Everybody likes a list.

Premiere magazine, because their writers and editors are apparently devoid of creativity, recently published a list of the 20 most overrated movies of all time.

And I, because I'm bored at work on a rainy Friday morning, am going to comment on it. Then I'm going to watch some hentai.

Without further ado, here is the list, with added commentary by yours truly:

2001: A Space Odyssey

I say thee nay! Nay! Thou dost not speak of Kubrick so! It is heresy! Blasphemy! No, it's not the best movie to throw on when you have the guys over for beers (that honor goes to Happy Gilmore), but it is stunningly beautiful, with a unique story structure. Plus, it's got the fucking HAL9000. Don't front on HAL, Premiere.

A Beautiful Mind

I'm in total agreement here. What a terrible movie. Am I the only one who thinks that Russell Crowe isn't any great shakes as an actor? He was decent in The Insider, but other than that, he hasn't done anything for me. Why's everybody so big on him is what I wanna know.

American Beauty


Some people might call this film pretentious, but I'm not one of them. I think it is one of the best movies released in the past 10 years. Superb acting on all counts, and an involving, unique story. Definitely not overrated. Criminally underrated, in fact.

An American in Paris

Never seen it.

Chariots of Fire

Ditto. However, I doubt it's as good a sports movie as Rudy. Nice theme music, though.

Chicago

I saw this in the theater with my wife. It was surprisingly good...for a musical. Did it deserve the Best Picture Oscar? Of course not. Overrated.

Clerks

Because Kevin Smith has never topped it, and because he's churning out absolute shite these days -- proving that he really was a one-trick pony -- the image of this film has been tarnished of late. But that's bullshit. Clerks is a riot. 'Nuff said.

Easy Rider

The only time I saw this, I was drunk at a friend's house, and we talked throughout the movie. Still, it has Peter Fonda and a young Jack Nicholson in it, so it can't be that bad.

As a side note: whatever happened to all the great actors of that generation? Al Pachino, Robert DeNiro, Harrison Ford, and, to a certain extent, Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman, have all been castrated. Look at the complete shit they're acting in. What happened? And where is the new generation of talented actors? Right at this moment, I can't for the life of me think of any particular actor who wows me, who one day might be considered great. Maybe Christian Bale, but he's not what I'd consider versatile. He's too brooding. Ed Norton was for a time poised to enter the pantheon, but what the fuck has he done lately? Does he have a hardcore drug habit I don't know about? Ed, where are you?

OK, I'm meandering. Back to the list.

Fantasia

I hate to admit it, because I'm a big fan of the Disney classics, but I've always found Fantasia to be boring. Maybe that's because I saw it as a sugar-addicted kid, and since there's very little dialogue, it couldn't hold my attention. We bought the DVD for our daughter, so I'll revisit it sometime soon. However, apart from hippos in tutus and Mickey the Magician's apprentice, there's very little I can recall. So that probably makes it overrated.

Field of Dreams

This movie gave me one of my favorite dirty jokes ("if you play with it, it will come"). It's sentimental to the Nth degree. And the "baseball" players all throw like girls. AND, it stars Kevin Costner. Verdict: overrated.

Forrest Gump

Hell no. No way. This is one of my favorite films, and one of the best ever performances by an actor. One of those movies I can watch again and again. My only problem with the film being that, if Jenny dies of an AIDS-related illness, wouldn't Forrest or Little Forrest have contracted HIV? Why doesn't the movie address this?

Gone With the Wind

I've never seen it. Never had the desire to.

Good Will Hunting

I've seen this only once, when it was first released on video. I liked it, but have never had the desire to add it to my DVD collection. Is it universally hailed as a classic? It's not even on the Internet Movie Database's list of the Top 250 films, a list that is voted on by the site's users. It's good, though very trying for those who hate sentimental stuff, which this movie has in spades. Maybe a tad overrated.

Jules and Jim

Another movie I haven't seen. Discounting the Emanuelle series, I generally don't go for French cinema.

Monster's Ball

I haven't seen this, either, but if they're referring to Halle Berry's performance as being overrated, they're probably right.

Moonstruck

Haven't seen it.

Mystic River

I loved this movie. I also loved last year's Million Dollar Baby, although both films are flawed in some ways. Still, they're both classics in my opinion.

The thing I don't get about Clint Eastwood as a director is how he can craft such beautifully moving films, and then direct utter crap like the dreadful Space Cowboys. The man is an enigma.

Nashville

I would be lying if I said I've seen this movie. Is Kris Kristofferson in it?

The Wizard of Oz

Now the people at Premiere are just being plain old silly. How can you call such a memorable film overrated? I haven't seen it in what must be over 15 years, but I still remember it perfectly. Definitely not overrated.

The Red Shoes

I only today heard about this movie. I'm such a troglodyte.

That's the list. I know you're probably thinking right now the same thing I'm thinking: where the fuck was Titanic? The most overrated movie of all time, and it's not on this list. Proves the jerks over at Premiere don't know Pat Sajak.