns out to be just okay. Or good, but not great.

Since I have seen exactly one movie in a movie theater in the past three years (and that was "Twilight" last month) this happens to me a lot.

Just call me straight to video Sarah. Seriously, the theater run of a movie is mainly one gigantic ad campaign as far as mt personal viewing habits are concerned.

Last night I finally saw "The Dark Knight". I thought it was good. In fact, I thought it was very good.

The problem is that I was expecting to have my socks blown off. Everybody said Heath Ledger delivered a mind blowing performance. I think he did an excellent job yet my head it still intact.

I seriously think I would have loved this film if I hadn't been expecting some sort of religious awakening.

I fucking hate it when that happens. I was disappointed by a great film.

So - without further ado, I give you four very good films that were ruined for me because they were over-hyped:

1) The Dark Knight - for the reasons I described above and also because Christian Bale sucks as Batman. I know that some of you are going to freak out on me, but I truly believe that. What is up with his Batman voice anyway? He was fine as Bruce Wayne but as soon as he put on the bat suit his voice was too husky and quiet. It was much more like he was hitting on the bad guys than trying to intimidate them.

2) No Country for Old Men - Four Academy Awards. The Coen brothers. Tommy Lee Jones. And guess what. Nothing happened in the movie. Yes, I got it and I am sure it is a wonderful novel. In fact, I bought the book and I plan on reading it. Man, was I disappointed when I finally saw this film. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it definitely was not the movie I saw.

I guess if somebody has told me - you'll love it - there is a lot of shooting I would have enjoyed it because it was more than that. Just not as much as I would have liked.

3) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - How was this better than the first one? I actually fell asleep watching this movie. It was nominated for 76 awards. It won two Oscars. I suppose it isn't anyones fault. The second movie in a trilogy is always the transitional one.

Sarah, you are saying to yourself, how did you fall asleep during a movie with Orlando Bloom AND Viggo Mortensen in it?  I just don't know. I only know that it wasn't nearly as staggering as people said it was.

4) Sideways - Ah, Sideways, what a great movie. I loved it. I laughed, I cried. I learned stuff about Pinot Noir.

Seriously, I love Indie comedies and I love wine. What could have gone wrong?

I'll tell you what went wrong - people kept telling me it was the funniest film they had ever seen in their entire lives.  I don't mean to be a jerk, but had these so-called friends not even seen Dr. Strangelove or This is Spinal Tap or Better Off Dead?

Sideways was a wonderful film that was ruined for me before I ever saw it.

I think I am going to have to learn how to be a movie pessimist. Either that or I could just start ignoring everybody.