Overrated -- the list

[Azrael]

Let's start the list off right. Let's start with Mr. Overrated himself -- David Copperfield

When I was young, I saw The Magic of David Copperfield IX: Escape From Alcatraz. I was anticipating the show with a great deal of excitement. So were many millions of people around the country. During the 1980s, David Copperfield was a very, very big star. Think about Penn and Teller, David Blaine, Ziegfried and Roy, Criss Angel . . . pretty much all the magicians working today. Add them together and they wouldn't be half as famous as David Copperfield was in the 1980s.

According to Wikipedia, "Copperfield's television specials have won 21 Emmy Awards of a total 38 nominations. Best known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, Copperfield’s career of over 30 years has earned him 11 Guinness World Records, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a knighthood by the French government; and he has been named a Living Legend by the US Library of Congress." Leading up to his TV specials, you'd hear stuff like this repeated ad infinitum.

Well, when I saw David Copperfield supposedly "escape from Alcatraz", I remember thinking: I'm supposed to be impressed by this? What about the guy holding the camera, filming all this? If David Copperfield is escaping from Alcatraz, the cameraman is escaping from Alcatraz while walking backward, carrying a camera. I kept watching, in spite of the lameness of the "escape", hoping that it would get better. It didn't.

Another thought I had was about how many people he had assisting him. As the program began, it was made very apparent that David Copperfield had a lot of people on the set working for him; it was obvious that this was intentional, and probably to show the audience that David Copperfield was such a big shot to have so many people working for him. And thinking about it now, anything on film can be edited, taking away the "magic" of what you see on screen if you give it some thought, especially if there is no live audience sneaking out of Alcatraz with the performer. So, I suppose the show sucks even more in retrospect.

Now, some people might argue that Criss Angel is even more overrated; but that's probably due to people forgetting what a big deal David Copperfield was. Anyone who can remember the 1980s would find it hard to deny that David Copperfield was/is much more overrated.

[noddy]

heh, the only reason id even heard of him was the fact he hooked up with claudia schiffer whom i thought was most definitely not overrated

as for the topic - its not so much any one thing in specific but the tendency for over the top glorification of so many skills and abilities.

so many things id been pumped full of awe for as a child or keen young teen turned out to be simple and obvious once you got into the specifics of them yourself, so i became highly suspicious of all sorts of hero worshipping and qualifications in general.

obviously id rather use a qualified brain surgeon than a quack with a crosscut saw but their are many areas of grey between those extremes and it mostly comes down to time involved with the subject matter and the carefactor of the person involved - anything else is a distraction.

[Azrael]

heh, the only reason id even heard of him was the fact he hooked up with claudia schiffer whom i thought was most definitely not overrated

as for the topic - its not so much any one thing in specific but the tendency for over the top glorification of so many skills and abilities.

so many things id been pumped full of awe for as a child or keen young teen turned out to be simple and obvious once you got into the specifics of them yourself, so i became highly suspicious of all sorts of hero worshipping and qualifications in general.

I concur.

obviously id rather use a qualified brain surgeon than a quack with a crosscut saw

And even if the surgeon is highly regarded, one should get a second opinion before major surgery. Even those considered brilliant can blunder.

but their are many areas of grey between those extremes and it mostly comes down to time involved with the subject matter and the carefactor of the person involved - anything else is a distraction.

I generally agree.

[Mr. Perfect]

Boy, tough. The first that comes to mind is George Lucas? Those last 3 movies were so, so, so very bad. The guy that revolutionized film-making went digital, and made a video game movie with a MST2k plot/story if you can call it that. So terrible, in so many ways. Indy IV didn't help. Spielberg hasn't made a good movie since Schindler's list.

Maybe U2? They aren't highly rated I think, just the last big seller. Haven't made an album you'd listen to front to back since the 90's.

[Torchwood]

Maybe U2? They aren't highly rated I think, just the last big seller. Haven't made an album you'd listen to front to back since the 90's.

Haven't made an album you'd listen to, period, I never understood the cult of U2. I would add Bruce Springsteen, could never understand the appeal.

Spielberg is a different case, the declining genius past his sell by date. Kubrick was another, early films are the best. Did any of you sit through the tedium of Barry Lyndon, let alone Eyes Wide Shut?

