Disappointing movie rentals.....

[Miss Mary]

Recently we've rented or purchased movies via pay-per-view and have been VERY disappointed. So I thought maybe a thread to alert others might be a good idea. Let's just say we're going to be very careful with our next rental.

Here are the two latest ones I'm referring to. Please feel free to list any that have greatly disturbed or disappointed you as well. To save others time and money.

Mary

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1. "Open Water"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374102/?fr ... ft=21;fm=1

This movie was nothing like we expected and we felt cheated. Thoroughly. We both said - what a waste of time! It is loosely taken after the couple who went scuba diving off the coast of Australia in 1998 and the dive boat accidentally left them behind.

2. "Edges of the Lord"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245090/?fr ... fc=1;ft=20

This movie stars Haley Joel Osment (from Second Hand Lions). This movie is about the Holocaust. A group of children are shown on the cover, walking with the village priest. Because my daughter Laura enjoyed Osment in "Second Hand Lions", we thought we'd enjoy this move. It was VERY disturbing. Half-way thru we could no longer continue watching. We stopped the DVD, ejected it and I returned it to Blockbuster. I asked the clerk to flag it for future families, with a warning it was very disturbing and not a family movie - not at all. On the site I provided a link for, there are many high ratings! Unbelievable. I did sneak a peek at the end, hoping it would have a positive ending or semi-happy one - it doesn't. That's all I'll say about it. I did announce to my family I never thought a movie would top Pulp Fiction in my book, as disturbing, but this one did. I wanted to watch a Disney flick in the worst way afterwards.

[JenBayles]

We got burned on Open Water as well. Total waste of both time and money. Most times I expect to be disappointed with movies, and usually am!

[Miss Mary]

We got burned on Open Water as well. Total waste of both time and money. Most times I expect to be disappointed with movies, and usually am!

The internet movie database site I listed for Open Water, is filled with posts from people who were disappointed as well. I even posted! Anyway, for once Jim was saying - why didn't you check that site first before we bought it? Sometimes I do check, but I don't want to know the entire plot or ending before watching a movie. So it's not always in your best interests to go to this site, before you watch a movie.

Thanks Jen for saying you were just as disappointed as well.

Mary

[weathermom]

Mary- If I know what I am thinking of seeing, either at the movies or on video I often look it up at screenit.com, and see what they have to say. I tried looking up "Edges of the Lord", but I guess because it never had a US theatrical release, there was no in depth review.

I use screenit often, my kids age range right now is such that the oldest one wants to see things that are often not appropriate for the youngest one.

If you go to screenit you first get an ad for their subscription service, just click no thanks at the bottom and you can use the free service, it covers lots of movies, with lots of details.

[Miss Mary]

wxmom - Edges of the Lord tells the tragic story of the Holocaust, from a young Jewish boy's perspective. A story worth telling I'm certain of, and I applaud that. It's just nearly every aspect of this movie is told from bizarre angles. Even good German's, and there are plenty, horrified at what is going on, are very odd. We could not find one relationship in this movie was 'normal' or good. Child to child - strange, adult to adult - odd, adult to child - odd. I imagine all of these child actors had nightmares from filming it. If I were any of their parents I would have no to having them appear in this film. My main argument with this movie was tell the story, that's fine, just please do not "sell it" with a bunch of kids on the cover, walking in a field with a caring priest. We went into the movie knowing it would have a very sad premise, the Holocaust, but naturally assumed some good would come out of that tragedy. It doesn't!

Thank you for mentioning the other site. I will bookmark it for future reference!

By contrast, we ordered The Terminal with Tom Hanks recently as well, on pay-per-view and thoroughly enjoyed this movie. That is one movie I'd recommend, in a heart beat. These other two - no way!

Mary

[Cookiely]

I thought the ending for The Terminal was awful and I felt cheated. Also, I Robot was a bust for me. It was sort of like Ghostbusters, the trailer, was better than the whole movie.

[R-Dub]

I bought "without a paddle" on pay per view and was somewhat dissapointed. There were some funny parts, but was all in all stupid.

[deb_in_nc]

The Village. To me there aren't enough words to describe how BORING it was. My brother didn't like Open Water, either. I was also disappointed in the ending of The Terminal. I just ordered The 4400 on dvd from WalMart. If I remember correctly USA ordered about 13 new episodes. If you don't know, it's about alien abductees returned to earth with special powers.

Debbie

[Miss Mary]

Hey thanks for all the replies. Without a paddle is still on tape for me to watch (my family watched it on pay-per-view and admit it wasn't as funny as they thought it would be).

