Am I the only one in the whole world who thought Million Dollar Baby was (boxing scenes aside) overblown and emotionally manipulative? I was so MAD at that movie. And (no spoilers) I don’t mind a movie that makes me weep, not at all. Give me some Steel Magnolias. But this, no. No, thanks.
You, my dear, are not alone.
I think I’ll watch Steel Magnolias tonight in a show of solidarity while I knit on my pink shawl…now to decide if it’s blush or bashful!
Haven’t seen it but….I’m so tired of the Aviator hype I was just glad they didn’t scoop everything.
Debbie in the frozen north , well actually Ontario, Canada,…where we’re expecting between 6 and 12 inches of snow overnight.
Thanksfully, I found out about the ending before I went to see Million Dollar Baby – so I didn’t. For my money, Hotel Rwanda and the actors in it deserved ALL the awards.
Maybe a little, but mostly I liked it. Or maybe I just liked it more than I thought I would, ’cause I didn’t expect to like a boxing movie.
You are not alone. It was such a disappointing movie, with such a depressing message. It was predictable AND manipulative. Not discussing the general plot was manipulative to get us there to begin with and then the plot itself was intentionally, emotionally manipulative to the Nth degree. If that’s the year’s best picture, then it’s really not been a good year…
Yup. M$B is, I think, only the second movie I’ve ever walked out of before the end in my life. I thought the characters were hackneyed, the dialogue corny, and I found myself mentally predicting every plot move. The only good thing about it was that I only paid matinee $$$.
I have no desire to see Million Dollar Baby for that very reason. That, and the fact that there just aren’t enough ninjas in it. Most movies would be greatly improved by the addition of ninjas…
Sideways rocked. Virginia Madsen was robbed.
You are echoing what so many others have said.. Think that is one I will sit out on. Pity though as it won so many awards, just not into being depressed when I watch a movie. Except maybe WOMAN movies like S.Magnolias, or Terms of Endearment. I like that kind 🙂
I HATE emotionally manipulative movies. I don’t plan on seeing M$B for that reason. Like life isn’t emotional enough.
rachael, i can’t tell you how thrilled i am to know that i’m not the only one. my best friend tells me i have a cold cold heart. whatever. first off, if you can’t tell a story without lame narration, IT’S NOT A STORY WORTH TELLING!!!! bad character development all the way around. the only one who caught my attention was the mental kid who got the crap beat out of him. oh, and i was more interested in what happened to the german chick than the sappy road they took us down. and don’t get me started on that dress and the “trailer park” speech last night. total crap.
The crap thing is, I haven’t seen or read any spoilers about MDB, but based on what I *have* read about others’ opinions, I’ll bet you $1,000,000 that I can accurately GUESS the ending, minus a few minor plot points here and there.
It’s been said before–I think by Mindy: you want an awesome female boxing movie? Rent Girlfight. Michelle Rodriguez–now SHE wuz robbed.
Thank you! I had already decided that I wasn’t going to see it (I loathe manipulative, soppy sentimentalism), so you have now reinforced that decision. Give me a good dark mystery any time…
I saw this acquaintance of mine at a New Year’s party. He had just seen the film. “You know what the worst movie was I saw this year?” he said. “Million! Dollar! Baby!” and then he let out a big raspberry. Now that is how I refer to it. I wasn’t familiar with the film yet at that point so I said, “It sounds like a movie about a baby who is loose in the city with a million dollars in his diaper,” and my friend said, “That would have been better!” I have since learned the actual subject of the film and yes, I have heard the spoilers. I have absolutely no motivation to see the thing.
The only new movie I really enjoyed this year was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I’m glad the screenwriter got an Oscar, but I’m not too disappointed that it was ignored otherwise, since I don’t expect the Oscars to have any relevance or actually give awards to good movies anymore.
Wait, I think that “anymore” shouldn’t have been in there. I mean, I don’t think the Oscars have ever consistently given awards to the best films. (Not that some great films haven’t gotten Oscars, it’s just a much rarer occurance than it should be.)
Dearie, you are definitely not alone. I saw it on opening night with 6 male friends. We spent a goodly amount of time afterwards in a bar, venting as to how much we just felt jerked around. It really was two movies, not one. And I’m also continually irritated at the reviews and the promos that IGNORE what ends up being the dominant theme of the movie.
Clint Eastwood rocks. Morgan Freeman rocks. And I’d give a lot to have Hilary Swank’s biceps and teeth.
But DAMN… this movie really pissed me off.
I haven’t even seen it yet, but those are the exact words I would have chosen to describe Mystic River, so Mr. Eastwood definitely had a track record for this one.
I haven’t seen it, so I can’t judge, but I know the ending, yes, and I won’t be seeing it.
But I will say that Morgan Freeman was so cute when he won, and I want him to be my grandpa when I see him on TV. And Clint Eastwood is kinda cute to me too.
I haven’t commented in a while, but I had to chime in on this one. I sat through the whole thing wondering why all the rave reviews and would it EVER end? Nope, I didn’t enjoy it one bit, “boss”, and for some reason her calling him that really drove me crazy. I haven’t hated a movie so much since Patch Adams.
Word! I didn’t like the movie either. And I couldn’t figure out why everyone else in the theater was crying and I wasn’t.
Rachel, I haven’t seen it and probably won’t from what I’ve heard from my fellow friends with disabilities *******possible spoiler********** I can’t tell you how sick to death I am of hollywood’s portrayal of folks with disabilities. The message that’s sent is that our lives aren’t worth living in any capacity (ala M$B), or that we’re somehow amazing just by being on this earth (ala Door to Door, My Left Foot, etc). I hope someday they portray people with disabilities as just being “folks”. Ok, end rant.
Steel Magnolias is going to be on Broadway this spring… so you better come visit!