Probably the most overrated film I have seen was the English Patient, not even redeemed by the sexiness of Juliet Binoche. Of new films , my son says that The Master was technically proficient and totally empty of content. Doubtless it will get lots of Oscars.

[Enki]

I would add Bruce Springsteen, could never understand the appeal.

It's a Jersey thing.

Probably the most overrated film I have seen was the English Patient, not even redeemed by the sexiness of Juliet Binoche. Of new films , my son says that The Master was technically proficient and totally empty of content. Doubtless it will get lots of Oscars.

The Master is a study of personality more than it is a plot. I'd like to see it. I read one really lush review of it in the magazine they produced for the New York Film Festival.

[Azrael]

Maybe U2? They aren't highly rated I think, just the last big seller. Haven't made an album you'd listen to front to back since the 90's.

Haven't made an album you'd listen to, period, I never understood the cult of U2. I would add Bruce Springsteen, could never understand the appeal.

Spielberg is a different case, the declining genius past his sell by date. Kubrick was another, early films are the best. Did any of you sit through the tedium of Barry Lyndon, let alone Eyes Wide Shut?

The last 18 seconds of Eyes Wide Shut is pretty good though.

Probably the most overrated film I have seen was the English Patient, not even redeemed by the sexiness of Juliet Binoche.

I liked it when I first saw it. I was young and impressionable. Now I'm embarrassed.

Of new films , my son says that The Master was technically proficient and totally empty of content. Doubtless it will get lots of Oscars.

Yes, but Daniel Day Lewis will probably deprive Philip Seymour Hoffman of the Oscar he was hoping to get.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

I think you people are crazy: Spielberg has had some very good movies since Schindler's List.

Catch Me If You Can
Saving Private Ryan
Minority Report
A.I. (Yes, A.I., even if it makes you want to slit your wrists after every viewing)

and looking at his filmography of films he directed before Schindler's List, there are very few that are aging well:

Jaws
Raiders of the Lost Ark
maybe E.T.- but does anyone over the age of ten really want to see that? It doesn't have that certain...oomph...of a child's tale that makes it something family members want to pass down, in a same way as say, The Wizard of Oz....

[Azrael]

I think you people are crazy: Spielberg has had some very good movies since Schindler's List.

Catch Me If You Can
Saving Private Ryan
Minority Report
A.I. (Yes, A.I., even if it makes you want to slit your wrists after every viewing)

and looking at his filmography of films he directed before Schindler's List, there are very few that are aging well:

Jaws
Raiders of the Lost Ark
maybe E.T.- but does anyone over the age of ten really want to see that?

Yes, he has made some great movies. And he gets so much hate that it is . . . rather odd to call him overrated.

If there are still people watching movies in fifty years, Raiders will be watched, and enjoyed.

What about "Two and a Half Men"? Now that's overrated.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

Maybe U2? They aren't highly rated I think, just the last big seller. Haven't made an album you'd listen to front to back since the 90's.

Haven't made an album you'd listen to, period, I never understood the cult of U2.

It is totally an Irish thing, though I suppose it's an Irish thing of a certain kind....

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

I think you people are crazy: Spielberg has had some very good movies since Schindler's List.

Catch Me If You Can
Saving Private Ryan
Minority Report
A.I. (Yes, A.I., even if it makes you want to slit your wrists after every viewing)

and looking at his filmography of films he directed before Schindler's List, there are very few that are aging well:

Jaws
Raiders of the Lost Ark
maybe E.T.- but does anyone over the age of ten really want to see that?

Yes, he has made some great movies. And he gets so much hate that it is . . . rather odd to call him overrated.

If there are still people watching movies in fifty years, Raiders will be watched, and enjoyed.

What about "Two and a Half Men"? Now that's overrated.

Sorta agreed on both points. I have avoided watching two and a half men outside of clips my father sends me...which are real terrible but maybe that doesn't give me exposure to say it is overrated....

Are there people out there who think it is "actually great"? Obviously people for whatever reasons find it extremely entertaining; do any of those people consider it great?

And continuing this thread of judgment here....

Let me put the Beatles up on the block.

[Azrael]

It sounds like many of you don't think that U2 is overrated. I've always liked U2, just not as much as a lot of my friends. Better than the typical band, though.

Here's who's really overrated: Nickelback. The band is, to be very charitable, an amateurish Canadian ripoff of Metallica.