We just rented deLovely. It was okay. I guess you need to be a big fan of Cole Porter to like it. I'm not a big fan of musicals anyway. But since hubby wanted to see it, we gave it a try.

Tonight we're going with a sure bet - recording the Truman Show on TBS! Yes we've seen it, but years ago. For some reason our kids want to see it again. I know we can't go wrong with this movie!

Mary

[Rainband]

Taxi with Queen Latifa is Hilarious
The forgotten is EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[j]

I've got one:

Into the Sun - Steven Seagal. Normally I love a Steven Seagal movie but this is a waste of time...he speaks in English, the Japanese speak with subtitles half the time (and I'm talking between Seagal and the Japs)....and the Martial Arts scenes are less than inspiring.

I want my money back!

[Miss Mary]

I'll remember that one j. You know what there needs to be a Blockbuster don't you? A section of hit movies that are a year old - for viewers like me who forget what was good and what I heard wasn't!!! That's what I'd put at Blockbuster if I was in charge....okay over here we have new releases....then we have one year old releases....and then a bunch of older movies....ah, too much work I guess!

Mary

[Miss Mary]

Has anyone watched these 2 movies? We're thinking of renting them soon....

I ~heart (symbol)~ Huckabees
Standing in the Shadows of Motown

Thanks!

Mary

[TazzyD]

This past weekend was PPV for me. I watched:

The Notebook - LOVED IT!

The Forgotten - Liked it a lot, but didn't love it. I'll watch about anything that either Julianne Moore or Gary Sinise is in.

Cellular - Didn't care for it, but it was an ok excuse for pigging out on popcorn.

Open Water - Really didn't care for it. No amount of popcorn would make it better.

[Miss Mary]

Open Water - Really didn't care for it. No amount of popcorn would make it better.

Warning: Open Water spoilers....

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Tazzy - seems like no one liked this movie! A few posters sung it's praises over at the Internet Movie Database site, but most complained they were tricked into thinking one or both of the deserted divers lived. We couldn't believe it when she intentionally drowned herself, to avoid being eaten by sharks (at least that's why we think she did it). I kept telling my husband they survived during the moive, or in the past year or so I read about a deserted diving couple that did survive. Now I can't find any news links to support that theory. When the husband died he looked at me as if to say - great movie Mar! And I also realize this movie was loosely taken after the Austrailian couple that did die in 1998. The director didn't even warn their families he was making this movie! One day the press just started hounding them apparently, after the tragedy happened years ago. Dredging up more anguish for their relatives to live thru again. All in all, we felt ripped off for buying this movie!

Mary

[alicia-w]

Open Water - Dumb with a capital D

The holocaust movie you referred to was rated R. That should have been your first hint that it was not a family movie, Mary.

Taxi is funny. Queen Latifah is great but the guy is dumb.

Ray was not what I expected it to be. Not too fun to watch a legend shoot up on a regular basis. Yikes.

The Flight of the Phoenix was entertaining. I liked it. Will watch it again and not just because Dennis Quaid runs around shirtless a lot.

[Miss Mary]

Alicia - you sound like my husband about that R rating. You're right, we should have known better. My argument with that movie was it had a group of children on the cover and we assumed the premise would be hard to handle - the horrible images of the Holocaust. But I swear I thought there would be a good part of the movie or at the very least some good to come out of that plot. We've watched a few rated R movies with our 14 yr old, but this one was very disappointing!

It did teach me a lesson though. Either stand there and thoroughly read the cover, checking all symbols and what they stand for and/or check a few internet movie sites first. Even if the ending is given away!

Mary

[alicia-w]

In reality, there are very few good outcomes of the Holocaust. My mom was a Holocaust survivor and she carried the weight of that her entire life.

[Miss Mary]

So very sorry to learn that alicia. The story has to be told. This was just the first movie we've come along in a long time, told from a children's point of view but the entire movie is very bizarre. Up there with a Quentin F. outlook. Not in any way similar to an Anne Frank movie. When each minute my entire family is saying how disturbing all of the relationships in that movie were, even the good caring people, then it certainly ranks a new low in our opinion. Right beside Pulp Fiction I think.
M.

[alicia-w]

you dont like Pulp Fiction? CLASSIC Quentin Tarantino. Classic.

We saw an extremely tense movie yesterday for Nick's b'day. Since he turned 17, he wanted to see his first rated-R movie in a theatre.

The Hostage with Bruce Willis. Whew! My neck hurt after that!!

(Actually, we saw Starship Troopers years ago, but that was an accident.)