[Azrael]

Jogging: as it turns out, too much jogging can shorten your lifespan.

Excessive jogging is also bad for the knees, the back . . . just say no. If you're going to have a habit that's bad for you, have one that's more fun.

"The first time I see a jogger smiling, I'll consider it" - Joan Rivers

[Mr. Perfect]

Nickelback blows.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

Yeah, the Bill Bailey thing says what we all knew already, I always enjoy that.

I think the two best songs, pure songs ever written are Silent Night and With or Without You. I remember being in a busy office one day as it came on the radio, and in 2 seconds you could hear a pin drop and nobody said anything for two minutes afterward. It was a really strange moment. They tapped into something from another place on that song no doubt about it.

There were some more really good ones after, there are some songs they just got in this zone no one else could but if you don't get it you don't get it and frankly I don't try to explain it, you hear it or you don't. As to why they never got to be musicians I have no explanation and stopped caring. They just suck now and that's all really there is.

I'm not knocking With or Without You, but listen to how dated Sunday Bloody Sunday sounds....there is a boring-ness to the whole enterprise and those guitar gizmos become tedious after a while.

I can see though that that is sort of your thing....me, I prefer acoustic instruments and though I hear a lot of people get great "sounds" from set ups; my eyes generally glaze over when shop talk on that stuff starts. Which I guess is kinda weird, 'cause I prefer recorded, studio stuff to live when it comes to that sort of music.

Nickelback may be the only band to get by on sheer dourness. It bothers me that they totally forgo any interesting rhythm, harmonics or melodic hooks. Then they wrap it up in the muddiest studio sound so that you can't really distinguish anything about the individual parts (except that it's LOUD, man...with faux quiet, loud, quiet Pixies dynamics....which again, are totally ruined by the LOUDNESS and Bricked Master.)

Another overrated band would be:

jxfMB8WlmX0

[YMix]

Some posts on U2 were moved to Mr. Perfect's new thread.

[Azrael]

Overrated: To die for one's country.

I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor, dumb bastard die for his country.

George S. Patton

[Ammianus]

For hyped bands of the Aughts, Radiohead and Arcade Fire

[Azrael]

Juno

What a hipster abortion of a movie.

[Azrael]

Israel

The Jewish Autonomous Oblast is almost twice as big, in and next to the two fastest-growing major economies on Earth and not surrounded by Salafists.

[Endovelico]

1. Wagner - Anybody older than 16 liking Wagner must have a serious lack of maturity problem... Wagner's emotions are so frightfully shallow, his music's "grandeur" so ridiculous, that one wonders how some people insist on being impressed by it. The German pseudo-religious tradition of not applauding Parsifal is a good example of the type of bogus emotions Wagner arouses...

2. Barbara Streisand (as an actress)

[Azrael]

1. Wagner - Anybody older than 16 liking Wagner must have a serious lack of maturity problem... Wagner's emotions are so frightfully shallow, his music's "grandeur" so ridiculous, that one wonders how some people insist on being impressed by it. The German pseudo-religious tradition of not applauding Parsifal is a good example of the type of bogus emotions Wagner arouses...

I would tend to agree; but the overture of Tannhäuser is quite good.

2. Barbara Streisand (as an actress)

I agree. She's a good singer, though.

[Enki]

For hyped bands of the Aughts, Radiohead and Arcade Fire

Radiohead is not overhyped. Someone gave us a Radiohead lullaby CD, and stripped down to just the notes, you get a real sense of how complex and beautiful their music really is.

[Crocus sativus]

1. Wagner - Anybody older than 16 liking Wagner must have a serious lack of maturity problem... Wagner's emotions are so frightfully shallow, his music's "grandeur" so ridiculous, that one wonders how some people insist on being impressed by it. The German pseudo-religious tradition of not applauding Parsifal is a good example of the type of bogus emotions Wagner arouses...

.

Wagner was a philosopher, Götterdämmerung is an epic philosophical school expressed in form of an Opera.

Nietzsche, Hitler and many others looked @ Wagner for that school


.

[Azrael]

Hindi

It is pointless to waste time and money teaching Indian children a regional language when the time would be better spent teaching English.

Bengali has a better literary tradition anyway. Rabindranath Tagore wrote in Bengali.

It was stupid enough to force children to learn a regional language . . . they didn't even pick the right regional language.